What’s good everybody?! My name is Brett D and after 7 years, I’m back as a column/editorial writer for PWMania. Shout out to Andy for having me back.
For the past 7 years, I was a retired hardcore wrestling fan. In the years before that, I attended many shows, bought many DVDs, interviewed and took pictures with many wrestlers. By 2015, I was burnt out on wrestling. At the time, there simply wasn’t anything exciting going on. Any kind of excitement on my end would’ve been forced.
My last WWE event I went to was a Raw in March 2015 at the Prudential Center. I went to two PWS events in 2015, but only because I wanted to have a good time with my friends; not so much to watch the shows. I went to a JAPW anniversary show in 2016 and I walked out during the first match. The crowd was not loud and raucous the way I remembered and the overall vibe was just ehh.
I was largely out of touch with pro wrestling after that…until I discovered AEW.
Ever since 2019, I heard rumblings about this new wrestling company. Every time I went for an oil change, the guy at the gas pump would tell me about it and how exciting it is. I was hesitant to give it a chance. When he mentioned that there was a new company, I would think of companies like ROH, TNA and GFW that all had potential, but never realized their full potential. There were lots of memorable moments from ROH and TNA (can’t speak for GFW since I didn’t watch it), but after a while, those moments stopped happening.
It wasn’t until I went hiking at Lake Minnewaska in upstate NY and I met this dude Javier. We started talking and it turned out he was a huge wrestling fan too; and he kept talking about AEW. Sometime after that, I tuned into Dynamite on Wednesday night. I can’t remember what exactly hooked me in, but it was enough to keep me coming back for weeks after.
Now, almost two years later, I look forward to Wednesday nights. I rush to the TV (or phone) to watch Dynamite as soon as 8pm hits. I haven’t done that in years. I went to my first wrestling event in 5 years, AEW Grand Slam, and it was good to be back among crazy, passionate wrestling fans.
I enjoy Tony Khan’s enthusiasm too. Every time he talks, I can sense the passion and he comes off as being one of those diehard fans.
I enjoy AEW’s roster and style. They have something for everyone on the show and it feels cutting-edge, something that has been lacking in wrestling for a long time. They seem to have put a lot of money into this company to have it be on the level that it is, which has certainly paid off!
So, I’m glad to be back! I can’t wait to do more pieces like these as well as interviews to see what pro wrestlers are up to, both in and out of the ring. If you aren’t familiar with my work, check out my past work.
In addition to the big names I’ve interviewed such as Mick Foley, Ted DiBiase and Vader, I also interviewed Adam Cole back when he was in ROH. And now 7 years later, we’re all singing “You know it’s all about the BOOM!”
Also, in the meantime, other than my full-time job, I’ve been making hip hop music, so if you’re interested, you can check out my tunes. I credit my music journey for bringing me back to pro wrestling. It’s amazing how similar the two art forms are, and how writing my own personal blog has also spilled over into other areas for me, creatively.
