AN INTERVIEW WITH A WRITER

In December 2013, I was contacted by reader of this blog and first time author Matt Tennant who was in the process of writing a book named ‘A Love Letter to the Mat: The Complete Story of Professional Wrestling on Pay-Per View Volume 1: 1985 – 1989’. Upon explaining the book to me and asking if I could include it in Review Corner upon completion. I was hesitant at first; having read so many inferior wrestling books in my time but relented eventually. Over the course of the last year I have been reading each chapter of the book as it became completed in order to bring it to you in a comprehensive Review Corner.

Spotting an opportunity to add something new to this blog, I hit upon the idea of interviewing said author about the book and his experiences in professional wrestling the result now sits in front of your very eyes. Matt Tennant was keen also; as it meant free publicity for the book which he is self publishing. I have to say before you scroll down to read, this interview turned out better than I could ever have hoped. More than just a topical look at wrestling today, it really gets to the heart of the author and actor who has many forthright opinions on everything he’s involved in and more.

This interview was conducted across a live email web chat, so read on to find out about one of the most anticipated wrestling books to hit the market in decades, Matt Tennant’s opinion on professional wrestling in the present day as well as his thoughts on television today and just how and why we got in a debate about Doctor Who and Tennant’s dream to one day step about the Tardis.

NOTE: because this blog is so long, it will be up for 2 weeks.

WG: Firstly, welcome to the blog. I think my readers would like to know what possessed you to contact me to review your first piece of work? After all, I have been criticized as having a very strong opinion even by my own readers.

MT: Of which I’m one. And thank you for having me, if you’d have told me when I began writing this book in 2013 that I would be doing interviews about it here and there I’d have laughed in your face and called the funny farm to come and take you away. What really urged me to contact you when I began this process were the reasons you mentioned above. Your strong opinion! Writers and indeed actors, which I also am even though nothing has taken off for me yet, are very insecure people. We either all want to be loved or know why we’re not by people who criticize us. As a long time reader of your blog I knew I’d get that from you. If you liked it then I knew others would trust your opinion and if you didn’t, I also knew that you’d give a reason why. I have contacted wrestling magazines for them to review it also but they want hundreds of pounds for advertising also which as a new writer I just don’t have. I am trying to save and raise the money for a month spread which will cost about £450 but it’s not guaranteed.

Did it annoy you that other books from other people get reviewed in wrestling magazines and in particular the wrestling magazine we’re not allowed to mention for legal reasons, but you couldn’t get yours into their pages?

Oh, immensely. But this is nothing new. I’ve written many scripts for television which I have been told are great, but because I’m a new writer I can’t get them commissioned. So I’ve encountered this type of prejudice before. Its water off a duck’s back now but it still grates on your nerves that when you pick up a wrestling magazine and see books by other people reviewed in there who haven’t paid for advertising when you’ve been personally told that you can’t get your own on their pages without paying money.  Also, I contacted other writers who have done the same thing as me in self-publishing wrestling books and whilst they originally said they would put the book on their site, when it came to it, they didn’t want the competition and went back on their word.

Why is that do you think?

It’s all to do with new writers and in the book I mention ‘New Writer Syndrome’ which I believe exists even though people you approach with your work completely deny it. Even though they can see you have talent which would get better with their help and input they’re adamant and they can’t find anything about your work to criticize, they still believe that new writers won’t be as good as known writers. Known writers who I don’t believe are coming up with the goods any longer. It’s immensely frustrating every time I see a new drama commissioned because I know that should be me up there, but because it seems no one in the industry has any balls to take a chance anymore it’s a continuous uphill battle to get there. 

One of the most ridiculous thing’s I’ve ever heard was from someone at the BBC who shall remain nameless. A few years ago I sent them a script which they liked, in fact I got nothing but positive comments for it but when it came time for them to make a decision the reason I got as to why the couldn’t commission me was that they didn’t give new writers their own series. I was told that a new writer isn’t going to be as good as the beginning of their career as they are in the middle, which I can totally understand but what I have trouble getting to grips with is that fact that they’re not willing to give you a chance to get better with experience writing for television so how are you meant to improve without that experience?

As a writer myself, I know the agony of trying to get something commissioned and getting palmed off with excuse after excuse. Have you tried any other avenues to get your work on television?

