The W Column

ADMITTEDLY, WHEN I first started watching wrestling, I had no idea an independent scene existed. When I did finally learn about indie wrestling, I was faced with the additional challenge of learning about what one could call subscenes.

Subscenes, historically dubbed “territories,” have always held their own history, their own legacies, and their own particular brand of special. But what makes a localized wrestling atmosphere so special? Why are some styles of wrestling seen so frequently in one part of the nation, and almost never seen in other parts? And how does a local