 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
 | |
| Acronym | ISW |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995 |
| Style | Lucha libre |
| Headquarters | California, United States |
| Founder(s) | Johnny Legend August Ragone |
Incredibly Strange Wrestling (a.k.a. "ISW") was aSan Francisco–basedprofessional wrestling promotion, heavily influenced bylucha libre andpunk rock. The event combined wrestling matches with performances by Punk,rockabilly,garage,psychobilly, andthrash metal bands.
Intended as an affectionate satire of Lucha Libre,Incredibly Strange Wrestling was created as a nightclub event byJohnny Legend andAugust Ragone juxtaposing satirical matches with live musical performances. ISW also featured many semi- and pro-wrestlers from the California circuits, and eventually showcased several professionalLuchadores from Mexico. The promotion ran continuously from 1995 until the early 2000s.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
ISW came to fruition at theTransmission Theater, a now-defunct venue (a former Transmission Shop), located at 314 11th St., in San Francisco's South of Market District in 1995. It originated at an event at theDNA Lounge in 1990, "The Sleazefest", put together by futureHayride to Hell drummer Joey Myers, Wrestling/Music/Movie entrepreneurJohnny Legend, and local music/events promoterAugust Ragone. This show featured live music performances byThe Mummies,The Phantom Surfers, andJohnny Legend and His Rockabilly Bastards, video presentations, and a Lucha Libre match betweenRagone and future Hellbillys frontman,Barrie Evans. The Lucha Libre aspects were built upon with each subsequent Johnny Legend show at various venues around the Bay Area, until the early part of 1995, when they were tapped to do their first all-wrestling event.
Bret Kibele, a friend of Ragone's, who was working at the Paradise Lounge, informed him that club ownerRobin Reichert was preparing to launch a new venue next door, and was looking for some good ideas to launch the new nightclub space. Ragone and Kibele pitched for a rotating monthly series of after-hours shows, which would include "Masked Mexican Wrestling" (Lucha Libre). Reichert told them to put together a show. Initially promoted as "Rockabilly Wrestling". Legend thus coined the moniker, "Incredibly Strange Wrestling", and sought permission from his friend,Ray Dennis Steckler, who directedThe Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies, who gave Legend his blessing. During the first summer, ISW went on the road for the West Coast leg ofLollapalooza '95 (arranged by Legend viaPerry Farrell).
Ragone and Kibele subsequently asked band manager,Audra Angeli-Morse (then employed at the Paradise Lounge), to come aboard and handle the business end of the show, while they and Legend, worked on the creative aspects. For reasons that are still unclear, Angeli-Morse forced out Legend, despite the protests of Ragone and Kibele. Eventually, Angeli-Morse started a takeover of the event, with Ragone and Kibele eventually parting ways with ISW (even though Angeli-Morse never bought them out, and they are still listed on the original Business License filed with the City and County of San Francisco in 1995). Ragone continued on with producing live events, including theGreaseball Rockabilly Music Festival, and severalShock It To Me! ClassicHorror Film fests at theCastro Theatre, and authoredEiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters (Chronicle Books, 2007 & 2014), which received positive reviews (including fromTime magazine). Kibele is married and currently resides in Washington.
After the split, Legend ran his ownLos Angeles–based version ofIncredibly Strange Wrestling and booked matches at Horror Conventions, such asFangoria's Weekend of Horrors, in Southern California (covered in aFlipside magazine interview). During its heyday, Incredibly Strange Wrestling was a featured attraction during many Summer festival tours, including a low-budget U.S. club tour in 1997 headlined byMe First and the Gimme Gimmes, Vans'Warped Tour in 2001, and theDeconstruction Tour (Europe) in 2003 withNOFX. After a long hiatus, the promotion announced some Summer Festival dates for 2007, but these events never materialized.
Participants in ISW includedEl Homo Loco, who wore a pink tutu, and thePoontangler, a female wrestler who claimed to have many illegitimate children (and fought several “paternity suit” matches). The ISW also featured aScientologistboy band who would provoke the largely counterculture crowd with pop songs about Dianetics named69 Degrees. Other ISW creations includedThe Amazing Caltiki,The Ku Klux Klown,El Borracho Gigante,Cletus "The Fetus" Kincaid,The Abortionist,El Asesino Postal,El Fisico Nuclear,R.U.R. 2000, Anarchie,El Hijo de Executivo,Killer Kimera,Harley Racist,Vandal Drummond,La Chingona,The Inbred Abomination,Chango Loco,El Pollo Diablo,Americon Man,Libido Gigante,Macho Sasquatcho,The Mexican Viking,the lounge lizzard,L'Empereur,The Cruiser,U.S. Steele,Risa de Muerte, and Count Dante. Most, but not all, of these names were coined by Legend. The promotion also presented outlandish gimmicks, such as theChristians to the Lions match where a cross-toting, ancient Christian namedJesus Cross fought a man in a lion suit, while theUncle N.A.M.B.L.A. vs. Lil’ Timmy match pitted a gigantic pedophile against a teenage boy.Dead Kennedys frontmanJello Biafra, local Shock JockDennis Erectus,7 Seconds vocalistKevin Seconds and Deadbolt and Swamp Angel bassistR.A. MacLean often playedheel managers at ISW shows.
Notable bands who performed at ISW shows during its height in the 1990s, includeMike Watt,NOFX,The Supersuckers,The Bomboras,The Dickies,Fear,The Ghastly Ones,Legendary Invisible Men,The Queers,Demented Are Go,The Donnas,Deadbolt,Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, andThe Mad Capsule Markets.[citation needed]
