Wednesday, August 31, 2016

PWR Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Sunday's Pro Wrestling Resurgence show at the Improvement Hall in Swansea, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

I hadn't been to a PWR show yet, as the first two events conflicted with others; I planned to go to the second one(last Saturday), but the ticket price was a bit rich for my blood so I opted for Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling instead.  I was definitely going to this one, as it was close to home and had a pretty significant main event.  The turnout was pretty good, though probably not at the level they were hoping to attain with their amount of advertising.

Your ring announcer was Ben Simon, your referees were Jason Pemberton & Jay King, and your commissioner was Sean Orleans.

"The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him) vs. Kody Krash:  The rookie Kenway had an uphill battle against his larger opponent in the opener.  While Krash controlled a lot of the bout, Kenway was finally able to take him down to the mat, forcing him to tap out to the Anaconda Vise in 4:39.

Aaron Solow vs. Tyler Colton:  Solow was on a roll after wins in St. Louis Anarchy over Curt Stallion and Jojo Bravo; Colton was on the winning side of the preshow six-man tag on Saturday.  The Swansea fans weren't too familiar with either guy, unfortunately.  They had a solid bout, but a near-collision with the referee allowed Colton to sneak in a mule kick to the Universal Weak Point.  After that, Colton scored the tainted win with a Northern Lights Bomb(a la Al Snow's Snowplow) in 7:34.

Mike Outlaw vs. Jojo Bravo vs. "Risky Business" Everett Connors vs. Jason Roberts:  Connors was the lone rulebreaker in this matchup; outside of SLA, Bravo was his traditional cheerful self.  I already went over my thoughts on these multi-way schmozz matches...I'll probably leave it at that.  It was fun for what it was, at any rate; Outlaw hit the Mafia Kick on Roberts, but Jojo pulled Outlaw out of the ring to break up the pin.  Connors took advantage of the situation to steal the pin on Roberts in 5:14...leaving the fan favorites a bit miffed at Jojo for unintentionally helping Connors get the victory.  (Guess they REALLY don't like Justin Bieber's music.)

Kevin Lee Davidson vs. "Absolute" Ricky Starks:  This was billed as the latest stop on Starks' eternal "farewell tour" before heading to WWE/NXT.  Starks had to step out of the ring at one point to take a phone call from "Paul"...see, he calls him Paul.  At any rate, they had a really fun match...Starks somehow managed to kick out after K.L.D.'s spinebuster, then got a surprise near-fall with a crucifix bomb.  A second spinebuster was enough to seal the deal for Davidson in 11:32...of course, Starks took his sweet time in leaving.  He didn't speak to the audience on this night, but he did a few "curtain calls" before leaving ringside for good.

The Viking War Party("American Viking" Alexandre Rudolph, "Gordiest Viking" Frank Wyatt, & "Littlest Viking" Jake Parnell) vs. The Submission Squad(Gary Jay, Evan Gelistico, & Pierre Abernathy):  Gelistico had already drawn the ire of the fans by heckling with his megaphone before the start of the event (especially since the show began a bit late).  It didn't take long for this to get out of hand as the six men brawled all over the place...it just barely settled down into standard tag rules as the Squad isolated Parnell.  The Squad went through their usual shenanigans, including "kiss tags" and Pierre actually baby-birding water from his mouth onto Parnell's face as he held him in a chinlock.  One older fan actually left the show as a result, saying that it was "bull$#!+"...ouch.  Wyatt got the hot tag and chaos broke loose as everyone fought everywhere, resulting in a double countout in 12:28.  That didn't keep the trios from continuing their battle, even as Orleans got on the microphone and called for them to stop...Orleans finally threw caution to the winds and suicide-dove into the fighting competitors at ringside!  Amazingly, that somehow calmed things down and order was restored...

Yes, it was a good time for an intermission.  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  I kept myself to one root beer and some potato chips.  Brian Kelley said that saw me with the glass bottle and thought I had a real beer...bwahahaha.

The Besties In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. Alpha Class("The Millenial" Danny Adams & Paco Gonzalez):  Both teams were fan favorites in this one...Fitchett and Paco had just crossed paths at Anarchy the previous night.  Vega and Fitchett are Tag Team Champions for both All American Wrestling and Metro Pro Wrestling, so one would give them the advantage on paper.  Of course, things don't always go the way one would expect them to go...both teams had a lot of close calls, but it was the teamwork of Alpha Class that was the deciding factor.  As Vega set up for a brainbuster on Paco, Adams helped him block the move and then cut off Fitchett as Paco got the small package pin in 11:03!  Cue the mutual respect all around afterwards.

IWGP Intercontinental Champion "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs. MWR Missouri Champion Brandon Espinosa, non-title:  Elgin's New Japan career has taken off in the past year as he had strong showings in the last two G1 Climax Tournaments; on top of that, he's been NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champion alongside Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yoshi Tatsu.  Just a few months ago at Dominion, he defeated Kenny Omega in a ladder match to claim the I-C Title.  This main event was a tale of two trainers, as both men had a hand in the progress of many up-and-coming Midwest competitors...however, Espy felt like Elgin hogged the credit for guys who he had gotten out of the blocks.  Espinosa's placement in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 list is always hyped by the man himself, so Elgin had Ben Simon announce that he is ranked #3 in this year's list...bwahahaha.  They had a solid matchup, but I hope it won't be the only time these two cross paths...I think they could have an even better bout down the line.  Espy targered the arm in an attempt to set up the cross-armbreaker, but Elgin was just a bit too strong for that to work.  Elgin powered Espinosa up into his signature sitout powerbomb for the victory in 12:41...afterwards, Elgin commended Espy for his desire to improve himself, as Espy himself had trained under Elgin in recent years.  In a rare moment of humility for Espinosa, the two shook hands to close the show.

That was a long weekend, so I won't feel too bad about taking it easy for the Labor Day holiday...sleep is the main thing on the agenda for yours truly.

Quick look at the September agenda:

-Saturday 9/3:  Stride Pro Wrestling in Marion, IL
-Saturday 9/10:  Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 9/17:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Glen Carbon, IL; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 9/24:  Wrestling Over Everything in Caseyville, IL; Cape Championship Wrestling in Cape Girardeau, MO

That's my special comment for this, the thirty-eighth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2016.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.

NXT, CWC, XPlosion

WWE NXT

-Commentators:  Tom Phillips & Corey Graves.
-Earlier today:  General Manager S. William Regal spoke with the trainer, who said that Samoa Joe's dislocated jaw(among other injuries) meant that he wouldn't be cleared to compete for the time being.  Joe was not happy about that news...
-Tye Dillinger d. Buddy Murphy with the Tye Breaker(Death Valley Driver onto the knee) (6:18 aired).
-Backstage:  Charly Caruso interviewed Tommaso Ciampa about Johnny Gargano's leg injury...but he was interrupted by NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival(Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder).  Ciampa threw the first punch, but the numbers caught up to him and they dragged him out to the ring area to continue the assault.  Dawson & Wilder attempted to speak their minds, but Ciampa wouldn't stay down until they laid him out with the Shatter Machine(Flapjack-into-Codebreaker).
-Steve Cutler d. Kenneth Crawford with a fisherman driver (3:32).
-Backstage:  Dasha Fuentes interviewed Hideo Itami about his return and encounter with Austin Aries.  He said that if Aries crossed his path again...he would "Go 2 Sleep" again.
-Coming soon:  Sanity.
-"No Way" Jose Valenzuela d. Angelo Dawkins with the cobra clutch slam (2:43).
-Backstage:  Charly interviewed Andrade Almas about his Takeover loss to Bobby Roode; Austin Aries interrupted, feeling like his spotlight was usurped by Hideo Itami.  Aries decided he was going to steal Almas' spotlight, but Almas took exception for obvious reasons...
-Liv Morgan d. Aliyah Areebi after a spinning crescent kick (3:29).
-Backstage:  Dasha interviewed No Way Jose; he said he was regaining his momentum after Takeover, but Bobby Roode walked past the interview and insulted Jose in passing.
-Next week:  Special interview with NXT Women's Champion Asuka Urai.
-New NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura made a grand entrance to a huge ovation from the fans in Full Sail University.  He came to NXT to face the best wrestlers in the world...his neck is still sore from the battle with Samoa Joe, but he won Da Belt and it now means more than it ever has.  The era of strong style has begun...YEAOH~!

WWE Cruiserweight Classic

-Commentators:  Mauro Ranallo & Daniel Bryan.
-Quarterfinal:  Gran Metalik d. Akira Tozawa with the Metalik Screwdriver(fireman's-carry fisherman driver) (15:49).
-Quarterfinal:  Kota Ibushi d. Brian Kendrick with the Golden Star Bomb(sitout Last Ride powerbomb) (13:58).
-Next week:  Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Noam Dar and Rich Swann vs. T.J. Perkins.
-The fans chanted "Thank You Brian" as Kendrick shed tears in the ring...leading to Daniel Bryan walking down to the ring to embrace his long-time friend and training partner.

TNA XPlosion

-Commentators:  Josh Mathews & Jeremy Borash.
-Trevor Lee(w/ Gregory Shane Helms) d. Robbie Eckos with the small package driver (4:14 aired).

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

SLA Special Comment (Part 2)

Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's St. Louis Anarchy show at the Spaulding Hall Club in Alton, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

It was a busy Saturday in the Midwest rasslin scene as talent was spread out across several show.  World League Wrestling had their big summer show with special guests Mark Henry, Hurricane Helms, and Dave Taylor.  Other events included Cape Championship Wrestling in Cape Girardeau and Metro Pro Wrestling in Kansas City.  (I kicked myself for reminding myself about Jake Dirden being at CCW, as that decreased the possibility of Dirden winning the SLA Title on Friday...)

Since everything was set up beforehand, the doors opened more or less on time (6:30).  It was raining pretty hard and attendance looked low at first, but the building filled out nicely.  Sign of my age:  There was a LOUD thunderclap right before I got in the door and I said out loud to myself "That was a good one..."

Your ring announcer was Sarah Rose; your referees were Jay King, Austin Blackburn, Sean Orleans, and one new guy who I didn't recognize.  (Larry Zbyszko to Mike Tenay:  "YOU don't KNOW?  FIRE HIM.")

Jeff Gant, Tank Engine Tommy, & Kody Krash vs. The Diamond Dogs(Luke Langley & Graham Bell) & Tyler Colton:  Gant, Langley, and Bell were back for their second preshow match in as many nights.  Tank Engine Tommy(Thomas Muños) made his SLA debut after several appearances at Pro Wrestling Championship Series; I think Krash had been in preshow matches for SLA before this and had also competed for PWCS.  Colton was the only total unknown to me; he's billed as hailing from Canada.  They had a solid preshow match with the Dogs emerging victorious; Bell pinned Tommy after the Dogs hit an enzuigiri/Diamond Cutter combo in 5:04.

Team Gary Jay and Team Stone came out to re-establish the point system for the Bragging Rights series(pinfall 5, submission 10, knockout 20) as well as the current store (Stone 15, Jay 10).  More words were exchanged and Team Stone walked away from the offered handshakes.

"The Leader Of The Pack" Stephen Wolf vs. Jason Roberts:  Roberts is still new but the potential is there; I look forward to seeing where he'll be in a year or so.  Have liked what I've seen of Wolf and hope to see him against opponents who are higher in the pecking order.  Roberts got a near-win with a triangle choke that the fans totally bought into, but Wolf fought out and won with the Blue Thunder Bomb in 7:21.

"The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him) vs. Slade Porter:  Kenway is another rookie who's been making good impressions in the area; he's already wrestled for several promotions and has shown a lot of promise.  This weekend was my first time seeing Porter; I'll have to look up some of his other work.  Both guys were looking for an establishing win in SLA; Kenway got the duke with a swinging fisherman suplex in 7:14.

Jojo Bravo vs. Aaron Solow, Bragging Rights Match:  Solow defeated Curt Stallion the previous night while Jojo beat Aaron Epic.  As I noted in the previous commentary, it seemed like Team Gary Jay should attempt more submission or knockout wins...though not all of them have established finishing holds and only Gary Jay himself seems to have the track record for KO victories.  Both guys had some momentum from the previous night's wins, but Solow targeted Bravo's arm en route to the tapout victory via Fujiwara armbar in 8:17.  That widened Team Stone's lead to 25-10, putting Team Gary Jay in a serious deficit.

