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LOOKING AT 11 ALTERNATIVES THIS WEEKEND FOR EXTREME RISING FANS

By Mike Johnson on 2014-04-24 11:50:22
No matter how you feel about a wrestling product derivative of the old ECW product in 2014, the reality is that Extreme Rising usually drew a decent house when it ran Philadelphia, so the two shows that were canceled at the last minute are leaving a lot of fans in the lurch at the last minute, whether they had pre-purchased tickets or not. So, here are some alternatives that are going on this weekend, in no particular order:

Sunday 4/27 at 5 PM - Masked Mania

Originally slated to be the third and final wrestling event at the former ECW Arena, it will instead be the only show this weekend. Promoted by Masked Republic, the show will be the first ever full fledged Lucha Libre show ever in the venue (or the city, for that matter), featuring L.A. Park, Damien 666, Dr. Wagner Jr., Solar and more, including Sabu, Homicide, several CHIKARA talents and more. If you wanted to wrestling in the Arena this weekend, this is your best bet and it’s also a live Internet PPV broadcast www.MaskedMania.com.

Saturday 4/26 – Hardcore Roadtrip (Internet PPV on Sunday)

Yes, driving all the way to London, Ontario seems a little insane but if you want something that’s going to permeate the old ECW product, well, this show has Rhino, D-Von, Angel of the Baldies, 2 Cold Scorpio, Jazz, Juventud Guerrera and even ring announcer Stephen DeAngelis! The show will feature several “hardcore matches” including a Fans Bring the Weapons bout with Necro Butcher, LuFisto and the maybe he/maybe he isn’t but he has the belt Extreme Rising champ Luke Hawx, never one to mince words, has also been added to the show. www.HardcoreRoadtrip.ca. $10 tickets with Rising ticket stub & American ID.

Friday 4/25 and Saturday 4/26 - Big Time Wrestling

Big Time Wrestling is one of those unique promotions that pretty much ignore the online fan and promote directly to the local community when they run, so they often do nice business and decent crowds, but don’t get a ton of the ripple effect that comes with a hard promotion towards the die-hard, online community. BTW has a pair of shows this weekend in Ford City and Altoona, PA with a crew of Jeff Jarrett, Jake Roberts, Ted Dibiase, Sabu, Shane Douglas, Karen Jarrett, The Nasty Boys and more. You just KNOW Shane Douglas is going to have something to say, too. www.big-time-wrestling.com. $10 tickets with Rising ticket stub.

Saturday 4/26 – New York Wrestling Connection

Obviously, this is more for the NYC-centric fans that planned to head to Philly. NYWC runs their regular monthly show at the NYWC Sportatorium, a venue that was pretty much designed to be a smaller scale version of the ECW Arena with Mikey Whipwreck, Mike Mondo, King Mega, Blake Flawless, John Silver and more scheduled. For a good wrestling product in an intimate atmosphere, you can’t go wrong with NYWC. www.NYWCWrestling.com.

Saturday 4/26 – Pro Wrestling Syndicate

Right in the middle of Philadelphia & NYC sits Rahway, NJ, where PWS has replaced JAPW as the promotion of note running that city. Saturday at the Center Circle Soccer Dome, PWS regulars like Kevin Matthews, Star Man, Devon Moore, Dan Maff, Bonesaw and more will be joined by The Godfather, Homicide, Eddie Kingston, and Lance Hoyt. Arrive early for what is always a massive signing session before the shows. Oh, and Luke Hawx is coming in to “defend” the Extreme Rising title soon, so this is a great time to prep yourself on PWS storylines if you intend to follow what happens with the physical belt from this point on. www.ProWrestlingSyndicate.com.

Friday 4/25 - Maryland Championship Wrestling

Maryland Championship Wrestling has been one of the longest running, most professionally put together groups not just locally but in the entire indy scene for the last decade plus. They return to Dundalk, MD at the New Green Room for a fundraising event to help autism featuring former WWE star Sean Waltman, Christian York, Ruckus and more. www.MarylandWrestling.com. If you are in Philly, it’s a drive, but hey, they are offering free admission with Rising stub.

WWNLive.com – 24/7

Sure, it doesn’t match the experience of live professional wrestling but WWNLive.com has a slew of kickass wrestling events from Dragon Gate USA, EVOLVE and more, including some great stuff that took place over Wrestlemania weekend that was being raved about. They also feature all the Kayfabe Commentaries shoot interviews, including an incredible Roddy Piper DVD that was released this week that has a lot of people within the industry talking. And hey, you don’t have to leave your house! www.WWNLive.com.

Saturday 4/26 – OMEGA

OK, the show is in North Carolina, but the seven hour drive has to be worth it for the Briscoes against Matt and Jeff Hardy for the first time, right? Talk about a legitimate dream match, plus CW Anderson, Hurricane Helms and a slew of local talent – plus it’s all for a good cause. Road trip anyone? http://www.omegachampionshipwrestling.com/index.html.. $10 with Rising ticket.

Friday 4/25 - Absolute Intense Wrestling

AIW has been slowly but surely building a good amount of fan support in Cleveland, Ohio with a solid roster, a fun series of female wrestling events and some good booking in an intimate venue. Friday’s show features Michael Elgin vs. Colin Delaney, Athena vs. Nikki Storm, Tim Donst vs. Alex Shelley, Kevin Steen, Johny Gargano, Veda Scott, Gregory Iron and a ton of area regulars. www.AIWrestling.com. $10 ticket with Rising ticket.

Saturday 4/26 - UWF

For every independent that gets a slew of coverage, there are smaller ones that run smaller markets and present a very basic, old school and fun “good vs. evil” package of shows. The UWF is one of those such groups, but even they, running Fairless Hills, PA made an offer for Rising fans to come and check out their show at 3 PM featuring Little Guido and a slew of their regulars. Go boo some villains at the Lower Bucks YMCA (601 South Oxford Valley Road). $10 tickets with Rising Ticket.

The WWE Network – 24/7

Sure, it sounds like a copout to toss WWE on here, but where else can you watch every ECW PPV, World Class TV, a bunch of cool documentaries and more for only $10? The WWE Network, that’s where.

It really sucks that Rising let their audience down, but the worst thing that can happen to wrestling fans that were burnt is that they give up on wrestling. If you are one of those fans, I implore you to find an alternative, enjoy it and go have some fun. Wrestling is supposed to be, at its core, about going out and having fun. I hope you do.

Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com and can be followed at @MikePWInsider.

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