You name it, I’ve tried it. I did spend a long time, maybe too long trying to get someone at the BBC to see sense and I realize now that I wasted my time. All I got were pathetic excuses. I’ve sent numerous works to the BBC Writersroom which is a joke in itself. In fact I sent the same work to the Writersroom that others higher up than those who work there said was very good. It was amusing to see how little they actually knew when they told me it was all no good when others who know more than them said otherwise. I just think BBC Writersroom is a pointless endeavour. When you log on you get told that less than 1% of material sent to them will get commissioned so what’s the point? They don’t know what good drama is and they certainly don’t know how to do their job properly.

Other avenues I have perused were Amazon, which I’m currently writing a pilot to send to them and I sent numerous sample stories to Doctor Who books but they didn’t seem to like what I’d written so passed on me. The frustrating thing there is that I know what I sent them was good and though they are entitled to their opinion, they still rejected me on the premise that I wasn’t strong enough. I could except that if it wasn’t for the fact that I’ve read countless reviews of their stories in Sci-fi magazines where they have been slated for things I did better in a simple sample story. I think all these people have one script to work by when new writers come to them looking for help and their either too small minded to deviate from the script or too scared that what you have will actually be better than what they’ve done or currently got. No one likes to be proved wrong after all.

I’ve currently given up on sending material straight to channels because like I said they’re just full of crap. I got told by someone at BBC Wales couldn’t commission me because they didn’t like how I wrote a script. If they were as committed to helping new talent as they say they are then they should know that scripts are constantly rewritten and with their help it could have been made better. They’re just unwilling to help anyone but themselves. So upon guidance from others I’ve begun to send things to production companies, though that in itself like banging your head against a brick wall as some of these people used work for the channels. I’ve lost count with how many times my agent has been told that my material has been lost by these companies and could I re-send it. It’s just not good enough, its people’s lives they’re playing with here.

I couldn’t agree more. We’ll come back to that point later on, but now tell us about your book, ‘A Love Letter to the Mat: The Complete Story of Professional Wrestling on Pay-Per View Volume 1: 1985 – 1989’ and how it came about.

I have to admit, I don’t buy many wrestling books myself because they’re not the type of thing I want to read. I don’t think I’ve purchased a book on wrestling in years, though I have read a few good reviews about some of them which I thought I might buy but never got around to thanks to money being tight and all that. I know that my family have brought me WWE’s latest version of their encyclopaedia and the book celebrating 50 years of WWE because they were cheap and I thought they would be something to keep for prosperity even if they turn out to be complete rubbish. The real reason I don’t buy many books on the subject of wrestling is because they’re filled with either lies or kayfabe.

I first hit upon the idea of doing a book which was centred around pay-per view events five years ago when I was reading Power Slam magazine. They used to have a section in their pages called ‘The Complete History of Professional Wrestling on Pay-Per View’ and I loved reading it, but always found it too short. Because they only had a limited amount of space they couldn’t get in-depth with it so I correctly came to the conclusion that wouldn’t be a problem for someone writing a proper book on the subject. I always like to read things which I’ve lived through or at least seen countless times and just thought this subject was the perfect one for a first ever book.

Saying that, I never intended to write a book because I’m a script writer; it’s how I trained myself and it’s what I always wanted to be. But when I got the bee in my bonnet about this idea I had to act upon it and now I’m glad I did. As for you’re question about what it contains, it’s a book chronicling not just the events themselves because let’s face it anyone can look them up if they’ve got half and hour free, it’s also about the unknown stories from wrestling during that period, the feuds and occurrences from weekly television which hyped the matches we all know and love. So it’s more than just facts on something we think we already known about, there’s a deep history there to which many new and even long time wrestling fans won’t even be aware of.

Was there anything that surprised you when writing this book or anything that you wanted to put in but either didn’t have the room for or had to sacrifice?

Oh god, yes. I like to think of myself as a perfectionist and therefore in my mind, unless I’ve crammed every single detail into a project it isn’t complete for me. I did try and get literally everything in but if I had have done the book would have been about 2,000 pages long and it’s nearly half that as it is, so I absolutely did have to leave out some things. But saying that they were only little things which won’t make a difference to anyone and hopefully people won’t even know has been omitted. I tried so hard to source, research and include the important results from weekly television shows but for some such as the WCW and AWA episodes, there was some detail missing and nothing on the internet or in books to fill those gaps so I had to glaze over those otherwise I’d have been making them up and annoyed my target audience. For others, there was just too much. WWE used to run shows for local television networks and had shows like ‘WWF on MSG Network’, ‘WWF on NESN Network’, ‘WWF on PRISM Network’ and ‘WWF on Z Channel’ and whilst I could have put them in, all they were, were results. I wanted to go deeper than that and put in things that actually happened so there was a bit of prioritizing as to what went in and what got left out.

