Do you attend Independent shows?

[Andrew]

In Australia we have tons of Independent shows, I attend to MCW, NAW, PCW, WarZone, BPW.
In order to how many I've attended;

MCW - 8
NAW - 1
PCW - 5
WarZone - 1
BPW - 1

MCW (Melbourne City Wrestling) is one of, if not... one of the top 5 promotions here in Australia. I attended a show last night and it was awesome. One match was a 'Carnival of Horror's match, they got out mousetraps, cages, thumbtacks, chairs and tables. We broke out a 'HOLY SHIT' chant and the crowd was great but my favorite match was the tag team match here.

It was a very good tag match with Robbie Eagles (If anybody knows CZW they'd know of Ryan Eagles, it's his older brother. His sister is Madison Eagles - Known in USA Indies)

He pulled off a few moves he's never done before including a Corkscrew 630 and a 450 Splash, it was a match that had two technicals, two high-flyers... really entertaining.

NAW (New Age Wrestling), I've only attended once... but the show was entertaining and I am going to their show next month.

PCW - I've attended to five of their show, I doubt I'll be attending their shows anymore... I used to train with them and the owner of the company is a real douche, expects you to be at the show just so he can get your money. They used to have really good wrestlers but they moved to MCW and other promotions, went to their last show two months ago and it was absolutely shit. The crowd is dying there big time.

WarZone - They rarely hold WarZone... It's a great promotion that gets all of the Australian Wrestlers here and there, it's hard to have shows in Victoria because we have many promotions and people work other shows. But WarZone was very entertaining, there's a slight chance I'll attend in October because the following week is MCW WrestleClash.

BPW - Only an hour drive from here, they just restarted after a two year hiatus and what a show that was. A big crowd of nearly 1,000 (Which is huge seeing most shows pull about 300-400) I hope they have a show in August or September even because no shows are planned in September due to October and November being the WrestleMania of Australian Wrestling).

But the next shows I'll attend to are:

MCW @ The Dragonfly on the 29th July - It's in a function room at a restaurant, great food and awesome matches.

NAW - August 13th
MCW WrestleClash - October
NAW - November 18th (Features a Steel Cage Match)

But I would have loved to attend PWA and PWWA in September with Dick Togo attending there. It is located in Sydney and it features Niki Nitro (Who will be going to TNA next year). The shows are Friday & Saturday on the first week of September, really wanted to go to that event but time constraints and flights and accommodation isn't quite at a good time guess I'll miss that.

The shows I want to attend are PROWL (In Queensland), probably Queensland's only good promotion really... Their scene isn't good from what I've heard but everyone says PROWL is amazing so that's one I'd like to check out.

EPW in Perth as well, said to be Australia's top five promotion as well. A 3-4 hour plane ride... Maybe if I am on holidays there with a few friends might check that out

But there's two more I want to see, that's RCW & Snakepit... Both in Adelaide and are said to be the best in Australia. I've seen half their workers because they have worked in Victoria. Could be a roadtrip for me, might attend next year. I've got friends in the wrestling business who have begged me to come along and watch...

So, do any of you attend Indy shows?
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[Keith]

Okay, yes I try and attend as many indie shows as I can, and in recent years have gone to more, as I lost interest in WWE and TNA.

There is a local promotion where I live in Morecambe [in the north of England] called the XWA which is owned by Greg Lambert who writes for PowerSlam. It used to be known as the FWA, before losing a losing promotion must shut down match in against IPW in 2007, and so renaming themselfs XWA. Since the relauch they have not been very good, using mostly poor cartoonish characters or 1980's style big man who are out of shape. But last year when Alex Shane returned to the promotion [he was there during the glory years] as the top heel, and Lambert turned heel, things have picked up, and guys like the Rock Star Spud and Ross Jordan do show more promise for the future. Anyway they normally hold three or four local shows a year, I went to a couple last year.

There are also promotions like FWA, 1PW [who have had more deaths and rebirths than the Undertaker!], IPW and PBW amongst others. Last year I also attended one of Dragon Gate's UK shows, as well as a scottish Hardcore promotion called Insane Championship Wrestling. So yeah I do my best!

 

[Andrew]

ICW - Was 'The Madness - Nick Scouse' on that show? I have him as a friend on Facebook and talk regularly, he was part of ICW. He's quite well known around the UK as well as Alex Shane.

I've heard of 1PW and FWA.

 

[Keith]

Not sure if Scouse is there or not, don't think he was on the card I went to, but then I have only been to that one, and just follow it off and on, so it is possible. Also out of interest Drew Mcintyre got his start in ICW, and was once their Champion.

From 2002-05 the FWA was the biggest promotion in england, with the wrestlers the likes of Jody Fleisch, Doug Williams, Alex Shane, Paul Buchall (who was a monster in that promotion) and Nikita (now Winter in TNA) amongst others getting over, and putting on some very good wrestling matches and having some intense feud. The promotion had a style all of it own, combining old school british wrestling, with more expolisve high risk, and blooding brawls, the promotion also imployed a yellow card system as a warning to a wrestler who was caught cheating, that they would be DQ if it happened again. They had a sucessful inter-promotion show with ROH in 2002, and hit the mainstream in 2005 with Shane's brilliantly booked feud against Boxer Danny Williams. This was before hitting big money troubles in 2006, and it has been a struggle ever since, but they are still around, and slowing trying to rebuild themselfs in a tough market.

 

[Andrew]

Lance Storm is training two more Australians (As far as I know) next year.

I really hope they succeed seeing they're my favorite and Ryan Rollins is a close friend of mine. I wish him all the best, Australia talent rising to USA soon!

 

[The New F'n Show]

From the US side of things in the last year and a half I've been to a few shows from DGUSA, ROH, CHIKARA, and the local Clash Wrestling (who has joined this forum).

 

[Keith]

Saw a ROH show once when I was in New York on hoilday, believe it was called Manhatten mayhem, and featured Bryan Danielson VS. Takeshi Morrishima for the ROH World Title, The Briscoes against El Generico and Kevin Steen in a two out of three falls match, Claudio Castagnoli VS. Chris Hero, and Pac VS. Davey Richards amongst other bouts, this was August 2007 by the way, overall a cracking night of action.

Have quite a few events planned over the coming months, including to see DG again, and hopefully to see PBW and IPW.