Consistent readers of mine know that not too long ago I stopped watching the “Big 2” (WWE and TNA) in favor of independent promotions. I recently got my hands on the 16 Carat Gold Tournament produced by the German Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) promotion, and greatly enjoyed the fantastic action in the tourney. While watching a tournament match between American Dragon Bryan Danielson and indy legend (and CHIKARA founder) Mike Quackenbush, in the back of my mind I mused as to why this show in a small, dimly lit arena, run by a company unknown to most American crowds and between two amazing wrestlers unrecognizable to casual fans, would please me so much. It got me thinking about why I prefer indies to the big dogs.
TODAY’S ISSUE: Independence.
The obvious reasons why a fan like me appreciates indy feds include the longer, more exciting wrestling matches, the way the performers are allowed to seem smarter and more logical between the ropes (utilizing blocks, escapes, and counters), and the simpler storylines with less ga-ga and more mature themes. For instance, in the smaller promotions you might see angles like, “you’re the champ but I want to be the champ, so let’s get it on” or “you stole my girl so now I want to hurt you”. Whereas in the Big 2, fans deal with storylines like, “you’re the illegitimate father of my midget nephew so now I’m wrestling a masked monster with multiple personalities so I don’t have to lose a pink slip on a pole match before my sister makes out with my ex-wife, steals my dog and removes me from title contention forever, unless I get fired first and brought back in a new costume when the general manager pretends to love me only until our wedding gets broken up by her former lover and makes me date my sister, or else I have to be managed by my brother’s former prison guard and their bisexual attorney when my partner turns on me and joins our enemy’s stable.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
Truth be told, there’s no sense comparing the type of shows WWE and TNA present to what indy feds offer. They are apples and oranges, and I’ve yet to see an independent promotion that tried to be what the Big 2 are, nor do WWE and TNA usually cater to the hardcore wrestling fan. The big dogs produce more of a variety show, including some wrestling, some comedy, some T&A, and lots of backstage activity. While I admit there are several real wrestlers in both companies, there’s also a heavy emphasis on bizarre characters like Kane, Abyss, the Boogeyman, Hornswoggle, Rellik (that’s “Killer” spelled backwards), Goldust/Black Reign, Festus, Umaga, and Shark Boy. This is perfectly fine for fans who enjoy that style of sports entertainment, but I prefer a more focused show.
Allow me to elaborate. When I watch an action flick like Lethal Weapon, for example, I’m looking for a high-impact, exciting romp that, for the most part, remains on track. It’s one thing for Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs to make a funny comment or engage in a humorous situation for 30 seconds, but the movie doesn’t make a 10-minute detour into an attempt at comedy, nor does it become soft-core porn. It doesn’t introduce a silly character for no clearly defined reason, or try to fool the paying fan just so the writers can feel smart. When the plot twists, it does so to make the overall story arc more entertaining and original, for the purpose of pleasing viewers and enticing them to tell their friends to go see it, or purchase the DVD, or pay to see a sequel or three down the road. There’s no pissing contest between the writers and the consumers like there is with the WWE and TNA creative teams who are always eager to prove they’re a step ahead of their fans, especially the type of fan likely to read this column – the dreaded “smart mark”.
Of course WWE and TNA writers are going to be able to trick their audience any time they want, but writers satisfying their own egos by trying to outsmart Internet fans is a fruitless venture that can only lead to silly swerves and illogical plot developments, and could ultimately turn away loyal viewers like me. If I tell you a story about an old woman who goes to visit her grandson one afternoon, but winds up changing into a ninja and fighting crime, solving mysteries, and eating live squirrels for lunch, you’d certainly be surprised, and consider that an unexpected twist. But does it make for an engaging, logical story that delivers? Not in the slightest.
I used to watch every hour of original television from both major promotions. I never dabbled in indy feds until the Big 2 disappointed me over and over again, and I couldn’t afford to dedicate any more of my precious free time to something that wasn’t entertaining me. With their deep talent rosters, huge budgets, and fully-staffed teams of writers, all WWE and TNA would have had to do to keep me watching is focus a little more on in-ring action, and cut down on the external nonsense a bit. Instead, they seemed to move in the opposite direction right when my viewership was on the line. I realize that the Big 2 could care less about a hardcore, 25-year fan like me slipping through their fingers, but when you think about it, that’s not necessarily a wise business choice.
Not that long ago I had a drawer full of WWE and TNA t-shirts (I’ve given most of them away, in favor or ROH merchandise). I own plenty of videos and DVDs produced by both companies. When I lived in the US, I made sure to pay for whichever satellite package included USA, UPN/CW Network, Spike, and the SciFi channel so I could watch each and every moment of their weekly broadcasts. I’ve paid plenty of money so I could attend WrestleMania 21, SummerSlam 2003, several live RAW broadcasts and SmackDown! tapings in person, not to mention a few house shows. During the “downswing” or “lean” years in the so-called cycle of professional wrestling popularity, I was the type of devoted fan who kept the big dogs in business until the next upturn period.
