[propane]

What do you all think was the worst venue ever to run a show at?

[DavidDeacon]

Sewage plants

[Barry Ace]

South Quincy Social Club, hands down! the ring barely fit in the place and the locker room was even worse!

[GrayGhost]

I haven't really been to any really bad ones. One that I didnt like that comes to mind is a venue in Moosup CT, an elks or K of c or something, where FF and I saw EPW two or three years back.

[ridave]

GrayGhost wrote:

I haven't really been to any really bad ones. One that I didnt like that comes to mind is a venue in Moosup CT, an elks or K of c or something, where FF and I saw EPW two or three years back.

What was wrong with the building?

[Rumors Rule]

WCWA's Backyard !

[local-fan]

Barry Ace wrote:

South Quincy Social Club, hands down! the ring barely fit in the place and the locker room was even worse!

The South Quincy Social Club was the best. Fans filled that place. Plus it because of that building wrestling is once again big in Quincy.

[GrayGhost]

ridave wrote:

GrayGhost wrote: I haven't really been to any really bad ones. One that I didnt like that comes to mind is a venue in Moosup CT, an elks or K of c or something, where FF and I saw EPW two or three years back. What was wrong with the building?

It was very cramped in there, and the bathroom. Basically, you went in and turned around, and it was very awkward. Just not a good venue IMO.

[Firebird7478]

Moosup. That building is one bodyslam away from collapsing!

[NEworker]

local-fan wrote:

Barry Ace wrote: South Quincy Social Club, hands down! the ring barely fit in the place and the locker room was even worse! The South Quincy Social Club was the best. Fans filled that place. Plus it because of that building wrestling is once again big in Quincy.

The reason that place was filled is because it was so small although I don't deny that it's because of that place wrestling's big in Quincy again.

[local-fan]

The last show ran there had just under 300 people. It may have been small, but 300 people plus the ring, merch table and entrance way it did the job.

[jd]

local-fan wrote:

The last show ran there had just under 300 people. It may have been small, but 300 people plus the ring, merch table and entrance way it did the job.

What show was this?

[local-fan]

NEWA's last show before the management team joined up with NECW. It was about 3 years. Main event was going to be Justin Credible vs Jose Perez, but Justin Credible took a booking with USA Pro in New York and never called to cancel. Refunds were offered but noone left. It was NEWA's That's Incredible show.

[local-fan]

We are looking for the DVD that was made to post it on youtube just so everyone can see what it looked like.

[enforcer]

GrayGhost wrote:

It was very cramped in there

Those are usually the best venues for indy shows.

[MAV]

I have a lot of nostalgic love for what many people would consider shitty venues. Many times, my best memories in wrestling come from halls like those. I'm an odd guy. I think sometimes the crummy surroundings often highlight the good times you're having there by contrast.

Jeff Costa used to run the Knights of Columbus in Derry, NH, which was really a converted barn. The hall was tiny and we changed in the cellar (half of which was dirt). Whenever anyone would take a bump, the ceiling would shake and I distinctly remember a few florescent light bulbs breaking over our heads. Crystals in Bristol, Connecticut was/is similar in set up, although it may be even better/worse. Crappy as the arrangement was, I remember having what I considered one of my first recognizable great matches there with Rip Morrison. Jeff Costa, who threw the compliments around like they were manhole covers, come out and told me, Rip and the locker room that we had just had a "New York main event". They closed the place several years ago...I believe it may be a church now.

Of course, my favorite place EVER, by far, was the Hudson NH Lion's Club. The Lion's Club was actually owned by the town. They had bought the place from the Lion's Club with the arrangement that the Lion's could use the hall on weekends whenever they wanted free of charge. The town would charge you $450 to rent the place. Jeff Costa, ever the entrepreneur, found out the Lion's club arrangement and cut a deal with the Lions where he would instead pay them $150 a night with them taking the concessions and the Lions would conveniently schedule a "Lions Club" function every night we had wrestling. Boy the town was PISSED about that.

The Hall itself was fine, but we changed in the garage where they stored all the concessions and party decorations/supplies. The garage was unheated-we froze our dicks off in the winter to the point I would sometimes absorb the cost of renting a construction heater to bring the air temp up to a balmy 43 degrees. The garage was also infested with mice. I saw one scampering up a wall and nearly killed Johnny Royal by either impact and or fright when I whipped a 2x4 at the thing. Hit the mouse, barely missed Johnny Royal. Rip, who was a blade freak sometimes, used to dispose of his used blades in the floor drain (God help the poor sap who used to clean the place; nothing like a plumber with the hep).

The mice used to love the bags of popcorn the Lions stored there...I used to nearly gag watching the kitchen staff haul out large bags of the stuff with obvious mouse gnaw holes in them. I also drank an entire bottle of orange soda syrup additive on a five dollar bet with Rip Morrison from the kitchen supplies.

I also recall the kitchen had a big, stainless steel sink with a giant overhead sprayer. After a match I had where I bled buckets, I climbed into said sink and showered in it. It was funny for me and every other worker on the card until "Big Daddy" Dave Walker got into the ice locker, took a huge scoop of ice and snuck up on me like a 259 lb ninja and dumped the entire thing down the front of my trunks-then it was only funny for everyone else. After rinsing off all the blood, patching my fore head and warming my dick back up, it was off to the Nashua House of Pizza.

The town ended up breaking their contract with the town and throwing the Lions out. It was probably illegal, but there were probably only 5 or 6 actual members of the Lions left and they couldn't fight it. I've tried to book the place through the town since, but they don't rent it anymore. I believe the vote and pretty much do nothing else there now...which is a shame.

