Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Comedy Part 578: Risky Proposition

Location:  Westport Funny Bone
Emcee:  Tim Convy
After:  Charles Shack
Before:  Tree Sanchez

When I planned out my set, I decided to start with not one but two totally new topical jokes (you'd know the topics if you read the news at all in the past week).  They went over pretty well, all things considered.  I followed that up with the "this next guy will rape you" bit, something I hadn't done at Westport before.  Wrapped up with some slightly more established things, ending with the Memorial Day joke.  All in all, a fine outing at Westport...onward to Valley Park tomorrow night!

Raw + This Week In Wrestling

WWE Raw

-Commentators:  Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, & John Bradshaw Layfield.
-The Big Show d. Mark Henry after two PUNCHes (1:24); Mike Mizanin did commentary.  Intercontinental Champion Ryback ran out to fight with Show, then Miz took a cheapshot at Ryback before running away.  However, Ryback challenged him to kick-start their scheduled singles match...
-Intercontinental Champion Ryback d. Mike Mizanin by countout(non-title) when Miz walked away from the match (5:06).
-Paige Knight d. Alicia Fox(w/ Women's Champion Nikki Bella & Brie Bella) by reversing an O'Connor Roll (6:33 aired).
-Antonio Cesaro d. U.S. Champion John Cena by DQ when NXT Champion Kevin Owens(who was doing commentary) broke up the Sharpshooter (16:49 aired).  Owens planted Cesaro and then Cena with pop-up powerbombs after the bell.
-Tag Team Champions The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) & The Lucha Dragons(Sin Cara & Kalisto) d. The New Day(Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods) & Bo Dallas when Titus caught Kofi in mid-springboard move for the Clash Of The Titus (11:47 aired).
-Sheamus O'Shaunessy d. "The Man That Gravity Forgot" Adrian Neville after the Brogue Kick (9:10 aired).
-King Wade "Bad News" Barrett d. Jack Swagger with the Royal Bullhammer (1:47).
-WWE Champion Seth Rollins & Kane(w/ Jamie Knoble & Joey Mercury) d. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose in a no-DQ match; Bray Wyatt attacked Reigns and Rollins pinned Ambrose after the Pedigree (8:17 aired).

-----

WWE(www.wwe.com)

Main Event this week has:
-Jack Swagger vs. Luke Harper
-Zack Ryder vs. Bo Dallas
-Johnny Fandango vs. Heath Slater

NXT this Wednesday has:
-Finn Bálor & Samoa Joe vs. Kevin Owens & Rhyno
-The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch) vs. Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder
-Tyler Breeze vs. Tye Dillinger
-Carmella Van Damme vs. Emma Tayla
-In action:  Baron Corbin

Superstars this week has:
-The Meta Powers("Macho Mandow" Damien Sandow & "Axelmania" Curtis Axel) vs. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor)
-Johnny Fandango vs. Adam Rose

Smackdown on Thursday has:
-Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
-Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
-Ryback vs. Mark Henry
-The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) vs. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor)
-"R-Truth" Ron Killings vs. Adam Rose
-Naomi Night vs. Brie Bella

Battleground is on Sunday 7/19 in St. Louis, MO:
-Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar - WWE Title
-John Cena vs. Kevin Owens - U.S. Title
-Ryback vs. The Big Show vs. Mike Mizanin - Intercontinental Title
-Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
-The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) vs. The New Day(Big E Langston & Kofi Kingston) - Tag Team Titles

TNA(www.tnawrestling.com)

Impact on Wednesday has:
-Kurt Angle vs. Ethan Carter III - Heavyweight Title
-The American Wolves(Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. The Dirty Heels(Bobby Roode & Austin Aries) - Match 5 Of Best-Of-5 Series For The Vacant Tag Team Titles - 30-Minute Ironman Match
-The Rising(Drew Galloway, Micah Camacho, & Eli Drake) vs. The Beat Down Clan(Montel Vontavious Porter, Low-Ki, Kenny King, & Shawn Hernandez) - Elimination Tag Match
-Taryn Terrell vs. Amazing Kong vs. Brooke Tessmacher - Women's Title

RING OF HONOR(www.rohwrestling.com)

ROH TV this week has:
-Michael Elgin & reDRagon(Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. The Kingdom(Adam Cole, Michael Bennett, & Matt Taven)
-Dalton Castle vs. Takaaki Watanabe

Next show is Saturday 7/11 in Hopkins, MN:
-A.J. Styles vs. Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O'Reilly
-Jay Briscoe & O.D.B. vs. Jay Lethal & Truth Martini
-Bobby Fish vs. Adam Cole

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING(www.njpw.co.jp/english)

Next episode of World Pro Wrestling has:
-Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
-A.J. Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito
-Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson
-Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata

LUCHA UNDERGROUND(www.elreynetwork.com/originals/lucha)

This week's show has:
-Prince Puma vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. - LU Title No-DQ Match
-Drago vs. Shawn Hernandez
-El Texano Jr. vs. DelAvar Daivari
-Alberto El Patrón vs. Marty "The Moth" Martinez
-----

ST. LOUIS ANARCHY(www.slawrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 8/21 in Alton, IL:
-Davey Vega, Mat Fitchett, & Angelus Layne vs. Gerald James, Jeremy Wyatt, & Christian Rose
-The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) vs. The Cause(Danny Adams & Everett Connors) - Tag Team Titles
-Tommaso Ciampa vs. Zakk Sawyers
-Matt Cage vs. Alex Castle
-Mike Outlaw vs. Sugar Dunkerton
-Jojo Bravo vs. Paco Gonzalez
-Steve O. Reno vs. Mikey McFinnegan
-Ricky Starks vs. Bolt Brady

SLA has a show on Saturday 8/22 in Alton, IL:
-Gerald James vs. Davey Vega - Heavyweight Title - No Time Limit
-Tommaso Ciampa vs. Christian Rose
-Matt Cage vs. Zakk Sawyers
-Mat Fitchett vs. Little Guido
-Steve O. Reno vs. Sugar Dunkerton

DPW(www.dynamoprowrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 7/11 in Glen Carbon, IL:
-Jake Dirden vs. Billy McNeil - Heavyweight Title
-Miss Rachael vs. Lucy Mendez

SICW(www.sicw.org)

Next show is Saturday 7/18 in East Carondelet, IL:
-Ron Powers & Gary Jackson vs. Flash Flanagan & Kahagas
-Ricky Cruz vs. Attila Khan - Cruz Gets Five Minutes With Travis Cook If He Wins

MMWA(www.southbroadwayac.com)

Next show is Saturday 7/11 in St. Louis, MO:
-A.J. Williams vs. Da'Marius Jones - Heavyweight Title
-Everett Connors vs. Sean Orleans - Jr. Heavyweight Title vs. Orleans' Hair
-Brandon Espinosa & Ace Hawkins vs. The St. Louis Connection(Andrew Wilder & Johnathan Zulu) - Tag Team Titles

PWCS(www.pwcswrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 8/1 in Granite City, IL:
-Jeremy Wyatt(Ego Busters) vs. K.C. Karrington(Chaos Nation)
-Roscoe Eat Lisa(Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers)(Ego Busters) vs. The Submission Squad(Evan Gelistico & Pierre Abernathy)(Chaos Nation)
-Jojo Bravo(Blacklist) vs. Davey Vega(Resurgence)
-Mike Outlaw(Blacklist) vs. Mat Fitchett(Resurgence)
-Curt Stallion(Ego Busters) vs. Hype Gotti(Chaos Nation)
-Jeff Gant & Tank Engine Tommy vs. Mark Sterling & Adam Rich

HIGH RISK WRESTLING(herecomesthepain.bpt.me)

Next show is Sunday 7/26 in Cahokia, IL:
-Blake Belakis vs. Bolt Brady - Heavyweight Title

PRO WRESTLING EPIC(www.prowrestlingepic.com/)

Next show is Saturday 8/15 in Pontoon Beach, IL:
-Brandon Aarons vs. Danny Adams - Heavyweight Title
-Leland Race vs. Leone Mephisto
-Barackus vs. Tyler Copeland
-Billy McNeil vs. Steven Kennedy
-Stacey O'Brien vs. Selene Grey
-Baby Jesus vs. Skinny Timmy

METRO PRO WRESTLING(www.metrowrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 8/8 in Kansas City, KS:
-Metro Proyale
-A.C.H. vs. Ace Steel - Central States Title

3XW(www.3xwrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 7/17 in Des Moines, IA:
-Jeremy Wyatt vs. Mark Sterling - Heavyweight Title Dog Collar Ladder Match
-Kraig Keesaman vs. Marek Brave-  Pure Wrestling Title
-Trevor Murdoch vs. Derek Stone
-Angelus Layne vs. Malia Hosaka
-Jaysin Strife & Ray Stryker vs. Jon West & Griz
-Mad Dog McDowell vs. Ryan Slade - Loser Eats Dog Food
-Devin Carter vs. Rory Fox
-Devin Thomas vs. J.C. Slater
-Hype Gotti vs. Eli Machete

WLW(www.harleyrace.com)

Next show is Sunday 7/14 in Troy, MO(Lincoln County Fairgrounds).

WLW has a show on Monday 7/15 in Troy, MO(Lincoln County Fairgrounds).

WLW has a show on Thursday 7/23 in Houston, MO.

GATEWAY ELITE WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/TheGatewayElite)

Next show is Saturday 7/25 in Lake Ozark, MO:
-Jake Dirden & Brian Breaker vs. The Black Hand Warriors(Michael Magnuson & Dave DeLorean)
-Jack Gamble vs. Elvis Aliaga
-Paloma Starr vs. Lucy Mendez

OUTLAW WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/outlawwrestling01)

Next show is Sunday 8/16 in Centralia, IL:
-Blake Belakis vs. Zakk Sawyers vs. Alexandre Rudolph
-The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) vs. Slade Sludge & Dustin Starr

WRESTLING INVADES AMERICA(wrestlinginvamerica.wix.com/wrestlinginvamerica)

Next show is Sunday 9/20 in Edwardsville, IL.

CENTRAL STATES CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/nwaccw)

Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.

WORLD POWERHOUSE WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/worldpowerhousewrestling)

Next show is Saturday 7/25 in Collinsville, IL:
-Bio Shock vs. Scar

-----

DRAGON GATE USA/EVOLVE(www.wwnlive.com & www.dgusa.tv)

Next show is Friday 7/10 in Ybor City, FL:
-Drew Galloway & Roderick Strong vs. Anthony Nese & Caleb Konley
-Davey Richards vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
-Chris Hero vs. Trevor Lee
-Rich Swann vs. Timothy Thatcher
-Biff Busick vs. Andrew Everett

EVOLVE has a show on Saturday 7/11 in Orlando, FL:
-Drew Galloway vs. Trent Baretta - EVOLVE Title
-Chris Hero vs. Timothy Thatcher
-Davey Richards vs. Biff Busick
-T.J. Perkins vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
-Anthony Nese vs. Trevor Lee
-Caleb Konley vs. Andrew Everett

ANARCHY WRESTLING(www.anarchy-wrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 7/11 in Cornelia, GA.

PRO WRESTLING GUERRILLA(www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)

Next show is Friday 7/24 in Reseda, CA:
-The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Angélico & Jack Evans - Tag Team Titles
-Ricochet vs. Akira Tozawa
-The World's Cutest Tag Team(Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae) vs. Team Tremendous(Dan Barry & Bill Carr)

CHIKARA(www.chikarapro.com)

Next show is Saturday 7/25 in South Windsor, CT:
-The Devastation Corporation(Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive) vs. Jervis Cottonbelly & Princess Kimber Lee - Campeonatos De Parejas - Best-Of-3-Falls Match
-Silver Ant vs. Juan Francisco De Coronado

CHIKARA has a show on Sunday 7/26 in Providence, RI:
-Hallowicked vs. Dasher Hatfield - Grand Championship
-Fire Ant, Worker Ant II, & Ashley Remington vs. Chuck Taylor, Drew Gulak, & Swamp Monster

HOUSE OF HARDCORE(www.houseofhardcore.net)

Next show is Saturday 7/18 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
-Team 3-D(Bully Ray & Brother Devon) vs. The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson)
-The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. Michael Bennett & Matt Taven

SHIMMER(www.shimmerwrestling.com)

Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.

SHINE(www.shinewrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 7/24 in Ybor City, FL:
-Santana Garrett vs. Ivelisse Velez - SHINE Title
-The Kimber Bombs(Kimber Lee & Cherry Bomb) vs. Better Than You(Marti Belle & Jayme Jameson) - Tag Team Titles
-Leah Von Dutch vs. Brandi Wine

IWA MID-SOUTH(iwamidsouthwrestling.webs.com)

Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.