Team I.O.U.("The Down-South Dandy" Nick Iggy & "The Music City Mutt" Kerry Awful) vs. Dangerous Deveroux & Orange Lazarus(w/ Greg Jovi, Makaze, Bahamut, Dash Rando, Super Electros, Rebelucha, & Intrepidus):  Jovi's crew made their debut the previous night by attacking Team I.O.U., setting up this matchup.  The extra masked men stood at random spots around the building as "guards" of some sort.  The fans were not kind to the hooded interlopers, booing their efforts against the newly-popular Iggy & Awful.  It seemed like Iggy and Awful would cruise to victory, but the masked duo showed surprising teamwork to pull out the upset win; Deveroux broke up Awful's piledriver attempt on Lazarus with a neckbreaker and Lazarus got a jackknife cradle for the three-count in 12:20.  Jovi berated the fans for thinking his stable was a joke and vowed that he had more up his sleeve for the November show...hmm...

"The Lone Star" Curt Stallion vs. Aaron Epic, Bragging Rights Match:  Both guys were attempting to rebound from losses the previous night; Stallion had tapped out to Aaron Solow and Epic had lost to Jojo.  Stallion made a good accounting for himself as a last-minute replacement for the weekend, but Epic had something to prove as well...as Stone noted earlier in the night, they hadn't traveled such a long way to lose.  Epic got the victory with a Canadian Destroyer in 8:25, putting Team Stone in a commanding lead at 30-10.

Gary Jay vs. "Do Or Die" Chip Day, Bragging Rights Match:  It was up to the team captain Gary Jay to turn the tide for his squad...speaking of which, it seems as though the "Gerald James" monicker has fallen by the wayside (this was the only promotion where he had wrestled under that name).  Gary had fallen in the captains' battle to Martin Stone on Friday while Day had lost to Davey Vega.  Day's endless list of nicknames was once again relayed to new ring announcer Sarah Rose...and both guys started the match off fast with huge dives to the floor.  They had an excellent competitive matchup...I thought Gary would have been best served to look for the knockout, but he got the pinfall victory after a roaring elbow in 17:04.  That improved his team's standing, but they were still behind Team Stone by a score of 30-15...meaning Vega would have to defeat Stone by knockout for Team Gary Jay to emerge victorious.

The remaining members of The Cause(Evan Gelistico, Danny Adams, & Everett Connors) made their way to the ring to confront referee Austin Blackburn.  Adam Caster had announced on social media that Friday's match was his last; his other life ventures have taken precedence, so he is stepping away from in-ring competition.  Make your own jokes about wrestling retirements, but Adam Caster/Raw was a major player in this area when he was a regular competitor...all the best to him in his proverbial future endeavors.  The Cause challenged Blackburn to face them in the ring, asking him whether he wanted to be a wrestler or an official.  Blackburn received unexpected backup in the form of new Tag Team Champions Roscoe Eat Lisa(Zakk Sawyers & Mikey Mcfinnegan), setting up a six-man tag for later in the evening.

Intermission~!  I kept it simple on this night with one root beer...I keep telling myself to limit the sugar intake before I end up with bigger health problems, so I need to get used to drinking more water.  #olderthanilook

"Absolute" Ricky Starks vs. Slade Sludge:  #takeaknee  Starks has become a highlight of these shows...hopefully he will truly get to the bigger stage on a regular basis.  Starks won a good match with the Angel's Wings in 10:24...perhaps he should refer to that move as the "Ode To Paul" or something along those lines.  After the match, Starks called all of "the boys" out to the ring for his "farewell speech"...the fans chanted "we will miss you" again as Starks said that he gave Sludge the best match he'd ever had.  He won't be around forever, but he'll be moving up to the big time soon...and he promised Aaron Solow that he would say hi to Bayley(Solow's real-life girlfriend) when he sees her again.  Bwahahaha.  As a capper, some of the wrestlers carried Starks to the backstage area as the sound guy cued up "Leave The Memories Alone"...amazing.

Tag Team Champions Roscoe Eat Lisa("Zesty" Zakk Sawyers & "The Big Mustache On Campus" Mikey McFinnegan) & Austin Blackburn vs. The Cause(Evan Gelistico, Danny Adams, & Everett Connors):  If R.E.L. and Blackburn won, Blackburn would become a full-time wrestler; if The Cause won, Blackburn would be stuck as an official.  I was wondering about the possibility of Blackburn double-crossing the Tag Champs, but he played it straight...of course, the belts weren't at stake here.  I also wondered about Sean Orleans stepping into the rulebreaker referee role for The Cause, but that didn't come to pass either...as it turns out, I just suck at predictions.  The Cause had gone 0-for-3 on Friday and their terrible horrible no-good very-bad weekend continued here; Gelistico attempted a powerbomb on Blackburn, but Sawyers and McFinnegan helped him block the move and reverse it into a rana pin in 17:11.

"The Ace Of Anarchy" Davey Vega vs. "The Guvnor" Martin Stone, Bragging Rights Match:  Vega had a monumental task ahead of him...the only way for his team to win the series was a knockout victory against the man who had already beaten his own team captain Gary Jay.  It was a hard-hitting war between two great competitors and it could have easily gone either way.  However, the battle of attrition went in the favor of "The Guvnor" as he dropped Vega with multiple headbutts, then beat him down with forearms to the back of the head; the referee called for the bell in 21:54 as a result of a knockout!  Team Stone had won by a score of 50-15...both teams' members came to the ring as Vega was gracious in defeat and the fans chanted "Please Come Back" to the members of Team Stone!

Mat Fitchett vs. Paco Gonzalez for the Heavyweight Title:  Fitchett was ready for a fight after the previous night's cheapshot superkick from Paco...they had a tough act to follow after the hard-hitting battle between Vega and Stone, but they brought out the heavy artillery in the name of the championship.  The two brawled to the floor and Fitchett threw Paco into the wall, leaving a hole!  Each man survived the other's best shots, but Fitchett finally delivered his second AND third torture-rack Go 2 Sleeps in rapid succession for the win in 13:03!  The two shook hands afterwards...Paco proved himself to be a worthy contender, but Fitchett's title reign rolls on!

I hung around to annoy people afterwards, as usual...I was hungry at that point in the night, so I stopped at Jack In The Box for a buttery bacon-and-Swiss burger combo meal.  Mmm, delicious infidel meat.

This has been a long day, so I won't linger here...I appreciate those of you who contacted me today and I'm very fortunate to have as many friends and acquaintances as I do nowadays.  At any rate, tune in next time...same Pat-Time, same Pat-Channel.

That's my special comment for this, the thirty-seventh wrestling show I've attended in the year 2016.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.

Smackdown, XPlosion, This Week In Wrestling

WWE Smackdown

-Commentators:  Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, & John Bradshaw Layfield.
-Smackdown Tag Team Title Tournament:  The Hype Bros(Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley) d. The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch); Ryder pinned English after he and Mojo hit the Hype Ryder(Mojo boost into Zack second-rope Rough Ryder) (2:48).
-A.J. Styles d. Apollo Crews with the springboard forearm (4:33 aired).
-Natalya Neidhart & Alexa Bliss d. Becky Lynch & Naomi Night; Nikki Bella did commentary.  Carmella Van Damme attacked Nikki, distracting Becky and leading to Alexa getting the rollup pin with a handful of tights (4:18 aired).
-Smackdown Tag Team Title Tournament:  Rhyno & Heath Slater d. The Headbangers(Mosh & Thrasher) when Rhyno pinned Thrasher after the Gore (2:54).  The semifinals are Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. American Alpha(Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) and Hype Bros vs. Rhyno & Slater.
-Baron Corbin d. WWE Champion Dean Ambrose by DQ(non-title) when guest commentator A.J. Styles attempted to interfere, but accidentally kicked Corbin when Ambrose moved out of the way (9:06 aired).  It turned into a three-way fight after the bell, but Ambrose planted Corbin with the Dirty Deeds v2.0(double-underhook DDT) and then crotched Styles on the top rope when he went for the springboard forearm.

TNA XPlosion

-Commentators:  Jeremy Borash & D'Angelo Dinero.
-Bram Cameron d. D.J. Shiima Xion after the Brighter Side Of Suffering(elevated DDT) (6:19 aired).

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WWE(www.wwe.com)

Main Event this week has:
-American Alpha(Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) vs. Breezango(Tyler Breeze & Johnny Fandango)
-Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor)

NXT this week has:
-"No Way" Jose Valenzuela vs. Angelo Dawkins
-Tye Dillinger vs. Buddy Murphy
-Darian Berenato vs. Billie Kay
-Liv Morgan vs. Aliyah Areebi
-Steve Cutler vs. Kenneth Crawford

The Cruiserweight Classic this week has:
-Tournament Quarterfinals

Superstars this week has:
-Alexander Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
-The Golden Truth(Goldust & "R-Truth" Ron Killings) vs. The Shining Stars(Primo & Epico Colon)

Backlash is on Sunday 9/11:
-Dean Ambrose vs. A.J. Styles - WWE Title
-Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
-Smackdown Tag Team Title Tournament Final
-Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella vs. Natalya Neidhart vs. Naomi Night vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella Van Damme - Smackdown Women's Title

Clash Of Champions is on Sunday 9/25.

TNA(www.tnawrestling.com)

Impact on Thursday has:
-Bobby Lashley vs. Mike Bennett - Heavyweight Title
-D.J. Shiima Xion vs. Mark Andrews vs. Braxton Sutter vs. Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett vs. Rockstar Spud - Ultimate X Match For The Vacant X-Division Title
-Ethan Carter III vs. Eli Drake
-In action:  Allie Dennis

RING OF HONOR(www.rohwrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 9/16 in Pittsburgh, PA:
-Jay Lethal, Colt Cabana, & Dalton Castle vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson)
-Jay White vs. Christopher Daniels
-Chris Sabin vs. Frankie Kazarian
-Alex Shelley vs. Kamaitachi

ROH has a show on Saturday 9/17 in Lockport, NY.

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

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

LUCHA UNDERGROUND(www.luchaunderground.com)

The first episode of Season 3 is on Wednesday 9/7.

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ST. LOUIS ANARCHY(www.stlanarchy.com)

Next show is Friday 11/18 in Alton, IL.

DPW(www.dynamoprowrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 9/17 in Glen Carbon, IL:
-Shorty Biggs vs. Outtkast - D-1 Title
-Makaze vs. Ozzie Gallagher - Mask vs. Hair Match

SICW(www.sicw.org)

Next show is Saturday 9/17 in East Carondelet, IL:
-Ron Powers vs. Kahagas - Classic Title
-Karim Brigante & Monica Passeri vs. Curtis Wylde & Wyldefyre

MMWA(www.southbroadwayac.com)

Next show is Saturday 9/10 in St. Louis, MO:
-King Of St. Louis Cup Tournament

PWCS(www.pwcswrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 10/29 in Granite City, IL.

HIGH RISK WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/hrwstl)

Next show is Friday 10/21 in Warsaw, MO:
-Mike Sydal vs. Tony Kozina - Heavyweight Title
-Mike Outlaw vs. Justin D'Air - Mayhem Title No-DQ Match

PRO WRESTLING EPIC(www.prowrestlingepic.com)

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

METRO PRO WRESTLING(www.metrowrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 10/8 in Kansas City, KS.

3XW(www.3xwrestling.com)

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

WLW(www.harleyrace.com)

Next show is Saturday 11/14 in Troy, MO.

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

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

STRIDE PRO WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/Cmaprowrestling/)

Next show is Saturday 9/3 in Marion, IL:
-Ax Allwardt vs. Chris Hargas - Heavyweight Title

OUTLAW WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/outlawwrestling01)

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

WRESTLING OVER EVERYTHING(woe-wrestling.webnode.com)

Next show is Saturday 9/24 in Caseyville, IL:
-Leone Mephisto vs. Brandon Aarons - WOE Heavyweight Title vs. PWE Heavyweight Title

PRO WRESTLING RESURGENCE(www.facebook.com/ProWrestlingResurgence)

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

CENTRAL STATES CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING(nwaccw.x10.bz)

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

WORLD POWERHOUSE WRESTLING(sites.google.com/site/worldpowerhousewrestlingstl/home)

Next show is Saturday 10/8 in Collinsville, IL:
-Xavier Frost vs. Curtis Payne - Heavyweight Title

NEW BREED WRESTING(www.facebook.com/NewBreedMO)

Next show is Saturday 10/22 in Eldon, MO:
-Steve Fender vs. Dustin Bozworth - Heavyweight Title

CCW(www.capewrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 9/24 in Cape Girardeau, MO.

