The lights dim and the voice that narrates almost every monster truck show commercial begins to growl about how the world has ended. The voice roared that motorcyclists must now perform backflips to reign supreme in this new world. Cue fireworks and blasting plumes of flames. Part melodramatic dystopian play and part pyrotechnic stunt show, last weekend’s “Nuclear Cowboyz” show was a blast to watch from start to finish.
The show began with an incredible display of balance and poise from the faction known as the Shadow Warriorz. The two riders came out on moto trial bikes and began performing synchronized wheelies and stoppies up and down the ramps on the burned-out stage. From landing on the top of the stage with a single bounce to doing wheelies slowly down the ramp, the Shadow Warriorz put on a flawless display of balance and control.
Then the real fun began. With more of the laughable storyline from the snarling announcer, the audience was introduced to the two factions of freestyle motocross riders: the Soldiers of Havoc and the Metal Mulisha. The Soldiers of Havoc dressed in all white and were presumably the good guys, whereas the Metal Mulisha was dressed in all black for the sake of subtlety. Each team then came out and performed jaw-dropping aerial stunts. It is difficult to describe the sheer incredulity that is experienced when watching a freestyle motocross performance in person. Although many people may have watched it on TV and seen Travis Pastrana pull a double backflip or some other crazy trick, it isn’t until one is in the second highest section of seats and the riders reach eye level that a person gets a feel for just how high these daredevils are jumping. And not just jumping from one ramp to another. The tricks ranged from tail-whips in which the bikes were completely upside down, to backflips while the riders were hanging fully suspended from the handlebars as opposed to sitting on the seat.
The variations of tricks with different numbers of synchronized jumps continued throughout the show with up to three riders hitting the same jump at once. The tricks were all awe-inspiring, but one that truly amazed the stadium was when the rider completely let go of all attachment to the bike and merely fell like a sky diver over it before grabbing on at the last minute to remount.
The motocross stunts were the best part of the entire show, but the show was not completely without hiccups. The “storyline,” if one could go so far as to call it that, was incredibly cheesy and didn’t make sense. The All Terrain Vehicles portion of the Shadow Warriorz team was forgettable because they only hit one jump and were frankly just not as enjoyable as the motorbikes. There were also some slightly misogynic undercurrents: The “Nuclear Cowgirlz” spent the show dancing on stage until they were called upon to ride on the backseats with the riders. At one point, when the leaders were dueling, one of the riders actually mock slapped the other rider’s “girl,” which doesn’t even happen in pro-wrestling, and was shocking to see at an event with so many children present.
Despite these stumblings, the show was still incredibly entertaining. There aren’t many times in one’s life when a person can see someone pull a backflip while fully engulfed in flames – at least not in San Diego.
