2013 Indymania Weekend

[goodhelmet]

I thought I would start a thread since there are tons of people here either going to other shows during Mania weekend or ordering the iPPVs. If you are going or went to a show this weekend, I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

Friday's night shows...

 

ROH

Evolve

CZW

TNA House Show

[WingedEagle]

Didn't order ROH as the product has done nothing to interest me for a while and this new Scum angle isn't exactly setting my world on fire. That said, sounded like Lethal/Elgin was good and I'm definitely interested in the Briscoe title win. Did not see that happening at all and am curious where they're going with it.

[rovert]

ROH was a great show with one really strong match in Mike Elgin vs Jay Lethal and a great story being told of Jay Briscoe finally winning the World title - liberally borrowing from Mankind's first title win. However if you were watching live the otherwise excellent stream cut out for the main event run in and eventual pinfall.

 

Speaking of streams cutting out EVOLVE was just a mess started 30 minutes later due to technical issues. Then would cut out all over the place. The show itself was fine can't rag on the performances but the booking of the tournament was SO shitty with screwy finishes and the final didn't feel like a climax at all.

 

Shimmer only just finished similar show to ROH a stand out match between Hamada and Athena and a satisfying title win by Cheerleader Melissa over Sweet Sayara.

[goodhelmet]

Did you watch these or are you just reporting?

[rovert]

Ok....

[goodhelmet]

It was a serious question.

[rovert]

I am the only Irish person who didn't fly over. Yeah I am watching these on iPPV.

[Dylan Waco]

I am the only Irish person who didn't fly over.

You should be out looting then.

 

I'm going to watch the ROH ppv tonight.

 

Bix needs to post a full PWS report from Thur in this thread

[Cox]

I went to PWS on Thursday and saw part of last night's Chikara show. Was supposed to go to Shimmer but my friend who was coming in from NYC wound up being close to an hour late, so we missed the show.

 

PWS was probably the best PWS show of the three that I've been to, which isn't saying much since I hated the first two PWS shows I went to, but this show wasn't awful. It really showed where the ROH title is in the grand scheme of things these days when Kevin Steen taps out to Dan Maff in the third match. I had a blast marking out for the Rock 'n' Roll Express since I've never seen them live, so that was fun. Elijah Burke and John Morrison looked like the two best workers on the show, since everything they did just looked so much more professional than what we saw in every other match, if that makes sense (and it may not). And man, Davey Richards sucks. Kinda wish I hadn't seen him. But overall, show was decent.

 

Chikara...man, Chikara just isn't for me. I do think they know their audience extremely well, but a lot of the cornball ironic hipster comedy just doesn't work for me. I don't get why every single group we saw on the show has people who aren't getting along. My group left early in the second half since it had been a long day walking around WrestleCon (described by one of my friends as "Just like ComicCon, but fatter") and because we weren't really digging on this show. Probably a better show than PWS, but not something I will be in a rush to ever watch again.

 

Going to Wrestlemania tonight. Sitting in the absolute last row of the upper deck, behind the stage, so I won't see entrances. I am only hoping not to get burned by pyro.

[Bix]

Went with Cox to PWS Supercard Night 1 on Thursday. Meeting the Rock & Roll Express and seeing them wrestle live was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend so far. They hit all of their trademark spots and still have excellent physical timing. Double dropkick finish looked great.

 

Jushin Liger vs Davey Richards vs Anthony Nese was pretty bad whenever Liger wasn't in. There was one wacky three way spot where he somehow ended up getting DDTed by Nese where he fed into it more obviously than the heels running at The Undertaker at Raw 1000. Nese is just a random Indy flyer who happens to be jacked. Liger's body language and reactions were superb as always.

 

Simon Dean > Nova. By a lot. He is great at doing bullshit comedy matches, and he had one here with THE DRUNKEN SWASHBUCKLER.

 

Unintentional funniest moment of the night: The angle with Fake Alex Reynolds distracting Starman (who is literally just a ring entrance) not getting over because nobody knew Alex Reynolds.

 

Most indie wrestling moment of the night: The awful fake Bruce Buffer ring announcer cutting a promo on infamous UCW/ICW promoter and sometimes local wrestling merch store owner Jac Sabboth for leaving without paying for his gimmick table (PWS doesn't ask for gimmick table money up front). Then he proceeded to throw whatever merchandise Jac left into the crowd. A kid in front of be got a WCW Bret Hart Hot Wheels type car.

[Bix]

"Please do not touch, grope, or grab any of the wrestlers." THEY ACTUALLY SAID THAT DURING THE PRE-SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS AT SHIMMER.

 

Other than that and it starting/running late, fucking up some people's autograph plans, it was a fun show. The matches that were good on paper delivered for the most part, with Ayako Hamada vs Athena being excellent, the best match I've seen so far this weekend. For a theoretical workrate promotion, though, a lot of the women on the show were way too green.

