When it is done right, there is nothing cooler than professional wrestling. When it is done right, you can see colorful characters doing battle and feel like you are part of a community. Wrestling should be for everybody, but sadly its history has not always lived up to welcoming those who are not straight men. For five hours on Saturday, April 24, in the backyard of an abandoned(?) house in Pittsburgh, in the rain, one of the coolest and most entertaining wrestling shows ever took place. MV Young presided over the proceedings of the 3rd installment of the PolyAm Cult Party.
If you have never seen MV Young, imagine the most jacked version of Billy Idol you can. He is polyamorous, pansexual, fashionable, claims to have thousands upon thousands of sexual partners, is charismatic enough that nobody doubts it, he brings a real DIY punk rock feeling into indie wrestling, and has built a brand so strong that everybody accepts “PolyAm Cult Party 3” as an excellent name for a wrestling show despite being a far cry from “the Royal Rumble” or “SuperBrawl.” MV is the Wrestler’s Lab Champion, the King of the PolyAm Cult, he straddles lines between subcultures, is always defiant to his detractors, and ready to boost his followers. He also has one of the most refreshing visions of pro wrestling and its future, and this show that he created was a resounding success.
Appropriately, the pre-show entertainment at the PolyAm Cult Party was punk band Big Baby. This show brings the energy of a backyard punk show to wrestling. The intermission was provided by drag superstar Washington Heights. These three art forms/subcultures can absolutely fit perfectly together, enhancing one another and growing the audience for each. This also serves as a perfect description for the vibe of the Party, wrestling + punk + drag = PolyAm Cult Party 3. The other crossover star in attendance was Commander Sterling (whom I am familiar with from Kate Nyx’s Generic Winter Holiday Special), who returned to the Party, bringing a sizable following of non-wrestling fans to watch them both wrestle and manage evil lawyer David Lawless, having turned full heel since the last Party when they served as the ring announcer.
Many of the wrestlers at the Party fit into the LGBTQIA spectrum, but most of them do not make it the major part of their persona, and none of them felt like they were booked for this reason, or to fill a role, or like they were chosen for any reason other than their abilities. Unlike some “specialty” shows, the wrestling was the main course at the Party, and every aspect of a good wrestling show was on display. We saw hard hitting strikes, high flying flips, heel beatdowns, babyfaces overcoming adversity, comedy, an epic Scrumble, and a few huge stars, like Lee Moriarty and Allison Katch. Wrestlers were given the freedom to fully express their personas and we saw wrestlers CPA return to an old identity to battle former WWE Superstar Colin Delaney, and Allison Katch utterly destroy the fandom’s perception of her with her new one. Wrestlers of every shape and size also featured at the Party, from the diminutive Yoya to the aptly named Big Callux. None of the matches on the show felt like foregone conclusions (except Callux’s squash of The Bird) and none of the events of the day felt forced or like an illogical swerve.
The show started in grand and appropriate fashion, with the Satanic El Presidente Pinkie Sanchez standing atop a Jeep (one of the unique elements of this literal backyard show). To the dismay of the crowd, he lost his contest to Darius Carter, an overly serious and egotistical wrestler with a phenomenal jacket who made a perfect heel for the gathered Cultists. Over the course of the day we saw the technical wizardry of Edith Surreal (whose matches have been appointment viewing for me since the last PolyAm Cult Party) as she triumphed over the similarly impressive Eel O’Neal, Shawn Phoenix using a flaming board as a weapon in the scrumble before being one of several opponents to fall to Mikey Banker, before Aspyn the Mermaid claimed the victory for her simps, and a good ol’ meaty hoss fight between Mr. Grim and Chase Holliday, a hard hitting battle between Xavier Faraday and Yoya. MV Young defended his belt against Jody the Wrestler, who won over a large part of the crowd with his fighting spirit despite facing the leader of the Cult, unforgettably incorporating a cigarette into the match en route to a successful defense. Cold blooded villain Charles Mason upset indie wrestling superstar Lee Moriarty in the pouring rain (and earned an “Eat The Rich” chant from the crowd, because the PolyAm Cult is an excellent and discerning fanbase). Molly McCoy had a standout match in the second PolyAm Cult Party in a row, falling to the terrifying badass Allison Katch, and Ziggy Haim defeated Janai Kai early in the night and came back from a beatdown on her way to winning the Ryse Wrestling Championship and the adulation of the entire crowd in the main event.
You might assume that a wrestling show being broadcast free on Twitch from a backyard during a rainstorm would not have great production standards, but GoProfessionalWrestling ran a tight ship, correcting all technical difficulties in a manner of seconds. Commentators Darnell (from Uncanny Attractions) and Scotty Sariti were a great team of personalities without detracting from the action in the ring, and Percy Davis has become one of the best commentators in indie wrestling. No ring announcer brings as much excitement as J Rose and this Party was the perfect event to showcase his passion. Even referees Nick Shin and Katy Vella were excellent and untiring for the length of the Party. The atmosphere around the ring included a firepit, several trees, and the aforementioned Jeep and all of these were used as weapons, though effectively and sparingly. None of the matches went too long and all of the wrestlers were welcome additions to the show.
In conclusion, wrestling does not need to be the same thing it has always been. It doesn’t need to play with the fans expectations. It doesn’t need to gatekeep people out of the fandom and it sure as fuck doesnt need to be uninviting to people of various genders, sexual orientations, races and religions. Wrestling is best when it gives us compelling characters that we want to see do cool shit in and around a ring, and when fans will sit for over five hours through a rainstorm I’d say the PolyAm Cult Party 3 delivered in abundance. Check out the replay on GoProfessionalWrestling’s Twitch channel and join the muthafuckin PolyAm Cult.
