Travel!

Will be taking a couple of days off due to travel.

Will post again later in the week.  Stay safe everyone!

New Champion!

Just learned a few hours ago that The Wonderboy has won the MYPW National Wrestlecon Championship.  It was at the Malaysia Pro Wrestling event, Champion's Quest that took place on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur.

When this blogger receives more information regarding the results, it will be passed on here.  Congratulations to The Wonderboy.  It is his first title!

Update On The Dexcon Event

 

CDK will be coming to the Philippines next March!

I've decided to paste the rest of the information so here is the scoop listed below.

The Calamari Drunken Kings (composed of Chris Brookes and Masa Takanashi) will be crashing the party and making their Philippine debut this March 24, 2024 at Brawl Pit Bulusan in Quezon City for WrestleStorm!

Chris Brookes (DDT Pro Wrestling) is a former KO-D Openweight champion and former two-time DDT Universal Champion.

Masahiro Takanashi (DDT Pro Wrestling) has held titles such as the DDT Extreme Championship and DDT Universal Championship to name a few. Masa-san is coming back to Manila after his first appearance in the country back in 2019.

The current SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions have traveled all over Asia to face the best the country has to offer. Now one question remains.. who is ready to step up to the challenge?!

#WrestleStorm is a fun weekend for all pro wrestling enthusiasts. Follow Dexcon for more info.

#CDK #Dexcon #ddtpro

Thank You In Advance!

Peta Theater Center taken on 9 December 2022!

I'll be here another couple of days but wanted to take the time to thank the running and wrestling community here in the Philippines.  Each visit since my first in 2008 when still working in the telecommunications field has been special.  I had an opportunity back in 2008 to visit PLDT, a telecommunications company that worked with my old company in AT&T.  I worked in the international group with companies from Southeast Asia.  I was blessed to work with the Philippines and Hong Kong.  They are work memories that I haven't forgotten.   

Back to this visit, Filipinos (and Filipinas) know how to welcome visitors from outside the country.  It's always special once getting off the plane and leaving the airport.  Definitely, this visit has been really the most special and rewarding.  

For the first time, this blogger has actually done two activities (running and pro wrestling).  Early Sunday morning, it was rewarding to celebrate my birthday weekend with a 31:47 - 5K at the McDonald's Stripes Run.  It wasn't fast like the old days, but this 5K run was special.  Finishing with a high school runner from this area was a special moment.  He sought me out during warmups and we talked about training, hydration and running history.  The guy, Miguel, remembered me from the Takbo.ph run a few years ago, and wanted to do this one with me. Along with two of his teammates, we exchanged the pacing duties throughout.  Miguel, the group and I covered the last 1K in 5:53 after averaging 6:28 the first four kilometers.  It was my best 1K and 5K total in the last 15 months and really felt good to let it go!

It was great to continue talking with Miguel afterwards and meeting a couple of his running teammates over a free McD's breakfast.  Even the orange juice tasted better than ever!

It was my first run here in the Philippines since 2017.  That run mentioned above, a 16K was nearly at the same location in Pasay City.  Injuries have slowed this runner down but hopefully, I'll be healthy a little while longer.  

This run, and visit. almost didn't happen so am gratified and grateful.  About four weeks ago during a training run, I was hit from behind by a motorized scooter in San Francisco.  The guy riding the scooter was on the sidewalk illegally.  The different scooter companies in the city have a notice on the scooters that say "NO SIDEWALK RIDING!"  The issue is a major problem in San Francisco and no one seems to care about resolving the issue.  Recently, one member of the SF Board Of Supervisiors, after an email I sent, will have this issue brought up in a City Hall meeting.  Remember, San Francisco is a city that has motorized scooters as well as taxi cars that don't have drivers.  No wonder I want to leave! 

This person suffered a mild concussion from the fall and was hospitalized overnight.  Other than that, I lost a tooth and had several cuts.  The good news was that there were four people who saw it.  They took pics of the assailant.  A police report was filed at the location.  I hired a lawyer and the issue has been recently settled out of court with a settlement that offset the medical costs, though my medical insurance covered 99%.

I didn't want to mention this to anyone here in the Philippines because of wanting to go on this visit badly.  If this had been mentioned on social media, there would have been numerous people messaging me not to go!  In fact, my doctor suggested two weeks ago not to travel.  However, my condition improving well enough to proceed with the trip, it happened.  This runner, and wrestling fan, definitely feels a lot better since being here in Makati.  Running three times including a footrace proved that!  Enough on sharing this, but want to let everyone know I'm fine!  I made certain to stay in an area that was close to a hospital (Makati Med Center) just in case!

