I had the honor of being able to work the Extreme Rising event in Corona NY last night, and what a special day it was for someone who was a fan of the original Extreme Championship Wrestling. So, as I am prone to do, I thought I would share a different perspective on the show itself, not really an inside view, just a different one.
The crew started rolling in around noon (Sabu was actually the first one to arrive way before everyone else), and we went to work. I do not know how many of you reading this have ever been involved with setting up a building for a show, but there are a million things that have to be done, and they have to be done within a very limited time frame. Corona, NY is an area where parking is always hard to find, but once everyone got to the building, things started happening and everything went very smoothly for most of the afternoon. Every time you do the set up part of a show, there are always things that pop up, and everyone involved in this company is beyond professional.
Basically, my job was to fill in the gaps and provide any extra support that was needed. Needless to say, I worked my tail off for four of those seven hours, from helping with the chair set up to going to get ice for the vendors, and everything in between.
As the talent walked in, I said hello to everyone (this is customary and a sign of respect), and there was not a single person there who wasn't completely kind and sincere about making sure this show went well. The Q&A segment (which I missed) featured Shane Douglas taking the time to honestly answer every question that was asked of him, and I heard the fans who were there for it really enjoyed that part of the event.
Once the show itself started, I finally got to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my hard work. I grabbed a seat in the third row on the floor and watched the contracted talent work their asses off to make sure the fans were happy. It was an interesting crowd, but a good and fun crowd. Each match was what one would have expected, with a few surprises being thrown into the show. From the opener to the main event, every single wrestler there performed well. Joel Gertner was there, and he cut one of those famous Gertner promos. It was different in a few senses though, just as it had to be because everyone understands that it is 2012 and the original talent from ECW are older and are all now the veterans of the business.
The younger talent was absolutely amazing, and had ECW not went out of business, these guys would have worked for the original company. BLK OUT (Ruckus and Sabian) and Los Dramaticos put on one heck of a tag team encounter. Greek God Papadon was a great heel as he always is. Bestia 666 and Pesadilla wrestled a Lucha Match that was breathtaking. Luke Hawx had Sylvester Turkay in his corner and he needed him with the crowd being very vocal about their hated of him.
I could wax poetic about the original ECW talent, but you already know who they are and what they do. New Jack came in and The Gangstas feuded with BLK OUT after their tag team match. Sabu wrestled and was great. The Sandman did a run in during the Stevie Richards Luke Hawx bout, and he did his thing. The Blue Meanie and Balls Mahoney created a new tag team called (appropriately) Blue Balls and they had a great match with The FBI. Matt Hardy and Jerry Lynn were the main event, and the put in 110 percent. Now I would like to take a moment and discuss what I feel was the match of the night.
Homicide wrestled Devon Storm (fka Crowbar) and this was that classic match that always took place at every original ECW show (the one you remember the next day and say hey that was a great match). I have always been a big fan of Devon Storms in ring ability, and I didn't know how the difference in their respective styles was going to play out in the ring. Well, they put on what I consider the performance of the night. It was a blend of hardcore wrestling (guardrails were involved) and classic chain wrestling, combined with the dynamic style that Homicide brings to every match he is in, and it couldn't have went better. For an older fan like myself, it was just special to watch. And when it was over, everyone applauded both competitors for giving their all.
I want to thank everyone for inviting me to help out at the future shows and for all of the perks I received from the company. I was even invited to come and help out in Philadelphia for future shows. Personally, I hope everyone supports this venture going forward. I wondered how this was all going to play out, and even wondered if this could become the new Madhouse of Extreme, and I think that last night was a great first step. And in pro wrestling, it is the first step that leads to the second step and so on. I hope everyone in attendance enjoyed themselves as much as I did, and I hope to see all of you at the next event they have in New York, or even catch you all sometime in Philadelphia. And thank you Shane Douglas for bringing the Extreme Movement back. Nothing will ever be the same as the original, but this could become something over the next few years that becomes a very important part of this industry. I certainly hope it does myself.
Mike
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Extreme Reunion is Now Extreme Rising
