The 5 News Week: An Interview With ROH's Eli Isom, Fans Singing Petitions For Charlotte Flair Not Winning Titles Anymore!?

Hello, my fellow wrestling fans and welcome to the 5 news week. The post where I report 5 major or minor news of the week that I don't have time to do it separately. Without further ado, here are the 5 news week.

An Interview With ROH's Eli Isom. 

Yes. After several and several and several of The 5 News Week articles that I've been putting out since late 2018, I finally got an interview for you guys. 

The person in question is Ring Of Honour's Eli Isom. Since graduating from the ROH Dojo, Isom has worked and learned from the absolute best in the industry: 

"I’m lucky that I got a chance to train from scratch with ROH, without that kind of training who knows where I’d be right now."

So, without further ado, here is the conversation I had with Eli. 

Omar: My first question is, how would you describe the persona of "Eli Isom" to resident WWE shills like myself?

Eli Isom: For me, my wrestling persona isn’t too far off from who I really am. A hard-working, small-town kid from the Midwest whose trying to do right by his late mother. 

I feel like the lines are blurred between what’s real and what isn’t so much so in today’s wrestling, that if people can relate to the real me more so than an over the top persona then I’m happy to showcase the real me for the fans.

View this post on Instagram

Been through a lot to get to where I am now, and the journey is only just beginning. As long as my mom is watching over me though I know I’ll be just fine ❤️🦋 #BeGreat #ROHDojo #WatchROH

A post shared by Eli Isom (@elieyesum) on Dec 11, 2018 at 1:44pm PST

Omar: While researching you, I saw the video on your Instagram about your late mother's support made you the wrestler today and that's really inspiring. My sincere condolences.

Eli: Thank you, it’s much appreciated. Without my mom, I would have never look-a-liking to wrestling as much as I did. 

She encouraged me to believe I could do anything I wanted to do, and I hope that so far she’d be proud of what I’ve accomplished.

via Eli Isom's Instagram

Omar: Speaking of your wrestling career, you have something in your resume that not every wrestler has and that's graduating from the ROH dojo.

Tell me how the process went, the sacrifices you've made to get to Philly, making friends along the way?

Eli: So in 2016 I knew I wanted to get into wrestling but had no clue how to start. Being from a small town in Indiana there are not many options around me for wrestling. 

Then one day I was watching a WhatCulture video that had Jay Lethal, and he was talking about how ROH had a dojo in near Philly in Bristol, PA. 




I immediately went to go check to see if it was true and thank god that it was. I started saving my money after I found out and left pretty much everything behind in January of 2017 to start training. 

At this point, it was a month removed from my mom's funeral so this was the most difficult time of my life by far. 

Thankfully the trainers at the dojo (Will Ferrara, Cheeseburger, and Delirious) welcomed me and made me feel at home even though they had no idea what I was going through.

Omar: One of the first matches I saw from you was the match against Cheeseburger and it is my favourite match of yours.

via Eli Isom's Instagram

Eli: That match was fun! It’s the only match we’ve had against each other in front of an audience, so that is actually one of my favourites too. 

Cheeseburger is awesome and I’m very fortunate I’ve gotten the chance to learn from him. 

Don’t judge him by how he looks. He’s a great wrestler/teacher and one of my closest friends. I’d do anything for burger.

Omar: Based on some of the matches I've seen from Chesseburger, the fans like him a lot so wrestling a fan favourite has to be the coolest thing.

Eli: It’s cool and it’s also a little difficult. I’m still trying to get to that status, so when I’m wrestling guys like burger, I have to make sure that everything I do is on point and that the fans are invested in what I’m doing. 

Otherwise, they’ll either tune out or eat me alive. I love that pressure though, it’s definitely made me a better wrestler. 

Omar: Of course. In any field of work, at some point, you do get some pressure in order to get better at your craft.

Eli: For sure, and with the talent that ROH has the pressure is always there and it’s very high. We have so many talented and respected wrestlers on our roster, and the fact that I get to say that I’m a part of it is really something special.

Omar: You, Chesseburger and Ryan Nova formed a team at some point called "Shinobi Shadow Squad" or Team 3S.

Who came up with the name and are you an anime fan of some sort given that I associate the word "Shinobi" with Naruto?




Eli: The forming of the group was burgers idea and we all pretty much came up with the name together. 

We had all watched Naruto recently and it was fresh in our heads, so it definitely helped influence us for the name and the look of the group.

(Shinobi is another word for ninja)

Omar: So, let me ask you this, did you like the ending of Naruto? 

Eli: I hated the war arc! I wish so many things happened differently lol.

via Deviant Art user nagatofan1000

Omar: Me too man. Should've been the pain arc then Naruto confronts with Sasuke for the final battle then the ending ya know?

Eli: Agreed, it should have ended after pain. After that, it became so convoluted for no reason.

Omar: The entire arc from Naruto till Shippuden was Naruto not being noticed or taken seriously until he defeated Pain and saved the hidden leaf village and people finally appreciated the man.

If you think about it, that's a great babyface story. 

Eli: Great babyface story and honestly a simple one to tell. Unfortunately, they felt like they had to keep it going.

Omar: Agreed. Anyways, you've worked with some veterans in the business, most recently with Bully Ray. 

What is it like to work with veterans and what specific advice you took from them that stands out?



Eli: It can be a little nerve-racking. You grow up watching these guys and now you have the chance to work with them. It’s a crazy and very cool situation to be in. 

The two things I’ve noticed that almost every veteran says is to not be nervous, and to make everything you do count. It’s very simple advice but it’s helped me so much so far.