As for being surprised by anything whilst writing, I though, like every long time fan with an ego out there and not all of us have, that I knew almost everything there was to know about wrestling and I mention this in the afterword of the book. I was wrong. I found out some facts, be they small or large, that I never knew existed and that quite surprised me. But they weren’t facts about big matches or events, rather about the smaller happenings. For example, I had no idea that Greg Valentine and Don Muraco had a feud going heading into an event they never clashed on. It was just tiny things like that and in fact writing this book has helped me add to the already overwhelming knowledge I had in the first place.

I also learnt that I’m capable of being quite sentimental. I don’t cry very often, in fact I haven’t cried in nearly ten years. Even when my grandfather passed away I didn’t cry because he wouldn’t have wanted me to, he was a very open man with his feelings and he always told me that crying is fine if you want get out those frustrations but it won’t bring anyone back and he was right. You could cry over someone for fifty years but in the end you’ve just wasted your life on something that can’t make a difference. Instead of crying and showing emotion in that sense I write. Everything I feel goes onto the page and it was the same with this book. The ‘In Memory’ section really choked me up because I was writing about those heroes we’d lost and some of the circumstances in which they passed away in were truly terrible. Another chapter that really got to me was writing about my grandfather, I struggled to fight back the tears when sitting down to recount my introduction to professional wrestling

I think we should mention your grandfather. The book is dedicated to him and the ‘Introduction’ centres around him introducing you to the business when you were a child. It’s a touching opening to what is a very entertaining, poignant and stark book.

Well thank you very much! He was a wonderful man and I miss him very much. Like you say and this is all in the introduction to the book, he was responsible for getting me into the wrestling business. I won’t recount the tale fully now because I know you have other questions, but the bare bones of the story is that when I was three he was babysitting me and brought home a video of WCW’s Chi-Town Rumble. Where he got it from I’ll never know because WCW pay-per view wasn’t on any channel we could get in the UK, so I assume he got it from a friend. My grandfather loved Ric Flair and on this particular occasion I remember him forwarding the VHS tape to the main event which saw Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat and that was it for me. The first ever wrestling match I ever saw and I was hooked. Have been for twenty five years.

It was only right to dedicate the book to him. He educated me throughout the years on the business, brought me the tapes, the figures the shirts when they were available. Without him, I may not even know what wrestling is and to think of never having it in my life is just a step too far, because others weren’t keen for me get into it. But hey, it paid off in the end and it wouldn’t have been possible without him.

The book has a very long title. Have there been any mix-up’s with the name of the book?

You mean the ‘A Love Letter to the Mat’ part?

Yes.

Numerous! When I first approached publishers with the idea for the book, all of them thought the ‘Mat’ refereed to me. So in essence they thought I was writing a love letter to myself which is just ridiculous when the synopsis clearly stated that the book was about wrestling on pay-per view. But I guess people just don’t listen or read things properly. It’s a good excuse for them not to take something by simply saying that they didn’t understand it. Though if they can’t understand a one paragraph synopsis then they may be in the wrong job.

For anyone still confused, I think we should clarify that ‘A Love Letter to the Mat’ certainly doesn’t refer to you, but the canvas on which wrestlers fight.

It’s been such a huge part of my life that I wanted to do something to show that, and I think I have done. I’m not saying it’s a great or flawless piece of work but it’s certainly something I’m very proud of.

As you should be, it’s certainly one of the finest tome’s I’ve read in many years. Moving on, was there anything about the book or the process of writing it that you didn’t enjoy?

I think with anything you do there’s going to be a certain amount you just grit your teeth and get through because you’re not keen, but I wouldn’t say there was anything I absolutely hated about it. I certainly found the revision the hardest part because it was just hours of every day sifting through results and title changes and dates and old footage. When you just want to sit and write that’s a painful process which is why I prefer scripts. No revision needed. But looking at the finished article, it was all worth it in the end. Even if it doesn’t sell very well I still have a piece of work that I can be proud of.

I first heard about this book in December 2013. We’re sitting here now in 2015, almost one year and three months after you first told me about the project. Why has it taken so long?

