Two Venues

This blogger has been asked often regarding a first wrestling show and a first Southeast Asia show due to the blog.  I'll divide this quickly into two portions and two venues.

 

My first wrestling show, after beginning to follow pro wrestling in 1968, was at the Cow Palace in Daly City (about 12 km. from downtown San Francisco).  I took in an event on 11 July 1970 before around 15,000 fans.

 

The five match wrestling card had some known names such as Pedro Morales (former WWWF Champion), Freddie Blassie, Haystacks Calhoun and Peter Maivia, the late godfather of WWE superstar, The Rock.

 

The main event was a between bitter rivals, Pat Patterson (c) vs. Ray Stevens.  Today, it would be called a match that would go on until a wrestler could not continue.  Stevens had forfeited the United States Regional Title about a year before because of injury.  Patterson, his scheduled opponent at the time of the mishap, defeated Pedro Morales and became champion.

 

The match went five falls and was one of the most grueling matches ever.  Stevens won when Patterson could not respond by the count of 10.

 

Stevens and Patterson carried pro wrestling in the Bay Area during the era.  They were great singles wrestlers and were also a tag team, perhaps the best in the Territory Era.

 

Over 50 years later, it was a new adventure for this fan.  In December 2022, this blogger went to his first pro wrestling show in Southeast Asia.

 

Pictured above is the Peta Theater Center in Quezon City, Philippines.  It was home for, at the time, the Manila Wrestling Federation.

 

That night with a great gathering of around 300 fans, MWF provided the fans with 10 matches including two title encounters.  The fans were knowledgeable, were really into the action, and were well behaved, something that is great to see.

 

Being from America, one didn't know what to expect that afternoon and evening.  However, it was every bit as enjoyable as the one at the Cow Palace.  To this day, I'm grateful for the support and everything that happened that night.  It was definitely a day not to forget and to appreciate!

 

Since then, I've been to several more shows in the Philippines at Circuit Makati and at the Brawl Pit Bulusan.  The venues have been electric and enjoyable.

 

This year, the plan is to expand traveling in the region.  Since Thailand is the furthest from where I live, will definitely make the journey.  The country has always been exciting with the views, culture and the food.  There are three wrestling promotions there and the hope is to see all of them (at least two!).

 

Since I have running and wrestling fans in the Philippines, yes, I will be back this year as well.  Please be patient though!

Wrestling Show Preparation

In various countries, there are ways that promotions prepare for wrestling shows.  Wrestling rings are one of them.

 

Some of this is similar to my experiences of preparing a track for another sports entertainment in North America known as Roller Derby. 

 

Very recently, this blogger read a post shared by Philippine pro wrestler, Fabio Makisig.  Definitely, preparing for a show varies from country to country.  Please check out by clicking the link below.  This fan is always appreciative of what goes on behind the scenes of pro wrestling shows!

 

   https://ko-fi.com/post/Bayanihan-in-Pinoy-Wrestling-Z8Z410P8GK

A Few Months Later

It's been quite a few months now since beginning a blog on Southeast Asia wrestling.  Obviously, there has been a lot to learn.  There have been obstacles.  And yet, there is much more to learn in all of Southeast Asia, even with the countries this fan knows a little more than others.

 

The idea of this actually happened to being the day after watching seeing my worst wrestling show.  In 2019, this fan went to see a PLE WWE event known as Hell In A Cell in Sacramento, California. Without going into gyrations about the show, it was poor, especially the WWE Championship Match.  Also, the wrestling fans that paid for a ticket at the Golden One Center were rather disgusted.

 

There were other signs too.  A small amount of wrestling fans in America would bash anything from wrestling shows, to wrestlers and to promotions.  This fan needed to step back and, perhaps, make a change. 

 

I thought about never attending a wrestling show in America again.  Well, the pandemic of 2020-21 changed a lot of things.

 

Watching You Tube and watching various promotions from the Philippines to Singapore to Vietnam were things I was doing each day.  It was learning who the different wrestlers were and the history.  By 2022, the mindset was totally different than it was in late 2019.

 

The idea of a blog became a reality.  Yes, there have been some hicups (as well as a deletion and a rebuild).  However, I'm happy with it not more than ever.

 

I felt that Southeast Asian wrestling needed a voice, not just in the region, but worldwide, especially in America.  Today, when I see shows either live or on video stream including You Tube, I see people that appear to be from outside the region there.  I don't know if it was this blog that directed them there but it doesn't hurt having something to bring them to an arena or studio.

 

There will be some additions to the blog.  For the time being, this blogger wants to keep this as a Southeast Asia blog.  There are around 20 different promotions and it's a chore to keep up and to remember upcoming shows.  Certainly, a 14-17 hour time difference is a challenge.  However, it is something that this blogger cherishes.

 

I still watch the major promotions today.  Whether its WWE, AEW, TNA Impact and/or New Japan Pro Wrestling, I'll watch it.  However, this fan knows that there is a lot more than these companies. 

 

Please continue to support this everyone.  For those who have followed this from the very beginning and today, thank you!  Pro Wrestling in Southeast Asia is growing and fast.  It's global, and is no longer just a North American way of entertainment.