WARRIOR'S CODE WRESTLING(https://www.facebook.com/warriorscodewrestling1)

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

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EVOLVE(www.wwnlive.com & www.dgusa.tv)

Next show is Saturday 9/10 in Long Island, NY:
-Johnny Gargano vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
-Drew Galloway vs. Drew Gulak
-Dustin Taylor vs. Tracy Williams
-Jigsaw vs. Fred Yehi
-Matt Riddle vs. Tony Nese
-T.J. Perkins vs. Darby Allin
-Ethan Page vs. Dan Barry

EVOLVE has a show on Sunday 9/11 in Queens, NY:
-Cody Rhodes & Johnny Gargano vs. Drew Galloway & Chris Hero
-Ricochet vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
-Matt Riddle vs. T.J. Perkins
-Drew Gulak vs. Dustin Taylor
-Tony Nese vs. Darby Allin
-Ethan Page vs. David Starr

PRO WRESTLING GUERRILLA(www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)

Next show is Friday 9/2 in Reseda, CA featuring the Battle Of Los Angeles Tournament:
-Chris Hero vs. Jushin Liger - BOLA Round 1
-Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tommy End - BOLA Round 1
-Fenix vs. Will Ospreay - BOLA Round 1
-Jeff Cobb vs. Ricochet - BOLA Round 1
-John Hennigan vs. Matt Sydal - BOLA Round 1
-Pentagon Jr. vs. Marty Scurll - BOLA Round 1
-Dalton Castle & The Boys(Brandon & Brent Tate) vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson)

PWG has a show on Saturday 9/3 featuring the Battle Of Los Angeles Tournament:
-Cody Rhodes vs. Sami Callihan - BOLA Round 1
-Kyle O'Reilly vs. Matt Riddle - BOLA Round 1
-Cedric Alexander vs. Mark Haskins - BOLA Round 1
-Kamaitachi vs. Trevor Lee - BOLA Round 1
-Mark Andrews vs. Pete Dunne - BOLA Round 1
-Dalton Castle vs. Jack Gallagher - BOLA Round 1
-Fenix & Pentagon Jr. vs. Chris Hero & Tommy End
-Will Ospreay, Ricochet, & Matt Sydal vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson)

PWG has a show on Sunday 9/4 in Reseda, CA featuring the Battle Of Los Angeles Tournament.

CHIKARA(www.chikarapro.com)

Next show is Friday 9/2 in Easton, PA featuring the King Of Trios Tournament:
-Tournament Participants:
Team Sendai Girls(Meiko Satomura, DASH Chisako, & Cassandra Miyagi)
Team SHIMMER(Candice LeRae, Crazy Mary Dobson, & Solo Darling)
Team Original Divas Revolution(Mickie James, Victoria, & Jazz)
Team JWP:  Hanako Nakamori, Manami Katsu, & Command Bolshoi
Heidi Lovelace & N_R_G(Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell)
The Colony(Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, & Silver Ant)
Princess Kimber Lee, Oleg The Usurper, & The Estonian Thunderfrog
Team CWC(Cedric Alexander, Johnny Gargano, & Drew Gulak)
The United Nations(Juan Francisco De Coronado, The Proletariat Boar Of Moldova, & Prakash Sabar)
Warren Barksdale, Dick Justice, & Bill Carr
The Batiri(Obariyon, Kodama, & Kobald)
Dasher Hatfield & Moustache Mountain(Trent Seven & Tyler Bate)
Team Big Deal(Hornswoggle, Sloan Caprice, & Rick Roland)
The Osirian Portal(Amasis, Ophidian, & Argus)
Team Nazmaldun(Hallowicked, ?, & ?)
The Colony II(Worker Ant II, Missile Assault Man, & Arctic Rescue Ant)

CHIKARA has shows on Saturday 9/3 and Sunday 9/4 in Easton, PA featuring the King Of Trios Tournament.

WHY WE WRESTLE(www.facebook.com/ThisIsWhyWeWrestle)

Next show is Saturday 9/10 in Cornelia, GA.

HOUSE OF HARDCORE(www.houseofhardcore.net)

Next show is Friday 9/16 in St. James, NY:
-Tommy Dreamer vs. Rhino - Street Fight
-Aron Stevens vs. Matt Hardy
-Ricochet vs. Tony Nese
-El Torito vs. Horn Swoggle

HOH has a show on Saturday 9/17 in Philadelphia, PA:
-Tommy Dreamer vs. Matt Hardy
-Chris Hero vs. Tony Nese
-Ricochet vs. Sami Callihan

SHIMMER(www.shimmerwrestling.com)

Next shows are Friday 11/11, Saturday 11/12, and Sunday 11/13 in Berwyn, IL.

SHINE(www.shinewrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 9/2 in Ybor City, FL:
-Ivelisse Velez vs. Allysin Kay - SHINE Title
-Thunderkitty vs. Malia Hosaka - I Quit Match
-Mercedes Martinez vs. Andrea
-Su Yung vs. Vanessa Kraven

IWA MID-SOUTH(iwamidsouthwrestling.webs.com)

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

AAW(www.aawrestling.com)

Next show is Thursday 9/1 in Berwyn, IL:
-Pentagon Jr. vs. Tommaso Ciampa - Heavyweight Title

ACW(www.anarchychampionshipwrestling.com)

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

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
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook at: @patrickab7

Monday, August 29, 2016

WWE Raw

-Commentators:  Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, & Corey Graves.
-R.I.P. Mr. Fuji.
-Chris Jericho d. Adrian Neville with the Liontamer (7:18 aired).
-Nia Jax d. Hyane Young with the fireman's-carry powerslam (1:18).
-Sami Zayn d. Jinder Mahal after the Helluva Kick (3:06).
-Tag Team Champions The New Day(Big E Langston & Kofi Kingston) & Bayley Rose(w/ Xavier Woods) d. The Bullet Club(Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) & Dana Brooke when Bayley pinned Dana after the Belly-To-Bayley Hugplex (10:04 aired); Women's Champion Charlotte Flair did commentary.
-Match 2 Of Best-Of-7 Series:  Sheamus O'Shaunessy d. Antonio Cesaro via Texas Cloverleaf (7:40 aired).
-Braun Strowman d. Americo after a face-first boost and drop to the mat (0:56).
-Darren Young(w/ Bob Backlund) d. Titus O'Neil with a crucifix pin (4:02); Titus laid out Young and Backlund afterwards.
-Kevin Owens won a four-way dance with Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Colin Cassady(w/ Enzo Amore) to win the vacant WWE Universal Title; Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and Mick Foley watched the match from ringside.  Eliminations:  Owens pinned Cass after a frog splash (9:23 aired).  Triple H made a surprise return and Pedigreed Reigns on the floor, then threw him into the ring for Rollins to pin (16:59 aired).  HHH seemed to be setting up Owens for the same, but instead turned on Rollins and Pedigreed HIM...that allowed Owens to pin Seth for the final victory and the title (18:15 aired).

SLA Special Comment (Part 1)

Now, as promised, a special comment about Friday's St. Louis Anarchy show at the Spaulding Hall Club in Alton, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

I went to seven wrestling shows in the month of August (well, six and two-thirds), so I won't mind taking it easy on Labor Day weekend.  Who knows, maybe someone will talk me into driving to Stride Pro Wrestling in Marion, IL next Saturday; I seem to be easily persuaded like that.

People seem to be more combative than ever on the Internetz, and not just in the realm of professional wrestling (I've seen friends and even family members separated by political arguments).  Recently, a prominent wrestler openly threatened fans on social media.  I have discovered that show business(in all its forms) is not for the thin-skinned...it's the nature of The Biz(tm) that spectators will judge you, but that judgement is a lot more visible nowadays.  Standup comedy is a realm where I had to learn to accept feedback ranging from constructive to "u suk"; one improves by taking the RIGHT feedback to heart.  I've never been a fan of the mindset that one can only judge if they've been in those shoes; it certainly strengthens that opinion, but it's not the be-all end-all.

Also, I try not to say anything online that I wouldn't say in person...that may lead to my commentaries being overly "diplomatic" at times, I suppose.  At the end of the day, I'm one fan with one seat at the show and writing one whiny blog...I only speak for myself.  I'm a big believer in watching for oneself and drawing one's own conclusion, especially since people see fit to start huge arguments about whose "fake fighter"(phrase used in jest) is better.  Different people like different things; it's a business and the only true measure of who's doing it "right" or "wrong" is the almighty dollar.  Are some people just assholes?  Absolutely, but that doesn't give anyone the right to threaten violence.

Anywho...wrestling show, yay!  It was time for another Friday/Saturday double-shot for St. Louis Anarchy with the premise of a "Bragging Rights" series between Team Anarchy and four prominent independent competitors.  Trik Davis was scheduled to be on Anarchy's team but he was missing in action for the weekend; Curt Stallion took his place.  As a result, a few matches were switched around on this show; it was originally scheduled to be Davey Vega vs. Aaron Epic, Jojo Bravo vs. Chip Day, and Trik vs. Aaron Solow.  The point system awarded five points for a pinfall win, ten points for a submission, and twenty points for a knockout.

Your ring announcer was Sarah Rose, making her debut in that position; she was a bit nervous at first but settled into the role over the course of the weekend.  Your referees were Austin Blackburn & Brandon Tolle.

Jeff Gant & "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him) vs. The Diamond Dogs(Luke Langley & Graham Bell):  The show started late due to technical issues; I was told the sound equipment didn't arrive until the last minute.  As a result, this "pre-show" match took place around 7:20 on a show advertised to begin at 7:00.  The Diamond Dogs have also competed as the Kansas City Wolves.  Hadn't seen Gant at SLA in a while; he had more recently competed for Pro Wrestling Championship Series as well as Outlaw Wrestling.  This was Kenway's debut for SLA.  Tag team experience was the deciding factor in this one; one of the Dogs delivered a top-rope version of a Codebreaker on Gant, then held him across his knees as the other hit a top-rope double-stomp to the back.  That was enough for Bell to pin Gant in 6:34.

The show officially started with Team Gary Jay and Team Stone meeting in the ring for a layout of the rules and point system.  Stone did an arrogant promo which turned some of the fans against his squad...

"Absolute" Ricky Starks vs. Jason Roberts:  Starks' blossoming WWE career has continued its progression; he made his first appearance on WWE programming in a loss to Kane on Main Event.  His WWE/NXT deal is right around the corner (and has been for quite some time now) and the fans chanted "We Will Miss You".  #takeaknee  In a shocker, Roberts got a sunset flip pin out of nowhere in 0:38...say what?  Starks was stunned, but he said that wanted to give the fans something more and challenged Roberts to an immediate rematch.

"Absolute" Ricky Starks vs. Jason Roberts:  This was a more standard competitive matchup and Starks threw in a few shoutouts to his WWE compatriots, including what I will refer to as "The People's Backflop".  Roberts put up a good fight, but Starks put him away with a Rock Bottom in 5:04.  Starks praised Roberts afterwards, saying the kid had something and would be counted on to hold down the fort once he leaves for The Fed(tm).

"The Lone Star" Curt Stallion vs. Aaron Solow, Bragging Rights Match:  I hadn't seen Solow in quite a while; he was a regular in this area for a short time, teaming up with his then-tag team partner and fellow Davey Richards trainee Darren Dean(RIP).  He's made an appearance or two on NXT, so hopefully Ricky Starks can put in a good word for him with The Office(tm).  Stallion has been a semi-regular in the area in recent years, though he competes all over the place (particularly in Texas).  I always appreciate an old-school finishing hold; Solo focused on Stallion's arm en route to a tapout win via Fujiwara armbar in 7:20.  That put Team Stone in the lead with a score of 10-0.

