Unspeakably Bad Indy Shows

[drjayphd (feat. Pitbull)]

I almost feel bad doing this, just because the fed's just starting out and it's run by a 20-year-old with a disability. But I just got back from watching a show by an independent fed in CT. Good thing I was getting paid to be there (it's about someone in the coverage area who helps run it) because it was just... bad. Let me count the ways.

* They hired a band to play before the show started and coming back from intermission, but you couldn't hear the vocals.
* One of the wrestlers was running the entrance music, and it would either be really late or just start at the wrong time.
* The ring announcer (who kinda towered over the wrestlers) had no sense of which words to emphasize. Or timing, either... he had to keep repeating himself.
* Did I mention there was no ring bell? I was telling someone else there that maybe they should just hit one of the cymbals on the band's drums, but no one thought of it. Someone in the audience had to shout "ding ding!" before the first match.
* The referees were... well, could've been better. Sometimes, they'd be looking right at a heel engaged in CHICANERY! and do nothing. The last full match that I watched featured run-ins by plants, who assumed the roles of managers. One of 'em started attacking one of the wrestlers, the ref's looking at him... and does nothing.
* The wrestling was spectacularly indy-tastic. Especially the heels going for cheap heat, what with the calling people ugly and saying the fans were why he was glad he left there (that guy had a decent look, all things considered). And let's not forget the manager, whose name escapes me. Looked like the bastard spawn of Jim Cornette and Jerry Lawler, sans glasses. Big fat (but not Big Fat Oily Guy fat) guy, sequined jacket, carried a croquet mallet. Again, indy-tastic.

I just couldn't stick around for the whole show. Sorry, TMiz, but not even the promise of Antonio Thomas could keep me there. However... everyone I dealt with was nothing short of professional, very welcoming, and it just felt like all they needed was some time to work out the kinks and some help. They certainly love what they do, and isn't that really what matters?

But the point is, ever go to any indy shows that were just horrible?

[CMPunkyBrewster]

dude, i worked a show once that was worse. we had a bell, but no belts even though some guys were billed as champs. i only worked one match, but some guys worked 2 or three, but they worked under different names without changing gear. one guy worked his match, came to the back, and then walked right back out, still sweaty and blown up, and was announced under a different name.

i would have worked another match under different circumstances, but all of these guys were beyond terrible and i wasn't risking getting hurt (i had already had my knee twisted by a guy trying to apply a figure four. he admitted to me later that he had never attempted it before. i really wanted to punch him.) the "promoters" (i use that term real lightly) idea of a payoff was a 6 pack of budweiser (no, i'm not joking). i would have taken it, but he didn't even keep it cold. it was just an awful night.

[Jeff]

cmpunkybrewster said:

dude, i worked a show once that was worse. we had a bell, but no belts even though some guys were billed as champs. i only worked one match, but some guys worked 2 or three, but they worked under different names without changing gear. one guy worked his match, came to the back, and then walked right back out, still sweaty and blown up, and was announced under a different name.

i would have worked another match under different circumstances, but all of these guys were beyond terrible and i wasn't risking getting hurt (i had already had my knee twisted by a guy trying to apply a figure four. he admitted to me later that he had never attempted it before. i really wanted to punch him.) the "promoters" (i use that term real lightly) idea of a payoff was a 6 pack of budweiser (no, i'm not joking). i would have taken it, but he didn't even keep it cold. it was just an awful night.

lol

[CMPunkyBrewster]

IT'S NOT FUNNY!

[01010010 01101001 01100011]

I went to a show at a bowling alley once, where the ring was set on the lanes and the lanes not used for the ring were in use by bowlers. The ring announcer would only announce every other match because he was wrestling the ones he wasn't announcing. He would go change into some tights and a different mask each time (and the masks kept coming off so we knew it was him) He was both the DFW Champion and the Texas Champion (the top two titles).

