Uptown Wrestling News: Blog #2 Wrestling Resources & Upcoming Local Wrestling Shows

UPTOWN WRESTLING NEWS

Blog Entry #2

Wrestling Resources and Upcoming Local Wrestling Shows

By Mike Vanek

Me and Mr Colt Cabana at Wrestlecon!! He is one of the reasons I started this blog...

As a diehard wrestling fan I like being informed on my favorite sport that I have followed since I was 4 years old. As a kid my aunt gave me a giant stack of old wrestling magazines which I pretty much learned how to read with... When my English teacher in the 9th grade asked for book reports I turned in papers on what I learned from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Inside Wrestling Magazine. (got credit!!) and instead of reports on The Outsiders or Of Mice & Men I told the tales of The difference between Hulk Hogan, Nick Bockwinkle & Ric Flair.

RIP NICK BOCKWINKLE 

Today's blog is for the wrestling fan that craves more than the weekly Raw & Smackdown fix. This week I want to talk about some resources for wrestling fans looking for more than what WWE has to offer 2-3 times a week.

From indie promotions that work their asses off to put on local shows with the best talent in CA (where we're based) and beyond to people that put on podcasts, YouTube Shows, blogs, and web magazines and much more including the traditional Pro Wrestling Illustrated and its famed ranking system. And it all covers everything from WWE to Indie Wrestling to everything within the genre. 

With more wrestling on TV these days with that includes the for years now alternative to WWE in TNA and now Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling both have cable TV shows on sometime hard to find cable networks such as Destination America, AXS TV, and soon Pop TV and for the die hardest of indie wrestling fans there are I Pay Per Views such as the WWNlive.com where you can see a variety of IPPV's for a small fee which provides new & exciting pro wrestling from promotions live Evolve, Dragons Gate USA, Shimmer Women's wrestling & California's Own Revolution Pro Wrestling which one Promotion of the year award at the recent Nor Cal Hall of Fame & Awards ceremony. We also encourage you to check out the local promotions!! Many of them film their shows with commentary and produce DVD's DIY style!! We encourage you to check out... Pro Wrestling Bushido, Supreme Pro Wrestling, Fighting Spirit Pro, Gold Rush Pro Wrestling, All Pro Wrestling and many more a Google search away!!

Other things that I like to enjoy are podcasts some of the best span wwe to the indies including the ultra popular "The Art of Wrestling of Podcast hosted by Pro Wrestler Colt Cabana" which over the last 5 years has covered all corners of wrestling world wide. Another I enjoy is the cheap heat podcast on Grantland/ESPN RADIO which dissects weekly events of the WWE universe and is pretty entertaining. Another I like that I found on the message boards is the Mega Powers Podcast that I recently discovered that I really enjoy. Another podcast I recently discovered via Bobby Hart of PWB is the Kevin Gill show he puts out a rad pod cast as well!! There is a cavalcade of podcasts hosted by wrestling royalty such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, Chris Jerico, Jim Ross, Taz and many more you can search out on ITunes and other outlets.

Social Media is full of wrestling News, Blogs and video shows. Some of these are way better than others and it seems they will give space to people that have no right writing about wrestling. I read one from a publication I will not acknowledge that took a great tag team match during the recent King of Indies Tournament during Wrestlmania weekend and basically killed the match calling it a filler match and calling a pair of two of the top names in Nor Cal wrestling basically two old fat guys and people that were actually at that show (Including myself) thought the match was awesome and the writer was just too lazy to cover the entire show. So I encourage you to take in the social media & Internet Wrestling Community with great caution and we will always approach our blog with an accurate view of the show we are reviewing.

Some things I like on the Internet include the traditional Pro Wrestling illustrated in a online version. There is The Ring Crüe who is a local crew of guys who have a a YouTube show that covers local wrestling as well as WWE they also support different vendors and events. There is the the cheap heat wrestling blog that reports the headlines of the Wwe universe & more. Facebook & Twitter are full of wrestling resources for you to choose from which includes pages for every indie promotion that I strongly encourage you to investigate. I have two tools I use to investigate local wrestling one is the group you can send a request to is "Pro Wrestling Only" I find all kinds of interesting California wrestling information there. A Facebook page I visit almost every day is "Nor Cal Wrestling Matters" this page is totally dedicated to Nor Cal Wrestling and is a invaluable resource to the scene.

