Thoughts on NJPW Power Struggle

Recently NJPW held its Power Struggle event on the 7th November.

The first match up saw 'provisional champion' for the KOPW 2020 Toru Yank defend against Zack Sabre Jr. The KOPW is an interesting concept as it features non-standard matches which generally do not feature in NJPW, however rather than it being a division where we would see things like ladder matches, table matches or cage matches, we instead get some weird and minor stipulations. This match bring no exception, being contested as a 'no corner pads' match. This could have been a very interesting stipulation, though it did not really come into play.

The match itself highlighted the technical style of Zack and the comedy styling of Yano equally and was a very decent opener match, in the end Toru Yano picked up the victory after tying ZSJ's shoe laces together around the guide rail after he had Yano in a leg lock around the rail.

The second match up was Shingo Takagi challenging Minoru Suzuki for the NEVER openweight championship. We have seen this particular match up several times recently. A hard hitting strong style affair, this time with Takagi coming out on top as the new NEVER openweight champion.

The third match up on the card saw Obama take in the Great O Khan, a match really as a placeholder toward Obama vs Osprey. Which was set up for Wrestle Kingdom after the match. The match itself was OK, there is not a lot more to say about it other than that. Okada took the victory.

Next up was Kenta defending his briefcase for a shot at the IWGP United States championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi. A solid match with Kenya coming out of top retaining the title shot. The only question really is when will the title shot be? John Morley is unlikely to travel to Japan anytime soon to defend the title, hopefully at Wrestle Kingdom, but with travel restrictions still likely to be in effect it is unlikely.

In the semi main event, in another defence of a briefcase, Kota Ibushi defended his shot at the IWGP heavyweight championship. For the first time in history the briefcase changed hands. A completely unexpected twist i was absolutely convinced that this would have been an Ibushi retention!

In the main event Tetsyu Naito defended both IWGP heavyweight and intercontinental championship against Evil, to determine who the other participant would be in the Wrestle Kingdom 15 main event.

Transport for Wales nationalised - Kick privateers out of the rail industry!

 

This article was originally published on the website of Socialist Alternative. Transport for Wales is to be nationalised as of February. This unfortunately was not a deliberate act by the Senydd (Welsh parliament) but rather was a result of the break down of bailout talks with Keolis Amey who have decided to walk away despite having received £267m in subsidies from the Senydd in just 2 years in which they held the franchise.

The Welsh government does not have the power to nationalise industries and rail unions have also stated that under current UK law it is not possible for governments to step in permanently. What we have instead is that the Welsh government will only take control for the remainder of the current franchise term,still a significant 13 years to go. 

The crisis erupted during the covid-19 pandemic, with falling passenger numbers the logic of capitalism began to unravel the franchise as it became unprofitable and the bailouts offered were not enough to satisfy Keolis Amey as they decided to walk away.  Scandalously though, they have not walked away completely, they have walked away only from passenger services which have become loss making. However, as part of the original franchise deal which began in 2018, the ownership of the tracks and infrastructure of the valley lines (the main commuter lines into Cardiff from surrounding towns,) previously owned by the Welsh government,  was handed over to Keolis Amey. They have decided and been allowed to retain ownership of the valley lines tracks as they still see a profit to be made. With big infrastructure projects still to be completed as part of the ‘South Wales Metro’ this side of the business will certainly remain a profitable asset for them.

This is a continuation of the neoliberal ‘privatise the profits, nationalise the losses’ policy that bailed the bankers out while the rest of us were made to live with austerity.  The scraps are handed back to governments to pick up the bill and provide the necessary investment.

Keolis Amey took over the franchise with huge fanfare  The previous franchise holders Arriva had become hated due to poor services, late running trains and cancellations with rising fares. However Keolis Amey were able to achieve what many people had thought impossible: more late trains and cancellations than had happened previously, in some cases several trains in the same route concurrently meaning half hourly services became 2 hourly services! As a regular passenger myself I witnessed chaotic scenes of rail staff themselves unable to find out if services were running or not!

As things stand nationalisation was only able to take place under the creations of ‘operators of last resort’.  This means that with no provider company willing to run a loss making service, the Welsh government was able to step in. The implication of this is that as soon as passenger numbers begin to rise back to previous levels, the service will once again be privatised to be run by a parasitic multinational once again.

The time is now for the Labour government in Cardiff Bay to carry out permanent nationalisation of the rail franchise along with all other public services – but it shouldn’t be the current ineffective management which are left in charge. It should be under the control of workers in the rail industry, and people who use the service, who make decisions. If the Westminster government tries to block this, there should be a campaign linking both unions like the RMT, ASLEF AND TSSA in the rail industry service users in the wider community to demand not only nationalisation on a permanent basis but a service which can allow for increased wages, lower fares and better investment in trains and infrastructure. Wales is in desperate need of this, it has 10% of all rail lines in the UK, but currently only 3% of investment. If you remove the need to pay out dividends and profits to shareholders, then It is perfectly possible to do all of this and highlights why private companies have no place in public services. 

