The absolute worst show I had ever seen (and I've seen plenty..major leagues and indy groups) was a promotion called Ringside Wrestling, based in Hooksett, New Hampshire. it was about an hour and a half drive from Rochester, where I was living. Figured. I'm the NH promoter for the WWA. I may as well check out the "comptetition" (that tried to run in the area I was living in but couldn't get anything going) looks like. Knowing the guy I knew from the state boxing and wrestling commission wasn't going to be there(someone else was)..It did open a door or two to freely speak out what I felt while I was at the show.
So I drive out to Hooksett, never been to the town, it's one of them towns you blink and you miss it. Stopped off at this combination market/gas station/red neck hilly joint that looked like would collapse if a good gust of wind hit it. Ask where the building was..got directions from a nice looking blonde..and I found out this was a local "meeting place for everyone in town. They had no idea there was a wrestling show going on on this night...despite the fact the multi colored poster that was taped right at the door advertised it..How one could not see that big poster with its neon colors..it just validated my opinion of brother and sister shouldn't sleep together.
Finally find the building...by following the multicolored posters that were like following the yellow brick road...see a small line of people wearing NWO shirts..DX shirts..Austin 316 shirts..Boy did I feel so out of place wearing a "Badstreet USA" shirt. LOL! Look at the "updated" flyer on the door advertising the event. "Lobsterman" was going to be in the main event...No...you didn't read that wrong...I said.. "Lobsterman". A very heavyset guy wearing a lobster uniform with green fins covering his hands and a lobster mask. That Ladies and Gentlemen, is your main event star...and owner of Ringside Wrestling. Jeff Costas.
Now knowing some things I've watched and learned about setting up a show, I scanned around. This building was a pretty big place, could hold around 600 people per the fire code..The seating arrangements were a clusterfuck..they way they had it set up you'd think they were holding in a place that could hold 50 people. When I mentioned it to one of the guys setting them up he blamed Costas for not seeing what i saw. set it up different more people have a decent view of the action. The ropes were WAY too loose. They slumped down in the middle, and the middle of the mat slumped as well. I really felt bad for the guys that had to work in this ring. The fact the ropes were loose were emphasized when guys either tried to walk the top rope and fell, or tried springboard moves off the top rope and couldn't get the "spring". Thankfully I only paid 10 bucks for the ticket. When I had bought the ticket, Costas sans his Lobsterman costume looked right at me. He knew who I was and who I worked for. This would be something that would become an issue later..and the next day, but we'll get to that in a minute.
Now Costa's partner it was well known that he won the powerball, so this guy had money..why he didn't bother putting some of it into a decent ring..decent ropes (duct tape wrapped around 2 sections of it..if you're going to do patchwork like that, at least paint over the duct tape the same color as the ropes are. Blue ropes with gray duct tape doesn't really make you look good). And some pretty decent talent would've helped alot. I guess Costas's partner was one of them milionaire cheapskates.
I don't remember most of the roster but Maverick Wild, who is a good worker was on here. Sonny Goodspeed was, aaaahh...he's no Vic Grimes that's for sure.and Robbie Ellis doing Ric Flare ( a fag version of the real Ric Flair) really do a whole hell of alot for me. no real storylines to why the matches were happening..no actual "plot" involved, just throw em in there and hope for the best. Total paid for this huge building? 80 people.
The matches weren't great, alot of high spots...garbage stuff. Maverick Wild is good but he couldn't be Houdini and have the magic to make his opponent(don't remember the name but man he slopped up 80% of the moves they did) look good.
During intermission they had a 50/50 raffle. I bought 3 tickets, the kid I took with me that knew someone who worked the show bought one. I won the raffle. Costas was HOT! he started bitching how a "Rival promoter" came to spy on his product..was trying to recruit his guys to come join the company he works for..whole bunch of shit. So I told him "Why would I want to try and copy your shit? in two weeks we have a WWF Training Dojo show coming with Al Snow, Jim Cornette and Jeff Jarrett on the card..that alone will outdraw anything you can come up with". His partner threatened to have me thrown out and I said "fine, refund my money and my friend's, if you do then some wrestler I'm sure won't be paid then, because you sure as hell aren't gonna reach into your pockets and pay him, right moneybags"? They both stood stunned because I "shooted" on them, they turned and walked away, and I went back to my seat. other fans who heard this wanted to know the back story because they knew they heard something they weren't supposed to hear..I didn't add fuel to the fire by saying what I could've said and really fucked his fanbase over. I knew he ran this town every month so why fuck it up for the fans. This was the only company that came here and you did try to not run in a rival promoter's area(even though Sivano Sousa did run his AWF in Nashua, which is another town of Costas)..I wasn't one who wanted to tread that wire. Icame to that show to see what they do..and write about it for the sheets I wrote for..
