Wrestlerock, Deathmatches and Becoming a Mark with Off The Top Rope

“We don’t practice maybe once a week to deserve this kind of treatment”. The frontman of a three-piece punk band is responding to a Black Cat Tavern audience member who has asked him to take off his pants on stage. I have a hard time knowing if either of them is joking, but the comment elicits a crowd pop of laughter, and we’re on to the next song. 

It’s March 20, and characteristically chilly in Saskatoon. I make my way through the Black Cat’s doorway just in time to catch Off The Top Rope (OTTR) — a band I’d heard of but never seen live. A few years ago, I had gone to a Prairie Pro Wrestling (PPW) event with a friend out of genuine curiosity for what Saskatoon’s professional wrestling scene was like. Although I haven’t been to any PPW events since, I always remember the event’s intensity with fondness. There were plenty of OTTR shirts in the crowd at PPW.

Immediately upon hearing the band’s music this connection makes perfect sense. Beyond all of their lyrics referencing pro wrestling in some capacity, OTTR is the sonic equivalent of the physical intensity of professional wrestling, and the only word I can use to describe their sound is badass. 

The bass sounds like Motorhead at their rudest, the drums are a perpetual assault (think Marky Ramone on Adderall) and the buzzsaw guitar slams into your ears like a piledriver. 

Sometimes the audience is treated to a guitar solo. The closest thing I can compare the sound of these solos to is someone playing with the trigger on an electric drill. This might sound like an indictment, but I promise you it’s much the opposite.

After a half hour set replete with back and forths between band and audience (“Saskatoon … I don’t see anybody in the crowd who doesn’t look like a broke pansy tonight …”) I am completely sold. I buy a shirt at the merch booth and order a ride home. 

I left the Black Cat with a funny feeling that not only had I become a fan of a band, I had somehow, without actually seeing any that night, become a fan of professional wrestling. I was puzzled and needed to know more. 

I opened my laptop upon getting home, and sent OTTR an email wondering if they would be interested in answering a few questions of mine. After a few days I got an email back from the frontman, the Maniac Master of Madness El Maniaco, saying that he’d be happy to give me a peek behind the curtain.

OTTR is a three piece band from Saskatoon composed of El Maniaco on guitar and lead vocals, Big Bad Bobby G on bass and backups and The Webbslinger on drums. Big Bad Bobby and the Maniac are high school buddies who met Webbslinger by being fans of one of his previous bands. Musically, Maniac tells me that there are only two things that the entire band consider themselves consensus fans of: rock ‘n roll and the musical stylings of Jim Johnston. 

For those unfamiliar with Jim Johnston, as I was before this interview, he is the man responsible for creating three decades worth (which works out to over 10000 individual tracks) of official theme music for World Wrestling Foundation (later known as World Wrestling Entertainment, or the WWE)  wrestlers. I don’t know what else I expected. 

I ask if all three members of OTTR were childhood wrestling fans, sure that I already know the answer. Maniac confirms my suspicions, telling me that they were childhood fans of wrestling, are now “grown man fans of wrestling,” and that it is “still real” to them. I respect this candour, and ask Maniac who he would consider the most badass professional wrestler of all time.

“Let me get this straight, Nico, you’re going to look at us and ask ‘who the most badass wrestler of all time is?’ You’re looking at them right now. Next question.”

This is the sort of spirit I became so enamoured with at the Black Cat, and I’m thrilled that Maniac is able to bring this energy to my interview. I ask if OTTR are aware that listening to their music elicits the same emotional and physical reactions as watching professional wrestling does. Maniac responds with an affirming anecdote.

“Once upon a time in Regina, we were serenading that dump with a song about how much Regina sucked. After the song was over, some old lady was screaming at us [to] ‘Keep Regina’s name out of your fucking mouth!’ 

What a mark.

A mark, as I discovered from visiting the SquaredCircle subreddit, is a term used in the world of professional wrestling to designate a wrestling fan who wholeheartedly believes that what they are watching is real. I knew I wasn’t alone. 

Not about to expose myself as a complete plebe, I try to relate to Maniac by asking him about the only thing I have some sort of knowledge about vis-a-vis pro wrestling niches. I had learned about deathmatch wrestling (where wrestlers are allowed to bring sharp and dangerous objects into the ring in order to cause real pain to their opponents in a nevertheless scripted bout) a few months prior and the concept had bewildered me. I asked if El Maniaco understood the hype behind deathmatches.

“Of course, we love deathmatches. Barbed wire, exploding rings, Nick Gage dying?”

This last bit in reference to when American deathmatch wrestler Nick Gage clinically died for several minutes during a 2010 bout after rupturing an artery, was revived and immediately resumed wrestling.

Speaking of feats of unbelievable showmanship, I had the distinct feeling that night at the Black Cat that El Maniaco was cutting a promo on the audience whenever the music stopped. He commends me for my astute observation and tells me what he thinks of drawing inspiration from other wrestlers for his on-stage character.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if some people in the business were inspired by me. A lot of today’s talent aren’t even fit to lace my New Balance … the crowd gets what they deserve.”

Looking at OTTR’s Bandcamp page, you will see that they proudly proclaim themselves as “The beginning and end of Wrestlerock”.

 I believe them, but I do wonder if there is any hope for somebody out there who wants to start the second ever Wrestlerock band, and if there isn’t, what’s it like being on an island like that?

“Not everyone is destined for greatness, and it’s not easy being on top. They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but let’s be honest, no one has what it takes to be OTTR.”

The members of this band are passionate, honest and willing to sacrifice pretense in order to give the fans what they “deserve”, which is an experience unlike any other when it comes to live music in Saskatoon.

The Maniac puts it best:“If you’re ready to finally experience something great for once in your boring life, come out and witness Wrestlerock the next time we play.”

He also recommends that The Sheaf readers support local pro wrestling events put on by PPW, Best Entertainment Wrestling and Ringside. I know I’ll be there. If you (somehow) aren’t sold yet, go see OTTR live, or buy the impeccably well recorded album S/T from the OTTRBandcamp page for any price. 

I look forward to seeing you beside me at their next gig, both of us taking it all completely seriously.