Lone Survivor 5
Warehouse 635
West Hartford
March 17, 2024
There are some people who know exactly what they want to be, and then they go out and do it.
I went to see one of those people on Friday night at Lone Survivor 5, a wrestling event hosted by Test of Strength, an independent pro wrestling organization. The man I went to see was none other than Bobby Ocean, my friend from middle school.
The room was standing room only by the time I arrived, with one of the most diverse crowds I’ve seen at any event I’ve covered.
I’d never been to a Lone Survivor show before, so I was lost as to the storylines at first. But it became clear to me very early that at the heels of the event was an organization called The Mission. The first match was for the Women’s Championship, between Karen Bam Bam of The Mission and the reigning champion, Evie De La Rosa. After a nail-biting drama that saw De La Rosa skirt disaster more than once, she finally triumphed and retained her belt.
One of the more humorous fights of the night was the Tag Team Championship match between Counter Strike and Miracle Generation. The tag match was fun because it was not only a contest to see which team was the better fighters, but also to see which team could get away with the most questionable tactics. Tag rules or not, the best moments of the match came when pure mayhem erupted and bodies were flying everywhere.
As enjoyable as those matches were, I was there to see Bobby Ocean. We lived on the same street as kids, so I’ve known him and his family for most of my life. And he’s always wanted to be a wrestler. He’s been practicing his strut for decades. He’s been honing his staredown since the days when WCW and NWO were competing head to head with the WWE. It’s inspiring to see that my friend has made his dreams into a reality in a way that few people rarely do.
Because when I tell you that the crowd erupted when he stepped into the ring, that would be an understatement. When my friend who went to the show with me saw him enter, he turned to me and said, “Oh yeah, that’s the main character right there.” Bobby Ocean was part of a four-on-four melee that featured the heroes going up against the worst of the worst that The Mission had to offer. It was one of the most hype moments I’ve experienced to hear the crowd chanting my friend’s name, ready to see him vanquish the evildoers with righteous fury.
The battle went back and forth, with bodies flying across and out of the ring. The Mission threw everything and the kitchen sink at Bobby Ocean and his allies: low blows, team attacks, illegal moves. One by one, heroes and villains alike were pinned and knocked out of the match, but I wasn’t worried. Just as in the first match, it would be close, but the good guys would win.
And then, The Mission double-teamed Bobby Ocean and pinned him. He was out.
I couldn’t believe it. How could this happen? How could the hero, the most popular man in the ring, lose?
I was still hopeful that his team would pull out the victory, but The Mission was clearly on one. They double teamed the last wrestler too, cheating to do so while the referee was conveniently occupied and looking elsewhere.
The heroes had fallen, and evil triumphed.
Now I’m invested. I have to know what happens next. I haven’t been this invested in a wrestling storyline since I was a kid, and it brought back a surge of youthful nostalgia that had me on the edge of my seat all night. I’m ready to go to the next show, to see if Bobby Ocean gets his vengeance.
NEXT
Check out Test of Strength Wrestling’s Facebook page for their upcoming events.
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