I thought it said 'CATCH checker' there, for a split second...

I thought it said 'CATCH checker' there, for a split second... It brought back fond memories of the Matt Furey, Tony Checchine shitshow, that made the early 2000's grappling messageboards so wonderful.

And what is this shitshow you speak of sir. I actually got to do a seminar with Tony Checchine, as one of the BB's I took private lessons from worked with him. Inquiring minds...

Oh dear, Do I want to open up this can of worms? Super short version... Questions were raised about the legitimacy of Cecchine's claims to being a legit catch wrestler. Answers given were quite unsatisfactory. He appears to be mosty self-taught, by using old sambo and fujiwara tapes. Eventhough he got 'endorsed' by an end-of-life Lou Thesz, he most likely didn't recieve any hands-on training by the man, and Tony's alleged teacher Stanley Radwan was 'just' a strongman by all accounts, not a catch wrestler. The term bullshit artist comes to mind. Those questions were, in fact, raised by Jake Shannon, who got close to an end-of-life Karl Gotch. The latter being very critical of Cecchine. Shannon also appeared to be an unsavory character himself, who latched onto catch and also an end-of-life Billy Robinson, and had his own motives to discredit other figures in the scene. An 'instructional' tape surfaced of Cecchine showing outlandishly stupid show moves, addressed to Gotch, to get his endorsement. Essentially showing Tony was self taught, and didn't seem to know shit from shinola. Then there was Matt Furey, a division II wrestler and shanshou champion from Iowa, who had a column in Grappling magazine, and spent most of his time talking about those few times he trained under Gotch and talked to the ghost of Farmer Burns. All vehemently claimed bjj sucked and catch was god (see: Sakuraba!), but the scene was a cesspool of infighting and hilariousness. All hated each other. Meanwhile, the only 'real' catch was being preserved and practiced, on the down low, in Wigan (Aspull wresling club aka Snake Pit, under Roy Wood). But that's another story.

The fantastic ability of people to get along and form friendships and communities ... and then be petty and mean and tribal and manage to get into conflicts over anything really...