[Psy]

"Did I mention there was no ring bell? I was telling someone else there that maybe they should just hit one of the cymbals on the band's drums, but no one thought of it. Someone in the audience had to shout "ding ding!" before the first match."

That is probably the funniest thing I've read this week.

[kingoftheindies]

the last XPW show in Philly. Half the roster no shows, show gets cancelled midway through (matches were pretty bad), and when they promised us refunds we get XPW dvds.

One of the many reasons for my hatred of XPW, and why I'm glad it's dead.

[voiceboxisback]

Oh yes, it was riddled with false advertising, and bad wrestling. I forget the name of the promotion, but the card they advertised included Jim Neidhart, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, and a "legendary former WCW champion". Well Jim Neidhart was never actually booked it turns out, and Hammer was in a suckfest with some guy who was having his first match. He looked about 20-21, and amazingly he moved slower than Valentine. Even worse that "Legendary Former WCW champion" turned out to be none of other than Norman Smiley... I was like "WTF" and left.

["American Cream" Dusty Loads]

voiceboxisback said:

"Legendary Former WCW champion" turned out to be none of other than Norman Smiley.

You mean he's not??

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

Being from north GA, I've seen some skeezeball indy shows, but nothing tops Outlaw Championship Wrestling for me. Hell, half the crowd wasn't even sitting in proper seats, they were just sitting on a couple of amatuer wrestling mats stacked on top of each other. It was held in an indoor skate park, and was just crappy. I sat through The Judge vs. Black Pegasus(decent wrestler in a suckfest of a match), and some redneck team with a guy named "Peanut" as one of the members, and just laughed my ass off the whole time. I think Konga Dave was there, actually, matter of fact, because the promoter singled out a guy in an NWA shirt at the beginning of the show, and I didn't realize until much later who it had been.

['Sweet n' Sour' A. A. Estrada]

My first indy show had a match that had nothing but headbutts and low blows for five minutes.

[MNM's Official "Fixer"]

One indy show i went to had The Patriot, Crowbar, Superfly Jimmy Snuka, Tony Atlas, Tito Santana, and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. It was bad, the matches weren't entertaining, and they had this fake ass awards ceremoy. I heard the people that ran the show got closed down cause they didn't have a license.

[Ass Dan]

vanvader said:

My first indy show had a match that had nothing but headbutts and low blows for five minutes.

I see this happening in CHIKARA PRO.

[Ultimo Chocula]

I saw a show in the parking lot of a sports bar where the main event was Billy 2 Eagles (for you oldschool fans) vs Damon Sythe (a local guy who's a pretty cool dude). Billy had apparantly had a few before his match (he's legendary for his booze consumption) because he kept wandering around mugging at everybody and giving people crotch shots (this was in 2003 when DX was soooooooo over and done). Damon would try to face off with him but Billy just kept making googly eyes and pandering to the crowd so finally Damon just bum rushed him and beat him down, which caused me to yell out "Thank you!" because something was finally happening.

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

phenom said:

vanvader said:

My first indy show had a match that had nothing but headbutts and low blows for five minutes.

I see this happening in CHIKARA PRO.

Nope. Low blows are illegal in Chikara in the first place. In the second, most of Chikara's workers are WAYYYYYY better than that.

[The Line]

still haven't gone to an indy show

[Jason Todd Grisham]

Still haven't myself, but from what I hear Superbrawl Saturday III didn't live up to the hype.

Billy Whatshisname couldn't afford to pay Lugar.

[heffer111]

ive only been to one indy show, it pretty much sucked

[jzbadblood]

I've only been to one indy show myself, and it was the IWC's Big Butler Fair show of 04. It was actually really awesome. Got to see Chris Candido, CM Punk, and Alex Shelly. All the matches were good too.

[Nite-Owl Marks For Bloc Party]

I'am remember when my dad took me to a indy show in England it had advertised that the Undertaker and the Legion of doom would be there and when I got there it wasn't the real people