Main event time comes and Costas spent more time during the match yelling shit at me than working the match. His opponent had no idea what was going on and he knew this wasn't "part of the show". I didn't say much because Jeff was doing good making an ass out of himself all by himself, he didn't need my help. The only thing I shouted at him was "the fans paid to see you wrestle, not yell at me, stupid". And then a fan up 4 rows from me started a "wrestle your match, wrestle your match" chant that went around the building. I just sat there laughing cause it made Jeff look like such a schmuck.
After the show I talked with Maverick alittle as he knew me thru acouple other people. I told him upfront that this was the worst show I've been to as a fan. he told me Costas was ripping in the back most of the show on the fact I was there...wow...didn't know I could cause so much heat just by showing up at a place, lol. Some people just have insecure issues and I enjoyed the fact I knew the company I was working for was gonna have better talent and present a better show. I did being the asshole I am sometimes, handed acouple fans flyers to the WWA show that was going to be in Farmington, NH in two weeks..I did it quietly but some fan started yelling about it that he wantewd to go and then others wanted to know about it..and...what started out to be on the down low, thanks to a fan who wouldn't listen when I said "ssshhh on this"...lead to waht happened the next day.
10 O'clock the next morning I get the call. My friend Steve from the state boxing and wrestling commission..I knew something was gonna happen. Gut instinct said someone was gonna call. Costas the Lobsterman himself called Steve complaining that I came to his show to start trouble, that some of HIS fans(didn't know he had that much control on fans, lol) were going to be going to the WWA show because of me..(Not like the ticket give away on a rock station that covers that area as well as mine would have any dent either, right, just ALL me, yeah right), I told Steve what happened, had a witness to it, etc. on it. Steve suggested I don't go to any more of Jeff's shows. I told him "after what I saw last night, it wasn't even worth the ten bucks I paid". The Owner of the WWA Fred Sparta called an hour later asking about it, he wound up laughing it off. His brother Mike who promoted the shows in Mass. tried to come off mad about it, but when I said, "Oh yeah..what about that shoving match you and Sousa had last month in Wittman, remember that as you tossed me your car keys to me and went at him"? Every time Mike got cvaught in his own shit he quickly changed his tune...
But who decides to come to the WWA show I locally promoted two weeks later? After all his crying whining and complaioning. Costas, his partner in his company and two other wrestlers. If they came to start trouble I was already ahead of them because I had thought about it after Costas complained. I thought he might try something. So...since I knew acouple friends were coming to the show..I went and grabbed one, and we walked over to where Costas and company were sitting. I said "You whining like a bitch to the commission didn't accomplish anything but shopw that you're nothing but a crybaby bitch..you want to try something tonight, this here's Dennis...he's a member of the Mountain men Motorcycle club(He had his support Mountain Men M.C. shirt on)..you and I can have it out one on one if that's your decision, anything else, I pray you try it..Other than that, enjoy the show and notice what the attendence for this show is compared to yours".
Needless to say, we out drew Ringside Wrestling. We went up against the Rochester Fair's first Bracelet night (which usually sells HUGE every year) and we did 650 people paid in a gym that could 800. so it was profit all around as I thought we'd only get maybe 200 which still would've outdrawn Costas's Lobsterman crap.
Jeff didn't do shit at the show I locally promoted. I even went to him during intermission and asked if he'd like to discuss this further. he quietly declined. Truth hurt as my show had bigger talent, better talent, and out drew him, so I sucked any argument he had out of him...Same lineup at the armory in Milford, Mass drew 600 people the next night...
So there you go, the worst show I have ever seen. I've some rotten indy shows but Lobsterman's crap show was indeed the worst show, ever. Nothing has gotten that bad, and it's no wonder why they're considered a joke when it comes to indy wrestling. they still run shows..here's an url to Lobsterman's webpage. see for yourself. http://www.lobstermancosta.com/index.php
