Cease And Desist

The morning after recording the Brody King vs Masada episode for Roach TV Wrestling Reviews, I sat at my computer desk and sipped on my cup of coffee. My excitement for the following day’s episode of 30 Days To Rock at FirstLive was still buzzing within me, and I couldn’t wait to get back in front of the cameras. But as I went through my emails, I found an unexpected one that would change everything. It was an email from an attorney’s office, and upon opening it, I found the attached Cease and Desist from one of the independent promotions whose video I had covered on my channel. I felt the blood drain from my face as I read through the legal jargon, realizing that I had violated Fair Use Law by using the entire match in my video without permission. As a lifelong wrestling fan, it felt like a punch in the gut. I sat there, staring at the email, trying to make sense of it all. I had put so much time and effort into building Roach TV Wrestling Reviews into what it had become, and now it seemed like it was all for nothing. I was so caught up in the passion for the sport that I failed to understand the business aspect of it. Feeling distraught and depressed, I headed out to the store to pick up a six-pack of beer and a bottle of Hennessy. I sat in my living room, nursing my drinks, and combing through my YouTube channel. With each click of the mouse, I set each episode of Roach TV Wrestling Reviews to “Unlisted,” hiding them away from the world that seemed to be out to get me. It was a painful process to watch each video disappear from public view, but I knew that it was necessary. As much as it hurt to take them down, I couldn’t risk being sued by any more independent promotions. Wrestling was still a business, and I had to learn to respect that. As the night wore on, I continued to sit in my living room, surrounded by my empty beer bottles and the bitter taste of Hennessy in my mouth. I felt lost and unsure of what to do next. But even in the midst of all the chaos, one thing remained clear: my passion for wrestling was still burning strong, and I would find a way to make it work, one way or another.