Paco Gonzalez vs. Kevin Lee Davidson vs. Slade Porter vs. Slade Sludge:  Sludge was making his SLA debut; I had previously seen him at Outlaw Wrestling and he has become a regular for IWA Mid-South.  The only wrestler I hadn't previously seen was fratboy Porter, who wrestles in the southeast and presumably traveled with the Team Stone crew.  K.L.D. seemed to be the obvious favorite in terms of sheer size, but Paco had a title shot scheduled for the follow night and was looking for a momentum boost.  I'll freely admit to being a bit burned out on the multi-way schmozz matches; it's a way to get several people on the card, everyone hits their cool moves, then someone usually steals a pinfall to end it (with psychology falling by the wayside in favor of wrestlers simply rolling out of the ring while the other participants fight).  The match was fun for what it was; the wrestlers ganged up on K.L.D. a few different times, trying to get the big man out of the picture so they could have a better shot at winning.  The finish came rather quickly as Paco pinned Sludge after a Death Valley Driver in 5:15, then vowed to win the Heavyweight Title at the following night's show regardless of who had it.  (Champion Mat Fitchett was scheduled to defend against a mystery opponent in the night's main event.)

Jojo Bravo vs. Aaron Epic, Bragging Rights Match:  Out of the members of Team Stone, I was the least familiar with Epic.  His trainers included Kahagas, Matt Bentley, Jamie Knoble, and Hack Myers; he teamed with Sugar Dunkerton as The Kings Of The Armory(#KOA for short) and had a few matches in Pro Wrestling Collision.  Despite his actions at the previous St. Louis Anarchy event, Jojo still got a lot of cheers...he had face paint and different ring attire to go with his more serious attitude.  They had a good solid matchup, ending with Jojo's Samurai Driver(crossed-leg fisherman driver) in 7:21 to put Team Gary Jay on the board.  (Team Stone 10, Team Gary Jay 5)

Gary Jay vs. "The Guvnor" Martin Stone, Bragging Rights Match:  These two had battled in the southeast and I believe Gary scored the win in their first encounter.  Stone had a cup of coffee in NXT, competing at different times as Martin Stone and Danny Burch.  This had the most hype out of the Friday night matches as the two team captains squared off...it was exactly the kind of hard-hitting affair that everyone expected.  Gary Jay has come a long way since he and the other Submission Squad members were treated as a joke at CHIKARA King Of Trios; he's earned a ton of respect on the national scene, including appearances for promotions like EVOLVE and Full Impact Pro.  As for Stone, it didn't take long for him to win over the Midwest fans; I've gained a greater appreciation for the British wrestling style in recent years.  The two threw some serious bomb as the match wore on, with Stone incredibly surviving some of Gary's most lethal forearm strikes.  Stone finally felled Gary with a nasty step-up headbutt, scoring the three-count in 22:30 to widen his team's lead to 15-5.

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm)(which he can verify since he was there):  One root beer, plus I humbly and graciously asked if I could have a slice of two of Ben's pizza.  Much appreciated.

"The Leader Of The Pack" Stephen Wolf vs. Austin Blackburn(w/ Tag Team Champion Evan Gelistico, Danny Adams, & Everett Connors):  Blackburn had officiated some matches in the first half of the show and called things fairly; he was under a lot of pressure from The Cause to redeem himself for recent setbacks in this bout.  Blackburn got some major air on a no-hands plancha to the floor, nearly overshooting his opponent Wolf!  The Cause member stuck their noses into the proceedings, but Blackburn had a change of heart and refused to use the Rulebook as a weapon.  As a result, his stablemates walked away from ringside and Wolf capitalized with the Blue Thunder Bomb to win in 9:46.  After that, Gelistico had Blackburn remain at ringside to see how things should be done...and he professed his hatred for "carnies", prompting the arrival of The Cause's next opponents.

Team I.O.U.("The Down-South Dandy" Nick Iggy & "The Music City Mutt" Kerry Awful) vs. Danny Adams & Everett Connors(w/ Tag Team Champion Evan Gelistico & Austin Blackburn):  While Iggy & Awful had been rulebreakers at times in St. Louis Anarchy, they were pretty clearly the fan favorites in this encounter.  Once again it came down to tag team experience as Team I.O.U. was the more cohesive unit; Iggy pinned Adams after the Carnie Stomp(which involved Awful boosting Iggy up into an advanced curbstomp) in 12:13.

The night wasn't quite over for Iggy & Awful...Greg Jovi had promised to wreak havoc on Circus Maximus weekend and brought a slew of masked competitors out to attack Team I.O.U.  It was interesting to see Makaze in that group as he and Jovi hate each other...in fact, Makaze beat the hell out of Jovi in that very venue less than a year ago.  The rest of the crew included Bahamut, Dash Rando, Super Electro, another electricity-themed masked man, Orange Lazarus, Dangerous Deveroux, Rebelucha, and Intrepidus.  Jovi said that the end had arrived for St. Louis Anarchy...stay tuned for further developments.

"The Ace Of Anarchy" Davey Vega vs. "Do Or Die" Chip Day, Bragging Rights Match:  Day had a slew of nicknames and made Sarah recite each and every one of them.  I hadn't seen Day since his days in NWA Anarchy; he's bulked up since that time (not a bad thing).  Day feigned a knee injury in the early stages of the match to lure Vega into a cheapshot, taking the advantage for the next several minutes.  It seemed like Team Gary Jay should have been going for more submission victories(or even knockouts) to counteract their early deficit, but that's why I'm not a wrestler.  They exchanged a lot of near-falls, but Vega pulled out the win with a modified victory roll that was more like a reverse jackknife cradle(if that makes sense) in 11:44.  That closed the gap, but Team Stone remained in the lead at 15-10.

The Cause(Evan Gelistico & Adam Caster)(w/ Danny Adams & Everett Connors) vs. Roscoe Eat Lisa("Zesty" Zakk Sawyers & "The Big Mustache On Campus" Mikey McFinnegan) for the Tag Team Titles:  R.E.L. won a four-team tournament at the previous Anarchy double-shot to earn this opportunity, beating The Viking War Party(Alexandre Rudolph & Jake Parnell) and The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter).  The presence of Austin Blackburn as referee was cause for concern, but he seemed intent on calling it down the middle after his blowup with the rest of The Cause earlier in the night.  The match was progressing nicely until Sawyers accidentally laid out referee Blackburn with a kick...he had to be assisted to the backstage area and Tolle took his place (one of the few times Tolle's gotten a positive crowd reaction at Anarchy!).  Roscoe Eat Lisa had control of the match and McFinnegan nearly had the title-winning pin, but Caster pulled Tolle out of the ring before the three-count...that led to Tolle ejecting the extra Cause members from ringside.  As Tolle was occupied with escorting Adams and Connors from ringside, McFinnegan hit Gelistico with a Code Red and had him pinned...Blackburn ran back into the ring and it seemed as though the fix was in.  However, Blackburn surprised everyone by making a legitimate three-count...ladies and gentlemen, we have NEWWWWW Tag Team Champions!  The Cause's 370-day reign had ended and the reign of Roscoe Eat Lisa had begun!  Zakk and Mikey made nice with Blackburn afterwards and all was right with the world...

Mat Fitchett vs. "Dirdey" Jake Dirden for the Heavyweight Title:  I had no idea who the challenger might be...when the song "House Of The Rising Sun" started up, I joked that it might be Sean Orleans(who was running the audio for the night).  Someone else suggested "Dirty" Andy Dalton(as he uses that theme)...but I certainly was NOT expecting Jake Dirden to walk through the curtain.  The mood changed in a hurry as the champion was up against a much larger and stronger opponent in their first-ever meeting.  I had been hoping to see this match for a while...with Dirden no longer holding the Dynamo Pro Heavyweight Title, he might be more open to competing for other area promotions.  The cliche "David vs. Goliath" is often used in this case, but it was very fitting as Fitchett had to stick and move against the big man...he also surprised Dirden with a couple of released German suplexes!  Fitchett survived the best that Dirden could dish out, striking fast with moves like the Pele Kick...it took not one but two flying knee strikes, but Fitchett finally put Dirden down for the count in 17:05 to retain his title!

After the match, Paco Gonzalez hit the ring to confront the titleholder...it looked like a simple tease for the following night's championship match, but after words were exchanged, Paco laid out Fitchett with a superkick!  Paco had sent a message...he was coming for the title and he didn't care about being the "fan favorite" in the process.

It was a long weekend and it was far from over...but that's another story for another time.  Tune in next time...same Pat-Time, same Pat-Channel.

That's my special comment for this, the thirty-sixty wrestling show I've attended in the year 2016.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Sunday PWR Results From Swansea, IL

-The show started with a ten-bell salute for Mr. Fuji.
-"The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him) d. Kody Krash with the Anaconda Vise (4:39).
-Tyler Colton d. Aaron Solow after a near-ref bump allowed Colton to mule-kick Solow in the groin, then finish with a Northern Lights Bomb (7:34).
-"Risky Business" Everett Connors won a four-corner match with Mike Outlaw, Jojo Bravo, and Jason Roberts; Outlaw hit the Mafia Kick on Roberts, but Jojo broke up the pin and Connors stole the fall on Roberts (5:14).
-Kevin Lee Davidson d. "Absolute" Ricky Starks after the second spinebuster of the match (11:32).
-The Viking War Party("American Viking" Alexandre Rudolph, "Gordiest Viking" Frank Wyatt, & "Littlest Viking" Jake Parnell) fought The Submission Squad(Gary Jay, Evan Gelistico, & Pierre Abernathy) to a double countout (12:28).  Commissioner Sean Orleans demanded that the wrestlers stop fighting; even the two referees were unable to stop the brawl, so Orleans took matters into his own hands with a suicide dive into the middle of the fight!
-Alpha Class("The Millenial" Danny Adams & Paco Gonzalez) d. The Bestiest In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett); Adams helped Paco block Vega's brainbuster attempt, allowing Paco to counter with a small package for the surprise pin on Vega (11:03).
-IWGP Intercontinental Champion "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin d. MWR Missouri Champion Brandon Espinosa(non-title) with the sitout powerbomb (12:41).

Weekend wrestling

ROH TV

-Commentators:  Kevin Kelly & Matt Taven.
-Keith Lee & Shane Taylor d. War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe); Lee pinned Hanson after Taylor suplexed Hanson into position for Lee's sitout powerbomb (8:55 aired).
-Cheeseburger vs. "The Product" David Starr vs. Joey "Diesel" Daddiego vs. Tough Tim Hughes(w/ Brutal Bob Evans) ended in a no-contest when B.J. Whitmer(who had joined the commentary team) "summoned" Punisher Martinez to destroy all four men (4:11).
-The All Night Express(Kenny King & Rhett Titus) & Caprice Coleman d. Dalton Castle & The Boys(Brandon & Brent Tate); Coleman superplexed Brandon(?) and King & Titus followed up with a guillotine legdrop and frog splash from opposite turnbuckles, leading to Titus getting the pin (7:00 aired).
-The Addiction("The Almighty" Christopher Daniels & "The Heavy Metal Rebel" Frankie Kazarian) d. IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) to retain the Tag Team Titles; Veda Scott did commentary.  Kamaitachi and The Motor City Machineguns(Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) got involved, but Sabin accidentally hit Matt Jackson with a chair that was meant for Daniels and Kazarian stole the pin on Matt Jackson (8:14 aired).

SICW Wrestling Explosion

-Commentator:  Drew Abbenhaus.
-"The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas(w/ Travis Cook) won a triple threat match with Big Jim Hoffarth and "Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson to become the top contender to the Classic Title; Hoffarth avalanched Jackson in the corner while aiming for Kahagas, leading to Kahagas taking advantage with a roundhouse kick to the head of Hoffarth before pinning Jackson.
-Backstage:  "Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent hyped SICW's upcoming shows.
-Ron Powers d. Attila Khan(w/ Travis Cook) in a no-DQ match to retain the Classic Title; Khan was left bloody after Powers abused him with chairs and the ticket table. Khan attempted to wedge a garbage can in the turnbuckles, but Powers avalanched him from behind and finished him with an RKO. Chaos erupted post-match as Cook's proteges(Espinosa, Hargas, & Kahagas) stormed the ring to attack Powers; Ron got backup in the form of Ken Kasa and Gary Jackson as they held off the Travis Cook Organization. The show ended with a staredown between Powers and Kahagas, who will face each other for the Classic Title on September 17th.
-Backstage:  Drew interviewed Classic Champion Ron Powers about his upcoming title defense against Kahagas.

