Ladies and Gentlemen: My name is Lexi Helms and I have an addiction…

This addiction is something that affects my daily habits, actions in situations and the world, drains my money, is a habit that started as a child and is something I cannot live without. Sometimes, it hangs in my wardrobe, influencing my style and sometimes causes random strangers to come and speak to me. Most recently, it has influenced my hair style and Christmas Tree decorations. My addiction can take me on the highest high and send me into a blubbering mess. It also frequents my laptop, phone, social media stream and my DVD collection - not to mention my TV. It’s something my mother hates, something I watch mainly with males and something my significant other actively encourages… Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Lexi Helms and my addiction is pro-wrestling [tell me you did NOT read that with Paul Hayman’s voice!].

I was two when this addiction started -my brother was watching it and I became hooked. I, to this day, cannot tell you why I liked it and for a while it was all I spoke about and wanted to play. Having two brothers who actively encouraged me to be Superfly Jimmy Snuka and jump off the sofa onto one of them only deepened my love for it. At one point I wanted to BE the Ultimate Warrior at the age of 3 [and yes, I cried when he was inducted into the HOF, cried when he died and yes, I cry at documentaries because I’m still not over it!] and was not ashamed to admit it to anyone that would listen. I have stuck with it for over 29 years. It is a sad fact to admit that in this world, it’s often rare to come across a female pro-wrestling fan. I didn’t get into it simply to look at males in skimpy outfits. Case and point: I once got into a very public argument with a girl over Randy Orton because she insisted his name was a good marketing ploy merely based on his good looks. This coming from a girl who hated wrestling before seeing Orton…

I have always loved WWF - until 1996… When, by coincidence, I stumbled across a little-known programme called “Nitro”. Back in the day, Cartoon Network changed to TNT at 9pm, and as a result, Nitro was shown on a Friday night. I was hooked - because I recognised Scott Hall. It was so different to what WWF was offering at the time, and with the absence of Sky Sports in the Sky Package, WCW gave me a guaranteed 2-hour wrestling fix on a Friday night. I remember watching WCW back on ITV in ’92 / 93, but 1996 WCW was different. At one point, on a family holiday to America, I my brothers and I traded rooms to catch the episodes of RAW for Nitro, briefly filling in the blanks during ad breaks. My desire to have wrestling in my life was so great that I used to listen to episodes of Livewire on the old Sky Sports 3 because you could still get sound from the channel, despite having no picture - much to my mother’s annoyance.

As a Teenager, wrestling was more accessible, and I had caught a few ECW matches here or there - but my confused brain both loved and hated ECW. Part of me loved it, because it was wrestling and especially because RVD blew my mind with what he could do. Part of me hated it, because I had a genuine fear for the safety of the performers in the company. Bear in mind, we were edging towards the tail end of the Attitude Era - Hardcore wrestling in WWF was much tamer than ECW and was the only “hardcore” wrestling I had seen up until this point. I remember only briefly watching ECW mainly because, finally, both mum and I agreed that it was TOO violent. Only now, with the benefit of hindsight, and with an adult mind (to fully understand who Jenna Jameson is, for example) can I fully appreciate ECW and the utter genius that is Paul Hayman. Despite Hayman’s’ brilliance, I must admit that parts of ECW and death matches in other promotions presently still make me uncomfortable – to me, that is not the wrestling that I love, but I understand their appeal.

By this point in my addiction (circa 1999), I had also stopped watching Nitro after the decision was made to end Goldbergs’ streak and fell in love with Smack Down!, After Burn and Bottom Line. This was more than enough for the wrestling fix I craved… Until the Invasion storyline. We had gone from a guaranteed 9 hours of wrestling a week (RAW, SmackDown! Nitro and Thunder) to just 4 hours of main shows. So, I again by sheer chance, I stumbled across the “Wrestling Channel” on Sky. This exposed me to the likes of AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Jushin Liger and Frankie Kazarian. Their work was good, and it was reassuring that I came across them in other promotions. During this time, my brother had pointed out that you could now purchase WWF attire over in this country, and, as a result, my brother and I proudly own a Shane O’Mac Baseball shirt - still my pride and joy to this day! From this, I quickly developed a collection of Wrestling-related t-shirts that I still wear to this day: including Stone Cold, The Rock, John Cena [bring on the hate eh?], Evolution, Batista [more heat for me!], Wade Barrett, Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles, Shinskue Nakamura, DIY, Shane McMahon, Moustache Mountain, Eddie Gurrereo and William Regal [to name but a few!].

