Grappling with Attitude: Virginia promoter talks about changes in industry

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham It used to be easier for Travis Bradshaw to draw a few hundred fans to his Vanguard Championship Wrestling shows. “The whole business changed after The Attitude era,” said Bradshaw, whose Smithfield-based promotion runs shows across the Commonwealth. “Kayfabe got killed, and wrestling got a bad reputation. That made it harder…

Spirited compromise

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Legislation opening up the Virginia cable-television market to competition among service providers isn’t exactly being welcomed with open arms by, well, pretty much anybody who was involved in the discussions that led to the compromise measure that was signed into law by Gov. Tim Kaine last week. “From our perspective, any…

Power to the people?

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Republican Party gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore wants to give Virginia voters the final say-so when it comes to tax increases. “Taxation is the most basic relationship between a people and its government. I trust the people to make decisions on whether they want to pay more in taxes or less in…

Looking back at Hurricane Isabel

Chris Graham

Compiled by Chris Graham  Tim Spears was surveying the damage wrought by the South River on his downtown-Waynesboro music store Friday afternoon. “It could’ve been a lot worse,” said Spears, owner of Tim Spears’ Music City – which is located just a city block away from the South River. Spears estimated the damage to his…