These are just a few resources I use to perpetuate my love for pro wrestling. I encourage you to post some you love in the Comments below. There are probably thousands out there and we want to see your favorites!!

Before we go we want to show support & love to the local Wrestling promotions in Nor Cal and their upcoming shows!! We want you to send up your upcoming show info and flyers!! Just send us a a message to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/uptownwrestlingnews

HOODSLAM

12/4/2015 Oakland Metro Operahouse in Oakland 21+ $20 8pm

GOLD RUSH PRO WRESTLING

12/5/2015 Gold Mine in Pacifica  All Ages Pre Sale $15 $20 at Doors. Doors open at 6:30pm

PRO WRESTLING BUSHIDO 

12/6/2015 (Night Show) Fat Cat in Modesto ALL AGES $15 Doors at 5:30pm

12/6/2015 (Day Show) Central Valley Con Modesto Center Plaza in Modesto All Ages $7 at the door 10am-4pm

ALL PRO WRESTLING

12/18/2015 Bay Shore Community Center in Daly City CA All Ages $15 Advance (General Admission) $20 first 2 rows $20 at the door for General Admission 7pm

SUPREME PRO WRESTLING

12/20/2015 SPW Arena in Sacramento All Ages $10 Adults $5 Kids 1/2 off with Toy Donation Doors 4:30pm Show 5pm

That's it for us this week!! Please leave comments below!!!

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Uptown Wrestling News: Blog #1 Saving The Show & My journey as part of a pro wrestling ring crew

UPTOWN WRESTLING NEWS

BLOG ENTRY #1

Saving the show and my journey as part of a pro wrestling ring crew...

By Mike Vanek 

***CERTAIN NAMES ARE WITHHELD FOR REASONS BEYOND OUR CONTROL***

It's three in the morning and I'm trudging through a dark alley in Modesto California. It's been a long day and a even longer night. We are alone in the night with one task. We have to put up the ring...

When most people think of pro wrestling they of Monday Night Raw and the glitz and glamour of the WWE but I'm here to tell you that is just a small part of the massive world of pro wrestling.

Our subject of today's tale is a man who is no stranger to the world of Pro Wrestling and his name is Bobby Hart. Bobby has spent the last decade plus traversing the highs and lows of the mat and today he continues to pay his dues and do what it takes make the show go on and on this day he invited me to come along to see what the world of independent pro wrestling is like...

Bobby Hart runs Pro Wrestling Bushido with his family and a few other wrestlers. PWB is a "Wrestlers" promotion ran by the people in the ring. A big part of their business is renting out the wrestling ring to other promotions and on this day that is the order of business...

I arrived at the PWB training center shortly before noon after a short day of work and was delighted to see the ring was already loaded up as I'm volunteering for Ring Crew duty. After a short wait for "Airon Sky" one of the wrestlers we piled into a car and headed on our 2 hour journey to Fresno California with the ring truck following close behind...

I was truly excited for this show. PWB was given two matches on the pre card and my favorite tag team to watch "The Honor Society" was booked to take on "Wrestling Personified Rik Luxery and his Partner Will Roberts who just won the recent young lions cup in the Bay Area" as well as "Airon Sky vs Fun Size" and that was all on top of a stacked card of star wrestlers from televised promotions such as Ring of Honor, TNA, and Lucha Underground...

