Wrestling Review // Blitkrieg! Pro Wrestling Presents "Notafingah!" [11/30/19, Westfield MA]
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As I like to do with most things, I did the math on the last time I went to a professional wrestling show and it had been since December, 22nd 2006 when Ring of Honor was in Connecticut. I did go to a series of matches since then, at the North Haven Fair, where I met Matt Hardy, but I don't really consider that the same because I paid to get into the Fair and didn't specifically buy a ticket for professional wrestling, as I did here. I also tried to go to a professional wrestling show before this one but it fell through for reasons I won't get into here.
Over the past few months (since September) I have watched events on IWTV, which if you read along you already know, and so that has renewed my interest in professional wrestling enough to the point that Blitzkrieg! Pro announced an event with WARHORSE and Tony Deppen, two of my favorite wrestlers, and so I mapped it out and it's about an hour from me to Westfield so I decided to take the drive.
When I mapped out my address to the Moose Lodge in Westfield it told me that I could either drive one route at 58 minutes and pay a toll or take an hour and one minute with no toll, so I optioned for no toll. I went up 91 then got off the exit for the airport and took these backroads all the rest of the way there. It was so weird because it was dark and looked like it might have been nice farm country if I could see it and I even crossed into the MA border without even realizing it.
On my drive up, I was cranking "The Illusion of Safety" by Thrice on 91 but when that ended and I got off the highway I was listening to "There Existed An Addiction To Blood" by clipping.
It was right around 6 pm that I got to the Moose Lodge without any trouble. Only a few others had shown up, but I parked near someone else who seemed to be there for the wrestling show. We waited outside until almost 6:30 and then finally were let in. There were no tickets (which is environmentally friendly) but rather I just showed my PayPal email on my phone and they let me in, putting an "s" on my hand so I could sit on the stage. There were a handful of chairs (maybe 25 or 30) on the stage to sit if you paid extra, but otherwise you had to just stand around the ring which took up most of the room on the floor.
Some mech tables were set up but not for anyone I recognized so I went and sat down in a second row seat. The show started promotly at 7:05 and I have never taken pictures at a wrestling show like this before, so it was interesting to try and catch shots when the wrestlers weren't moving. I'd need a much more expensive camera lense to get better still photos or just learn to use mine better. My camera also kept wanting me to open my flash, which I did not want to do.
One thing that surprised me (but not really) is that there were some kids there. I didn't know if this was going to be a family friendly show or not and since the flyer talks about beer I thought maybe not, but the kids seemed into it. The opening contest saw DL Hurst vs. CPA and I feel like I've seen both of these guys on IWTV before. When you get this close to the ring, in this type of space, you realize how hard the wrestlers hit it. And that's not their boot stomping on it- it's their backs, it's their whole body just making it sound as if it will fall apart and collapse underneath them (which, if it did, might somehow hurt them less)
I'm not going to go through and describe every match to you, but there was a tag match with the tag partner that wasn't really wanted and so the one guy ended up just walking out on him at the end. I do believe the wrestler's name was Kirby Wackerman and he got stood up, basically, which is what you could have expected. The team that they faced though came out in spikes and seemed to work really well together so keep your eyes on them.
Perhaps my favorite match of the night was Travis Huckabee vs. Nick "The Kid" Curry. I know very little about Nick Curry (other than that he doesn't look young enough to be called "The Kid") but this was the first match signed for NOTAFINGAH! and I had seen Travis Huckabee in CHIKARA so it was one of those signs where I felt like I had to go to this show before they even signed WARHORSE to it. But this was some great chain and mat wrestling that ended with Huckabee doing the low blow for the DQ loss. Perhaps we can see this again some time with a proper finish?
The main event of the first half saw WARHORSE defending the IWTV Championship against Scotty Wild and Hermit Crab. I've seen Hermit Crab not just in CHIKARA but all over IWTV and he was getting some great chants from the crowd. It somehow felt like of all of the wrestlers in this match, WARHORSE was getting the least crowd support and yet he's the reason why I came to this show (Well, one of the main reasons) WARHORSE took the time to help Scotty Wild learn to headbang and ultimately WARHORSE got the win in what was a title match but I didn't think would be.
During intermission I went over to buy a t-shirt and trading card from WARHORSE. I asked him if we could take a picture together and he asked if I had someone to take it and I pointed at Scotty Wild and said "That guy" and he kind of looked at us both like "What?" But we ended up getting the photo- I think a woman who ended up interviewing WARHORSE for her podcast took it- but yeah, it kind of made my night.
I went to the bar area, passing all sorts of the wrestlers who had already wrestled (including Travis Huckabee, who I wanted to talk to but didn't) and so I bought a beer from Two Weeks Notice because that was the local brewery advertised before the show. The beer was good though. I need to look up how to get more of it or if they sell it at my local package store (You know, the one I could literally throw a rock at from my porch and hit)
At some point in the night it was also announced that Tony Deppen would not be there, probably due to the drive he had. This made me sad but they booked him for a February card so that's kind of the lure of professional wrestling- the "to be continued" factor to bring you back.
After intermission there were four more matches. I don't remember the names of everyone in them, but there was a match with "Evil" Kip Stevens, Jeremy Leary, Aaron Rouke and Charlie Cashew. Aaron Rouke didn't seem to get recognized, but he recently took the crown of the Beyond Discovery Gauntlet. Charlie Cashew was a definite standout in the match though, as he would yell out "Let's get nuts!" or "Let's go nuts!" and it just seems like something that would be easily played in a promotion like CHIKARA or going forward in B!P.
I imagine a scenario for Charlie Cashew where someone has to tag with him or face him in a match but that wrestler can't because he has a nut allergy. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but it would be some good long term booking.
Bobby Orlando (who was recently on Uncharted Territory) defended the Bedlam Title against Skylar, which was fun because even though it was my first time seeing Bobby Jr. I will pay admission to shows going forward just to see Bobby Jr. Skylar was impressive though and as one of two women on the show I just kind of wish that there were more. Erica Leigh was in this four on four match and she really shined. Would love to see her back in B!P, even as soon as this coming Saturday!
In the main event, VSK took on Manders which was an odd match for me because when I've seen VSK on IWTV he's always been a heel but the crowd loved him. Manders said something about how he wasn't getting a reaction because no one knew who he was, but I think everyone was just mad he jumped WARHORSE on Thursday. (Side Note: I saw WARHORSE as part of that big four on four match on Uncharted Territory on Thursday on IWTV, then on IWTV as part of Limitless Wrestling and now in person on Saturday. What a crazy life!)
I enjoyed VSK vs. Manders as a match, even if they took the time to stop and drink a beer with referee Gina, and at the end of the night, the thing was I didn't feel like I had been sitting through the show for however many hours it was. That's the true accomplishment in professional wrestling, to me, is putting on a show that's three hours and doesn't feel like three hours. The night just flew by.
On my drive home, I put on a little Lana Del Ray before I got on the highway and I saw a sign that said I had entered Connecticut. Once I got near the airport I turned the maps off. Isn't it great when the maps lady says to drive seventeen miles so she goes quiet and then you're singing along and all of a sudden she just says "In two miles stay right" and it scares the shit out of you?
I'd end with this paragraph about how "This was fun and I'd like to do it again some time" but they literally are having their next show this Saturday in Enfield, for which I already have a ticket. Kris Statlander will be there as well as Raven (and maybe WARHORSE?) so I'm already excited. And as soon as they say when, I'll be buying a ticket (maybe two) for their show in February.
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