The Resistance debuted last Saturday and it was a great start for the new wrestling company. I was optimistic about Chapter One: Creation, but I didn't really know what to expect.
I did know that co-owners Jacques and Gabe Baron were working hard to make The Resistance unique and really fan-interactive. I saw a lot of online polls and voting for wrestlers, matchups, stipulations and other fun stuff. I saw a lot of social media hype from the incoming wrestlers, most of whom I had never previously seen in person. Still, it remained to be seen how it would all come together on show night.
I am happy to report that Chapter One: Creation surpassed my expectations. The show was exciting from start to finish and the fans were really into it.
Aside from being the debut, this show presented other challenges. The Baron brothers introduced a wheel, which selected fans would spin to determine match stipulations. With 24 options on the wheel, there really was no way for wrestlers to prepare for their match. They had to deal with whatever the wheel spin produced. As exciting as this was for fans, it was a challenge for the wrestlers, but they all did great.
I have to applaud all of the wrestlers a bit more. They were all very polite and fan-friendly. They seemed very happy to be there. It was a lively, positive group.
The crowd was a bit bigger than I expected. They were all hoping to win one of the raffles to actually be part of the action. Longtime wrestling fans Eric Joseph Larkin and Jim Strong got to be a manager and a ring announcer, respectively. I talked to them afterwards and they were legitimately giddy about the experience.
Another interesting thing about the fans was how they cheered. As my broadcast partner Tommy Else and I talked about in our interview below, there were a lot of times when the fans seemed to be cheering for everyone. I think that speaks to the wrestling talent and how hard they were working. Nobody took the night off one bit. The fans just cheered for it all.
Despite the frenzy of the first show,. I was able to get some great interviews. We lead off with John Skyler, the Heavyweight champ of The Resistance. We also got co-owner Jacques Baron to give us his thoughts. The very unique Darwin Finch gave us a few minutes of his time to discuss his style in and out of the ring. Last (and not least), I got Tommy's thoughts on the night as we wrapped up the show.
It was an excellent first event, but of course, The Resistance has a lot of work to do to keep the momentum going. Fortunately, I truly believe they will. There was a real buzz in the air Saturday. I have a lot of faith in the Baron brothers and everyone else involved. I think they have created something unique and I am excited to see this all develop.
No comments:
Post a Comment