Thoughts of WWE Hell in a Cell

Recently WWE Hell in a Cell took place, with several high profile cell matches in the card it was
definitely one to watch.

The pre-show match up saw R-Truth take on Drew Gulak, R-Truth's gimmick and possession of the 24/7 championship has become very stale, though in ring he can still go and the match itself was decent. The only downside to it was the R-Truth retained the title and then fled the ring as everyone chased him down for the 24/7 championship.

The first match on the main card was a surprising match up. I had assumed that Roman Reigns vs Jay USA would have been the main event. The first ever Hell in a Cell I quit match. For the Universal Championship and the rights to be the 'tribal chief'. Annoyingly it was the red version of the cell in use tonight.

A hard hitting brutal match, this time around Us got a lot more offense in that their last encounter whilst still dominated by Reigns. There was an interested finish where Jimmy Uso came to the bring to plead for mercy and when Reigns turned on him, this is where Jay Uso quit, to save his twin brother not himself. It seems like as they have to follow Reigns as the tribal chief we are now set for a new Heel faction.

Next up was Elias vs Jeff Hardy in a regular match. A  nonsensical story line if ever there was one. Ella's blames Hardy for running him over, but in his absence it had been proved that Hardy had been setup by Sheamus, so why isn't Ella's going after Sheamus?

A short match  which ended with Hardy being disqualified after a guitar shot to Elias revenge for the guitar shot from Elias on the previous Raw. This story line is obviously to be continued.

Next up we saw Otis defend his Money in the Bank contract against The Miz. I never thought that Otis should have one the MITB ladder match to begin with, so was hoping to The Mix, who is under utilised in the main event would pick up the victory. 

 

Next up was the Smackdown women's title with Bayley defending against Sasha Banks. This was easily the best match on the card. A hard  hitting cell match with the inclusion of kendo sticks. Sasha came out on top which was the right way to go with this, a lot to be made out of this story line going forward. Sasha has never successfully defended a title and this is perfect fodder for Bayley to use.

Next was an impromptu match after a challenge was laid down on the preshow for a member of the Hurt Business to face a member of retribution which saw Bobby Lashley taking on slapjack. There is not a lot to say about this, so I won't.

 

This took us to the main event, Randy Orton took on Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. Another great match between the two which saw Orton come out as a 14 champion at the end of the night. I would have preferred for Drew to retain cementing his position in the main event and moving on to other challenges. Drew vs AJ Styles would be a fantastic feud. With Orton taking the title it looks as if the feud is due to continue this time with McIntyre chasing.

Wales in further lockdown

This article was originally published on the website of Socialist Alternative 

Wales is about to go into its second national lockdown known as a ‘firebreak lockdown’ which has come after local lockdowns throughout large parts of both North and South Wales.

The intention is to ensure that we stem the tide now, and ensure that Christmas is ‘saved for everyone’. Immediately the actions of the Welsh government fail at this on the first hurdle as workers who are unable to work in areas of the economy who face temporary closure will potentially only receive a percentage of their pay, perfect timing to ensure a bleak financial Christmas!

The new lockdown measures are nonsensical and ineffective by the very nature of the exemptions. Mark Drakeford, Labour First Minister of Wales announced As of Friday 23^rd at 6pm the following rules will be in force until Monday until Monday 9^th November.

• All non-essential shops, café’s pubs’ restaurants, gyms, community centres, libraries and places of worship along with other similar venues must close.
• Everyone must work from home if they can
• All indoor and outdoor gatherings with people you do not live with are banned
• You can only leave your house for a limited number of reasons such as for exercise, for essential shopping or to provide care or support for someone.
• You cannot enter or leave Wales during this time without a reasonable excuse

Fixed penalty fines of £60 rising to £120 will also be in force for anyone caught breaching the rules.

Covid cases on the rise

However despite these tighter restrictions, schools will reopen after the half-term break from the 2^nd of November, though only those in year 8 and under, who otherwise would need child care. Universities will also remain open continuing to offer a mix of online and in-person education. A bizarre situation as these are the two areas in which the virus has been spreading the most.

Wales currently has 1,091.1 cases per 100,000 of the population with Merthyr and Rhondda Cynon Taf local authorities rising to 2,120.1 and 1,822.5, respectively. Both these local authorities combined make up much of the Cwm Taf health board. Comparing to Manchester, which has been at the height of the tensions across England with a rate of 424/100,000 shows the dire need to get a grip on the virus. Cases are on the rise, on October the 20^th Wales recorded more than 1,000 new cases on a single day.

There is no clear reporting on cases within schools in Wales, which begs the question, without adequate reporting, how can you determine it is ok for schools to stay open? Some local authorities have not been willing to comment on cases within schools (Merthyr, for example, has not) but those that have beenshow a dire picture. Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority revealed that there were confirmed cases in 53 schools, but this was announced on the 5^th October with no update to this since.

