SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
There are so many wrestling shows right now that it’s a full time job to keep up with it all. WWE runs Raw on Mondays for about two-and-a-half hours, followed by NXT for another two in Tuesdays. Wednesday is AEW’s flagship in Dynamite. You can also catch Evolve on Tubi. Thursday is packed now with TNA and ROH. Friday is home to Smackdown, Saturday usually has Collision and regular PLE/PPV cards. Other times those big events are on Sunday, as is LFG. You can watch first run wrestling seven days a week.
There is one other national touring wrestling company with a weekly show with names known by wrestling fans. Last Saturday, I attended my first ever Juggalo Championship Wrestling event when I went to a double taping of JCW Lunacy. Juggalo Championship Wrestling has been a company with a championship and at least annual events for 25 years now. Often being something at the annual Gathering of the Juggalos. If you are confused with the term Juggalo, allow PWTorch’s resident pop culture expert fill you in.
The Insane Clown Posse (ICP) are a hip hop duo out of Detroit who paint their faces like clowns. KISS was the first to figure out that creating a character and unique image as an artist helps people identify with you differently. It allows merchandising opportunities where fans will collect things and bond with the artist. Like wrestling fans, there are those who watch, then there are what Tony Khan calls the “sickos.” We have T-shirts (plural), action figures, trading cards, and autograph collections. Their fans will congregate once a year in Illinois and have a festival that would be the equivalent to WrestleMania for a wrestling fan.
Before they made it as a rap duo, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope had previously trained to become professional wrestlers. In fact, they shared training classes with Sabu and Rob Van Dam. With this wrestling background, we saw them appear in WWF, WCW, and TNA at different times. They also incorporated wrestling events into their annual Gathering events.
A few months ago, perhaps feeling a need to have a new project as ICP slows down, Violent J decided that JCW would become more regular than it had been. Lunacy was created as a weekly show that airs on YouTube. It was then announced that the ever-controversial Vince Russo would be writing the show. As much as I am in the camp that has more criticism than praise for Russo, I also thought that this might be the perfect marriage in wrestling. I decided to watch a couple of episodes, then saw that a show would be at a concert venue in Denver and decided to attend.
Served up with two scoops of Whoop, my impressions from the show.
Concert Atmosphere
JCW has a unique setup for their shows, as they are trying to attract more wrestling fans, but also want to stay true to their fanbase. They know that Juggalos are loyal and will attend and, as long as you don’t leave behind the principles of what a Juggalo is, will continue to do so. After the wrestling matches have concluded, they do a quick tear down of the ring, and have a concert. Sometimes it’s ICP, while other times other Psychopathic Records artists will perform.
What all of this does, is provide a General Admission, standing-room-only concert atmosphere. As you pile in to watch something, you bond. I’ve been to literally hundreds of concerts, and would not surprise me if I’ve seen 1,000 live acts when counting festivals, local acts, and corporate showcases. There’s a different energy to a show you sit for and a show you crowd up for. There were no “sit on your hands” moments of boredom. We showed up to have a good time, and dammit, a good time we were gonna have.
Prices
ICP is a group that I would not call myself a fan of musically. A track here and there is fun, but I can’t take much of it. As business people, and as people in general, I have the utmost respect for them. They’ve given back over the years. They truly care about their fans and have helped fight hate aimed towards those fans. They’ve also given away turkeys for holidays to needy families. They never forgot how living poor feels.
Prices for this event were $35. That included online fees, taxes, and those “convenience” fees. That’s a very affordable night of live entertainment. Two wrestling shows, and a concert with two groups, including the 90s band Green Jelly, who were cool as hell and one even popped into Nerdstalgia! All for $35. Merch was affordable too. $30 tees at a live event is great. $10 vinyl records, $40 DVD bundles, and $10 backpacks were awesome values for the fans. And at the end of the day, they make enough to get to the next town. I love that they’ve stuck to being truly independent artists.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Attracting Some Names
Ken (“Mr. Kennedy”) Anderson, James Storm, PCO, and Nic Nemeth are all names who’ve been featured on their television show. Matt Cardona had won their title right before he was signed to WWE and had to vacate it, but shows the level of talent they are going after. Big Vito and Vince Russo are also on air characters and Vito occasionally wrestles.
They are a great mix to draw some eyeballs with known wrestlers, and the cast of characters who are zombies, clowns, and homegrown talent who the ECW phrase “island of misfit toys” applies. They have a wrestler whose moniker is “The Devil’s Favorite Dealer” Kokaine. It’s obviously not for all wrestling fans. They also have some standout talent that impressed me a lot.
Kerry Morton
This kid has it. As the son of a legendary babyface, he’s taken everything his father was good at and performed exactly the opposite. Kerry Morton’s facial expressions when selling or showing ass as a heel, is years ahead of much of the NXT call ups. In an era where you can be undersized and still main event a WrestleMania or All In card, he has the ability and pedigree to get there.
The Attitude Era is Still Alive
If you spend much time talking to lapsed wrestling fans, they’ll often say, “It was better in the Attitude Era.” It’s too long to write about here, but the Attitude Era wasn’t all great. There were some big stars who had great angles, but you also had a lot of garbage. I’ve been really positive about JCW, and I did enjoy my time. I also didn’t take my children.
There were “ring girls” barely clothed, colorful language, a porn star of the VHS era, and did I mention they have a character named Kokaine? I think there’s been a title change on every episode. The American Title has yet to be successfully defended since I began watching. Lots of no-contests, stipulation matches, and stipulation matches that end in a no-contest. The matches are short and the stories move quickly. Crash TV is still a Russo trope and there is always something happening. It’s not like the audience will stay tuned in for a long entrance or a match.
With all that said, I think this is the perfect company for the Russo approach. There’s enough to enjoy if you like niche content, some fun names from prior years, and good upcoming talent. WWE nor AEW needs to fear them as legitimate competitors, and it shouldn’t be that way anyway. They offer up a different flavor of a similar product. If it entertains fans and gives wrestlers another place to work, what’s the harm? I’d recommend giving it a shot if you were intrigued by any of the highlights and hope they’re around for many more years.
Whoop Whoop!
(Griffin is a lifelong fan of wrestling, superheroes, and rebellious music of all forms. He is the owner of Nerdstalgia, and you can shop online, learn about visiting the store in Colorado Springs, or catch him at a comic con in the Rocky Mountain area by going to http://nerdstalgia.shop.)
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