Once the “Invasion” angle finished, wrestling fans were introduced to the “Brand Split”, which was fantastic. The idea that only the Champion would be on both shows was intriguing, making that person feel special and the split made you choose a brand and be loyal to it. I also loved the Raw and SmackDown! Sets respectively but favoured the SmackDown! Fist and, if truth be told, I long for its return. The storylines were engaging, and both shows pushed and developed young talent. I loved the Nitro element of SmackDown! With the Lucha Libre style and quick paced matches and the fact that RAW had the comforting reassurance of Triple H, Shawn Michaels and… Dare I say it…? Chris Benoit (granted he was on SmackDown! initially). All these only furthered my need for my fix of wrestling - I would pull the all-nighters to watch the PPVs, at the sacrifice of schooling and potential friendships if matches didn’t go the way I wanted to the next day. Then Wrestlemania 21 happened. It was no X7 but it was good enough, and it was clear that some of the old guard were slowing down and the new boys were taking over. It was a fresh start and paved the way for new storylines and rivalries to happen. This era of peace was not going to replicate the Monday Night Wars, but would come close, especially with the addition of the draft picks and Team RAW vs Team SmackDown! matches at Survivor Series.

Amongst all this, darker days came… Eddie Gurrereo passed away… then Chris Benoit. The feel of WWE changed, dramatically. But I still watched it. I still loved it. I still invested in it. The impact of the passing of these two greats (and no, I do NOT condone what Benoit did, but you cannot deny his talent pre-June 2007), made people more aware of the “violence” in pro-wrestling (living in America at the time, the news was full of reports on this tragedy, with most of the reports containing false allegations). Seemingly overnight the following happened: Chair shots? Gone. Blood? Vanished. Weapons? Not used. Target Demographic? Altered, and it was clear I wasn’t in it. Then I noticed TNA Wrestling. And Aces and Eights. This hooked me in again - THIS is what pro-wrestling should be… but then TNA started to make their mistakes and quickly lost my interest, as they had done before.

So, I went crawling back to WWE, and I am not sorry. Over 4 years ago, I subscribed to the Network I discovered NXT and my word, does the future look bright. NXT Blackpool in 2015 was one of the greatest sporting events I have ever attended - moments still make me giggle and smile several years later. NXT Liverpool in 2016 was also a brilliant show too, but Blackpool just pips it! Then, in December 2016 I got a voicemail telling me I was getting a bonus Christmas present, tickets to see UK Championship Tournament in Blackpool. That night in January 2017 an epiphany happened, and I fell in love with the UK Wrestling scene. I cried when Tyler Bate won the title. I cried when he lost it to Pete Dunne. I cried because Pete Dunne was the UK Champion. I cried when Moustache Mountain won the NXT Tag Team Titles and was bereft when they lost them. I am so excited by other British promotions, and NXT UK. I was at the Liverpool tapings for NXT UK in 2018 (front row, I might add!) and began 2019 with another trip to Blackpool for NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool and the aftermath tapings. Let me tell you, there is nothing like being part of thousands of people calling out Vince McMahon and getting him to respond. Only the UK Fans have the balls to do this with the confidence and pride that you heard at Blackpool and Cardiff. It was deafening at Blackpool and, although I wasn’t there, I have a feeling it was the same in Cardiff. My only hope is that the NXT UK Roster follows the same and to the point format of its American father, seemingly knowing who to push and who to develop, with engaging storylines and there is a huge sense of competition between talent the future of wrestling is brighter than ever.

