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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I took the pics for the show and didn't get paid. It was really uncool because of the 3 hour drive but the experience was cool to get to photograph some talent that I wouldn't normally see! But... I probably won't return to said promotion! However, Bobby was the man that night.
ReplyDeleteI hear Ya!! Despite all the bullshit the matches were great!! Pretty sure we shared your photos on our Facebook page... I'd gladly promote your work!! MV
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great blog entry...You are a good writer...I am very impressed...The story reminds me of music shows I have been involved in...To any promoter I will say...Have the $$ you need to pay for the show in your pocket when you get there...If you can't do that, you need to find another business to be in...K.