How long have you got? Initially, I’d finished several of the WWF section by Christmas 2013 and thought I could forget about them and move on which I did for ages. But as worked through the book, the events gradually got more and more detailed and I realized that by the time I got to the end of the book with the WCW events, which I wrote separately instead of writing them in order though fans shouldn’t worry they do all appear in chronological order in the book, I found those events were more detailed than the WWF ones. So I went back and literally re-wrote what turned out to be nearly 600 pages of the book with more detail. And that is what I mean by being a perfectionist. If I wasn’t, I’d have sent the book out as it was, but for me it didn’t represent value for money, now it does.

I wanted this book out for Christmas 2014, which was the goal. But with the re-writes and everything else that wasn’t possible. In fact I had only finished writing the book one week before Christmas 2014. That’s how close to the deadline I came. And I wanted to get it finished before Christmas because I’d been writing for a year without a break and I really wanted to get back to the scripts.

There were also issues with artists. I think I found about three who all messed me about and did some drawings for the book and then stopped contacting me because it was too much trouble and too much work. I found the majority of them on Deviant Art and whilst they said they wanted commissions they weren’t willing to put in the hours or the work. And then I literally struck gold. So I would just like to take this moment to mention the wonderful Josh Wright, who stepped into what was a very big breach with some demanding work needed to get this book up to scratch and did it impeccably.

Upon your request, let’s talk a little about your artist. Josh’s drawings are perfect for this type of book. How did you find him, was your business relationship smooth and did he have any problems with the work needed?

After I was messed about by other artists, including paying a fee to join to Freelancer.com where I found my first artists who dropped out without any warning and never answered me back, I was browsing Deviant Art for someone else. I didn’t find Josh straight away, which I wish I had because it would have saved a lot of hassle, and instead went with the first person I could find in someone else. The guy did a drawing, it wasn’t particularly good but I was in a rush and then I sent him a detailed description on what I’d need for the rest of the book and he fobbed me off by saying he’d contact me after finishing an ongoing project and never contacted me again. I waited about two months for him before being forced to move on.

So I went back to Deviant Art and there was Josh. If anyone reading this has seen his art on his page then you’ll know how good he is and if you haven’t then you must take a look at his work at www.mitchatt.deviantart.com. I was very lucky to find him and I mean that. His style was so unique that I knew he was the guy to take over this project and fortunately for me he was asking for commissions. I emailed Josh with what I needed and he didn’t panic. He drew me up a rough sketch of ‘The Wrestling Classic’, it was brilliant as all of his pictures have been for this book and I paid him for that one picture. The transaction went smoothly and it’s been a harmonious business relationship ever since. So if he’s reading this interview, then Josh, you have my eternal thanks. And should there be a volume two I will use him again.

Being messed about by other is really why the book took so long. I did want it out for Christmas 2014 as I said but by the time I’d dealt with unprofessional artists and found Josh that was never going to be a reality as much as we all hoped it would be. Saying that, I was perfectly happy to wait for Josh’s creations and think that by doing so I have a better end product than I would have had I had him rush the illustrations. So it’s all worked out well in the end.

There is a lot of truth running throughout this book. Why did you decide to go down that avenue instead of following the herd?

I’ve never followed the herd. I think to do what everyone else is doing is a terrible thing. It means you’re not being yourself and just living life one particular way because that is how others think it should be lived. That’s rubbish. Life is what you make of it and if you want to do something that isn’t cool then do it. If you’re in a group of three or one hundred people and everyone but you wants to go bungee jumping, that doesn’t mean you have to do it. Be your own person, because life is tragically short even if you live to be 100 years old. That is why I didn’t follow the herd, if I had have done then this book would have been faceless and similar to everything else out there. I don’t want that.

I set out to create a book that was truthful regardless of whom it may upset and it will upset a lot of people within the wrestling industry. I don’t think I pull any punches in the pages. Yes, the matches are described as real events because they were, they actually happened but if something I didn’t agree with occurred within them then I continually break the kayfabe of storytelling to point it out. In the end, people will either love it or hate it. And if they hate it then maybe the truth isn’t for them and they’re not as secure as they though they were.

I agree, and I also believe that you will gain the respect of a lot of wrestling fans for the truth you have told. You’ve decided to self-publish this book, why?

It was simple in the end; no publisher would take it because unless it’s written by a known writer who has proven himself by writing for magazines for years then it’s seen as a taboo subject. The amount of excuses I got citing wrestling not being a popular enough subject in 2014 was amazing. Even when I tried to explain it was a billion dollar industry it was as if they were dismissing that fact and laughing at me. In the end, it was obvious these people who thought they were something they clearly weren’t knew nothing about how to do their jobs and by the time I’d received the rejections I’d already written too much to just axe it. I did receive an offer from a vanity publisher, who charge you to publish your book but they wanted like £4,000 and that is something I just don’t have.

