Cheering for an Alternative History
I'll admit I didn't get the chance to watch All In 2018. I have listened to many hours of podcasts about it. I choose to spend my money and time on the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 USA Special in San Francisco. I did get to see Cody get a good reaction while wrestling Kenny Omega. I got to hear what lots of people think about the show, but I've only seen the Ten Pounds of Gold recap of the match.
Some where the seven minute mark of the video the crowd is cheering the start of the match. It sounds like the top is going to come off the building. The people who watched the show live have reported it is the loudest pop they have ever heard. The video makes it sound incredible.
It is impossible to understate how important context is for this match. To start with Ten Pounds of Gold/Dave Lagana has spent over a year giving the meaning of the NWA title a new meaning. Cody spent nine months putting together All In. These are two of the forces that are trying to tell a greater number of Americans there is more to pro wrestling than WWE.
Watching the video, hearing the audio, and seeing the faces, made me think that these fans are not just cheering the match, wrestlers, and the event. I felt the fans were cheering for the history then never got to see. They were cheering for an alternative history where the NWA title never stopped being important. They were cheering a world where the NWA could always claim it was the most important title in the world.
The funny thing is my guess it many of the people in that crowd don't remember when the NWA title was important. I'm in my mid 40's, and I just about remember when the NWA title was used by more than one promotion. If you are 30 years old, the NWA title was never important in your memory. This is why I think the crowd was not cheering for nostalgia. They were cheering for things that never happened but could have.
I am not sure if they are cheering for the future or not. Cody won the NWA title, like his father. On a side note, I think it was a stroke of genius for Cody to put himself in a match where he can say he didn't have the power to pick the winner by himself. I have not hear the take that Cody should not have won this match. I have not heard the take of people in the crowd over reacting or putting themselves over.
I am not sure where the NWA goes from here. Does Cody keep the title until April? Does Cody defend the NWA title on ROH and NJPW big cards? Will we see Title v. Title matches on any of those cards? Will Cody get the NWA title more mainstream attention? How many title defenses will Cody have? In a year from today, what will he people at All In 2019 be cheering when they see the NWA title Match?
Some where the seven minute mark of the video the crowd is cheering the start of the match. It sounds like the top is going to come off the building. The people who watched the show live have reported it is the loudest pop they have ever heard. The video makes it sound incredible.
It is impossible to understate how important context is for this match. To start with Ten Pounds of Gold/Dave Lagana has spent over a year giving the meaning of the NWA title a new meaning. Cody spent nine months putting together All In. These are two of the forces that are trying to tell a greater number of Americans there is more to pro wrestling than WWE.
Watching the video, hearing the audio, and seeing the faces, made me think that these fans are not just cheering the match, wrestlers, and the event. I felt the fans were cheering for the history then never got to see. They were cheering for an alternative history where the NWA title never stopped being important. They were cheering a world where the NWA could always claim it was the most important title in the world.
The funny thing is my guess it many of the people in that crowd don't remember when the NWA title was important. I'm in my mid 40's, and I just about remember when the NWA title was used by more than one promotion. If you are 30 years old, the NWA title was never important in your memory. This is why I think the crowd was not cheering for nostalgia. They were cheering for things that never happened but could have.
I am not sure if they are cheering for the future or not. Cody won the NWA title, like his father. On a side note, I think it was a stroke of genius for Cody to put himself in a match where he can say he didn't have the power to pick the winner by himself. I have not hear the take that Cody should not have won this match. I have not heard the take of people in the crowd over reacting or putting themselves over.
I am not sure where the NWA goes from here. Does Cody keep the title until April? Does Cody defend the NWA title on ROH and NJPW big cards? Will we see Title v. Title matches on any of those cards? Will Cody get the NWA title more mainstream attention? How many title defenses will Cody have? In a year from today, what will he people at All In 2019 be cheering when they see the NWA title Match?
Comments