AAW(www.aawrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 7/17 in Merrionette Park, IL:
-Ohio Is 4 Killers(Jake & Dave Crist) vs. The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) - Tag Team Titles
-Shane Hollister vs. Matt Cage

ACW(www.anarchychampionshipwrestling.com)

Next show is Sunday 7/26 in Austin, TX:
-Masada vs. Darin Childs vs. Scot Summers - No-Rope Barbed-Wire Cinderblocks-And-Glass Panes Deathmatch

Missouri Wrestling Revival: http://www.missouriwrestlingrevival.com/
St. Louis Wrestling: http://www.saintlouiswrestling.com/
St. Louis Wrestling Community: http://community.livejournal.com/stlwrestling/

Leave a comment or e-mail: patrickab7@yahoo.com

HRW Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Sunday's High Risk Wrestling show at the VFW Hall in Cahokia, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

I've enjoyed HRW shows, but the story seems to remain the same:  Good wrestling, not-so-good attendance.  Even though they lowered their ticket price from $20 to $15(it was as high as $25 for the loaded December 2014 show), they drew about the same amount of people as the previous month's show.  The people in attendance had a good time, at any rate...if I had the solution, I'd probably be putting on wrestling shows myself.  (For the record, I measure my sanity level by the fact that I have not yet seriously thought about that possibility.)  There's so much media out there that it's difficult to find the best method of advertising.

Your ring announcer was Brian Thompson; your referees were Jay King, Nick Ridenour, & Brian Stoltz.

The show started with a ten-bell salute for Dusty Rhodes, Tommy Rogers, Buddy Landell, & Cora Combs.

Flip Kendrick vs. Justin D'Air:  Haven't seen too many of Kendrick's matches; he had a cup of coffee in TNA as Flip Casanova.  They had a fun face/face match though the fans weren't too loud for it...this was Kendrick's first appearance in the area and they may not have been too familiar with him.  D'Air hit a major running plancha in the early going, then Flip returned fire with a major-airtime Asai moonsault...nice.  Would like to see these guys meet again at some point.  Kendrick won with a move similar to Slim J's flying inverted DDT off the top rope(sitting out with the move) in 8:44.

Promoter Frank Thurman came out for some announcements.  First of all, the Tag Team Titles were vacant due to reDRagon(Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) not having competed for HRW in several months.  Back in December, I wondered if The Colony(Fire Ant & Silver Ant) would have been a better choice to hold the belts since they'd be more likely to be available for future shows.  (O'Reilly & Fish are all over the place these days with Ring Of Honor and New Japan commitments, among others.)  He said that a decision hadn't been made about crowning new champs...I imagine the belts could have gone into the scheduled tag match for the night, but that was the only card alteration of the show(more on that later).  There hasn't been a "linear" title change yet in HRW, just vacancies.

Frank also announced an upcoming deal with Roku to air HRW matches...hopefully that'll get the promotion some exposure.  Lastly, he mentioned that Magic Man was not at the show due to illness...hopefully we'll see him around again in the near future.

Mike Outlaw vs. Tony Kozina:  Kozina had more standard theme music this time around, causing a few ringside fans to remark on the lack of little baby ducks...heh.  Kozina has an interesting reputation on the independent circuit(Google it) but I've had a few cordial encounters with him.  That included a Twitter exchange when I asked about the names of his trainees from an MECW show.  All RESPECT~! quips aside, I've been enjoying his work as the grumpy veteran grappler.  It's hard to believe that Outlaw is only a year into his wrestling career...he's come a long way in that time, particularly with his recent mic work.  I still remember the first match of his that I saw:  It was in SICW against his future Dynamo rival Jake Dirden.  It was a good rookie face/veteran heel dynamic for this matchup...Kozina got Outlaw in the anklelock and he refused to surrender.  Outlaw couldn't quite make it to the ropes, but countered the hold into a victory roll for the flash pin in 9:16.  We got the mutual RESPECT~! post-match, but Kozina warned Outlaw that he wouldn't catch him off-guard again.

"The Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso Ciampa vs. "The Beer City Bruiser" Matt Winchester:  Bruiser was in the most recent ROH Top Prospect Tournament; Ciampa recently left that promotion.  Both guys were very vocal with the crowd and Bruiser's crowd interaction was particularly funny.  It was a definite departure from the usual ultra-serious demeanor for Ciampa...always neat to see something different like that(see also Davey Richards' outing from the previous show).  Crowd interaction is an important thing, especially when you're in front of an unfamiliar audience.  Ciampa's theme music for the night was "Psycho Killer" by The Talking Heads...interesting choice but oddly fitting.  Notably, both guys competed for World League Wrestling in the past; Winchester worked as Dinn T. Moore at the time.  Ciampa's name rang a bell when he first appeared for ROH and it was because I had seen his name on the WLW lineups; admittedly, "Tommaso" isn't a very common name.  At any rate, these two worked really well together and I enjoyed this match a lot...didn't think Ciampa would be able to get Bruiser up in his Project Ciampa finisher(powerbomb-into-backcracker).  Winchester was able to take control with his size, but missed a Vader Bomb-style elbowdrop and Ciampa finished with a kneepad-down knee trembler in 9:49.

Intermission~!  Two cans of soda for the night; wanted to get a burger, but they were out of them by the time I decided to get one.  D-OH!

Team I.O.U.("Limitless" Nick Iggy & "The Music City Mutt" Kerry Awful) vs. "The Madman" Paco Gonzalez & "The Millenial" Danny Adams:  Iggy & Awful were scheduled to face The (Tryout Show) Rejects(Reed Bentley & John Wayne Murdoch), but they were M.I.A.  They were probably a bit sore from IWA Mid-South's King Of The Deathmatches tournament earlier in the weekend.  I don't often see Paco wrestle as a rulebreaker, but he and Adams have teamed up regularly in other promotions(including ROH).  I.O.U. have grown on me in the two times I've seen them at HRW; they're good at connecting with the audience.  There were some good comedic moments early in the bout...history would indicate that it's not a good idea to talk about Danny Adams' parents(see also PWE).  Anywho:  Iggy face-in-peril, hot tag Awful, bonzo gonzo.  Paco & Danny hit a pretty sweet double-team move on Iggy:  Diamond Dust by Paco into a reverse Stunner by Danny.  Awful broke up the pin attempt or that could have easily been an upset.  I.O.U. recovered to clean house as Iggy dropkicked Paco as Awful held him in slam position, adding extra torque to the ensuing Michinoku Driver.  That allowed Awful to pin Paco in 11:30...nicely done.

"The Supercharged Superstar" Bolt Brady vs. "The Last Real Man" Silas Young, number-one contenders' match:  Silas mocked the Wayne's World hat...I am displeased.  This was similar to Outlaw-Kozina with the contrast of the flashy young face against the no-nonsense veteran heel.  Silas actually isn't THAT old but he just looks the part...I think it's the mustache.  Young kept Brady grounded for most of the match, trash-talking all the way...Bolt finally rallied, but Silas made sure he earned his disqualification:  Ref shove, low blow, AND chair abuse after that.  Brady won by DQ in 11:37, but he probably didn't feel like a winner...

Blake Edward Belakis vs. "Mr. '70s Kung Fu" Louis Lyndon for the Heavyweight Title:  These guys had really strong matches at two previous HRW events.  Lyndon beat Belakis to earn a title shot at then-champion A.C.H., but the title ended up vacant and Belakis defeated Lyndon to capture the belt.  Blake bleached his sideburns and looks...unique, I'll say.  Fans seem to think he looks like a "creepy Jesus".  Blake took control by focusing on the arm, one of his primary tactics in recent times.  Lyndon has some unique unorthodox moves and is a lot of fun to watch.  Endgame happened as Belakis brought the belt into the ring; the ref took it away from him, but Blake got in a low blow while the referee wasn't paying attention.  He hooked Lyndon in his double-underhook guillotine hold, but Louis escaped by running him into the ropes, causing both to tumble out to the floor.  A reversal sequence led to Lyndon hitting his bad shoulder on the ringpost; Blake capitalized with a shoulderbreaker and got the double-underhook guillotine for a second time in the middle of the ring.  Lyndon didn't tap but passed out and that was the ballgame in 15:53.

Post-game:  Belakis laid out Lyndon with a palm strike, then wrapped a chair around his arm to do more damage.  Bolt Brady tried to help out, but he was blindsided by Silas Young...so we've got some intersecting issues here.  Silas griped about how Bolt "made him come out" while he was still getting dressed...ha!

The next High Risk Wrestling show is on Sunday 7/26, presumably with Belakis vs. Brady for the title.  They announced that Ace Perry, Dale Patricks, and Tripp Cassidy would be back...goodie.

Thus ended a busy month of June...I saw seven shows in person, as well as the MMWA event via YouTube.  I went to Ring Of Honor and saw Matt Sydal for the first time in forever, along with a few other familiar faces.  I made my first super-lengthy road trip to a wrestling event in Indianapolis and saw a CHIKARA show for the first time...to give you an idea of how little I've traveled in my life, that was the first time I had ever been out of the Central Time Zone!

I recorded my third month of television commentary for SICW, appearing on camera for the second month's worth of show opens...it's been a lot of fun, though my camera presence and delivery could use a bit of improvement.  Myself and Drew Abbenhaus are both laid-back individuals, so some contrast might help in that regard.  It's a work in progress and I appreciate promoter Herb Simmons giving me the opportunity...but it's not quite the same without Larry Matysik behind the microphone.  Get well soon, Larry!

July looks like this:

-Saturday 7/11:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Glen Carbon, IL; Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO
-Tuesday 7/14:  World League Wrestling in Troy, MO (Fairgrounds)
-Wednesday 7/15:  World League Wrestling in Troy, MO (Fairgrounds)
-Saturday 7/18:  Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 7/25:  Gateway Elite Wrestling in Lake Ozark, MO; World Powerhouse Wrestling in Collinsville, IL
-Sunday 7/26:  High Risk Wrestling in Cahokia, IL

Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

P.S. We are all marks.

Monday, June 29, 2015

MMWA Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about June 13th's Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance show at the South Broadway Athletic Club in St. Louis, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

Looked like a pretty good turnout at the beautiful and/or historic venue...it looks like the next time I will make it there will be in August.

Your ring announcer was Ben Simon; your referees were Nick Ridenour, Brian Stoltz, & Jay King.

Da'Marius Jones vs. Sean Orleans:  Jones was looking to rebound from his Heavyweight Title loss to A.J. Williams, but Orleans started by trash-talking him and his family...bad move.  Jones went out to get him on the floor and things went downhill from there for Mr. Orleans.  The ref called for the bell before the two even got back in the ring, but Da'Marius threw Orleans into the ring to dish out more punishment.  The fans chanted for blood, but the Missouri State Athletic Commission might disagree.  Jones hit a Johnny Mundo-esque breakdancing legdrop as this began to look like a glorified squash.  Sean finally fired back, but his advantage was short-lived as Da'Marius shrugged off the attack and even pulled him up from a pin attempt.  Jones finished with a gourdbuster in 3:28.

Moondog Rover vs. LaMarcus Clinton(w/ Survivor Champion Kevin Lee Davidson & Evan Gelistico) for the T.V. Title:  This was the result of an open challenge by Moondog...good luck with that, L.M.C.  Gelistico was wearing polka-dotted shorts(R.I.P. Dusty Rhodes).  Lots of wagon-circling by the rulebreakers allowed for cheapshots both legal and illegal by the trio.  L.M.C. took out the leg on a few occasions and added some FLIPPIES~! for good measure, but the power of Moondog OVAH~! was too much for him.  L.M.C. got a triangle hold out of nowhere, but Moondog lifted him up into a powerbomb and that got the win in 11:36.

The St. Louis Connection(Andrew "The Wolf" Wilder & "Black Panther" Johnathan Zulu) vs. Brandon Espinosa & ? for the Tag Team Titles:  Espinosa ran down his mystery partner's credentials and brought out someone we hadn't seen in a long time...Ace Hawkins!  The fans chanted "You Look Stupid" in response fo Ace's new hairstyle.  The champs took the early advantage on Hawkins, someone Wilder knew very well from their feud over the Jr. Heavyweight Title in 2014.  Espy's luck wasn't much better, leading to a plancha by Wilder...Ace hit the suicide dive on Wilder and Zulu topped off the sequence with a somersault plancha onto both opponents.  Wilder ended up on the wrong side of town as Ace broke up a springboard move by yanking him down to the floor.  As noted in my previous commentary, Espinosa & Hawkins have plenty of experience as a team and have held Tag Titles in other promotions.  A Wilder enzuigiri on Espy gave him an opening to tag, but Hawkins yanked Zulu off the apron.  Wilder finally rallied and ran the challengers into each other, leading to the hot tag to Zulu...HOUSE AFIRE~!  Zulu rana-ed Ace into a spear on Espy, that was unique.  Zulu hit a frog splash on Espy but Ace broke up the pin.

