Tribalism

Baked Studio in Makati City, PH, home of Filipino Pro Wrestling

 

Fairly recently, this blogger has been reading as well as watching videos on Tribalism In Pro Wrestling.

 

This topic is nothing new to this blogger, wrestling fans, wrestlers, promoters, writers and the like.

 

Growing up during the Territory Era (late 1960s when I first started watching), if you lived in a large area like I did in the San Francisco Bay Area,  we wouldn't have known that it happened.  There was no internet, computers, cell phones and social media groups.

 

It wasn't until the early 1970s when I learned about promotions other than the National Wrestling Alliance.  A the time, wrestling fans in North America had the NWA, AWA and WWWF (now WWE).  Local television never showed the other promotions.  It was through a wrestling magazine on newsstands called The Wrestler.

 

Times have certainly changed.  Communication is much broader than 50-60 years ago.  And so is tribalism.

 

This fan loves pro wrestling.  Not only do I watch it on television or streaming here in America, but I follow NJPW as well as Southeast Asian Pro Wrestling.

 

Early this morning on Facebook, I saw a post on this topic from several of my friends in the Philippines.  Right away, I went on to the You Tube Channel and checked out a page called Forever Youngboys.

 

Gabriel has done a great job with the vlog and the page he's put together.  He may not remember, but I took a photo of The Yolo Twins following a Filipino Pro Wrestling show back in August 2023.  The Yolo Twins are very entertaining, very athletic and, in this fan's opinion, are the best tag team in Southeast Asia.  

 

Hopefully, Gabriel won't mind this but this fan wants to give a shoutout to him, his vlog, Filipino Pro Wrestling and all of the wrestling promotions in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.  

 

In closing, all of us who are wrestling fans, undoubtedly have a favorite promotion(s).  However, tribalism is NOT in this blogger's dictionary nor it should be in any wrestling fans either.  The industry itself needs to be supported and not being torn down.  That's my opinion and I'll leave it at that for now.

 

Here's the link to the Forever Youngboys page and please subscribe.  Thanks everyone!

              https://www.youtube.com/@Forever_Youngboys/videos   

Interview #9 - Jag Garcia

Jag Garcia is one of the most knowledgeable wrestling fans that I know, not just from the Philippines, but worldwide.

 

Jag co-founded a podcast group known as Kayfabe Cafe back in 2015 with Ant Sierra.  Jag has stepped away to focus on some other things in the meantime.  

 

I've yet to meet him in person but he's one of my avid followers on the blog.  He started following wrestling in 2004.  Definitely, it was a good time in the industry.  A lot of my followers started watching wrestling around that time.

 

One of the things about Jag, and the Pinoy wrestling community, is their passion and knowledge of this industry.  Despite all the years following it, there is so much more to learn about the squared circle. 

 

Jag is definitely one of the nicest people, let alone wrestling fans, that I've known on social media.  Am definitely looking forward to meeting him when returning to the Philippines in early December.

Recently, Jag was gracious to do an interview and answer some wrestling questions.  Thank you for wanting to do this.  Here it is.

 

Wayne:  When did you begin to follow wrestling? 

 

Jag:  I started watching wrestling some time around 2004, shortly after WrestleMania XX. Before then, I only knew a bit of it here. I remember first hearing that wrestling is staged is from an episode of The Little Lulu Show in the 90s.

 

Wayne:  Who was your favorite wrestler when you began watching? 

 

Jag:  Definitely Eddie Guerrero! I blame him for breaking my moral compass because he got me to cheer for him even if he lied, cheated, and stole. Haha!

 

Wayne:  When did you begin to follow Pinoy Wrestling? Was it Philippine Wrestling Revolution, Manila Wrestling Federation, Filipino Pro Wrestling and/or World Underground Wrestling - Philippines?

 

Jag:  My first exposure to the Pinoy Wrestling scene was around 2014, when a certain classical character of PWR visited Cubao Expo, an art village in Quezon City. He showed us videos of their recent show which was at Makati Cinema Square at the time. About a year later, I got to attend my first show in November 2015, which was their first show in iAcademy.

 

Wayne:  Do you have a favorite wrestler or wrestlers in any of the Pinoy Wrestling promotions? 

 

Jag:  Fabio Makisig, and even if I boo them, Jake De Leon and Robin Sane, too. They're all amazing performers and earned the reputation they have in the scene. 

 

Wayne:  Would you like to see more of things like Meet And Greets, Sports Card shows involving wrestlers and/or memorabilia?

 

Jag:  Most definitely! It's great to bring fans together and even bring in more fans to the scene. When I was with Kayfabe Cafe, we would run WWE and NJPW watch parties at the bar I managed. Seeing how they were able to pull off DexCon, I'm excited to see them run more events in the future. I'm kinda resisting the cardboard crack at the moment, but it's really cool to see what everyone got in their collection!

 

Wayne:  What are your thoughts on wrestling in the Philippines now and its future?

 

Jag:  The Pinoy wrestling has met a lot of hardships. It was painful to see hurdle after hurdle, but as the saying goes, Filipinos are resilient. Seeing how far our community has taken it to achieve TV shows and more wrestling-centric events, things are about to get much better. As long as everybody focuses on their goals and keep making the product better, I believe the Philippines will be a sought-after destination for wrestling.