Miss me?
A note real quick before we start… I just want to give kudos to WWE for banning the use of the muscle relaxers known as Somas, be them prescribed or not. We all know the stories, and we all know the reasons why this is a long overdue course of action. And given all the crap the company gets over their wellness policy being a paper tiger, it’s only right that we make just as big a noise when they actually put some teeth on it. So here’s to them for making a major step in the right direction.
So back in June, I made mention of the fact that I would be finally attending my first live professional wrestling event on September 11 in NYC. Well that date was last weekend, and indeed, I did in fact overcome my usual plethora of social anxieties and made my way to the Manhattan Center for what was to be my first live wrestling event: Ring of Honor’s Glory By Honor IX (though if I’m gonna be honest, TNA snaked that title out from under them when a friend invited us to come with him to the house show at MCU Park in Brooklyn. But I didn’t really enjoy that one the way I would have hoped, despite the coolness of the outdoor setting, and so I’m pretending it never happened. Which is why I’m admitting it happened… doh).
When I initially got tickets, it was actually simply scheduled to be a house show, so when the announcement was made that it would instead be the next iPPV, to say I was psyched would be a colossal understatement. And then when they announced that it would be the Kings of Wrestling vs the World’s Greatest Tag Team? Forget about it. I had struck professional wrestling gold. The downside of that of course is that, when combined with the standard set by the last ROH iPPV (Death Before Dishonor VIII), a very high bar had been set for my expectations. However, I am pleased to report that my expectations were not only met, but that they were exceeded.
Now, it’s already been a week. Plenty of people with more credibility than I have given their reviews and their star ratings at this point, and you’ve probably already read them. You don’t need to read yet another blow by blow. So I’m gonna keep it simple and just give some quick impressions.
Live, pro-wrestling is entirely different than on tv, not that I didn’t know that going in. The loudness of the ring, the impact of the moves… it all makes for a much more intense vibe, especially in the close quarters of a smaller venue like the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center. I found myself literally cringing at times, and it was much, much easier to get wrapped up in the matches than at home with distractions galore.
We had great seats in the balcony, right across from the entrance ramp. We were in the second row initially, but two seats in front of us ended up empty and the people sitting around them were nice enough to let my girlfriend and I move up so that she could see better, so thanks to them. Of course, come to find out this was probably due to the ticket holders being turned away at the door, so I kind of feel bad about getting better seats at their expense. The only thing you really couldn’t get a look from there was when the action spilled onto the floor right underneath us, which unfortunately meant we missed the big table spot in the chain match, but fortunately meant I got a great view of Steen’s exuberant expression after the fact. We spent the time waiting for the show to start watching the other fans below us… some of you scare me. That’s all I’m gonna say. Oh, and to whichever one of you thought it would be funny to heckle during the moment of silence in remembrance of 9-11? You’re a classy guy.
The crowd had two modes: hot and supernova, and when that supernova heat hit (during WGTT and Kings of Wrestling, of course) is when things really kicked in to over drive for me. Not to say that what became before wasn’t great, but everything about that match clicked, and the rabid crowd response really added to it. You could tell the wrestlers were feeding off that, especially Charlie Haas, who as many have noted was working like a man with something to prove. The main event was a little awkward because of the strange heel/de facto face with a heel manager /face ring enforcer situation, but the work of Black and Strong overcame it and they had the crowd into it all the way. And I do have to say, Truth Martini comes off much better live than he does on tv, though I was a bit dismayed that he did not bleed all over his all white tuxedo. Steen/Corino vs Cabana/Generico was a violent joy, but the long stretch in the middle where Cabana was chained to the ropes, nearly escaped then was re-chained seemed to run long live, but of course later on we would find out the live feed had been lost, and so they were to told stall for time. From our vantage point we got a bird’s eye view of Corino berating a fan in the front row by calling her fat over and over on the way out, which immediately made him my girlfriend’s favorite heel.
For a ‘first’ live wrestling experience, I and the rest of my party really couldn’t have asked for anything better, and we scooped up front row balcony tickets for everyone as soon as they went on sale for Final Battle. I’m not going to try and compare and contrast it to TNA’s show, because this was a PPV and their’s was a house show (albeit a major one), so it wouldn’t be fair. It was definitely one of the best times I’ve had in a long time, and all the hard work in the ring was a great reminder for me as to why I love professional wrestling.
