A hulking beast of a man wearing fishnet stockings and a full face mask burst out from the side of the stage, walking in front of the DJ spinning pounding rhythms. Shouting into the mic, he hyped up the audience, announcing the pair of wrestlers as they thumped their chests and climbed into the ring in the middle of the dance floor.
The wrestlers tossed each other around, grabbed each other’s hair, and boastfully danced along to the music.
As I watched this, I thought to myself, “So this is a wrestling rave. Now it makes sense.”
While raves have been around for several decades and professional wrestling dates back well over a century, the idea of combining the two is a recent phenomenon — and a uniquely American one. Nothing really says “American” more than the grand tradition of taking two wild concepts and combining them, like whatever questionable food item Taco Bell unleashed in its latest menu.
After I wrote about the wrestling match at Folsom earlier this year, the internet’s marketing machinations began flooding me with ads for related events. As soon as I saw the ad for the “Extramania” wrestling rave at The Midway in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood, I knew this was something too crazy to miss.
So I bought VIP tickets.
I probably didn’t need VIP tickets, but if I’m being honest with myself, I’m not young enough to be on a crowded dance floor for several hours without breaks. Those tickets granted access to the mezzanine area, which forms a U-shape around the main floor with a railing to lean against for a good view, plus a few sofas for relaxing.
As the venue filled up throughout the night, a lineup of DJs came out one after another to keep the party going until the LA-based Valentino Khan hit the stage with a longer set. He jolted energy into the crowd, which until that point had largely been nodding along and tapping their feet. Still, only a handful of people were really going crazy with rave dance moves. Perhaps most people were there for the wrestling? Who knows.
By the time 2 AM was rolling around, the sugar-free Red Bulls I’d sipped over the course of the evening were wearing off, and it was time for me to head home.
Would I do it again? Possibly — though I’d skip the VIP tickets. There was ample outdoor seating for those looking for a break, though obviously that doesn’t include the mezzanine view. Still, for anyone willing to push through the undulating crowd, it’s possible to get a very up close view of the ring from the main dance floor.
Besides, getting bumped around by people waving LED glowsticks is all part of the appeal of a rave.
