Mar 5, 20232 min read

Retro Rewind: The BYWF

Updated: Mar 6, 2023

There are many backyard wrestling channels on YouTube that have been created since the start of the pandemic and a new subsection of the blog entitled "Retro Rewind" will help discover and promote these channels. As a fan of classic backyard wrestling I was delighted to discover a channel recently, from a backyard fed called the BYWF. Hailing from Glen EIlyn, Illinois the Backyard Wrestling Federation (BYWF) was active from 1999 to 2001 and now over twenty years later they have decided to upload their archive of footage for the backyard wrestling community to view and enjoy.

For those of you lucky enough to be around during the golden period of backyard wrestling, the BYWF might remind you of your own fed or much of the feds of that day. Ground wrestling, street clothes and unscripted, comedic chaos are the norms at the BYWF. The footage is shot on noisy VHS camcorders, the promos and vignettes are dark or filmed awkwardly. This couldn't be better. I love classic backyard wrestling, and all the classic retro technical mishaps that go with it.

On to the action we are greeted with a fast-talking, jive-spouting commentator that will make this viewing quite enjoyable. The first match brings out all the weapons, including the shopping cart, recycling bin and cookie trays. The BYWF wrestles on the ground and quite surely moves like the hanging suplex and implant DDT have to hurt. This is classic backyard wrestling folks and the film is very shaky. Did I mention already that I love it?

As the event continues we are greeted with a second wise-cracking commentator and more ground based weapons matches. In between one of the matches the BYWF includes a vignette for a dark and disturbing character. Sometimes backyard wrestling events are missing certain elements to make a show a traditional wrestling show, and the BYWF doesn't commit this grievous error. As the event progresses we see some high-risk stunts including a handful of car spots and a devastating reverse-suplex on the ground known as the "Median-plex."

The BYWF is what you would expect from a fed who was around during the golden period of backyard wrestling. Classic 1990's entrance tunes, ECW inspired spots and more cookie tin shots then all the WWE hardcore matches combined. From comedy to high-risk, the BYWF encapsulates everything about a classic backyard wrestling fed. Do yourself a favour and drop by the BYWF channel and give them a sub!