In my 2022 year in review I commented that I hoped to make it to 25 shows in 2023, I did 2 better and hit 27 wrestling events! Which is also the most wrestling events I have been to in one year ever. I don't expect to top that next year, but we will see what happens.
2023 by the Numbers
27 wrestling events
10 different promotions, 2 first time attending
6 different states, 1 new state
Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, & New York.
1 bucket list item checked off
322 lifetime wrestling events attended
It might be a bit controversial but when I'm counting my wrestling related events that I attended I count everything that I went to because of wrestling. For instance this year I went to the International Pro Wresting Hall of Fame in Albany, New York and I count that as one of my 27 wrestling events.
January started started strong with 3 shows, the first being PUG Pro Wrestling's one and only wrestling event also my first out of state show of the year. Promoted by Anthony Greene it emanated from the New England Pro Wrestling Academy in North Andover, MASS. This school was spawned from Killer Kowalski's Wrestling School and had some cool memorabilia to check out.
Next was Limitless Wrestling in Yarmouth featuring Ricky and Kerry Morton. The 3rd show of the year I called Mariners Wrestling, as Maine's own Dirty Dango teamed with the Maine Mariner's hockey team to promote and afternoon of Hockey and wrestling. After the Mariners game, they won, a ring was set up on the ice and we got a few matches featuring Dango, Scotty too Hotty, and some old EWA alumni as well as some of the today's Maine Independent talent. It was fun! They are doing it again this year in February.
February saw two shows, Let's Wrestle! in Brewer and NAWA in Fairfield at the Community Center. Gangrel made an appearance at Let's and this is the only time I saw wrestling in Fairfield this year, my 61st show at the venue.
March presented another two shows, Let's and Limitless. At Let's we saw the first time teaming of Alexander Lee and Mike McCarthy, something I didn't know we needed until I saw it, and now I can't get enough of them. At Limitless we got Rachel Ellering, 2 Cold Scorpio, and two titles changes hands with BRG finally upending Mac Daniels for the Let's title and Ace Romero winning the title that has long eluded him.
April's two shows were both out of state on a double shot weekend with Mikey and Bradford. First up in East Haven, Connecticut I finally attended an Interspecies Wrestling show! It was at a local brewery and it didn't not disappoint! It was wild!
The second show of the weekend was a bucket list checker, I finally attended a show at the world famous ECW Arena in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! It was a New Japan Pro Wrestling show to boot and it was fantastic!
The whole weekend was really. We toured the PEZ Factory, visited the Quick Stop, and saw the Rocky Statue as well as had some fun food. Loved it!
May's two shows was Let's Wrestle! and my return to Limitless as I missed April's show. At Limitless we got the long awaited return of Tabarnak de Team and the debuts of Killer Kelly and Timothy Thatcher.
June I attended 3 shows, starting with Northeast Wrestling in Waterbury, Connecticut. Mikey and I made the long drive because we wanted to see El Hijo de Vikingo live and it was worth every mile!! It's the closest he has come to us to date and I didn't want to have any regrets. He wrestled Komander that night and it was amazing.
The other two shows was Let's Wrestle! in Brewer and 1CW Pro Wrestling in Delaware. This was my first time ever attending a wrestling show in Delaware, it wasn't even on my radar this year. We went to Ocean City, Maryland to stay at my wife's Aunt's Condo for the week. I had tweeted earlier in the week asking if anyone knew any wrestling shows in the area and had gotten no responses and couldn't find anything. We had just gotten to the condo and I check twitter and I had a notification about this 1CW show only 20 minutes away. The show was just okay, but I'm happy to have gone.
July was a big month as I counted 5 wrestling events this month. It started with Let's in Brewer and then a few days later AEW Dynamite at TD Garden in Boston featuring BLOOD & GUTS, their version of War Games. We got to see the AEW debut of Kota Ibushi, so that was bad ass! Also got to see Hook lose the FTW title to Jack Perry, and a stacked Ramage taping as well.
One week later I was in New York on my 10th Anniversary with the wife and we happen to plan to be in Albany for a concert on Thursday, so I asked if we could stay there Wednesday so I could got to AEW Dynamite at the MVP Arena, she agreed. Before the show I toured the International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, you can read my post about it here. I bought my ticket for AEW on TicketMaster two hours before doors opened and I got lucky getting and AMAZING front row ticket at face value. My seatmates and I determined these were productions holds that were released. I cannot believe I got to experience front row at AEW Dynamite and it didn't cost me a ton of money.
I finished out the month of July at Limitless Wrestling in Yarmouth where Alec Price defeated Joey Janela in the main event.
August I added another 3 shows to the list, including two shows in one day! On the way to Brewer for Let's Wrestle! my son and I stopped at the Skowhegan Fair to take in some NAWA rassing action featuring "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas. At the end of the month Limitless Wrestling presented the annual Vacationland Cup Tournament and two title changes in one night! To my absolute shock "Iron" Rip Byson pinned Beef to end his reign as Limitless World Champion, and after Channing Thomas won the Vacationland Cup he goaded Rip into defending the title and he walked out with the prize.
September was a busy month for me and I only attend Limitless Wrestling in Yarmouth where Dezmond Cole defeated Alec Price in a last man standing match and Aaron Rourke and Kevin Blackwood tore it up in a pretty awesome match.
October I attended no shows. I toured Camp Crystal Lake the weekend of Let's Wrestle! and the Limitless show was cancelled because of the mass shooting in Lewiston.
November I only attended the Let's Wrestle! show in Brewer where Joseph Alexander won the Joey Gleitz memorial Rumble Match, and the team of POS: Alexander Lee & Mike McCarthy defeated MSP for the Tag Team Championships. There was no Limitless Wrestling show scheduled for November.
December I finished strong with 3 shows! I started the month with a WWE House Show in Bangor, followed by Let's Wrestle! in Brewer and my final show of the year, Limitless Wrestling in Yarmouth.
This is the fifth different venue that I have attended a WWE show at in Maine. Cumberland County Civic Center, Augusta Civic Center, The Colisee in Lewiston, The Bangor Auditorium, and now the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. 10 years ago they level the Bangor Auditorium and built this new venue. It's nice, I prefer Portland over Bangor but Bangor was a Saturday and Portland was running on a school night Sunday. Myself, Canaan, Wesley, and Mikey traveled up together and we met Bradford there.
Next up was Let's Wrestle! in Brewer and the final show at the Indoor Yard Sale marking and end to nearly two year residency. The building owner is closing the business. My final show of 2023 was Limitless Wrestling in Yarmouth.
This was a short card of 6 matches, but every match was fantastic! We had three debuting wrestlers and everyone really put in their best effort. In a moment that I didn't see coming, no one did, Aiden Aggro turned on DangerKid breaking up MSP.
It was quite an amazing year of live wrestling for me. I managed to check off the bucket list at the ECW Arena, with Delaware I have now been to wrestling in 12 different states, and I was fortunate to go to AEW twice, WWE, & New Japan Pro Wrestling.
As I said earlier I'm not going to try to top this year with number of events, but I do have a few lined up already for next year.
January 12th Let's Wrestle! makes it's debut in Fairfield with BRG vs. Eric Johnson in a Steel Cage
January 20th Limitless Wrestling MSP Collides with Aiden Aggro vs. The DangerKid
February 4th Maine Mariner's Hockey & Wrestling
March 30th WWE in Manchester, New Hampshire
April 3rd - 7th WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia
If it's not clear, I love professional wrestling!
Thank you for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and if you want like my blogs Facebook page. You can also head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of my book Limitless Wrestling: The First Five Years, or any of my other books as well.
Until next time!
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