In the spirit of it being Thanksgiving week here in the United States, the team wanted to put forth some thoughts as to what they are thankful for this year as it relates to wrestling. The wrestling community is vast with tons of opinions, lots of energy, and boundless amounts of variety. As the web admin I first and foremost want to say I’m thankful for everyone who has come to our site and supported us in our mission to bring more attention to indy/indie wrestling. This has been one of the best years when it comes to reader/listener interaction and I am grateful that we at PWP have been able to connect with so many people here at home and around the world. It’s been an education in itself to talk with fans from so many different backgrounds and be able to share our passion for a niche form of entertainment that doesn’t always get the respect it deserves. I also want to say thank you to the entire staff who has helped, no matter how much they have contributed, every little bit counts and PWP wouldn’t be where it is today without you. Let’s get to what other writers are thankful for:
Des Delgadillo (@DesDelgadillo)
With wrestling being the limitless spectacle it is, I’m thankful for those promotions that dare to be different and push the envelope. I’m happy unconventional people are brave enough to book an unconventional product, because that’s really what wrestling is all about. Huge kudos to companies like ISW, Olde Wrestling, Kaiju Big Battel, Chikara with their storyline that I love and everyone else seems to hate, and, yes, despite my forthright snakiness on podcasts, even Wrestling Is. These companies try to be something different from the typical bump and grind (pun totally intended) of pro wrestling and are why I’m proud to be a fan of the wacky genre.
I’m also incredibly thankful to Chris, Jerome, Kevin “Dr. Cube” Ford, and whomever else runs the PWP ship. Getting to work with Chris on the Newscast every week has been an absolute thrill, and I feel like we’re becoming more entrenched in the indy wrestling community as a rich source of news, banter, and obscure references. For that, I have to thank the readers and listeners for their support of the podcast and PWP in general.
Jason Patrick (@JasonPatrickWE)
What I’m thankful for. I’m thankful for having the platform which is professional wrestling at a top quality level to escape from the everyday problems of reality. Whether it be zoning out in Ring of Honor, shaking my head in amazement from what I see on Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, taking an interest in guys I’d not seen before from AAW, AIW or elsewhere, watching some of my favorites such as Michael Elgin, Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa, The American Wolves or Kevin Steen, I’m thankful for every professional wrestler that breaks their back (not literally) to entertain me.
Jer Polk (@The1andonlyJer)
In this day & age where the “major” promotions are putting on a product that is so uninteresting to me, I don’t even bother to read spoilers anymore, I’m extremely thankful for INDY WRESTLING. More specifically, I’m thankful for the resurgence of Indy Wrestling in the Carolinas. Promotions like PWX, CWF Mid-Atlantic, WrestleForce, FSPW, & OMEGA have made this one of my favorite years to be a wrestling fan. I’ve been a fan since the mid 80’s. I’m thankful to have the opportunity to watch guys who could be the future of Pro Wrestling on a monthly basis. Guys like, Cedric Alexander, John Skyler, Trevor Lee, Caleb Konley, Arik Royal, Corey Hollis, Adam Page & Jake Manning. These are all talents who never give anything less than 100% in the ring. It would be easy to get complacent seeing great matches month after month but I remain thankful & will take every opportunity to see these talents do what they do best before they go on to well deserved greater things. Alexander has had multiple 5 star matches this year which leads me to giving thanks to PWX for bringing in the best talent from around the world to perform with this talented core roster that I am privileged to watch on a regular basis. Guys like, Kevin Steen, The Briscoes, Chris Hero, Jay Lethal, Steve Corino, Los Ben Dejos, and Joey Ryan. The list goes on & on. Thank you to CWF Mid-Atlantic & PWX for treating me so well, giving me great access to all the talented guys I’ve mentioned above. It’s a genuine pleasure to deal with you & I look forward to many more years. At the risk of rambling, I’m also thankful to see the growth of many current stars on the Indy scene. Two years ago I saw The Reaper on $5 Wrestling Tuff E Nuff. Not familiar with that name? I’m not surprised, as that young man has recreated himself & is currently PWX ITV champion Mr Elite Drew Myers. Myers has really improved his character & has become one of my favorites to watch, alongside former $5 colleague Zane Riley the two have become the most anticipated stars each month at PWX shows. I’m thankful for great events like CWF’s CWF Rumble, Ultimate Survivor & BattleCade (coming up Dec. 28) since making a huge splash at NPWD, CWF has grown leaps & bounds, they deserve as many eyes on them as possible, so please check them out. This will be a hard year in Indy wrestling to top & I’m thankful for each opportunity I get to work close with these promotions & my colleagues at PWP. Happy Thanksgiving!
