In Praise of Independent Wrestling
Posted: Nov 4th 2015 By: Mick Foley
I simply can not say enough about the work ethic, dedication and skill of so many of the wrestlers I've had the chance to watch and work with over the past several months. Things have changed quite a bit from when I broke into the Indie scene almost 30 years ago (I began training in 1985, but had my first match in 1986) when promoters regularly burned towns, advertised stars who had never been booked, or offered up weak knock-offs meant to fool fans into thinking they were seeing the real deal. Hey, I worked many a match as 1/2 of the South Sea Islanders against the Rock 'n' Roll Connection, so I'm not completely innocent here. I'm know this type of thing still goes on today - not one, but TWO Mick Foley knock-offs on the scene - but they seem to be the exception to the rule.
And the rule of the day in Independent wrestling seems to be to that hard work pays off. Building a fan-base, delivering what they want, and sending them home happy...if exhausted. Personally, last night's 6 hour ‪#‎XWA‬ show in ‪#‎Providence‬ may have been a tad long. Maybe more than a tad. But within those 6 hours, there was SO much to like. I saw moves I've yet to learn the names of from wrestlers I've yet to learn the names of - and stuff that would have been right at home on a major PPV - with the intimacy and connection to an audience that only a grass-roots Indy can provide.
In the weeks that follow, I will try to provide an "Indie spotlight of the week" to talk about someone who has impressed me in his travels. You know who impressed me last night? The promoter. For real. The guy finds out on ‪#‎Halloween‬ night that A. J. Styles - one of the most durable, phenomenal performers of his generation (yeah, that's high praise, but he's earned it) won't be able to wrestle because of a legit back injury. What's a promoter to do? Throw up your hands, explain the situation to the fans, hope they understand, right? Not this guy. He not only does the right thing by bringing AJ in, despite the fact that we won't be able to wrestle - but on HALLOWEEN night, he books Matt Hardy....yes, Matt BLEEPIN' Hardy as his replacement. Then Matt, a guy who could have decided to coast comfortably off his name and reputation for the forseable future tears the house down with JT Dunn AFTER 5 hours of EVERY MOVE EVER INVENTED has been seen. Incredible. Those fans were with it too- and even rose to the occasion when two old guys like me and King Corrino got involved in the shennanigans ourselves.
A year ago, I would say hello to the guys, do my autographs, and try to find a quiet spot to decompress. Things are different now. I watch as many of the matches as I can. I give feedback when I'm asked. Those requests used to seem like hassles. Now they feel like giant compliments. I offer up whatever I can - always stressing that my opinion is one of many, and should be listened to, and valued, but never given a loftier perch than that of one dude's opinion. Please feel free to tell me about someone you've seen tearing it down on your own indie scene - and what you think the future might hold in store for him or her.
My next Indie shows are in SCOTLAND - in ‪#‎ABERDEEN‬ & ‪#‎GLASGOW‬. One show should be awesome, the other, totally insane! See you there! http://realmickfoley.com/events/
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