Outbreaks of the virus within hospitals have severely impacted the ability to function. Royal Glamorgan  saw an outbreak with 127 cases recorded within the hospital itself. The firebreak lockdown is being implemented partly  because the NHS can no longer cope with the strain. The ability to handle the pandemic has been exacerbated by decades of underfunding and cuts from the Labour-led Welsh government –  just prior to the outbreak they had attempted to close the A&E department at the Royal Glamorgan hospital!

Lessons not learned

Lessons have not been learnt from the first national lockdown down or the localised lockdowns which followed. This will only  temporarily alleviate the virus. Just like previous lockdowns, no measures have been put in place to care for the vulnerable suffering from isolation either due to mental or physical health. Workers will suffer further through loss of pay. The instruction of “work from home if you can”, is not a decision that workers can make for themselves, but a decision left with employers without any oversight, and there are already cases of workers forced to work in unsafe conditions. Even though the majority of parents will want their children in school, of course with the proper safety measures in place, it’s significant that it is only children in Year 8 and below who will remain in school. This is done with the economy in mind – so that parents of younger children can go to work – instead of what is most safe. Meanwhile, those who are facing GCSE exams next year will suffer by not being in school. 

What is the answer?

Despite all the announcements by Mark Drakeford, the one thing that was noticeable by its absence was any reference to track and trace. This temporary lockdown should be used as an opportunity to bring track and trace up to scratch to avoid further cycles of lockdowns by effectively tracking the spread of the virus so that outbreaks can be isolated.

The labour movement must develop a programme which will genuinely find a route out of the current pandemic as it is clear that politicians, whose main aim is to keep the economy open as much as possible, are incapable of doing so. This must include democratic workers’ control over what measures are taken, including at a local level. This must include demands for real and meaningful track and trace, not farmed off to private companies more interested in making a profit, but dealt with directly by the NHS, given all the resources needed to develop this as quickly and as extensively as necessary. Unions within schools should have oversight on the  safety measures in place to ensure that schools are organised in a safe way  without putting students and staff at risk.

It should be workers themselves who decide what work is essential and what work is not, who can work from home and who cannot, rather than employers without any democratic accountability. Where it is deemed that a section of workers are not essential, they should be guaranteed their full wages and should not be forced to pay the cost of the mishandling of the pandemic by politicians. 

The pandemic, it is clear, may be with us for some time. It is equally clear that it can be handled very differently, in the interests of ordinary people and not the interests of the bank balances of the rich. The above steps, not only would ensure that we deal with the ongoing pandemic in a more effective way, but also pose the question of how society could actually be run in the future, who actually keeps the world running, the employers or the essential workers, and do we actually need the employers at the top or could ordinary people run society in our own interest and the interest of the planet?

Thoughts on Impact Wrestling Bound for Glory

Impact Wrestling Bound for Glory took place recently, the biggest event of the year for Impact.  The card was as follows.

 Rohit Raju vs Chris Bey vs Jordaynne Grace vs TJP vs Trey vs Willie Mack

20 man Gauntlet match

Moose vs. EC3 in a cinematic match

Ken Shamrock vs Eddie Edwards

The North vs Motor City Machine Guns vs The Good Brothers vs Ace Austin & Madman Fulton

Su Yung vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Eric Young vs Rich Swann

 

First up was the X Division match, with 6 competitors this was perfect for an Ultimate X match which unfortunately it was not so immediately I was disappointed before the match even took place. This was a missed opportunity for Impact to return to their unique selling points.

As a result I struggled to even be interested in the match, there was nothing special to it, no particularly big spots that you would expect from the X division, the only thing of note was the cowardly heel antics of Rohit Raju who left the ring for the others to fight it out and eventually stole a win after TJP hit his finisher to retain the title.

Next up was the gauntlet match, this one I was interested in. The winner getting a title match of their choosing and with the added stakes that if Heath or Rhino win Heath gets a contract but if they don't Rhino is fired. Only half of the 20 participants were announced beforehand so surprise appearances to be expected. The biggest of which was a returning James Storm.

You had some bizarre spots like the farcical self elimination of Hernandez who went after Fallah Bah, who could just as easily gone under the ropes. The final came down to Rhino and Sami Callihan, with Rhino picking up the win which secured both his job and a contract for Heath and earning a title shot, you would imagine you would see the duo challenge for the tag titles.

The third match was a cinematic match, Impact Wrestling being the originator of the cinematic match, but of course the brains behind it, Matt Hardy and Jeremy Borash are no longer with the company so it would be interesting to see what they could produce. Moose took on EC3.

This story line did seem suited to a cinematic match l, with flashbacks to EC3's past which he is trying to escape preventing him from picking up the win and Moose leaving victorious.

Ken Shamrock took on Eddie Edwards next. The match was a hard hitting affair which saw Shamrock pick up a submission win after interference from Sami Callihan, overall a decent match.

