The Alternative Productions….

The Alternative Productions:

WWE for years has been the main product for everyone. For years now its been the major global monster that allows the cream of the crop to compete under the title of ‘Sports Entertainment Superstars’. However in the last seven years, many have found themselves shying away from the main product of WWE. Even back during the 90s, you seen many shying away from WWF to watch WCW or the fast rising ECW. WWE has the stigma of “no matter what, we’re the top product” and its true. However for those that aren’t so keen to WWEs product anymore; have no fear Joe Bradberry has a breakdown of a handful of alternative shows for you to watch if you’re looking to take a break away from WWE.

New Japan Pro Wrestling:

Founded in 1972, New Japan has a rich history. With wrestlers like Jushin Liger, Stan Hansen, Vader, Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami among others, they all did their part in forging New Japan into what it is today. With nearly 50 years of history, it takes a while to brush up on it. However, if you’re looking to jump right in you can. The company this year has been creating buzz with their Wrestle Kingdom 11 event (a show in the world-famous Tokyo Dome, a Wrestlemania in January) due to the headlined six star match between G1 Climax winner Kenny Omega of Bullet Club and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. The match was given the illustrious six star rating by Wrestling Observes Dave Meltzer and created a major buzz. The company’s product isn’t hard to follow at all with big shows happening every few weeks, the names tough for some but if you can at least remember the faces and their last names, you’re set. All their storylines are simple, the tag team ones mostly being faction vs faction (Bullet Club, LIJ, CHAOS, Suzuki-GUN, Taguchi-Japan).  New Japan does have an easy way to watch and thats via New Japan World for the low price of just barley $10 a month. The website can be translated into English via Google Chrome or through the website itself, and it takes sometime to get used to their search engine after being spoiled by the WWE Network or Pivot Share used streaming sites (I.E. DemandProgress, HighSpotsNetwork, & SMASH-OnDemand) .

EVOLVE:

EVOLVE is where the best of the best in America are going. Its giving people early Ring of Honor vibes due to the success of early ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky. Formed in 2010, the company had names like Austin Aries, Daniel Bryan, Kota Ibushi, Dean Ambrose and Davey Richards. Slowly after, it became into a company that is popping up in areas like Florida, New York, Maryland, Illinois and other places. Partnered with WWE, the company had a hand in getting a few guys into the CWC tournament and giving Matt Riddle a break into Pro Wrestling. They have grown and marketed themselves as the best wrestling product today in America and they’re correct. To watch EVOLVE you can subscribe to FloScam, correction FloSlam for an outrages pricing of now $30.00 a month. Alongside EVOLVE it comes with an old archive of shows, Full Impact Pro, Style Battle, House of Hardcore, Lucha Forever and a few other shows. Not worth the outrages pricing to me but I would rather buy the Blu-Ray or DVD from each show.

Ring of Honor:

Ring of Honor is the company that birthed and rose to shine the likes of Austin Aries, The Wolves, Cesaro, Chris Hero, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Homicide, Adam Cole, ReDragon among others. For nearly 16 years they’ve been going and these last two years seen a change in product that didn’t sit right. Their back dated TV that was outdated really put a dimmer on things which annoyed me and others. With loss of talent and staff, the product got an overhaul in a sense. However, lets focus on the positives. They have a free TV on their website each week (or the FITE TV App) and an abundance of talent from all over. Guys like the Young Bucks, Cody, Silas Young, Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham exist within their company. They own a $10 subscription service that houses old ROH TV and major shows like Best in the World, Field of Honor & Final Battle. They’re constantly running shows across the states and yearly now take a tour of the United Kingdom

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla:

The most well-known product of the indy scene, PWG used to be home of local So-Cal talent like Joey Ryan, Scorpio Sky, Pretty Peter, Chris Bosh, Human Tornado and others. Now it’s more or less a dunk contest where top talent like Jeff Cobb, Matt Riddle, Zack Sabre Jr and others go to have repeated matches with more flash and awe to it. PWG is part of HighSpots Network but they don’t add frequently to it like their newer shows. They’re backed up a year and their new shows are only available via DVD or Blu-Ray from either HighSpots or PWG themselves.

Combat Zone Wrestling:

The alternative at first to ECW after its closing, CZW was known for their hardcore antics with guys like Nick Gage, Jon Zandig, Sick Nick Mondo, Wife Beater and the occasional ECW star. Over the years they have been accustomed to housing talent like Adam Cole, Dean Ambrose, Matt Tremont, Sami Callihan, Jake and Dave Crist, Danny Havoc and others alongside newer stars like MJF, Shane Strickland, Scarlet & Graves, EYFBO, Lio Rush, Joey Janela, SHLAK and others. They grew out of their hardcore roots under DJ Hydes ownership and focused more on the wrestling aspect of the company. Each show houses at least ONE hardcore match as well as their annual Tournament of Death. CZW is accessible via HighSpots Network or CZWStudios for just $10 a month.

PROGRESS Wrestling:

The hottest and biggest company in the England (sorry RevPro, you’re just a UK PWG). They have their own dojo where they birth many wrestlers like Jack Sexsmith, Chuck Mambo and a few others. Bringing in their ‘usual’ talent like British Strong Style, Travis Banks, Jimmy Havoc, Bill Eaver, Mark Haskins, Toni Storm, Kay Lee Ray, among others from the states like David Starr, Matt Riddle, Jeff Cobb and Sami Callihan. They run shows frequent, last month five in a month. Their Super Strong Style 16 shows always create buzz for them as it’s the biggest tournament in the UK. PROGRESS is only watchable via Demand-PROGRESS where it costs just under $10 a month.

Game Changer Wrestling:

Truly changing the game, GCW is what CZW used to once be. Formerly it was JCW but underwent a name change in 2015. With stacked deathmatch cards with guys like Matt Tremont, SHLAK, Nick Gage, Jimmy Llyod, Markus Crane and a few others. The company has created buzz after Tournament of Survival where Jon Zandig Mother F’N Bombed Joey Janela off a roof. Then, they allowed the Bad Boy Joey Janela to book Joey Janelas Spring Break, an amazingly fun show during Wrestlemania weekend in Orlando. GCW runs out of Game Changer World and their shows are only purchasable via Smark Mark Videos on Blu-Ray, DVD or digital MP4 download.

 In Conclusion:

WWE isn’t the ONLY product out there to watch. WWE maybe the most popular and well known due to being the global monster it is. However the company is always at its low causing people to seek out other products that exist out in the world. Either it be one of the handful shows listed or some that I didn’t seem to mention (AAW, wXw, ICW or CHIKARA) WWE isn’t the only show to watch. Even where ever you live, Indy wrestling could be happening in a close area. Even if it isn’t well known, go out and have a good time; support the product.