What if the posters you made for wrestling shows were suddenly considered to be fine art?
Check out this hilarious short featuring Rachel Jones and Lec Zorn.
Tag: matt hardy
Will Ron Mathis be Deleted??
I used to be a fan of Gary Damron. Right now… I’m not so sure.
Damron is the boss at ASW, a phenomenal promotion running out of West Virginia featuring some of the best stars in independent wrestling. One of the ASW regulars is Ron Mathis, whom I featured in Eat Sleep Wrestle. Ron was one of the four men in the match I credit with helping me fall in love with independent wrestling. No one eats, sleeps, breathes, and lives professional wrestling with as much gusto as Ron. Humble and friendly outside the ring, he is a killing machine inside, a high impact, show-stealing performer who was always a must-see when he worked for D1W here in my hometown.
Ron is currently a tag team champion at ASW along with his partner, Rocky Rage. Ron has never backed down from any challenger, anywhere. But Damron has done a terrible, terrible thing to these rising young stars.
He’s booked them against the Broken Hardys.
When I found out that Ron and Rocky were not only facing the potential loss of their belts but DELETION, I contacted Gary and asked him what in the world he was thinking. “Well I had Matt Hardy booked from the beginning, and now the Hardy’s are wanting to prove that they are the best tag team in all time history and space. Matt called and asked if Jeff could come along. They want to challenge whomever the ASW Tag Team Champions were.
Booking the Hardy Boyz together on an independent show is a tempting lure for any promoter, and it is the opportunity of a lifetime for Ron Mathis and Rocky Rage. Not only are they facing a legendary tag team in Matt and Jeff Hardy, the match will be filmed for broadcast on Impact Wrestling!
Even so… Is it worth the chance that Ron Mathis and Rocky Rage will be DELETED?
“The Hardy’s will have a lot to prove in Madison,” said Damron. “Rocky Rage and Ron Mathis are our top two wrestlers, and the fans in Madison really get behind them. Rocky and Ron are definitely not someone The Broken Hardy’s are gonna have a easy night with. They will surely have a fight on their hands if they want to prove they are the top tag team in ASW.”
Damron talks a good line, but I’m sure I’m not the only fan afraid for the future of Ron Mathis or Rocky Rage.
Fans in the region can see Ron Mathis and Rocky Rage put their titles on the line against the Broken Hardys Friday night, January 27, at the Madison Civic Center in Madison, WV.
Tickets for the event are only $12. As I said in my Friday post, you can buy a ticket and a couple souvenirs at this show for LESS than you can get a cheap seat at a WWE show. This is the perfect opportunity to give independent wrestling a chance!
For more information visit the event page on Facebook.
While You Were Complaining…
While you were complaining about Sasha Banks losing her title so soon, Marc Hauss was standing up for the women’s wrestling revolution in the indies.
While you were complaining that your favorite guys never get pushed because “politics,” a your other favorite guys – Aron Rex/Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes, and The Big Guy/Ryback – began their takeover of the indies.
While you were complaining about about the promotion that you routinely pay $9.99 a month to watch, CZW, High Spots, CHIKARA, Rockstar Pro, and others have tried to offer you alternatives – some for less, some for free!
While you were complaining about an ugly title belt, Matt Hardy was busy blowing up the Internet by deleting his own brother.
And lest we forget, you could have been enjoying an independent show where a ticket and a T-shirt costs less than an upper level ticket you complained about buying for the so-called “only” promotion left.
It almost makes you wonder: do the people who complain incessantly about title belts and ticket prices more in love with wrestling or whining?
If you answered wrestling, prove it. Stop complaining and take action. Put your money where your mouth is.
I’m not telling you to cancel your $9.99 subscription. As good as NXT and the CWC have been, you’d be a fool to back out now. But I am telling you to go see a local show, or subscribe to a second network, or look around Youtube and discover what’s out there to watch for free. If even a fraction of the whiners would invest just a few dollars a month in independent wrestling, we might really change the landscape of pro wrestling today.
Support what you love. Stop complaining about what you hate. Prove that you’re a fan and not just a whiner. Let’s pour some fuel on the fire if this indy revolution.
