Disclaimer: Author was not actually in the Front Row at this show as the title may suggest.

I just got back from my honeymoon in Europe with my wife. As soon as we booked the tickets last summer, I started looking for some indie wrestling for us to see in one of the cities we were visiting and the promotion I kept coming back to was Pro Wrestling Holland (PWH). Luckily for us and our love of independent wrestling, PWH announced they were running a show in Rotterdam while we were scheduled to be in Amsterdam. Let me tell you friends, it was more than worth the day-trip to Rotterdam to see Pro Wrestling Holland in all its glory. What a fucking time.

You can absolutely cover up holes on in-ring product with great production and you can cover up lack of production with great in-ring product, but the sweetest space - shockingly! - is when an indie promotion has a high level of production that matches their incredibly high standard of in-ring action. And that sweet spot is exactly where PWH is. From the first entrance to the last bell, PWH delivered on seemingly every level I can think of as a guy who frequents small wrestling shows and has pretty strong opinions about what I like and don't like.

If this show was any indication, the community that exists around PWH is one of the best I have ever been a part of. The crowd was endlessly enthusiastic, cheering and booing with aplomb. Seemingly no one was yelling in appropriate things at the wrestlers at the any point. (That being said, if they were, I wouldn't have understood them anyways!) I don't think we had any “Twist his dick!” nonsense. Just an all-ages crowd that was there to love and appreciate WRESTLING. I sometimes get the feeling that some crowds back home on the west coast are a little spoiled and don't appreciate what we have. (And we have some undeniably INCREDIBLE wrestling.) The venue for the event – OASE Rotterdam – was impeccable. A community events and cultural hub, OASE sits next to the water and features a canteen with delicious, freshly-prepared snacks and a range of local beers. It really felt like a perfect extension of the energy PWH is putting into the world.

Fans make the vibes. Although I have to disagree with this sign. I kinda loved Fayyez.

I gotta talk about the presentation too, because it was fucking immaculate. Microphones worked every time (Huge), sound was clear, the screen was bright and large, the ring was right proper. Even if the ropes seemed a little looser than I was used to seeing. My boy Inferno might have a hard time getting his shit off in this ring. I'd love to see it though... *cough*BOOKINFERNO*cough*. The PWH merch game was on point too, with a wide variety of goods for the marks - pins, tote bags, hats, wonderfully soft t-shirts. I bought them out of PWH enamel pins, gifts for the Front Row Crew back home. (Note to my local wrestling folks reading this, BRING BACK MORE ENAMEL PINS. The people want them!) I just can't praise everything PWH is doing outside the ring enough. Complete fucking aces across the board. And everything in the PWH ring lived up the very high standard set around that ring.

That rope slack, tho. AHUKA of VCC, too cool with it.

8 matches filled the night's card and you'd be pressed to find a dud in the bunch. Every single wrestler who stepped between the ropes had a presence, a defined character and best of all, SKILLS to match. I didn't come away thinking there was a single person who wasn't completely ready for what they had to do between the ropes. My personal Match of the Night had to be Tom 'Barong' Chong vs Vallon Cage. A fantastic match between a technical grappler (Chong) and a big strong muscle monster (Cage). It was a wonderful clash of styles that soothed the wrestling nerd in me in the most delightful way. That superplex! This match hit in the perfect spot on the card, a few matches in, where I had gotten my bearings and felt perfectly comfortable in my surroundings.

Scottish indie star Ravie Davie (Best entrance of the night?) was a welcome presence as he took on hard-hitting Zafar Ameen in a pretty perfect opening match. Ravie Davie losing his hat only to produce a second hat from within his gear was one of the best things I've seen in a wrestling ring in a bit. Huge pop. We had two 6-man tag matches – a great change to see a huge swath of talent in frenetic, high-paced bouts. Team PWH vs Team Vox kicked ass as PWH co-founder and veteran trainer Tengkwa (My new guy) teamed up with PWH Women's Champion Julia and very awesome big man in a singlet, Adriaan Lemstra against the heel team of a Doctor (George Meddleson), a wild-looking wrestle man (Conn Kelly) and the de facto team leader, a guy who looks like he owns and operates a microbrewery (Joel Vox). Unfortunately, thanks to the shenanigans of a ref wearing a ref-striped luchadore mask, team PWH lost this one. While they may have lost the match, they won the hearts of my wife and I!