I could have spent another six months to a year trying to find a publisher for it but as I’m classed a new writer and considering how people view wrestling still in 2014, there was no guarantee anyone would pick it up. I didn’t want to spend so long on the book for it to just sit on a computer for ages so I looked into self-publishing and it was a cost effective way of getting the book out there. With self publishing, everything falls onto you and if you’re writing a novel then all you really have to pay out for is the cover and the subscription to the website you self publish through which is less than £20 a month. I paid a little more for the illustrations, but as I said that was worth it. The hardest part of self publishing a book is getting out there to people. The plan I took does come with a little help in that it lists the book on Amazon so people can get it there and it will be available on the shelves in a number of the smaller bookshops both here in the UK and in America, but if you can’t find those shops then you’re going to have to buy it from the website (completleynovel.com) or you may be able to order it through Waterstones or WH Smith who we’re trying hard to get to stock it also.

Moving on from your book for a second, let’s talk about the current product being offered to wrestling fans worldwide. What’s your opinion of it and what if anything don’t you like about wrestling today?

I think there’s so much to hate and so much to like at the same time. I didn’t watch TNA for years because I’d constantly read that it was rubbish so I had better things to do with my time anyway. But I’ve started to watch it in the last year or so and it’s all over the place. I don’t think the management really has a clue what they’re doing anymore and are just grateful to have a product on television. Though saying that, I am a huge fan of the one legged wrestler they have who’s name slips my mind at the moment. TNA are missing a trick there. If they were to build the company around younger stars like him instead of ex WWE stars then it would be a much more refreshing product to watch. The aforementioned ex soldier with one leg could help put TNA on another level; you can’t see WWE doing that type of thing without trying to ridicule the star in question.

And WWE?

It’s the company I watch most simply because it’s the one I grew up with. I love WWE with all my heart, even through the bad times and there have been many. Don’t get me wrong, I’m never in full support of everything they do and I’m the first to jump on their backs when something goes awry but it’s still a magical thing to watch even though I’m nearly 30. There’s something about it that brings back your childhood every week and we don’t get enough of that. Though I will point out their consistency is terrible as is their star making ability. They have so many young and capable athletes on their roster today that making use of hardly any of them is a crime.

I don’t think that WWE will truly be able please everyone ever again, not how it used to and certainly not how it did through the years my book covers. But then times change and people change with them. Like yourself, I want WWE to be better than it currently is but I think that whilst Vince McMahon is in charge nothing will truly change because he’s set in his ways. As far as he’s concerned his way is the right way and that is the end of it. Maybe it’s just a case of riding out the era we’re in because there has to be something better on the horizon. Though saying all of that, it’s not a terrible product by any means and there is an awful lot to still like about it. For long time fans, it’s always going to be the greatest regardless of what anyone else says.

Is there anyone you particularly like in WWE at the moment, more than others?

Daniel Bryan is a breath of fresh air, Randy Orton still has that factor and even John Cena has gotten better over the last year or so but right now it looks like WWE are going with the youth movement and it’s about time. To answer your question, I think every other hot blooded male would agree with me that Paige is the hottest woman in wrestling right now. I’ve fallen in love with her a little bit, but what are the chances of anything remotely romantic happening? I think she has a bright future ahead of her.

If we could just break away from professional wrestling for a moment, I’d like to talk about the struggles of being a writer. Now, everyone I’ve talked to who hasn’t attempted it and indeed some people who read this blog may not think that it’s that difficult to do. Could you give us your thoughts on the industry and do you think you’ll ever get a television programme commissioned?

Firstly, it’s the hardest job in history. I’ve heard teachers say that their job is tough but I have worked in a school and it was a doddle compared to being a writer. You go through so much rejection and frustration that I can see why seventy percent of aspiring wordsmiths give up. There are times, when you’ve worked yourself to near mental exhaustion and you see other, less deserving people getting all the breaks that you feel like giving up and doing something else. Whilst I appreciate you can’t keep doing the same thing whilst getting the same result, if you really love writing and it is something you have to love with a passion, then you’ll continue. Because you can’t fail forever! It’s part of the reason why I created this book. To show those small minded people who don’t think new writers can do this job as good as or better than known writers, that they’re dead wrong.

