Dear Wrestling,
I feel a little hungover, to be honest. My voice is shot, I'm tired and dehydrated. It's pretty great.
Last night was transporting: when the lights came up at intermission and then at the end, I felt like I was being pushed back through the wardrobe, tripping into the attic. No wrestling experience has ever done that for me before. It's pretty amazing that at each show I've gone to, something has made me say, "Nothing was ever like this before."
PWX is a local Charlotte, NC promotion. I grew up in Charlotte and despite how vastly it's changed, I miss it badly. When looking into going beforehand, I asked on Twitter if PWGRRLGang would have anyone there, which brought fans of the promotion out in droves to tell me how great it is and what a good time.
They were not wrong.
We drove down from Raleigh with me nearly vibrating apart from excitement--and not for anything in particular, more the fact that I was going to get to see a 'proper' indie match. ROH was fancy as hell and I had a press pass, so...pretty unusual. This was held in a community center, and walking in was (for me) like walking into a video I've seen online--any of several dozen. I've watched so many matches that took place in rooms like this...I remember looking at the merch tables, thinking about walking into a room like this and Kevin is sitting right there, how any of these guys could be that amazing and I have no idea. It was an odd feeling. I'm not quite so unrealistic that it was romantic or glamorous, but it was...longed for, I guess? Something I've wanted for months and months, and now it's here. I feel very silly about these feelings, by the way, but there they are.
As usual I was too excited to take notes and my recall is all color and shapes, no detail, so if I've forgotten anything I apologize. Matches that really got me have fewest pictures, as I'd much rather clap and chant.
My first impressions were that it did seem to be a more diverse crowd than I'm used to at a wrestling show. Probably close to a 50/50 split, ish, between black and white, slightly more men than women, and several families with little children. This dad and his daughter in front of us healed my heart.
I'm pretty sure the group in front of use were friends/family of Darius Lockhart: he came out and said hi to them before (wearing a very cool tee that turned out to be his design) and they left at intermission. They were both nice and loud, though, so I'm glad I sat next to them.
And Darius Lockhart vs Myron Reed was definitely one of the stand-out matches for me. Darius came out in an "End Rape Culture" tee shirt, so he was my instant fave. They were beautifully matched and incredibly skilled. They told a story of the young guy not respecting his (slightly, I imagine) elder, and new ways and concerns struggling with the past...it was probably my favorite match of the night, I just found it so moving.They fought to a time limit draw, and very much left everything in the ring. Both guys immediately made my "must see again" list. That led into the intermission like a firework finale.
Coming back from intermission was the match between White Mike and David Starr. I was very eager to see David Starr and have heard great things about him--and not just from him! I was a little nervous about whoever he was matched against--which lasted less than a second. Mike handed the announcer a sheet of paper with his *own* list of epithets to rival David's--which I transcribed as well as I can here.
At the end of that introduction (which the announcer was a total champ about), David pulled a "Goodnight folks!" and made to head to the back. More hilarity ensued, as well as a genuinely great match.
The whole reason I found out about this event was Sugar Dunkerton. I have a hard time finding indie shows in NC for some reason, so eventually I went with the old reliable, "Look up wrestlers I like and see where they'll be". Charlotte isn't too onerous of a drive for me, and I always like to go back home, even for a few hours. Sugar actually greeted me and Chris as we were walking up to the center, so warmly that I was sure he'd mistaken us for friends. Sugar's intro to Uptown Funk was *beautifully* timed and choreographed, with him booping Elijah Evans IV on the nose at the "Stop-", at which point Elijah attacked him. It was a great match, with Elijah showing fierce aggression and skill and Sugar breaking my heart into tiny pieces with his suffering, the jerk (who I love).
Other brief memories and impressions: Tracer X was really good, although he came out throwing up an X and let me tell, as a white person from the South no way in hell am I throwing up a gesture before I know what it means! He was crazy talented though, and I look forward to seeing him again. James Drake impressed too, and the crowd *loved* him. Chip Day was also very popular, until he came out at the end of the Lockhart/Reed match and cashed in a contract thingie to challenge Lockhart for a championship, which he promptly won to vast boos.
Juice Robinson vs John Skyler was a whole level more intense than the rest. Juice would send Skyler into a turnbuckle and you could *feel* the whole ring nearly shift. Chris is still convinced that Skyler's jaw was broken, I don't think so and I really hope not. He looked for a moment like he might be leaving his elbow pads in the ring and I cheered all the harder to make sure he felt appreciated. It was a really muscular performance, you know?
And then the final match of the night...a Ducks, Ladders, Chairs match between the Ugly Ducklings and the Syndicate--which Elijah Evans is a member of. This ladder match...my god. I wasn't expecting a ladder match, first of all, nor the tacks that came out later, and I definitely wasn't expecting things with ladders that I've never seen before. I became one of those people in the background jumping to my feet with my hands on my cheeks...unbelievable. I've definitely never had that happen at a match before. The whole event is up on High Spots now and I recommend it. The Ducklings are pretty little guys, and 2/3 of the Syndicate are huge: another way it was a really interesting match.
Afterwards Chris snagged me a small piece of busted table and I went over to talk to Sugar again--and let me tell you, a warmer, more genuine man I don't think I've ever met. I'm a introverted disaster person, and I felt utterly comfortable talking to him. It was basically a Rusev Day miracle.
We went out in to the bitterly cold night and I sang an impromptu song about my dumb ass getting frostbite. I left the city I grew up in, and we spent the whole 3 hour drive home talking about the matches and wrestling in general.
It was Chris's first live wrestling show ever. To everyone we saw, thank you for spoiling him.
Love,
Autumn