Independent Pro Wrestling Rules

My latest Notes from a Polite New Yorker column is now online at Kotori Magazine. It recounts my love of wrestling and documents a good wrestling show I attended at the Hammerstein Ballroom.

The independent wrestling shows in New York (and Philadelphia also) will be notable for several reasons. One of them is the level of audience participation. At the show I went to, the crowd was at times both cruel and appreciative. For example, when the ring announcer paged an audience member, “Will Alex Johnson please report to the front ticket table,” the audience took up the chant of “Alex sucks! Alex sucks!” Later, the ring announcer had to page a man named Charles Seaman, and more hilarity ensued.

One of the reasons I made sure to attend the show was to see the Necro Butcher in action. You may know him from his performance in ‘The Wrestler’ in a very bloody match with Mickey Rourke. The Necro Butcher is famous for bloody and over-the-top hardcore wresting matches. His match was not that bloody, but it was good.

I have made it a point to try to make it to more independent wrestling shows. You should too.

Fireworks Are Good For You

I spent this past weekend in Connecticut with friends. We mostly observed the Fourth of July holiday by drinking copious amount of freedom-loving beer and eating large amounts of delicious food.

We also set off some fireworks. Early in the day on July 4, my friend Luke and I visited Uncle Guido’s Fantastic Fireworks in Guilford, Conn. There we found many enticing fireworks, including some very impressively packaged items promising thrilling displays of firepower.

The large party was held at a friend’s house in a town near where we attended high school. As evening descended, we prepared for our display. Another friend was able to travel to some Southern states and bring back fireworks that are illegal here in the Northeast. Luke and I were essentially the opening act for these larger fireworks.

We embraced our role with gusto. Luke is very adept at quickly lighting several fireworks at once, making for a more thrilling spectacle. Many of the party attendees were married people with children, and the kids were impressed with the fireworks both big and small. I even helped light sparklers for the children. As this wound down, our friend with the illegal fireworks lit off his large ordnance, and big colorful blooms filled the night sky above my friend’s yard.

I have heard many people portray the fireworks tradition of the Fourth of July as excessively juvenile and a grotesque abuse of our Revolutionary heritage. I disagree.

The use of fireworks, especially the use of fireworks that are illicit in regions with strict laws and regulations of fireworks and firearms, is very American. The Revolutionary War was fought by people who were not about to let the government dictate how they lived their lives. The first shots fired in New England were against soldiers coming to confiscate arms.

Our country exists because people were willing to break the law and light things that went BOOM. Celebrate accordingly.