Can One Man Make a Difference to a Promotion?
I’ve never watched TNA.
I’ve never watched a single episode or pay-per-view. Matter of fact, I’m not sure I’ve even watched a full match on TNA. Even on the Internet.
I didn’t watch when Jeff Jarrett was the top guy. I didn’t watch when they got Kurt Angle. I didn’t tune in for A.J. Styles or Samoa Joe.
Even after the recent buzz surrounding Matt Hardy and his Final Deletion (which I would like to see but have yet to watch), I wasn’t interested.
Why am I telling you all this? Because Aron Rex makes me want to watch TNA.
Whether he was Damien Sandow, or Damien Mizdow, or Davy Crockett, he was can’t-miss, must-see every time he showed up on WWE television. He’s a rare force who connects with the audience no matter what stupid gimmick he’s handed. He’s the super-rare performer who can make my wife look up and laugh when he’s on TV.
Aron Rex makes me want to watch TNA. That’s the difference one man – the right man – can make. Let’s hope the famously bad powers that be at TNA don’t botch this one up!
The Impeccable Keita Murray
As the independent wrestling scene continues its resurgence, young men and women are finding more and more opportunities to test their mettle in the ring. Everyone of them dreams of breaking out as a national star, whether it be through the WWE and NXT or just their own perseverance. Recently, the Indy Card Mafia brought one such wrestler to my attention. He’s young, he’s hungry, and he’s shown he has the drive to become a star.
Keita Murray is a native of Brooklyn, New York. Like most wrestlers, he grew up a fan, following the exploits of The Rock, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and Matt Hardy. At an early age, he and his friends were creating their own wrestling rings and title belts and practicing for their future glory. “My friends and I would wrestle each other and act like different WWE Superstars. We would get cardboard boxes, crayons, aluminum foil and make belts out of them.”
Keita’s passion for the business galvanized when he met his tag partner, Kit Cassidy. “We met in high school and funny story, we didn’t like each other at first. Then we found out that we shared a common interest of wrestling. I was a senior in high school he was a junior, and ever since then we have been best friends.
After giving college a chance, Keita enrolled at Back Breaker’s Training Center in Scranton, PA. “It’s such a great school to learn from. You learn a lot and you have a lot of opportunities there.”
Kit enrolled at Back Breakers with his best friend, and the two graduated together. Their first official match was a one on one affair between the two, but they have since united as a tag team known as The Impeccables. They currently hold two tag titles for Phoenix Pro Wrestling and Pennsylvania Premier Wrestling, and Murray recently won the Spotlight Championship at The Sanctuary Stunt Studio.
Keita has only been in the business a few years, but he’s had a number of memorable matches. He cites the Cash Masters as favorite tag opponents, along with fellow Back Breaker wrestlers Dante Dio and Jacoby Riddick. His favorite singles opponents thus far include Stevie Shields, Marq Queen, and Kyle Brad, whom he faced at WOH Wrestling. “I want to say the Kyle Brad match was my best because I had about eleven matches under my belt at the time and it was my second time being heel. It just seemed like everything fell in place for that match, and that’s the match that elevated my confidence in the ring.”
Keita work mostly in Pennsylvania, doing appearances for GSW Wrestling in Moosic, PA; PPW Wrestling and The Sanctuary Stunt Studio in Hazleton, PA; T.R.U.E. Wrestling in Berwick, PA; Pheonix Pro Wrestling in Altoona, PA; and Back Breakers Training Center in Scranton. His success in those markets, coupled with connections made at various shows, have afforded him a chance to travel to illinois in May. In June, he’ll make his debut for Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling, thanks to a partnership between GFW and Back Breakers. Like most young stars, he has aspirations of climbing even higher.
“In five to ten years. I either hope to be in WWE or NXT. If I don’t make it that far, I want to be one of those independent guys whom everyone knows not from WWE or TNA but because of my hard work. I would also love to have said by that time that I traveled different countries to wrestle. I really would love to go overseas and learn the different art forms of wrestling all over the world.”
