2008 Woodie Awards
Orlando's pro wrestling entertains with bizarre costumes, body slams
Whitney Hamrick
Issue date: 6/26/08 Section: Variety
Demon Toro, from parts unknown, - half fiery chicken, half lizard - lurks toward the stage and the waiting fans searching for his prey, biting the ropes with the urge to fight.
With body slams, two counts, headlocks and flips off the tight ropes and across the plywood ring, two costumed personas pummel each other for dominance.
T.J. Mack, brother of co-headliner Kirby "Krazy K" Mack, walks out wearing Mario Bro. Mushroom pants with a look of determination and ridicule for his "cockanese" opponent, as he calls him. Locked in submission, Toro voices his protest in his native tongue, and T.J. wins the World Light-Weight title and the first of seven matches concludes.
The reason pro wrestling is "choreographed" is so the wrestlers don't kill each other in the compound fracture realm of injury. It's the quality that makes the world of pro wrestling seem inhabited by super humans, propelling their bodies to exaggerate the extent of the harm done.
It takes a sense of timing and coordination to get the punches and the kicks just right, as the point of wrestling is not violence, but implied violence for entertainment in the safest environment possible.
"Hey, when you girls are done playing patty cake, I'm ready to go," Daron Smith of the Lifeguards tag team says as he lounge on he ropes. Technically, tag teams matches mean opponents have to tap their teammates to switch places, but it never works out that way.
Eventually, chaos ensues and the whole team romps. The Lifeguards beat The Vandals to move on to the tag team championship against the flamboyant Heartbreak Express on August 9.
For the AWA World Heavyweight Championship event UCF alum Rance, 25, business management, lost due to the exploitation of a poorly healed ankle injury by Kirby Mack. Evenly matched in skill and determination, the pair, try as they might, could not force the other down for three counts. In the end, Rance tapped out and the bell rang.
"The night before Thanksgiving I was wrestling a match and I broke my ankle, causing me to take three to four months off," Rance said. "I had to get surgery with a plate and seven screws … I went for a risky move, then I hit my foot and I hit it again and one more time he grabbed it, locked it up. It hurt too much and I couldn't keep going."
Doors open at 7 p.m. at the Downtown Recreation Center at 649 W. Livingston St. Tickets are $10, and all UCF students buy one and get one free with their student ID. For more information, visit www.ibelieveinwrestling.com.
With body slams, two counts, headlocks and flips off the tight ropes and across the plywood ring, two costumed personas pummel each other for dominance.
T.J. Mack, brother of co-headliner Kirby "Krazy K" Mack, walks out wearing Mario Bro. Mushroom pants with a look of determination and ridicule for his "cockanese" opponent, as he calls him. Locked in submission, Toro voices his protest in his native tongue, and T.J. wins the World Light-Weight title and the first of seven matches concludes.
The reason pro wrestling is "choreographed" is so the wrestlers don't kill each other in the compound fracture realm of injury. It's the quality that makes the world of pro wrestling seem inhabited by super humans, propelling their bodies to exaggerate the extent of the harm done.
It takes a sense of timing and coordination to get the punches and the kicks just right, as the point of wrestling is not violence, but implied violence for entertainment in the safest environment possible.
"Hey, when you girls are done playing patty cake, I'm ready to go," Daron Smith of the Lifeguards tag team says as he lounge on he ropes. Technically, tag teams matches mean opponents have to tap their teammates to switch places, but it never works out that way.
Eventually, chaos ensues and the whole team romps. The Lifeguards beat The Vandals to move on to the tag team championship against the flamboyant Heartbreak Express on August 9.
For the AWA World Heavyweight Championship event UCF alum Rance, 25, business management, lost due to the exploitation of a poorly healed ankle injury by Kirby Mack. Evenly matched in skill and determination, the pair, try as they might, could not force the other down for three counts. In the end, Rance tapped out and the bell rang.
"The night before Thanksgiving I was wrestling a match and I broke my ankle, causing me to take three to four months off," Rance said. "I had to get surgery with a plate and seven screws … I went for a risky move, then I hit my foot and I hit it again and one more time he grabbed it, locked it up. It hurt too much and I couldn't keep going."
Doors open at 7 p.m. at the Downtown Recreation Center at 649 W. Livingston St. Tickets are $10, and all UCF students buy one and get one free with their student ID. For more information, visit www.ibelieveinwrestling.com.