Puso Ng Isang Kampeon!

Inside Brawl Pit Bulusan before the show.

Last night's PUSO Wrestling's debut show, Unang Tibok, was one for the ages!  You had to be there to see it!  The show took place at Brawl Pit Bulusan, the mecca of pinoy wrestling.  This post may be a little long, but please enjoy! 

This blogger arrived nearly five hours before the start of the show by Grab (Philippines answer for Uber).  Being concerned about traffic in Metro Manila, it was more than worth the extra hours.

Meeting up with wrestlers, a few fans, and eating the great quesadillas at Onyang's Cafe, were the early highlights well beforehand.  The anticipation of what would be a memorable night was definitely there.  There were a lot of photo-ops, something that is very warm and popular throughout Southeast Asia. 

Leading up to the show, this fan knew that the show would go off well.  The concern was how the fans would react to what would transpire this night.  It didn't take very long once the gates opened and everyone was inside.

Receiving a Jun Capilos Jr. T-Shirt from Jelson, his son, was an emotional experience.  This blogger thought of wearing it during the Battle Royal in honor of Jelson's dad.  Instead, I wore it throughout the entire evening.  Thank you so much Jelson, and to Dax Clothiers for putting out a great product!  Also, I want to put a shoutout to The Nutcase for the shirts received.  In the two years of purchasing, the shirts are of good quality.  Thank you guys so much!

There was an experience of entering a wrestling ring, something I haven't done in 57 years as a wrestling fan.  That was emotional in which I wondered how the tears were held back.  It was an honor to step inside the squared circle that my past heroes such as Pat Patterson, Peter Maivia and Rocky Johnson entertained for many years.  It was an honor to hold a championship belt with some of my current heroes of the current PUSO Wrestling roster with Jake De Leon, Joya and Joey Rosas.  Thank you to all three wrestlers as well as Cholo, Rosh and the staff members who were the photographers of the event.

Then, there was the opening of the show and the unveiling of the Pusong Pinoy PUSO Wrestling Championship belt (thank for Rowen for the photo).  If you weren't there to see it, the pinoy wrestling fans in attendance were in awe of what they saw!  The cameras and photos were clicking!  It was definitely a sight to see.  Simple, but perfect design.  Whoever is the first to win the championship will be deserving and look really good wearing this!

The show itself, and the fan reaction was what this fan expected.....and a lot more!  There's something about Brawl Pit Bulusan that is magical.  The fans are right on top of the action.  The wrestlers and the fans feed off each other which makes for a better quality show.

The Unang Tibok show had two, first round tournament matches followed by the eight wrestler Jun Capilos Jr. Battle Royal.  Following a 15 to 20 minute intermission were two more first round tournament matches followed by the Main Event of the evening.

Since there will be streaming of the event, this blogger will leave it up to PUSO Wrestling when they would like for me to post any results.  However, in the meantime, this fan will tell you that each match was competitive and entertaining.  Viewing what was happening, no one left Brawl Pit disappointed at what they saw.  There were still over half of the people in attendance inside at least 30 minutes after the two hour plus show was completed.  I believe the other half was next door at Onyang's Cafe sharing their observations of what they saw.  In the coming days, there will be a hundred - plus stories of what transpired.  Go for it fans!  Let everyone on social media know.

In conclusion, the bar is set for future shows.  If anyone thinks Pinoy wrestling has faded into the sunset, think again!  It is very much alive and well!

Also, thank you to everyone!  PUSO Wrestling, wrestlers, staff, the numerous sponsors, all the fans, Onyang's Cafe, and yes, Grab for getting me back and forth from the hotel.  Everyone last night treated me as one of the family!  Hopefully, I wasn't a pain in the butt. 

See you guys sometime next year!  In the meantime, will continue to support, follow and write about PUSO Wrestling.  Hopefully, more will fans will follow.  Have a good day everyone!

Dexcon

This post is long, long overdue.  At the same time, it's important for me to share this with the readers.

 

This blogger first heard of Dexcon a little over a year ago.  It was before the summer visit to the Philippines.

 

I'm not sure when the idea of an organization such as Dexcon began.  However, the fact that the organization organizes pro wrestling in the Philippines is great!

 

This blogger was fortunate to attend a wrestling show and Meet and Greet last August.  As mentioned in a recent post, wrestlers from the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore appeared in the event.  The show that evening at the Brawl Pit Bulusan, in my mind the mecca of Pinoy wrestling, was great!

 

Since the August show, Dexcon has sponsored two other shows, both in 2024.  

 

Wrestle Storm took place in March.  There were some great matches.  The featured match featured CDK (Masahiro Takanashi and Chris Brookes) versus Dabid Ravena and Jake De Leon.  This match is certainly a main event anywhere in Southeast Asia.  If people in North America knew more about the talent in Southeast Asia, this match would be treated as a main event as well.

 

Dexcon Decada, the second event this year, could have not come at an important time in modern day Pinoy wrestling history.  This blogger was told that Zach Sabre Jr., the world's best technical wrestler, was in demand for quite some time.  ZSJ was definitely gracious in appearing in wrestling shows in Thailand in Match and in the Dexcon Decada show.  This blogger has seen part of this match against Jake De Leon.  It may have been the best, if not most memorable in Pinoy wresting history.

 

Right now, it isn't known when Dexcon will have its next show.  However, the organization has set the standard in putting on quality wrestling shows.  The Pinoy wrestling fans and this blogger thanks Dexcon for keeping Pinoy wrestling going!

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