On The Road Again
A family tradition resumed at the 2020 Garden State Invitational.
Guess who just got back today
Them wild-eyed boys that had been away
Haven’t changed that much to say
But man, I still think them cats are crazy
The boys were back in town last weekend, as my brother Dan and I ventured to Hillsborough, NJ, for the second Garden State Invitational – our first pro wrestling event in the COVID-19 era.
I’ve been lucky during the pandemic. Wrasslin’ is the only thing that had been taken away. Sure, WWE and AEW have been on TV, but pro wrestling is an art that relies upon live audience participation. If I wanted to hear grunting and moaning on Wednesday nights, I’d subscribe to Goodwillie’s OnlyFans.
The pandemic hasn’t been as merciful to Dan. His senior year was ruined, robbing him of prom and a proper graduation. He’s a month away from the start of college and has no idea whether he’ll be on campus. He’s also been out of work for four months, having all the time in the world with absolutely nothing to do. Thankfully, Synergy Pro Wrestling gave him something to look forward to.
We’ve been making these wrestling road trips throughout the tri-state area for a few years now. Hopping in my 2003 Chevy Cavalier, discovering new places to grab a bite (@MOOYAHBurgers’ loaded house salad is delicious) and getting trapped in Jersey’s ridiculous roundabouts. The best part of the ride is catching up with my brother. Our conversations cover everything from what he wants to do with his life to social distancing killing Tinder to which quarterbacks we’re drafting this year to Aunt Meg’s bread sticks. Of course, we talk about which matches we’re pumped for and whether the emotional support skunk will be back. On the ride home, we record a review for Corrigan’s Corner, sharing our favorite matches and moments as we swerve the back roads.
As we banged a Louie into the Polish Falcons Nest at exactly bell time (7 p.m. EST), we noticed a decent number of cars in the lot. Because of government restrictions, the venue limited seating to 25% capacity, so we were part of the 55 fans in attendance. Already not keen on having to wear a mask, I was relieved that nobody was taking temperatures at the door. We walked in, grabbed some complimentary hand sanitizer from Wrestling News World and found our seats to the left of the hard camera. We were six feet away from other parties, but it didn’t feel any different than usual. Within three minutes of the opener (KTB vs. Simon Gotch), I forgot I was even wearing a mask. Initially worried that the crowd would be quiet, it was one of the loudest shows I’ve been to.
Gregory Iron, a veteran of the squared circle who has cerebral palsy, made his Synergy debut as part of the one-night tournament. Having never seen him before, he instantly won us over with his persistence, unlimited arsenal and tendency to take flight. Despite losing to Tony Deppen, who had a handful of tights for the schoolboy, Iron received the ultimate praise from the Synergy faithful – “Please Come Back” chants. We hope he does.
The next bout stole the show. A clash between Injustice brethren, Myron Reed and Jordan Oliver had the match of the year. That might seem like faint praise considering the state of the industry in 2020, but this was WrestleMania main event worthy in any year. For a review of the match, click here. The crowd chanted “This Is Awesome” and “Both These Guys,” which are generally overused these days, but rarely are heard at Synergy. Dan was so impressed with Reed that he hunted him down at intermission and got a selfie with him.
The rest of the action was enjoyable: I popped for “Retrosexual” Anthony Greene’s surprise appearance; TJ Crawford’s heel turn was refreshing; Deppen knocking out KTB was the upset of the night; Retro going heel against Oliver after drawing cheers the first match was fun and indicative of his talent; Ref Ryan T is the man; and then there’s Charles Mason.
We’ve never seen him before, either. He calls himself the “Billionaire Playboy” and seems like a childhood friend of MJF. Arrogant, judgmental, cheats to win, he’s a heel. But in 2020, it’s nearly impossible to get heat. Push the envelope too far and you’ll be “canceled.” Well, Charles Mason isn’t concerned with going over the line. He wants you to hate him, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make your blood boil. Even going so far as to kneel down in front of a child with ASL and pantomime a jack in the box. A clown didn’t pop up, though. His middle finger did.
@TheWrestlingEst @Charles___Mason 😂😂😂 Yup…that was my daughter. Best part of this is that she uses ASL and completely could have schooled him on even more effective gestural curses 😂😂😂
— Melissa Farkas (@MelissaMets) July 26, 2020
I was stunned. I asked Dan if my eyes were deceiving me. He couldn’t believe it, either. I scrolled through Twitter waiting for the backlash. If this was on camera, surely the social justice warriors would be calling for his head. They were probably on their way to the building, pitchforks in one hand and hashtags in the other. As the minutes passed and nothing was mentioned, I figured he got away with it. I also realized I was mad. Who is this guy? He must know the girl because there’s no way he would just flip off…
Ah, he got me. That obscene gesture wasn’t just to engage her, it was for me and everyone around her. Even diehards who root for the villains (ahem) had to be irritated by that. It had been so long since I despised a wrestler that I forgot what it was like to be completely wrapped up in the spectacle. After all, it’s way more fun when you give into the illusion, clapping along to Retro’s entrance theme, screaming “Wooo” at every chop and pumping your fist when somebody kicks Mason’s ass. With all the craziness going on in the world, it’s therapeutic to place all your anger on the character in the ring. Experiencing a pro wrestling event is an emotional release; that’s why the masked crowd was so loud.
After months of seclusion and sadness and fear, our lives scrambled without any certainty of the future, it felt so good to escape back to normalcy for just a few hours.
When the final bell rang and Deppen strummed the trophy like Hollywood Hogan with a title belt, the crowd exhaled. We had been snatched up in a whirlwind and our feet finally touched the ground. Synergy returned with a fury, introducing us to new athletes, surprising us with old favorites and presenting a dramatic masterpiece that has us craving more.
I’ve missed that feeling, almost as much as I missed taking that ride with my brother.
That jukebox in the corner blastin’ out our favorite song
The nights are getting warmer, it won’t be long
Won’t be long till the summer comes
Now that the boys are here again
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