I’ve Given Up On 205 Live. Maybe I’ll Watch Smash Wrestling On The Fight Network Instead

Aside from this Sunday’s ridiculously named Great Balls of Fire PPV which has been built fairly well and actually looks pretty good on paper, I’m getting pretty goddamn sick of WWE these days. I’ve gone over the reasons why more times than I can count here, so I won’t bother doing it again. I will say though that a couple weeks ago I decided to give up on 205 Live.

When they announced it, I was excited. The Cruiserweight Classic was so fantastic and so fun that a weekly version sounded like a great idea even though it meant yet another hour of WWE to add to the schedule. Unfortunately, what we ended up getting is everything that the Cruiserweight Classic wasn’t, which is to say another hour of the same old WWE style programming just with nothing but small dudes. The wrestling isn’t different, the storylines are boring, it’s just not worth watching. I feel bad because the roster is made up of a lot of guys I enjoy, but when it comes right down to it, I don’t need a third hour of Smackdown after 3 hours of Raw I didn’t really need the night before.

None of this is me saying that I suddenly hate wrestling or don’t want to watch more of it. Far from it. A lot of it exists on a much smaller scale than it did back in the day, but there’s more decent to excellent wrestling out there now than anyone could possibly watch. That’s one of the reasons I appreciate the Fight Network. If you want to, you can get a taste of all sorts of alternatives. Stuff from Mexico, stuff from Japan, Ring of Honor, TNA…Er…Impact Wrestling…er…Global Force Wrestling which is actually worth your time after a rocky start for the new owners (A.K.A. the Fight Network itself) and the new creative people, stuff from the UK, the various American indies that come and go from the schedule and now Smash Wrestling, a Canadian company I’ve heard a lot about but never had a chance to see. Who knows, maybe it’ll become my 205 Live replacement.

TORONTO – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 multi-platform channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, today announced a broadcast partnership with leading Canadian professional wrestling promotion Smash Wrestling.
Beginning on July 20, Fight Network will televise a weekly one-hour series from Smash Wrestling on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET, which follows the weekly premiere of IMPACT Wrestling at 8 p.m. ET. Smash Wrestling episodes will be broadcast on Fight Network in Canada, the U.S. and globally in over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The Smash Wrestling roster features premier Canadian talent such as Tyson Dux, Michael Elgin and Mike Bailey, plus regular appearances from IMPACT Wrestling stars Rosemary, Allie and Braxton Sutter, as well as highly regarded international performers such as Zack Sabre Jr., Kyle O’Reilly and Sami Callihan.
“Fight Network was established in Canada, so we’re thrilled to add a distinguished Canadian organization such as Smash Wrestling to our extensive slate of professional wrestling programming, which also includes IMPACT Wrestling, New-Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor Wrestling,” said Ariel Shnerer, Director of Programming & Communications for Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., the parent company of Fight Network. “Smash Wrestling has a reputation on the Canadian wrestling circuit for its high-quality matchups, talented performers and fast-paced production, so we’re confident the weekly series will be a hit with our viewers.”
“We have always had key long-term goals and one of them wasn’t just to land a television deal, but to land it with Fight Network,” said Sebastian Dastranj, founder and promoter of Smash Wrestling. “We are a Canadian pro wrestling brand airing on a network passionate about its professional wrestling content, so this is icing on the cake and a perfect fit for our product. We are exactly where we wanted to be and couldn’t be happier.”
The inaugural episode on July 20 at 10 p.m. ET will feature Lio Rush vs. Tarik and “The Demon Assassin” Rosemary vs. “The Endorsement” Sebastian Suave.
For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit www.fightnetwork.com, follow us on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.

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