Reminder, #RAWlternative II: THE RAWENING Is Tonight

Your Chikara offering for tonight's proceedings
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Event details HERE

Monday night, January 19, Beyond Wrestling head honcho Denver Colorado (the man, not the place) devised a counterculture alternative streaming event to run against Monday Night RAW featuring some of the best and brightest independent wrestling companies in North America. The event was such a success that he has planned a second viewing party for tonight. #RAWlternative has returned, and it has brought some heavy hitters with it. The four hour event will start at 7:30 PM tonight, streaming right from Beyond's YouTube channel. Several companies have returned from the first slate. New companies have swooped in for spots. If you want to get a heavenly sampler of what other kinds of wrestling is out there, and you don't wanna pay any money for said taste, then tonight is your night.

A grand total of 14 promotions will be taking part. The companies who participated last time are Beyond Wrestling, Alpha-1 Wrestling, Absolute Intense Wrestling, All-American Wrestling, SMASH Wrestling, C*4 Wrestling, Dreamwave Wrestling, Inspire Pro Wrestling, and Inter Species Wrestling. The four new promotions supplying goods are Chikara, SHIMMER Women Athletes, Jersey Championship Wrestling, Freelance Wrestling, and the granddaddies of American independent wrestling, IWA Mid-South. That lineup is formidable and impressive. And what do you know, a partial match listing has been revealed so far!

• Beyond Wrestling - Young Bucks vs. Team Tremendous
• Absolute Intense Wrestling - Johnny Gargano vs. Candice LeRae
• All-American Wrestling - Ricochet vs. Josh Alexander
• Alpha-1 Wrestling - Ethan Page vs. Alessandro del Bruno
• C*4 Wrestling - Speedball Mike Bailey and the Super Smash Bros. vs. Michael Elgin and Tabarnak de Team
• Chikara - The Wrecking Crew vs. Jervis Cottonbelly, Princess Kimber Lee, Shynron, and the Throwbacks
• Dreamwave Wrestling - Colt Cabana and Supercop Dick Justice vs. Arik Cannon and Darin Corbin
• Freelance Wrestling - Suge D, Haunter Strange, Kaden Sade, and Josh Crow vs. Malachi Matthews, Bolt Brady, GPA, and Masked Character
• Inspire Pro Wrestling - Barbi Hayden vs. Athena
• Inter Species Wrestling - Chris Dickinson vs. Pinkie Sanchez
• IWA Mid-South - Jimmy Jacobs vs. Ace Perry
• Jersey Championship Wrestling - Chris Sabin vs. Grim Reefer vs. Bandido, Jr. vs. MetsFan4Ever Brian Myers
• SMASH Wrestling - Brent Banks vs. Scotty O'Shea in an Ambulance Match

The only the only promotion whose match has not been announced yet is SHIMMER, and I expect that to come at the last possible seconds. I've seen two of those matches above, but they're both outstanding. I was there live for the Chikara ten-man match, which is one of my very favorite contests of the year. The Hayden/Athena match that Inspire Pro is offering is another banger. Additionally, the AAW match, Ricochet vs. Alexander, is a repeat tandem, as Alpha-1's offering for the last one was that same contest.

Either way, that lineup is rock solid right now. I plan on watching it on the second screen, along with RAW, but if you want to watch it exclusively, then you totally should. What I don't suggest is ignoring this event altogether. Nothing right now competes with WWE's monolith as well as the indie scene, especially since Lucha Underground's status for a second season is up in the air and NXT is fucking owned by WWE. Sure, you'll have to spend some money to support these guys, but they deserve it just as much as WWE does your Network sub or the advertising dollars the company gets, if not more. If you want an alternative, if you need an alternative, then you have no excuse not to watch #RAWlternative in some capacity tonight.