What Independent Wrestling Events Will You Be Attending This Weekend?

FANS, PROMOTERS, WRESTLERS, REFEREES, MANAGERS, VALETS, etc.:
Please tell us what indy wrestling shows you'll be attending / working this weekend.

Here's how to do it. Either leave a comment at the end of this blog or Tweet @IndyMania with the following information:

● What promotion? (tag their @Twitter, if available)
● What City, State? (street address also if promotion doesn't have a website or poster)
● When? (day & date)
● Doors Open / Bell time?
● Link to promotion's website (if available... If no website, link to pic of a poster or Facebook page)

We'll tweet all show information we receive to our 1,200 followers to help #SupportIndyWrestling

Thanks! And enjoy this weekend's shows!

@IndyMania - #SupportIndyWrestling

TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION: Kayfabe in Independent Wrestling

First, let me say that this blog is not going to debate whether KAYFABE in Professional Wrestling is dead or alive... opinions vary widely on the topic and that's up to you to decide. The author has his personal opinions on the matter and you can discuss yours in the COMMENTS section of this blog if you choose.

@IndyMania doesn't usually discuss WWE on Twitter, but it was recently brought to our attention that the T-shirts displayed in this blog are now available in WWE's online store. (The link will NOT be posted in this blog or on our Twitter account. You can find it for yourself, if you wish.) Even though the author of this blog admits KAYFABE started dieing on a global level LONG before Dolph Ziggler started wearing "#HEEL" trunks and hoodies on Monday Night Raw, the aforementioned T-shirts being sold by WWE feels like the straw that's broken the proverbial camel's back.

Today's questions / topic for discussion is this:

1.) IF YOU BELIEVE KAYFABE IS DEAD, CAN INDEPENDENT WRESTLING RESURRECT IT? Is there no turning back now? Is it too late?

2.) IF YOU, AS AN INDY WORKER, CHOOSE TO MAINTAIN YOUR OWN PERSONAL KAYFABE, HOW DO YOU DO THAT? Even if you believe Kayfabe, in the broad sense of the term, is dead, how do you maintain your own personal Kayfabe? Or do you even bother trying? How were you trained regarding Kayfabe and do you live up to those teachings to this day? Do you think it's a waste of time because you're of the opinion "The fans know it's fake anyway." Or, do you stick to your personal beliefs, and what you were taught when you were originally trained, and maintain your own personal Kayfabe no matter what? If so, how do you go about doing that? To what extent / lengths have you gone to maintain Kayfabe. Stories are welcomed.

3.) AS A FAN, WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE? Are you able to go to your local independent promotion and "suspend your disbelief" for 2 - 3 hours? Do the wrestlers / talent at the indy shows you attend attempt to maintain Kayfabe, or do you see the "good guys" and "bad guys" socializing after the show, after you just saw them beat the crap out of each other in the ring? If so, does this "insult your intelligence" or do you not care? Are you "just there for a good show"?
(I could go off on an entirely different tangent at this point about the term "smart mark" and so-called "smart fans", but I'll refrain from that at this time.)

4.)
a.) HOW DID YOU, AS AN INDEPENDENT WRESTLER / TALENT FEEL WHEN YOU SAW THE NEW WWE T-SHIRTS?
b.) HOW DID YOU, AS A FAN, FEEL WHEN YOU SAW THE NEW WWE T-SHIRTS? WILL YOU BE BUYING THEM?

I stated at the beginning of this blog that I would not be debating whether Kayfabe is dead or not. But, unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to write a blog like this without having the undertone of what I'm writing reveal how I feel. If you "read between the lines", I think you can determine how I feel about the subject. But, that being said, WE, AT @IndyMania, WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: PEOPLE IN THE BUSINESS as well as FANS. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR OPINIONS, FEELINGS, FRUSTRATIONS (if any), and PERSONAL EXPERIENCES / STORIES.

Finally, before someone mentions it, yes, I realize writing a blog such as this could be considered breaking Kayfabe. I don't like it any more than you do. (There's that undertone again. LOL)

Regardless, Kayfabe or not, we will continue to SUPPORT INDEPENDENT WRESTLING, and we hope you will too.

Sincerely,
@IndyMania - #SupportIndyWrestling

TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION: Can Independent Wrestling Be The Next Big Boom?

TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION: Over the past few days from our Twitter account, @IndyMania, I've seen some great examples of fans helping workers... workers helping other workers... people helping people. I've also seen some examples of the complete opposite type of attitude. Which brings to mind some questions: If we all help each other to succeed, aren't we helping the wrestling business to succeed as a whole? And if the wrestling business "explodes" again like it did in the 50s, 70s, 80s & 90s, wouldn't that help all of us to succeed? Isn't selfishness and an "all about me" attitude counter-productive? Why can't wrestling be like a huge pyramid "scheme", but one that REALLY WORKS? "I help you, you help me, WE ALL HELP THE BUSINESS"... All of us working together (instead of against each other) for each other, the business, and the fans. I know this might all sound far-fetched and some type of fairy tale dream, but with that type of attitude, continued hard-work and dedication, is another "Big Boom" era for Professional Wrestling that far out of reach? Can the next "Big Boom" for Pro-Wrestling start with the independent scene? Please share your thoughts, comments, and experiences on this topic. Thanks!

@IndyMania #SupportIndyWrestling

Thanks for Making LadiesIndyWrestlingDay a Complete Success!

On Tuesday, February 21, 2012, in an effort to continue to Support Indy Wrestling, we at @IndyMania (on Twitter) decided to make this day #LadiesIndyWrestlingDay. We actually got the idea for #LadiesIndyWrestlingDay after Sarah Sauerbrunn (@TwinkEStarr1 on Twitter) recommended a couple independent lady wrestlers to follow on Twitter Monday night. We, in turn, asked her for videos of her matches to further get the word out, and the idea for #LadiesIndyWrestlingDay was born.

We started Tuesday morning with a tweet which read:
"#SupportIndyWrestling We here at @IndyMania officially declare TODAY #LadiesIndyWrestlingDay. If you have any pics, videos or Twitters of Female Indy Wrestlers, Valets, Managers or even lady referees, send them to us and we'll tweet them to help get the word out and #SupportLadiesIndyWrestling"

Throughout the day we received MANY tweets from many helpful fans, promoters, and indy workers recommending female indy wrestlers to follow on Twitter. As a result, we followed about 30 new lady wrestlers, who we hadn't been aware of previously, and did brief "profile" tweets on roughly 40 lady workers. Wherever possible, we included where they were from, home promotion (if known), website and / or Facebook links, and match videos if provided or found. The response and encouragement we received throughout the day was overwhelming and encouraging. We appreciated, and responded to and / or Retweeted every single tweet we received (at least we're 99% sure we did... we sincerely apologize if we did not acknowledge yours).

Today's efforts and results in #LadiesIndyWrestlingDay couldn't have been possible without the help of the following people / promotions:
@WILD_Wrestling - World Independent Ladies Division Wrestling, who sent us every member of their roster who has a Twitter account.
@MarkJabroni - Who Retweets nearly everything we tweet to Support Indy Wrestling... an amazing indy wrestling fan who is more help to our cause than he probably realizes.
@TerraCalaway - A wonder lady wrestler from Las Vegas, NV, who gave us ladies to follow and helped spread the word about #LadiesIndyWrestlingDay with her own tweets.
@Traumacpw - Chaos Pro Wrestling, Joppa, Illinois - great recommendations, great conversation.
@havansent - Lily Winningham, a great fan from Arkansas
@ecwbabe - Kelly Key, a great fan from Missouri
@psyccho247 - an indy worker from Missouri, who sent us about 10 additional Twitter names of lady workers Tuesday evening.
And of course our beloved @TwinkEStarr1, who provided us with ladies to follow throughout the day, and whether she knows it or not, along with @WILD_Wrestling, was the original inspiration for #LadiesIndyWrestlingDay!
And there are many more fans and workers who Retweeted us during #LadiesIndyWrestlingDay to help spread the word and #SupportIndyWrestling.

Our sincerest thanks goes out to everyone who helped make today a success (even if we didn't mention you by name). At least we think it was a success. If one more fan was helped to become a fan of Independent Wrestling, or discovered a promotion or worker in his / her area in which he / she will help support, then today was a success. If one more worker receives a booking because of today's tweets, then today was a success. If fans and fellow male workers realize just how important lady wrestlers, managers, valets & even referees are to Independent Wrestling, then today was most certainly a success.

We will most likely be doing another #LadiesIndyWrestlingDay in the near future. As a matter of fact, tomorrow, Wednesday, February 22nd, we're planning to declare as #IndyWrestlingTagTeamDay. It could prove challenging to find as many established tag teams on the indy wrestling scene as we found ladies, but with YOUR help, we're sure #IndyWrestlingTagTeamDay can be a success as well.

Thanks again for your continued help to #SupportIndyWrestling!