 

The Saraya Knight vs Cheerleader Melissa (she doesn't do the gimmick anymore and everyone knows her last name, so why isn't she just Melissa Anderson at this point?) cage match main event was good, and I was relieved nobody did any dives off the top of the cage because it was REALLY tall, literally three times the height of the top rope. Seems weird that Melissa isn't in WWE: Great look that wouldn't be out of place, excellent wrestler, pretty charismatic, etc. Did that OVW tryout camp where they thought she did great until she went into crying jags thinking her matches weren't good enough (apparently a byproduct of her time in Arsion's dojo) scare them away for life?

 

This was my first time seeing Athena and she came off like someone who should be a star. The match with Hamada was considerably better than the last time I saw Hamada live (vs Sara Del Ray, which was very good). Just really, really good at everything, and her finisher a top rope diving stunner/Ace Crusher called "The O Face," is awesome. Surprisingly awesome: If the move was explained to me I'd think "Wow, that must look awful," but it looked perfect.

 

Also: I saw a guy in a SlamminLadies.com shirt. Is that REALLY something you want to wear in public, even at a a Shimmer show? You might as well wear a shirt that says "Yes, I spend exorbinate amounts of money on custom women's wrestling matches where I choose what they wear and how long they head scissor each other. Why do you have that look on your face?"

[Bix]

As for the WrestleCon Expo, it was very good as far as these things go. Highspots' tables were basically what you'd expect, except with magazines all ridiculously overpriced since they're the most high profile table and seeming banking on people rushing to them first to have something cool to get signed, not realizing there was at least one vendor with a good variety of magazines starting at $1.

 

At Cox's instruction, I made a beeline to Gary Cappetta's booth. "He has this amazing WrestleWar '92 poster: if it's still here, I will get it later." Actually, he had multiple WCW PPV posters from '91-'93, and not just single posters: He had a bunch of each, all unused. I grabbed Starrcade '91 (which was on really thick paper to the point it wouldn't fit in a tube, thankfully it should be fine on its own) and his last Bash '91 poster (LEGEND VS LEGACY! Whoops.). PLUS he had his original cassette copies of WCW entrance music he would take to the shows in bags of 8, so I grabbed one that was all circa 1990 except for Hogan's theme. Stan Hansen! Lex Luger! MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE! He threw in a signed photo of him with Bruno & Andre at Clash 20 ("I haven't signed any of these all day...") because he liked the way I was enthusiastically looking all of the goods over. Had a nice selection of WWWF show posters too but they were too expensive for me.

 

Then I found someone with a pretty great array of magazines (video store trade with Hogan/No Holds Barred on the cover! WBF MAGAZINE! and of course your usual Apter and WWF mags) mostly priced based on condition. He ALSO had the WrestleMania 2 program for $25, which I had to buy on the spot as its the coolest program they ever did with lots of fun artwork of everyone on the card. Looking at eBay prices its hard to gauge if it was a good price: Definitely better than what's up now, but others have gone for less recently more or less depending on the starting price (plus one was a newsstand edition). He also had WM1...for $70, which is way too much for me.

 

So since I unexpectedly spent most of the cash I took out at Cappetta's, I had to go back to the ATM while they held my pile of magazine. Already a pretty slow AT,, there was a woman in front of it who had been waiting for seven minutes for it to do something. Yup, the ATM ran out of cash. Thankfully I was able to convince the vendor to let me Paypal them from my iPad.

 

There was a table I didn't spot until late selling a bunch of vintage WWF posters (reprinted bootlegs it looked like since they were on photo paper but they looked perfect). By the first time I got there, there was nobody there. When I came back, they were packing up. I wanted the No Holds Barred movie poster...which she gave me for free! Including a tube AND extra tubes for the stuff from Cappetta.

 

Non-stuff i bought related notes: Said hi Cabana again and he introduced me to Marty DeRosa. Finally met IVP, Arda Ocal, Joe Gagne, & Bryan Alvarez. Bryan was super nice, to the point of apologizing to me later on Twitter for not being able to talk longer.

 

Devon Storm/Crowbar/Salem/Chris Ford PT was with his family walking around as a fan and catching up with guys. Some fun wrestler interactions as you always get at these shows, like Luke Gallows & Serena Deeb meeting up for seemingly the first time since she got fired by WWE and a Tommy Dreamer/Brian Lee reunion.

 

Jake Roberts looked and sounded great. DDP is a miracle worker. If he can get Scott Hall anywhere close to where Jake is, then WWE needs to seriously consider working with him in setting up some kind of aftercare program for wrestlers who they send to rehab. And DDP should probably consider becoming an actual addiction counselor. It's one thing to get Jake Roberts clean, since he's always been someone who wanted to he clean. Scott Hall is an even bigger challenge. I don't think it's just the yoga as much as they needed a support system and the yoga helped with their overall health, lessened their chronic pain, and gave them structure.