Next was the match which I was most interested in a fatal four way for the tag team titles. However before the match started Alex Shelley of the Motor City Machine Guns was taken out meaning Chris Sabin had to go solo. The match was good with a good back and forth pace with all teams. However I kept waiting for Shelley to return to the ring  which did not happen and The North picked up the victory at a surprise moment to regain the titles.

In the semi main event we saw Donna Parazzo defend the knockouts championship against Su Young  this match definitely exceeded my expectations it was a good match which ultimately saw Yung becoming the new knockouts champion.

The main event saw world champion Eric Young defending against Rich Swann. Young was criminally under utilised or should I say not utilised during his run in WWE. His character work is second to none and could easily had a great run in some mid card feuds and him now being a main event in Impact Wrestling is certainly not out of place, particularly with him being a TNA original.

The match itself was good and certainly played to the in ring strengths of Young as opposed to Swann which better suits a main event spot anyway.

Rich Swann came out on top becoming the new Impact Wrestling world champion with a Phoenix splash. A good match overall with the exception of the ending. I don't think Eric Young should have lost the title any time soon.

Overall a good show from Impact, but generally I have a disconnect with what they are putting out, something I feel that slot of people suffer with, I think it is a combination of a variety of factors, the lack of invested fans, which although as a result of the Covid19 pandemic is certainly not new. The loss of known stars, which is beginning to change with returns, debuts and building up the wrestlers they do have, but I think the biggest issue is the commentary. Without commentators like Mike Tenay and Jeremy Borash or even Don West and Tazz there is a problem, even fresh faces might brighten things up but I struggle with Don Callis and Josh Matthews, I just find they miss the mark.

Thoughts of NJPW G1 Climax Final

 

This years G1 Climax tournament from New Japan Pro Wrestling has just concluded. The round robin tournament split into two blocks, with the winner of each block meeting in the final.

The tournament itself was adapted from recent due directly as a result of covid29 restrictions and was better as a result! With Less matches taking place each night, with only one preliminary match prior to the tournament matches, considering that there are 19 nights of the tournament, this slimming down of the tournament and eliminating the multi-man prelimiary matches was a welcome change.

The tournament has some great matches, it also had some not so great matches as well, it struggled as it has in recent years with too many entrants who you know have no chance of winning or even coming close to winning being involved.  

The final night, prelimary matches and the final itself set up future story lines, interestingly the prelimary matches, in my view were more interesting than the final. The card was as follows

1. Chaos (Toru Yano, Yoshi-Hashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Douki & El Desperado)

2. LIJ (Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi) vs. Suzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Minoru Sukuki)

3. Taguchi Japan (Master Wato, Jeff Cobb, Juice Robinson & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bullet Club (Gedo, Taiji Ishimori, Kenta & Jay White)

4. Chaos (Sho and Kazuchika Okada) vs. Great-O-Khan and Will Ospreay

5. LIJ (Bushi and Tetsuya Naito) vs. Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi and Evil)

6. G1 Climax Final Sanada vs. Kota Ibushi

This was a standard multi-man match under card from New Japan. The first match up pitting Chaos up against Suzuki-gun epitomised this, but it did also include some story line development, Suzuki-gun picked up the win but at the end Douki held up the 6-man tag titles indicated that there will be a challenge from him and Suzuki-gun against Chaos for the titles, a much needed focus on the 6-man titles which have completed dropped off the radar.

The second match was a hard hitting brawl, although a tag team match it centred around the rivalry between Shingo and Suzuki and seemingly set up a future match the Suzuki's Never Open weight Championship. The third match was just a classic multi-man match from New Japan and there is very little to say about it, other than it did seem to show case Master Wato a little, which seems to be perfectly timed for the upcoming Best of the Super Juniors.

The next match was the most interesting, not the match itself, but what it represented With a The Great-O-Khan returning from excursion in the UK and teaming with Ospreay who had turned on Okada, in process looking to setup a new faction. Hopefully something more comes from this. The Chaos stable has been around for years and is completely stale and something new needs to arise in its place.

Next up was a tag team match the Bullet Club up against LIJ, continuing the feud between Naito and Evil, this was run of the mill, but Evil stood tall and the end, likely to be setting up a title match between the two at Power Struggle.

The final was a break back and forth match between Ibushi and Sanada, the only thing that it suffered from was that it was completely predictable. It was obvious that Ibushi was always going to be the winner as as good as Sanada is, he has not been positioned to main event Wrestle Kingdom and that did take away from the match, knowing who the winner would be.

The rise of Welsh nationalism

 This article was original written in October 2019 but has been unpublished until now.

In the last 6 months there has now been three sizeable demonstrations calling for an independent Wales, first in Cardiff, then Caernarfon and most recently we saw over 5,000 march through Merthyr. The motivations of those involved are quite mixed, this of course though is happening with the backdrop of a crisis in British politics after years of seemingly endless austerity.

Large areas of Wales had not managed yet to recover from large scale deindustrialisation and privatisation from the 1980’s and early 1990’s leading to the loss of many large industrial and manufacturing work places. This even before the austerity measures of the financial crisis starting in 2008 has led to a feeling that Wales is getting a raw deal, as with many other working class areas throughout the UK this is very true.

