Monday, December 31, 2018

WWE Raw

-Commentators:  Michael Cole, Renee Young, & Corey Graves.
-Drew McIntyre d. Dolph Ziggler in a cage match after two Claymores(flying boots) (12:57 aired).
-Apollo Crews won a battle royal.  Eliminations:  "No Way" Jose Valenzuela by Crews, Rick Viktor by Crews, Titus O'Neil by The Lucha House Party(Kalisto, Gran Metalik, & Lince Dorado), Metalik by Finn Bálor, Kalisto by Bálor, Dorado by Bálor, Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas by Crews, Konnor O'Brian by Crews, Mojo Rawley by Crews, Tyler Breeze by Crews, Bálor by Baron Corbin, Zack Ryder by Corbin, Curt Hawkins by Corbin, and Corbin by Crews (8:27 aired).
-"The Boss" Sasha Banks, Bayley Rose, & Ember Moon d. The Riot Squad(Ruby Riot, Sarah Logan, & Liv Morgan) when Bayley pinned Sarah after the top-rope elbowdrop (9:01 aired).
-Bobby Lashley(w/ "The Man Of The Hour" Lio Rush) d. Seth Rollins by DQ when Rollins hit Lashley with a chair (8:19 aired).  Seth beat down Lashley with a chair and gave Rush more of the same treatment before hitting him with the advanced curbstomp.
-Jinder Mahal & The Singh Brothers(Samir & Sunil Singh) d. Rhyno & Heath Slater in a handicap match when Mahal pinned Rhyno after the Khallas(cobra clutch slam) (3:00).
-Dean Ambrose d. Apollo Crews with the Dirty Deeds v2.0(double-underhook DDT) to retain the Intercontinental Title (5:52 aired).
-Raw Women's Champion "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey & Natalya Neidhart d. Nia Jax & Tamina Snuka when Ronda made Tamina tap out to the cross-armbar (8:48 aired).

Saturday, December 29, 2018

SICW Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about the Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling show from Saturday, October 20th at the Community Center in East Carondelet, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

I honestly wish I could get to SICW more often than I do.  Their all-around product is very coherent as it relates to storylines and such.  They have two definite "big shows" on the calendar and build to them well:  The May show which celebrates the anniversary of Wrestling At The Chase and the year-ending event in December.  Those two shows give the booking a pair of focal points where the biggest angles are usually paid off.  Several new faces have made things interesting in SICW as of late...

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

The show started with a ten-bell salute for old-school grappler Don Leo Jonathan as well as "Dirty" Dick Slater.  After that, we saw a meeting of the promotional minds as Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance promoter Tony Casta, SICW promoter Herb Simmons, and New Breed Wrestling promoter Scott Zei introduced the Multi-State Tag Team Title belts.

"The Pain Train" P.T. Beckham & "War" Chris Riot vs. Guerrilla Warfare(The Big Texan & Waco):  Speaking of new faces, the facepainted War made his SICW debut as Beckham's tag partner against the established duo of Texan & Waco.  As former MMWA Tag Team Champions, Guerrilla Warfare were lined up to be in the hunt for the Multi-State tag belts and needed a win to gain momentum.  Of course, they weren't above using some underhanded tactics...Beckham & War did well for themselves, but Waco loaded his mask and put P.T. down with a running headbutt.  That earned Waco the questionable pinfall in 7:44.

Travis Cook spoke his mind to the fans, reinforcing the stipulations of the main event:  Classic Champion Flash Flanagan would get five minutes in the ring with him if he defeated "Superstar" Steve Fender(with no disqualifications!).  Of course that wouldn't happen because Fender would capture HIS(Travis') championship...but even if that unlikely situation occurred, Travis claimed he was fully capable of holding his own in a fight with Flanagan.  Suuuuure.

Billy McNeil vs. "The Canadian Boss" Trystan Brady Shadeux:  This was a rematch from the September show in Swansea where McNeil got the win, but Shadeux had a very competitive outing.  Shadeux had another strong showing here and seems to have earned himself a regular spot on the roster.  While he gave his more experienced opponent a good fight, it wasn't quite enough to earn him the victory; McNeil won after a top-rope elbowdrop to the back in 12:26.

