El Generico

 

Last night independent superstar and recent WWE signee, El Generico, worked for the first time without his trademark mask and name. The Canadian born wrestler worked using his real name, Rami Sebai. It could be a sign of things to come for the generic luchadore as he moves forward in the WWE machine.

Personally I think it is a mistake. A mask is part of a persona. It takes years to develop a good persona, which El Generico is. He developed the little quirks that made this character such a fan favorite. Now taking the mask off won't change his abilities in the ring. He'll still be able to do all his moves, but it will end up missing something.

I commented to a friend earlier that this is like signing Prince Fielder, a power hitter, and telling him he's your lead off man. Sure he'll still be a good baseball player but his developed skills that he spent years perfecting won't be utilized, and he won't be as effective as he could be.

The WWE does this to make sure they have the rights to all the characters and likenesses for their merchandising. CM Punk might be the last indy star to keep everything he developed. Now he makes cash but if he ever leaves the WWE, they can't stop him from making bank off his WWE fame. The fed doesn't like that.

I hope this is another instance of a talent trying new things in developmental as he waits for his call up to the show. They don't need to call him El Generico, but they should consider keeping him under the mask. Plus kids like to buy masks, and the WWE loves things kids buy. Why not just call him, "Mr. Unknown". or "Mr. E". That's a quick 10 second idea that would benefit all parties involved.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

It Came From The Indies: Head Drop Productions

I hope you're enjoying your 4^th of July. I would say Independence Day, but if you’re reading this outside of the United States then it’s just the 4^th day of the 7^th month. To all the people in Virginia & Maryland still without power because of the storm last week, I hope the 4^th brings back some normalcy to your lives. A cook out with friends can raise spirits of those waiting until the weekend when the AC comes back on. If you’ve got a friend at work or at the gym that has been suffering through the heat, maybe invite them over for a burger & a beer. It’s what the forefathers would have done, if they had electricity. Then again if they had electricity they might have just sat around watching cable news all day and we would still be a British colony.

One thing electricity has brought us is the world wide web. The internet has done a lot to change the world around us. No longer do you have to hide your porn under your bed, just remember to erase your browser history. You can play video games with people on the other side of the planet. For wrestling fans you can see indie wrestling that wouldn’t have made it into your tape collection.

Years ago to get your indie promotion seen you had to get a deal with a local television station or public access. Studio wrestling was a must for territories in the 70’s and 80’s. Now with the internet, and the ease to do home video, any promotion can have their own online television show.

Head Drop Productions, a Midwest company that covers a variety of indie promotions, is a prime example of this new revolution. The company is headed up by Zach Macomber, a rising star in the Michigan Indie scene as Grizzly House Jones. He has worked for companies like the MMWA, who had TV during 2004, and CIW, a long standing indie promotion in the Midwest. Taking his experience in television & home video he has launched his company to assist Midwest indie wrestling.

Now he has started a video production company that eases the cost of being an online or video presence, yet still providing a high quality product. On HDP's website, http://www.headdropproductions.com/, they feature a variety of wrestling for fans to view. The video catalog is expansive with a great deal of $10 per video going on. The true time killer, and gem of Head Drop Productions, is their Youtube channel.

On Youtube they feature nineteen episodes from two different promotions. The video work is serviceable, and the commentary is entertaining. The action in the ring isn’t on par with Ring of Honor or Dragon Gate USA, but for regional indie wrestling the matches are enjoyable to watch with some crazy characters still learning the ropes in professional wrestling. If the WWE is the major leagues, and ROH is AAA baseball then the promotions featured by Head Drop Productions are the single A teams, which is still professional ball.

For those looking for a good deal on getting their promotion noticed then Head Drop Productions is the way to go. They have the equipment, experience, and passion to deliver a high quality product at an affordable price. Their Youtube channel gives free exposure to companies looking to gain new fans, and the video catalog contains some true indie wrestling hidden gems. I personally recommend anything from CIW with Krimson. That’s some good viewing.

Each week I hope to shed some light on different people making things work on the indie scene. Smaller companies and indie promotions like Head Drop Productions are the life blood of pro wrestling. They employ the thousands of wrestlers on the indie circuit. They help get the word out about the future, or the past, of professional wrestling. They go without much praise from the bigger websites because they aren't the WWE, but without HDP, CIW, or other indie companies then professional wrestling would lose it's roots. And that's what this whole website is about, The Grass Roots of Wrestling.

Going Japanese Now!

Still on the road, but finally near a good internet connection. I will say I now know why Motel 6 always leaves the lights on, because nobody would stay here in the dark. Charles Manson thinks I'm nuts for it. Luckily for me when I found some internet I was able to read this cool article on cracked.com about how Japanese wrestling makes American wrestling look super weak. Thanks to my brother for forwarding that my way. 

I love me some Japanese wrestling. Right now I am really digging Dragon Gate USA and their high octane style of Lucha-Strong Style that mirrors their mentor, Ultimo Dragon. If you get a chance check out their USA based promotion, Dragon Gate USA. It is worth the price of admission. 

In the article it mentions one of the craziest matches in pro wrestling history, the famous fire match. Sabu used to tell me about this match all the time. It is one that literally takes years off your life (along with some skin). Besides maybe Sabu's first barbed wire match with Terry Funk in ECW, this might be the most gruesome match I have ever seen. There is a nice video below that will give you a taste of this monstrosity of match.

I hope you enjoyed that. I know they didn't. Have a happy father's day & don't do that at home. Unless you live in Japan then I guess go for it!

Check This Out!

I am on the road this weekend, but I didn't want to leave anyone without some good wrestling entertainment. Colt Cabana, the clown prince of indy wrestling, has a great podcast called "The Art Of Wrestling". It deals with all the personalities in wrestling from those you may know in the WWE or TNA to some of the great indy talent you should know about. If you haven't checked out Colt's podcast then go to iTunes and catch up on the 99 episodes of this great series. 

This week maybe one of the best in the series. It is with former Ring of Honor booker and current co-owner of Dragon Gate USA & Evolve, Gabe Sapolsky. Gabe started with ECW before the night the line was crossed. He talks about running the Sabu fan club, how tough it is to become a booker in today's industry, and his memories of the famous Philadelphia indy wars. You can listen by clicking on the link below.

Click Here To Listen