ECCW: Born To Brawl

To some people, witnessing a perfectly executed piledriver is heavenly; a crummy one comedic; and yet still, others would prefer piledrivers never existed to begin with. It’s true that picking up another person and slamming her or him into the ground headfirst is quite a feat, but is this something we should be encouraging people to do? Sure, it takes a lot of agility and finesse to land an elbow to the skull of a helpless opponent by jumping from the top rope, but is this a deed we want to present to our children as honourable? Should we value booing and jeering over singing and holding hands?

It was with these morally dubious questions in mind that I was introduced to Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW). After attending my first event, billed as New Year’s Revolution on January 25 at the Bridgeview Hall in Surrey, the answers started coming quickly. I saw “Brillant” Billy Suede muster the energy to avoid the three-count and finish off Jamie Diaz, Kyle O’Reilly deliver his finishing Brainbuster to Azeem the Dream, and a three-way match where “Ravenous” Randy came out victorious over Chucky Blaze and Alex Plexis. The match of the night, however, featured two high-flying ex-tag teamers, El Phantasmo and Amazing Halo, with the bout ending in favour of Phantasmo. After the match had officially come to a close, things got downright dangerous as Halo’s emotions took over and he attacked the unsuspecting Phantasmo behind the referee’s watchful gaze. Thankfully, justice prevailed as Phantasmo was able to get hold of a fold-up chair and pummel his enemy’s jealousy into unconsciousness. To add to his opponent’s already dismal state, Phantasmo was somehow presented with a pair of scissors and cut off Halo’s beautiful blonde locks, marking an end of their friendship and a beginning of their rivalry.

ECCW is one of the many wrestling associations affiliated with the larger National Wrestling Allicance (NWA), which was established in 1948 and from where the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) got its start. Just because the Canadian-based company doesn’t make millions of dollars annually through the sales of books, movies, or records, nor is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, doesn’t mean it has the athletic quality of two slightly overweight kids pounding each other on a backyard trampoline, as seen on YouTube. Indeed, ECCW has produced some big-name wrestlers, such as the Elvis-impersonating Honkey Tonk Man, known mostly for his finishing Shake, Rattle, and Roll (a swinging neckbreaker with a Memphis twist) and smacking people over the head with his guitar, and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, a member of the legendary Hart family from Calgary, which include brothers Bret and the late Owen Hart.

And as no wrestling franchise can exist without a charismatic figure behind it, ECCW is no different. In this case, his name is Dave Republic, who bought the company in 1997 and has been in charge ever since. The Ontario born and raised entrepreneur, who originally came out west in 1994 to expand the Staples empire, is a self-confessed wrestling addict and admits to spending his childhood years watching wrestling religiously every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. alongside his father and grandparents. “I’m just one of those guys who liked the product so much that I bought the company,” says Republic. “I just love wrestling — though I’m not a big fan of getting in the ring myself.”

To those who think that ECCW is just some lesser version of the real thing, they’re right in some sense, but very wrong in another. Chris Andrews, a 21-year-old Surrey resident and ECCW fan who drives a tow truck for a living, enjoys the dominant role of action, whereas in WWE, he feels the over-emphasis on drama turns the franchise into a soap opera — the only difference being that WWE can boast for showcasing a higher cast of shirtless men. For Republic, without hesitation, the main difference between the two companies lies in their treatment of women. “The first thing WWE would do is give them all boob jobs, then single names, and then have them just roll around on the canvas as opposed to actually wrestle,” remarks Republic. “We have not exploited this option; we’d rather put the wrestling first.”

That being said, I do remember a certain birthday boy being invited into the ring to receive a special hug from the lovely Veronika Vice, a gimmick not out of sync with the larger wrestling organization.

Nevertheless, ECCW is home to SuperGirls Wrestling, an all-women’s wrestling league. The women have gained such an excellent reputation that they’ve been able to travel extensively to several urban centres in exchange for a multitude of hip tosses and backbreakers. “Our girls are entertaining, unique, and can maintain the story,” says Republic, “and that’s where we do a much better job than WWE.”

The only SuperGirls action I got to experience that night was during a male-female three-way tag team rumble, where Nikki Matthews and her partner “The Punk Rock Kid” Sid Sylum, beat out Penni Lane with Rick The Weapon X, and Veronika Vice alongside Dan Myers.

Although fate dealt Vice a bad hand that evening, the current and longest reigning SuperGirls Champion can attest to the high quality of female wrestling. She agrees that ECCW treats its wrestlers the same regardless of sex, and is fully aware that the genders are portrayed, packaged, and sold differently the higher up the wrestling rope you climb.

While the 1.65-metre, 68-kilogram Philadelphia native, who now resides in Port Coquitlam, has been getting paid to transform her opponents’ bodies into a state of dysfunction with vicious kicks to the spine since February 2006, she spends the majority of her time studying how to make people’s bodies function at full health at Simon Fraser University as a 4th-year Kinesiology major.

Growing up, Vice watched a fair amount of wrestling with her brother and became captivated by the athletes’ superhero-like characteristics. As a youngster, she shied away from team sports and admits she had trouble getting in front of people, but now it’s something she thrives on. “I think every single wrestler, whether they’ve wrestled for years or not, still gets a bit nervous, and you wouldn’t get the same rush otherwise,” she says. “And if you don’t get the nervous butterflies before your match, you might as well quit.” In an interview with Ladysports.com, she goes as far as saying that “every time I step into the ring, I feel that I belong and I have never been this happy in my entire life.” With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder she’s the champ. But at the same time, like most students, she still dreads the idea of giving a presentation. In fact, she’s probably one of the few at SFU who’s more comfortable suplexing a foe off the top rope than talking for 10 minutes in front of her peers.

