A Fascinating Look at Indy Wrestling: “Bring the Weapons”
Written by Lex on Sunday, October 26th, 2008 in Indy Wrestling, Video, Wrestling Industry.
Bring the Weapons from Andrew Laker on Vimeo.
I’d like to thank Andrew Laker for bringing his film to my attention: it’s called “Bring the Weapons,” and it documents a hardcore feud that occurred last year in Hooiser Pro Wrestling, a small indy fed that operates out of Columbus, Indiana.
As you can see, I’ve posted the film above. It’s about 40 minutes, and it’s all online. It’s well worth watching. In fact, I think it delves into some of the same issues that we were dicussing last week when talking about the Mike Levy incident. Ironically, Columbus, Indiana is just 60 miles north of Sellersburg, Indiana, the place where the Levy incident took place, so it seems there’s quite the market for indy wrestling and hardcore wrestling in Indiana.
As the film illustrates, the majority of wrestling matches in Hooiser Pro Wrestling are not hardcore, so don’t think this is some kind of IWA-Mid South clone. In fact, after watching this film, I came to the determination that this was the kind of hardcore wrestling that I like. Even though the feud escalated into no-ropes barbed wire match, there seemed to be a storyline and psychology behind it.
That being said, I think this film also illustrates the inherent problems behind hardcore wrestling matches, especially on the indy scene. While watching this, I kept asking myself, how much are these guys getting paid to do this? Sure, the wrestlers seem to have fun doing these kind of matches, but is it really worth it in the end based on the risk they are taking? One very interesting part of the film is when one of the wrestlers talks about needing to buy his wife and kids some things–he says, essentially, that he has to bleed to be able to afford some of the things he needs.
Additionally, one can’t help but be disturbed by images of children watching these kind of wrestling matches. I was particularly disturbed by the small child staring at the mouse trap with blood all over it, and the small girl who was scared by the flaming chair. Also, near the end of the film, you’ll see a “fans bring the straps” match where several small children are whipping a wrestler with straps. It’s almost like TNA’s “Fan’s Revenge,” but with little kids.
All-in-all, this was a very balanced look at indy wrestling, and I definately think it’s worth 40 minutes of your time. For more information on the film, please visit its official web site.
