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| Yeah, I don't think I get it either, Sugar Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
So, because I didn't know any better, I signed up for the Dragon Gate USA mailing list, not knowing that they'd spam my e-mail box three times a week with news of John Hennigan's latest bowel movement or whether Akira Tozawa was going to respond to the request for a confrontation by Sami Callihan from three shows ago. Inane stuff like that. One such e-mail came in this week that had EVOLVE 20's entire card posted inside, so I took a peek. It looks like a decent card, not going to lie here, but I scrolled all the way to the bottom to find that there was a match type I haven't seen before:
My guess is, without really following DGUSA or EVOLVE too closely since EVOLVE 10, that this is a tongue-in-cheek joke that's meant to poke fun at the idea that what they do is wrestling and what WWE does is "entertainment." Okay. Well, I get the joke and all. I'm not gonna do that thing where I parse said joke like I'm all serious about it, except that I probably am right now. I hope this is just a sort of one-time thing, given all the guys involved and their pedigrees as comedic guys. I've only seen the one Maxwell Chicago match, but it was a damn good match, even in a comedic milieu. I'd hate to see the Bravados and Dunkerton especially be pigeonholed as dudes who only get to be in "Entertainment Matches," like said matches aren't real wrestling or real art. I mean, who said that comedic wrestlers can't cross over into serious matches and vice versa? Ah forget it.
This whole thing could just be me being dense. I've been known to do that at times. That being said, if there's one person in non-corporate wrestling that I'm really never in the mood for jokes from, it's Gabe Sapolsky. So there's that.
ETA: Sapolsky said in response to a Twitter question from friend of the blog Jennifer Logsdon that it'll be patterned after the Open the Owarai Gate Championship in DG Japan. The main thrust behind that title is that fan support is the main mode of victory or defeat in those kinds of matches. It's an interesting concept to say the least, but one that I can see totally flopping in front of a new market or in front of EVOLVE fans. It also feels like it's a ham-handed attempt at replicating Chikara's comedy stylings, only missing the point a little bit. But I could be wrong.
Entertainment MatchThat does sound like a good match, no lie, but what the fuck is an "Entertainment Match" supposed to entail? Did I miss something here?
The Bravado Brothers vs. Sugar Dunkerton & Maxwell Chicago
My guess is, without really following DGUSA or EVOLVE too closely since EVOLVE 10, that this is a tongue-in-cheek joke that's meant to poke fun at the idea that what they do is wrestling and what WWE does is "entertainment." Okay. Well, I get the joke and all. I'm not gonna do that thing where I parse said joke like I'm all serious about it, except that I probably am right now. I hope this is just a sort of one-time thing, given all the guys involved and their pedigrees as comedic guys. I've only seen the one Maxwell Chicago match, but it was a damn good match, even in a comedic milieu. I'd hate to see the Bravados and Dunkerton especially be pigeonholed as dudes who only get to be in "Entertainment Matches," like said matches aren't real wrestling or real art. I mean, who said that comedic wrestlers can't cross over into serious matches and vice versa? Ah forget it.
This whole thing could just be me being dense. I've been known to do that at times. That being said, if there's one person in non-corporate wrestling that I'm really never in the mood for jokes from, it's Gabe Sapolsky. So there's that.
ETA: Sapolsky said in response to a Twitter question from friend of the blog Jennifer Logsdon that it'll be patterned after the Open the Owarai Gate Championship in DG Japan. The main thrust behind that title is that fan support is the main mode of victory or defeat in those kinds of matches. It's an interesting concept to say the least, but one that I can see totally flopping in front of a new market or in front of EVOLVE fans. It also feels like it's a ham-handed attempt at replicating Chikara's comedy stylings, only missing the point a little bit. But I could be wrong.