Stampede Wrestling
For the week of August 9, 1999
By: Angel, Lady Avalon, and Drucsilla
On the Road with Stampede Wrestling
This is by far the best live pro-wrestling event we have EVER been to, taking into consideration that this is also the first live event Lady Avalon and Drucsilla have ever seen... However, Angel's been to three WWF house shows and a Superstars taping, so that really does say a lot for the quality of Stampede Wrestling's house shows. Don't get us wrong - this Calgary-based independent promotion doesn't have near the resources of the WWF (can we say "hick town curling rink"?) but it's the more down-to-earth atmosphere that makes it all the more exciting.
Seeing as we're morons, we can't remember most of their names. So, we checked the Stampede Wrestling website [we're resourceful idiots : ) ]... However, we couldn't find all of their names (apparently we're not as resourceful as we thought). So, instead, we bring you something better...
Fun Invented Nicknames
- "Hot Shot" Johnny Devine: the Shawn Michaels/Chris Jericho/Triple H/Edge guy
- Sodam Insane: Felipe guy (a guy we know)
- ???: Troy guy (another guy we know)
- Dino Mike: Dinosaur guy, the guy who looks like the guy at the Esso
- Badlands Bill: Oilers guy, Cowboy guy
- "Crazyhorse" Eddie Mustang: no cute nicknames - Angel's known him for years
- Jason Neidhart: no nicknames, but he looks like his cousin Jim, minus the goatee
- ???: Spangly pants man, Chaz wannabe
- Irish Red O'Riordan: Irish guy, flag guy
- ???: leathery guy that looks like Test
- The Black Ninja: Steve Blackman guy
- Kodiak: their version of The Big S\how (minus the writing on his ass)
Now, with that out of the way, on with the evening. The show really was unlike anything we've ever experienced. There were no security rails and so much more wrestler/fan interaction. The only way we could tell which ones were the wrestlers before the show was that they were the ones toting the duffel bags through the crowd to the locker/boiler room. When the Esso guy came out for the first match, no one knew if he was a heel or a face until he got on the mic. His shouts of "Saskatchewan sucks? got most of the crowd riled up, but hey, he got our applause! In fact, that's how it worked for most of the matches. Hey, for the Battel Royal, they even had all the heels come out together, then all the faces. We're just lucky we didn't get tarred and feathered for not cheering the hometown boy (Sodam Insane) but hey, how could we possibly cheer for a guy that reminds us so much of Felipe (long story, but basically, he's obnoxious, thinks he's incredibly cool, and if we ever hear him play "Save Tonight" by Eagle Eye Cherry one more time, we are going to hurt someone).
While the atmosphere was so much more relaxed than at a WWF event, the two are not without their similarities. To be more precise, some of the wrestlers were incredibly similar to WWF wrestlers (see "Fun Invented Nicknames "). Hell, the Test guy lost his vest and one of the security guards (who Angel found to be extremely hot, but that's besides the point) asked if we had seen anyone pick it up (we were sitting front row, ringside). Well, none of us could remember his name, so we asked him, "You mean the leathery guy who looks like Test?" The funny thing is, he knew exactly what we were talking about.
But, if you want blatant WWF rip-offs, we have to talk "Hot Shot" Johnny Devine (no offense Johnny, really!) He really does look like a cross between Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Triple H, and Edge (which is definitely NOT a bad thing!) and has all of Shawn's moves (the strut, the super kick, the flip over the top rope after he was nearly eliminated from the Battle Royal...) Drucsilla had the opportunity to discuss this with him after the show and he denied the similarities, of course, but did explain that nothing's really original anymore. He then proceeded to give Lady Avalon an odd look as she picked up Angel's brother, saying, "He's mine!" and carried him across the room.
It was things like Drucsilla talking to Shawn guy after the show, "Crazyhorse" coming out to talk to Angel during intermission and giving her a smile and a thumbs up during his match, the wrestlers coming out to watch each others' matches, and the Troy guy coming out to video tape the rest of the event that made the show so much more enjoyable. Don't get us wrong - we still love the WWF, but the smaller, independent organizations can offer the fans something that bigger organizations like the WWF can't - wrestle/fan interaction without a thousand security guards and $50 for an autographed picture.