Zulu got rid of Espy and tagged Wilder, but Ace broke up Zulu's side of their Samoan drop/swinging neckbreaker finisher.  Wilder got a two-count off the standard Samoan Drop as Ace ran Zulu into the ringpost...Wilder hit the baseball slide, but Ace pulled him into the commentary table.  Ace then suplexed Wilder from the floor and Espy picked him up into the ring for a turnbuckle powerbomb...followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb!  Ace added a swanton bomb, but Zulu broke up the cover.  Zulu cleaned house and leveled Espy with a Superman Punch off the second rope, then Wilder lifted Zulu on his shoulders to pummel both opponents.  However, Espy nailed Wilder with the flying knee strike, sending both tumbling backwards over Hawkins in a major schoolboy trip.  An Espinosa fallaway powerbomb/Hawkins Ace Crusher combo allowed Espinosa to pin Wilder and we had NEWWWWW Tag Team Champions in 12:53!

"Risky Business" Everett Connors vs. Denzell Vance for the Jr. Heavyweight Title:  This was Vance's MMWA debut; I didn't get to see much of him in his quick match with Heath Hatton at SICW.  Vance went to the top rope a bit early in this one and jumped right into a dropkick from Connors...ow.  Everett rallied and hit Sliced Bread #2 for a two-count, but Vance avoided a Shining Wizard attempt to hit an inverted DDT for his own near-fall.  The two slugged it out and Connors got the better of the exchange, ending in a released tiger suplex(!) for two.  Vance had one last flurry of offense and hit a low-altitude DDT for another near-fall, but he argued with the referee and got caught with the Shining Wizard for the finish in 7:33.

Vance walked away from the offer of a post-match handshake, but Orleans jumped up from the broadcast table to attack Connors from behind.  Orleans added the advanced curbstomp and pulled scissors out of his jacket pocket, cutting off a few pieces of Everett's hair!  Commissioner Jim Harris threatened him with a suspension if he didn't stop what he was doing.  He offered Orleans a deal for the July show:  He gets his rematch for the title, but Orleans' hair will be on the line.  Orleans was fine with those terms...

Austin Blackburn vs. Evan Gelistico(w/ Survivor Champion Kevin Lee Davidson & LaMarcus Clinton):  One of these guys might win~!  MY GOD~!  They went the comedy route in the early going, even taking a page out of the El Generico/Delirious playbook on a rope-running spot.  Blackburn kept teasing a dive and Evan kept ducking and covering, so Blackburn simply went out to the ring apron and dropped a double axhandle...har har.  The 82nd Airborne made a nuisance of themselves, but Blackburn still hit the flying rana off the second rope for a near-fall.  Gelistico finally got the edge by yanking Austin into the turnbuckles by the tights, then sending him to the floor for the Initial Squad to work over.  General heelishness ensued, including another trip or two to the floor for Blackburn.  Evan's attempt to flip-flop-and-fly went awry and Blackburn unleashed his own bionic elbow, followed by a spinning heel kick and Slingblade...for two.  Evan hit the Ride The Lightning variation of the Go 2 Sleep...for two.  Big roundhouse kick...for two.  Alabama Slam attempt was countered into a Code Red by Blackburn...for two.  Turnbuckle-walk DDT...but L.M.C. distracted the ref.  Blackburn went for another Code Red, but K.L.D. entered the ring to grab him in a spinebuster.  The ref turned around just in time to see Gelistico's pin cover for the win in 11:49...CHEAT TO WIN~!

Kevin Lee Davidson vs. Tommy Dallas for the Survivor Title:  Apparently the Peanut Gallery was booted from ringside before this one started.  K.L.D. has surprising agility for a guy of his size...I look forward to seeing what he'll be able to do with a few years of experience under his belt.  He's also good at "wrestling like a big man" already.  Dallas pulled off one of the better low-bridge spots in my recent memory, then nailed a nice suicide dive.  K.L.D. caught a cross-bodyblock off the top, but Dallas fought out of his grasp...only to be yanked back by the tights and clubbed in the back of the head.  Simple but VERY effective.  Nice block of an attempted flying headscissors as K.L.D. dropped Dallas with a sideslam.  Davidson notably has a decent fanbase at South Broadway.  SBAC is the only place I've seen Dallas so far; I don't have as much material to study on him since he's so new.  Dallas gets the ringside tour, but shows signs of life before being thrown into the guardrail.  Regal/Finlay Roll on the hardwood floor!  Davidson takes his sweet time in capitalizing, even stopping to pose with his belt and mock Dallas' hip-swivel.  Dallas finally fired up with a dropkick, then a cross-body off the top...for two.  K.L.D. blocked a Rude Awakening and planted Dallas with the spinebuster...that ended it in 11:14.  Davidson had a staredown with "Da Bomb" Brian James at the broadcast table in a preview of coming attractions...

A.J. Williams vs. "Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson for the Heavyweight Title:  A.J. has tights~!  MY GOD~!  Of course Gary is a perennial contender for the MMWA Title which he has held many, many times.  Gary reminded everyone about THE RULES~!...if more people would follow Rule Four(don't forget the rules), he wouldn't have to keep doing that.  The formula was simple:  Hotshot arrogant punk champion vs. battle-tested veteran challenger.  Williams got Jackson in the Sharpshooter, but the f'ing bell wasn't rung as Gary fought out of the hold...in turn, A.J. kicked Gary away as he attempted the Texas Cloverleaf.  Williams hit a tornado DDT for an early two-count, then slipped out of the ring to seemingly hide SOMETHING in his kneepad...hmm.  However, Gary got his second wind and dropped A.J. with a side backbreaker...focusing on the back to set up the Cloverleaf.  Williams cut him off with an enzuigiri, but he missed a kneedrop and Gary rallied.  The K.L.D./Gelistico/L.M.C. trio made their way to ringside at this point...Gary hit the swinging neckbreaker and Drop It Like It's Hot elbowdrop, then got the Cloverleaf only for L.M.C. to distract the ref from seeing the tapout.  A.J. rammed Jackson back into the corner...and the referee, uh-oh.  Gary went for a back suplex, but A.J. hit him with the international object from his kneepad and fell on top.  Williams threw the foreign object out of the ring as the official recovered to count three in 10:18...the champ retained his title.

A few different things have been set up for July 11th...Da'Marius Jones gets his rematch with A.J.  Connors faces Orleans in a title-vs.-hair match.  Espinosa & Hawkins defend the tag belts against Wilder & Zulu who will now be able to prepare for both opponents.  Moondog has another open challenge...and Ken Patera will be in the house for an induction into the St. Louis Wrestling Hall Of Fame.  Good times.

Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

P.S. We are all marks.

Anarchy + 3XW

Anarchy Wrestling TV #490

-Commentators:  Brett Wolverton & Jonathan Feltner.
-Aja Perrera d. Calista by DQ when Nina Monet tripped Aja (1:03).  Nina and Calista double-teamed Aja until Dementia D'Rose made the save and cleared the ring.
-Shadow Jackson, Jacob Ashworth, & Jeremy Foster d. T.V. Champion "The Encore" Kevin Blue, Young Lions' Champion "The Violence Artist" Trever Aeon, & Brian Blaze when Ashworth rolled up Blue (10:11 aired).  Blue and Aeon laid out Ashworth and Foster with their title belts afterwards (Shadow and Blaze had brawled away from the ringside area).
-"P-Dog" Mike Posey(w/ Nina Monet) d. "The Technician" Todd Sexton via low blow and rollup (8:26 aired).  Afterwards, Sexton challenged P-Dog to bring C.B. Suave and Raphael King to the next show and they'd have a six-man tag with himself, Salvatore Rinauro, and Seth Delay.  P-Dog said that King wouldn't be there...but Jimmy Rave would.
-Texas Tornado Tag Match:  "Wild" Billy Buck & "Hit For Hire" Bobby Moore vs. "The Modern Classic" B.J. Hancock & Lars Manderson ended in a no-contest; Buck had Manderson in the figure-four leglock as Moore had Hancock in the Crippler Crossface, but members of the Platinum Family(Blue, Aeon, & Blaze) ran in to break up the holds (joined in progress; 6:38 aired).  Shadow Jackson and Jerry Palmer ran in to help, then Agent/Attorney Jeff G. Bailey hit the ring with a baseball bat.  The Platinum Family retreated and Bailey spoke to the members of Team Anarchy...he admitted that he had done some terrible things to Shadow and Buck in the past, but you don't always choose your allies in a war.  He said he would bring "The Deadly Sin" Se7en to the upcoming ten-man tag...and he made a call to "The No-Pain Train" Iceberg as well.

3XW All Stars Of The Midwest Episode 22

-Commentators:  Jeremy Jacobs, Austin Buckner, & Brady A. Dezire.
-J.C. Slater d. Brandon Bennett by rolling through a cross-bodyblock off the top rope and holding the tights (4:26).  Bennett offered a handshake after the match, but Slater kicked him in the gut and dropped him with the See You Slater(pumphandle powerslam).  J.C. brought out hair trimmers and cut Bennett's hair after all of that.
-Backstage:  Bennett stormed backstage to find Slater, but Slater attacked him from behind and rammed his shoulder into the wall.  Devin Thomas arrived and Slater backed off, but the damage had been done.
-"The Fury" Jon West d. Ray Stryker when Griz hit Stryker with a low blow behind the referee's back, allowing West to capitalize with the Hoodslam(F-5) for the cheap win (5:57).  Griz boosted Stryker up for a jumping leg lariat by West afterwards.
-Rory Fox d. "Delicious" Devin Carter; Carter tried to back-suplex Fox into the ring, but Fox hit him with a foreign object in mid-move and fell on top for the three-count (5:41).  Fox had some choice words for Carter's wife in the audience and she slapped him, leading to Carter running him off.

WLW Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Friday's World League Wrestling show at the Race Wrestling Arena in Troy, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

The weather forecast for the past week seemed to be "torrential downpour"...thus, there were some slightly altered parking accommodations.  Fans had to go around the other side of the building to reach the lot, then park in a way that wouldn't require wading boots to reach the front door.  Good times.

The show actually started late(by about a half-hour) since some fans were having trouble getting to the venue.  The highway north of Troy was closed off and that may have forced some people to make detours; they had a decent turnout by the time the event officially got underway.  Ben Simon brought a friend to his first independent wrestling show who hadn't seen any wrestling at all in a long time...I feel bad for the collective infodump we imposed on him throughout the night.  (BWAHAHAHA~!)

Your ring announcer was Brian Thompson and your referee was Richard White.

They started with a ten-bell salute for Dusty Rhodes, Tommy Rogers, Buddy Landell, and Cora Combs(mother of former WWF competitor Debbie Combs).  The roster came out to ringside for the memorial tradition.  "I have been to too many funerals." -Batman.

Jon Webb vs. Michael Magnuson:  Hey, look who's back from Japan!  No sign of Jack Gamble on this night.  Magnuson's been getting the big singles push out of the Black Hand Warriors, but I didn't see Webb losing his first match back in the States.  Of course these guys are no strangers to each other; High Level Enterprise and the Black Hand Warriors have locked horns for the past few years or so.  Webb scored the upset with a rana into a flash pinning combination in 9:45...well done.

John E. Rock vs. Dangerous Derek McQuinn:  Steve Fender was conspicuous by his absence.  Rock has had trouble getting over the hump of title contention in WLW, though he still maintains his popularity.  McQuinn was Heavyweight Champion at one point, but he took a long break from wrestling before recently returning.  I think WLW's short-lived TV show on PAX was my first real exposure to independent wrestling before I attended any shows; McQuinn was one of the regulars around that time.  They had a solid matchup; the finish saw Rock climb the turnbuckles only for Derek to shove the ref into the ropes to knock him off-balance(HEEL~!).  That gave him the opening to end it with the spear in 13:12.

Cue they're-never-brief intermission~!  (Except for the first one at SICW last week, anyway.)  Concession count:  One Mountain Dew, one bottle of water.

