Gabe Sapolsky's Eye for Talent

Gabe Sapolsky seems to be the very best when it comes to discovering talent in the wrestling business.  I remember times when Samoa Joe was compared to JBL, when YouTube shooters would wonder why Davey Richards was booked so strongly, and when people insisted that Bryan Danielson had no charisma. All three became huge wrestling stars under Gabe's booking regime.  It must be thrilling for the guy to believe in such men so long before the masses would.

It is for this very reason that I am confident in the future of Bobby Fish.  From talking with friends and bumping into forums while googling, I get the sense that he is respected as a solid worker but not the kind of guy who can be the face of a promotion.  Although Fish currently has a 0-4 record at Evolve wrestling (a promotion that greatly emphasizes on win-loss records), he took his opponents to their very limit.  A friend of mine was quick to point this out when we saw Evolve 3, and the trend has continued to Evolve 4 where he fought Bryan Danielson.  According to evolvewrestling.com, Bryan handpicked Fish as his opponent and was quick to him put over from his time working with him at Pro Wrestling NOAH.  During the match, Fish valiantly endured Danielson's offense and the excitement of the heavily pro-Dragon ACE arena crowd.  It seems quite evident that both Bryan and Gabe are very high on Bobby Fish, and I think I am beginning to see why.

As an MMA fighter, Fish incorporates some of the offense of this craft in his arsenal, most notably his brutal mounting-kneestrikes.  This fits him perfectly into the mold of Richards and Danielson before him, and enables him to represent the style of wrestling that Gabe and Dragon envision for North America.

At this point I've seen most of the Evolve shows either live and/or on DVD, and the events make it evident how important a victory is to Bobby Fish.  In the Evolve 2 DVD, there is a segment where he is having a phone conversation with someone who appears to be a significant other.  I must say I am compelled to see where this angle takes him.

In an industry where pushes are often fleeting (see JMo and Kofi from the last time I've seen WWE TV, then again I've heard the former is in a main event tag match at SummerSlam), or are provoke the suspicion of object-able motives, Gabe finds a way to find and develop new stars whom can connect with even some of the most cynical pro wrestling fans amongst us.