Buy those indy wrestling DVD's when you can.

I never got on the ROH bandwagon-not until Death Before Dishonor IV. Death Before Dishonor IV was the culmination of the ROH vs CZW feud. I couldn't see my self spending $20 a pop for a monthly show. I loved the presentation and the actual wrestling but what can I say I was a cheapskate. I wish I could of bought those DVD's when they came out or when they were on sale. Finding a few on EBAY but some of these people have got to be out of their minds $50 for a USED DVD? Reminds me of when I use to spend ungodly sums of my hard earned money for Led Zeppelin bootleg CD's out of Japan. 

I spent almost $150.00 for the above item. Why? Because it had a recording that was not commercially available. Plus I was nuts! Here's the clincher for you guys. Indy wrestling DVD's are not some deep dark secret. You don't have to kiss some tape hoarder's ass to get a 12th gen copy of a 3rd gen digitized reel. Companies like EVOLVE, or NWA Force 1, or your local indy probably tape their own shows. Or they go through a taping service like SMART MARK VIDEO or WORLD WRESTLING NETWORK.

Right now due to monetary strain (broke as a joke) I am only following one brand and that is EVOLVE. I wish I had gotten on board with DGUSA but who knows maybe after their 1st anniversary show. CHIKARA does a great thing and puts out a best of for a given year. That way you can get caught up. There are so many indies out there you would have to have a huge wad of cash to follow them all.

I can see why a tape traders circuit built up with indy wrestling. Its the only way to keep up. When I use to trade live shows for other live shows by bands like Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead all I asked for was enough blanks (tapes, CD's DVD's) and postage to make it worth my while. I use to spin dubs of shows for people all the time. Half the fun was tracking down tapes, and making friends for life.

With wrestling the same kind of ethos cannot be established. So if you can't buy every single fed's DVD at least stick with one good one and support them. Maybe the indies can get together and offer direct downloads of their events, cutting bootlegs off at the source. Better yet maybe some enterprising soul will network with all these feds and make a LEGAL bit-torrent service, supported by fans FOR fans.

Better yet. Pick your favorite promotion. That promotion can offer subscriptions for the entire year. Instead of paying $20.00 a pop the promotion can offer you a year's worth of events for a flat fee. Offer single matches so fans can make their own comps. You know they're gonna be doing it anyway, so why not give them the chance to do it LEGALLY.

Just wish there was some kind of buyer's guide for indy wrestling DVD's. There use to be one for bootlegs called Hot Wacks, hell there use to be a magazine that offered objective reviews for bootleg CD's called ICE. Trust me one bad review from that magazine and that label kissed away any chance of any future sales with bootleg buying fanatics like me.

You can tell which companies actually give a s*** about their product, and you can tell which companies are out for the quick buck. I don't care if your DVD is on DVD-R or pressed DVD. If you release a show on great quality media (WITH NO TRACKING ERRORS), and if your product actually looks professional and is priced reasonably you'll get buys. If not, well you'll become like that bootleg CD label that gets laughs from punters even to this day OIL WELL!

In the meantime I am going to scour EBAY for some old school ROH right up til Ring of Homicide II. Yeah I am late for the party but better late than never. EVOLVE wrestling has 2 DVD's under its belt with a 3rd to follow very soon. Its too bad I cannot find Empress Valley Supreme Disk Zep CD's on EBAY....