 "Photo: Ethan Damon")
Despite the lure of a long weekend at home or a Red Sox American League Divisional Series game, a good amount of students and other local citizens were doing something a little bit different on Friday night. Many were reconnecting to a great part of their past, as well as looking forward to their future. They were doing all of this because of two UMass students and a great night at the Mullins Center. On Friday night, Full Throttle Energy Drink provided a night of Professional Wrestling Live in the heart of the campus.
"Full Throttle Energy Drink Presents Pro Wrestling Live" was the brainchild of two UMass students, Brian Wittenstein, a senior sports management major, and Sean Blum, a senior finance major. Wittenstein used his contacts in the wrestling world to get the talent needed to run the show, and Blum used his business knowledge to get sponsors and to make sure the show ran smoothly.
"The wrestlers are motivated to do a great show to help me out. These are guys I have known for years, and they want me to succeed," said Wittenstein at a meet and greet on Thursday night at Rafters Sports Bar and Restaurant in Amherst. "When I got into the School of Management, I told them that I would run a wrestling show on the campus before I graduate."
The festivities began with a pre-show meet and greet at 6 p.m. where fans got photos and autographs from some of the talent who would be performing later on in the evening. The ringside area was completely filled up with fans getting the chance to meet the wrestlers whom they have idolized for years.
"Ready for a Diamond Cutter?," former WCW, WWE, and TNA, wrestler and three time World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page asked jokingly as he posed with a fan for a photo mimicking the actions of his trademark finishing maneuver.
The event started with a public address from former World Championship Wrestling Executive Vice President and former General Manager of World Wrestling Entertainment's Monday Night Raw, Eric Bischoff. Bischoff thanked everybody for coming to the event and thanked Blum and Wittenstein for making the event happen and for inviting him to speak earlier in the day at the School of Management in a guest lecture about the business of professional wrestling.
All of the details of the show were chosen to make the event feel that it could have taken place in the 1990s, during an era some people refer to as the second golden age of wrestling, or as it is more commonly called: Monday Night Wars. A third company called Extreme Championship Wrestling grew from a cult following to become a major player in the professional wrestling industry. The companies involved in this era, WWE, WCW and ECW, were known simply as the "The Big Three." This era is now over because WWE purchased WCW in 2000 and ECW folded early in 2001.
The opening contest of the evening was Scott "Too Hot" Taylor taking on "The Midnight Idol" Nicky Benz. Benz tried to get under the crowd's skin with a horrible rendition of "New York, New York." Taylor, a native of Westbrook, Maine came down to the ring wearing a Red Sox jersey, and made short work of Benz finishing "The Midnight Idol" with his worm dance following by a vicious chop to Benz's chest.
The event featured a special challenge six-man tag-team contest. The legendary and controversial pro wrestling manager Prince Nana issued an open challenge to any three wrestlers to take on his stable of wrestlers known as the Embassy - "Hurricane" John Waters and the tag team known as "The Outcast Killahz." This challenge was accepted by KIX 97.9's Shaggy, who brought out three local wrestlers to take on the Embassy. With the help of Prince Nana, the Embassy won a very tainted victory.
One of the premier matches of the night was former Cruiserweight champion Billy Kidman taking on former Tag Team Champion "Primetime" Elix Skipper. This match did not disappoint; it was hard-hitting wrestling action. Kidman got the victory with a sit-out Powerbomb off the top rope called "The B.K. Bomb." It would have been better had he ended the match with his "Shooting Star Press," but it was still a great match.
One match in the evening was very important to a student here on campus. Max Bauer of the University of Massachusetts wrestled in front of a home-school crowd on Friday night. Bauer's opponent, Ugene Dinsmore, came down to the ring wearing a leather Boston College jacket. The proud UMass student could not take his school being insulted. As Europe's "The Final Countdown" played, the Mullins Center board flashed the UMass logo and the crowd chanted UMass as Max Bauer came down to the ring.
During an in-ring interview, Buff Bagwell challenged Diamond Dallas Page to have their advertised main event a little bit early. Diamond Dallas Page accepted the challenge and finished Bagwell with the "Diamond Cutter." Page looked in great shape and didn't show any sign of "ring rust" even though he hasn't competed in over two years.
At the Rafters Sports Bar and Restaurant in Amherst on Thursday Night, Justin Credible spoke about his "Amherst Street Fight" match against Brother Runt. "We're going to bring it back to the roots of the old ECW. There's going to be stop signs, trash cans, steel chairs, tables and everything you associate with hardcore wrestling," said Credible. When asked how he prepares for a wrestling event, Justin Credible said, "I've been doing this for 13 years; it all comes naturally to me. I just have a couple of beers to loosen up."
At the end of the match, both Justin Credible and Brother Runt were bloody messes. Justin Credible fought Brother Runt while having to deal with a hostile crowd. At the end of the match, he reversed Brother Runt's finishing move by throwing him outside the ring through the timekeeper's table. Ceasing the momentum, Credible finished off Brother Runt with his tombstone pile driver called "That's Incredible!"
Near the end of the event the crowd was treated to the comic styling of the Voodoo Kin Mafia (formerly The New Age Outlaws, Billy Gunn and Roaddogg). The tag team used their unique form of comedy and wrestling action to quickly defeat the team of The Heartbreakers (Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli). The match didn't have the best wrestling of the night, but Voodoo Kin Mafia entertained just like they did in the 1990s. The crowd ate it up.
If all wrestling events were run like "Full Throttle Energy Drinks Presents Pro Wrestling Live!" a new golden age of professional wrestling could dawn. This event was like turning back time, and at least for one night, the "Monday Night Wars" were back.
Ryan Damon can be reached at rdamon@student.umass.edu.
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