I have been a wrestling fan for about nine years now – certainly not long by a lot of people’s standards, I’ll admit. I had never watched any tapes of ECW or WCW; my interest stayed with the WWE. And I quickly became a true WWE fan. I would either watch their shows as they were televised, or tape them for future viewing. I also went to virtually all of the shows that came to my area. There were many, as I live in Southern California, so between Staples Center and the Arrowhead Pond, I got to see a lot of live WWE. In 2000 I went to the Pond to see my first Wrestlemania, and took a trip to Toronto to do it all again in 2002. Last year I made it to the Hall of Fame induction, but was so sick on ‘Mania day that I couldn’t drag myself to the show. Really mad does not even begin to describe my disappointment at missing what would have been my third “Big Show.” But let me get back on track.
Over the past year or so I began to become disillusioned with WWE programming. I had been watching Total Nonstop Action wrestling on occasion and began to pay a lot more attention to them. Their superstars are many – AJ Styles, “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, Team Canada, America’s Most Wanted, Chris Sabin, and Jeff Jarrett, for example. They also acquired many of the athletes who I had liked when they had their run in WWE – BG James, Rhino, Christian Cage, and Team 3D to name a few. But TNA has just had their first show outside of Orlando, Florida, and while doing house shows seem to be in the cards for them, getting to see them perform live was not going to happen soon for me. Or so I thought.
There are a few people who have emailed comments on my columns in the past who I now communicate with on a regular basis. One of them told me about an Independent promotion in Los Angeles called Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where many of the TNA talent wrestle. I really thought he was kidding me until I looked at results from one of their shows. I’ll be damned! He was right! We agreed to meet at the next show PWG put on. Let me just say that this past weekend was the fourth time I’ve attended, and I will go back every chance I get.
I have seen Petey Williams, Samoa Joe and Frankie Kazarian. This past Saturday Styles and Daniels worked together in a tag match against the tag champs Super Dragon and Davey Richards. In this match, which was the main event, The World Tag Team Championship was on the line. Dragon and Richards ultimately retained their titles in this physical match, but that is simplifying things. This was an outstanding match that would have held up in any company. The four super athletes worked so well together that it was, for lack of a better word, a pleasure to watch them. Dragon and Richards proved that they can work anywhere, with anyone, and in the few times I have seen them in action they have never been anything but great.
There was another title on the line, and that was the PWG World Championship. Joey Ryan held the belt, but his opponent on this night was Sabin. As in the previously mentioned match, Ryan was more than able to hold his own against the extremely athletic Chris. Another fabulous match, but I admit that I paid more attention to Sabin, only because he has so intrigued me on TV with what he is capable of that I didn’t want to miss anything. No disappointment for me, as this was super watching. It was a controversial finish which saw Sabin declared the winner, the match re-started on a technicality of sorts, and then the belt staying with Ryan. But both men really put on a show for us, and their great work was appreciated.
However, those names all of you probably already knew. Styles, Daniels and Sabin are only a part of this great company, and I must sing the praises of some of the other talent. One of the other tag teams consisted of El Generico and Quicksilver. These two are prime time talents, my friends. I was told after the show that El Generico is the most underrated one in the company. I believe what I was told, but at the same time I don’t understand it. This man is the total package – a super athlete with great wrestling technique who is entertaining as hell! Quicksilver is right there as well, and getting to see a match with them in it is worth the price of admission by itself.
On this night they wrestled Scott Lost and Chris Bosh, and these two young guns are also solid, strong performers who are fun to watch. In my opinion, their match was close to, if not, five-star caliber. It was super.
Then there is TJ Perkins. I had seen Perkins once before. He wrestled Daniels when I saw him that first time. He was so outstanding that both my friend and myself had to tell him how impressed we were with him when we saw him later on. This past Saturday night was no different. TJ is for real. He is a special talent who should go really far in the business.
I must mention Kevin Steen. I just love Steen. He works extremely hard and does a super job. He is particularly entertaining and plays to the audience better than anyone else. He is not afraid to take a beating and was admittedly really tired after his match. I understand that, for this guy worked his ass off. I really appreciate all that he does and he is easily one of my personal favorites.
B-Boy defeated Steen in their match. B-Boy is a strong, serious and aggressive wrestler who clearly has a lot of talent to tap into. He is yet another member of this company who is fun to watch and will produce a good match for you along the way. I have seen him a couple of times now and been impressed both times.
The list just goes on. Scorpio Sky is yet another one – a strong performer who can deliver the goods. But he really didn’t get to showcase his talents this past weekend. Instead, he gave Human Tornado a beat-down. Tornado couldn’t really wrestle due to a broken ankle. This did not please Scorpio, who took it to him anyway. I kept waiting for Tornado to take off his cast and attack him with it, or at least beat him up with one of the crutches he used to get to the ring. It never happened, mainly because he DID in fact have a broken ankle. His injury happened that Wednesday, but he was scheduled to wrestle, so there he was. He told me later that he would now wait for his break to heal. A good idea I think, but I look forward to his return.
Disco Machine is funny, entertaining, and yep, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, another one with talent. This man is pure energy who doesn’t stop, be it in or out of the ring. I found out in speaking with him after the show that he wears many hats, and I hope to do an interview with him soon. He is a very interesting person and I look forward to finding out more and sharing it with all of you.
Finally, I must mention Alex Koslov, Nemesis, Ronin, Bino Gambino, and Top Gun Talwar. They might be at the end of this particular column, but they are not at the end as far as their abilities. There is not one person who does not contribute greatly to PWG, and these five men are no exception. Each individual brings it to the table every time out. Each one of them has different strengths that enhance the show. My hat is off to all of them.
One big difference between this show and something like the WWE is the accessibility of the athletes. They are among the fans from the get-go. And here is the surprising part. They are nice! I don’t mean that the wrong way. What I mean is that they will take the time to talk, and I have yet to meet one with an ego who is rude and just wants you to go away. Chris Sabin was polite and excited as he told us about the first TNA house show. Just a nice guy. Scorpio Sky stood around and chatted with us and again, just plain pleasant. Human Tornado was soft-spoken and seemed almost shy. Disco Machine was more than willing to talk with us, outgoing and informative. And Christopher Daniels surprised me the most. I did an interview with him a few months ago, and when I walked up to say hi, he called me by name before we chatted a moment. That might not seem like a big thing, but with as many people as he meets in his travels, it definitely shocked me a bit. Great for PR, this man, and a class act.
I am lucky that I was turned on to this great Indy promotion they call Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. The shows put live WWE events to shame. I am serious here. The entertainment, the talent, the accessibility – the entire package is top notch. A friend of mine gave them the ultimate compliment. She is not a wrestling fan at all. I wanted to go see one of the shows, but didn’t want to go alone, so I talked her into going with me. (Hey, I train her horse, so I have to power to make the jumps REALLY big! She kind of had no choice! LOL.) After the show she said to me, “I will go again, I enjoyed it that much. And this is from a non-wrestling fan. That says a lot.” That kind of sums it up, doesn’t it?
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
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