The crisis in Westminster politics, the austerity measures and the prospect of a No deal Brexit which will hit working class people particularly hard. There is also a disconnect between Corbyn and Welsh Labour with many Labour politicians distancing themselves in words and actions from the policies of Corbyn. Corbyn’s main challenger who failed to topple in him Owen Smith is of course the MP for the Pontypridd constituency in Wales and the led Labour led Welsh Assembly and Labour controlled Welsh councils have been more than happy unfortunately to pass on austerity measures.

These factors combined has brought about a huge rise in the idea on an independent Wales. Previously support for independence has typically hovered around the 10%, recent opinion polls have shown that 41% either support Welsh independence or to some extent further autonomy for Wales.  Since then three sizeable demonstrations have taken place and recent reports from the Office of National Statistics show that the Welsh economy is growing 0.1% faster that the UK economy as a whole. Albeit starting from a lower base rate.

The question that we must ask as socialists is what type of Wales do we want. The demonstrations for example have been called under the name ‘All under one banner’ which has taken its name from the organisation in Scotland. This is a mistaken road that many will be taken down. If we talk about independence for Wales in and of itself in isolation of politics then it will mean more of the same.

The Welsh Assembly has now existed for 20 years throughout that time Labour has been in power including one term in coalition with Plaid Cymru. In many respects though this has not helped improve the lives of ordinary Welsh people as the assembly have presided over hospital closures and funding cuts to education, as well as mergers in further and higher education resulting in job cuts and lowering educational standards.

This is symptomatic of the problems of the movement and the official wing in the form of Yes Cymru, the would-be leaders of an independent Wales would be those either from Labour or Plaid Cymru who cannot not see past the capitalist system and therefore will offer little in the way of real change for ordinary people. whilst it is clear that many involved in the movement are actively looking for a working class alternative for Wales. Former Wales rugby International Eddie Butler said at the demonstration in Merthyr “This today is not entirely political – not yet” indicating the need to go further than a simple call for independence Neville Southall the famous ex-footballer for Wales went a lot further when he said:

“There is no point having a dragon if you cannot roar, and at the moment we cannot roar because we do not have the money. We need to build up a country that looks after the lowest of the low We need to treat them the same. There should be o class system in Wales. Everyone should be the same.”

Essentially Eddie Butler asks the question what next and Neville Southall provides the answer, whilst not explicitly saying as such Southall, in reality, is calling for a Socialist Wales.

Welsh people have a proud working class tradition, it should not be lost on anyone that the march in Merthyr started in Penderyn Sqaure, named of Dic Penderyn one of the Martyrs of Welsh working class history, executed for his role in the Merthyr rising which also saw the birth of the red flag.

Questions need to be asked within the independence movement, what type of independence should we have? Independence based on the capitalist economic system will not give us any freedom! A decisive break needs to come within the independence movement amongst those who both want an independent Wales and who oppose the ongoing austerity blighting all our lives.

This needs to be put into practice. Socialist Alternative calls on the Welsh Assembly to stop all cuts to devolved public services in Wales. All cuts already made with the NHS and education must be reversed. The Welsh assembly are also known for using zero hour contract themselves, we call for an immediate end to this and for decent employment with guaranteed hours available for all those currently on zero hour contracts. All public services such as utilities and public transport should be brought back into public ownership and run democratically buy those working in the industries and the communities which rely on them.

This measures would be a prerequisite for a Wales in which as Southall described, there would be no class system.

Socialist Alternative calls for a Socialist Wales, linking up on a voluntary basis in a Socialist confederation of England, Scotland and Ireland as part of a wider Socialist Europe in the interests of ordinary working class people unlike the bosses European Union

Leaving the Socialist Party behind

 This was posted to my facebook profile in July 2019. It is only a short statement by myself followed by the statement of at the time the CWI but now renamed to ISA - International Socialist Alternative.

Whilst only a short extract of this is my writing whilst the rest is the statement released at the time. I have included in because it had a big impact on the way I thought after my 17 years of membership of the organisation which had guided me politically since the age of 17. I will certainly return to this topic in future posts. The picture below was also featured alongside the statement when I posted it with my own words and yes, it is my own membership card.

After 17 years of membership, I thought this day would never come. I was a proud member of the Socialist Party and our international organisation, the CWI. It seems not everyone views it the same way and those of us who support the building of that international organisation and its democratic structures have been forced out. We are told we can stay but only of we abandon all our members throughout the world with any democratic vote within the international.

 

I was with 100+ others who met in London yesterday and who will now work to build a real International.

 

Here's our statement:

The Socialist Party, and before it the Militant tendency, has been a section of the Committee for a Workers International (CWI) in England and Wales since 1974. The CWI is an international organisation based on the ideas and methods of democratic socialism, Marxism and Trotskyism, and further developed by the hard work and sacrifices of comrades across the world.

