The Live Experience (or Why PWG is Awesome)

[Akki]

I haven't been to a wrestling event since October 2006 (I think). That was a RAW/SmackDown SuperShow at the Staples Center.

Today, I went to PWG's ¡Dia de los Dangerous! event, my first PWG show since the Battle of Los Angeles 2006. It reminded me what I've been missing.

I think in terms of indies, and wrestling promotions in general, PWG is pretty special. They're one of the big indies in the US, probably right below CZW. They get stars from ROH, CZW, and until recently even TNA (although a few still make appearances). And yet their biggest events draw no more than 500 people.

This makes for a great atmosphere, where even guys who are established stars elsewhere can play around and generally be more loose than they are in other feds. It's not hard to make yourself heard, and that allows for great interaction between the fans and the wrestlers. People yell at the wrestlers, the wrestlers yell back, it's all great fun.

Also, it's impossible to be very far from the ring. There are no guardrails, three rows on every side of the ring, and the front row is about three feet from the ring. That means that when the wrestlers fight outside of the ring, they are inevitably going in and out of the crowd. And when they fly or jump out, the crowd has to move to avoid getting hit. Of course, it also means that Scott Lost can wipe his hands on your jeans (yeah, that happened to me).

Guys like Frankie Kazarian tonight, Chris Daniels a while ago, they can play around and have fun in a way they can't on national TV. And for guys like Kazarian, it's very obvious how much they enjoy the intimate experience.

And yet the fed is built around its own stars, local guys like Human Tornado, Joey Ryan, Scorpio Sky. I think that's one of the things that makes PWG so great: even if they can't get a lot of outside guys, their show is still packed with great action and recognizable stars.

I don't really know why I started this rant, but I think I just really enjoyed tonight's show.

Some highlights:
PWG's first ever women's match: Daffney vs Candace LaRae
Awesome brawl between Human Tornado and Necro Butcher, involving about 10 chairs, the entire crowd, and some alcohol at the bar area.
"They won't show" chant when Briscoe Brothers are announced for the next show. (They've no-showed PWG about 10 times).
Frankie Kazarian's first PWG match in about a year, including huge "Welcome back" and "Please come back" chants.

It was a really fun show, and I think I'll try to make every PWG show I can from now on. I hope everyone here can get some kind of wrestling experience like this. But I think no matter what, PWG is the best indy in the world.

[BurningHamster]

Sounds like a lot of fun, PWG are one of the few promotions that I really enjoy (God I love the stupid commentary on their DVD's despite all the nay sayers). They got some great talent and just a really weird, funny vibe to the promotion. Makes me wish I didn't live in Australia but ah well.

I really get what you mean about the live experience. Watching wrestling on TV/DVD is so much different to being there. I enjoy both but in such different ways it's hard to compare the two. The things you remember at a live show are not always the big moves, or how the match ended but the fun back and forth between the wrestlers and the fans and that is the sort of stuff I love.

I really think indy shows are better value than big shows too since as you said, you can get closer to the action. From what people tell me watching a WWE event from row 82, section X, Tier 3 would be kind of like watching it on television if your television was 30 feet away and at an awkward angle.

Glad to hear you had a good time Akki.