B. Patrick
Before Impact Wrestling returned to POP TV, I became familiar with the network via the charm of the promotion they were featuring at the time – Paragon Pro Wrestling. Filmed out of Sam’s Town in glamorous Las Vegas, Nevada, the promotion caught my eye with the hybrid of wrestlers from my youth like Gangrel mixing it up with guys who had national exposure in the past few years like Wes Brisco and Joey Ryan. Despite a slew of familiar faces, there was one man that was guaranteeing that I was coming back and watching the show every week… Darin Corbin.
When I tuned into Paragon Pro Wrestling, Darin Corbin was the reigning and defending American Champion. His story was not simply one of glory and honor but one of love. Darin Corbin was in love with his American Championship. And it wasn’t the pro wrestling trope of someone drunk with success. It was true love and it was heartwarming.
Darin carried his trophy with pride and love. It was something special. There were two championship moments that mattered to me in 2015 – Bayley winning the NXT Women’s Title at Takeover: Brooklyn and watching Darin Corbin retain the American Championship of Paragon Pro Wrestling.
See, Darin had six glorious months as American Champion. He was the inaugural champion when he beat Mercurio Jr. at the start of August 2015. But then the unthinkable happened….
See, the Vampire Warrior had been stalking Corbin and his love. He had tried for a stretch to end the relationship. Darin tried using mind games and had the curtain literally pulled on him by Gangrel.
He tried combating the vampire by channeling his inner werewolf.
The tragedy was recapped in the best wrestling video since Tell Me a Lie:
And he tried to move on. He really did.
It just wasn’t the same. But Darin continued to entertain, as seen in this video with one of my other favorite treasures of PPW, Pat Kelley:
A veteran of the squared circle of over a decade, I feel sad that Corbin only came into my “viewing life” in the past year but I am so happy he’s there.
Recently in a TBT, Corbin featured a picture from back in the day when he met current WWE superstar Cesaro
And I really hope the world gets to see more of the Darin Corbin entertainment stylings soon. Until then, check out his PPW footage on TUFF TV, YouToo America, MSG Network or their channels on YouTube. Check out Mr. Red Hair, Don’t Care’s own YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/DarinCorbinTV/featured
Follow the man on Twitter @DarinCorbin
Or those with disposable income, get yourself a shirt http://www.prowrestlingtees.com/wrestler-t-shirts/darin-corbin.html
Just get on the train with one of the most underrated entertainers in pro wrestling today!
