On May 16, 2012 I attended my first local independent wrestling show in Porterdale, GA. There were two steel cage matches that night. I really didn't know what to expect because my only real exposure to wrestling was WWE. I'd started looking up Ring of Honor matches on Youtube because I was curious about the career of Daniel Bryan before he'd wrestled for WWE, but the idea that hundreds of companies put on wrestling shows every weekend right here in GA didn't occur to me. My mother told me that she'd seen a sign advertising wrestling in Porterdale, and she thought my son would really enjoy it. Tickets were the price of a movie ticket, and kids under 8 were free, so I thought it was a safe bet.
The match that made the biggest impression on me that night was the women's match. Pandora came out wearing pigtails and a painted mask. I looked over at my husband and I whispered "I think I'm in love." I totally understood exactly why those girls in anime have those hero-worship type crushes on their older classmates or on popstars. During intermission I went over to the table and bought a picture of her which she autographed. I remember saying that her style of wrestling was way better than the so-called divas on tv.
That was the first night we saw Johnny Danger as well. Johnny Danger started out as a heel in Porterdale. We went into our first show cheering him because he was the only wrestler on the card we were familiar with. When I looked up PCW wrestling in Porterdale on Youtube, one of his matches came up. I remember saying we wanted to use the Darkwing Duck tagline, "Let's get Dangerous", when cheering him.
The wrestlers of PCW did not sell a lot of merchandise that night. There weren't really t-shirts, and only a couple were selling photos. I decided when I attended the next show I would make my own fan shirts for the wrestlers we liked. For some reason it didn't feel right to me to attend the show wearing a WWE shirt. Would you attend a WWE show wearing a TNA shirt, or vice-versa? I thought it was best to pick our favorites from PCW's roster and cheer them by making our own fan gear.
I look back on the past year, and I realize how much my ideas about wrestling have changed because I've started following independent wrestling. Being a wrestling fan is so much more than just watching television and commenting on Facebook articles. It's also about being their live, yelling at heels and cheering on your favorites. It's about establishing a community of fans. I cannot thank the wrestlers of PCW enough for choosing Porterdale, GA to call home.
The match that made the biggest impression on me that night was the women's match. Pandora came out wearing pigtails and a painted mask. I looked over at my husband and I whispered "I think I'm in love." I totally understood exactly why those girls in anime have those hero-worship type crushes on their older classmates or on popstars. During intermission I went over to the table and bought a picture of her which she autographed. I remember saying that her style of wrestling was way better than the so-called divas on tv.
That was the first night we saw Johnny Danger as well. Johnny Danger started out as a heel in Porterdale. We went into our first show cheering him because he was the only wrestler on the card we were familiar with. When I looked up PCW wrestling in Porterdale on Youtube, one of his matches came up. I remember saying we wanted to use the Darkwing Duck tagline, "Let's get Dangerous", when cheering him.
The wrestlers of PCW did not sell a lot of merchandise that night. There weren't really t-shirts, and only a couple were selling photos. I decided when I attended the next show I would make my own fan shirts for the wrestlers we liked. For some reason it didn't feel right to me to attend the show wearing a WWE shirt. Would you attend a WWE show wearing a TNA shirt, or vice-versa? I thought it was best to pick our favorites from PCW's roster and cheer them by making our own fan gear.
I look back on the past year, and I realize how much my ideas about wrestling have changed because I've started following independent wrestling. Being a wrestling fan is so much more than just watching television and commenting on Facebook articles. It's also about being their live, yelling at heels and cheering on your favorites. It's about establishing a community of fans. I cannot thank the wrestlers of PCW enough for choosing Porterdale, GA to call home.
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