I've met up with several people during the time here and thank you especially to Martin, Jag and Darius for the time spent outside of the running and wrestling events.  It was fun sharing many things.  Looking forward in meeting up again in 2024 sometime.   

The wrestling show with the Manila Wrestling Federation was the best in the three shows watched.  Last Sunday was definitely the best day in this wrestling fan's life!  Yes, I've been watching for 55 years now but I know a great time when seeing and feeling it.

Thank you to the Manila Wrestling Federation company not only for Sunday, but the year plus!  Also, thank you to all the fans present and those who couldn't make the event due to previous priorities.  This fan cannot say enough.  As always, you've been there for me.  Hopefully, I've been the same way.  Wrestling fans here deserve this.  Undoubtedly, pro wrestling is booming here with all three promotions.  It will be exciting to see what happens in 2024!

Soon, will be in America, but wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.  Will definitely be back sometime in 2024!  Please stay safe everyone!        

Dexcon Event!

 

Hello everyone!

Just received word that a wrestling event called WrestleStorm will take place early next year.

The event will take place on Sunday, March 24, 2024.  More details will be announced soon.  Please check back by checking the Dexcon page on Facebook.  

Grapplemax's Next Show

Grapplemax Pro Wrestling Singapore will be having their final show, Amplify, on Saturday, December 23rd.

Hotshot, the new Grapplemax Openweight Champion will take on Jullian of Showtime Inc. as one of the matches on the show.

This blogger will have more info on the show next week when I return to America from vacationing in Southeast Asia.  In the meantime, please check the Grapplemax Pro Wrestling Singapore page on Facebook for ticket availability.

Ring Of Rebirth #4 Results

Here are the results from ROR Wrestling #4s show that took place several months ago. 

Aerial Sniper NYC defeated Khoa Truong (VPW).

Damien Wolfe (VPW) defeated Kuhan Bluestar.

The Big Bad Boys (The Eurasian Dragon and BGJ) defeated (Geylang Syndicate) Mr. Geylang and Alfred and retain the VPW Tag Team Championship.

Wam Bam Bellows defeated Brother Bhai.

Malaysia Pro Wrestling Show Update

Here is an update on tomorrow afternoon's Malaysia Pro Wrestling show, Champion's Quest.  The event will take place at 3:30pm at the KLCity Arena in Kuala Lumpur.  Doors will open at 3pm.

Here is the updated card for the show...

 MYPW National Wrestlecon Championship Tournament Finals: Winner of each Semi-finals match:

MYPW National Wrestlecon Championship Tournament Semi-finals: Da Butcherman (SPW) vs Cornelius LOW

MYPW National Wrestlecon Championship Tournament Semi-finals: Jack Alexander vs The Wonderboy

Three-way Match: ’Blazing’ Raj vs Shaun P. Diddy (Grapplemax Pro Wrestling Singapore) vs Syawal

International Singles Match: Jonathan Johnson (SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling) vs Thommy Ardhi

For more information, and tickets, please check the Malaysia Pro Wrestling page on Facebook.

Chris Jericho

Normally, this blogger doesn't bring up pro wrestling stars in WWE, AEW, NJPW, Impact, etc but this wrestler will be an exception to this blog's rule.

Last Saturday at the VAIB Studio in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, current AEW superstar, Chris Jericho made an appearance at the end of VPWs show, Immortal Glory.  It was a total shock certainly to the audience present as well as those who watched it on the streaming system.  It also sent shockwaves on social media.

A few months ago, Jericho inteviewed X-Pat, the ring announcer for VPW as well as Vietnam's first wrestler, Rocky Huynh.  This blogger listened to the entire interview and it went very well.

More recently, Chris, on his podcast interviewed the head of Middle Kingdom Wrestling, Adrian Gomez as well as the MKW World Champion, M.A.  This blogger also had the opportunity to listen to the interview.

Chris's interviews have always gone well in my opinion.  They are not the controversial type like some others that I've heard in America.  From this blogger, it is appreciated that he is taking the time to recognize pro wrestling in Asia.  It is something that has been needed for a long time.

Thank you Chris.  Hopefully in future visits to Asia, you will visit places like the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and others where pro wrestling in booming right now!

A New Home

It was announced last Sunday at the Manila Wrestling Federation show, MWF 2023 Noche Buena, that MWF will have their main shows at a new location in 2024.

Ang Bahay Ng Alumni (pictured above), a venue near the University Of The Philippines - Dillman Oval (roughly two blocks north) will be the location.

I had the opportunity last Tuesday to visit the UP campus and the venue location.  Since I'm not familiar with the area other than The Oval, it was a great experience to see this.  I've been told that pro wrestling has been here before.  For the most part, fans in attendance at Sunday's show were in favor of the move.  

