The PWI 500: Does It Matter?

The PWI 500 for me used to be a huge deal 20 or so years ago. Back when I was really young and I was swaddled in the cloth of kayfabe, this kind of thing was so intriguing. As I grew "smarter"₁, the list diminished more and more in significance until the point where earlier this week, I used it mockingly in my slam piece on Kevin Kelly. So yeah, asking the question "Does the PWI 500 matter?" in regards to a guy like me seems like an easy question right off the bat. In terms of ranking the best wrestlers in the world via kayfabe, no, it doesn't matter to me, because as this sort of wrestling critic, I don't take the same things into consideration as PWI does (although interestingly enough, their 2010 #1 was the same as my 2010 Wrestler of the Year, so maybe we're not too far off from each other...).

I'm well aware that I'm not the target audience, but reading through Twitter the other day, I was reminded that maybe the kids and the "It's still real to me, dammit" crowd aren't the only people PWI aim their list to.

Yep, that's Chikara standout and TWB favorite Sugar Dunkerton, chest puffed out over his placement in the list. It was his reaction that made realize that hey, this isn't just some fantasy ranking of guys trying to use the same criteria for companies that use vastly different ways of making their guy a star. This is about recognizing guys for doing work on all levels of the world stage. This isn't the PWI 50 or 100. Five hundred, current wrestlers we're talking about here, is a hefty number for the climate right now. The entrants aren't just coming from the top level indie guys or people in WWE or Impact that may or may not give a shit if a magazine for "marks" rates them high. This is for the guys like Sugar D who work hard to get recognized, who compete in promotions that may or may not have a national reach, who bust their asses to entertain sometimes in front of 20 people and appreciate all the limelight that is shone upon them.

So yeah, maybe the PWI does have more of a purpose than to rate wrestlers for the kids at home. It's about recognizing the guys who may not be the household names yet, and in turn, giving the kids, and hell, even guys like me a reason to go to a local indie card with names unfamiliar otherwise. It's probably time we started to reconsider the PWI 500's place and maybe giving it a little more credence, just not for the reasons that the editors and publishers of it set out to make it for initially.

1 - In quotes because really, am I that smart when it comes to this, or better yet, is it better to be a "smart" wrestling fan?

Amasis to Retire

I only planned on writing one Chikara-related entry today. With this news that has just broken, I wish I only had to write the one I was already working on.

Per Sugar Dunkerton's Twitter

Amasis, one-third of the Osirian Portal, apparently has to retire from pro wrestling. The breaking news was just relayed by his fed-mate, Sugar Dunkerton, who Tweeted a few distressing and cryptic messages about Amasis. I replied to him to see what was up, and this was his general response, since I assume I wasn't the only one:

Long story short; Amasis has to retire. Even shorter story, it sucks.

He's right, it really does suck. Hardcore.

For those who don't know, Amasis suffered injuries in a "non-wrestling" accident back in May. I never got the full extent of those injuries, mainly because they were never released. Whatever they were, they apparently are causing him to hang up the boots.

ETA: TWB and Chikara superfan and Chikarmy member Adam Arthur says he got a Chikarmy newsletter stating Amasis' injuries were from a car accident.

Anyway, my heart goes out to Amasis, to the rest of the Portal and the Chikara roster, and hopefully, whatever injuries he suffered a month or so ago aren't serious enough that they effect his quality of life going forward. We're pulling for you, Amasis. The fact that you can't lace up the boots anymore is irrelevant, at least to me. Just get healthy.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Wrestling Six Packs: Best Indie Gimmicks

Peck and Veronica, Chikara's new power couple

There are two kinds of characters: regular people and gimmicks. Some gimmicks are bad or okay, but they get over because the guy playing it is an awesome performer. Some gimmicks are awesome in and of themselves, and get over with talented wrestlers or middling guys alike. This six pack chronicles the awesome gimmicks that you find in indie wrestling. Why? Because there are some awesome gimmicks in indie wrestling, that's why.

1. Archibald Peck

There's a certain amount of silliness needed to do a good gimmick. I mean, when wrestling's good, a part of it has to make people laugh, right? Well, even with the inherent goofiness involved, usually, the guy playing the character wants his gimmick to be somewhat cool, right? Yeah, not Archibald Peck. There's probably nothing dorkier than being in a high school band, and that's what makes this gimmick work so well. He's intentionally nerding it up and he and his lovely Veronica put their all into it. It doesn't help that the guy behind the character is supremely talented. BE that as it may, every time you see him come out with his band hat, twirling his baton, marching emphatically to a brass-n-drum version of "Any Way You Want It", you can't help but smile, even if you're supposed to boo the guy out of the building.

2. Cedric the Hitman

From the super silly to the super serious, Cedric the Hitman is actually a brilliant, brilliant gimmick that I'm surprised hasn't been tried yet in the bigger feds. Basically, he's hired muscle. You pay him and he takes out the target. In NWA Hollywood, where he resides, he's most recently been used by Austin Aries to continually harass Scorpio Sky, and he became a really big part of that angle while it was ongoing.

3. LuFisto

What does being a "Super Hardcore Anime" entail? Well, it's probably the most abstract gimmick listed here, but it's an incredibly fun part of any SHIMMER show that I watch on DVD. Basically, she's supposed to be the living embodiment of an anime character, and she has a figurine that she talks to and gets advice from. It's so weird and manic that it works, and it makes her the highlight of any show she's on.

4. Grizzly Redwood

He's a lumberjack and he's okay, he sleeps all night and he works all day. Haha, cheesy Monty Python reference aside, the short-guy lumberjack is a great gimmick. I think a lumberjack character would work for a guy of any size; refer back to the ROH Video Wire segment where he was training Delirious as an example. I just think that a 5'4" guy who's supposed to be a stout feller of trees is such an epic visual. Plus I really like flapjacks. Hell, if I had to do it all over again, I'd probably name this blog "I Want to Go to IHOP with Grizzly Redwood" instead of The Wrestling Blog. But that'd be gimmick infringement.

5. Matt Classic

There are old school characters, REALLY old school characters and then there's Matt Classic. A character purported to be such a veteran that he was in a fed with Abraham Lincoln, the good friend of Colt Cabana pops up from time to time to do calisthenics, make daring leaps from the first rope and purvey old school wrestling holds like the drop suplex and the claw. He's also super surly, and if you can, seek out footage from the tag gauntlet from night 3 of King of Trios this year, especially his interactions with Sara del Rey and Daizee Haze. It's wonderfully chauvinistic, but eminently amusing.

6. The Throwbacks

The last spot has to be a shout to my boys, the original playas from Chikara-land. The ABA baller and the turn-of-the-century batsman would have been great gimmicks on their own. Pairing them together is genius, I think. Both characters have a wealth of material to draw from, and all of it is potentially crowd pleasing. Both Dasher Hatfield and Sugar Dunkerton have found guises worthy of making a career out of.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!