"The Legacy" Leland Race vs. "The Ego" Dustin Bozworth for the Heavyweight Title:  Odd placement for the Heavyweight Title match, but the big push for this show was the tag tourney final so that would be the show-capper (or so we thought...).  I didn't expect Bozworth to have much of a chance here, though I figured it would be a good match prior to that conclusion.  There's so much wrestling content available nowadays that I think we sometimes take things for granted that fall into the realm of "solid but unspectacular".  Wrestling fans are definitely more difficult to please nowadays and I include myself in that category as well.  Bozworth had control when "Superstar" Steve Fender and Derek McQuinn ran in to attack Race, causing an indirect DQ win for Race in 17:31.  Bozworth didn't participate in the beatdown so he clearly wasn't aligned with the two(after all, they just ruined his title shot).  Fender teased cashing in his Harley Race Invitational Tournament trophy(which works like Money In The Bank)...but then he and McQuinn just left the ring instead.  I don't know if Bozworth's presence had persuaded him to wait for a better opportunity, but that wasn't made too clear here.

Stacey O'Brien vs. "Miss Natural" Heather Patera for the Women's Title:  These two have battled each other many times, including a matchup at the first High Risk Wrestling show last summer.  They had a best-of-five series for the belt which was won by Stacey, but the feud continued here.  As previously noted, the pool of female wrestlers is shallow compared to the guys...add in Missouri licensing and it gets downright miniscule.  From what I understand, the blood work and other such procedures required for a Missouri license get rather pricey...if a female wrestler isn't from the area, she probably has to weigh the cost-effectiveness of something they may only use a handful of times.  At least there are a few more options for wrestling promotions in Missouri nowadays, though WLW is the only one with a Women's Championship (MMWA's was dropped several years ago).  Saw Lucy Mendez in attendance and I wondered if she would do a run-in...heh.

This match was surprisingly short compared to the other bouts on the card...maybe the late start was a factor in that?  This was my first time seeing Stacey in her more traditional wrestling attire; she had used the plaid-skirt motif until recently.  Stacey countered a waistlock into a victory roll, but Miss Natural re-reversed into a pinning combination that left both women's shoulders on the mat.  I thought it was a double pin at first, but apparently Stacey got a shoulder off the mat and was declared the winner in 5:12.  (I wasn't in a good vantage point to see exactly what happened.)  Miss Natural grabbed the belt from the referee and challenged Stacey to a best-of-three-falls rematch for the August 29th show (featuring Ric Flair!).  Stacey agreed to it and they shook hands...but Miss Natural kicked her in the midsection and dropped her with the Natural Disaster(swinging fisherman buster).  This feud...MUST CONTINUE~!

Intermission numero dos...I am of the opinion that Harley Race could still kick just about anybody's ass if he so chose.  Don't mess with oldschool.

Brandon Espinosa & Justin D'Air vs. The Black Hand Warriors(Dave DeLorean & Jayden Fenix), Tag Team Title Tournament Final:  High Level Enterprise(Jack Gamble & Jon Webb) forfeited the belts before their trip to Japan and NOAH, leading to a four-team tournament for the belts.  DeLorean & Fenix defeated John E. Rock and Matt Creed while D'Air and "Kickin'" Kyle Roberts upset Fender & McQuinn.  However, Roberts suffered a broken collarbone in that matchup and has yet to return to action...Espinosa was the substitute partner for the tourney finale.  All four men have plenty of tag team experience, if not necessarily with each other.  Espinosa recently won the MMWA Tag Titles with the returning Ace Hawkins; they were also Pro Wrestling Collision Tag Champs a few years ago.  If I'm not mistaken, this was the first time he and D'Air had teamed up; D'Air has been teaming with Keon Option in Dynamo lately.  DeLorean & Magnuson were multi-time Tag Champs, but DeLorean & Fenix have been teaming more often recently as Magnuson moves into singles contention.  At the May show, Espinosa lost to DeLorean while D'Air fell to Magnuson in one-on-one bouts.

Espy established his character right away by turning the mutual handshakes into hand-kisses for both DeLorean and Fenix, then one-upped himself by kissing his tag team partner on the mouth...all righty then.  Espinosa and D'Air worked fairly well together as a unit, but the Black Hand Warriors subset had a slight advantage in that department.  They gained the advantage when DeLorean dropped Espy onto the ring apron with a Death Valley Driver...ouch.  D'Air got the hot tag and hit an insane somersault plancha onto (I think)DeLorean.  The good guys rallied with D'Air hitting a sweet Van Terminator-style dropkick onto DeLorean in the corner from the adjacent turnbuckles.  The closest near-fall came when Espinosa hit his powerslam variant(out of the Tombstone position) and D'Air followed up with the 450 Splash...I forget if Fenix broke up the pin or DeLorean kicked out on his own.  The Black Hand Warriors came back and DeLorean finally pinned D'Air after the Tombstone/top-rope double-stomp combo in 16:57...whew!  We have NEWWWWW Tag Team Champions!

Handshakes all around and DeLorean & Fenix celebrated...only to be jumped from behind by Fender and McQuinn!  This touched off an impromptu brawl with the former Gold Exchange partners getting the advantage on the worn-down titleholders...notably, Fender was in his wrestling gear after appearing in street clothes earlier.  As Fender & McQuinn gained the advantage, Fender delivered a series of strikes on Fenix(the less experienced member of the team)...and Derek followed up with the spear!  At that point, Fender lowered the boom...the trophy could be cashed in for ANY title shot, so he was using it to challenge for the Tag Team Titles!

The Black Hand Warriors(Dave DeLorean & Jayden Fenix) vs. Superstar Steve Fender & Dangerous Derek McQuinn for the Tag Team Titles:  The referee called for the bell and Brian Thompson didn't even have time to ring it before Derek simply covered Fenix for the pin...I'll just say 0:03 for the match time.  Once again:  We have NEWWWWW Tag Team Champions!

There's a lot of fallout from that show ending...are the Black Hand Warriors officially faces now or simply the lesser of two evils?  Will they be on the same page as their old rivals Gamble and Webb?  Where does Michael Magnuson stand, as he was nowhere to be found when his partners were being blindsided and screwed out of the belts?  We shall see...I haven't seen the results from the Saturday show in Chilicothe, so maybe something developed there.

Post-show Denny's run saw me discover my limit as it relates to chicken strips with buffalo sauce...I'm getting old, folks.  Blarg.

At any rate, it was another full weekend...Saturday was a rare open day, but there was still Sunday.  More on that next time...same Pat-Time, same Pat-Channel.

Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

P.S. We are all marks.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

TNA Slammiversary

-Tigre Uno won a three-way dance with Manik and D.J. Shiima Xion to retain the X-Division Title; Tigre pinned Xion after a corkscrew split-legged moonsault, then pinned Manik after the split-legged corkscrew moonsault for the win.
-Robbie Eckos d. Jessie Godderz after an inverted DDT.
-Bram Cameron d. Matt Morgan in a street fight after a low blow and the Brighter Side Of Suffering(elevated DDT) onto a chair.
-Austin Aries(w/ Bobby Roode) d. Davey Richards(w/ Eddie Edwards) via rollup w/ tights.
-Amazing Kong & Brooke Tessmacher d. Women's Champion Taryn Terrell & The Dollhouse(Mia "Jade" Yim & Marti Belle) when Brooke pinned Jade after a top-rope X-Factor.
-James Storm d. Brutus Magnus in an anything-goes match; each man hit the other with a beer bottle at the same time, but Storm fell on top for the pin.
-Ethan Carter III & Tyrus Clay d. Bobby Lashley & Ken Anderson when EC3 pinned Lashley after the One-Percenter(headlock driver).
-Jeff Jarrett won a King Of The Mountain Match for the new KOTM Title involving Bobby Roode, Eric Young, Drew Galloway, and Matt Hardy.

Sunday HRW Results From Cahokia, IL

-The show started with a ten-bell salute for Dusty Rhodes, Tommy Rogers, Buddy Landell, and Cora Combs.
-Flip Kendrick d. Justin D'Air after a top-rope Buff Blockbuster into a flying inverted DDT (8:44).
-Promoter Frank Thurman announced that the Tag Team Titles were vacant due to lack of defenses by reDRagon(Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) and a decision hadn't been made about who the next champions would be.  He announced that HRW had made a deal with Roku to air matches.  He also mentioned that Magic Man was not in attendance due to illness.
-Mike Outlaw d. Tony Kozina by countering an anklelock with a victory roll pin (9:16).
-"The Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso Ciampa d. "The Beer City Bruiser" Matt Winchester after Bruiser missed a Vader Bomb, allowing Ciampa to capitalize with a knee trembler for the win (9:49).
-Team I.O.U.("Limitless" Nick Iggy & "The Music City Mutt" Kerry Awful) d. "The Madman" Paco Gonzalez & "The Millenial" Danny Adams.  Paco & Danny nearly scored an upset with a combination reverse Stunner/Diamond Dust on Iggy, but Team I.O.U. came back to win when Awful pinned Paco after the Michinoku Driver/dropkick combo (11:30).
-"The Supercharged Superstar" Bolt Brady d. "The Last Real Man" Silas Young by DQ when Silas shoved the referee, then gave Bolt a blatant low blow before attacking him with a chair (11:37).  Brady became the number-one contender to the Heavyweight Title with his win.
-Blake Edward Belakis d. "Mr. '70s Kung Fu" Louis Lyndon to retain the Heavyweight Title.  Belakis brought the belt into the ring, then delivered a low blow as the referee was getting the championship out of play.  Belakis wore him down with a double-underhook guillotine hold; Lyndon escaped the hold by pushing Blake through the ropes to the floor, but Belakis sidestepped Lyndon outside the ring and Louis hit the ringpost shoulder-first.  Belakis capitalized on the injury with a shoulderbreaker and locked on the double-underhook guillotine hold for a second time; Lyndon never tapped out, but the referee called for the bell as Lyndon passed out in the hold (15:53).
-After the match, Belakis did more damage with a palm strike and a chair attack on Lyndon's injured arm...Bolt Brady ran him off, but then Silas Young attacked Brady from behind with his knee brace.

Weekend wrestling

WWE Superstars

-Commentators:  Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, & Jimmy Uso.
-The Lucha Dragons(Sin Cara & Kalisto) d. Bo Dallas & Heath Slater when Sin Cara hit the Estrella Fugaz(swanton bomb) on Slater and Kalisto followed up with a 450 Splash for the pin (4:29).
-Antonio Cesaro d. Luke Harper with a headscissors/hammerlock combo into a modified small package pin (6:04 aired).

ROH TV

-Commentators:  Kevin Kelly & Steve Corino.
-Tag Team Champions The Addiction("The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) d. "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada & Gedo when Daniels pinned Gedo after the Celebrity Rehab(back suplex by Kazarian flipped over into a Codebreaker by Daniels) (11:08 aired).  After the match, Okada cleared the ring with dropkicks and took out Daniels with the Rainmaker(wind-up short-arm lariat).
-Adam Page(w/ Colby Corino) d. Takaaki Watanabe after a cheapshot by Colby set up Page's Rite Of Passage(behind-the-back piledriver) for the win (joined in progress; 7:50 aired).
-A.J. Styles d. Adam Cole after two Ganso Bombs and the Styles Clash (15:27 aired).

SICW Wrestling Explosion

-Commentators:  Drew Abbenhaus & Patrick Brandmeyer.
-Ron Powers & Red River Jack d. "The Icon" Chris Hargas & Bull Bronson(w/ Travis Cook); Kahagas attacked RRJ with a kendo stick near the end of the match, but Powers got the pin on Hargas after an RKO.
-Drew interviewed Ron Powers & Gary Jackson(w/ Big Daddy) about next month's tag match against Classic Champion Flash Flanagan & "The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas.
-Bubba Troll d. "Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner with a sitout Tombstone.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Friday WLW Results From Troy, MO + Other Show Results

-The night started with a ten-bell salute to recently departed wrestlers:  Dusty Rhodes, Tommy Rogers, Buddy Landell, and Cora Combs.
-Jon Webb d. Michael Magnuson with a rana into a pinning combination (9:45).
-Dangerous Derek McQuinn d. John E. Rock after pushing the referee into the ropes to knock Rock off-balance on the turnbuckles, then following up with the spear (13:12).
-"The Legacy" Leland Race d. "The Ego" Dustin Bozworth by DQ to retain the Heavyweight Title when Superstar Steve Fender & Derek McQuinn ran in to attack Race (17:31).  Fender teased cashing in his Harley Race Invitational Tournament trophy for an immediate shot at Race's title, but Bozworth was upset about losing his championship opportunity and Fender thought better of expending his privilege.
-Stacey O'Brien d. "Miss Natural" Heather Patera to retain the Women's Title; Stacey countered a German suplex attempt into a victory roll attempt, but Miss Natural countered with her own pinning combination.  Both women's shoulders were down on the mat, but Stacey got a shoulder up before three and was declared the winner (5:12).  Miss Natural grabbed the title belt away from the referee and challenged Stacey to a best-of-three-falls match at the big August show to settle their long rivalry for good.  Stacey offered a handshake, but Miss Natural pulled her into the Natural Disaster(swinging fisherman buster).
-Tag Team Title Tournament Final:  The Black Hand Warriors(Dave DeLorean & Jayden Fenix) d. Brandon Espinosa(subbing for the injured "Kickin'" Kyle Roberts) & Justin D'Air to win the titles when DeLorean pinned D'Air after the Tombstone/top-rope double-stomp combo (16:57).  Fender & McQuinn attacked the new champs from behind, kicking off an impromptu fight between the teams.  Fender stunned Fenix with a series of strikes to set up a spear by McQuinn, then revealed that he was cashing in his trophy for an impromptu shot at the TAG TEAM Titles...
-Superstar Steve Fender & Dangerous Derek McQuinn d. The Black Hand Warriors(Dave DeLorean & Jayden Fenix) to win the Tag Team Titles when McQuinn pinned Fenix after the spear (0:03?).