Now, let’s not make people think this is something to get into on a whim or just because you have one good idea. It’s not. If you’re resolute, willing to sacrifice and go without then this isn’t a business for you. When I began writing, I was told that it was so difficult to get anywhere in this industry because of the opposition you face. I never thought in my wildest dreams that it would be this hard. I have starved, gone days without a proper meal because I had no money, just to carry on doing what I love. I can’t do something that I find boring; a normal job isn’t for me. But I have fought for ten years to do something that I love and I do believe that sooner or later I will get what I deserve. I know I’m good enough and right now I’m working to make what I had before even better. People can’t keep saying no.

They make it so hard to make a living or live your dream in this business. Even sending a script to production companies is a lengthily process. You’re told that you’re only meant to send your work to one company at a time but it could take up to four months for those people to reach a decision. Well, that means if it’s a continuous ‘no’ then you could spend 20 years of your life just sending it to half of the companies out there. It’s wrong and it should be changed. BBC has an initiative for new singers and musicians to come through and live their dreams they should be doing the same for actors and writers. Like I say, their Writersroom doesn’t work only for the very slim majority which makes it pointless. They have a course you can apply to go on where you’re tutored by the very same man who turned me down because he said they couldn’t give new writers their own television series, but to get onto that you have to send them your work to be evaluated and then they choose only a handful of writers to go forward onto this course if they think you have talent. If they’re so closed minded and don’t know what they’re doing which they clearly don’t, then you’re not going to be chosen because someone who has just come out of university and thinks they know everything about what a good script is doesn’t like your work because they couldn’t do it themselves. If you get onto the course, then you could spend years writing for Eastenders or Doctors before getting your own series.

BBC are trying to get people to write the way the corporation wants and likes, without letting them have the freedom to explore their own talent. It’s not right. Unless you’re Jimmy McGovern, Kay Mellor, Steve Mofatt or Mark Gatiss then the BBC don’t seem to want to know.

What are you thoughts on the current state of British and American television today?

America have some excellent programmes, I don’t think they’re television scene is in a bad a state as ours is in Britain at the moment. The difference between America and Britain is that whilst its equally hard to get commissioned in both countries, America have the sense to know when something isn’t working and fix it before it become a problem. We don’t have that in Britain. There are countless programmes on British television which should never have been commissioned. Awful programmes like ‘The Only Way is Essex’, ‘Geordie and Jersey Shore’ or ‘Made in Chelsea’ which glamorize stupid and vein people and make young girls idolize this airheads who are at least 50% plastic thanks to all the surgery they’ve had. They’re not role models and they certainly don’t deserve their celebrity status. They’ve not worked as hard as someone like me or you or the majority of other people struggling to get into the business in order to make something of their lives. It makes me so angry that people like that are getting the breaks that people who deserve it more aren’t getting.

I think Britain has really dumbed down its intellectual viewing level in recent years. I don’t know who watches crap like ‘Gogglebox’ but I have seen nothing more fake or infuriating in my entire life. I don’t watch it but have seen adverts with it in. Some little obese woman sitting on her sofa with her family and pretending to throw a tantrum when something doesn’t happen in a drama that she wants; I’m afraid if you think that is what people do when they watch television without a camera pointed in their face you’re sadly wrong. The exaggerated expression those morons pull when watching something make me want to punch them. It’s done for television purposes only. They wouldn’t do it if the brainless weren’t watching them.

Something else that gets on my nerves is those documentaries or dramas which spotlight killers or the worst people in humanity. People who kill children or people who ruin innocent lived with rape or mass murder something horrendous like that. Isn’t it enough that it happened? Why do you have to make programmes glorifying these monsters? You’re giving them what they want.

As far as drama and comedy go, it’s nothing special. Adaptations are usually the worst. That shouts to me that channels have nothing original or new to put on because they haven’t gotten the balls to take a chance on new talent. There’s no good reason for it either. The majority of things on British television are mindless crap. They don’t make people think and they don’t keep people entertained. Worse, I’ve heard people slam murder mystery that actually makes you use your brain. It’s just another example of how we’ve become lazy and undemanding as a nation, it’s time that changed and I aim to change it with my writing. All my scripts require some degree of thought to solve fictional murders or mysteries. Even my comedies have some type of thought process required. We should be demanding more stuff like that, rather than sit back and allow these channels to peddle out crap which we have to pay a television license to see. I rarely watch BBC these days apart from for Match of the Day and Doctor Who.

Speaking of Doctor Who, I believe you’re a massive fan? Personally, I think it has gone so far downhill that it’s impossible to retrieve to the throne it used to occupy.

