High-flying acrobatics and big hits complemented the high energy of punk rock music in Sacramento State’s “Punk Slam” on Thursday. Local punk bands The Phantom Jets, Drastic Actions and Bastards of Young were accompanied by the Supreme Pro Wrestlers in the University Union Ballroom.

Drastic Actions opened up the event, playing their songs with furious speed, cussing occasionally and spitting on the stage. The crowd enjoyed the intensity as several people began running around in front of the stage pushing and shoving each other.

After the first band played, the attention moved to the wrestling ring in the center of the room. The bands and wrestlers did not perform simultaneously.

The first wrestling match pitted a wrestler from Sacramento versus one from Davis, creating a fun rivalry. This match featured a lot of flipping, diving and mid-air collisions. At one point, one wrestler performed a leaping kick as his opponent dove from the top of the ropes.

Nico Owens, freshman theater arts major, said he was impressed when a wrestler flew from the top of the ropes and onto his opponent who had been knocked out of the ring.

Pat Beech, junior theater major, said he enjoyed rooting for someone from hometown Sacramento.

The Phantom Jets played next, and had a very different style compared with Drastic Actions. Instead of furiously pounding chords from his guitar, guitarist Ted Murdock used a lot more riffs and guitar solos, reminding me of surfer music solos, as he slid his hand up and down the guitar’s neck. Keyboardist Sarah Hudson also played some interesting melodies, but she was drowned out by the other instruments most of the time.

The tag-team wrestling match was the most enjoyable to watch. One team seemed to be disciplined and focused, while the other was clowning around and taunting the audience. I was not expecting the matches to have humor in them, and I was pleasantly surprised by the antics of the undisciplined team. One of the wrestlers shook his crotch in the audience’s faces as he entered the ring, and later he childishly complained about wanting to wrestle when his teammate wouldn’t tag him in.

It was entertaining to watch the interaction between the wrestlers and audience, especially when the wrestlers were shouting insults.

Johnny Plinko, another comical wrestler whose opening song was Dr. Robotnik’s theme from Sonic the Hedgehog, competed in a three person free-for-all in the third match. He immediately began shouting insults to the crowd when he stepped into the ring.

People responded by chanting “Shave your back, shave your back!”

“I don’t need to shave my back, it’s well groomed!” Plinko shouted.

Bastards of Young played before the wrestling main event towards the end of the show. Two members of the band sang alongside the lead singer during certain parts of their songs, which gave their music good vocal quality. Because these bands played so loud and fast, it was often hard to understand the lyrics, but the three singers made their lyrics stand out more.

The event was well organized and ran very smoothly. The wrestlers performed their routines very well, portraying different personas and performing dangerous moves without mistakes. The bands played with skill and energy, pumping up the crowd between the wrestling matches.

Although “Punk Slam” may not be for people who are easily offended or do not like the intensity of punk music, the performers put on a great show and were skilled at what they do.

Tzahuiztil Sanchez can be reached at [email protected]