Joey Ryan starts riot in Texas

Bon

NWA Pro Showcase
April 27, 2007
Plaza de San Miguel in Houston, Texas
Report by: James Caldwell, Torch columnist

It's not everyday that wrestlers can generate enough crowd heat to cause hundreds of kids to riot at a pro wrestling show. Before the semi-main event match, trash, bottles, dirt, and various forms of debris covered the ring at the NWA Pro show on a hot Friday night in Houston after Joey Ryan, Karl "Machine Gun" Anderson, and C. Edward Vander Pyle incensed the predominantly Hispanic crowd by telling them to leave the country and return to Mexico. This came before their scheduled match against Ultimo Dragon and T.J. Perkins (Puma).

Adults erupted into a loud chorus of boos and shouted at the few security guards on hand that they were personally insulted by the wrestlers. Kids then filled the ring and jumped on the turnbuckles as referees and security tried to clear the ring. An adult male grabbed an American flag brought to the ring by Anderson and ran around the ringside area until security pulled him aside. One quick glance toward the stage above the arena showed Houston police department officers simply sitting in a chair, even after the wrestlers warned each officer ahead of time that things could get out of control in a hurry. Their explanation was that they could only act if they saw someone breaking the law.

With minimal security, hundreds of pounds of dirt surrounding the ring to turn the venue into a virtual playground, and no guardrails, the scene was chaotic to say the least. The raw heat in the venue was unlike anything I had ever seen before at a wrestling show. The match was then cancelled by building management. After the show, Ultimo Dragon was telling wrestlers that he had never seen a match cancelled before during his entire career.

Before the match was officially cancelled, Joey, Anderson, and Vander Pyle left the ring to seek shelter. Ultimo Dragon and T.J. tried to sign autographs in the ring to calm the fans down, but even the babyfaces were nailed by dirt and debris. Sitting ringside, my only damage was being covered in dirt as rocks flew by my shoulder toward the ring.

After the show, building management told me they weren't prepared for the size of the crowd. They weren't expecting a large turnout to the 6,500-seat outdoor covered arena, but over 4,000 fans turned out for the first wrestling event held at the venue. They marketed the show at local supermarkets and took out local ads on Univision and Telemundo during soccer, boxing, and wrestling programming to advertise the show, which generated a stronger response than the building expected, but was consistent with the big crowds NWA Pro has drawn in Texas this month.

The return date is Father's day weekend, on June 15, and based on the crazy crowd heat and line-up of pro wrestling stars being booked by NWA Pro, they could easily sell out the venue in June. A simple poster hung up in the local supermarkets with Joey Ryan and Karl Anderson's face staring at customers could generate enough interest to draw a sell out. After all, fans will come out to see the red-hot heels get their comeuppance



<333 Joeh

Jay M. Punkster

Indy Moderator

I hated him before and i hate him now!!!

Outlaw-Reverend

That just a shoot gone bad. *Open mouth insert both feet, Land square on your ass* Stupid just plain stupid. Its one thing to have JBL do it, but the indys, that just asking for major trouble