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.

It's rare when I spend a Saturday evening at home, but that was my decision for the weekend.  Cape Championship Wrestling would have been a long drive and Ben Simon ring-announced for the National Wrasslin' League in Kansas City, so carpooling was out.  The only option in the immediate area was World Powerhouse Wrestling in Madison, IL and I took a pass on that...cue righteous indignation or something.

On a Sunday evening with an early start time(5 PM), PWR's attendance had to be considered disappointing.  As several wrestling promotions have discovered in recent times, Sunday isn't the best day to run a wrestling show.  Add that to the current oversaturation of wrestling in the St. Louis area and the results don't always turn out well for individual shows.  As such, the announcement made at the midpoint of the show will probably be a good decision in the long run (more on that later).

Your ring announcer was Sarah Rose; your referee was Sean Orleans.

"The Warhorse" Jake Parnell vs. "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him After Dark)(w/ Aaron Dzinic) for the Zero-One USA Jr. Heavyweight Title:  Parnell retained against Dzinic at the previous Resurgence show, so Kenway stepped up to make his own challenge.  Dzinic came out with Kenway but didn't stay at ringside, presumably to prepare for his own match later in the evening.  Kenway put up a good fight but Parnell won with a LARIATOOOOO in 5:26...greater challenges will be forthcoming, I'm sure.

Paco Gonzalez vs. Justin D'Air(w/ valet) vs. Barackus vs. Jason Roberts:  Barackus' presence changed the tone for this match in a hurry.  It had been scheduled to be a singles bout between Paco and Roberts, but D'Air and Barackus were added to make it a four-corner match.  The lights on D'Air's ring attire are getting out of control.  Barackus was confident in his chances, but the other three pooled their resources to take him out of the game for short periods of time.  D'Air pulled off a springboard move despite the low ceiling, making him one-for-two in that regard at this particular venue.  The big man was out of play long enough for Paco to pin D'Air with his fireman's-carry Michinoku Driver in 8:39...Barackus blamed Jason Roberts' theme music and Roberts attacked him.  YOU DON'T DISS PINK FLOYD.

Brandon Aarons vs. Aaron Dzinic:  Cue MARKET CONFUSION~!  They shook hands before the match, but Aarons accused Dzinic of checking out his hair and IT WAS ON.  (To be fair, one can't blame him:  Aarons' hair remains glorious.)  Aarons was coming off a Dynamo Pro Heavyweight Title defense in Columbia, MO on Friday against Elvis Aliaga.  The more experienced Aarons may have underestimated his youthful opponent and they had a surprisingly even contest.  Dzinic was coming off a recent win in PWCS and had some momentum in his own right...he managed to deliver a Detonation Kick and follow it up with a Penalty Kick to score the huge upset in 7:39!  There was some post-match tension, but Aarons did congratulate Dzinic on his victory.

"Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Lee Davidson:  It was a surprise for this match to take place so early on the card; I honestly expected it to be the main event.  The fans got a "hoss fight" chant started at the beginning...good call.  Elgin taunted K.L.D. for his recent exploits in other promotions("LETTERMAN!")...this was his return to independent wrestling in the area after switching to a part-time deal with the NWL.  I worried about the ring on a few occasions, especially when Elgin teased a superplex (which didn't come to pass).  This was two powerhouses slugging it out and I don't think anyone expected any different...it went emphatically longer than their bout on Ring Of Honor TV (though I'm told that match was clipped).  K.L.D. teased an Endzone Spike(pumphandle Michinoku Driver) at one point but Elgin fought out of it...however, he did hit a major spinebuster for a near-fall.  K.L.D. climbed the turnbuckles and was cut off by Elgin, who proceeded to lift him out of the corner into a sitout powerbomb for the win in 15:00!  Nicely done.

Elgin complimented K.L.D. on his effort for the night, saying he made a good decision to "bet on himself".  After that, K.L.D. dropped the teased major announcement for the night:  Resurgence would be merging with Glory Pro Wrestling and the next Resurgence event on Sunday 7/23 would be a joint show with Glory Pro.  It would essentially be the final Resurgence event as the Resurgence Title would be unified with the Crown Of Glory Title...as it stood at that point, the match would be "Hot Fire" Myron Reed vs. Everett Connors.  Davidson also announced other bouts for 7/23:  Himself vs. "All Ego" Ethan Page and The Bestiest In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) defending the United Glory Tag Team Titles against The Pride(Kenway & Dzinic).

