The whole Old School / New School debate has raged since someone coined those phrases

It was the FWA who coined these phrases. They organised a heel invasion angle by tradtional-_style_ British wrestlers (the old-school.)

This gave Alex Shane a chance to mouth off about British Wrestling's past and so earn himself brownie points with PowerSlam's Fin Martin (a man decidedly not a fan of the trad-Brit _style_.) and hence loads of free hype from PowerSlam.

As for myself, I stick to my guns as regards the remark I once made about how anyone who can't sit through an entire 3-hour tape compilation of clean technical bouts isn't a fan of British Wrestling (or even Wrestling, period).

It is worth noting some of the concessions made lately by the FWA towards trad-Brit wrestling culture (and that they haven't been turned into an angle as Chic sceptically suggested on here they'd probably be).

Perhaps it's because they've found out that there is indeed truth to the stories of how British wrestlers are respected and admired in the US business for their shooting/technical abilities.

In a similar vein, I'm pleased to report this year's MPW Holbrooks show saw an increase since last year in serious mat/technical wrestling (those dodgy ropes proved a blessing in disguise.) I'd single out Majik vs Corey Vandal for particular praise.

Glory be, they even did a few rolling reversals of armbars (they could have done even more tho - arm submissions/reversals are authentic and look pretty spectacular. They can even be a progressive art form - vidé the use of cartwheels to reverse armbars by Dynamite Kid and Danny Boy Collins.)

Indeed David did get a bit excited from time to time during the show and I have to say... The technical aspect of the show was very high and quite unlike a lot of the shows and promotions around today.

There was a visible "hard work ethic" which if I see used in any sport automatically gets the nod of respect. Like I said, these trainees, and rising starts are putting everything in to their art. One day I hope their work is rewarded by fans and other promotion giving that same respectful "nod".

Stam

I was just thinking the other day how Johnny Kidd was the high-flying futuristic youngster on the first live show I ever saw - now he's the old-school veteran on the RBW tape that's in the post to me!

I like to see trad Brit shows but the problem as I see it , is that , a lot of the younger audience just don't know whats going on. In the case of a best of three falls match they will often cheer or boo after the first fall thinking its all over and then sit there in slight embarassment as the match restarts. A good Emcee could overcome this problem by introducing the _style_ of the 'match' in a more concise manner.

Yes there is some fantastic talent out there at the moment , exciting and inventive , and I suppose that they will gravitate toward the '_style_' that got them into wrestling in the first place. A little of something for everyone .