Time for a trip in the wayback machine to October 26th of 2013...Dynamo Pro Wrestling made its only trip to Pittsfield, Illinois and, due to financial limitations, I opted for a show closer to home on that weekend.
Your commentators were Chris Roedel & Justin Deming, your ring announcer was Luke Roberts, and your referees were Jay King & Brian Fox(from Pittsfield).
Jackal vs. "The Alternative" Brandon Gallagher: Gallagher still had blue hair and this was the current feud, if I remember correctly. Also, Gallagher wasn't "Ozzie" yet. Gallagher's ring awareness wasn't the best as a few pin covers were thwarted by Jackal reaching out to the bottom rope. Gallagher escaped the Killswitch #2(turnbuckle-walk Tomakazi) on one occasion and nearly won with a released German suplex. Likewise, Jackal countered the Champagne Supernova(cradle backdrop driver) by backflipping and landing on his feet...that led to him hitting the Killswitch #2 on the second try for the victory (5:50).
Jake Dirden came out for a promo...he was a solid rulebreaker at the time, but he got a positive hometown reception in Pittsfield. He played football on the outside field and played basketball in that building...he wasn't able to win a championship under those circumstances, but he'll bring Pittsfield a championship tonight. That brought out Heavyweight Champion Dan Walsh to a more partisan response("Who let The Miz in?")...he made fun of the school system and gave his less than favorable review of the town("That's exactly what this place is...THE PITS!"). He said that Dirden wants to make Pittsfield proud since they have so little to be proud about...he respects his accomplishments, but he did not come all this way to lose. He said the fans would have to go home disappointed since Dirden would do what the high school sports teams had been doing for a long time: Lose the big one. That prompted a "Dirdey's Gonna Kill You" chant and a demand for respect by the champion...he would do whatever it took to win and he hoped that didn't ruin Dirden's "little homecoming". Dirden vowed that Walsh couldn't touch him with the people behind him.
"Gentleman" Jake Parnell vs. Shawn Santel: This was another bizarro-world situation as Parnell was a fan favorite at the time while Santel was a rulebreaker; however, Santel was sporting the red STL-logo gear and Parnell was acting more arrogant than usual. I think I recognize Keon Option as one of the cameramen. Parnell used more underhanded tactics than usual(eye rakes, choking on the ropes, shots to the throat), but he made the mistake of trying to trade strikes with his larger opponent on a few occasions. Parnell came back with a nice Northern Lights suplex for a near-fall, but he missed the 450 Splash and Santel won with an Olympic Slam (7:14).
Dash Rando vs. "American Viking" Alexandre Rudolph: Rando was a last-minute replacement for Billy McNeil; he was accompanied as always by his rubber chicken "Chips Ahoy". Despite the uphill battle ahead of him, Rando maintained his trademark smile...and he decided to start the match by sitting in the front row, then trying to hide a steel chair in his trunks before re-entering the ring. It was downhill from there for the masked man...a series of flying shoulderblocks did zilch, but a stomp on the foot did a bit more. Rudolph cut him off with a huge frontslam before choking him down and strangling him with his own long hair. Dash managed a flurry of offense and got Rudolph down with a dropkick, but jumped off the top rope into a chokehold...the Goozleplex(half-throttle/half-waistlock into a released German suplex) followed and Rudolph got the easy pin (5:06). Rudolph stomped on Rando's rubber chicken, gave it an elbowdrop, and then delivered a piledriver...sure, why not?
The Bumrush Brothers("The Don Mega" Shorty Biggs & Outtkast) vs. The Travis Cook Organization("Ironman" Ken Kasa & "The Wrestling Machine" Dave Vaughn) for the Tag Team Titles: Travis Cook was not in attendance for this one and the commentators speculated that it was due to the actions of new Executive Director Mark Bland. Shorty & Outtkast had held the gold for almost two years at this point; Kasa & Vaughn nearly upset the champs on a few occasions, including an ill-begotten win where the decision was reversed and a disqualification victory. An early wrestling exchange between Shorty and Vaughn somehow led to referee Jay King getting the hammerlock on Vaughn...heh. Shorty continues to be one of the most underrated guys in this wrestling scene and Outtkast is often overlooked on the technical side of things. For his part, Vaughn was a standout performer in the area before leaving the business for personal reasons. Outtkast got caught in the wrong corner and was yanked off the second rope by Kasa. Even without Cook at ringside, Kasa & Vaughn did a fine job of using illegal tactics and diverting the referee's attention. Outtkast fought out of a superplex attempt by Kasa and delivered the VINTAGE~! dropkick off the second rope...cue tags on both sides! Shorty cleaned house and leveled Vaughn with a RAINMAKER~! before being blindsided by Kasa. Shorty threw Vaughn into Kasa and delivered a flying neckbreaker on Kasa, causing him to DDT his own partner. That allowed Shorty to pin Vaughn for the win to retain the Tag Titles as Outtkast held off Kasa (9:44).
