“Wrastlin”

Growing up, I spent a lot of time hanging out with my Grandma. She had this tiny lemon yellow TV, black and white screen, complete with the rabbit ear wires in the back. We never spent much time watching it, probably because there were all of two channels, but when “the wrastlin” was on, we were wiggling that antenna into tune. You should have seen that soft spoken earth angel just spitting fire at the wrestlers on TV; it was hilarious. I think she would have had quite the time at one of the Island Pro Wrestling (IPW) shows. 

IPW is one of the two amateur pro wrestling promotions we have on the Island, and I just went to my first show at the PEI Brewing Company. It was wild! First of all, the place was packed, lined up out the door waiting to get in, and there were already a ton of people inside for some kind of VIP pre-show action too. I knew a lot of people went to these shows because a couple of my kids really dig them, but I guess I wasn’t really paying attention to their reviews. The crowd really runs through the whole spectrum. I saw folks I normally run into at poetry readings, my sister’s high school friends, an old roommate with her teenage daughter for a birthday celebration, and definitely a few people’s grandmas and grandpas. 

I’m the kind of person who gets excited for other people’s excitement, so I was just giddy when the pyrotechnics started to go off. One of my kids said that’s their favourite part. When the wrestlers come in and start stirring up the crowd, “especially when it’s one of the bad guys who pretends everyone loves them.” 

My kids are fully in on the drama of it though. We had to explain it after their first show made them cry and leave. After going myself, I get it. One match ended up out of the ring going into the crowd, and I fully know that they’re not gonna hurt anybody, but instinctively it starts feeling kind of intense. I think that actually really speaks to the level of production they’re putting into these shows. 

There’s a ton of merch, which is a favourite part for one of my other kids, they love getting the wrestlers to sign their shirts and posters. I’ve purchased more than the average person’s amount of bubble guns in my life, but I will say the ones we took home from there are some of the best.

I still know nothing about wrestling, but all the elements from my youth were there live in the room and happening. It’s intense, it’s theatrical, crowd participation feeds the scene, and people love it! I don’t think I’ll become a regular, I quite like how quiet my house is when they’ve all gone to scream at the wrestlers. Now I’m certain we’re getting our money’s worth tuning in though. Check socials for the next event!