LAS VEGAS -- I’m in Downtown Las Vegas and singing “Zombie” by the Cranberries on a Friday night with a bunch of strangers.
No. This isn’t a bar. It’s the MEET Las Vegas.
And no, the Cranberries didn’t reunite. Rather, it was the entrance music for a tag team, Violence is Forever, at a pro wrestling show promoted by North Carolina-based Deadlock Pro Wrestling.
This was one of seven pro wrestling shows I attended in the days before WrestleMania, the powerhouse two-day event that has descended upon Las Vegas Saturday and Sunday.
There were so many pro wrestling shows in Las Vegas during the week that it was almost impossible to count, and the rabbit hole went deep.
But what is it like at these shows? Let’s take a closer look.
(Before I go any further, it’s not “fake.” You try to entertain people by intentionally falling backward multiple times on a spring-loaded piece of wood with a thin piece of mat covering it. It’s athletic theater, as real as any other TV show or movie you watch. The wrestlers are their own stunt people.)
Find Your Style
To the everyday person, pro wrestling is synonymous with the industry leader World Wrestling Entertainment. When I tell people I’m a wrestling fan, the first response is typically, “Oh, like that WWE/F stuff?”
I’ll usually answer, “Yeah,” mostly because I’d rather not try to explain the nuances of one of my favorite performing arts. It would be the same if you told someone you liked country music, and they responded, “Oh, like Taylor Swift?”
It’s not always that simple to explain that I’m a pro wrestling fan and that my taste in the art form isn’t solely tied to the WWE.
Like other art forms, there are different types.
The WWE has a distinct feel and presentation.
It’s cleaner in terms of performance (i.e., fewer mistakes in and out of the ring).
WWE Superstars undergo heavy training to learn how to fulfill that specific style while maintaining individuality.
Like music, however, a no-name band you see in a dive bar could be better than what’s played on the radio, which is what the WWE is with all its television.
It’s about taste and watching independent wrestling shows during WrestleMania week offers a buffet of choices.
The shows I went to during the week featured various styles.
Two were run by the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate, which fuses aspects of Mexican Lucha-Libre with Japanese Puroresu (pronounced ‘pro-wres’).
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling ran another show, an all-female show featuring pro wrestling with a hint of Japanese quirk. Stardom and Marvelous, other all-female promotions, can be the complete opposite, focusing more on sports-based presentation.
The last two shows I attended, Prestige and Deadlock, highlight the melting pot of pro wrestling, showcasing all the styles popular in American pro wrestling but in a gritter environment.
One show I wanted to go to was Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport, which is mixed-martial-arts-based pro wrestling with no ropes. I would have gone to it if my schedule permitted.
That’s the beauty of a week in the WrestleMania host city: all the styles come to you.
As someone who’s traveled for pro wrestling, including Japan, I can understand how difficult it can be to see other types of wrestling live. During WrestleMania week, the styles come to you and it’s a great way to expand pro wrestling horizons.
Getting Their Moment
Some came to Las Vegas as former WWE talent working the independent scene with a wide range of goals, ranging from hopes of signing back with the company, or increasing booking rates.
WrestleMania Night 2 main eventer Cody Rhodes is the poster child for this.
He spent years on the independent circuit and All Elite Wrestling after initially leaving the WWE in 2016 and became a bigger star because of this experience.
Others, such as pro wrestler Airica Demia who worked her first Stardom show, are using this experience to promote their brand and hope for more lucrative bookings.
Many will never get a true WrestleMania moment with the WWE, and this will be the closest they get to the show.
Let’s not dimmish them in any way.
They earned new fans, sold some merch, and built memories, connections, and friendships that will last with them forever.
As a fan, it’s always entertaining to see a pro wrestler perform early in their career and see their growth over the years.
Who knows. Maybe on the off-beat chance they break through and become the next WWE Superstar, you can easily say, I was there from the beginning and celebrate their success.
Celebrating Pro Wrestling
It has never been easier to be a pro wrestling fan.
The internet makes it easier to watch other promotions and other styles. I no longer must trade tapes with a guy in Hawaii for some unique stuff.
There is, however, nothing better than WrestleMania week and being in a host city.
For the strictly WWE-only fans, it’s the Super Bowl.
For the pro wrestling super fan, it’s Coachella, EDC, and Woodstock rolled into one.
WrestleMania is more than simply a two-day event at a stadium.
It’s the ultimate celebration of pro wrestling.