Ricky Cruz vs. Dingo: This was a first-time meeting between these two and, to my knowledge, their only in-ring encounter. Ricky spoke his mind, saying that he had an undefeated streak in Dynamo for over a year but felt like "the office" had sabotaged him...this led to him turning rulebreaker in both Dynamo and Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling. He said that since Dingo was close with "the office", then he would send them a message through Dingo. Dingo(accent mode: on) said he respected Ricky's background, but the fans knew him better and they would be on his side. That solidified Dingo as the fan favorite for the evening, though Ricky hadn't OFFICIALLY gone to the dark side yet. Dingo teased a dive only for Cruz to yank him off the ropes to the floor...Ricky kept getting distracted by the fans' support of his opponent, but maintained control for several minutes with his size and power advantage. Ricky tried to block a sunset flip by holding the ropes, but Jay King kicked his hands away and Dingo got the pinning combination for a near-fall(drawing more frustration from Cruz). Cruz finally wasted too much time and Dingo landed a superkick to cue his comeback...he got a victory roll for two, then a cross-bodyblock off the top for two. Ricky landed his own superkick to halt the momentum, but only got two-and-a-half as he took a second to make the cover. Dingo fired back and landed a roaring elbow...for two. A Dingosault hit the knees and Ricky finished with the Cruz Control(swinging fisherman buster) (11:35). Post-match, Ricky seemed to be more respectful toward his opponent, extending the hand for a handshake...but when Dingo moved to accept the gesture, Ricky walked away. Aww... Dingo said he wanted another shot at Ricky, but unfortunately that never came to pass.
Lucy Mendez vs. Jordynne Grace: Grace was very early in her career at this point...I've only seen her a few times at live events, but she's making her mark in other parts of the country these days. It sounded weird for the commentators to call Lucy a "veteran", but she did have the experience advantage in this one. Both women showed nice agility and technical skill in the early going. The referee caught Jordynne trying to use the ropes for an early pin attempt. Grace missed a somersault legdrop and Lucy made the FIERY LATINA~! comeback wih a bulldog for two. Grace came back by countering a wheelbarrow pickup into a victory roll, holding the tights for the cheap win (5:44).
"Walking Reality" Dan Walsh vs. "Dirdey" Jake Dirden for the Heavyweight Title: Dirden had beaten Ricky Cruz under controversial circumstances to earn this championship opportunity(something which was the catalyst for Ricky's earlier attitude). Justin notes that Walsh's title reign had lasted almost a year(329 days). Walsh started out with a bit of stalling(GIANT ASSASSIN~!), complete with gratuitous stretching. Dirden powered out of the opening lockups, causing Walsh to seek refuge on the floor once again(and exchange words with a kid in a Rey Misterio Jr. mask). A re-entry sunset flip was stopped by a series of fists to the head...good amateur counter. Back out to the floor...Dan grabbed the belt and took a hike, but Dirden gave chase and pulled him back to the ring. Jake gave him the ringside tour(post, guardrail) before re-entering, but Dan gave the middle rope a yank on Dirden's re-entry...ouchie.
Dirden powered his way back into the match, delivering a lengthy airplane spin before shoving Walsh to the canvas. Dan rakes the eyes and fights back, but he runs into IT'S THE BIG FOOT. Walsh finally tries to take out the leg but keeps getting cut off by Dirden's power...he finally stuns him by pulling him throat-first into the top rope. Walsh grabbed a sleeperhold only to be repeatedly backed into the corner...then Dirden hit the chokeslam out of nowhere! He took a second to cover and Dan got a foot on the bottom rope to escape defeat. Walsh hit a jawbreaker and dropkick off the second rope, then delivered the Paydirt...for two. The kickout landed Walsh on referee Jay King, stunning him long enough for Dan to bring in the title belt. Walsh BELTed Dirden and made the cover...for three?!? I don't remember the result happening that way...(10:17).
Walsh gloated with the belt in front of all the fans who thought he would lose...but second referee Brian Fox came out to tell King what happened. Jay King consulted with the ringside cameraman for an "instant replay" of what happened...and decided to restart the match as a no-DQ affair! All righty then...Walsh immediately took out the knee and delivered a foot DDT(Pete Madden~!)...for two. Dan picked up the belt again, but this time Dirden blocked the shot and repeatedly headbutted Walsh to the mat. Dirden continued to fire back despite his knee bothering him...Walsh blocked another chokeslam attempt and went to the belt again, but ran into the chokeslam for real and we had a NEWWWWW Heavyweight Champion (1:51 of the restart, 13:08 total)! A bunch of young fans entered the ring to celebrate with the new titleholder...good night from Pittsfield!
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