-----

Friday PWG results from Reseda, CA:

-Tommaso Ciampa d. Johnny Gargano.
-The World's Cutest Tag Team(Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae) d. The Monster Mafia(Ethan Page & Josh Alexander).
-Biff Busick d. Timothy Thatcher.
-Roderick Strong d. Mike Bailey to retain the Heavyweight Title.
-Brian Cage d. John Silver.
-Zack Sabre Jr. d. Chris Hero.
-The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) d. Andrew Everett & Trevor Lee to win the Tag Team Titles.

-The night started with a ten-bell salute to recently departed wrestlers:  Dusty Rhodes, Tommy Rogers, Buddy Landell, and Cora Combs.
-Jon Webb d. Michael Magnuson with a rana into a pinning combination (9:45).
-Dangerous Derek McQuinn d. John E. Rock after pushing the referee into the ropes to knock Rock off-balance on the turnbuckles, then following up with the spear (13:12).
-"The Legacy" Leland Race d. "The Ego" Dustin Bozworth by DQ to retain the Heavyweight Title when Superstar Steve Fender & Derek McQuinn ran in to attack Race (17:31).  Fender teased cashing in his Harley Race Invitational Tournament trophy for an immediate shot at Race's title, but Bozworth was upset about losing his championship opportunity and Fender thought better of expending his privilege.
-Stacey O'Brien d. "Miss Natural" Heather Patera to retain the Women's Title; Stacey countered a German suplex attempt into a victory roll attempt, but Miss Natural countered with her own pinning combination.  Both women's shoulders were down on the mat, but Stacey got a shoulder up before three and was declared the winner (5:12).  Miss Natural grabbed the title belt away from the referee and challenged Stacey to a best-of-three-falls match at the big August show to settle their long rivalry for good.  Stacey offered a handshake, but Miss Natural pulled her into the Natural Disaster(swinging fisherman buster).
-Tag Team Title Tournament Final:  The Black Hand Warriors(Dave DeLorean & Jayden Fenix) d. Brandon Espinosa(subbing for the injured "Kickin'" Kyle Roberts) & Justin D'Air to win the titles when DeLorean pinned D'Air after the Tombstone/top-rope double-stomp combo (16:57).  Fender & McQuinn attacked the new champs from behind, kicking off an impromptu fight between the teams.  Fender stunned Fenix with a series of strikes to set up a spear by McQuinn, then revealed that he was cashing in his trophy for an impromptu shot at the TAG TEAM Titles...
-Superstar Steve Fender & Dangerous Derek McQuinn d. The Black Hand Warriors(Dave DeLorean & Jayden Fenix) to win the Tag Team Titles when McQuinn pinned Fenix after the spear (0:03?).

-----

Friday PWG results from Reseda, CA:

-Tommaso Ciampa d. Johnny Gargano.
-The World's Cutest Tag Team(Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae) d. The Monster Mafia(Ethan Page & Josh Alexander).
-Biff Busick d. Timothy Thatcher.
-Roderick Strong d. Mike Bailey to retain the Heavyweight Title.
-Brian Cage d. John Silver.
-Zack Sabre Jr. d. Chris Hero.
-The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) d. Andrew Everett & Trevor Lee to win the Tag Team Titles.

Friday IWA-MS results from Charlestown, IN featuring the King Of The Deathmatches Tournament:

-Hy-Zaya won a triple threat match with Kongo Kong and Shane Mercer to retain the Heavyweight Title.
-The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter), Mitch Page, & J.C. Rotten d. Joseph Schwartz & The Viking War Party(Alexandre Rudolph, Frank Wyatt, & Jake Parnell).
-Dale Patricks d. Adam Bueller.
-Nick Gage d. Markus Crane.
-Matt Tremont d. Tank.

Saturday WLW results from Chilicothe, MO:

-John E. Rock d. Michael Magnuson.
-Stacey O'Brien d. "Miss Natural" Heather Patera to retain the Women's Title.
-Dave DeLorean d. Justin D'Air.
-Elite Aggression(Superstar Steve Fender & Dangerous Derek McQuinn) d. The Elitism(Brandon Espinosa & Ace Hawkins) to retain the Tag Team Titles.
-"The Iceman" Howard Moritz d. Heavyweight Champion Leland Race by DQ.

Saturday Anarchy Wrestling results from Cornelia, GA:

-Stryknyn d. Romeo Reynolds.
-C.B. Suave & Raphael King d. Stitch Osiris & Kevin Park.
-Jeff Lewis d. Bobby Moore.
-Jacob Ashworth & Jeremy Foster d. T.V. Champion Kevin Blue & Young Lions' Champion Trever Aeon.
-Todd Sexton d. Salvatore Rinauro.
-The Beardos(Wade Adams & Chris Spectra), Frank White, & Dementia d. The Big F'n Deal(Geter & Brian Blaze) & The Silent Kill Syndicate(Azrael & Supernatural).
-Slim J & Fred Yehi d. The Washington Bullets(Jon & Trey Williams) to retain the Tag Team Titles.
-Shadow Jackson d. Heavyweight Champion Jagged Edge by DQ.
-Shadow Jackson & Logan Creede d. Heavyweight Champion Jagged Edge & Lars Manderson.

Saturday(afternoon) IWA-MS results from Charlestown, IN featuring the Queen Of The Deathmatches Tournament:

-Sage Supreme d. Thunderkitty.
-Randi West d. Rebecca Payne by forfeit.
-Kathy Owens d. Sabrina Sixx.
-Ludark Shaitan d. Mistress Burgandi.
-Kathy Owens d. Sage Supreme.
-Ludark Shaitan d. Randi West.
-Bryan Woods d. Green Phantom.
-Ludark Shaitan d. Kathy Owens.

Saturday IWA-MS results from Charlestown, IL featuring the King Of The Deathmatches Tournament:

-Masada d. The Green Phantom.
-Sexxxy Eddy d. Insane Lane.
-J.D. Horror d. Bryant Woods.
-Devon Moore d. Reed Bentley.
-John Wayne Murdoch d. Corporal Robinson.
-John Wayne Murdoch d. Devon Moore.
-Kongo Kong & The Viking War Party(Alexandre Rudolph, Frank Wyatt, & Jake Parnell) d. Heavyweight Champion Hy-Zaya, Shane Mercer, Tank, & J.C. Rotten.
-Nick Gage d. Sexxxy Eddy.
-Masada d. Dale Patricks.
-Matt Tremont d. J.D. Horror.
-John Wayne Murdoch d. Nick Gage.
-Matt Tremont d. Masada.
-Matt Tremont d. John Wayne Murdoch; Toby Klein was the referee.

Sunday ACW results from Austin, TX featuring the American Joshi Queen of Queens Tournament:

-Jack Jameson won a six-way match with Stan Summers, Jay Howard, D.G. Taylor, Dominic Dallas Starr, and Curt Stallion.
-Angel Blue d. Paige Turner.
-Jessica James d. Baby Dumplins.
-Athena d. Claudia Del Solis to retain the Joshi Title.
-Su Yung d. Livi Loca.
-The Unholy Complex(Jason Silver & Gregory James) d. The Center Of Perfection(Matthew Palmer & Franco D'Angelo) to win the Tag Team Titles.
-Raymond Rowe d. Barrett Brown.
-T.V. Champion Jojo Bravo, U-30 Champion Steve O. Reno, The Hole F'n Team(Johnny Axxle & Mr. B), & Thomas Munos d. The Swarm(Dick Money, Wade Olsen, & V.G. Allin) & the Bad Boyz(Li'l Tony & Seph Anunnaki).
-Angel Blue d. Jessica James.
-Athena d. Su Yung to retain the Joshi Title.
-Heavyweight Champion Ricky Starks, A.C.H., & Killah Kash d. Jeffery Gant, J.C. Valentine, & Coven.
-Darin Childs d. Sky DeLacrimosa in a dog collar match.
-Athena d. Angel Blue to retain the Joshi Title and win the tournament.

Other shows:
-Saturday WLW in Chilicothe, MO

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Impact + Smackdown

TNA Impact

-Commentators:  Josh Mathews & "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero.
-X-Division Title Tournament:  Tigre Uno won a three-way dance with Low-Ki and Grado to win the title tournament.  Low-Ki eliminated Grado after the Warrior's Way(top-rope double-stomp) (2:25); Tigre Uno eliminated Low-Ki with the Phoenix Splash (5:10).
-Velvet Sky d. Angelina Love after a Stone Cold Stunner (5:21).
-Match 4 Of Best-Of-5 Series:  The Dirty Heels(Bobby Roode & Austin Aries) d. The American Wolves(Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) in a Full Metal Mayhem Match when Roode gave Edwards a low blow as he had Aries set up for a powrbomb, causing Aries to fall on top for the pin (13:50 aired).
-Jeff Jarrett and Karen Angle-Jarrett made a surprise appearance...Jarrett announced he would be competing in a King Of The Mountain Match at Slammiversary and would have a major announcement at that show.
-Big Van Vader d. Bram Cameron by DQ when he hit Vader with a turnbuckle bolt (3:43).  Matt Morgan returned to clear Bram out of the ring afterwards.
-Eric Young d. Sgt. Chris Melendez with the piledriver (3:46).
-The Rising(Drew Galloway, Micah Camacho, & Eli Drake) got into a brawl with The Beat Down Clan(Montel Vontavious Porter, Low-Ki, & Kenny King)...but Shawn Hernandez made a surprise return to help the B.D.C. gain an advantage.
-Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle d. Matt Hardy(non-title) with the grapevine anklelock (6:51).  Ethan Carter III & Tyrus Clay attacked Angle after the match but Hardy helped Angle fight them off.  The show ended with Angle catching EC3 in the anklelock.

WWE Smackdown

-Commentators:  Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler, & Jimmy Uso.
-Sheamus O'Shaunessy d. Dolph Ziggler(w/ Lana Perry) via Brogue Kick (5:38 aired); Alexander Rusev tried to convince Lana to return to him, but she wasn't interested.
-Alicia Fox(w/ Women's Champion Nikki Bella & Brie Bella) d. Naomi Night(w/ Tamina Snuka) with the low-altitude Desecrator (3:05), but not before Tamina took out both Bellas with superkicks on the arena floor.
-Intercontinental Champion Ryback d. Kane by DQ(non-title); The Big Show attacked Ryback before the match and Kane ordered the referee to start the bout.  Ryback managed to fight back, but Show broke up the Shellshock for the blatant disqualification (2:21).
-Tag Team Champions The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) & The Lucha Dragons(Sin Cara & Kalisto) d. The New Day(Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods) & Bo Dallas when Kalisto pinned Woods after a springboard 450 Splash (6:47 aired).
-WWE Champion Seth Rollins(w/ Joey Mercury & Kane) d. Dean Ambrose(non-title) after the Pedigree (9:17 aired).

Lucha Underground + Main Event

Power outage set back my wrestling viewing a bit...

