“I Have Had Enough Of This!!” – Buck Gunderson (when asked about his statements)
Things at Demand Lucha have certainly progressed nicely since the company’s emergence. The powerhouse merger of Hogtown Pro and Lucha Toronto has created an interesting buzz in the local wrestling community, and their vaudevillian, carnival type shows have truly delivered. One of them can be seen this upcoming Monday, February 19th on Twitch.tv/demandlucha as they present ALLIANCE.
Most fans seem to be very happy with the direction of the company and the product they’re putting forth. Although there is one person who does not seem to be happy at all… and that’s Buck Gunderson. The Openweight Championship was the top prize at VCW/Hogtown Pro for their 6 years on the scene and Gunderson began his third reign by taking the title from Canadian golden boy “Speedball” Mike Bailey. Going strong for over a year now, with defenses in multiple companies and through the tumultuous events that led to the Demand! brand merger, Gunderson feels that he has been disrespected.
Gripes include having been excluded from both the Alliance and Luchafest 2 shows, having had only one singles match since the company merger, and his issues with being put in 3-way and 5-way matches for his title. Gunderson feels that he is a secondary thought and almost ignored, even though technically he is the company’s longest reigning title holder and the only man to defend his respective title in other leagues. He expresses his concerns and demands for Demand! in the video below.
Gunderson’s lawyers were in contact with DemandLucha! and stated that the Openweight Champion refuses to fight at the upcoming Luchapalooza show on March 25th at Lee’s Palace. Originally slated to be in a 5-man match to defend his title, rumour has it the late edition of Space Monkey was to replace Gunderson and that the match will simply now be an exhibition bout. In his video statement, Gunderson says that he will fight for ANY COMPANY that will give him a one on one wrestling match and will put the Openweight Championship on the line.
One would think that a champion of a company does not have the authority to do such a thing, but Gunderson has been synonymous with the Openweight Championship since its inception and was a heavy player in both the original VCW and Hogtown Pro, where the belt originated. But speaking of things that originated at VCW… this reporter had a chance to speak with Hutch Henries, show host and commentator for the original Victory Commonwealth Wrestling. Henries was moved into a board of directors position when the company rebranded as Hogtown Pro and after the recent debacles with Mysterion and the merger with Lucha Toronto, has come out as one of the power players in the new brand. In fact, just this week it was announced to a small circle of reporters that Henries has been the Director of Demand since September 2017, and effectively, the president of the board.
At the last two Demand! shows, Henries was quite vocal, making matches and seemingly in a position of authority. We had a chance to catch up with “The Hutchster”, who said the following,…
“Yes, it’s true, I have been making a majority of the decisions over at Demand! It seems that the buck stops with me, Hahaha and that everybody thinks the real Buck is also going to answer to me, too. I have known Buck a very long time and I certainly don’t condone his attitude as of late, but I’ve decided that perhaps these kinds of decisions and this type of directorial position…well, it’s a bit beyond me. We have our lawyers talking with his lawyers but as far as whether or not we’re going to be giving him matches HERE in the future… I’m not making that call. I can’t tell you much yet but I have found a person to fill the Director position; he is quintessentially extreme in nature and will be perfect for the job. What I can tell you though, is that as my final edict as current director, I’m allowing Gunderson to defend the Openweight Title anywhere he damn wants! Any league out there that wants to give him his one on one “rasslin” match, be my guest. If one of your guys can take the title from him, they’ve got a home here at Demand! and we’ll start booking them immediately. Carte Blanche, people!!! You want a crack at Gundersen. Give him his match.”
Demand! will have had an almost 5-month break between shows before the upcoming March 25th LuchaPalooza, and some people seem to think the demands (no pun intended) of the job have been too much for Henries and that this new Director is part and parcel of the solution. With the LuchaNetwork and the newly launched Twitch stream, the job seems to entail a lot and one can’t blame Henries for wanting to delegate. Obviously, by the ending of the last event, he has trouble keeping luchadors violent tendencies at bay. With the show in March, Mascramania 2: Turbo in April and a rumoured 4-5 other shows already booked, whomever this new director is will have their hands full. One wonders if we’ll be seeing Mr.Gunderson at any of these shows? Stay tuned for more information.