My Time in NorthEast Wrestling

This past weekend, I interacted with Northeast Wrestling talent.

I went to the NorthEast Wrestling show as promised from my last post. So here I am, writing about it. Going into the show, I had a lot of mental insecurities: a black misty cloud inside my brain going on that made me not sleep for hours that would be bad for my health, trying not break in front of my friends and know I have a reason to look forward to, which is pro wrestling. The day, Saturday April 15th, I attended a pro wrestling show in Poughkeepsie, NY, 20 minutes away from my home, at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center, where a lot of pro wrestling has occurred. Its almost like the miniature version of Madison Square Garden in New York City. I was one of the first few people on line, waiting to get in and all of a sudden, I see legendary wrestling manager “Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart just walking outside, shaking hands with fans, saying hello including myself and I was like goddamn, he shook my hand and it took me a minute to fully embrace it, what a huge difference it made to people without even stepping foot inside the arena. Its incredible. I always heard WWE’s moniker “Our job is to put smile on people’s faces” before and it was a load of shit because of the history disappointing fans but this was one was a little different because it made me smile with everything going on. What happened next was totally awesome.

Going inside, my mission was to meet Konosuke Takeshita, Powerhouse Hobbs, KC Navarro, and see what happens from there. Each interaction had a story to tell for me. Takeshita wowed me from the internet because of his kick ass performances in his matches and when I met him, he was such a humble guy that wanted to explore the US and fulfill his dream which is to wrestle in American Soil, I find it incredible, got a photo with him.

Powerhouse Hobbs was another example of being wow by his presence. Huge man, excellent back story to his wrestling journey and the story with CM Punk helping him out is amazing. Meeting him was such an awesome experience, stayed in character which I respected. He loved my macho man jacket, got a photo with him and thanked me for coming.

I met two more local indy talent: Brain Anthony and KC Navarro. Extremely talented and have watched them closely, It was my chance to meet them and express my love for them. It made their day and hopefully it helped them get satisfied on the differences they made to people’s lives.

The next bunch was different for me because this was close to home. I got to meet Traevon Jordan, who was part of the tag team Waves and Curls, along with Jaylen Brandyn, a pro wrestler but on outside, he’s a huge autism awareness advocate which means a lot to me because I try represent autism for the pro wrestling community and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world.

I reached out to him due him being on an advocate for autism earlier in the year while being sidelined with an ankle injury that forced to vacate the world title for NEW, which is heartbreaker and never wish it on a pro wrestler, and told him about me and what i do. We bonded and kept in touch since then. The day we met was a moment I never forgotten because it was emotional because it made me feel special to interact with him face to face. We walked about BJJ, pro wrestling and even got to some of his peeps, got free photos with some of the wrestlers including Encore, who is a huge promising upcoming talent and was super cool to chill with and a tag team called The Miracle Generation, which featured Kylon King and Dustin Waller, who are cool guys and enjoyed them.

The last one I met was Willow Nightingale: a fantastic wrestler. A genuinely likable babyface in a world where that is becoming more and more rare. She's also super strong and athletic for her size. I met her and was a sweetheart. They are some things I learned about her that made me become a fan of hers which is one of them where she has a nephew that is on the autistic spectrum and is non verbal, so me being real, I revealed my disability to her and that I was an advocate for autism, helping people to raise awareness, gave her a hug. talked about music like Nirvana and aspiring jujitsu, which wraps for the meet and greets. Because of Jordan and Willow, they made me feel welcome with the guys and made me forget the bad demons I deal with, live in the moment and reminded who the fuck I was. I saluted them for it and thank them for it. I enjoyed the in ring action which was cool and it reminds me why wrestling is better in person than watching it on tv alone.

This is me on a very huge personal note, Meeting pro wrestlers gives me a reason why autism awareness is important, to help educate people on what it is, support the cause and be an awesome role model to those who can relate their struggles. I always remind myself that Pro Wrestling is Art, like the shirt I made in one of the photos, and can give a prospective of how you view the world of pro wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I also compare pro wrestling to the movies in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, with everything going on in your life and you need to escape from madness in the world, even for a little bit, it’s always there to entertain you, keep you happy and stay with you in amazement. I owe pro wrestling my life and i do consider it: a wonderful masterpiece of art