Lucha Underground Episode 33

-Commentators:  Matt Striker & Vampiro.
-Announced for Ultima Lucha:  Alberto El Patrón vs. Johnny Mundo.
-Earlier today:  Vampiro interviewed Super Fly; he said he didn't need to explain his actions because Sexy Star stole something from him(his mask).  He didn't appreciate Vampiro intervening two weeks ago to prevent Star from being injured by Pentagon Jr....and he warned Vampiro not to intervene tonight.
-Super Fly d. Sexy Star after a powerbomb, followed by a deadlift into a sitout powerbomb (6:35).  Super Fly tried to unmask Star but she got away before he could do it.
-Pentagon Jr. was scheduled to be in match for the third Aztec Medallion, but he wanted to destroy the man who took away his greatest sacrifice to his master:  Vampiro.  Vampiro and Pentagon had a confrontation at the broadcast table...Vampiro didn't want to get involved, but Pentagon put his hands on him and Vampiro shoved him away.  That led to a staredown, but referees restored order and Pentagon was escorted to the backstage area.
-Aztec Medallion #3:  Aero Star won a four-corner match with Brian Cage, Willie Mack, and Marty "The Moth" Martinez when he pinned Martinez after a springboard splash (9:11).
-Backstage:  Trios Champions Son Of Havoc, Angélico, & Ivelisse Velez trained for their next battle...but Catrina Perez warned them that death was coming for all three of them.  Cue sneak attack by The Disciples Of Death(Barrio Negro, El Siniestro De La Muerte, & Trece).
-Before the main event, Shawn Hernandez attacked Drago from behind and whipped him with his belt...seeking revenge for his loss in the four-corner contenders' match.
-Mil Muertes(w/ Catrina Perez) d. Drago with a cobra-clutch Flatliner (8:52); Muertes won Drago's Ultima Lucha title shot as a result.  LU Champion Prince Puma came out with Konnan to stare down his challenger from the temple stairway.

WWE Main Event

-Commentators:  Rich Brennan & Jerry Lawler.
-"The Man That Gravity Forgot" Adrian Neville d. Heath Slater with the Red Arrow(corkscrew shooting star press) (4:09).
-The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor) d. The Meta Powers("Macho Mandow" Damien Sandow & "Axelmania" Curtis Axel) when Viktor pinned Sandow after the Fall Of Man(legsweep/flying European uppercut combo) (3:32).
-"R-Truth" Ron Killings d. Adam Rose(w/ Rosa Mendes) with the Lie Detector(Paydirt) (1:27); King Wade "Bad News" Barrett did commentary and tried for a post-match sneak-attack, but R-Truth dropped him with the Lie Detector as well.
-Luke Harper d. Antonio Cesaro after a thumb to the eye set up the discus lariat (6:08 aired).

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Comedy Part 577: Dynamite Goes Whaaaaat?

Location:  Hey Guys Comedy
Emcee:  Gary Schultz
After:  Juwan Reid
Before:  Mark Walsbee(?)

Really glad to see the open-mic attendance turn a corner at the Fairview Heights club...this was the third Wednesday night show in a row with good attendance.  There were several new faces on the stage and practically everyone had solid performances.  I tried out a new joke that went over well...still needs a bit of fine-tuning, though.  Also retried a joke that fell flat at Valley Park last week; it worked a bit better this time around, so maybe it has some potential.  All in all, a fun night at Hey Guys...will probably check out one of the Dan Chopin shows on Saturday.  After that, my next performance will most likely be at one of the Funny Bone open-mics...

WWE NXT

-Commentators:  Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, & Corey Graves.
-The show started with the roster on the stage as Triple H spoke about the late "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.  Dusty considered the NXT wrestlers his "kids", so they lost a family member.  Cue ten-bell salute.
-Greg Hamilton interviewed Hideo Itami(w/ arm in sling) to start the show...he vowed to win the NXT Title when he returned to action.  Of course, that caught the ear of the current champion Kevin Owens; he said that Itami was clearly going to be at the NXT Japan special to see him finish off Finn Bálor.  Owens denied any involvement in Itami's injury, but wanted an apology for Itami calling him a bad person...heh.  Itami reiterated his statement, so Owens decided he might as well do something to deserve the accusations and take care of Itami's good arm.  Fortunately, Bálor cut him off before he could get to Itami...Owens tried to get away, but Finn pursued him only to be blindsided by Rhyno and kicked off the entrance stage.
-Enzo Amore & "Big Cass" Colin Cassady(w/ Carmella Van Damme) d. Jason Jordan & Sylvester Lefort when Enzo rolled up Jordan out of nowhere (2:36).
-After last week's show:  Samoa Joe heard the fans chanting "Let Them Fight"...but he didn't get the fight he wanted when he faced Kevin Owens.  He's ready to fight him again.
-"The Total Diva" Dana Brooke(w/ Emma Tayla) d. Cassie McIntosh with the Whiplash (3:34).
-Backstage:  Devin Taylor interviewed Charlotte Flair about her feud with Dana.
-Finn Bálor video package:  He likes Legos, as Sami Zayn discovered.  Jason Albert met him in Japan and they've been friends ever since.  New Japan Pro Wrestling gets some love here.  Hey, TAKA Michinoku!  Jushin Liger!  Hiroshi Tanahashi!  What's this "Bullet Club" thing, anyway?
-The Hype Bros(Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley) d. Angelo Dawkins & Sawyer Fulton when Mojo pinned Dawkins after Mojo boosted Dawkins up into a second-rope Rough Ryder by Zack (4:01).
-Backstage:  General Manager S. William Regal met with Eva Marie...she wanted to wrestle on NXT, but Regal told her that she'd have to prove herself first.
-Finn Bálor d. Rhyno; NXT Champion Kevin Owens did commentary and tried to distract Finn late in the match, but Finn still won with the Coup De Grace(top-rope double-stomp) (8:06 aired).  Owens attacked Bálor after the bell and Rhyno joined in the assault, but Samoa Joe ran them off.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Raw + This Week In Wrestling

WWE Raw

-Commentators:  Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, & John Bradshaw Layfield.
-Kane d. Dean Ambrose after distraction by WWE Champion Seth Rollins led to Kane chokeslamming Ambrose off the top rope for the win (7:47 aired).
-Tag Team Champions The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) d. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor)(non-title) when Young pinned Viktor after the Gut Check(fireman's-carry double-knee gutbuster) (4:06).
-Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus O'Shaunessy ended in a no-contest; Bray Wyatt appeared on the TitanTron and appeared to be talking to Roman's daughter, causing Roman to run to the backstage area (about 13:18 aired).
-"The Man That Gravity Forgot" Adrian Neville d. Kofi Kingston(w/ Big E Langston & Xavier Woods) with the Red Arrow(corkscrew shooting star press) (4:28); The Prime Time Players came out to counteact the presence of Big E & Woods, leading to all four being ejected from ringside.
-King Wade "Bad News" Barrett d. Zack Ryder via Royal Bullhammer (3:20).
-The Bella Twins(Women's Champion Nikki & Brie)(w/ Alicia Fox) d. Naomi Night & Tamina Snuka when Nikki pinned Naomi after the Rack Attack(torture-rack drop) (3:42).
-Intercontinental Champion Ryback d. Mark Henry(non-title) after a top-rope splash (2:59 aired); The Big Show did commentary.
-Dolph Ziggler(w/ Lana Perry) d. Adam Rose(w/ Rosa Mendes) after Rose jumped off the top rope into Ziggler's superkick (3:04).

-----

WWE(www.wwe.com)

Main Event this week has:
-Antonio Cesaro vs. Luke Harper
-Adrian Neville vs. Heath Slater
-The Meta Powers(Damien Sandow & Curtis Axel) vs. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor)
-"R-Truth" Ron Killings vs. Adam Rose

NXT this Wednesday has:
-Finn Bálor vs. Rhyno
-Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs. Jason Jordan & Sylvester Lefort
-Cassie McIntosh vs. Dana Brooke
-In action:  Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley

Superstars this week has:
-Antonio Cesaro vs. Luke Harper
-The Lucha Dragons(Sin Cara & Kalisto) vs. Bo Dallas & Heath Slater

Smackdown on Thursday has:
-Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
-Ryback vs. Kane
-Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus O'Shaunessy
-The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) & The Lucha Dragons(Sin Cara & Kalisto) vs. The New Day(Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods) & Bo Dallas
-Naomi Night vs. Alicia Fox

Battleground is on Sunday 7/19 in St. Louis, MO:
-Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar - WWE Title
-John Cena vs. Kevin Owens - U.S. Title
-Ryback vs. The Big Show vs. Mike Mizanin - Intercontinental Title
-Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
-The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) vs. The New Day(Big E Langston & Kofi Kingston) - Tag Team Titles

TNA(www.tnawrestling.com)

Impact on Wednesday has:
-Kurt Angle vs. Opponent Chosen By Ethan Carter III
-Low-Ki vs. Tigre Uno vs. Grado - X-Division Title Tournament Finals
-The American Wolves(Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. The Dirty Heels(Bobby Roode & Austin Aries) - Match 4 Of Best-Of-5 Series - Full Metal Mayhem Match
-Chris Melendez vs. Eric Young

Slammiversary is on Sunday 6/28.

RING OF HONOR(www.rohwrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 7/11 in Hopkins, MN:
-A.J. Styles vs. Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O'Reilly
-Jay Briscoe & O.D.B. vs. Jay Lethal & Truth Martini
-Bobby Fish vs. Adam Cole

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING(www.njpw.co.jp/english)

Next episode of World Pro Wrestling has:
-Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma
-Kazuchika Okada vs. A.J. Styles
-Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata

LUCHA UNDERGROUND(www.elreynetwork.com/originals/lucha)

This week's show has:
-Drago vs. Mil Muertes
-Sexy Star vs. Super Fly
-Aerostar vs. Brian Cage vs. Willie Mack vs. Marty "The Moth" Martinez

-----

ST. LOUIS ANARCHY(www.slawrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 8/21 in Alton, IL:
-Davey Vega, Mat Fitchett, & Angelus Layne vs. Gerald James, Jeremy Wyatt, & Christian Rose
-The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) vs. The Cause(Danny Adams & Everett Connors) - Tag Team Titles
-Tommaso Ciampa vs. Zakk Sawyers
-Matt Cage vs. Alex Castle
-Mike Outlaw vs. Sugar Dunkerton

SLA has a show on Saturday 8/22 in Alton, IL:
-Gerald James vs. Davey Vega - Heavyweight Title - No Time Limit
-Tommaso Ciampa vs. Christian Rose
-Matt Cage vs. Zakk Sawyers
-Mat Fitchett vs. Little Guido
-Steve O. Reno vs. Sugar Dunkerton

DPW(www.dynamoprowrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 7/11 in Glen Carbon, IL.

SICW(www.sicw.org)

Next show is Saturday 7/18 in East Carondelet, IL:
-Ron Powers & Gary Jackson vs. Flash Flanagan & Kahagas
-Ricky Cruz vs. Attila Khan - Cruz Gets Five Minutes With Travis Cook If He Wins

MMWA(www.southbroadwayac.com)

Next show is Saturday 7/11 in St. Louis, MO.

PWCS(www.pwcswrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 8/1 in Granite City, IL:
-Jeremy Wyatt(Ego Busters) vs. K.C. Karrington(Chaos Nation)
-Roscoe Eat Lisa(Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers)(Ego Busters) vs. The Submission Squad(Evan Gelistico & Pierre Abernathy)(Chaos Nation)
-Jojo Bravo(Blacklist) vs. Davey Vega(Resurgence)
-Jeff Gant & Tank Engine Tommy vs. Mark Sterling & Adam Rich

HIGH RISK WRESTLING(herecomesthepain.bpt.me)

Next show is Sunday 6/28 in Cahokia, IL:
-Blake Belakis vs. Louis Lyndon - Heavyweight Title
-Tommaso Ciampa vs. "The Beer City Bruiser" Matt Winchester
-Bolt Brady vs. Silas Young
-Team I.O.U.(Nick Iggy & Kerry Awful) vs. The Rejects(Reed Bentley & John Wayne Murdoch)
-Mike Outlaw vs. Tony Kozina
-Flip Kendrick vs. Justin D'Air

PRO WRESTLING EPIC(www.prowrestlingepic.com/)

Next show is Saturday 8/15 in Pontoon Beach, IL:
-Brandon Aarons vs. Danny Adams - Heavyweight Title
-Leland Race vs. Leone Mephisto
-Barackus vs. Tyler Copeland
-Stacey O'Brien vs. Selene Grey
-Baby Jesus vs. Skinny Timmy

METRO PRO WRESTLING(www.metrowrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 8/8 in Kansas City, KS:
-Metro Proyale

3XW(www.3xwrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 7/17 in Des Moines, IA:
-Jeremy Wyatt vs. Mark Sterling - Heavyweight Title Dog Collar Ladder Match
-Kraig Keesaman vs. Marek Brave-  Pure Wrestling Title
-Trevor Murdoch vs. Derek Stone
-Angelus Layne vs. Malia Hosaka
-Jaysin Strife & Ray Stryker vs. Jon West & Griz
-Mad Dog McDowell vs. Ryan Slade - Loser Eats Dog Food
-Devin Carter vs. Rory Fox
-J.C. Slater vs. Devin Thomas
-Hype Gotti vs. Eli Machete

WLW(www.harleyrace.com)

Next show is Friday 6/26 in Troy, MO:
-Leland Race vs. Dustin Bozworth
-Brandon Espinosa (subbing for Kyle Roberts) & Justin D'Air vs. Dave DeLorean & Jayden Fenix - Tag Team Title Tournament Finals
-Stacey O'Brien vs. "Miss Natural" Heather Patera - Women's Title

WLW has a show on Saturday 6/27 in Chilicothe, MO:
-Leland Race vs. "The Iceman" Howard Moritz - Heavyweight Title
-John E. Rock & Justin D'Air vs. Superstar Steve Fender & Dangerous Derek McQuinn
-Stacey O'Brien vs. "Miss Natural" Heather Patera - Women's Title

OUTLAW WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/outlawwrestling01)

Next show is Sunday 8/16 in Centralia, IL.

