The Indie Corner: Why Indie Wrestling Is Worth Watching
by Thomas Holzerman on Oct 30, 2011 12:46 PM EDT
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Hello, Cagesiders! My name is Tom Holzerman, and I’ll be checking in once a week or so to give the readers of this great blog some insight into the world of independent wrestling. There's a whole wide world of wrestling below the mainstream, and a good bit of it is definitely worth following.
Why though? It's fairly inaccessible, costs more than the share of one's cable bill to be able to follow and the production is fairly low-rent. There are a lot of things going against indie wrestling, but in my not-so-humble opinion, I feel like the pros far outweigh the cons here. It's an artform that's well worth seeking out, even if it might be a bit difficult.
The reasons are simple.
First and foremost, by and large, it's still extremely fun, especially for the fan who still isn't enchanted with what WWE and Impact have to put out. Whether or not the tenor of the promotion is silly like Chikara or serious like Ring of Honor is irrelevant. There's just a different atmosphere. Things are looser. There's less of a feeling that the proceedings are the machinations of a corporate machine trying to optimize ratings and just guys out there giving their all to give a paying audience a good show.
Secondly, the actual wrestling is different. I'll leave it to the actual viewer as to whether it's better or worse – personally, I feel like there's great wrestling to be found at any level in any style – but it's unlike what people see in WWE or Impact Wrestling. In fact, new styles, moves and spots are innovated in the indies before they make their way to the mainstream. It's some exciting stuff.
Thirdly, these wrestlers are the future of the business and deserve our support. They bust their humps for minimal payouts, have to sell merchandise without the backing of a nationally distributed TV show with wide reach (let's not fool ourselves here, ROH's Sinclair show is still pretty lo-fi) and often have to spend most of what they make on travel and expenses. In some cases, these guys and gals are drastically underpaid for their efforts. Wrestlers like Kevin Steen, El Generico, Chuck Taylor and Colt Cabana, just to name a few, could and probably should be on a main roster, getting paid handsomely for their talents.
And even with the relative infrequency, inaccessibility and extra up-front costs for tickets and DVDs, it's still very much affordable to go to an indie wrestling show. Ticket costs usually top out at $25 for a general admission seat, and at most shows and venues, these tickets get really good seats, seats that might cost double or triple that price for even untelevised WWE house shows. Most indie tickets are even more inexpensive than that. The DVDs cost no more than $25 for a single disc, and iPPV costs are usually inexpensive and often come with unlimited replays. Compare that to $50 for WWE PPV costs nowadays, and it's a steal. Plus, most indie promotions have Youtube channels, and if full matches aren't viewable there, then highlights are at least accessible.
If that wasn't enough, it turns out that nearly every indie wrestler is friendly and accessible to some degree. Yes, mainstream wrestlers are fan-friendly as well; I find that pro wrestling as a whole is good to its fanbase, more so than most other fields of entertainment. However, with Impact and WWE having higher profiles, it's understandable that they don't grant access. They're contracted employees for all intents and purposes, even though those companies try to snow Uncle Sam about independent contractor status. That's fodder for a whole other post though.
Because indie wrestlers have that tenuous grip on employment and are such low wage workers, they have to schmooze with the paying customers to try and sell their merchandise and build up goodwill so they gain more of a fan following. Their struggle is the gain of the fans.
So I hope I laid out a good framework on why indie wrestling is well worth following, watching and reading about. It's a fascinating world and hopefully, I can do some justice to it over the next weeks and months.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.
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Good insight
I’ve been saying for years that the Indy scene is where it’s at. Sure there are wrestlers that are pretty much homegrown like WWE that get huge pushes do to them being there from the start. That and they just don’t trust others doing so. Impact on the other is basically a continuance of WCW. Hiring wrestlers who were once well known in WWE and pushing them to the moon while their homegrown talent suffers. This is do to the politicians running or having the most say so. I can give lots of examples like how Sheamus is already a 2 time WWE champion and is still part of the main event scene because he’s buddies with HHH. Or even how AJ Styles was TNA champion and as soon as Hogan and Bischoff came in, they hired RVD with the guarantee he’ll be champion. It doesn’t matter whether he’s had a good reign or not. Let’s not forget how degrading WWE is to their employees while having being hypocrites every week having some dickhead named Cole bully someone who is to proud to say anything back. JR would rather get shitted on then tell the company to fuck off. It’s rather disgusting. TNA would rather have someone who can barely walk let alone wrestle come in and make the company look foolish. It’s like no one can be the top face, it’s got to be him. and who he and his troll follower wants. They manage to take a fine angle, build it up and at the last moment say screw the fans, it’s my playpen and you’re going to play my way. Fans are just to stupid to see this but buy-rates speak for themselves. Pretty much the same way WCW was when it’s all about ME ME ME and not WE. It doesn’t help and I’ve been saying this for a long time that they have someone who knows shit about how to run a wrestling promotion. You want real wrestling and not watch both these companies ruin what wrestling should be, stick the Indy scene cause this is your true alternative.
you're own stupidity will lead you to your own downfall
by congestedthoughts on Oct 30, 2011 2:25 PM EDT reply actions
This is excellent. Here in Western New York there is a very strong indy scene, including Empire State Wrestling, Maximum Force Wrestling, Old School Pro Wrestling, and Buffalo Championship Wrestling. We go to see ESW several times a year. Their recent WrestleBash show drew over six hundred fans. The shows are well-run, and tickets are less than $15 each. It’s far more entertaining than, just as an example, an episode of Raw.