"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson, Moondog Rover, & "Killer" Keith Smith vs. "Volatile" Curtis Wylde & The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby)(w/ Wyldefyre):  There was a lot of bad blood in the ring as Gary and Moondog both had previous issues with Wylde.  The trio of veterans was up against three ambitious competitors; Santel & McDarby were hoping to gain momentum for their pursuit of the Multi-State Tag Titles while Wylde was hoping to continue his run of success that started with the Bruiser Brody Memorial Battle Royal win in May.  Jackson & Smith had been a tag team in the past, so they had plenty of continuity to counteract that of The Professionals.  Rover's tag team experience was with his fellow Moondogs in promotions like the United States Wrestling Association, where he held the Tag Team Titles with Moondog Spot in 1996.  Gary Jackson Fashion Watch(tm):  Shiny shirt and pink trunks(for Breast Cancer Awareness Month).  Things broke down as all six men brawled...with the referee's attention elsewhere, Wyldefyre hit Smith with the Brody trophy and Curtis capitalized to score the quick pin in 13:36.

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Bottle of water.  My finances were hitting Defcon-1 around this time so I was trying to minimize my "extra" food intake.

Bobby D vs. "The Mountain Man" Jake Prater:  Pretty much the entire card had been announced on Facebook ahead of time, which was nice.  2018 has been a breakout year for Prater in the St. Louis area and I could see him becoming one of the top heavyweight competitors in even more promotions in the very near future.  On this night, he seemed to be on his way to a big win as he set up for a belly-to-back suplex off the top rope...but Bobby D's experience won out as he shifted his weight, landing on top for the three-count in 6:57.

"The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz vs. King Christopher Hargas(w/ Travis Cook):  Only one king would reign supreme in this battle of former SICW Classic Champions.  I wonder if we'll eventually get a storyline where someone points out that while "uncrowned champion" Hargas got a crown of questionable value, another member of Cook's stable(Steve Fender) got an actual title shot?  Hargas had scored key wins in recent months over Billy McNeil and Sean Vincent, but a victory over a former titleholder would speak volumes for his credibility.  Of course Ricky Cruz came to fight as well, hoping to take the Travis Cook Organization down a peg in his quest to get the whole lot of them in a cage match.  As is often the case with Cook and company, subterfuge played a huge role in the match outcome...Hargas blatantly brought a chair into the ring, but the referee took it away from him.  That turned out to be a feint as Hargas brought out brass knuckles and decked Cruz behind the referee's back, scoring the tainted victory in 8:36.  When Cruz recovered, he immediately attacked Hargas but was jumped by The Professionals, making it a three-on-one situation...Ken Kasa and Keith Smith hit the ring to even the odds, causing Cook's crew to retreat.  Cruz repeated his challenge for the cage match, but Cook had no interest in the match offer and turned it down.

"Ironman" Ken Kasa & "Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent vs. Attila Khan & Rob Kowalski:  Former two-time champion Kasa and Vincent had a tough task ahead of them against two monstrous competitors who cared very little about the rules.  It took a total team effort on the part of the two fan favorites to chop down their larger opponents...after several tries, Kasa managed to bodyslam the massive Khan.  Kasa made the pin cover and Kowalski tried to break it up with a big splash, but Kasa moved out of the way and the 400-pounder landed on his partner by mistake.  Vincent took out Kowalski with a dropkick off the top rope and Kasa jumped back onto the cover to pin Khan in 11:37!

Flash Flanagan vs. "Superstar" Steve Fender(w/ Travis Cook) for the Classic Title:  On the heels of Fender's battle royal win in Swansea (thanks to a fireball thrown in the face of Bobby D), Flanagan demanded to get Fender in the ring; Cook only agreed to the match if the title was on the line.  The four-time champion had held the title since defeating "Cowboy" Marc Houston for the belt in a cage match in May.  The previous one-on-one meeting between these two in February ended in controversy as Flanagan used the ropes to pin Fender (after Fender had attempted to do the same to him).