[Ricky Jackson]

I'm jealous.

[Bix]

Rovert posted this in the Dylan reviews full shows thread:

 

[rovert]

Rather amusing if innocent people aren't caught in the crossfire

 

PWInsider:

 

Representatives of WWE legal swept through the Wrestlecon vendors room this afternoon, seizing "bootlegged" material such as DVDs, t-shirts, etc. that were being sold by some of the vendors who had come into town to sell at the event.

Those who had material seized were given a court date to appear and try to argue their case as to why the material should be returned...and risk paying damages. WWE took personal information of those who were selling materials.

 

WWE came armed with a massive list of their copyrights and trademarks to show they were being infringed upon.

Hope they took all of Barber Shop Window's stock.

[Bix]

Off the top of my head, they most likely went after:

 

- A specific DVD vendor who I won't name.

- A guy who had custom action figures along with official merch

- Barber Shop Window (I should be glad I got my IcoPro shirt yesterday, although it looks like that trademark's expired...how much of their stuff would fall under satire/parody?)

- The people that gave me the NHB poster.

- Other T-shirt vendors like whoever had stuff like the classic Savage shirt.

[KrisZ]

Whoever brought merch like that deserved to get popped

[Bix]

Dave is saying they got a court order to seize ALL merch (bootleg and legit) within 5 miles of mania, which...wha?

[BackToBionic]

I've seen a couple people bashing BarberShop Window as a result of this raid. I've smiled at a couple of their shirts, considered buying a few but haven't gotten around to it. Why the hate? Have they screwed people?

[Troy]

BSW took like two or three months to send me my shirt

[Blehschmidt]

I have like 5 shirts from BSW. There shipping times are atrocious, but the shirts are decent quality, and the guy that runs it is helpful with any questions or issues.

[rzombie1988]

Would a daytime indy wrestling show on the Monday after Wrestlemania work? There should be a lot of people left over from Wrestlemania.

[goc]

I have nothing bad to say about BSW. Ordered a shirt on there in the wrong size by accident and wrote an email asking if they could change it. Got an email back the next day saying it was taken care of. I think the shirt took like 2 weeks to get to me.

[goc]

Dave is saying they got a court order to seize ALL merch (bootleg and legit) within 5 miles of mania, which...wha?

I believe this came with the string attached that there would a later court date (which I think was yesterday) where anyone who'd had their merch confiscated could come and argue their case and perhaps get back their stuff. But it's not like anyone should be surprised that money can get you special favors in politics.

[hammerva]

If they would have gone after anyone, I would think B Brown Video would first on the list with all of the WWE, World Class, Mid South, ECW, and other Vince bought company TV sets for sale as well as WWE house show and stuff that look to have been copied from 24/7. But maybe they mind that stuff. I was glad of the selection at Wrestlecon because I was worried it was just going to be one big Highspots table, autographs, and nothing else. I also like that Wrestlecon made a program since I am a mark for those things. My only negative is that building itself or specifically the people working the tickets at the building. From telling me that there was no bathrooms, to telling me I couldn't go to the ATM IN THE BUILDING because there was no re-entry, to having to explain that change back on a $20 for the $5 wrestling show was $15, it was a sight. Plus apparently they were not set up for IPPV internet wise and just drove Gabe crazy. Eventually they got it taken care of but wonder how much they spend for that.

 

Some other things:

 

1. Except for the headaches with setup of IPPV and running way too late, EVOLVE was real fun. Hated the booking of Sami vs Chuck Taylor match but the right people won.

2. First ever PWS show and it is definitely a mix of fun shit with current and past wrestlers and students who shouldn't be allowed between the rope. The two highlights of the show was New Jack starting the Hardcore Rumble by doing a headlock, armdrag, bodyslam sequence on Tommy Dreamer and this weird shit involving Colt Cabana/Kevin Matthews/some retarded fan who hates Cabana/Shelly Martinez taping the retard going crazy on her IPAD. If this isn't some kind of angle then it was extremely douchey to watch

3. CZW was pretty good except for an awful Greg Excellent/Colt Cabana comedy match. Was extremely impressed by this Sumerian Death Squad team from WXW against the Christ Brothers. Jun Kasai is absolutely crazy taking face shots into a board of Gusset plates. Gusset plates by the way is easily the sickest death match weapon out there. When that had the skin you can see the blood splatter.

4. Why Chikara decided to run a show at 4:00 on Saturday makes no sense. I mean time wise there isn't much to do unless they run Shimmer around 10 AM but most people only saw half of the show.

5. Trying to explain $5 wrestling and Freight train to people who haven't seen $5 wrestling is tough. I mean the MST 3000 stuff is obvious but the Jake Manning vs Freight train match which was just terrible but the crowd went apeshit for is confusing.

 

Really fun weekend of shows. Will be interesting to see how they handle New Orleans next year because they definitely advertised it.

5.