I’m still in the Halloween spirit, so I have been re-watching Wrestling Society X (WSX). Many wrestling fans may not be aware that MTV had a short-lived wrestling promotion in 2007 that sought to capitalize on doing a wrestling show that was unlike any other at the time.

The show was a bit odd to say the least. A band would start off each show, usually with a member of the band or other guest star joining the commentators for the rest of the program. My favorite was the episode with Rob Zombie. The arena was referred to as a bunker, looking like a post-apocalyptic staging ground for the bouts, with a small in-house audience. Wrestlers participated in elaborate matches like exploding coffin matches, with them sometimes being wrapped in barbed-wire, or exploding cage timebomb matches, where the point was to escape the cage before the ‘bomb’ went off. All that really means is that smoke and mirrors mixed with camera tricks and some pyrotechnics made some quirky match types look more dangerous than they actually were.

The backstory gets a bit wilder than that though, as many of the workers gimmicks involved the supernatural in some form or another. Everything from brainwashing, fireballs, to hell itself made it onto the show. Fabian Kaelin, whose name was a reference to kayfabe, was the co-announcer, and one of the masterminds behind WSX, who acted as kind of a ringmaster to the show. Some of the deleted scenes on the DVD collection of Wrestling Society X suggested a much larger metaplot that involved Kaelin as some type of demonic presence, and WSX’s roster potentially being stuck in some sort of limbo. Overall the show attempted to ramp up the entertainment value while still having fast paced in-ring action. Matches were brutal, everything moved quickly; keeping the tension and excitement as high as possible.

Wrestling Society X boasted an impressive roster of talent, many of which were former stars or had futures in other companies. The original two men to fight for the WSX title were WCW legend Vampiro and X-Pac (under the name 6-pac). Names like New Jack, Justin Credible, and Colt Cabana (wrestling as Matt Classic), who had already made names for themselves were seeking what they thought were new opportunities, while others like Evan Bourne (as Matt Sydal), Joey Ryan, and Manik (as Puma) paved their way for future runs in WWE and TNA. Other pros who have found success in the independent circuits also appeared in the promotion, like Jack Evans and Jimmy Jacobs. The standout star for me however was an impressive worker named Tyler Black, who WWE fans now know as Seth Rollins.

Wrestling Society X was an incredible spectacle, in presentation and athleticism, that unfortunately only lasted ten episodes, the last of which was never aired on television. The DVD box set of the show also includes deleted scenes, webisodes, and promos for what would have been season two of the show, had it not been cancelled. It is a shame really, so much focus is put on the big two companies that little promotions like this have gone unnoticed, even though they provide a very valuable service. Sometimes the state of wrestling needs something different, outside of the box, and not afraid to try anything, even as goofy as the show may seem now, WSX stood out.