The battle of veterans saw each man go deep into his bag of tricks, but outside forces would be the deciding factor in the outcome.  Cook attempted to get involved but was accidentally knocked off the apron by Fender, allowing Flash to roll up Fender for a close near-fall.  In the ensuing chaos, the referee was accidentally knocked down; Fender took control, but missed the swandive headbutt from the top rope.  Flanagan springboarded off the middle rope with a legdrop and covered...a second official ran down to make the count, but Travis yanked him out of the ring.  Flash went after Cook and got his hands on him, but Chris Hargas ran out and nailed Flash with his own kendo stick!  Fender covered with Travis providing illegal leverage from the floor and the original referee revived to make the three-count in 11:51...ladies and gentlemen, we had a NEWWWWW SICW Classic Wrestling Champion!  Flanagan's 154-day reign was over...and the belt was back in the camp of Travis Cook.

I've had some free time to work on these commentaries...at this rate, I'll wrap up 2018 by next summer.  -_-

January looks like this:
-Saturday 1/5:  Strictly Nsane Pro Wrestling in Crossville, IL
-Sunday 1/6:  Glory Pro Wrestling in Collinsville, IL
-Friday 1/11:  St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 1/12:  Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 1/19:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in DeSoto, MO; World League Wrestling in Troy, MO; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 1/26:  Dynamo Pro in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners); SICW in Cahokia, IL

That's my special comment for this, the sixty-sixth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2018.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.

Weekend wrestling

TNA Impact was a year-end clip show, as was WWE Main Event.

ROH TV

-Commentators:  Ian Riccaboni, Colt "Boom Boom" Cabana, & B.J. Whitmer.
-This was another year-end highlight show, focused on the Women Of Honor division.
-From February:  Tenille Dashwood & "The Exotic Goddess" Mandy Leon d. "The Gatekeeper" Kelly Klein & Stacy Shadows when Tenille pinned Shadows after the Spotlight Kick(low flying boot) (6:29 aired).
-From May:  Sumie Sakai d. Chardonnay with the Smashmouth(inverted swinging neckbreaker) to retain the Women Of Honor Title (8:20 aired).
-From June:  Women Of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai, Tenille Dashwood, Mayu Iwatani, & Jenny Rose d. "The Gatekeeper" Kelly Klein & Oedo Tai(Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Reo Hazuki) when Iwatani pinned Kimura with the dragon suplex (9:40 aired).

Show results

Saturday AAW results from Merrionette Park, IL:

-Kylie Rae d. Kimber Lee to retain the Women's Title.
-Darby Allin won a triple threat match with Shane Strickland and Rich Swann.
-David Starr d. Jeff Cobb.
-The Besties In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) & Scarlett Bordeaux d. Curt Stallion, Jake Something, & Quinn McKay.
-D.J. Shiima Xion d. Bandido to retain the Heritage Title.
-Maxwell Jacob Friedman won a six-way match with Colt Cabana, Stephen Wolf, Trey Miguel, Mance Warner, & Ace Romero.
-Jimmy Jacobs & Josh Briggs d. Paco Gonzalez & Jessicka Havok in a dog collar match.
-Eddie Kingston d. A.C.H.
-Fiyah Fox(A.R. Fox & Myron Reed) d. The Rascalz(Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) to retain the Tag Team Titles.
-Sami Callihan d. Brody King in a cage match to win the Heavyweight Title.

Raw + SD Lineups For Next Week

Raw
-Ronda Rousey & Natalya Neidhart vs. Nia Jax & Tamina Snuka
-Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler - Cage Match
-Dean Ambrose vs. ? - Intercontinental Title
-Battle Royal - Winner Challenges Ambrose
-Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley
-Sasha Banks, Bayley Rose, & Ember Moon vs. The Riot Squad(Ruby Riot, Sarah Logan, & Liv Morgan)
-Rhyno & Heath Slater vs. Jinder Mahal & The Singh Brothers(Samir & Sunil) - Handicap Match

Smackdown
-A.J. Styles vs. Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Randy Orton vs. ? - Winner Challenges Daniel Bryan At The Royal Rumble
-Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe - Winner Advances To The Main Event
-John Cena & Becky Lynch vs. Andrade Almas & Zelina Vega
-Naomi Night vs. Mandy Rose

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

WWE NXT

-Commentators:  Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, & "Showtime" Percy Watson.
-Bianca Belair won a four-corner match with "The Genius Of The Sky" Io Shirai, "The Blasian Baddie" Mia Yim, and Lacey Evans when she pinned Evans after the Kiss Of Death(torture-rack sitout faceplant) (9:14).
-Jaxson Ryker(w/ Forgotten Sons Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) d. Mitch Taverna with the slingshot powerbomb (2:06).
-The Undisputed Era(Roderick Strong & Kyle O'Reilly) d. Heavy Machinery(Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight) to retain the NXT Tag Team Titles; Strong pinned Dozovic after he and O'Reilly hit the legsweep/flying boot combo (11:33).
-Next week:  "The King Of Bros" Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno.

