The Greatness of Independent Wrestling – by Jacob Keppen
By Jacob Keppen – Sports Writer for The Sentinel of Gloucester County Weekly Newspaper
This article was published by The Sentinel of Gloucester County Newspaper print edition the week of 11/1/2018
Professional Wrestling has always been one of the most popular sports in modern America. Most people know who guys like Hulk Hogan and the Rock are, and most likely grew up watching them. There are fans of pro wrestling of different ages all around the world. The super power in professional wrestling is World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly Federation), they are one of the most recognizable companies in the world. Professional wrestling does not stop with the WWE though. Unbeknownst to most, there are independent professional wrestling promotions all over the world.
One of these indie promotions is DAWG (Dangerous Adrenaline Wrestling Gladiators). The Glassboro wrestling promotion ran their Wrath of the Champions event on Saturday and all the great things about independent wrestling were on display. To start, the action was really good. Sometimes indie shows can get a bad rep for bad in ring action, but that was not the case here. Besides a few in ring hiccups, the wrestling in the ring was fairly smooth and looked pretty good throughout the night. The biggest highlight of the night for in ring action was easily the DAWG heavyweight title unification bout between champion Dirty Money and interim champion Breaker Morant. There were some truly big spots in the match; from Morant diving to the outside onto his opponent, to a suplex on the floor outside, to both men hitting each other with a chair shot. The crowd rose to their feet a few times, and were electric when Morant eventually won. DAWG’s Wrath of the Champions showed the greatest part of indie wrestling, the fan interaction. Dirty Money said it best after the show, stating “Entertaining the people man, that’s what it’s all about”. This was my first independent show, and what amazed me most was the interaction between the wrestlers and the fans. It was amazing seeing a bad guy like Biggie Biggs arguing with the crowd, riling them up further. “Getting the emotions out of a crowd, that’s the most awesome part about wrestling” Biggs said after the show.
There were many other notable examples of great fan interaction during Wrath of the Champions. One of my favorites was after their match against Old School Machine, South Philly’s Finest brought a fan with special needs into the ring and raised his hand. You would see many great interactions from wrestlers, both good guys and bad guys, with this fan throughout the night.Another great example was in the main event pitting Bull James against William Huckaby. James, the cowardly heel, was refusing to fight Huckaby and kept going outside of the ring. At one point he pulled up a chair next to his most vocal fan in the crowd, he even took a picture and gave an autograph to the fan. This is stuff you will never see in the WWE.
Furthermore it was amazing seeing fans after the match approaching the wrestlers, talking to them as well as getting pictures and autographs with them. “This (is my favorite part), the aftermath. Talking with people and seeing if they liked what they saw.” This is a benefit you will only see in the, as Breaker Morant called it, “intimate setting” of the independent scene. Huckaby added “It’s the difference between Broadway and dinner theatre. We’re right here with the fans, there’s a connection that isn’t there when you’re in a football stadium… I love being able to perform what you can call close up magic”For years the greatness of the independent had gone unknown. Just like the greatness of underground music, independent wrestling went under the radar for years. Just like underground music becoming more accessible and popular to the public, there has never been a better time for independent wrestling. Increased popularity in bigger indie promotions such as Ring of Honor, especially with the recent mega event All In, has really put independent wrestling on the map.
Morant, an 18 year veteran, stated it best saying, “I couldn’t love independent wrestling more, at this time right now. It’s so alive and well. Between Cody, the Young Bucks and Omega (four of the biggest stars in Japan), really making it such a mainstream thing where they’re able to promote themselves so big and make money outside of the machine called WWE… I feel like I couldn’t be in a better place right now in the independents.”