Live wrestling shows are back in person, and thus brings back my obsession of spending my paychecks on tickets. This past week was big wrestling week, and it just happened to take place in my home city of Pittsburgh. AEW brought Dynamite and their new show, Rampage, downtown and man oh man were those combo tickets a treat.
The shows of course, were heavily centered around hometown hero and AEW Women’s Champion, Dr. Britt Baker, and “Brittsburgh” did not fall short of being a stellar crowd, D.M.D chants a plenty. Her Wednesday night promo riled the audience up in a way I had never before been a part of, and the week culminated with Baker’s successful title defense and a pop so loud you could hear it in Cleveland.
And then there’s Eddie Kingston. From the second I bought the tickets, my heart beat in anticipation, hoping to see the ever exhilarating (and my personal favorite) team of Kingston and Jon Moxley. After my night of total insistence that he was going to walk through the crowd, right pass my section, Mox did not show. Eddie did.
The feeling that followed was one that I will never forget. The jumping out of my seat, the “Eddie” chants, the smile on my face that couldn’t possibly get any bigger. I’ve spent the last six months in a depressive funk so bad, at any given moment I was ready to give up. Maybe that’s the reason I felt like crying, I don’t know. But the minute his music registered in my mind, I had this overwhelming, strange feeling, I later credited as happiness. Pure, genuine, little kid at Christmas, happiness. I will never forget that moment. I zoned out in my happy little bubble for the remaining hour of the show, and then right as I got up to leave after the final bell of the night rang, he came to the ring and cut a promo. You know that feeling when something so beyond your wildest dreams is happening right in front of you? That fever dream, not even sure you’re breathing right feeling? I hung onto every word, but I couldn’t tell you what he said. I was so in the moment, so happy, a fire could have started and I wouldn’t have noticed. That moment will forever stick with me, and I’m so glad Eddie Kingston showed up.
Last but not least let us discuss Orange Cassidy. You say entertainment, I say Orange Cassidy. A fan favorite, there’s no doubt about it. Something about the way he just stands there, hands in his pockets, gives him greatest wrestler of all time status. In a wrestling world where everything is a competition, and everything seems serious, he breaks the typical wrestler mold in a way that everyone can enjoy. “Freshly squeezed” chants are still ringing in my mind three days later.
I sit here reflected on the two shows, the past three days, and my heart feels so free. I enjoyed myself so much that I’m dragging my family to Cincinnati next month to do it all again. The gratitude I feel for life right now is so foreign and strange to me, but my god if wrestling isn’t the coolest thing in the world. So bye bye AEW week in Pittsburgh, you were very very good to me.
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