This fan has also seen some pictures of the venue as well as some video from You Tube.  The venue holds well more than the last two venues in the PMC Spotlight Center in Makati and the Peta Theater Center in Quezon City.

Looking forward to 2024 and seeing a show there!

Interview #15 - Mr. Geylang

My apologies if I haven't done an interview in a little while.  Have been busy and am on vacation in the Philippines while this is posted.  However, I wanted to get this interview posted.  Have been looking forward in doing this one for awhile.

The next interview is a wrestler that I've been following since Ring Of Rebirth, the newest promotion in Singapore began over a year ago.  I've done two in the promotion with The Eurasian Dragon and BGJ, two great and experienced wrestlers in the country.  Mr. Geylang is the next wrestler that this blogger had an opportunity to interview.

Mr. Geylang is still fairly new to the industry with about a year's experience.  He is quite a character for the profession which this fan loves.  Without going into a lot of detail, it's best if you check his matches out on You Tube under Ring Of Rebirth.

When reading his responses, I learned a lot more about him than what I saw on video.  All the best to him now and in the future.  This fan believes he has quite a future in the industry.  Finally, this blogger thanks Mr. Geylang for doing this.  He is very accomdodating and enjoyable.  One day soon, I hope to visit Singapore and meet the numerous wrestlers over the three promotions.  Mr Geylang is certainly high on my list.  Here is the interview.

Wayne:  When did you decide to get into pro wrestling?

Mr. Geylang: I remembered attending a live event by Singapore pro wrestling (spw) when Pete Dunne first came down to perform. I was amazed with all the matches and had a blast. Since then I decided to embark on my journey and try out pro wrestling.

Wayne: Who was your favorite wrestler that you followed when you first started watching wrestling?

Mr Geylang: My most favourite wrestler would have to be Randy Orton.

Wayne: Do you have a favorite promotion that you follow? It could be local, international or both.

Mr. Geylang: As I mostly watch WWE, that would have to be my most favourite promotion. However since I started my pro wrestling journey, I have branched out to watching other promotions to study and learn more about the craft to see if I can add it into my matches.

Wayne: In the short time you have wrestled, what was the most important match that you were involved in?

Mr. Geylang: The most important match to me would have to be when I vs BJG to a public caning match. As BGJ and I started out our pro wrestling journey around the same time back in SPW as trainee and became friends. That match might be short but it was brutal mainly due to the caning at the end which pushed my pain tolerance to a whole new level. Seeing the fans enjoying the caning and doing it with one of my friends makes it an important match to me.

Wayne: How would you like to see Ring of Rebirth grow as a company?

Mr. Geylang: I would like to see ROR grow to the point where we can sustain having live event out of the training Center and more fans coming to enjoy themselves.

Wayne: Would you like to wrestle for ROR at another promotions show in Singapore and/or another Southeast Asia country?

Mr. Geylang: I would love the opportunity to perform for SPW as well as other promotions around the region and eventually USA. I just hope to wrestle as many matches I can especially with my surgically repaired knee due to an injured from wrestling training.   

Middle Kingdom Wrestling Update

Hello everyone! 

Here's an update of the matches to take place on the Middle Kingdom Wrestling show, Bash At The Bay 3.  The event will take place on January 27, 2024!  The venue is the Nashan Digital Innovation Exhibition Center in Shenzhen and will begin at 7pm.  My friend, Adrian Gomez has a great show lined up.  Here are most of the matches (I may have missed one or two but will add if needed).

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Big Sam.

Bad Boys (C) vs. The Irish Whips for the MKW Tag Team Championship.

Syuuou Fujiwara, Kimura Taisuke, Ash Silva and Uncle Money vs. Plata Mascaras, Sunny Z, Honwan and A-Yong-Go in an Eight Man Tag Match.

Coldray and Alexis Lee vs. Zombie Dragon and Hibiscos Mii in a Special Mixed Tag Team Match.

Andruew Tang vs. Wangtao for the MKW Belt And Road Championship.

M.A. (C) vs. Franco Varga for the MKW World Championship.

Just added...

A five way "Number One Contender's Match" for a future MKW Title shot.

Chen Wenbin vs. Feng Jianlang vs. Michael Su vs. Chen Pengwei vs. Bitman. 

For more regarding the January show and tickets, please check the Middle Kingdom Wrestling page on Facebook.

BREAKING NEWS!

This blogger has some breaking news to share.

A few hours ago, I've been texting with a friend of mine that wants to get involved as a second blogger.  This is great news to me for a number of reasons.