When I started running Front Row Wrestling, my love of shitty venues took me to the stunning Knights of Columbus in Keene, NH. Dave Barron actually found the place. Poor Dave-I found out that the rent was $250 for non members but members got a $50 discount-so I made him join and booked the shows through him! It was on the second floor and we changed in the bar, and you could put out seating for exactly 72 people. There was never 72 people in there either (Keene probably isn't a wrestling town).

We often would come in and the decor from parties the previous day would still be up. I believe I insisted on leaving the Valentine's day party stuff that was hung up during one show. My best memories personally there were wrestling Dave Barron in his first match in about 8 years and listening to one young wrestler bitch after the show about how the older guy he was working with "didn't go over much" with him. On the same card I did about 1/2 an hour in a 2/3 falls match with Tim Walker and went over precisely one thing-the finish of the third fall, so I pretty much laughed at him.

The Knights of Columbus now have Bingo and other functions on Fridays and Saturdays and I try to avoid Sundays so we haven't been back. I still intend on running the VFW in Kingston once a year. It's not a dump by any means, but it's very small. It also has a lovely Xmas tree always up in the corner, and true to my roots...I refuse to take it down during shows.

Claremont at the Zotto has a lot of stories attached to it as well...but most of them are sealed by court order.

So, I love me some places like Mooselips (Mooseup, home of one of the tightest locker rooms I've ever been in), Crystals and a lot of other places wrestlers walk into and go, "what the fuck are we DOING here"?!?

Of course, that's been the story of the last 19 years of life.

[NEworker]

local-fan wrote:

NEWA's last show before the management team joined up with NECW. It was about 3 years. Main event was going to be Justin Credible vs Jose Perez, but Justin Credible took a booking with USA Pro in New York and never called to cancel. Refunds were offered but noone left. It was NEWA's That's Incredible show.

That wasn't NEWA, that was NEWA's "spin-off", Mass Championship Wrestling. And the only member of NEWA management who has anything to do with NECW is George Carroll who booked it during their dying years

[superstarml]

EWA once worked and old school in Waterville, Maine.

The venue itself was very nice, plenty of room for 500 plus fans, nice locker room, huge curtained off staging area. Very, very nice.

However, there were NO outside lights. you had to find the building, pull out behind it in the pitch black, then find a rear entrance to get into the venue, this was for the fans!
Of course it was overcast so no assistance from the blacked out full moon.
You have to know exactly where the building was and then be dedicated enough to feel around in the dark to get into the building.

And 7 dedicated fans did just that.

[KCW2008]

The Pavilion in Salisbury Beach. It was an old night club, that was just used for Bingo and storage of broken down rides and games. The bathrooms were literally flooded, there's was piss all over the floors. The wiring was bad, so the mic kept cutting out. The lockeroom was no bigger then a closet. with room for ONE bench. No lights by the way, the promoter brought his desk lamp with him. I remeber after my match I went and watched the rest of the show from a broken seat from the Tilt a Whirl ride. The ring was on the old dance floor from the club, which had a bunch of divets in it, Widowmaker was backing up the entrance and tripped in one of the holes. The only good thing about the building was listening to Tony Atlas crack jokes about the crammed locker room with 20 guys changing shoulder to shoulder.

And the Social club was bad, refridgerators and beer coolers in the locker room. But it was 10 times better then the Pavilion.

[ridave]

GrayGhost wrote:

ridave wrote: GrayGhost wrote: I haven't really been to any really bad ones. One that I didnt like that comes to mind is a venue in Moosup CT, an elks or K of c or something, where FF and I saw EPW two or three years back. What was wrong with the building? It was very cramped in there, and the bathroom. Basically, you went in and turned around, and it was very awkward. Just not a good venue IMO.

But you did have a good time.
http://www.theburninghammer.com/forum/topics.html-p-69958-highlight-epw+resuls#69958

Quote:

Excellent show. HUGE hot crowd, the building was small, but it was SRO. prob 150 people. Very old school crowd. EPW is another promotion that runs the old fashioned way, by building stories and characters. I give the show an A- for me. I had a blast and hope to attend more EPW shows down the road.

I liked the place, high ceiling and cheap beer!

[maddogms]

NEworker wrote:

local-fan wrote: NEWA's last show before the management team joined up with NECW. It was about 3 years. Main event was going to be Justin Credible vs Jose Perez, but Justin Credible took a booking with USA Pro in New York and never called to cancel. Refunds were offered but noone left. It was NEWA's That's Incredible show. That wasn't NEWA, that was NEWA's "spin-off", Mass Championship Wrestling. And the only member of NEWA management who has anything to do with NECW is George Carroll who booked it during their dying years

George Carroll no longer has anything to do with New England Championship Wrestling.

[MayorMcCheese]

The New Bedford flea market wasawful. Literally dressed around boxes and boxes of old chips and broken tvs. And those chips would typically be our paydays.

[NEworker]

maddogms wrote:

NEworker wrote: local-fan wrote: NEWA's last show before the management team joined up with NECW. It was about 3 years. Main event was going to be Justin Credible vs Jose Perez, but Justin Credible took a booking with USA Pro in New York and never called to cancel. Refunds were offered but noone left. It was NEWA's That's Incredible show. That wasn't NEWA, that was NEWA's "spin-off", Mass Championship Wrestling. And the only member of NEWA management who has anything to do with NECW is George Carroll who booked it during their dying years George Carroll no longer has anything to do with New England Championship Wrestling.

Really? I'm surprised.