TNA X-Travaganza

-Chuck Taylor d. Rockstar Spud.
-Marshe Rockett d. Mark Andrews.
-D.J. Shiima Xion d. Jonathan Gresham.
-Suicide d. David Starr.
-Braxton Sutter d. J.T. Dunn.
-Eddie Edwards d. Caleb Konley.
-Crazzy Steve d. Zenshi(Shynron).
-Trevor Lee & Andrew Everett d. The Bro Mans(Robbie Eckos & Jessie Godderz) in an Ultimate X Match.
-Braxton Sutter won a ladder match with D.J. Shiima Xion, Chuck Taylor, Marshe Rockett, Eddie Edwards, Suicide, and Crazzy Steve.

Saturday SLA Results From Alton, IL

-The Diamond Dogs(Luke Langley & Graham Bell) & Tyler Colton d. Jeff Gant, Tank Engine Tommy, & Kody Krash when Bell pinned Tommy after he and Langley hit a Diamond Cutter/enzuigiri combo (5:04).
-"The Leader Of The Pack" Stephen Wolf d. Jason Roberts with the Blue Thunder Bomb (7:21).
-"The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him) d. Slade Porter with a swinging fisherman suplex (7:14).
-Bragging Rights Match:  Aaron Solow d. Jojo Bravo with the Fujiwara armbar (8:17).  (Team Stone 25, Team Gary Jay 10)
-Dangerous Deveroux & Orange Lazarus(w/ Greg Jovi & company) d. Team I.O.U.("The Down-South Dandy" Nick Iggy & "The Music City Mutt" Kerry Awful); Lazarus pinned Awful when Deveroux broke up a piledriver attempt with a flying neckbreaker, allowing Lazarus to get the jackknife cradle pinfall (12:20).
-Bragging Rights Match:  Aaron Epic d. "The Lone Star" Curt Stallion with a Canadian Destroyer (8:25).  (Team Stone 30, Team Gary Jay 10)
-Bragging Rights Match:  Gary Jay d. "Do Or Die" Chip Day after a roaring elbow (17:04).  (Team Stone 30, Team Gary Jay 15)
-"Absolute" Ricky Starks d. Slade Sludge with the Angel's Wings (10:24).  After the match, he asked "the boys" to come out to the ring and proclaimed that he did it all for the fans and had given the rub to up-and-coming talents like Sludge.  He said he would miss the fans of St. Louis Anarchy before finishing by saying "see you next month!"...several wrestlers carried him from ringside with "Leave The Memories Alone" playing over the sound system.
-Tag Team Champions Roscoe Eat Lisa("Zesty" Zakk Sawyers & "The Big Mustache On Campus" Mikey McFinnegan) & Austin Blackburn d. The Cause(Evan Gelistico, Danny Adams, & Everett Connors) when R.E.L. helped Blackburn counter a powerbomb attempt by Gelistico into a rana pin (17:11).
-Bragging Rights Match:  "The Guvnor" Martin Stone d. "The Ace Of Anarchy" Davey Vega by knockout after multiple headbutts and then forearms to the back of the head as Vega was grounded on the mat (21:54).  (Team Stone 50, Team Gary Jay 15).
-Mat Fitchett d. Paco Gonzalez after the third torture-rack Go 2 Sleep of the match to retain the Heavyweight Title (13:03).

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Main Event + Superstars

WWE Main Event

-Commentators:  Tom Phillips & David Otunga.
-Erick Rowan d. Rhyno with the full nelson slam (4:22).
-The Hype Bros(Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley) d. The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch) when Ryder pinned English after the Hype Ryder(Mojo boost into Ryder second-rope Rough Ryder) (4:15 aired).

WWE Superstars

-Commentators:  Tom Phillips & Corey Graves.
-Jack Swagger d. Jinder Mahal with the Patriot Lock(anklelock) (4:11).
-The Golden Truth(Goldust & "R-Truth" Ron Killings) d. Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas; Golden Truth hit Axel with a powerbomb/Eye Of The Hurricane combo and R-Truth got the pin with a jackknife cradle (6:46 aired).

Friday SLA Results From Alton, IL + Other Show Results

-The Diamond Dogs(Luke Langley & Graham Bell) d. Jeff Gant & "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him) when Bell pinned Gant after a Codebreaker/top-rope double-stomp combo (6:34).
-The scoring system for the Bragging Rights series:  Five points for a pinfall win, ten points for a submission win, and twenty points for a knockout win.
-Jason Roberts d. "Absolute" Ricky Starks via sunset flip (0:38).  Starks was stunned by the quick loss and said he wanted to give the fans something extra, so he challenged Roberts to an immediate rematch.
-"Absolute" Ricky Starks d. Jason Roberts with a Rock Bottom (5:04).
-Bragging Rights Match:  Aaron Solow d. "The Lone Star" Curt Stallion(subbing for Trik Davis) with a Fujiwara armbar (7:20).  (Team Stone 10, Team Gary Jay 0)
-Paco Gonzalez won a four-corner match with Kevin Lee Davidson, Slade Porter, and Slade Sludge when he pinned Sludge after a Death Valley Driver (5:15).  Afterwards, Paco vowed to win the Heavyweight Title at tomorrow night's show.
-Bragging Rights Match:  Jojo Bravo(now sporting face paint and a more serious demeanor) d. Aaron Epic with the Samura Driver(cross-legged fisherman driver) (7:21).  (Team Stone 10, Team Gary Jay 5)
-Bragging Rights Match:  "The Guvnor" Martin Stone d. Gary Jay after a step-up headbutt (22:30).  (Team Stone 15, Team Gary Jay 5)
-"The Leader Of The Pack" Stephen Wolf d. Austin Blackburn(w/ Evan Gelistico, Danny Adams, & Everett Connors) when The Cause members abandoned Blackburn for refusing to use the Rulebook as a weapon; Wolf capitalized on the distraction with the Blue Thunder Bomb for the win (9:46).
-Team I.O.U.("The Down-South Dandy" Nick Iggy & "The Music City Mutt" Kerry Awful) d. Danny Adams & Everett Connors(w/ Evan Gelistico & Austin Blackburn); Iggy pinned Adams after he and Awful hit the Carnie Stomp(Awful boost of Iggy into an advanced curbstomp) (12:13).
-After the match, Greg Jovi led a squad of masked wrestlers into the ring to beat down Iggy & Awful:  Makaze, Bahamut, Rebelucha, Dangerous Deveroux, Dash Rando, Orange Lazarus, Super Electro, and Intrepidus (along with another electricity-themed masked guy).  Jovi vowed that "the end" had arrived for St. Louis Anarchy.
-Bragging Rights Match:  "Ace Of Anarchy" Davey Vega d. "Do Or Die" Chip Day with a victory roll (11:44).  (Team Stone 15, Team Gary Jay 10)
-Roscoe Eat Lisa("Zesty" Zakk Sawyers & "The Big Mustache On Campus" Mikey McFinnegan) d. The Cause(Evan Gelistico & Adam Caster)(w/ Danny Adams & Everett Connors) to win the Tag Team Titles.  Austin Blackburn started the match as the referee but called it down the middle despite his Cause allegiance...he was taken out of the match by an accidental kick from Sawyers at one point, leading to Brandon Tolle taking over the officiating.  Later in the match, the outside members of The Cause pulled Tolle out of the ring to avert a sure three-count in favor of the challengers, leading Tolle to personally eject Adams & Connors from ringside.  McFinnegan delivered a Code Red on Gelistico and Blackburn ran back into the ring to make the three-count (16:55).
-Mat Fitchett d. "Dirdey" Jake Dirden to retain the Heavyweight Title.  Despite a huge disadvantage in size and power, Fitchett was able to turn the tide with his speed and agility...also surprising the big man with a couple of released German suplexes.  Fitchett scored the hard-fought victory after two flying knee strikes (17:05)...but he had no time to rest as he was immediately confronted by Paco.  The two exchanged words until Paco dropped the champion with a superkick, sending a message before their title match at tomorrow night's show!

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Saturday WLW results from St. Peters, MO featuring Mark Henry, Hurricane Helms, and Dave Taylor as special guests:

-Karim Brigante(w/ Miss Monica Passeri) d. Barrett Brown.
-Jack Gamble, Rex Fults, & Van Van Horn d. Chase McCoy, Jaxon Stone, & Jaden Roller.
-Miss Monica Passeri won a triple threat match with Stacey O'Brien and "Miss Natural" Heather Patera(C) to win the Women's Title.
-Steve Anthony d. Kyle Roberts.
-Jon Webb d. Jayden Fenix to win the tournament to crown the first Jr. Heavyweight Champion.
-Leland Race d. Brian Breaker.

Saturday CCW results from Cape Girardeau, MO (credit to Jared Smith):

-Tony Kozina d. C.J. Shine.
-Dale Wylde d. B.T. Daramola.
-Hollis Giroux d. Sarge O'Riley.
-Diamond doll d. Li'l Bit.
-Brandon Espinosa d. Farmer Billy Hills to retain the MWR Missouri Title.
-Brandon Barbwire d. Jake Dirden to retain the Heavyweight Title.
-Ricochet d. Austin Lane.

Saturday ROH results from Brooklyn, NY:

-Leon St. Giovanni & Shaheem Ali d. Joey Daddiego & ?.
-Taeler Hendrix d. Deonna Purrazzo.
-IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Yujiro Kushida d. Dalton Castle(non-title).
-Bobby Fish d. Takaaki "EVIL" Watanabe to retain the T.V. Title.
-Michael Elgin d. Donovan Dijak to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Title.
-Tag Team Title Gauntlet Match:  Toru Yano & Gedo d. Leon St. Giovanni & Shaheem Ali; Yano & Gedo d. Cheeseburger & Will Ferrara; The All Night Express(Kenny King & Rhett Titus) d. Yano & Gedo; War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe) d. The All Night Express; IWGP Tag Team Champions The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) d. War Machine; The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian)(C) d. The Briscoe Brothers.
-IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson), Adam Page, & Yujiro Takahashi d. A.C.H., The Motor City Machineguns(Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley), & Lio Rush.
-Kyle O'Reilly d. NEVER Openweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata in a non-title match.
-Adam Cole won a four-corner match with Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, and Jay Lethal to retain the Heavyweight Title.

Saturday WWW results from Cornelia, GA:

-Adryan Hawkins d. Trever Aeon.
-Elijah Evans IV d. Supernatural.
-The Lynch Mob(Matt & Joey Lynch) & The Baniac d. The Get Along Gang(C.B. Suave, Gil Quest, & Marko Polo)
-Cyrus The Destroyer d. Damien Bennett.
-Aja Perera d. Jessica Leigh.
-Billy Buck d. Slim J.
-Gunner Miller d. Stryknyn to win the Heavyweight Title.