WRESTLING INVADES AMERICA(wrestlinginvamerica.wix.com/wrestlinginvamerica)

Next show is Sunday 9/20 in Edwardsville, IL.

CENTRAL STATES CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/nwaccw)

Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.

WORLD POWERHOUSE WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/worldpowerhousewrestling)

Next show is Saturday 7/25 in Collinsville, IL.

-----

DRAGON GATE USA/EVOLVE(www.wwnlive.com & www.dgusa.tv)

Next show is Friday 7/10 in Ybor City, FL:
-Drew Galloway & Roderick Strong vs. Anthony Nese & Caleb Konley
-Davey Richards vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
-Chris Hero vs. Trevor Lee
-Rich Swann vs. Timothy Thatcher
-Biff Busick vs. Andrew Everett

EVOLVE has a show on Saturday 7/11 in Orlando, FL:
-Drew Galloway vs. Trent Baretta - EVOLVE Title
-Chris Hero vs. Timothy Thatcher
-Davey Richards vs. Biff Busick
-T.J. Perkins vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
-Anthony Nese vs. Trevor Lee
-Caleb Konley vs. Andrew Everett

ANARCHY WRESTLING(www.anarchy-wrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 6/27 in Cornelia, GA:
-Jagged Edge vs. Shadow Jackson - Heavyweight Title
-Slim J & Fred Yehi vs. C.B. Suave & "P-Dog" Mike Posey - Tag Team Titles
-Jeremy Foster & Jacob Ashworth vs. Kevin Blue & Trever Aeon
-Todd Sexton vs. Salvatore Rinauro
-Bobby Moore vs. Jeff Lewis
-Logan Creede vs. Lars Manderson
-The Beardos(Wade Adams & Chris Spectra), Cody Ward, & ? vs. The Big F'n Deal(Geter & Brian Blaze) & The Silent Kill Syndicate(Azrael & Supernatural)
-Stitch Osiris & Kevin Park vs. The Washington Bullets(Jon & Trey Williams)

PRO WRESTLING GUERRILLA(www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)

Next show is Friday 6/26 in Reseda, CA.

CHIKARA(www.chikarapro.com)

Next show is Saturday 7/25 in South Windsor, CT.

CHIKARA has a show on Sunday 7/26 in Providence, RI:
-Hallowicked vs. Dasher Hatfield - Grand Championship

HOUSE OF HARDCORE(www.houseofhardcore.net)

Next show is Saturday 7/18 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
-Team 3-D(Bully Ray & Brother Devon) vs. The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson)
-The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. Michael Bennett & Matt Taven

SHIMMER(www.shimmerwrestling.com)

Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.

SHINE(www.shinewrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 7/24 in Ybor City, FL:
-Santana Garrett vs. Ivelisse Velez - SHINE Title
-The Kimber Bombs(Kimber Lee & Cherry Bomb) vs. Better Than You(Marti Belle & Jayme Jameson) - Tag Team Titles
-Leah Von Dutch vs. Brandi Wine

IWA MID-SOUTH(iwamidsouthwrestling.webs.com)

Next shows are Friday 6/26 and Saturday 6/27 in Clarksville, IN featuring the King Of The Deathmatches Tournament.

IWA-MS has a show on Saturday 6/27(afternoon) in Clarksville, IN featuring the Queen Of The Deathmatches Tournament.

AAW(www.aawrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 7/17 in Merrionette Park, IL:
-Ohio Is 4 Killers(Jake & Dave Crist) vs. The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) - Tag Team Titles

ACW(www.anarchychampionshipwrestling.com)

Next show is Sunday 6/28 in Austin, TX featuring the American Joshi Queen Of Queens Tournament:
-Tournament Participants:  Su Yung, Angel Blue, Jessica James, Claudia Del Solis, Livi Loca
-Raymond Rowe vs. Barrett Brown
-Ricky Starks, A.C.H., & Killah Kash vs. Jeffery Gant, Cherry Ramons, & Erik Shadows
-Darin Childs vs. Scot Summers - Dog Collar Match
-The Center Of Perfection(Matthew Palmer & Franco D'Angelo) vs. The Hole F'n Team(Johnny Axxle & Mr. B) - Tag Team Titles
-Jojo Bravo, Steve O. Reno, Sky DeLacrimosa, Gregory James, & Jason Silver vs. Dick Money, Wade Olsen, V.G. Allin, & The Bad Boyz(Li'l Tony & Seph Anunnaki) - Elimination Tag Match
-Jack Jameson vs. Curt Stallion vs. Kyle Hawk vs. Stan Summers

Missouri Wrestling Revival: http://www.missouriwrestlingrevival.com/
St. Louis Wrestling: http://www.saintlouiswrestling.com/
St. Louis Wrestling Community: http://community.livejournal.com/stlwrestling/

Leave a comment or e-mail: patrickab7@yahoo.com

SICW Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling show at the Community Center in East Carondelet, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

Attendance was still good, though down a bit from last month's Wrestling At The Chase anniversary/Bruiser Brody memorial event.  Luckily the air conditioner was working as it would have been pretty hot in the building without it.  I'll be recording the commentary for this month's set of shows this evening along with Drew Abbenhaus...of course, we're just holding down the fort until Larry Matysik is ready to return to his rightful microphone.

Spoke with my compatriot "T.N.T." Keny G at the show as he was helping with Kahagas' merchandise table.  I also had the opportunity to chat with Malia Hosaka, who competed for WCW and held WLW's Women's Title; she remains active today and was recently one-half of the SHINE Tag Team Champions with Brandi Wine.  Very cool to meet her.

Your ring announcer was Drew Abbenhaus; your referees were Denny Thomas, Jay King, & Terry Riley.

Morgan sang the National Anthem again; well done.

We had a ten-bell salute for Dusty Rhodes and Tommy Rogers.  Rogers was best known as one-half of The Fantastics with Bobby Fulton; he was also the innovator of the "Tomakazi", the move later known as the Unprettier or the Killswitch.  When it comes to wrestling, to quote that great philosopher Batman:  I have been to too many funerals.  (On that note:  R.I.P. "Nature Boy" Buddy Landell.)

Travis Cook(accompanied by Chris Hargas and Bull Bronson) hit the ring to start things off, gloating about how Director Of Affairs Cowboy Bob Orton had promised the team of Ron Powrs & Red River Jack but R.R.J. was nowhere to be found.  That brought out Orton, Powers, Big Daddy, and...someone wearing the Red River Jack mask.  I'm pretty sure that wasn't the same guy who usually wears the mask, but we had an instance like that a few months ago when a person in the mask simply appeared in the entranceway.  At any rate, our main event had been confirmed.

Keith Smith Jr. vs. Ax Allwardt:  Keith Jr. is fresh off his first SICW win over "Ironman" Ken Kasa in May, not to mention his first singles victory in Dynamo Pro the night before.  On the other side of things, Ax scored a victory over Big Jim Hoffarth at last month's show due to an arm injury suffered by Hoffarth during the bout.  Ax went OLDSCHOOL~! by repeatedly using his wrist tape to choke his younger opponent.  Keith's dropkicks have improved recently (which I noticed at both shows this past weekend).  An errant high knee by Ax hit the turnbuckles and Keith worked the leg to set up the figure-four leglock, but the time limit expired in 10:00 before Ax could surrender.

"Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner vs. Bubba Troll:  Wrestling seems to be trending toward shorter ring names...on top of Allwardt simply being referred to as "Ax" in SICW, Paco Gonzalez is just going by "Paco" these days and Bubba was simply announced as "Troll" here.  This was a rematch from a few months beforehand as they seem to be testing the waters with Gunner as a fan favorite.  Gunner put up a better fight than in their previous encounter, but Troll picked up the win with his sitout Tombstone(Fire Thunder Driver/Rikishi Driver) in 5:23.

"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson vs. "The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas:  This was quite a test for Kahagas in his SICW debut as he was facing the former Classic Wrestling Champion.  They had teased Big Daddy managing Jackson and Daniel Eads a while back, but that seems to have been dropped.  Kahagas is a well-traveled veteran who has held championships all over the place, including the NWA World, North American, and National Heavyweight Titles.  Locally, he was one of the top guys in Keny G's High Voltage Wrestling, holding both their Heavyweight and Livewire Titles.

I was expecting this to end indecisively to set up a feud...but then I'm not good at predictions in the first place.  Travis Cook came out to scout the newcomer in a harbinger of things to come.  Kahagas has definitely added to his bag of tricks since the last time I saw him(a few years ago).  After a competitive battle, Kahagas got Jackson in a guillotine hold...Gary was able to escape by running him back into the turnbuckles, but Kahagas secured the hold again.  Gary never submitted, but he passed out in the hold and his arm dropped three times, giving Kahagas the shocking win in 9:04!  That's one way to make an impact in your debut appearance...Gary made no excuses for his defeat, but vowed to climb back up the rankings in the future.

Cue intermission~!  Concession total for the night:  Cheeseburger and two bottles of water.  Talked with Ax for a bit; don't recall having too many extended conversations with him before.  This intermission was surprisingly short...yes, they are usually announced as such(R.I.P. Adam Starr), but this time it actually happened.  BRIEF INTERMISSION IS BRIEF~!

"Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent vs. "Volatile" Curtis Wylde(w/ Wyldefyre):  These two(particularly Wylde) have been building their feud through social media after a time-limit draw at the Millstadt show; Vincent had Wylde in his Mapleleaf Leglock but the match ended before he could get a tapout.  As usual, Wyldefyre made her presence felt...she distracted the referee when Vincent went for his finishing hold this time around.  In a slick move, she pulled the referee into hug in order to cheapshot Vincent (literally) behind the official's back.  That gave Wylde the opening to finish with a Flatliner in 8:12, but I suspect this feud...MUST CONTINUE~!

Farmer Billy Hills vs. "The Elitist" Brandon Espinosa:  Hadn't seen Hills in quite a while...this proved to be an interesting contrast in styles.  Espy would have trouble trading shots with the bigger and stronger Farmer, so he showed his technical side by targeting the arm.  That led to Espinosa notching a rare submission win via cross-armbreaker in 8:53.

Travis Cook brought out Midwest newcomer Denzell Vance, saying that he was giving him an opportunity to prove himself as a potential member of his Organization.  He issued an open challenge, but those rarely go well for the rulebreaking types...

Heath Hatton vs. Denzell Vance(w/ Travis Cook):  Don't blink...the former Classic Champion wasn't getting paid by the hour.  He made a statement in his first SICW bout since his title loss to Flash Flanagan, delivering a spear and layout DDT for the decisive win in 46 seconds.  He's baaaaack...

"The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz vs. Attila Khan(w/ Travis Cook):  Ricky rushed Attila at the bell and this fight only got crazier from that point onward.  The two brawled all over the building and briefly out the door of the East Carondelet Community Center!  Chairs flew as the referee showed a LOT of leeway...but the fight finally spilled to the floor for good and it led to a double countout in about 4:16.  Khan tried to bring out his international object of choice(which turned out to be some kind of FORK...eep); however, Cruz turned it on him to drive him from the ring.  There's another issue that hasn't quite been resolved...they'll meet again in July with Ricky getting five minutes in the ring with Travis Cook if he wins.

Cue intermission numero dos...