First off, I love what I do here.  This isn't a job but an adventure.  Over the past few months, wrestling fans in Southeast Asia have either messaged or met me personally to thank me for this.  Again, it has never been about me on this.  It is for the wrestling fans in all of Southeast Asia.

However, wrestling is booming in the area and I don't feel presonally that it is being kept up as quickly as it should.  You may want to call this perfection.  However, I want it to be better for all of us.

Also, I will be a little more involved in the wrestling scene in the Philippines in 2024 and beyond.  I don't want to go into details right now on this because it is personal in nature.  Let's just say that this fan, after following the industry for over 50 years, has vowed that he wants to give back to pro wrestling what it has provided him.

The rest of this year, the blog will remain the same with blog posts throughout Southeast Asia.  However, my blogging friend and I will be posting, likely on January 1, 2024.  There will be a post regarding this prior to the change.  

Since I have familiarity with the Philippines and the three promotions here (Manila Wrestling Federation, Filipino Pro Wrstling and World Underground Wrestling - Philippines), I will be posting on their shows exclusively.  All three promotions have been comfortable what I've been writing.  I'm comfortable with the country, the promotions and the fanbase.  There will likely be several other countries I'll be writing on as well.

The second blogger will handle the rest under my guidance until he feels comfortable with it.  There will be a post before the change to let everyone know what it coming.

In the meantime,  have a good day everyone!      

Thank You Everyone!

Wanted to take the time here to thank everyone who has read at least one post here on Pro Wrestling Today.  It is a constant project in progress and hopefully, wrestling fans are enjoying it.  While at the Manila Wrestling Federation show this past Sunday, numerous fans came up to me and thanked me for doing this.  

I've always said that this is not for me, but on the wrestling community no matter where.  If any of you have any comments or suggestions on making it better, please let me know here or on Facebook.  This fan is touched and really appreciated what the wrestling community has said.  Hopefully, I'm doing a little something right to help make pro wrestling a little better in Southeast Asia!  

Anyone can get on the internet and read about WWE, AEW, etc.  However, promotions like Manila Wrestling Federation, Singapore Pro Wrestling, Vietnam Pro Wrestling and 13-15 other promotions in the region deserve more ink!

From that this fan has seen this year, pro wrestling is booming in the region.  Wrestling shows are selling out!  Podcasts based in America are finally realizing that there is a product here.  One specific podcast has interviewed two Asian promotions over the past several months.  Promotions have been able to secure pro wrestling for television.  Pro Wrestling Illustrated has mentioned several Asian pro wrestlers over the past calendar year and have mentioned them in their top wrestlers list.  All these things are long, long overdue but appreciated!  Pro wrestling became global in 1972 when today's New Japan Pro Wrestling was formed.  If people still feel that pro wrestling is only a North American way of sports entertainment, you've been living under a rock!  Get with the program!

Just so I'm not being picky, I didn't know about pro wrestling in Southeast Asia until November 2018.  Finding out from a fellow running friend in the Metro Manila area of the Philippines was the best thing ever to happen.  It took four years before attending my first wrestling show outside North America where I live.  If this fan could only turn the clock back, I wished it would have been much sooner.  However, it is what it is, I guess.  Pro wrestling means much more to me personally today than it did prior to November 2018.

There is one thing I can say in my 55 years of following pro wrestling.  Wrestling IS better today than it was when I first started following in 1968!  Overall, the wrestlers are better.  They are in better shape.  The equipment is better.  Safety is very important.  The training is better than before.  This fan doesn't know what to call this era in pro wrestling but it is a golden time globally!

I'll be taking a brief break until next Thursday.  Being on vacation, there are people that I'm looking forward to seeing.  Sightseeing here in the Philippines, a 5K race this coming weekend and turning 72 years young are on the agenda.  When I get back to America, there will be a lot of items to write before the Christmas/New Year's break.  Here are some of the items.

One interview with a huge Pinoy wrestling fan that this fan did prior to the MWF Noche Buena show.

An interview with Mr. Geylang of Ring Of Rebirth/Singapore.

Results from Todos Los Wrestling (MWF)

Results from Vietnam Pro Wrestling's last show (and yes, the Chris Jericho appearance at the end of the show).

Results from Malaysia Pro Wrestling's show.

Grapplemax Pro Wrestling's Upcoming show (Singapore).

Update on Middle Kingdom Wrestling's show in January in China.

and

More on the 2023 MWF Noche Buena show, an observation (no results because I'm no spoiler) and the new venue for pro wrestling at UP Dillman in Quezon City.

So to those who read this.......please be patient!  A little relaxation is needed by this fan.  Getting recharged makes the posts and the blog better too.

Anyway, please be safe everyone and will post again next week!