Vice does have aspirations of one day making ass-kicking a full-time career, but knows it doesn’t happen for everyone. As the ECCW does provide some spending cash, “you still need a day job,” says Vice. Her hope is not unrealistic, however, as Amazing Kong (do not google those words unless you are prepared to stay up all night), who is the current Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) Woman’s Champion, Nattie Neidhart, who’s involved with WWE and also the daughter of Jim Neidhart, and Lisa “Ivory” Moretti, who had a six-year gig for WWE, all were or currently still are, SuperGirls.

So just who are these people brave (or crazy) enough to get into the ring and put themselves in harm’s way? Most, if not all, are like Vice: fans-cum-wrestlers. They are people who work jobs — whether it be bartending, construction, or truck driving — who also happen to take delight in punching each other while wearing tights. Andrews expresses a desire to become a wrestler, but thinks his frame is too thin; whereas his friend, 18-year-old Adam Robertson who is a bit thicker in comparison, plans on getting involved after his stint with the Canadian military. Another ECCW-SFU combination of note is “Rocket” Randy Tyler (a.k.a. Pete Smith) who is an SFU Criminology grad who has gone on to receive his masters from Cambridge, a Law degree from UBC, work for some pretty prestigious law firms, and return to SFU as an instructor. If interested, ECCW offers the Slam Academy (formerly known as the In-Pain Asylum) as a place to come train in the art of being either a hero or villain — that’s ‘face’ or ‘heel’ in wrestling terms.

At this point, one may argue that whether you’re male or female, pro or amateur, isn’t this all just a glorification of violence and exaltation of the strong over the weak? Republic is not at all ashamed to be a fan of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) since its beginning in 1993 and happens to appreciate the competition it provides, but maintains that at its core, ECCW is about amusing the fans: “As far as violence is concerned we don’t even try to hide it anymore: we are entertainment.” From the wrestler’s perspective, Vice expresses a similar sentiment: “Wrestling’s a show. We’re unlike UFC in that when we wake up the next day, we can hopefully still walk.”

The often deployed defence to such criticisms of wrestling endorsing brutality is that it is no more violent than a PG-13 movie or high school production of Romeo and Juliet — a rebuttal Republic has brought before city councils. “Violence is perfectly acceptable in our society, given the right context,” Republic remarks.

While an Extreme Canadian Championship Debating League would likely be more fruitful in cultivating conflict resolution, to ECCW fans such as Archie Henderson, wrestling is not a hindrance to society, but rather a service. “It’s nice to let loose once in a while and just scream and shout — to kick reality out the door and just have some fun, especially if you’ve had a rough day at work with the boss riding you and all the rest of it,” says the 54-year-old bookbinder, who plays hockey in his spare time. According to this line of thought, by seeing some physical aggression played out in the ring, it allows for a much needed release of mounting tension caused by everyday activities. “It’s been going on since the Roman gladiators and the Christians versus the lions,” says Henderson. “Now the only difference is that at the end of the day you don’t have the widows and family members picking up the body parts. No one has to die.”

As good as this may sound, it may be wiser to investigate the origins of this “need” for release from pent-up frustration instead of allowing it to carry on unquestioned.

To put it metaphorically, wouldn’t we be better off without the knife that cuts us over and over again than with a big box of bandages? With school shootings becoming a permanent fixture in the modern landscape, perhaps we’re becoming all too aware of the difference between ‘real’ and ‘fake’ violence, where the latter is no longer providing the much sought after alleviation from frustration that it was once thought to hold.

But what organizations like the ECCW may be doing to aid society is this: it forms community. In this sense of bringing people together, wrestling is definitely not ‘fake,’ and far from being an escape from reality. The reason Henderson first got into the ECCW was to support his nephew, Volcano, who decided he wanted to try his luck in the ring. Now, Henderson has been a fan for approximately three years and avidly films the matches to help all the wrestlers improve their performance: “They know what it looks like from their point of view, but they don’t know what it looks like outside the ring.”

“It really is a family: these wrestlers are not making a lot of money, nor is the promotion,” said Republic, “so you have to do it for other reasons like giving back to the community the best we can.” The irony is that the violence found in this kind of family is less scarring than the emotional abuse from divorce or neglect found in most homes — nevermind the physical abuse.

But it should be no surprise that ECCW works to bring people together, as Republic is well-known in his parts for his involvement with community. Having earned a degree in Sociology and Religion from York University, and accumulated a number of volunteer hours with varies organizations over the years, Republic has now made politics one of his top priorities. Aside from getting ECCW involved with the Terry Fox Run, the Surrey Christmas Bureau, and other charities — and always being open to fundraise for any organization or club that wanted to do business in the near future — Republic himself currently works for the provincial government, is a member of the Tri-Cities Crystal Meth Committee, the Tri-Cities Homelessness Committee, Youth Matters!, and the list goes on. One of his biggest regrets was not making last year’s ECCW Halloween event a charitable affair, as “we could have donated a lot of blood that night,” Republic jokes. But on a more serious note, Republic remarked that “there’s often more politics in wrestling, and more violence in politics; both give you a better insight into the other.”

Preceding the 16-man Battle Royale finale, the night came to a climax with the NWA/ECCW championship being up for grabs, as Scotty Mac faced the crowd favourite, Disco Fury. During the match, some six-year-old kid began chanting “Disco rules! Disco rules!” to encourage the challenger. With the crowd joining in unison, the only response Mac could think of to quell the mob was: “I’m the champion; I’m the one that rules.” And to this, the kid once again got the choir signing, except this time the lyrics were “Scotty sucks! Scotty sucks!”

Paul Hiebert - SFU Peak

« Previous Page