Omar: I mean, nervousness is fine. I get nervous whenever I produce a project and show it to my employers.

As a graduate from the Dojo, did they ever give you a match to watch in order to get something out of it? Is it an ROH match or not?

Eli: I think nervousness is good because it means you care, but you don’t want it to overtake you to where it might affect your work. 

As far as match suggestions I’ve been given a wide variety to study whether it’s a match from CMLL, NJPW, ROH, random Indie shows etc. 

I’ve always been told it’s good to watch different versions and styles of wrestling so if you ever wrestle someone with a different style you’ll know what to do.

Omar: That is a great school and environment to learn from.

You have dabbled on singles wrestling and tag team wrestling? What are some your favourite ones to be in?

Eli: I’ve probably been in more tag matches so far in my career in ROH so anytime I get a singles match I always get pretty excited for it. 

Gives me a chance to show I am capable of wrestling ROH quality talent by myself. 

Omar: And you are a capable man.

One final question is, what is the main advice you want to give to a guy thinking of pursuing the business as a wrestler (maybe some financial ones lmao)?

Eli: I’d say don’t be afraid to take a chance on yourself. 

If you really want it don’t let yourself stop you from doing it, because at the end of the day you can only control what you do. 

It’s not easy, but very few things in life are, so work hard, be humble, and be smart with your money. That would be my advice. 

Omar: I was asking especially the financial ones because I read stories of performers on the road and the gas, hotel, food money must be a struggle. 

Eli: It definitely can be. Thankfully when I first started I saved enough from my previous job to where it wasn’t so bad, but I’ve also seen the flip side of that. 

Just gotta be smart and save your money to invest in yourself for wrestling. 

Omar: Anyways, I appreciate the time taken to interview a nobody like me with a site getting 500 to 700 web visitors a month.

It means a lot man that you wanted to just have a conversation about you as a performer and maybe someday, we might talk via Skype or Zoom or something.

Andrew (referring to Andrew Thompson of Post Wrestling. Great dude) is the real one for talking to a great guy like yourself. 

Eli: Yeah man no problem at all. I know how hard it is to work your way up the ranks so I’m happy to help. 

Don’t sell yourself short though, everyone starts somewhere.

Fans Singing Petitions For Charlotte Flair Not Getting Titles!? 

Let's start this second news story with some laughter or sadness depending on how you interpret this. 

Charlotte Flair has been utilized a lot, especially in recent months with perspectives that you either agree or disagree. 

In this funny yet unsurprising case, people took those perspectives to the extreme by hosting a petition online DEMANDING for the queen to NO MORE win titles. 

As of me writing this, the petition has 3,507 signatures out of the 5,000 signature goal. That's 70% of the goal being reached already. 

Let's read the main reason behind this from the user-name, Stan Twitter: 

"society has progressed past the need for another charlotte reign.

we are tired of charlotte's reigns. the 4 horsewomen in general, but we're starting with charlotte first." 

Damn, talk about entitlement, am I right? Let's read one user's motivation why he or she or they, signed this: 

"Charlotte Flair is a terrorist who hates immigrants (Asuka, IICONICS, etc.) and her failure to RETIRE has had a long lasting effect on the division as other talent cannot obtain screen time. 

She is no different than al-Qaeda. #DEFUNDCHARLOTTEFLAIR" 

I'm laughing so hard, I actually farted. Don't know why you need to know but there you go. 

I'm having fun reading this so here's a few more:  

Leah Van Dale (definitely the actual Carmella):

"This bitch took my title and ruined my reign, just like I ruined Corey’s marriage. Enough is enough around here!" 

I really hate fandom. 

Mark Suttie:

"Www need change" 

I do agree. The World Wide Web needs change. I mean, I do blame them for creating Reddit. 

I'm gonna end with this. Charlotte reminds me of a character in the show called "Angel" named Connor. 

A talented performer (the actor portraying Connor) that was given a character with a lot of screen time that doesn't pay off in the end (of course, there are exceptions like her feud with Becky Lynch but you get my point). 

WWE Are Looking For A Vice President In Documentaries. 

One of the best aspects of the WWE network is their documentaries where it describes the people behind those larger than life personas, their feelings, motivation, aspirations you name it. 

As you can tell from reading the headline above, the folks over at Titan Towers are taking their documentaries seriously by having a job posting looking for a vice president in documentaries. If you feel that you're qualified for the gig then, apply it by clicking this link. 

NXT UK Tapings Are Cancelled!? 

According to Gary Cassidy of Sportskeeda, NXT UK scheduled filming from July 24th till 25th in Glasgow has indeed been cancelled. 

Here's more of what Gary said regarding the latest update for NXT UK: 

"While every NXT UK taping has now been cancelled, I was recently able to exclusively confirm how WWE Superstars in the UK are continuing to work during lockdown with WWE facilitating online acting seminars and 'Skull Sessions' - which see WWE Superstars use online video calling to dissect and analyse their matches with NXT UK's training team, including NXT General Manager William Regal."

I know this has nothing to do with this story but I'm really glad that Sportskeeda has turned their reputation around as a publication. 

Tom, Gary Cassidy and others, are doing a fine job over at Sportskeeda and they honestly need a lot of shout outs.

Why Has Elias Been Written Off TV? 

Elias was last seen on WWE TV hurt and taken to the ambulance, pretty much being written off. Why is that? 

From Post Wrestling and John Pollock, Elias had torn his pectoral muscle. The day that he suffered an injury isn't known. Speedy recovery for Elias. 

What do you think about the news I just reported and follow me on the tweets @omartheplayaguy. Anyways, stay safe smarks.