Seventy percent of what we think about on a daily basis is pro wrestling

July 8, 2016 7:53 AM

A glimpse into the world of independent professional wrestling

Inside of the Bethany Community School multi-purpose room on a frigid January Saturday night, one of the biggest shows of the year for Northeast Wrestling, or NEW, was set to take place.

Hours before the hundreds of fans filled the “arena” to its absolute capacity, the wrestlers and other NEW employees were busy transforming the school from a place where kindergartners go for gym class or to act in the school play, into a setting that will hold a 30-man, over-the-top rope slugfest to determine the winner of the NEW Championship.

[TW: there is one gory photo of a forehead wound (stitched up, but still gross).]

posted by misskaz (4 comments total)

I remember my first indy show. One wrestler told the other that because of his purple trunks he looked like Barney. Almost instantly someone started singing the "I love you song" and the whole crowd joined in. The wrestlers went with, a fun moment of improvisational theater.
posted by Apoch at 8:40 AM on July 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

I remember my first indy show.

Me, too! I lost my voice shouting at a heel in a Steve Irwin costume. ("Miles Long, Beaver Hunter," IIRC.)

Good times.
posted by asperity at 9:24 AM on July 8, 2016

I went to my first indie show early last year and I was immediately hooked (it didn't hurt that it was Hoodslam which is kind of a special animal). There was a tag team match that involved the ghost of charlie chaplin as a competitor? Indie wrestling is amazing.
posted by Tesseractive at 10:26 AM on July 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

About the article: it's touching how committed they are to indie pro wrestling, to the point that even if they could, some of them don't want anything to do with the WWE.

Also, indie wrestling is a great argument for universal health care.
posted by asperity at 12:52 PM on July 8, 2016 [4 favorites]