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| These two teams facing off again and more! Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
Wrestling fans do a lot in regards to wrestling. They watch it, absorb it, analyze it, kvetch about it, curse its name, critique the decisions of the people in it, obsess over it, spend money on it, react to it, and even make memes out of it. But is there a day where fans get a chance to actually celebrate it? The closest answer I can think of is WrestleMania, but that is a celebration of only one company and all the tape libraries it has purchased (and even that's a stretch). That company is also increasingly falling out of touch with what wrestling really is, even if the actual depth and breadth of wrestling offered in their matches has gone up substantially even in the last few years.
Wrestling is a form of sport or entertainment in America where the market leader in it doesn't encompass everything worth celebrating about it. If Major League Baseball organized a "National Baseball Day," it would definitely encompass the entire sport in the country and perhaps the world given how insular we are about our National Pastime. Conversely, if National Soccer Day were celebrated here and only counted Major League Soccer? That would be like considering WrestleMania as the be-all, end-all celebration of pro graps.
That's why National Pro Wrestling Day, an all-day festival chronicling wrestling companies from around the United States and Canada, is sorely needed on the landscape. The fact that it took until 2013 for this idea to get off the ground is a bit embarrassing for an industry that has below the mainstream has always felt like a loose confederation rather than a body of companies competing for one captive audience. But it's useless to complain about the past, especially now that we have this event in the here and now to serve as a reminder of how great the thing we love to spend our time, money, attention, and brainpower on can really be.
The event will take place at theDerby Ink Gardens on the 800 block of Spring Garden Street at the Philadelphia National Guard Armory at 2700 Southampton Road (at the intersection with US 1/Roosevelt Boulevard) in Philadelphia, PA. Philly has been such a seminal city for independent wrestling in the last 20 years that I'm not sure it would have made sense to hold the first one anywhere else. In a perfect world, the Arena would have been the place to have it, but alas, we all know what happened there. It's an all-day event with two wrestling cards, one starting at 1PM and the second at 7PM, with 22 matches and 26 promotions giving representation. Additionally, there will be vendors, picture-taking opportunities, and chances to meet a lot of people who make wrestling happen.
If you head into Philly for the event, admission is free. I'm sure it's too late for people outside a day's travel to road trip for this thing, but wrestling, especially on an independent level, is so concentrated on the East Coast where the population is densest so that it wouldn't be a thing for people to come down from New York or up from Baltimore and DC for the day. For those who can't be there in person, then you can be there through the magic of iPPV at Smart Mark Video.
Enough about the reasoning and the contact info. What about what you're going to find on the card if you end up venturing into Philly or watching it on iPPV? Why is this lineup worth celebrating? I've spent the last month or so dedicating posts to each match as they've been announced, but here's the crib notes edition:
If you're a fan of any of the promotions sending representation, come out and lend moral support. If you know nothing about the indies, this is the perfect entree, a sampler platter if you will. I know I'm sounding like they're paying me money to advertise this for them, but I'm not getting a red cent. I feel so strongly about this thing because it's so good for the health of professional wrestling in America.
Wrestling is a form of sport or entertainment in America where the market leader in it doesn't encompass everything worth celebrating about it. If Major League Baseball organized a "National Baseball Day," it would definitely encompass the entire sport in the country and perhaps the world given how insular we are about our National Pastime. Conversely, if National Soccer Day were celebrated here and only counted Major League Soccer? That would be like considering WrestleMania as the be-all, end-all celebration of pro graps.
That's why National Pro Wrestling Day, an all-day festival chronicling wrestling companies from around the United States and Canada, is sorely needed on the landscape. The fact that it took until 2013 for this idea to get off the ground is a bit embarrassing for an industry that has below the mainstream has always felt like a loose confederation rather than a body of companies competing for one captive audience. But it's useless to complain about the past, especially now that we have this event in the here and now to serve as a reminder of how great the thing we love to spend our time, money, attention, and brainpower on can really be.
The event will take place at the
If you head into Philly for the event, admission is free. I'm sure it's too late for people outside a day's travel to road trip for this thing, but wrestling, especially on an independent level, is so concentrated on the East Coast where the population is densest so that it wouldn't be a thing for people to come down from New York or up from Baltimore and DC for the day. For those who can't be there in person, then you can be there through the magic of iPPV at Smart Mark Video.
Enough about the reasoning and the contact info. What about what you're going to find on the card if you end up venturing into Philly or watching it on iPPV? Why is this lineup worth celebrating? I've spent the last month or so dedicating posts to each match as they've been announced, but here's the crib notes edition:
- ACH will be there to wrestle possibly twice in the Rey de Voladores tournament. He also could be going up against 2 Cold Scorpio in the finals, which would automatically be the best match in the history of wrestling matches.
- Colt Cabana and Mike Quackenbush will wrestle, and that's always a crowd-pleaser.
- Tommy Dreamer's gonna be there, and he's the only ECW guy who still associates with the legend without completely embarrassing himself.
- Drew Gulak is wrestling. It doesn't matter against whom, because he could wrestle a broom and it would be at least slightly-above-average.
- Someone could legitimately lose a tooth in the Briscoes/Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino match. You could claim it for free and not have to pay money for it on eBay.
- Kaiju Big Battel!
- Chikara's offering is pretty much their signature match, and Chuck Taylor interacting with Los Ice Creams should be a spectacle at the very least.
- You could use your sepia-filter on Instagram for a picture with Thunderkitty, and it would totally be appropriate.
- AR Fox and Shane Strickland might engage in wrestling action so hot that it might set legit fire to the arena.
- Devastation Corporation vs. the Estonian Thunder Frog and Latvian Proud Oak. DO I NEED TO SAY MORE?
- Your new favorite wrestling promotion could very well be there for you to discover with 26 companies sending representation.
- I'm going to be there! So's Danielle! So's Brandon Stroud! So are a ton of other folks who are cool and awesome and funny and totally not smelly.
If you're a fan of any of the promotions sending representation, come out and lend moral support. If you know nothing about the indies, this is the perfect entree, a sampler platter if you will. I know I'm sounding like they're paying me money to advertise this for them, but I'm not getting a red cent. I feel so strongly about this thing because it's so good for the health of professional wrestling in America.