Sunday ACW results from Austin, TX:

-Stan Summers won a six-way dance with Johnny Axxle, Richard Reason, Tony Stron, Jamie Holley, and Donnie Giovanni.
-Scotty Santiago d. Wade Olsen to retain the U-30 Title.
-Shigeyuki Kawahara d. Benny Factor.
-Allie Kat d. Mad Tigre in a cat-collar match.
-The Lords Of Seduction(Cherry Ramons & Dominic Dallas Starr) won a four-way dance with The Diamond Dogs(Luke Langley & Graham Bell), D.G. & Zak Taylor, and Tank Engine Thomas & Reggie Lincoln.
-Sky DeLacrimosa d. Jeff Gant to win the T.V. Title.
-Jack Jameson d. Steve O. Reno.
-Curt Stallion d. Jessica James.
-Houston Carson vs. Johnny Swole ended in a no-contest.
-Angel Blue won a six-way dance with Su Yung, Laynie Luck, Amanda Rodriguez, Christi Jaynes, and Allie Kat to retain the Joshi Title.
-Raymond Rowe d. Franco D'Angelo to retain the Heavyweight Title.
-Masada & Killah Kash d. The Unholy Complex(Gregory James & Jason Silver) in a table match to retain the Tag Team Titles.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

TNA Impact

-Commentators:  Josh Mathews & D'Angelo Dinero.
-Mike Bennett won a battle royal for the next shot at Heavyweight Champion Bobby Lashley(who did commentary for the match).  Eliminations:  Baron Dax by Basile Baraka, Mahabali Shera by Moose, Robbie Eckos by Baraka, Baraka by Moose, Grado by Eli Drake, Drake by Eddie Edwards, Jessie Godderz by Moose, and Edwards and Moose at the same time by Bennett (9:38 aired).
-Tag Team Champion Abyss(w/ Crazzy Steve & Rosemary Rush) d. Jeff Hardy^H^H^HBrother Nero(w/ Matt Hardy) with the Blackhole Slam after Rosemary blinded Jeff with green mist behind the referee's back (6:15 aired).
-Allie Dennis won a five-way no-DQ match with Sienna Kay(C)(w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett), Mia "Jade" Yim, Marti Belle, and Madison Rayne to win the Women's Title.  Jade took out Rayne with the package piledriver and Allie tried to stop Marti from using her police baton, but accidentally hit Sienna with it.  Marti hit Allie with the baton, but Allie fell on top of Madison for the pin as Jade took out Marti (4:24).
-Ethan Carter III d. Drew Galloway by countering the Future Shock(double-underhook DDT) with a jackknife cradle (12:35 aired); Aron Rex was the special guest referee.  Afterwards, Drew snapped and attacked Rex, laying him out by repeatedly ramming his head into the ring steps.

Comedy Part 721: Hey Guys, It's PB Classic

Location:  Hey Guys Comedy
Emcee:  Will O'Donnell
After:  Nathan Orton
Before:  Josh Schwartzkopf

I've had two longer sets this week, so the following open-mic was usually spent trying to do jokes that I hadn't done in the longer performances.  This was a night of dusting off older material...some of it worked fairly well, other jokes were better off left in the dark corners of my notebook.  I feel like I've learned a lot this week in building my feature-length set and hopefully I will be able to fill that role in the near future.  We had a fun audience tonight and hopefully the club can build a following for open-mic over the next few weeks.

Comedy Part 720: Corner Keg Feature & Judge

Location:  Corner Keg (Highland, IL)
Emcee:  Bruce Veach
Lineup:  Larry Smith, Gary Reinhardt, Doug Morris, Anita Echevarria, Tom Brown, Brian McDowell, Lucas Hinderliter

I was set for my second longer comedy performance in the past few days...while I fell a bit short of the twenty-minute mark, I felt like I had a stronger overall set than I did on Sunday (when I noticably struggled to come up with my next line at times).  Doing longer sets is the only way I can learn how to do them...I noted jokes I could have done and will hopefully include in the future.  I'm also learning how to structure my longer sets and organize certain jokes.  I was also the judge for a comedy contest for the first time...it was not an easy decision as everyone did well.  (Doug Morris was the winner and Tom Brown was the runner-up.)  Next up for me:  Hey Guys Comedy's open-mic this evening at 7:30!

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

NXT + CWC

WWE NXT

-Commentators:  Tom Phillips & Corey Graves.
-Tye Dillinger d. Wesley Blake after the Tye Breaker(Death Valley Driver onto the knee) (6:39 aired).
-The Authors Of Pain(Akam Dhinsa & Rezar Selmani)(w/ Paul Ellering) d. TM-61(Nick Miller & Shane Thorne) when Akam pinned Miller after the Authors hit the Russian legsweep/lariat combo (5:28 aired).

WWE Cruiserweight Classic

-Commentators:  Mauro Ranallo & Daniel Bryan.
-Rich Swann d. Lince Dorado after a Phoenix Splash(moonsault-into-450 Splash) (8:14).
-Zack Sabre Jr. d. Drew Gulak when he countered the Gu-Lock(dragon sleeper with bodyscissors) and scored the three-count with a bridging pin combo (8:28).
-T.J. Perkins d. Johnny Gargano with the TJP Clutch(crossed-leg kneebar), targeting the knee that was injured at Takeover (12:20).
-The quarterfinals are set:  Gran Metalik vs. Akira Tozawa, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Noam Dar, Kota Ibushi vs. Brian Kendrick, and Rich Swann vs. T.J. Perkins.

WWE Smackdown

-Commentators:  Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, & John Bradshaw Layfield.
-It was announced that Smackdown would have its own Tag Team Titles and Women's Title; a tournament for the SD Tag Titles would start on the show and a six-way match would take place at Backlash to determine the first SD Women's Champion.
-Becky Lynch d. Alexa Bliss with the Dis-Arm-Her(armbar submission) (4:02); Naomi Night and Natalya Neidhart did commentary.
-Smackdown Tag Team Title Tournament:  Jimmy & Jey Uso d. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor) when Jimmy pinned Viktor after the top-rope splash (3:49).
-Carmella Van Damme vs. Nikki Bella never officially started as Carmella attacked Nikki before the bell, focusing on her surgically-repaired neck.
-Smackdown Tag Team Title Tournament:  American Alpha(Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) d. Breezango(Tyler Breeze & Johnny Fandango); Gable pinned Breeze after he and Jordan delivered the Grand Amplitude(Jordan belly-to-back throw into Gable bridging back suplex) (7:27 aired).
-A.J. Styles d. Dolph Ziggler with the Styles Clash (14:20 aired); WWE Champion Dean Ambrose did commentary.  If Ziggler had won, he would have been added to the scheduled Ambrose-Styles title match at Backlash to make it a triple threat match.

Comedy Parts 718-9: Open-Mic Interlude

Location:  Helium Comedy Club(garage)
Emcee:  Chris Cyr
After:  Ron Finger
Before:  Matt Barnes

Location:  Helium Comedy Club
Emcee:  Cameron Keys
After:  Stryker Spurlock
Before:  Tom Brown

My finances are shakier than usual at the moment, so I haven't been going out as often on Tuesday nights.  After my lengthy set on Sunday, I wanted to make a point to focus on jokes that I didn't use in that performance.  I used the bucket mic to work on a handful of new things, including an extension of my joke about my "Harry Potter"-esque appearance.  I went up late on the main show and did pretty well with the people in attendance, all things considered.  Tonight is the comedy contest at the Corner Keg in Highland, IL...I'll be doing a longer set, so looking forward to that...

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

This week in wrestling

WWE(www.wwe.com)

Main Event this week has:
-Rhyno vs. Erick Rowan
-The Hype Bros(Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley) vs. The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch)

NXT this week has:
-TM-61(Nick Miller & Shane Thorne) vs. The Authors Of Pain(Sunny Dhinsa & Gzim Selmani)
-Tye Dillinger vs. Wesley Blake

The Cruiserweight Classic this week has:
-Johnny Gargano vs. T.J. Perkins
-Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Drew Gulak
-Rich Swann vs. Lince Dorado

Superstars this week has:
-Jack Swagger vs. Jinder Mahal
-The Golden Truth(Goldust & "R-Truth" Ron Killings) vs. Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas

Backlash is on Sunday 9/11:
-Dean Ambrose vs. A.J. Styles - WWE Title
-Smackdown Tag Team Title Tournament Final
-Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella vs. Natalya Neidhart vs. Naomi Night vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella Van Damme - Smackdown Women's Title

Clash Of Champions is on Sunday 9/25.

TNA(www.tnawrestling.com)

Impact on Thursday has:
-Ethan Carter III vs. Drew Galloway
-Jeff Hardy vs. Abyss
-Sienna Kay vs. Mia "Jade" Yim vs. Marti Belle vs. Madison Rayne vs. Allie Dennis - Women's Title
-Battle Royal

RING OF HONOR(www.rohwrestling.com)

ROH TV this coming weekend has:
-The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) - Tag Team Titles
-War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe) vs. Keith Lee & Shane Taylor
-Cheeseburger vs. Tim Hughes vs. David Starr vs. Joey Daddiego

Next show is Saturday 8/27 in Brooklyn, NY:
-Adam Cole vs. Jay Lethal vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito - Heavyweight Title
-Michael Elgin vs. Donovan Dijak - IWGP Intercontinental Title
-Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kyle O'Reilly
-A.C.H., The Motor City Machineguns(Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley), & Lio Rush vs. The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson), Adam Page, & Yujiro Takahashi
-The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) vs. War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe) vs. The All Night Express(Kenny King & Rhett Titus) vs. Toru Yano & Gedo vs. Cheeseburger & Will Ferrara - Tag Team Titles - Gauntlet Match
-Bobby Fish vs. Takaaki "EVIL" Watanabe
-Yujiro Kushida vs. Dalton Castle

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

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

LUCHA UNDERGROUND(www.luchaunderground.com)

The first episode of Season 3 is on Wednesday 9/7.

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ST. LOUIS ANARCHY(www.stlanarchy.com)

Next show is Friday 8/26 in Alton, IL:
-Gary Jay vs. Martin Stone
-Davey Vega vs. Aaron Epic
-Jojo Bravo vs. Chip Day
-Trik Davis vs. Aaron Solow
-The Cause(Evan Gelistico & Adam Caster) vs. Roscoe Eat Lisa(Zakk Sawyers & Mikey McFinnegan) - Tag Team Titles

SLA has a show on Saturday 8/27 in Alton, IL:
-Mat Fitchett vs. Paco Gonzalez - Heavyweight Title
-Gary Jay vs. Chip Day
-Davey Vega vs. Martin Stone
-Trik Davis vs. Aaron Epic
-Jojo Bravo vs Aaron Solow

DPW(www.dynamoprowrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 9/17 in Glen Carbon, IL:
-Shorty Biggs vs. Outtkast - D-1 Title
-Makaze vs. Ozzie Gallagher - Mask vs. Hair Match

SICW(www.sicw.org)

Next show is Saturday 9/17 in East Carondelet, IL:
-Ron Powers vs. Kahagas - Classic Title
-Karim Brigante & Monica Passeri vs. Curtis Wylde & Wyldefyre

MMWA(www.southbroadwayac.com)

Next show is Saturday 9/10 in St. Louis, MO.

PWCS(www.pwcswrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 10/29 in Granite City, IL.

HIGH RISK WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/hrwstl)

Next show is Friday 10/21 in Warsaw, MO:
-Mike Sydal vs. Tony Kozina - Heavyweight Title
-Mike Outlaw vs. Justin D'Air - Mayhem Title No-DQ Match

PRO WRESTLING EPIC(www.prowrestlingepic.com)

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

METRO PRO WRESTLING(www.metrowrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 8/27 in Kansas City, KS:
-Ace Steel vs. Tommy Dreamer - Falls-Count-Anywhere Match
-Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Rory Fox vs. Kraig Keesaman & Kiyoshi Shizuka
-Nate Redwing vs. Kevin Lee Davidson
-Devin Thomas vs. Michael Barry
-Sterling Riegel vs. Mike Sydal
-Mark Sterling vs. Darrien Sanders
-Lucy Mendez vs. D'Aarcy Dixon

3XW(www.3xwrestling.com)

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

WLW(www.harleyrace.com)

Next show is Saturday 8/27 in St. Peters, MO:
-Leland Race vs. Brian Breaker
-Jon Webb vs. Jayden Fenix - Jr. Heavyweight Title Tournament Final - No-DQ Match
-Justin D'Air & Kyle Roberts vs. Steve Anthony & Steve Fender - For The Vacant Tag Team Titles
-Appearing:  Mark Henry, Hurricane Helms

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

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

STRIDE PRO WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/Cmaprowrestling/)

Next show is Saturday 9/3 in Marion, IL:
-Ax Allwardt vs. Chris Hargas - Heavyweight Title

OUTLAW WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/outlawwrestling01)

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

WRESTLING OVER EVERYTHING(woe-wrestling.webnode.com)

Next show is Saturday 9/24 in Caseyville, IL:
-Leone Mephisto vs. Brandon Aarons - WOE Heavyweight Title vs. PWE Heavyweight Title

PRO WRESTLING RESURGENCE(www.facebook.com/ProWrestlingResurgence)

Next show is Sunday 8/28 in Swansea, IL:
-Michael Elgin vs. Brandon Espinosa
-Kevin Lee Davidson vs. Ricky Starks
-The Kobra Kai Dojo(Mat Fitchett & Davey Vega) vs. Alpha Class(Danny Adams & Paco Gonzalez)
-The Viking War Party(Alexandre Rudolph, Frank Wyatt, & Jake Parnell) vs. The Submission Squad(Gary Jay, Evan Gelistico, & Pierre Abernathy)
-Appearing:  Curt Stallion, Brandon Aarons, Everett Connors, Jason Roberts

CENTRAL STATES CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING(nwaccw.x10.bz)

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

WORLD POWERHOUSE WRESTLING(sites.google.com/site/worldpowerhousewrestlingstl/home)

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

NEW BREED WRESTING(www.facebook.com/NewBreedMO)

Next show is Saturday 10/22 in Eldon, MO.