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Root beer, nachos, Mountain Dew.  Ben can confirm since he was in attendance...he had a long weekend with NWL KC the previous night as well as this show.

Cornelius Wyverstone vs. "The Millenial" Danny Adams vs. "Lights Out" Adrian Surge:  Wyverstone and Surge had a falling-out as tag team partners at the previous show, then tangled in the battle royal later in the night.  I initially thought this was a singles match before Adams was introduced...I was getting a frosty beverage and missed part of the ring introductions.  I warned Adams about his anger management problems and he told me to shut up...that was rude.  Wyverstone and Surge were focused on each other and Adams took advantage...with Surge out of the way, he dropped Wyverstone with the fisherman driver for the win in 6:51.  After the match, Surge got on the microphone and said that he would prove at the July show that the "circus freak" Wyverstone didn't belong in the company...

Sarge vs. Evan Gelistico:  Gelistico was in a foul mood.  He came out to an oddly-familiar theme song("Hold Ya Head" by Notorious B.I.G. & Bob Marley); Ben Simon and myself looked at each other as if to say "I don't think there's a work release program for that..."  (That was the theme music used by "The Future" Donovan Ruddick, for those of you who came in late.)  It turned out to be Gelistico wearing a makeshift crown, complaining about the quality of his opposition for the evening.  He told Sarge to just lay down for him...he got the response of "Sir no sir!" and laughed it off.  I'd only seen Sarge in the battle royal at the previous Resurgence event; he doesn't have much experience and it showed.  Gelistico won with a hold that I would describe as half-Gory Special, half-chicken wing as he held Sarge in the air back-to-back in the hold.  That got the submission in 5:25 but Evan wasn't satisfied, commenting that he wouldn't get to use his guaranteed title shot from the previous show's battle royal since the promotion was ending.  He declared the night to be the low point of his career and stormed out of the ring...okay then.

Everett Connors vs. Brandon Espinosa for the PWR Title:  This was the result of an open challenge issued by Connors...Connors didn't seem enthusiatic about facing Espinosa, commenting that his initial training under Espy was a "mistake" on his part.  The fan support aspect was confusing as both were "heels" in their own ways...Connors attempted to back out of the challenge, but Espy wasn't exactly the virtuous fan favorite either.  They had faced each other several times before this, including bouts with the MWR Missouri Title at stake (since this match took place in Illinois, Espy's belt was not at stake).  In a nod to Glory Pro, Espinosa warned referee Orleans to call it down the middle, which he did...but I don't know if that will matter at the next Glory Pro show on July 9th.  It was a really strong competitive matchup, especially since they knew each other so well...one of Connors' highlight moves was an inside-out slingshot DDT to drive Espinosa's head into the ring apron(#hardestpartofthering).  After a few attempts at the move, Connors finally hit the Bieber Driver(hanging piledriver) to retain the title in 10:16...woo.

It was a fine show despite the attendance...with the oversaturation of the area, it's probably for the best that they're being merged with Glory Pro.  We'll see how things shape up as the summer continues...

Speaking of which:  There's nothing in the immediate area this weekend due to the Independence Day holiday; NWA Central States Championship Wrestling is in Waynesville, MO tonight(Friday).  Won't mind taking it easy...

July looks like this:
-Friday 7/7:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Grafton, IL
-Saturday 7/8:  Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO(South Broadway Athletic Club); Proving Ground Pro in Taylor Springs, IL
-Sunday 7/9:  Glory Pro Wrestling in Belleville, IL
-Friday 7/14:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Richwoods, MO
-Saturday 7/15:  National Wrasslin' League in St. Peters, MO; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 7/22:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners Gymnasium)
-Sunday 7/23:  Pro Wrestling Resurgence in Swansea, IL
-Saturday 7/29:  Cape Championship Wrestling in Cape Girardeau, MO

That's my special comment for this, the thirtieth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2017.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.