"The Human Horror Film" Supreme
Laying on the ground outside of the ring, a wrestler listened as "fans" screamed out "Anyone for a bbq?," and "I smell bacon." To understand what these moronic and unsympathetic "fans" were screaming about, let's take you back five minutes before this scene.
In the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, XPW was putting forth a pretty good "Rapture" show. With the Sandman debuting earlier and the lucha's putting forth a good effort, the surprises were not over. Kaos vs. Supreme was the announced match, and it would be a deathmatch. For those unfamiliar with the deathmatch concept, it isn't literal (hopefully.) It's a hardcore match, using all forms of barbaric weaponry. Flourescent lightbulbs, thumbtacks, glass, barbed wire, you name it.
Before I start trashing the promotion and the "fans" who screamed out the above remarks, let me say this. I'm a wrestling fan, and I don't mind the hardcore stuff. I've seen the Japanese videos with Masato Tanaka going chest first onto the barbed wire, and Mr. Pogo doing crazy stuff, and having crazy stuff done to him, but some things are too dangerous to attempt, and the Japanese wrestlers know this. Where is the line drawn?
During the deathmatch between Kaos and Supreme, Victoria Caine was given a responsibility that NO ONE outside of trained wrestlers should have. She was to pour lighter fluid on a table in one of those old ECW flaming table spots. Unfortunately, the table didn't light on the first attempt, so she doused the table with lighter fluid, set it aflame, and another wrestler who was with her pushed Supreme (who likes doing table spots head first) onto the wooden inferno. Supreme realized something was horribly wrong, and ran around the ring flailing and burning.
Reports I have read have said it was his chest and arms on fire during this time, others say it was his face and chest. That's irrelevant though, as the idiot with the fire extinguisher put out the TABLE FIRST. If that's not from an old Looney Tunes cartoon, what is?
The show was stopped for about fifteen minutes, the first five of which, Supreme is laying on the ground in shock, not only from the fire, but from the things that he's hearing from the crowd such as "I hope you die." While all this was taking place, where was the owner of XPW, Rob Black? Reportedly, he was in the back while all this was happening negotiating with Sabu. Supreme is severely burned, and Rob Black is in the back going over match finishes? At least Vince McMahon came out to check on Mankind during his classic King Of The Ring match.
Where is the outrage over this deplorable and deadly match-up? A man's life was (and for all I know still IS) in danger and the man with the extinguisher put out a damn inanimate object before he acknowledged a human being on fire? An untrained non-wrestler is given that much responsibility in an already exceedingly dangerous match? The fans yell out such heinous and heartless remarks to a man who gives his all, bleeding, sweating, and burning for them? If this is the future of wrestling, I'll just get out now, before someone has to die. Let's all pray that Supreme isn't that someone.
(c) Marlo Jones, 2001