To a degree, you may be correct. As a fan of Doctor Who I will always watch it, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it always. I’m a lifetime WWE fan but I don’t always like it. Doctor Who is difficult to lump into any one category because one week it can thrilling and the next it can be rubbish. I believe it has a lot to do with BBC being resistant to new talent yet again. You have to consider that Doctor Who is written by a group of known writers, some of which have run out of good ideas which means we get awful episodes written by known writers when new writers could clearly have done a better job given the chance. It’s the same with the range of books as well.

I fell out with Doctor Who after Matt Smith left for no other reason than I felt it was wholly nepotistic. My agent requested an audition for me, for the 12th Doctor but I never got the chance to go and try to live my dream because as far as I understand only Pete Capaldi got an audition. They’d already made their mind up before opening up auditions to other people. Even if they had been that closed minded they could have at least held auditions to see what new talent was out there. They may have found someone better than Peter Capaldi, they’ll never know now. I was really annoyed by that fact and it turned me against the series for about six months. But I watched the new series, I wasn’t bowled over but I wasn’t completely disappointed either, except by the finale which was a let-down.

I don’t think you can completely say its rubbish because it does have its moments, but I would agree as a far it not being as good as it once was. New blood is needed, without a doubt, but unless the writers and BBC start to open up their eyes and see where they’re going wrong then it’s doubtful that will happen.

On the subject of Doctor Who, I believe your other ambition apart from to be a writer and actor is to be The Doctor himself? It’s something you certainly mention in ‘About the Author’ in your book.

Apart from having and starring in my own series, Doctor Who is the dream. In fact, it was the first ambition I had except being a professional wrestling. Which of course never happened! I didn’t want to write until I was much older, but to be The Doctor was always the biggest goal ever since seeing Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant do the job. I was trained as an actor first and foremost so I know what I’m doing though I haven’t done it for ages because I concentrated on my writing career, and I actually went off of the idea of being The Doctor until 2005 when the series returned. It was the latter two names who really inspired me to get back into the game as it were.

One day, I do dream of being The Doctor and standing in that Tardis. It’s not an impossible task even if it may seem one at the moment. One day it’ll be there on your television screen ‘Matt Tennant as The Doctor’.

You mentioned wanting to be a professional wrestler. Did you ever seriously entertain a career in the industry?

Believe it or not, I did. When I was in school, apart from wanting to be Doctor Who it was my big goal. I was adamant that I would do anything I could to be one of the two but it just never worked out. Something always seemed to get in the way. I did come very close to a career as a professional wrestler on one occasion when a former school friend of mine told me that he and his brother were going to have lessons and be trained and asked if I wanted to come. I would have loved to have gone, if for nothing else than the experience but it cost and we weren’t a rich family. Still aren’t. So I couldn’t go. Schools don’t teach professional wrestling in their sports curriculum and I think they should. Once again it’s people who don’t really know about the industry, who have one preconceived idea, about what it is that don’t understand that teenagers actually want to do this as a job. If they gave lessons in training later in your school run, from fifteen onwards then it would help people in all areas of their life, including to get and maintain fitness.

There was a point that I thought I might just borrow the money from someone and go these lessons but then my friend dropped out because it was too hard and I didn’t want to be there with people I didn’t know, so I didn’t bother. It’s actually a regret I have. Had I done so, how far I’d have gotten is another story. I have a high pain tolerance so it wouldn’t have been that which sunk me, but I don’t have a six pack and pecks and writing this book I have put on weight. I don’t look like the traditional professional wrestler so if by some stoke of luck I had have made it to WWE then the problem wouldn’t have been my fitness or skill level because I’d have put everything into it I could have, but it would have been the people and the faux authority they have over new talent.

I’m really not sure if I could have turned a blind eye to the politics backstage or serve under someone who thinks they know what the public want when it’s obvious they want something else. Being underused if I had the talent would be another problem. I’m not someone to hold my tongue when injustice is apparent so I’d have probably been fired for insubordination by now anyway.

Would you ever consider returning to wrestling as a career option, even if it was just one time to fulfil the dream?

I’d never rule it out. If I was cast in a drama about wrestling then I’d pay or at least have the programme pay for proper wrestling training so I could carry off the part effectively. But actually getting into the ring professionally, even just once would take something special to make me do it now. I have a dormant fracture in my ankle which flares up if I do too much physical activity and I’d need to drop several stone in weight which I’ve put on since writing this book, which I do intend to start doing now I’ve finished, and spend six months in the gym just to get into shape. It seems barely worth it for one match.