CCW(www.capewrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 8/27 in Cape Girardeau, MO:
-Brandon Barbwire vs. Jake Dirden - Heavyweight Title
-Little Bit vs. Paloma Starr
-Appearing:  Ricochet

WARRIOR'S CODE WRESTLING(https://www.facebook.com/warriorscodewrestling1)

Next show is Saturday 8/20 in Christopher, IL:
-K.C. Jackson vs. Tony Flood

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EVOLVE(www.wwnlive.com & www.dgusa.tv)

Next show is Saturday 9/10 in Long Island, NY:
-Johnny Gargano vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
-Drew Galloway vs. Drew Gulak
-Dustin Taylor vs. Tracy Williams
-Jigsaw vs. Fred Yehi
-Matt Riddle vs. Tony Nese
-T.J. Perkins vs. Darby Allin
-Ethan Page vs. Dan Barry

PRO WRESTLING GUERRILLA(www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)

Next show is Friday 9/2 in Reseda, CA featuring the Battle Of Los Angeles Tournament:
-Chris Hero vs. Jushin Liger - BOLA Round 1
-Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tommy End - BOLA Round 1
-Fenix vs. Will Ospreay - BOLA Round 1
-Jeff Cobb vs. Ricochet - BOLA Round 1
-John Hennigan vs. Matt Sydal - BOLA Round 1
-Pentagon Jr. vs. Marty Scurll - BOLA Round 1
-Dalton Castle & The Boys(Brandon & Brent Tate) vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson)

PWG has a show on Saturday 9/3 featuring the Battle Of Los Angeles Tournament:
-Cody Rhodes vs. Sami Callihan - BOLA Round 1
-Kyle O'Reilly vs. Matt Riddle - BOLA Round 1
-Cedric Alexander vs. Mark Haskins - BOLA Round 1
-Kamaitachi vs. Trevor Lee - BOLA Round 1
-Mark Andrews vs. Pete Dunne - BOLA Round 1
-Dalton Castle vs. Jack Gallagher - BOLA Round 1
-Fenix & Pentagon Jr. vs. Chris Hero & Tommy End
-Will Ospreay, Ricochet, & Matt Sydal vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson)

PWG has a show on Sunday 9/4 in Reseda, CA featuring the Battle Of Los Angeles Tournament.

CHIKARA(www.chikarapro.com)

Next show is Friday 9/2 in Easton, PA featuring the King Of Trios Tournament:
-Tournament Participants:
Team Sendai Girls(Meiko Satomura, DASH Chisako, & Cassandra Miyagi)
Team SHIMMER(Candice LeRae, Crazy Mary Dobson, & Solo Darling)
Team Original Divas Revolution(Mickie James, Victoria, & Jazz)
Team JWP:  Hanako Nakamori, Manami Katsu, & Command Bolshoi
Heidi Lovelace & N_R_G(Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell)
The Colony(Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, & Silver Ant)
Princess Kimber Lee, Oleg The Usurper, & The Estonian Thunderfrog
Team CWC(Cedric Alexander, Johnny Gargano, & Drew Gulak)
The United Nations(Juan Francisco De Coronado, The Proletariat Boar Of Moldova, & Prakash Sabar)
Warren Barksdale, Dick Justice, & Bill Carr
The Batiri(Obariyon, Kodama, & Kobald)
Dasher Hatfield & Moustache Mountain(Trent Seven & Tyler Bate)
Team Big Deal(Hornswoggle, Sloan Caprice, & Rick Roland)
The Osirian Portal(Amasis, Ophidian, & Argus)
Team Nazmaldun(Hallowicked, ?, & ?)
The Colony II(Worker Ant II, Missile Assault Man, & Arctic Rescue Ant)

CHIKARA has shows on Saturday 9/3 and Sunday 9/4 in Easton, PA featuring the King Of Trios Tournament.

WHY WE WRESTLE(www.facebook.com/ThisIsWhyWeWrestle)

Next show is Saturday 8/27 in Cornelia, GA:
-Stryknyn vs. Gunner Miller - Heavyweight Title
-Trever Aeon vs. Adryan Hawkins
-Aja Perera vs. Jessica Leigh

HOUSE OF HARDCORE(www.houseofhardcore.net)

Next show is Friday 9/16 in St. James, NY:
-Tommy Dreamer vs. Rhino - Street Fight
-Aron Stevens vs. Matt Hardy
-Ricochet vs. Tony Nese
-El Torito vs. Horn Swoggle

SHIMMER(www.shimmerwrestling.com)

Next shows are Friday 11/11, Saturday 11/12, and Sunday 11/13 in Berwyn, IL.

SHINE(www.shinewrestling.com)

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

IWA MID-SOUTH(iwamidsouthwrestling.webs.com)

Next show is Tuesday 8/30 in Clarksville, IN:
-J.J. Garrett vs. Matt Cage - Heavyweight Title
-John Wayne Murdoch, Reed Bentley, & Nick Doepp vs. The Hangmen
-Shigehiro Irie vs. Matt Tremont

AAW(www.aawrestling.com)

Next show is Thursday 9/1 in Berwyn, IL:
-Pentagon Jr. vs. Tommaso Ciampa - Heavyweight Title

ACW(www.anarchychampionshipwrestling.com)

Next show is Sunday 8/28 in Austin, TX:
-Raymond Rowe vs. Franco D'Angelo - Heavyweight Title
-Masada & Killah Kash vs. The Unholy Complex(Gregory James & Jason Silver) - Tag Team Titles - Scaffold & Balcony Deathmatch
-Angel Blue vs. Amanda Rodriguez - Joshi Title
-Steve O. Reno vs. Jack Jameson
-Jessica James vs. Curt Stallion
-Laynie Luck vs. Christi Jaynes

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
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook at: @patrickab7

SICW Special Comment

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

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

As previously noted, I opted against Pro Wrestling Resurgence due to the ticket price, so I made my way to SICW instead.  Dynamo ended around 7:50 and the other two local shows for the evening were scheduled to begin at 8...someone suggested to me that Dynamo ran long by design; I guess it's possible, but who knows.  I knew I would be arriving late but just wasn't sure when I would get there...I arrived near the end of the third match, but hopefully I'll be able to catch up on the particulars via Wrestling Explosion.  I hung out with Doug Byrd and Dale at the merchandise table for most of the show.

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

Bobby D vs. "The Enforcer" Jimmy D:  I somehow suspect this may not make it to television, so the particulars of the match may be lost to the ages.  All I know is that Bobby won by pinfall in 5:11 (thanks Drew & Doug).

Karim Brigante vs. "The Freestyle Phenom" Jay Howard(w/ Roy Lewis & "The Natural" J.A. Fair):  I feel like I'm doomed to eternally miss Fair's official appearances on wrestling shows; I've crossed paths with him at shows in the past, but never when he's actually booked.  I look forward to seeing this one as it was probably a good one, judging by the participants...guess I'll find out in due time.  Reportedly Brigante scored the victory after a roaring elbow in 6:13 (again, thanks Drew & Doug).

"Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent & Johnny Blade vs. "Volatile" Curtis Wylde & "Unstable" Dave Vaughn(w/ Wyldefyre):  Given the nicknames, that rulebreaker team seems like a surprisingly good fit.  Vincent and Vaughn have the current feud, but the history between Vincent and Wylde is extensive and well-documented.  Blade ran afoul of Vaughn in July in more ways than one, as Vaughn scored a cheap win over him via low blow.  Vincent & Wylde brawled out of the building...THAT would have been a fine time for me to walk in the door if I'd arrived a few minutes later.  Wyldefyre tripped up Blade and Vaughn capitalized with the double-underhook DDT for the win in 9:49.

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(part deaux):  Mountain Dew, cheeseburger, and Pepsi(thanks Doug).  This would be why I am classified in the vernacular as "fat".

Moondog Rover vs. Waco(w/ Big Daddy):  Circumstances beyond his control have left Big Daddy reaching for proteges, it would seem.  Ax Allwardt is champion of Heath Hatton's Stride Pro Wrestling and is making that his top priority; Bubba Troll is out with injury issues and Vaughn was cut loose from the stable a few months back.  Of course Moondog remains OVAH~!. but the impeccably-attired Big Daddy had to be sure his new charge made a strong impression.  Moondog nearly won with his version of the World's Strongest Slam, but a distraction by the manager allowed Waco to get the rollup pin with a handful of denim in 5:47.

"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson vs. Big Jim Hoffarth vs. "The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas(w/ Travis Cook):  This match would determine the next challenger to the Classic Title.  I could have sworn a previous TV show had set up a Hoffarth vs. Wylde & Wyldefyre handicap match of some kind, but I guess I was mistaken.  Kahagas had made a splash in his SICW debut with a surprising clean win over the veteran mainstay Jackson.  This one was surprisingly short; Kahagas had Jackson cornered, but sidestepped as Hoffarth charged with an avalanche.  The big man hit Gary by mistake, leading to Kahagas disposing of Hoffarth with a roundhouse kick to the head before pinning Jackson in 5:55.  Kahagas is the new number-one contender to the Classic Wrestling Championship and he appears to have the number of Gary Jackson.
"Ironman" Ken Kasa & "Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner vs. Brandon Espinosa & "The Icon" Chris Hargas(w/ Travis Cook):  Oddly, this was the only one of the three matches featuring Travis' charges where he provided his own introductions.  Espy and Hargas added their two cents; Hargas has shown a lot of improvement on his mic work in recent months.  Kasa has been feuding with Travis Cook's Organization in general and Hargas in particular, culminating in last month's 30-Minute Ironman Match victory over Hargas.  Kasa got Cook in the ring for five minutes and humiliated him by pulling down his pants, revealing his trademark Spongebob Squarepants boxer shorts...bwahahaha.  As a result, Travis promised a reward to either of his proteges if they did some damage to Kasa in this tag match.  The TCO were a slightly more cohesive unit in this one, having done a lot of damage in recent months with the spike piledriver...when they teased the double-team move on Gunner, the referee warned them against it only to be blatantly decked by Espy.  That drew a disqualification in 9:53 as Espy and Hargas delivered the spike piledriver...Gunner had to be stretchered out of the ring, leaving Kasa to vow revenge for his partner's injury.

Intermission numero dos~!  I believe SICW has its annual Swansea show on the horizon...will need to see how the schedule shapes up for October, but that may be the weekend of Dynamo's Ready Room show.

Miss Monica Passeri vs. Paloma Starr:  Despite being a fan favorite in her previous SICW apperance(vs. Lucy Mendez), Paloma was a rulebreaker on this night.  Notably, Brigante and Monica are fan favorites here...both have struck me as being extremely friendly and courteous in person.  Monica had some clothing issues as her T-shirt was ripped, so she was covering herself for a good portion of the matchup.  This actually led to a fan throwing her a jacket at one point!  Curtis Wylde & Wyldefyre made their way to ringside for a closer look at the bout; Monica overcame both opponent and wardrobe malfunction as she won with an X-Factor(sitout faceslam) in 8:07.  The Wyldes cornered Monica afterwards, as apparently Wyldefyre has exclusive rights to female presence in this promotion...that brought out Karim Brigante to back up his lady and set up a mixed tag match for September 17th.  Wylde threatened to send them back to Italy by getting their work visas revoked...and that somehow turned into an official stipulation for the matchup.  However, the Wyldes will be booted from SICW if THEY lose...huh.  Wyldefyre hasn't been in a lot of official matches; her previous action took place at South Broadway almost ten years ago against Jennifer Starr, so it'll be interesting to see how she does in next month's mixed tag.

