Friday, April 6, 2012

2012: Year of the Wrestling Match

WRESTLING!
Photo Credit: Gregory Davis/DDS
The phrase "I Want Wrestling" is one that has both a lot of cache with the "smart" fan as well as a lot of criticism based on its use by those who created it. Whenever someone times RAW or Impact or whatever show and the amount of wrestling is under a certain, arbitrary threshold of acceptability, that phrase is bandied about. Why? Because at heart, we all want wrestling to go with our melodrama. Some of us don't particularly watch for the matches, and that's fine. As K. Sawyer Paul termed them (and he himself is admittedly among them), they are fans of characters or movements, and to me, that's perfectly fine.

I, however, am a fan of wrestling, and furthermore, I'm a hardcore fan of wrestling matches themselves. I can't get enough of watching good matches, and because of that, I not only watch everything WWE and TNA have to offer on TV, I go to indie shows, buy DVDs, watch NXT and Superstars on WWE.com and troll YouTube for matches. So far, after three months and change in 2012, people who want wrestling are getting it from all levels.

From the low level indies all the way up to WrestleMania, there are really great matches to be found everywhere a wrestling fan wants to go. They're happening on free TV, on PPV and at live shows. The amount of really good wrestling I've seen this year is staggering so far. I'm not sure if it's more or less than in other years, but at the same time, perception is reality, and the perception to me is that 2012 is off to a swimming start.

While wrestling needs to have fans of characters and movements coming along at various times, I certainly feel that companies could do worse than catering to the fans of wrestling first. In 2012, I doubt that the business of wrestling will reach the same kinds of peaks that it did in the mid-'80s and then late-'90s again. I'm not saying it's impossible that it'll become bigger than those periods, mainly because I think that we're due for another boom soon. It's just it'll be different than those two booms. Because the business of wrestling is so unpredictable, I feel like companies ought to always look out for preserving the art of wrestling. A large part of that art is very much ingrained in the stuff that happens in the ring. That's why I place so much emphasis on the A1W 100 and take as much care as I can in selecting my matches for my year-end match countdown. That's why wrestling is important to me.

I had a little bit of a disagreement with Brandon Stroud over e-mail where he was arguing that promotions like SHIMMER and DGUSA don't really tickle him because of their rudimentary or even sometimes non-existent storytelling. Admittedly yes, those promotions, like a lot of indie promotions (not included in this, Chikara and ACW because god, the stories they tell), sometimes are a little light in how intricately they weave their angles. That being said, I still find so much worth in them and support them so fervently because they bring so much in terms of match quality to the table. I haven't seen anything from the most recent DVD tapings, but SHIMMER to me sounds like they did it again with their most recent set of tapings, as several people who went said it was among the best rounds of events they have held. To me, while yes, I would love to see Chikara-level stories from every promotion, the fact that they have great wrestling contained within their cards is enough to get my support.

I realize that I may be on the fringe of people who care about matches. I also realize that every fan is different and that it's okay to watch wrestling for reasons other than the matches. However, for those who are somewhat like me and love to watch a great wrestling match, this year has been great so far. With stuff like the ECWA Super 8 tomorrow, ROH/Chikara Synergy, PWG's DDT4, the Wrestling Retribution Project and for those who are more worldly than I, all the joshi, puroresu and lucha libre out there, it's only looking to get better.

After the jump, I got some YT vids for those who want to get a taste of the stuff I've been watching this year that I've liked a lot.


Mike Posey (c) vs. Kyle Matthews, NWA All-Out Championship from NWA Pro South House Show, 2/10


Damien Sandow (c) vs. Richie Steamboat, FCW Jack Brisco 15 Championship Match, FCW TV, 1/29 (airdate)