Slingin the Ring
Here's the conversation half of you were hoping wouldn't make it here and the other half was wondering why it hadn't been talked about yet. Slinging the ring, who does it?
I broke in 20 years ago in the US Deep South. Things are/were what you'd call traditional or old school. Now to be fair I mostly worked smaller promotions, low-budget-to-no-budget type deals. One guy would show up with the ring and everyone put there hands in to help set up and tear down. For rookies, trainees, and the like, it was part of "paying your dues", but it was also just what we did. If you wanted to get in the ring to work on some stuff, either spots for your match or just general training, you would help to get the ring up faster so there was more time to work out.
Gonna name drop a bit here of guys that I've slung rings with. Scott and Brian Armstrong, Larry Sweeney, Rodney Mack, Shane Douglas, Orlando Jordan. None of those guys HAD to sling the ring or were expected to, but they did it anyways because it was what we did. It was part of the culture we had. It's brotherhood and at the end of the day we were all just people doing the same job.
Now, should the workers have to sling the ring? I don't believe so. A promoter books a ring or owns it, whatever, should have guys to set up the venue. Ring, chairs, etc. But the reality is that's happening in only a few promotions. I mean, if the guys working are making $50 or less, you really think they're paying for a ring crew?
We go from what should be to what is. The boys help sling the ring if they need to help sling the ring. My two cents on the Styles situation goes contrary to what a lot of names have said publicly. If you're asked to help sling the ring and put up chairs, then that's what you do. What does it say to the rest of the card that is slinging the ring and you refuse? It says you think you're better than them, above them. Avery Styles shouldn't get a pass because of who his dad is. It's like if your dad was a doctor and you went through med school but then didn't have to do your time as an intern because your dad was chief of medicine in another hospital.
It's run of the mill nepotism, and it happens. Hell, a lot of things in life wind up being a who you know deal. Can't even be mad at the kid for being in his spot because of his dad, but no one likes the guy who feels they don't have to do the work everyone else does because of it.
That's my two cents that's not even worth that. So what's y'all's take on it?