But those days are gone. Burned too many times by ridiculous storylines, out of control ego-fests, good performers being shunted down the card or given crappy gimmicks while heavily muscled stiffs get all the glory, and internal logic and unfocused character development that would make a fourth-grader’s creative writing assignment seem like Hemmingway in comparison, I finally had enough. And when I opened my eyes to the alternatives available, I found a plethora of professional wrestling that was exactly what this hardcore fan was looking for.
Ring of Honor and sister promotion Full Impact Pro: For my money, the best American independent wresting available, bar none. ROH and FIP deliver outstanding in-ring action performed by wrestlers who clearly love what they do, and have toiled their entire lives to get where they are. They enjoy performing in front of the rabid fans who come to support their favorites, regardless of heel/face alignment, and these crowds are very rarely disappointed. Their DVDs and pay-per-views are comparatively very affordable, and guaranteed to include loads of high quality wrestling excitement.
CHIKARA: Taking the pro wrestling paradigm and turning it inside out, CHIKARA makes things fun and sometimes silly, but at the core there is always phenomenal in-ring action. CHIKARA is the perfect diversion from the usual testosterone-driven, high-intensity combat drama of other wrestling companies; a sweet snack of madcap antics to balance a high-protein diet of more serious federations, if you will. CHIKARA boasts a considerable roster of talented performers, and once the bell rings, the action is second to none.
Pro Wrestling Guerilla: Similar to CHIKARA in that comedy is more the norm than the exception, the Southern California-based PWG also features plenty of quality performers, the type of wrestlers who always go out and give their all in the name of entertaining their paying customers. Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries, Necro Butcher, Chris Hero, Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, Claudio Castagnoli, Roderick Strong, Kevin Steen, El Generico, Davey Richards, Rocky Romero, and Jack Evans are all on the current roster, and if you know anything at all about independent promotions, you’ll recognize these names as some of the best in the world today. With talent like that hooking up in PWG rings, how could they go wrong?
IWA-MS: A rare melting pot of quality grappling, high-flying, and blood-n-guts brawling, Mid-South is another reliable source of exciting indy action. From the phenomenal Jacobs/Whitmer feud to the war between Chris Hero and CM Punk, IWA-MS is one place to find hard-hitting professional wrestling as opposed to sports entertainment.
Combat Zone Wrestling: Originally filling the “hardcore niche” void left in the wake of the demise of the original ECW, CZW was known for ultra-violent bloodfests back in the early 00s. Since then, they’ve been forced to tone down that approach somewhat, but they continue to produce monthly shows in the old ECW arena today, and are even going to be featured in the Mickey Rourke film, “The Wrestler”. Their talent roster includes some well-known indy performers, and their “invasion” angle of ROH in 2006 placed a few key players, like Chris Hero, Necro Butcher, Claudio Castagnoli and Kevin Steen, into the spotlight.
The Big 2 don’t want smaller guys on television (because of Vince’s obsession with gigantic performers, and TNA’s desire to be as much like WWE as they can be) but WWE used to have a cruiserweight class, and TNA still has the X Division, which is where the smaller, more athletic men should be allowed to rule in the land of the giants. We all remember how the cruisers carried the in-ring end of WCW cards during their run at the top of the wrestling world, while guys like Hogan, Nash, Flair, Piper, and many other veterans provided the drama and star power for the main event scene. Why this couldn’t be the plan in WWE and TNA today, I have no idea. Or perhaps I do…
WWE and TNA don’t want guys who can steal the show from a lower position on the card, to ensure their main event guys still look like the biggest deal on the show. If that’s the concern, then perhaps they ought to find some main event guys who can hold their own wrestling-wise, so the undercard “threat” isn’t a liability, but rather a benefit to heat up the crowd and get them excited about the big matches at the top of the card.
Some say the indies are missing the “big stars”, but which came first, the chicken or the egg? If indy guys had huge promotional machines behind them and sustained pushes on television, they’d get over just as successfully as anyone else. Take Samoa Joe and CM Punk for example. They had no trouble getting over with fans once they got on the big stage and were allowed to do their thing. Samoa Joe had TNA crowds eating out of the palm of his hand and crying out for him to get the gold long before he did so, and Punk has been beloved from just about the moment he first debuted on Tuesday nights in WWECW.
Speaking of which, how independent wrestling legend Bryan Danielson is handled in WWE will tell a great deal about whether or not McMahon and company are serious about changing the way they approach the business. Right now WWE has younger wrestlers in more featured roles than they have in the recent past, and stand poised to truly make the wrestling the most exciting part of their shows again, as it once was. But TNA is further away from that possibility, and less likely to do anything but remain in their comfort zone of sports entertainment. I’ll keep my ears open, and keep reading my colleagues’ reviews; if things change for the better, for long enough, I’d always be willing to give the Big 2 one more try.
Until that time comes, I’ll continue to celebrate my indy-pendence from the sports entertainment machine.
Vin Sanity is not categorized as a psychological disorder… yet.
p.s. – “Our waking hours form the text of our lives, our dreams, the commentary.” – Anonymous
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