When we approached the venue we were amazed at the sheer beauty of the place. The Falls Event Center is a brand new facility off Fig Garden off Shaw Ave in Fresno. As we arrived the work began and I started the REAL pro wrestling experience. Bobby explained to me that this is how you get started and everyone who trains as a wrestler or helps out does ring crew. Everyone does their part and starts at the bottom building the ring!! If your not used to lifting and carrying heavy objects it can be pretty taxing work but we knocked it out pretty quick and it was while we were building the ring the other wrestlers started arriving and I started hearing story's about the promoter and his last show that had been cancelled during the intermission during the last show. As a music promoter myself I understood things happen so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

The Promoter who's name I will not mention rolled in on the same cart Buster Posey used when his knee got smashed blocking home plate. He was a fidgety looking guy who just had a few toes amputated due to his diabetes. A solemn look covered his face and I knew something was up just didn't know what it was.

Soon after the ring was up some training in the ring began as the wrestlers began warming up and stretching. I began helping Savanah Riley a female wrestler and Bobby's wife start setting up chairs and noticed that she was kinda taking things over. She arranged the chairs and the music for the wrestlers as the ring announcer my friend Sean Michael Allen got the info from the wrestlers I felt very fortunate to be seeing these things happen and I really realized the nuts and bolts of what it took to organize a wrestling show. I was then asked to watch the merchandise tables which are the lifeblood of the independent wrestler who's pay days are not very big although these guys on TV have guarenteed pay outs they still count on merch to make it work out. As I'm standing there a pretty famous tag team came to they're table and the smart ass comments started and the doubts started. 

A small crowd made its way in the beautiful venue and the first match was Airon Sky vs Fun Size and it went off without a hitch!! The 2nd match was my highlight of the night. My favorite tag team in the world is the team of Sir Samurai & Drake Frost they are the PWB tag team champs and are two of the most entertaining wrestlers I've ever seen compete!! I call them muscle and the brain full of strength & wisdom!! They took on a tag team that includes one of the most experienced wrestlers in the game "Wrestling Personafied" Rik Luxery and his Partner Will Roberts the winner of the recent "Young Lions Cup" and it was a RAD MATCH!! A match that could have been a main event in any nor cal promotion the Honor Society defended their titles and walked off into glory!!

After the pre-card the announcer SMA announced that they were going to have an intermission and the promoter was wheeling back & forth on his lil cart with a dejected look on his face. Some friends of ours from the RING CRÜE who do an excellent YouTube series about wrestling were there interviewing wrestlers like Jeff Cobb who was an actual member of the 2004 US Olympic Wrestling Team among others and they told me what had happened in the past at this guys shows. What was supposed to be a 15 minute intermission ended up being a hour and a half and it was then when the 2 most famous wrestlers in the room told me the promoter didn't have the $$ for the wrestlers and they were probably leaving.

After some heated meetings in the back and seeing the Pro Wrestling Bushido crew jump in to these meetings the show resumed. I can't tell you for sure what exactly happened but I do know Bobby Hart took over the poorly ran event and somehow paid the wrestlers so the people that came to see live pro wrestling got what they paid for!! If it wasn't for the quick thinking and sacrifice of Bobby Hart, Savanah Riley and some of the other competitors this show would have perished instead we got 2 more incredible matches with some huge stars from Lucha Underground, TNA & Ring of Honor!!

After the show I stayed behind with Bobby and the wrestlers to break down and pack up the wrestling ring into the U-Haul and I then rode back to Modesto for 2 hours in the middle seat of that moving truck...

After a stop in Ceres to unload half the ring into storage we packed up the steel and wood that make up the stage on which these combatants perform and as I mumbled complaints to myself in a selfish and stupid manner I was reminded by Mr Hart... "This is the real side of pro wrestling!!" It's men & women making sacrifices to their bodies with little pay and attention or admiration by the mainstream wrestling company's and working their asses off getting the building, making sure the show happens, making sure they get paid, making sure the people go home happy that they saw a great show and it's not over until the ring is put away and the truck is taken back to U-Haul no matter how late it is, or tired and hungry you are the work has to be done like any other job.

As I put my head to the pillow that night I gained a giant amount of respect for my friends in the wrestling business and everything that it takes to make and in this case save a show!!

I take my hat off to every one of you!!! 

PLEASE COMMENT!!!

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