I’m a fan of WWE. I subscribe to the Network, and I always enjoy seeing them live. That said, I have been to enough of their shows and enough indy shows to know that the WWE is not the superior show in every way. Sure, they have the biggest stars, the best production value, and so forth and so on, but there’s an experience in the independents that you can’t get from the big guys.
Here are 10 things that independent wrestling has over the WWE. Or better yet, let’s call this 10 reasons why you need to give indy wrestling a chance in 2017.
1 – Smaller venues mean closer seats. Most places you can buy the marked up front row seats for less than the upper deck seats in an arena.
2 – Smaller arenas means more interaction with the wrestlers in the ring. The heels can hear you say they suck from any seat in the room – and they WILL respond!
3 – Smaller venues also mean smaller crowds. Smaller crowds means fewer cars in the parking lot. Fewer cars means no long waits to get out the parking lot and head for home.
4 – More access to your favorite wrestlers. Indy wrestlers man their own T-shirt tables, and welcome the time with fans. No taping a few selfies with fans while rushing to the bus or their car – save for a few heels who do business the old fashioned way.
5 – T-shirts, autographs, and videos are much cheaper. You can get a ticket and a T-shirt for less than the price of a ticket to a bigger show, and still have money for snacks. This is good because…
6 – Concessions are cheaper too!
7 – The money you spend at the gimmick tables go right into the pockets of the wrestlers. Indy wrestlers manage their own merchandise, and when you buy from them, you’re buying them food, gas, rent money, everything they need to keep going.
8 – You don’t have to deal with mad at the world/bitter about their job event staff to seating you in the wrong place and then yelling at you for being in the wrong spot.
9 – With a few exceptions, you also won’t have event staff screaming at you for filming the action on your phone. (They’ll probably be nicer about it if they do).
10 – More access to wrestling, period. There’s just no need to a year or two for the action to return to your town when there’s an independent promotion running weekly or monthly in your area. Find out who is running in you town and go, and be sure to bring your friends.
Indy wrestling is growing in popularity and in quality. It’s an exciting time to be a fan. Don’t miss the great stuff happening right in your neighborhood.