 

This includes 3 TDs (MPs) in Ireland, an elected councilmember in Seattle, and members fighting in the revolutionary movements in Sudan, Hong Kong and elsewhere. Sadly, after 45 years, the majority of the leadership of the CWI and England and Wales section have chosen to abandon the CWI and the bold ideas it was founded upon.

 

On Sunday 21st July, a Special Congress in London passed a resolution stating that the many members of the Socialist Party who still support the CWI, "will have to do so outside of the Socialist Party". In reality, the resolution is a cowardly method of expulsion from the party, following a campaign of witch-hunts, bullying and lies against the majority of CWI sections.

 

This was all but confirmed when the SP's former Wales Secretary and current NC member said from the platform "goodbye and good riddance" to CWI supporters - a remark the leadership has refused to retract. 

 

The majority of the SP leadership are running scared from a debate about socialist programme and tactics, only half way through an agreed one-year process of debate. Instead of having a discussion in the democratically convened leadership bodies of the CWI – the International Executive Committee and the World Congress (which all sides had agreed to) and risking losing a vote, they have chosen to expel the majority of the organisation and walk away with the resources, including hundreds of thousands of pounds, against the will of the majority of its members. 

 

They have, in effect, attempted to enact the bureaucratic expulsion of the majority of the CWI: entire organisations and groups in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel/Palestine, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Quebec, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, Tunisia, and the USA from the CWI, as well as a majority of members in Germany and South Africa who oppose their plans. 

 

Over 100 comrades in England & Wales, including a majority of active members in over a dozen key cities, stand together with the CWI majority in opposing this course of action. A meeting on 22nd July voted unanimously to refound the CWI in England and Wales, rejecting these bureaucratic expulsions and continuing to organise in the proud tradition of Militant in Britain - the traditions of socialist democracy and Marxism. 

 

Further explanation and analysis will follow. We call on all Socialist Party members, and in the wider workers and social movements to join us in fighting for a socialist world!

Contact us at revolutionaryinternationalism@gmail.com

Thoughts on WWE Clash of Champions

Last Sunday WWE Clash of Champions took place. The card had huge potential and I was looking forward to several of the matches on the card which was as follows.

1.Smackdown tag team championship natch

 Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesero  (c) vs. Lucha House Party

2. Intercontinental championship ladder match

Jeff hardy (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn 

3. Raw women's championship match

Asuka (c) vs. Zelina Vega

4. United States championship match

Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Apollo Crews

5. Raw tag team championship

Street Profits (c) vs. Andrade & Angel Garza

6. Smackdown women's championship

Bayley (c) vs Asuka

7. WWE Championship Ambulance match

Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton

8. WWE universal championship

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso

 

*there were also two segments between R-truth and Drew Gulak which could be considered matches for the 24/7 championship

The kickoff show had one match before the main show started. Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesero defended the Smackdown tag team championships against the Lucha House Party (Kalisto & Lince Dorado) with Gran Metalik. It was a solid tag team match and a good showing for both teams, nothing special but a fitting kickoff match. Nakamura & Cesero picked up the win with the Cesero swing into a knee from Nakamura.

I would have preferred the Lucha House Party to pick up the win, largely because I think that both Nakamura and Cesero would be fantastic as singles wrestlers, but I have always much preferred a solid tag team as opposed to a throw together team.

The main show started explosively with a triple threat ladder match for the intercontinental championship featuring the champion Jeff Hardy, the self proclaimed champion Sami Zayn (he was stripped of the belt as he did not appear for some time due to restrictions entering the US because of covid19) and challenger AJ Styles.

This was always going to be a good match, AJ Styles, in my opinion is one of the greatest of all time, Jeff Hardy has huge experience in multiple ladder matches and Sami Zayn does not look out of place tangling with these two. This ladder match was instantly better than both the ladder matches at Money in the Bank and Wrestlemania. The absence of the crowd has a huge impact and is much more noticeable in high spot matches like this, but the introduction of the thunderdome has brought an atmosphere back which was much needed and certainly adds to the match.

The match started a little slow, as you would expect for a decent ladder match, there was an usual spot where Hardy dived towards Styles who moved out of the way, only for Hardy to dive on an up turned ladder, these seemed unnecessary, a low impact looking move that in reality was probably quite painful.

There were some great spots too. Styles pulled out his moonsault into an inverted DDT, a move which used to be a part of his regular move set, but one that I can't remember seeing for sometime, certainly not since he has been in WWE. Hardy also, from atop the ladder hit a Swanton bomb on Sami Zayn who himself was draped across a ladder. At this point I thought this was the end of Zayn and we would not see him again.

However, we did see him again with quite an innovative finish. First Zayn handcuffed Jeff Hardy to a ladder, although he could move still the handcuff was through his earlobe severely limiting his ability to move in any meaningful way and ultimately took him out of the action, next Zayn handcuffed himself to Styles, seemingly a bizarre thing to as it limited himself and much as it did Styles. However as they climbed the ladder he switched the cuffs and handcuffed Styles to the supporting strut of the ladder meaning he could not get to the top of the ladder allowing Zayn to reach the top and become the undisputed Intercontinental champion. Although I could not help from feeling that Styles could have simply tipped the ladder st this point, overall it was a great match.

