Shining Wizards

The Shining Wizards is a professional wrestling blog which features discussion of current wrestling shows and organizations, such as World Wrestling Entertainment, Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor, Beyond Wrestling, East Coast Wrestling Association, as well as discussion of the history of professional wrestling, including defunct organizations such as American Wrestling Association, World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling. The site differentiates itself from other wrestling websites by incorporating less of news reporting on the industry and more on providing insight, discussion, and thought on specific topics. The site also encourages outside participation of the discussions through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Their blog postings have been published by some of the biggest websites in the Internet Wrestling Community, including Wrestling Observer Figure 4 Online, 411mania.com, AngryMarks.com, and others.
History
The blog was first published on November 22, 2011, and introduced a discussion of Survivor Series 1987, the inaugural episode of the pay-per-view of the World Wrestling Federation, to commemorate the 24th Anniversary of the event. The page has fostered numerous discussions of wrestling of the present and the past, including the booking decisions for the characters John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Santino Marella, Zach Ryder, and others. The blog also questioned the booking of several recent events, including the decision of having Sheamus win the at Wrestlemania 28 in 18 seconds over then-champion Daniel Bryan.
Other topics included how a belt which represents a championship needs look important, how some wrestlers still struggle years later after becoming addicted to painkillers and illicit substances, and the travels of the average wrestling fan to independent shows around the country.
The blog has also become a forum for reviews of independent wrestling shows. Some featured organizations have included Beyond Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Syndicate, Ring of Honor, East Coast Professional Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, Extreme Reunion, and others.
Pro Wrestling Syndicate Supershow Controversy
On March 9, 2012, Pro Wrestling Syndicate hosted a supershow in Rahway, NJ. The event was the first promoted by the company with Pat Buck taking the reigns as head promoter. In promotion for the show, Pat appeared on an episode of the Shining Wizards Podcast and discussed his history and opinions on the business in depth. The Supershow was attended by the hosts of the Shining Wizards Podcast.
Tony and Matt both wrote reviews for the blog page. While both blog postings pointed out the negatives of the show, Matt's posting was considered especially harsh by Pat Buck. On his podcast, Two-and-a-Half Wrestlers, Pat along with co-hosts J-Silva and Kevin Matthews voiced their annoyance at the review posted by Matt. In response, Matt posted a reply in which he admitted his original review may have come across harshly.
The Shining Wizards Wrestling Podcast
On November 24, 2011, in conjunction with the blog, the Wizards launched a podcast called The Shining Wizards Wrestling Podcast. The show currently airs every Thursday on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, and on the blog page. As a supplement and continuation of the topics on the blog, the podcast also allows for weekly recaps of the world of professional wrestling. In addition, interviews with guests from within the wrestling industry are frequently broadcast, with past guests from the world of wrestling and entertainment including Nigel McGuinness, Justin Credible, Sam Roberts, Josh Daniels, Gabe Sapolsky, Rhett Titus, Jigsaw, Eddie Kingston, and Pat Buck.
Characters
The show is host to several characters in addition to the hosts:
*Otunga Bunga - An original creation of the Wizards, where the hosts tried to come up with a new character for wrestler David Otunga. He would be struck on the head backstage, lose his memory, and resort to a caveman character, complete with leopard print loincloth, club, and bowtie and collar.
*The Dingle Warrior - Host Matt Bowman's alter-ego, a Warrior-type character with facepaint similar to that of a mark left by excrement.
*Tickles - A professional wrestler who allegedly worked in World of Hurt Wrestling who was allegedly trained by Kevin Knight in the Independent Wrestling Federation and is of questionable sexuality.
*Satan - A recurring visitor who travels through the sewers and occasionally "pops up" to visit with Eddie and Tony. He tells his tales of involvement with the worst of wrestling. He also takes credit for celebrities' demises.
*Overweight Larry - A character who was involved with Satan's early radio career. He was the co-host of the "Wrestling Challengers," a show hosted by Satan that relied heavily on Satan's ability to 'see the future.' Larry suffers from diabetes and is prone to corpsing on the air.
Segments
While the show is free-form, there are a few recurring segments:
*Now You F***** Up - The opening segment of each episode, where the hosts correct mistakes made on previous episodes.
*Fireside Chats - Guests that do not make it to the studio are called on Skype and the hosts gather around one microphone. It makes the conversation more intimate, as if the guest was actually present. The name is derived from the famous fireside chats of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt from the Great Depression.
*Lists - The hosts frequently review wrestling lists, typically compiled by World Wrestling Entertainment. Matt brings and analyzes the lists, while Eddie and Tony "play along" with the audience in attempting to guess the entries.
*The Closing Number - The shows end with a wrestling related song. If a guest appeared on the show, the song is usually either associated with or chosen by the guest.
Call Time
Introduced as an accompanying show on May 21, 2012, Call Time is the concept of Tony Zatkos and is a frestyle supplement to the podcast. It provides the hosts with a short-form forum to discuss one or two important topics of the week. The show also permits the hosts individually or together to have more of a conversation instead of an interview with guests. Frequent contributor Daniel Lopez, an author of his own wrestling blog and a contributor to spinebuster.com, has appeared as a guest in the past.

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