Ron Powers vs. Attila Khan(w/ Travis Cook), no-DQ match for the Classic Title:  These two traded falls in last month's best-of-three-falls six-man tag, setting up this bout.  The referee checked Khan for weapons and found his fork, only to Travis to remind him of the stipulation so it was all for naught.  As you might expect from the personalities involved, they didn't wait long before throwing fists and brawling out of the ring.  This scared the bejeezus out of some kids in my section, who were left crying and wanting to go home!  I dare say that Chuck Taylor(err, DUSTIN) has nothing on these two.  Chairs flew, Khan bled, and miraculously they made it back to the ring.  Travis instructed Khan to wedge a metal garbage can between the turnbuckles, but the momentary loss of focus allowed Powers to avalanche him from behind.  Khan was sandwiched between his opponent and the trash can and turnbuckles, giving Powers the opening to finish with the RKO in a brisk 4:34!

Chaos erupted after the bell as Brandon Espinosa and Chris Hargas hit the ring to attack Powers along with Khan.  Ken Kasa and Gary Jackson joined the fray, as did Kahagas...ending the show with a staredown between Powers and Kahagas, who will face each other for the title on September 17th.  So two matches are set up for the next East Carondelet show...

Post-show, I met up with Brian Kelley(Missouri Wrestling Revival plug~!), Ben Simon, and Jay King and Steak 'N' Shake...being on the diet that I am, I had the Bacon Lover's Cheeseburger and fries.  I only had water to drink...I'm not a barbarian, after all.  Ben provided the rundown for Pro Wrestling Resurgence's event at Pop's in Sauget(which I drove past on the way into St. Louis and Steak 'N' Shake)...hopefully I'll get a chance to watch the Moose vs. Kevin Lee Davidson match at some point in the future.

Next weekend:  St. Louis Anarchy has a Friday/Saturday double-shot in Alton, Illinois; visiting competitors include former NXT wrestler Martin Stone, Chip Day, Aaron Epic, and Aaron Solow.  World League Wrestling has their big summer show in St. Peters, Missouri on Saturday with Mark Henry and Hurricane Helms in the house.  Capping off the busy stretch, Pro Wrestling Resurgence makes its first stop in Swansea, Illinois on Sunday with Michael Elgin vs. Brandon Espinosa as the main event.

That's my special comment for this, the thirty-fifth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2016. Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Dynamo Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Dynamo Pro Wrestling show at the Douglas Club in Wood River, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

Being the reasonable(?) individual that I am, I had planned to make Saturday a doubleheader evening.  Dynamo's show had an earlier start time of 5 PM to accomodate people who had other entertainment options on Saturday evening; those options included NXT Takeover Brooklyn, the Ultimate Fighting Championship PPV, and two other local wrestling shows with 8:00 start times.  In particular, a few wrestlers were wrestling for more than one of those shows...so once a wrestler got done at DPW, they could hop in the car and drive to their next event.

Unfortunately, I didn't check the ticket prices for Pro Wrestling Resurgence until Saturday evening when I was already at Dynamo...that admission fee was a bit rich for my blood, given my current financial situation.  They had a strong lineup headlined by Moose vs. Kevin Lee Davidson; I imagine the deal was similar to High Risk Wrestling as they inflated their ticket prices for the bigger-name players on the show.  At any rate, I hope they had a fine outing...I will get to PWR next Sunday in Swansea, where they'll have Michael Elgin vs. Brandon Espinosa as the featured contest.

Dynamo's turnout was about average for the Wood River venue, which wasn't that high in the grand scheme of things.  Given their current state of uncertainty regarding venues, the summer months have been light on Dynamo events (though the summertime is usually light on attendance in general).  They had a couple of particularly notable matches on the card which I had hoped would draw better than usual for this building, but hopefully the next show in Glen Carbon will help them rebound.  (For the record, Dynamo does plan to run future shows at The Ready Room...I think their next show at that venue is in October.)

Your ring announcer was Luke Roberts; your referees were Richard White & Scott Ramsey.

"The Cowboy" Ric Maverick vs. "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him):  This was a rematch from the previous Glen Carbon show where Maverick scored the victory over his rookie opponent.  I will stop hammering that lame running gag about Kenway into the ground...eventually.  Despite Kenway usually being the rulebreaker in shows around here, this seemed to be a battle of fan favorites as it played out (though a few people still booed Kenway).  Kenway cut off Maverick's rally with a Union Jack-style cobra clutch neckbreaker, then got the surprise tapout win with an Anaconda Vise in 5:09.

C.J. Shine vs. The Snitch:  Sophie Darling was absent from Snitch's corner, leaving the masked man to silently protest about the abundance of fans attempting to take pictures with their phones.  Snitch cheated to win their previous encounter, so payback was the order of the day...however, Snitch hid in the audience during C.J.'s entrance to attack him from behind.  Shine is gaining popularity, which is a good sign...it's just a matter of how well he does against more established opposition.  Shine went to the top rope to finish, but Snitch pushed the referee into the ropes to knock him off balance...causing him to land rather painfully on the top turnbuckle.  Snitch capitalized by covering with feet on the ropes for the tainted pin in 9:01...aww.  Shine got some post-match retribution with a top-rope missile dropkick(not enough headroom in the venue for a springboard move).

Rocket Mapache vs. Orange Lazarus:  O.L. is a new masked character...he seemed oddly familiar but I can't quite place it.  I felt like I'd seen this match at some point in a past life...not sure why that was the case.  At a few points during the match, Lazarus was left motionless on the mat only to do an Undertaker-style "Zombie Sit-Up" as if rising from the dead.  This freaked out Dynamo's resident raccoon, but he managed to rebound and win after a Codebreaker followed by a flying boot in 6:42.

Makaze vs. "The Alternative" Ozzie Gallagher:  This feud has progressed over the past several months...Sadie Blaze returned to Dynamo and took exception to his former protege's tactics, especially as it related to the masked competitors.  That led to Sadie taking matters into his own hands and bringing his very close personal long-time friend Makaze into the battle.  Gallagher won their first outing after a low blow, but he wasn't quite as sneaky in the rematch and got disqualified for the same nefarious tactic.  I'm still getting used to Makaze being FAR more vocal than he had ever been in the past...previously he had remained silent and let managers or tag team partners do his talking.  Makaze even encouraged the fans to chant "Brandon" to antagonize the one who had previously gone by that name.  The Wind Of Destruction had pulled his own share of dirty tricks in the past so he knew exactly how to counteract them...the chessgame went in the favor of "age and treachery" in this case.  Makaze was able to stun Gallagher with a mulekick to the Universal Weak Point out of the referee's line of sight, scoring the pinfall in 16:43(!).

After the match, Makaze said that he hoped Gallagher had learned a lesson...he didn't believe in using such tactics, but this was an exception as he was fighting fire with fire.  Gallagher remained stubborn and challenged Makaze to one more match to settle things, but he wanted Makaze's mask to be on the line.  Makaze was fine with those terms...as long as Gallagher put his hair on the line as well.  That grudge match has been set for Saturday, September 17th in Glen Carbon...mark your calendars, as they say.

Intermission~!  I shouldn't have settled for ramen noodles for my homebound dinner as I indulged a bit on this night.  Your Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm)(Part One), as he was ring-announcing for Pro Wrestling Resurgence:  Bag of barbecue potato chips, one Pepsi, and a Hershey bar.

Tag Team Champion Jon Webb vs. MWR Missouri Champion Brandon Espinosa, non-title:  Espy had a whirlwind night ahead of him as he was scheduled to wrestle on all three area events (and did so).  The MWR Missouri Title was not at stake as the match was on the Illinois side of the river; normally the belt doesn't even make an appearance in that situation, but Espy wore it to the ring anyway.  Webb is set for a big match at World League Wrestling next week as he battles Jayden Fenix in a no-DQ match to determine the first WLW Jr. Heavyweight Champion; he was the fan favorite here despite being in the rulebreaker role with tag partner Jack Gamble at NatsuCon.  They had a really good competitive bout that could have easily gone either way...Webb hit the Sliced Bread #2, but the time limit expired at 15:00 for the draw.  Espinosa was notably respectful to his opponent afterwards, saying he would love to do Five More Minutes(tm) but he had a full night ahead of him elsewhere...he'd be cool with a rematch down the line, perhaps even in Missouri so he can put his belt at stake.  Cue handshake with no shenanigans.

Outtkast vs. "The Don Mega" Shorty Biggs for the D-1 Title:  Outtkast's challenger was determined by a random draw and turned out to be his longtime tag team partner in The Bumrush Brothers, creating this first-time matchup between the two.  The team formed back in the days of Gateway Championship Wrestling and won the GCW Tag Team Titles in November of 2006, defeating the team now known as The Submission Squad (Evan Gelistico(Petrie) and Pierre Abernathy).  As you might expect, the two know each other very well and this wasn't the brawl you would normally expect out of the individual competitors...both are extremely underrated on the technical side and they got to show that in this bout.  I really enjoyed this bout as someone who is familiar with their extensive history...they both turned up their aggression but not to the point of outright heelishness against a longtime friend.  Outtkast couldn't use his power-based moves against Shorty so he had to go to his aerial arsenal, landing his corkscrew senton off the top rope for a close near-fall.  However, Outtkast went to the well once too often and missed the move on the second attempt; Shorty capitalized with a Paydirt and then a fireman's-carry Michinoku Driver, picking up the decisive win in 16:05 to capture the D-1 Championship!  It was Shorty's first singles championship since he won the Lethal Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Title in 2007, something that Shorty made mention of...he said Outtkast could have a rematch anytime he wanted one, so it looks like that'll be a go for September 17th.

"Dirdey" Jake Dirden vs. Mike Outlaw for the Heavyweight Title:  When Outlaw upset Ricky Cruz for the Heavyweight Title in December of 2014, he faced a lot of tough opponents; none was tougher than Dirden, who won the championship under controversial circumstances in May of 2015.  In the year-plus since that time, Outlaw had to deal with a lot of obstacles in his quest to regain the championship...all of that finally culminated in this one-on-one bout with no Mark Bland, no Travis Cook, and no Black Hand Warriors to interfere.

Dirden had the advantage when the match turned into a brawl on the floor, throwing Outlaw over several rows of chairs and nearly winning by countout.  As the battle continued, the referee was knocked down, leading to a visual pinfall for Dirden after a chokeslam.  Dirden brought in a chair, but that backfired as Outlaw dropkicked it back into his face.  Outlaw delivered the High Noon(top-rope elbowdrop) and the referee recovered to count...two.  Dirden fired back with a big boot but took out the ref AGAIN by mistake.  Outlaw springboarded off the second rope for a flying European uppercut, but Dirden was able to get a hold of the chair and bash Outlaw with it.  Dirden covered and a second referee ran in to count...two.

Dirden wedged the chair between the turnbuckles as the second referee assisted the first to the backstage area...but Outlaw reversed Dirden into the chair, then used the chair to his own advantage by beating down Dirden with it.  Outlaw delivered the Mafia Kick as the second referee re-entered the ring and covered...for two.  Outlaw wasted no time in keeping up the pressure, dropping Dirden with a second Mafia Kick and then going to the top rope for a second High Noon.  Three counts later, we had a NEWWWWW Heavyweight Champion!

Outlaw was ecstatic over finally reclaiming the gold...he said Dirden had ducked him for over a year, but he wouldn't do the same and offered Dirden a rematch whenever he wanted it.  After some hesitation, the two shook hands to seal that deal.

However you felt about the attendance number, Dynamo put on a really strong show.  The top matches delivered in a major way and they're doing a good job of developing the newer members of the roster.  I'll be interested to see how things take shape heading toward the September 17th show...

The show didn't wrap up until about 7:50, so I figured I was probably headed home afterwards...I was driving down I-255 South and figured that since I was headed in that generation direction anyway, I might as well stop by the fine community of East Carondelet, Illinois.  Of course, that's a different story for a different time...so tune in next time.  Same Pat-Time, Same Pat-Channel.

That's my special comment for this, the thirty-fourth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2016.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.