Joel Vox. Shockingly, NOT the owner of a mircobrewery in the Pacific Northwest. Photo by Clare Lannan.

The other aforementioned 6-man tag of the night found Idolatry (A French trio making their Netherlands debut) against Brandon Bandz & VCC (Daniel Akindele & Ahukah) facing off in what ended up being an absolutely spectacular match. I don't know what or who stood out the most to me in this one. It was chaotic and full of electric moves, including one of the biggest somersault planchas I've ever seen from Brandon Bandz. (Sidenote: Bandz is a fucking STAR. Canadian bookers, please look into getting this guy across the Atlantic. He will light up your show.) Idolatry – Nate Prince, Erin Ordo & Josh-T – was a well-oiled machine, with each guy filling a specific role and creating a powerful whole. (HUGE fan of the three of them exchanging kisses with each other before the bell.) If there was one match from the night I wish I could show the Crew back here at home, it would be this one.

I truly love tag team wrestling and expect great things from a tag title match and the PWH Tag Team Title match between The Flamingbros (c) and Feyyaz & Jonas Jones was another banger that lived up to my loft expectations. The first thing I noticed when both teams were out was that Flamingbro Scotty Valentine had SEXY across the back of his tights and Feyyaz had SEXY TIME across the back of his tights. Feyyaz started yelling “You're not the Sexy Man! I'm the real Sexy Man!” and I was immediately sold. Perfect stuff. These four really beat the shit out of each other and it was pretty awesome, bell to bell.

Sexy Scotty Valentine and Axl Star - PWH Tag Team Champions - The Flamingbros

There wasn't anyone I was as excited to see wrestle at PWH as Tank, The Iron Woman. From the moment I found the PWH socials, Tank was the wrestler who caught my eye the most and she did not disappoint. Tank came to the ring, adorned with the gorgeous PWH TV Championship belt, and the presence was palpable. She squared off against Ymah, a mountainous and terrifying man who looks like he could have fought Hogan in peak Hulkamania times. Unfortunately, this one got cut way too short as Tank was taking control, applying a half-crab (the best crab) to Ymah and outside interference resulted in a DQ or a no contest (I'm not sure what got called because I am a moron who can only speak one language). I'm gonna need to see Tank in a full match in person. So again, Canadian promoters, please consider bringing Tank across the ocean, or maybe sponsor me to go back to Holland as your representative.

TANK. A fucking STAR. Photo by the powerful Clare Lannan.

Our main event was supposed to be former PWH Champion Lorenzo Lima against Big Dawg Mecca in a #1 contenders match, but instead we got Lima and Mecca teaming up to vanquish two large baldheaded white dudes. Apologies, I'm not sure of the configuration of white dudes between the chaos, the language barrier and going back to the merch table to pick up my Tengkwa shirt (they did not have my size earlier in the night when I first tried). It might have been Ymah and his Praetorians tag partner Michael Dante. Maybe it was PHW Champion, the guy Lima and Mecca both wanted a shot at, Jurn Simmons. Either way, it was hard-hitting and full of barking for the Big Dawg, with Lima and Mecca standing tall at the end of the night.

Please forgive the sparse descriptions of matches here. I didn't take any notes during the show, which is something I almost always do at wrestling shows. Rather, on this night, I just let the experience take over and I'm so fucking glad I did. Pro Wrestling Holland kicks ass and anyone who has a chance to check them out should absolutely be doing so. If you're not a wrestling fan, you will be after a PWH show and if you already are a wrestling fan, I guarantee you're going to have a spectacularly fun time. PHW 4 Life.