You’re right that there is more difference between RoH and TNA than there is between RoH and other indies. But if you like pro wrestling more than fireworks and bodybuilders, you should check out the nearest indy fed.
Good stuff. If anyone can give me advice on sites where I could catch some indie wrestling and some good indie wrestling promotions in Northern Virginia, I would appreciate it greatly!
Signed, Pick'em Champs 2011-2012: Michael Jordanesque in our picking skills.
by mountaineers101 on Oct 30, 2011 9:19 PM EDT reply actions
Most of the indy feds put a bunch of stuff on YouTube. Look for Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, CZW, Evolve, Chikara, and Dragon Gate USA. Those seem to be the most popular U.S. indies overall.
Not sure if Hampton is considered Northern VA, but Vanguard Championship Wrestling puts on shows there.
Northern Virginia is more like Washington D.C. area.
Signed, Pick'em Champs 2011-2012: Michael Jordanesque in our picking skills.
by mountaineers101 on Oct 31, 2011 11:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Enjoy your stuff at Walls of Jericho
Glad to have you here as well
by Jonathan Loesche on Oct 30, 2011 11:39 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Your reasons sound similar to an indie music or punk snob talking about why following some obscure band is so great.
Except you’re talking about wrasslin.
Nothing wrong with that, just pointing out the similarity in tone.
Really?
Was it when I said there was great wrestling to be found at any level, or was it when I said that I understood why WWE and Impact wrestlers didn’t have the accessibility that indie wrestlers had?
by Thomas Holzerman on Oct 31, 2011 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
More like when you said moves not found in “mainstream” wrestling are seen in the indie scene sounds similar to a punk fan saying how indie stuff affects the mainstream.
Also similar to talking about small venues is how indie music folk talk about seeing the most amazing music in an unknown bar or garage.
Again, im not being critical, just linking the two.
The analogy falls...
Apart because most music snobs want to keep those unknown bands all to themselves.
This article is the exact opposite. Thomas WANTS people to seek out the alternative.
by Sergio Hernandez on Oct 31, 2011 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions
I don’t know about that. The music folk I know are always recommending small record label signed bands and artists and talk about how they’re better than other music.
There is a possibility that indy music and wrestling are, in fact, better than the more mainstream products. Some music is better than other music, do you agree? Or is anything just as good as anything else, and it’s all pure opinion? Shania Twain, Steve Earle, one’s as good as the other? Randy Orton, Davey Richards, it’s just a matter of taste? It’s not snobbery to draw distinctions.
Ive seen some pretty terrible indie bands too. It just depends on what you’re going to get when you check out something.
I’m not taking a stand on any particular type of music or wrestling. Just observing the similarity that exists in the independent communities of both areas.
There is terrible indy music and terrible indy wrestling. But this sort of conflict exists in every field of interest. There are always connoisseurs who put more effort into finding really special music, wrestling, beer, cigars, wine, furniture, watches, or whatever. Sometimes they are snobs but they are usually huge, dedicated fans who want to decide for themselves what the best thing is. It would be pretty strange if the best examples of anything happened to also be the most popular and mainstream.
I think there are legitimate differences of opinion, but there are also illegitimate differences of opinion. One person thinks Shawn Michaels is the greatest wrestler ever, and someone else thinks Mitsuharu Misawa is the best wrestler ever. Both were great. But if someone thinks that Tommy Dreamer is a better wrestler than Ric Flair, then I am confident that person has no idea what they’re talking about.
I think you’re getting too hung up on the word “snob.” I didn’t imply that liking indie stuff makes one a snob or that only mainstream stuff is great.
There is a similarity in attitude with how people into the indy things try and sell it to others across all genres. Its interesting to note that similarity across different interests.
To be fair? The word “snob” is a pretty powerful one that really doesn’t get taken lightly.
by Thomas Holzerman on Nov 1, 2011 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions
It’s not the word “snob.” It’s the dismissal of the idea that people who think the mainstream sucks could in fact be right. In my experience those people, whether they are called snobs, connoisseurs, or just weirdos, tend to know far more about whatever the subject is than normal people do, and their knowledge leads them to prefer the non-mainstream.
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