National E-Wrestling Day is typically a time of celebration, a time for the wrestlers, the promoters, and - most importantly - the fans to kick back and enjoy the wide variety of wrestling there is to enjoy on the virtual wrestling circuit. But if you ask the WEDF NXT Director of Operations, Joshua Bishop, there is an underlying sense of bragging rights, respect, and power to be earned at the illustrious event.
"Some of these guys got bills to pay and if it means they get a bigger bonus for winnin' on a holiday? They'll damn near kill a man if it means their families have food for the next three weeks. You can say it ain't like that on this side of the circuit, but I've seen enough to know that if you don't believe it, you're either a new guy or you're oblivious. George Washington rules the world and the only way those guys can have that power is if they get their hand raised. At the end of the day, a lotta guys ain't looking at the big picture. They're looking at the bottom line: winnin' and losin'."
Bishop's no-nonsense approach to business couldn't ring truer when he delivered the announcement for NXT's match for the Armbar Error Society's cross-promotional event. Just one day after NXT's first major event, we now know that the new NXT Champion will have his first title defense sooner than expected.
His opponent is a man whose schedule just got a lot heavier on top of his upcoming debut with the hard-hitting Cobblestone Combat Association.
At WEDF NXT: ARRIVAL, Sami Zayn & Malik Brown were hell bent on proving themselves. Both have been widely disregarded and viewed as perennial underdogs for nearly their entire careers, but one thing was clear on New Year's Eve: They could not be ignored. They could not be overlooked. They could not be ridiculed or mocked. In short, they were victorious.
Sami Zayn walks into 2016 as the best wrestler in the world. The NXT Championship is his validation. That same validation would only serve to benefit Malik Brown, a feisty challenger now on the hunt. There are many similarities between the competitors, but there's no question about the one major difference: Sami Zayn has what Malik Brown wants. There's no question that Malik Brown proved himself to be a contender with a hard-fought victory over Tyler Breeze. There's also no question that perhaps Malik Brown has drawn the short straw, facing a laser-focused & motivated Sami Zayn coming off a statement victory against Vin Taylor in the main event.
But Bishop knows this will be nothing new for either competitor.
"These are two guys who only know fightin'. Fightin's been their whole life. Fightin' for respect, fightin' to get their foot in the door, fightin' the world's perspective of 'em...That's all they know. And they know the fight don't end with one victory. They gotta get back to work to protect their keep. That's the beauty of it: puttin' two guys in the ring who been scratchin' and clawin' for everything they've ever had in their lives. Put a title belt in front of 'em and watch the fireworks. That's what the people wanna see. They wanna feel the glory of victory and the pain of loss at the same time. These are two of the best pure athletes in the world fightin' for a ticket to the promised land. I can't write it any better."
Join us on February 7th as the future of WEDF takes center stage at National E-Wrestling Day 4!