Saying that, I never say never about anything in life. You live once, so if I became a major name in Hollywood in the next fifteen years which could happen if my pilot were to take off and WWE invited me to have one match at WrestleMania as they do with celebrities sometimes then I’d never be able to live with myself if I turned it down. Of course I’d say yes, what self respecting fan wouldn’t? I can’t see that happening, but you never know.

You’re a long time wrestling fan of at least two decades. With that in mind, a simple question for you now. Hulkamaniac, Warrior or Madness Member?

Easiest question I’ve been asked so far, Madness Member. Even as a child I could spot a bad wrestler, it was the way my grandfather brought me up in the business and I mention it in the book. I would just like to add that did have parents, it wasn’t just my grandfather. But my father was a useless prick and it was the best day of my life when he left and my wonderful mother is the nicest person you could ever meet but wasn’t keen on me getting into wrestling. So wrestling for me and my grandfather, something we could enjoy and bond over together. Though my mum has sat through countless hours of wrestling over the years both when I was a child and now I’m an adult.

Back to the point, Randy Savage was always better than The Ultimate Warrior or Hulk Hogan for me. And not just as a wrestler. His personality stood out and even when he was a heel there was a certain something about him. So, Madness Member was my designation and always will be.

Now we’re coming to the end of this revealing and frank interview, I’d like to ask you about what you’d pass on to someone about being a writer. If someone came to you now or when you finally make it and told you they had a computer, an idea and a will to succeed what would you say to them?

All the very best of luck!

That simple?

I think that’s all there is to say. I’ve said enough about how hard it is to break into the industry. For me to do so I’ve had to starve, sacrifice and finally make my own way when others weren’t willing to help. I wouldn’t want others to go through that but they will and it’s a worthy journey if you can whether all the bad there is before the good. I haven’t even gotten there yet but I know the good is coming and it will taste even better when I arrive at that destination. I know the struggles new writers are going through right now, some won’t make it even though they have excellent ideas and that’s a shame. But I wouldn’t want to go back to the beginning knowing there was an eleven year struggle ahead of me. It’s hard enough moving on now, after publishing my own book. I don’t envy them at all.

With all that said, are there any plans for a Volume 2?

Yes and no. You have to understand that this volume cost me a lot of money to produce and a lot of time to write which means I have to see some reward for it first. I’d be stupid to begin work on a second volume before this one has gone on sale. Even real publishers don’t ask for a second book until some sales figures have been produced, so I’ll have to wait and see. At the moment, I’d love to do number two and am even thinking about it as we speak, but for it to happen this would have to sell extraordinarily well. I have a figure in mind which would have to be reached for number 2 to come about, but because this is self published then I’m not sure it will reach that number.

However, if people buy this book because of this blog, or because of word of mouth which I’ll be relying on so tell your friends or anyone you know who loves wrestling then absolutely I’ll do another one. You never know, now this is out, if it sells well we may even get a publisher to pick up any future volumes. I’d love to do the whole set, right up until the present day but like I say, people have to buy it first to show me there’s a want for another volume.

Finally, now you’ve completed volume one and its ready for public consumption, what’s next for you as a writer and actor?

It’s back to what I know and love which is writing scripts. I have seven great scripts to touch up and make better which I’ll then send to production companies in the hope they can see the potential in them. Out of seven chances, one has to get taken sooner or later. I apply for acting jobs regularly and even had success in a film that was meant to happen in September 2014 but because of budgets it kept getting put back and back until it didn’t happen at all so that was a shame. Really, I just want some success. I think after all the hard work I deserve at least a little. I also have several ideas for novels which I may look at sending to publishers in 2015.

There are many things I’d like to do. I’d like to think that even though ‘A Love Letter to the Mat’ isn’t a novel, it’s enough to get me invited to write a Doctor Who book or even short story for their eBook range. But it’s not likely. First and foremost though it’s the television scripts; they’re my main priority. After that it could be an open book if this project sells well. That’s the one great thing about being a new writer; you just never know what’s around the corner.

‘A Love Letter to the Mat: The Complete Story of Professional Wrestling on Pay-Per View – Volume 1: 1985 – 1989’ will be available to buy from June 2015 and pre-order from May 2015. You can pick up your copy of the most anticipated wrestling book in many years from Completleynovel.com or Amazon. I will mention in the Review Corner to come whether you can order this from bookstores.

Onwards and upwards…