Flash Flanagan vs. "The Old School Warrior" Chaz Wesson for the Classic Title:  These two fought during Flash's first title reign; Flanagan scored a cheap win with a handful of tights at that time.  With other storylines seemingly taking precedence in SICW, the title has been lost in the shuffle to some extent...next month's main event(Powers/Jackson vs. Flanagan/Kahagas) will hopefully fix that issue.  Flash was able to keep Chaz from leaving his feet in this one...I can't even remember him using one of his signature dropkicks.  When Wesson got enough of an advantage to go to the top rope, Flanagan pushed the referee into the ropes to knock the challenger off balance.  With Chaz crotched on the top turnbuckle, Flash followed up with a hanging DDT to retain his title in 10:18.

Ron Powers & Red River Jack(w/ Big Daddy) vs. "The Icon" Chris Hargas & Bull Bronson(w/ Travis Cook):  Call me crazy, but THIS "Red River Jack" looked decidedly different than the usual Red River Jack OR the R.R.J. that appeared in the opening segment.  I have a theory about this masked man's identity, but that would be telling...perhaps Powers just had an ace in the hole.  I don't know what else Travis could possibly do in this situation...he wanted to see Powers and R.R.J. in the same place at the same time and we've seen that on a few occasions.  He wanted to see Powers and R.R.J. in the ring at the same time; we've now seen that.  At any rate...life goes on.  R.R.J. wrestled the majority of the bout for his team and was isolated by Hargas & Bronson for a while...but Ron got the tag and chaos broke loose near the end.  Kahagas ran in and whacked R.R.J. in the arm with his kendo stick(somehow eluding the referee's field of vision)...however, Powers notched the win after an RKO on Hargas in 11:43.  Hey, that's Red River Jack's finisher too!  The good guys won to close things out, but R.R.J. appeared to be injured as a result of Kahagas' attack...

I may add a few more notes if I notice any other details during the commentary session...I can only jot down so many details on my stupid note sheet.  #smaaaaartmaaaaark

Next weekend:
-Friday 6/26:  World League Wrestling in Troy, MO
-Sunday 6/28:  High Risk Wrestling in Cahokia, IL

Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

P.S. We are all marks.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Anarchy Wrestling TV #489

-Commentators:  Brett Wolverton & Jonathan Feltner.
-The show started with Jerry Palmer holding court in the ring with "Wild" Billy Buck, Shadow Jackson, and "Hit For Hire" Bobby Moore.  Palmer announced a ten-man elimination tag match against the Platinum Family and said Mikael Judas would be the fourth member of the team...with number five to be named later.
-The Silent Kill Syndicate("The Angel Of Death" Azrael & "The Undead Luchador" Supernatural)(w/ Calista) d. The Beardos(Wade Adams & Chris Spectra).  Azrael hit the Ted Bundy(vertical suplex into a sitout uranagi) on Spectra and then held Spectra for Supernatural's top-rope double-stomp before getting the pin (6:48).
-Ironman Challenge:  "The Priest Of Punishment" Mikael Judas d. "The Modern Classic" B.J. Hancock via half-crab to become the first Ironman(by scoring three consecutive wins) (4:56  aired).  Hancock attacked Judas after the match with a neckbreaker and piledriver...the Platinum Family surrounded the ring as B.J. continued his attack with another piledriver.  The locker room emptied, but the Platinum crew held them off as Hancock hit a third piledriver.
-"The Real" Slim J & Fred Yehi d. "Country Jacked" Corey Hollis & "The Southern Savior" John Skyler to retain the Tag Team Titles when Slim pinned Skyler with a reversal into a sunset flip pin (6:56 aired).  The Washington Bullets(Jon & Trey Williams) and the Silent Kill Syndicate attacked both teams after the match, but the Platinum Family members scattered when Yehi joined the fight for his side.  Yehi challenged them to an impromptu eight-man tag...
-The Silent Kill Syndicate("The Angel Of Death" Azrael & "The Undead Luchador" Supernatural) & The Washington Bullets(Jon & Trey Williams) d. Tag Team Champions "The Real" Slim & Fred Yehi, "Country Jacked" Corey Hollis, & "The Southern Savior" John Skyler; Yehi tweaked his knee early in the bout and was assisted to the backstage area, but came back out to the ring and tagged himself into the match.  Yehi tried to suplex Azrael, but the knee buckled and Azrael fell on top for the pin (joined in progress; 8:57 aired).

Dynamo Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Friday's Dynamo Pro Wrestling show at the Sports Academy in Glen Carbon, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

This was Dynamo's first visit to Glen Carbon since last fall.  Other than the formality of having an Illinois venue, I honestly don't know why they still run here.  With all due respect, they haven't drawn well at the Sports Academy in a long time(except for special occasions like the GCW reunion show) and this was no exception.  Perhaps Wood River would be a better place for that...even though it's a smaller building, it sounds good regardless of crowd size.

Since there was only a week between shows, only two matches were announced for this show ahead of time:  The six-man tag team main event and Ricky Cruz vs. Paco Gonzalez for the IWRG Rey De Ring Title.  From the sound of things,  recent injuries have thrown a monkey wrench into the roster availability (not to mention Missouri licensing renewal with regards to the Fenton shows).

Your ring announcers were Chris Roedel & Luke Roberts; your referees were Jay King & Richard White.

Keith Smith Jr. vs. Austin Blackburn:  This was a preshow match that started around 7:50 PM; it was essentially the Dynamo debut for both guys (though Keith Jr. was in a six-man tag at the GCW reunion event).  I'm not sure how much experience Keith has with opponents who are decidedly smaller than himself, but they did well for their respective experience levels.  Blackburn worked heel for the first time that I've seen.  Smith won with a discus lariat in 3:33.

Co-promoter Crystal Yount opened the show by acknowledging the difference in scenery...Dynamo hadn't had a show in Glen Carbon since the theft of the previous ring.  She thanked everyone for coming and kept it short and sweet...cool by me.  As I often say, I freel like people go to independent shows to see something different from what's on television.  If I want to watch a wrestling show with a ton of talking, it's right there on Monday nights.  *cough*

Jackal vs. Tag Team Champion(?) Jayden Fenix(w/ Travis Cook):  Jackal & Jake Dirden had been Tag Champs for a few months before being dethroned by the Black Hand Warrior trio.  As usual, Travis provided his own customized introduction for his protege.  These two seemed to work pretty well together.  Fenix blocked an attempted Killswitch #2(turnbuckle-walk Tomakazi...RIP Tommy Rogers) and got the clean win with a sitout powerbomb in 7:08.

The Bumrush Brothers("The Don Mega" Shorty Biggs & Outtkast) vs. "The Elitist" Brandon Espinosa & "The Filipino Warrior" Elvis Aliaga:  No Lucy Mendez on this night as she was booked elsewhere for the weekend.  These teams split a pair of singles matches last week in Fenton to set this up.  I look forward to seeing what else these duos can do against each other.  Each tandem hit their big moves(Samoan Drop/dropkick combo by the BRBs, Russian legsweep/flying knee strike combo from Espinosa & Aliaga) but the fallen man's partner broke up each pin attempt.  Shorty and Aliaga took it to the floor and the referee's attention was diverted, allowing Espy to nail Outtkast in the ding-ding and roll him up with the tights in 10:33.  Owie.

"The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz vs. "The Madman" Paco Gonzalez for the IWRG Rey De Ring Title:  The match was fine but it had a few things going against it.  First of all, it was a face-vs.-face bout.  Secondly, while it's cool to see the Rey De Ring Championship defended in this area, it's unlikely that we'll see another organization's title change hands.  Third, I don't know if people bought Paco as a legitimate threat to Ricky.  Paco attends nearly Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville so he had his cheering section, at any rate.  Nothing wrong with the in-ring work at all, I should emphasize...to be fair, Glen Carbon has been a tough crowd in general in recent times.  Paco delivered an offensive flurry and scored his best near-fall of the match after a frog splash.  However, Cruz was able to rebound with a uranagi and hooked his version of the Anaconda Vice for the tapout in 10:00.

Brandon Aarons vs. Shawn Santel(w/ Mauler McDarby):  This was an offshoot from the recent Wood River show when Aarons and Evan Morris defeated The Professionals.  I remember these two having a really strong singles match in MECW a few years back.  However, that wasn't in the cards for the night as McDarby quickly interfered, pushing Aarons off the top rope for the DQ in 2:32.  Cue double-team beatdown, then Morris ran in for the save and set up an impromptu tag bout.

Brandon Aarons & Evan Morris vs. The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby):  It occurred to me that Santel & McDarby's style might fit better in a more old-school environment like SICW or even WLW...too bad SICW doesn't have Tag Titles at the moment.  They've had solid matches, but I think it would help for them to have a good rivalry with a flashier duo as their "foil".  Midcard guys who aren't in the running for the big belt seem like they're best served finding tag partners and going after those belts.  Standard-formula tag match here...bonzo gonzo and Aarons pinned Santel after he and Morris hit stereo close-range superkicks in 8:30.

Intermission~!  I picked up a bottle of Gatorade before the show, but I ordered fries and got a root beer during this time.  I blame myself for waiting a bit before ordering; the fries weren't done until the show had restarted, so I had to run back and get them after the next bout.

Rocket Mapache vs. "The Millenial" Danny Adams:  Adams defeated Rocket in Fenton the previous week, so this was the rematch.  Adams is one of the newer guys in the area to watch; he's had some good opportunities on recent Ring Of Honor shows.  He focused his attack on Rocket's recently-injured arm, but Mapache was able to surprise him with a small package out of nowhere for the flash pin in 8:01.  Adams threw a huge tantrum after the match as Rocket got away with the win despite an achy-breaky arm...

"The Irish Luchador" Billy McNeil vs. "The Freestyle Phenom" Jay Howard:  Howard is one of the newer trainees out of Harley Race's facility; I had seen a few of his matches on YouTube but this was my first chance to see him in the ring in person.  He worked a technical style with a lot of suplexes and other throws; it was a good contrast to Billy's unorthodox repertoire.  In this case, experience and resilience trumped raw power...McNeil got the win with a splash off the top rope in 9:20.

Mike Outlaw, Justin D'Air, & Keon Option vs. Heavyweight Champion "Dirdey" Jake Dirden & Tag Team Champions The Black Hand Warriors(Michael Magnuson & Dave DeLorean)(w/ Travis Cook):  Travis has re-dubbed Dirden "The Intelligent Monster" as of late.  Dirden won the title from Outlaw under dubious circumstances, then retained against Outlaw last week thanks to then-Executive Director Mark Bland's questionable actions; Bland seems to be out of the picture since being fired by Crystal.  D'Air & Option have backed up Outlaw in recent months, including a six-man tag at Off Broadway against all three Warriors.  They nearly won the Tag Titles from Magnuson & DeLorean last week in Fenton, but the decision was reversed.

It didn't take long for this one to break down...and the seemingly-lethargic crowd finally came alive for the main event.  Option did a spear through the ropes on Magnuson similiar to Big E Langston's move, only he took out two guys in one shot as he plowed Magnuson into Dirden on the floor!  Outlaw and D'Air followed up with some major hangtime on their own somersault dives to the floor...YAY FLIPPES~!  Option took abuse from the heel trio...D'Air got a hot tag, but the numbers caught up to him and he was isolated from his corner as well.  Finally, Outlaw got hot tag number two and the good guys rallied.  They cleared the Tag Champs out of the ring long enough to isolate Dirden...Option hit Paydirt and D'Air followed up with his killer 450 Splash!  Outlaw went for the pin, but all three men tried to dogpile Dirden at once and the referee wouldn't count the fall that way.  The Black Hand Warriors re-entered the fray and halted Outlaw's momentum with a 3-D(popular double-team move these days...).  Outlaw still managed to fight back against Dirden and hit the High Noon(top-rope elbowdrop) but Cook distracted the referee.  Outlaw knocked Cook off the apron but got caught in a Dirden chokeslam...that led to the three-count with Cook swatting Outlaw's foot off the bottom rope at the 20:18 mark!  Wow, that marks the second time in recent months that a heel win in the main event surprised me(the other was Off Broadway).

The Travis Cook Organization got out of dodge with their gold, but Option vowed that the war wasn't over yet...he's a pretty good talker for his short time in The Business(tm), which is cool to see.

Dynamo's upcoming schedule will be a bit different than usual; there won't be a Fenton show in July because of Independence Day.  Their next event is in Glen Carbon on July 11th with a benefit for the SHARE organization.  They have their second annual Eureka event on August 1st.  Keep up to speed on my blog as well as the Missouri Wrestling Revival and St. Louis Wrestling websites...

It was another doubleheader weekend and you can read about part two...when I write about it.  Same Pat-Time, Same Pat-Channel.

Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

P.S. We are all marks.