For many New Yorkers, the city's subway is the performance space they see most frequently. Every day, dancers and musicians present an underground revue that uses public transportation as a stage.
In recent years, this moving festival has included “Subway Mania,” a tribute to one of the most popular periods in professional wrestling: the late 1990s and early 2000s. Performers take on the roles of fan favorites such as Kane, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Undertaker and They perform the acrobatic spectacle of wrestling in the confines of a subway car.
One Sunday night last year, the “fighters” gathered at a Manhattan station wearing their shiny suits. They caught the attention of Shyama Venkateswar, 57, who was heading to his home in Queens. His children, now young adults, had watched World Wrestling Entertainment shows as children, he said, so he followed the wrestlers aboard the train and abandoned their trip home.
“Always interested in street art of any kind,” she said.
That night's show began with performers dressed as two former WWE stars, Rob Van Dam and Undertaker, who entered the subway car via the connecting side door at one end. Music played from a portable speaker and the spectators, who stood on the benches to clear more space, let out a roar.
Subway Mania, the brainchild of Tim Rivera, 27, a video editor who lives in Manhattan, recorded its first matches in 2016. The first video showed Rivera and a friend in wrestling suits, fighting on a train while the Passengers looked confused. But it was a hit on the Internet. “My two favorite things: WWE and the New York subway,” read one comment.
The WWE, the company synonymous with professional wrestling, is part gladiatorial arena and part soap opera mixed with broad comedy and pyrotechnics. It has launched stars such as John Cena, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson and Dave Bautista. One of the company's most popular offerings is WrestleMania.
As a child, Rivera's family often watched WWE programming. The subway introduced him to even more extravagant experiences and people: he saw singers and rappers, mariachis and entertainers. Rivera earned a degree in film production from Brooklyn College in 2019and while other subway artists passed their hats to passengers, he is looking for exposure.
The matches in Subway Mania are cartoonish and unlikely to be mistaken for a real fight. The performances are recorded, edited to a length of about 10 minutes, and uploaded to YouTube and other platforms; They have garnered around 10 million views, helping Rivera land his video editing job at an advertising agency.
Like professional wrestling, Subway Mania is choreographed. Rivera's group of friends rehearse the day before a performance or just before going on stage.
During the performance that diverted Venkateswar, Rivera boarded the subway with about 50 people, including the cast, camera operators and fans. Dressed as Bret Hart, former WWE champion, he threw his opponent to the floor of the car and applied a hold.
Competitors were eliminated by being thrown from the car when the doors opened, and after Rivera was ejected, he quickly ran to the next car, where he changed. He returned to the match as Hulk Hogan.
Arriving passengers faced a decision: enter the full car or find another one.. Those who decided to stay took out their phones to capture the scene. As the show ended, the car erupted into a chorus: “Sub-way Mania! “Subway Mania!”
By: Joshua Needelman
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/7072623, IMPORTING DATE: 2024-01-16 19:52:04
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