Mark this one down in the record books folks, because this blog will actually be about me doing some wrestling-related stuff. I know that’s a weird thing to say, this being a wrestling-centric blog hosted on a wrestling website and all, but you know as well as I do that since COVID started hitting the U.S. hardback in March, wrestling has been the last thing on a lot of people’s minds – mine included. But we may rejoice because I have found a way to flex some creative wrestling muscles while maintaining safe conditions thanks to our friends at 5CC Wrestling. It looks like we’re getting the band back together.
For the uninitiated, 5CC is a wildly original wrestling promotion that runs shows out of Bellingham, WA (where I lived for about two years), and is best known for its five-sided wrestling ring. That’s right, this wrestling ring is shaped like a pentagon and has turnbuckles opposite from ropes – It’s pretty wild. Anyway, 5CC had originally planned to hopefully start running shows again by August, but as the year progressed, it was clear that it wasn’t going to happen, so they improvised. Now they’re running a promo tournament called “Scornucopia” that puts different wrestlers and tag-teams against each other in a battle of words.
Getting the Band Back Together
Those who know me, know that I’m pretty comfortable addressing people in the “promo” format. And I was delighted when they asked The Academy to throw our hat in the digital ring. The possibilities were/are endless and as of the release of this blog, we are either just starting or have just started the first round of the tournament, so I won’t go into too many details about the creation of said promo. That will probably have to wait until the next blog, where I can delve into the behind-the-scenes details like filming etc. But I can talk about the experience Thom and I had “getting the band back together” for the first time since quarantine started.
That’s actually a perfect place to start – getting the band back together because that’s kind of the overall theme we have for these promos. There will be multiple because even if we are eliminated in the first round of this little tournament, it still has reignited our collective creative passions and we want to do a series. We’ve got lots of stories to tell with these things. That said, we wanted to do something different, hopefully, something that nobody has thought of.
When people think of “promos” they almost always think of Hulk Hogan “brother”-ing up the joint.
Doing this, while staring right down the barrel of the camera. That’s not for me. It’s never really been for me, and you likely won’t see us doing that (unless we have to). Our “promos” will be more vignette-y than your stereotypical promo. As I said, we’ve got lots of stories to tell. Different filming techniques and a different side to The Academy– that’s what we’re going for.
I think it’s important to continue growing and evolving as characters. The Academy is more than just a two-dimensional caricature of academia as we’re individuals and real people. I’ve been able to show more of my personality through my poetry. I also think it’s time for people to get to know Thom’s personality more too. This is the perfect time. In fact, Thom Alman has come up with much of the ideas for our promos – the entire first promo was pretty much his idea. I mostly just helped frame it and fill in the gaps. I also plan on writing individual poems to be released in full on my podcast, Wrestlerotica, after the promos air. We’ll see if I stick to that! So feel free to check that out too. I only have like 8 listeners, so it’s kind of an exclusive club.
Overall, I’m pretty excited to do something wrestling-related while not putting myself or others at risk. I’m also just happy to be working with Thom on something creative again. It will probably be beneficial for my mental health, to have a collaborative creative project to work on. As I mentioned at the top, it will give me something wrestling-related to talk about in this wrestling-related blog on this wrestling-related website. I’ll probably still have other things to discuss since the world is wild. And I have a platform to speak my mind on (thanks Pro Wrestling Post). Anyway, please be sure to check out 5CC’s Scornucopia, every weekend in August and be sure to vote for The Academy if you like our promos. I’ll include their info in the (RETURNING!) “Upcoming Dates” section.
WEAR A MASK!
The world is your burrito!
Upcoming Dates:
- August 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 (or as long as you keep voting for us) – 5CC: Scornucopia
Links:
- Facebook: NickIsRadford
- Instagram:@NickIsRadford
- Twitter: @NickIsRadford
- Venmo: NickIsRadford
- Paypal: paypal.me/NicholasRadford
- Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/NickIsRadford
- ProWrestlingTees: prowrestlingtees.com/nickradfordcatford
- Amazon Wishlist
- Commissions: PayPal/Venmo – $5: Poem, $10 Poem + Recording; Include topic and if I have your permission to use it for social media content.
- Podcast: Wrestlerotica
