Been attending a few of these magnificent events and decided to bring the camera along to document the 01/02/2016 show. It turned into an artshow in San Diego where I displayed 15+ photographs which three of these were blown up (96x72) and wheat pasted onto boards.
The night and the amazing show was described to the visitors through a quick write up:
"Unassumingly tucked in between a seasonally deserted Howard Johnson Motel and a retirement home severely deprived of elation. Here lies an inconspicuous little building that serves as a local community center. Though, once a month or so the purpose of this building becomes slightly unorthodox.
It’s only 5:30pm but a long line has already formed. It snakes around the building and through the jet-black parking lot. Doors open at 8. People slowly walk through the lot, put their hands in their jacket pockets and a cloud of warm breath pushes through the air. There won’t be a bad seat in the house, but there’s a front row. The place for the vets.
The doors poke open and allow the frost-bitten but electrified crowd inside. The ramshackled room fills up within minutes. Yet somehow the line looks unaffected. People instantly know their spots, find their corners, and take their seats.
Every show sells out. Finding a ticket offline has proven hard, if not impossible. PWG (Pro Wrestling Guerilla) could easily expand their venue but the charm lies in the run-down building, the $10 pitchers of beer, and the animated crowd that chants, laughs, and yells in complete unity. As much as the wrestling is the main event, the crowd is just as mesmerizing as the show.
The sound of body slams and deafening screeches of “pain” hit the wrestling mat and it creates a chemical reaction in the shape of a unified roar: “THIS IS AWESOME!”.
Larry has the back office. He runs the place. The door slides open and a thick cloud of cigarette smoke seeps out. He’s aware of everything that goes on in the boiling pot of fans and wrestlers. You’ll hear him yell at someone for doing something stupid throughout the night. Without Larry this place would lose a part of its soul.
This is not an evening of the mundane. It is an evening of the most unexpected energy and the ‘oh-so’ entertaining event they call Underground Wrestling. Or “P-dubb-G” as the fans howls out between every other fight while quaffing beer straight from their pitchers."