Next up after a few backstage segments Drew Gulak rolled up R-Truth to win the 24/7 championship. It was good to see the title move onto someone other than R-Truth or Akira Tozawa who have been exchanging the title back and forth for sometime now. There is huge potential with the 24/7 title but it seems laziness has resulted in it becoming R-Truth's personal title. He is great with it, but this is definitely a case of over doing it.

The next match was a demonstration of how the women's division is not treated with the seriousness which it is claimed. Zelina Vega challenged Asuka for the Raw women's championship. Zelina Vega is definitely a worthy challenger who can go in the ring, however Vega rarely wrestles and has been used primarily as a manager, a role she also excels in. Whilst she is a great in ring talent, going simply into a title shot without having wrestled much shows how little the division is regarded. 

The match itself had some great spots, Vega held Asuka in what I can only describe as a bridging hammer lock, a very innovative move. The match seemed to suffer a bit and was stop - start at several points, inevitable really with Vega wrestling so infrequently. The match ended with Vega tapping out to the Asuka lock.

The next match I was thoroughly uninterested in. Bobby Lashley defended the United States championship against Apollo Crews. Uninterested because this fued has had the same match up repeatedly. Two great competitors with very different styles, however both need to move on from this fued. Lastly picked up the win with the hurt lock, so hopefully this signifies the end of this story line.

Next up Andrade & Angel Garza challenged the Street Profits for the Raw tag team championships. This was a solid match up, with some great team work from Andrade & Garza. The Street Profits came out on top in what seemed to be a botched finish. The commentators announced that Andrade had kicked out, it certainly looked that way, but the bell rang and the Street Profits where declared winners, the referee did not seem decisive either way so it seemed like a botch of some kind.

Unfortunately another backstage segment led to R-Truth regaining the 24/7 championship from Drew Gulak.

Next Bayley came out to announce that Nikki Cross was unable to compete, (possibly due to self isolating) and after cutting a promo gave an open challenge for the Smackdown women's championship which was answered by the raw women's champion Asuka. This again demonstrated the unseriousness in which the division is treated, the depth the division has and yet it is the same women over and over  including one who had already competed earlier in the night.

This, however was not the main story. After a brief match in which Bayley was disqualified for using a chair outside the ring, therefore retaining the title she was the attacked from behind with a chair by Sasha Banks, setting up a match between the two at a later date, this is a match which has been in the making for sometime and is something fresh to look forward to.

The next match up pitted the current WWE champion Drew McIntyre up against Randy Orton in an ambulance match. McIntyre's rise to the main event was organic and he certainly belongs and still has a lot to give. Orton is currently undergoing a character revival and is currently at the top of his game so I was certainly looking forward to this match.

It was a slow, methodical and brutal affair exactly what you would expect from these two in a no disqualification match. Throughout the match you seemed to have a 'ghost of Christmas past vibe with Orton being attacked first by The Big Show, later by Christain and towards the end by Shawn Michaels and then with Ric Flair driving off the ambulance at the end. All the people that Orton had crossed in recent months. Drew came out on top and won the match to retain the WWE championship, however due to the interference at multiple times throughout, what was missing was that decisive victory that Drew McIntyre needs to solidify his position at the top of the card.

The main event saw the Paul Heyman guy, Roman Reigns take on his cousin Jey Uso, usually a solid tag wrestler, in his biggest singles match to date, with Reigns defending the WWE Universal championship against Uso.

This was a great match, firstly Reigns supporting a new in ring look sans the vest was dominant throughout as he should have been Uso had moments a brilliance and the facial expressions of Paul Heyman were second to none  showing real doubt over who would win.

The dominance of Reigns came to a head but he would not pin Jey Uso instead continued to ruthlessly beat him down until he would acknowledge him as the tribal chief which he would not. This led to an injured Jimmy Uso coming down to the ring an eventually throwing in the towel on behalf of Jey Uso. Usually finishes like this can be hit and miss, especially in the main event. This time is was definitely a hit. Reigns is solidified as a monster heel  will to punish his own family, but Jey's stock is also raised, he was beaten nor did he give up. 

Overall this was a great ppv but with a stacked card how could it not be, stacked it was you didn't even notice that so many top talents were not on the card. Set Rollins, Kevin Owens, Big E, Matt Riddle, Sheamus, Lacey Evans, Naomi, Bruan Strauman, Bray Wyatt and many more were missing. One notable absence though particularly on a show called clash of champions  was that every main roster title was defended with one exception. The women's tag team championships were the only title not to appear, again showing how the women's roster is treated.

Caerphilly County lockdown: We're not all in this together

 This article was originally published on the website of Socialist Alternative on the 10th September this year.

