I’ve been doing this long enough that I should no longer be surprised. Yet somehow, I’m consistently shocked by the delusions of many wrestlers throughout the independent wrestling scene.
Let me start off by saying that I would describe my nearly nine year wrestling career as pretty cool. I’ve traveled to places that I probably would have never seen otherwise. A good example of this would be Iqaluit, an inuit town located in Canada near Greenland, and about as close as you can get to the North Pole! I’ve formed a team with one of my biggest wrestling inspirations, one legged wrestler Zach Gowen. I’ve wrestled some amazing talent, including current and former WWE, WCW, TNA, and ECW stars like The Blue Meanie, Tracy Smothers, Rhino, Zema Ion, Simon Dean, Colin Delaney, and Luke Harper.
I have no problem admitting that I’m no where near the upper echelon of independent wrestlers, but I’ve worked with many of the top indy guys, and I’ve been fortunate enough to gain an amazing following. If it all ended tomorrow, while far from legendary, I can honestly say that I did some amazing things, and had a nice little run. So you can imagine how crazy it is to me when I see other independent wrestlers talking about being “legends.”
Before you get your panties in a bunch, I’m in no way referencing The Young Bucks. The Bucks are the single greatest tag team on the planet at this moment. What they do is nothing short of incredible, and on top of that, I have an added amount of respect for them because of how they treat their fans. My brother Zach is a huge Young Bucks fan, and when my brother met them one weekend in 2013, Matt and Nick went above and beyond to ensure his meeting with them was nothing short of memorable.
Who I’m referring to are the guys who work the “shindy” wrestling scene, and become legends in their own minds. I cannot tell you just how many guys who work within 90 miles of their home (usually a lot less) that I see on social media calling themselves a “legend” or an “icon.” You may be thinking, ‘Well, Greg, perhaps they’re staying in character.’ If you read some of posts from these individuals, though, you’d get that they’re 100% serious. Search “Trash Bag Wrestlers” on Facebook, and chances are you’ll see many of the people I’m talking about. Worst than these D-bags stroking themselves in an effort to boost their low self esteem, they surround themselves with other members of the “90 Miles or Less” club, who talk amongst themselves publicly about “making towns,” while sensible wrestlers point and laugh from afar.
***Fun fact: There are other ways to justify your existence besides being a bottom shelf indy wrestler– like perhaps getting a job, or donating time to charity.
Do you know what’s even sadder? Seeing guys well past their prime sitting on the Internet cutting long winded promos about how 2015 is going to be their year. I hate to break it to you, pal, but if you couldn’t cut it in 1999 and you’re pushing 40 years old, telling a camera set up in your basement that you’ve been overlooked for two decades while using insider terms, professing your undying dedication to “The Business,” and hash tagging WWE and TNA isn’t going to make Vince and Dixie go, “Hey, everybody! We found our guy!”
Sadly, sometimes dudes just need to do this to try and convince themselves that they aren’t all that bad, and that the last twenty years of their life wasn’t a colossal waist of time. Pre-teen boys should be posting videos on YouTube that they’ll inevitably watch back one day and view in regret– not middle aged men. Scratch that: Most of these middle aged men are too ignorant and self-absorbed to realize how pathetic and unintentionally hilarious that they look.
If you’re a fan that attends indy shows, chances are that there is a wrestler you know of in your state like this, and you know what I’m talking about. Wrestlers… I know you know what I’m talking about. We see it in a locker room every weekend.
For all those delusional guys, I wish you would disappear. Sadly, wishes don’t come true. As long as you’re sticking around, please continue to accidentally amuse me. I apologize for ranting.
Buy a shirt at www.prowrestlingtees.com/GregoryIron. Go to www.Gregory-Iron.com to see where I’ll be this weekend!
-Greg