One of the more refreshing aspects of NXT was their one hour shows, meaning you can go weeks without seeing a superstar, meaning I value their matches more. I’m still undecided if the 2-hour format works. I hope that the development of characters continues to be better than the main roster, seemingly because they’re not shoved down your throats. This environment reminds me of the fabled Attitude Era and how good it was. Because of NXT I have been exposed to the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Ricochet, Hedeo Itami, No Way Hose, Cien Almas, Finn Balor, Ember Moon, Alistair Black, Tomaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano… I could go on and list more. But, more importantly, because of NXT, I have gone on to seek out and watch the likes of ROH and NJPW to see the earlier work of the talent mentioned. So much so, I consider Wrestle Kingdom 11 to be one of the best PPVs’ I’ve ever witnessed! This newfound discovery has created dream scenarios’ where I see Kenny Omega signing to NXT. Because of NXT, I am excited to be a wrestling fan again. I cannot wait for Wednesdays to come around, so I can watch NXT, not to mention how excited I get for NXT: Takeovers and how jealous I was that I couldn’t see NXT at Download this year. My one criticism… If only creative could continue this work with the talents when they’re called up to the main rosters… Let me leave this here, Tyler Breeze, Nakamura and Alistair Black STILL deserve better.

We also have a changing wrestling scene with the addition of AEW. This offers yet another alternative to the WWE product. I can’t say I’ve watched it religiously (i.e stayed up late to catch it in ‘real time’), but I have watched Dynamite on a regular basis. Despite it being early days, I do see so much potential in the promotion – not just because of the likes of the Young Bucks (they’ll always be Generation Me!), Omega, Cody and Dustin. The product, overall, feels more authentic and revives the sense of ‘anything can happen’. Something that WWE programming has been lacking for a while now (NXT Excluded, of course!). Not to mention the commentary team. Whilst WWE has Mauro, Graves and McGuinness (some of the best around in my opinion), it is comforting to hear Tony Schiavone and JR’s voice on commentary. Another reason why I tune in. Call me nostalgic, but I adore the two of them on commentary, although I must also give credit to Excalibur too. The ‘Wednesday Night War’ is another reason why I am excited to be a wrestling fan again – maybe, just maybe, this is what WWE needs to change its stale ways. This is what can happen when you allow talent to be themselves – Jon Moxley, PAK, Jericho, Sean Spears have become exciting to see again, because you never know what can happen when they’re around. Be it Jericho trolling the fans by calling out their chants, PAKs mean streak or Jon Moxley talking directly down the camera. It makes AEW must see TV. Lets just hope this continues…

When I started this piece, I announced that Pro-Wrestling is my addiction. There is no escape from it, it simply is. I have used this piece to introduce myself to new websites that I write for to allow the depth of my addiction to shine through, especially as I know that others feel the same. We know that it is pre-determined and scripted. We know that people will tell us that its fake and will mock us for this admission. On a personal level, I know that people will dislike the fact that my main source of wrestling is WWE, and not independents’ like Progress, ROH or NJPW. I know that WWE make mistakes; If I had a quid (£1) for every time I’ve said “this is bull sh*t! I am Done with this!” I would be more than comfortable! I get why certain talents are pushed and others not. I understand that not every wrestling fan will see eye-to-eye on things like who is the greatest of all time? Who should be pushed now? Why aren’t such and such in the Hall of Fame yet? But this is one of the reasons why I adore the wrestling scene - not everyone agrees, but on that rare occasion when the stars align, and we see greatness (such as Eddie Gurrereo), our belief is suspended, and we unite as one, caught up in the moment, jaws slack, standing in awe. There are no words to describe the feeling of standing in a crowd of people, all sharing a passion and joy in what we’re seeing, chanting so loud it stops a match (American Alpha vs. Blake and Murphy at NXT Blackpool) or that it makes me lose my voice due to a throat infection that followed (I blame Finn and Nakamura at NXT Liverpool and AJ Styles winning the World Title in Manchester in 2017). It is these moments that fuels the addiction, makes me proud to admit that I adore professional wrestling; I crave more; my life is empty without it… and I hope this piece encourages others to admit their addiction too.