 

 

New lockdown measures started in Caerphilly County at 6pm on 9 September. The reasons for it, and the nature of the new lockdown measures reveal quite starkly the priorities of the Senedd (Welsh Government).

The background to these new measures is a rise in cases with 133 confirmed cases in the last week alone, equivalent to 55.4 cases per 100,000 people (one of the highest in Wales). Wales currently has the highest density of confirmed cases of any nation in the UK (6,000 per million compared to England at 5,272 and Scotland at 4,041).

Vaughan Gething, the Labour health minister for Wales, has attributed this to people (particularly young people) meeting indoors and not following social distancing guidelines, and to overseas summer holidays. He ignores the fact that pubs are open, public transport is crowded and schools have been open, often in a far-from safe manner, with whole-class bubbles of 30 or more. At the time of writing several schools throughout Wales have already been forced to close due to recent outbreaks, including several schools within Caerphilly County itself. Non-essential businesses have reopened. With the furlough scheme coming to an end, many small businesses face a bleak choice of bankruptcy or unsafe working. Recent pictures on social media have shown social distancing not being enforced, perhaps partly because businesses are desperate to get more customers in to attempt to recover from lost earnings of previous months.

Meeting indoors with a lack of social distancing can contribute to outbreaks. But the messages from both the UK government at Westminster and from Cardiff Bay have been very confusing at best, which has contributed to this. Travel abroad may increase the risk. But overseas travel at the moment falls mainly into two general categories – those who travel to visit family members they have not been able to visit for some time due to lockdown measures, and those who have pre-booked holidays who have no option to cancel with a full refund.

The new lockdown measures in Caerphilly Country include facemasks being mandatory for everyone over eleven inside shops (this had not previously been mandatory in Wales) and all gatherings in the home being forbidden. You are also not allowed to leave the county without good reason, such as to attend work or to care for others, but as Caerphilly has transformed increasingly into a commuter town for Cardiff this is largely an ineffective measure and is more for show. Indeed, the very fact that areas of Caerphilly County have become commuter towns is likely a large part of the reason for a spike in cases as many people will be crammed together on buses and trains during rush hour.

Questioned on why pubs would remain open, the health minister stated with certainty that the virus is not being transmitted in pubs but only in gatherings within the home. You now have the farcical situation that you cannot visit a family member (unless you care for them) or simply cycle for exercise from Caerphilly to Cardiff (12 miles) but you can go from Ystryd Mynach to Caerphilly town to go to the pub (also 12 miles). You can’t go to a friend’s house, but depending on your age, you can sit next to them in class or go to the pub with them. The only measures brought in are designed to have zero impact on any economic activity.

The coronavirus pandemic has made 2020 a difficult year for everyone, having to find new ways of communicating, working and socialising. Lockdown measures have been necessary to attempt to stem the spread of the virus. But these new measures are a lockdown for people, not for the economy. The social isolation, which has affected mental health and led to a crisis in domestic violence, will continue. The most vulnerable will be hit hardest through a lack of planning for those who need any type of support with day-to-day activities.

We cannot return to normal and risk overwhelming our already overworked health workers, plus a big rise in the death toll. But neither can we stay in a perpetual state of lockdown which is taking its toll of the wellbeing of everyone. We need a strategy which puts ordinary working-class people and their needs at the heart of solving this crisis.

This will cost money, but they money does exist in society. Jeff Bezos, who runs Amazon, is set to become the worlds first trillionaire, profiting greatly from the pandemic. But Amazon famously uses various loopholes to avoid paying the correct rate of tax. Estimates suggest the shortfall is in the £100’s of millions. The cost of replacing trident nuclear weapons is estimated to be £205 billion! But capitalism is based on the pursuit of profit and not the needs of working-class people like us, and therefore cannot deal with a crisis of this magnitude.

The labour movement must develop a programme is developed which will genuinely find a route out of the current pandemic. This must include democratic workers control over what measures are taken, including at a local level. Is it safe for schools to open, what measures need to be put in place and what resources are needed for this to happen? If it is not possible to open safely then funds must be made available to ensure parents have all the necessary learning tools available at home, if wanted. No one must suffer any loss of income through time taken off work. These decisions should be made by democratically elected representatives of teachers, parents and the community. Is it safe for non-essential businesses to open? If not, there must be funds to ensure full pay to any workers affected by a closure of their workplace, including those who are self employed. We need a huge increase in funding for services for victims of domestic violence, and a dramatic expansion of social care services.

We must fight for the necessary measures to tackle to pandemic. But doing so also presents an opportunity to start a discussion about the type of society we need – one not based on the needs of the economy but based on the needs of ordinary people. The Covid-19 pandemic affects us all, but we are not all in this together. Working class people have lost jobs; become teachers to their children, whilst working or taking huge cuts in pay; been forced to continue in unsafe working environments. Meanwhile the billionaires have increased their wealth even further by taking advantage of the pandemic. We need to fight back against the Covid-19 virus and the virus of capitalism, which can only serve to worsen the pandemic.