Jen Logsdon (@PocketVolcano)
With Thanksgiving comes the time to count our blessings, and independent wrestling has given me several of them. I’m most thankful for promotions that are dedicated to providing an equal playing field for the women in wrestling, such as SHIMMER Women Athletes, NCW Femmes Fatales, Women Superstars Uncensored, SHINE Wrestling, Absolute Intense Wrestling, AAW, Combat Zone Wrestling, and several more. I’m thankful that I’ve been able to make so many wrestling road trips this year, where I was able to see in person EVOLVE, SHIMMER and CHIKARA at WrestleCon; the short-lived Wrestling is Intense; the return of IWA: Mid-South; DREAMWAVE Wrestling; and more. I’m thankful I’ve been able to discover so many talented men and women that I wasn’t aware of before; and that I’ve been a witness to the continued evolution of wrestlers that I have watched since they started out. Above all, I’m grateful to have become friends with several people in the independent wrestling community. Some of you have helped me through this year, the worst in my life, and I’m incredibly thankful that I branched out into indy wrestling a few years ago since it led to the friends I have now. Thank you, and here’s to a great year of indy wrestling in 2014!
Barry Murphy (@TheBarryLad)
More than anything else, I’m thankful for the indie wrestling community I’ve become a part of in the last year. The shows I’ve watched, the laughs I’ve had, and most importantly; the friends I’ve made. I truly appreciate every wrestler, promoter, fan and PWP reader I’ve had the pleasure of talking to this year. One of the allures of the indies is the sense of camaraderie born of a shared interest in a particular niche – and I’ve really grown to love that.
Oh, and the Hoopla Hotties. God bless ’em.
Justin Houston (warning, NSFW) (@JustinJHouston)
I’m thankful for independent companies that continue to push the boundaries and smash the preconceived notions of what wrestling is “supposed” to be. Every goddamn week, Vince McMahon, Trips McMahon and Sugar Tits McMahon drag out the same stupid fucking storylines that have always only ever been stupid: unexplained kidnappings (Where are the fucking police in these cases?!?), evil general managers, petty cat fights, lone wolves fighting against the machine, and just two dudes fight for no same reason at all, all while putrid “celebrities” show up and desperately try to make sure they look as disinterested in wrestling as possible. These scenarios were outdated THIRTEEN YEARS AGO. People have been complaining about this nonsense for much longer than that, but nothing changes. Vince CAN’T change anything. It would require A) giving two tugs of a dead clown’s dick cheese about wrestling and B) having a set of balls big enough to admit that he has no fucking clue what he’s doing and handing the reigns over to someone who does. I eagerly await that phone call.
Speaking of necrophilia and swollen testicles, if you want companies that DO care about wrestling and dry humping your brain’s expectations , the indies are your only chance at that getting some of that. PWG doesn’t give a FUCK about anybody but PWG. They sell out the same building every show, ten times a year and book all the best guys and have the biggest, craziest matches they can. They don’t rely on gimmicks either: when ladders and chairs and pogo sticks and a baby’s mobile made of Tasers come into play, it’s to enhance the already insane action. They exist in their own universe and rule it with an iron cock ring that jingles when they are erect. Which is ALWAYS. DGUSA and EVOLVE are constantly putting out the best shows Gabe Sapolsky can come up with, mainly because he probably assumes every show will be his last. Dragon Gate could give him the ol’ “thanks but no thanks” at any fucking time and it’s sayonara to that sweet, sweet yen. So every show is like, “THIS IS EVERYTHING I HAVE! YOU WANT MY BLOOD, TOO?! TAKE IT ALL YOU FUCKING HEARTLESS PIRATES.” He booked FOUR titles matches for one of his recent shows. FOUR. That’s bonkers. Look, to my knowledge DGUSA has never put a live stream up that didn’t immediately spark, sputter and set several on-site techs on fire, rendering the stream dead on arrival and widowing the wives of those poor charred tech guys. Also, the cards are always being reshuffled like a kid who won’t FUCKING JUST DEAL THE FUCKING CARDS, KYLE. But when they finally get those shows on-demand and actually viewable by eyeballs, everybody pretty much love’em. Also, ROH apparently doesn’t make everyone vomit sadpuke anymore. So that’s good. I always hear great things about AIW, AAW, 2CW and loads others. All of our sponsor companies are best wrestlings that ever wrestled. Beyond Wrestling and PWF and CWF Mid-Atlantic and something called MEXPRO that apparently exists and sounds like the most unholy illegal firework every created.
Indie wrestling is wonderful. Fuck Vince McMahon. And fuck kidnapping. That shit is messed up.
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Of course we wish all of you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving or just a Happy Thursday. Lastly, thank you to all the men and women who sacrifice all they do to entertain us every day in pro wrestling.