A small vacation from all the wrestling at work...

...To go to a live wrestling show. I can't get away from this stuff. What is wrong with me?

Actually, I work at a independent federation called All Pro Wrestling. I help work production at their shows. On Saturday we had a show in Bakersfield, California. Upon entering the venue, I was more than a little dubious.

It appears that the most popular venue for rock shows in Bakersfield is a remodeled Montgomery's Ward. Seeing that, APW thought it would be a good idea to try the built in crowd out for a little wrestling show. When I stepped into the building, I saw a bunch of emo/goth/metal kids lounging around, setting up sound equipment for a show. They're all my age.. but I can't stop feeling SO much older than these guys. I am so out of the loop =/ Anyways.. They are all sitting around with their cookie cutter haircuts and hoodies, and I thought we were definitely not in the right place. I was then led to a VERY scary elevator, which led to a huge room full of discarded Montgomery Ward equiptment, furniture, garbage.. etc. It looked like a place where you would find Brad Pitt and Edward Norton duking it out. At this point I was ready to go home.

However, I was delighted when I saw the area where we'd be actually running the show. A very large area with plenty of room for a ring, the merchandise booth, and lots of seating. The production team slowly starting putting things together, and about 12 hours of work later, it looked like a wrestling show! Lights, camera, entrance, sound, ring, oooh, ahhh!

The show itself was awesome. Aside from the opening match, every match was entertaining and enjoyable. The fans were pumped to see Sandman take on the ex APW HeavyWeight Champ, Kafu, in a hardcore brawl. (Where I am pretty sure they got some weapons from that sketchy area I described earlier!) Sandman was kind enough to take some time out of his much crunched schedule to do some signings after the show, and fans were delighted. (Perhaps quite delighted in one case, check out this link where you can find the belt Sandman is signing for sale on Ebay. So much for sentimental value, eh?)

My personal favorite matches of the night was Derek Sanders vs. Mike Rapada and Sara Del Ray vs. Melissa. Derek took on Mike Rapada, a man who has been working in this business since Mullets were in style. They had a fantastic match that reminded very strongly of old school wrestling that you would of seen about 15 years ago. It's nice to know that people can still work a match without all of the glitz and glam. Melissa and Sara had a rematch from their ChickFight 3 match (which left off unresolved). They were both still quite furious with each other and they really tore into each other. When their match was said and done, it took 4 men to tear them away from each other in order to resume the show. Be sure to catch these one's when they show up on ClickWrestle in the weeks to come. =)

After all is said and done, I had a really good time. I hear we are going back to that venue in April.. Keep your eye on APW's website if you'd like to check out a show sometime!