WWE NXT UK

WWE NXT UK

-Commentators:  Vic Joseph & Nigel McGuinness.
-"The Irish Ace" Jordan Devlin d. "The Lucky Yin" Kenny Williams(w/ Amir Jordan) with the Ireland's Call(snap Northern Lights Bomb) (5:20).
-Eddie Dennis d. Dan Moloney by DQ when "The Bomber" Dave Mastiff attacked Dennis (1:14).  Dennis retreated and Moloney confronted Mastiff over costing him the match, so Mastiff decked Moloney and hit him with the corner cannonball.
-"The King Of The Travelers" Tyson T-Bone & "The Divine Beast" Saxon Huxley d. Tucker Gallagher & Jack Starz; Huxley pinned Starz after T-Bone's knockout punch (2:42).
-"The Iron King" Joe Coffey d. El Ligero by countering a middle-rope springboard move with the discus lariat (10:08).
-----
-Commentators:  Vic Joseph & Nigel McGuinness.
-"Liverpool's #1" Zack Gibson & "Mr. Mayhem" James Drake d. "The Wild Boar" Mike Hitchman & "Primate" Jay Melrose; Gibson pinned Hitchman when he and Drake hit the Ticket To Mayhem(Tombstone pickup/Codebreaker combo) (4:56).
-"The Bomber" Dave Mastiff vs. Josh Morrell never officially started as Eddie Dennis attacked Morrell.
-Marcel Barthel d. Mark Andrews after interference by Fabian Aichner led to Barthel winning after a cradle belly-to-back suplex (9:49).
-Rhea Ripley d. "The Virtuosa" Deonna Purrazzo with the Riptide(pumphandle powerbomb) to retain the United Kingdom Women's Title (11:22).  Ripley attacked Purrazzo after the match, which brought out Toni Storm to run off the champion.
-Next week:  Moustache Mountain(Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs. "The Last King Of Scotland" Wolfgang Young & Mark Coffey in the United Kingdom Tag Team Title tournament.

WWE 205 Live was a clip show, but it was announced that Buddy Murphy would defend the Cruiserweight Title at the Royal Rumble in a four-corner match.  The challengers would be determined by upcoming qualifying matches:  Kalisto vs. "The Man Of The Hour" Lio Rush, Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak, and Cedric Alexander vs. Hideo Itami.

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Smackdown + This Week In Wrestling

WWE Smackdown

-Commentators:  Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, & Corey Graves.
-Mustafa Ali d. Andrade "Cien" Almas(w/ Zelina Vega) with the 0-5-4(imploding 450 Splash) (4:48 aired).
-Jimmy & Jey Uso & The Good Brothers(Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) d. Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Bar(Antonio Cesaro & Sheamus O'Shaunessy) & Sanity(Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe)(w/ Eric Young); Anderson pinned Cesaro after he and Gallows hit the Magic Killer(double-team elevated neckbreaker) (4:50 aired); The New Day(Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods) did commentary.
-Samoa Joe d. Jeff Hardy by DQ when Hardy stomped down Joe on the arena floor past the referee's five-count (6:05 aired).
-Alexander Rusev(w/ Lana Perry-Rusev) d. Shinsuke Nakamura with the jumping thrust kick to win the U.S. Title (14:36 aired).

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WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT(www.wwe.com)

205 Live this week has:
-Clip Show

NXT this week has:
-The Undisputed Era(Roderick Strong & Kyle O'Reilly) vs. Heavy Machinery(Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight) - NXT Tag Team Titles
-Mia Yim vs. Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair vs. Lacey Evans

Main Event this week has:
-Clip Show

The Royal Rumble is on Sunday 1/27:
-30-Man Royal Rumble
-30-Woman Royal Rumble
-Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman - Universal Title

TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION(www.impactwrestling.com)

Impact on Thursday has:
-Clip Show

Homecoming is on Sunday 1/6:
-Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage - Heavyweight Title
-Jake Crist vs. Ethan Page vs. Rich Swann vs. Trey Miguel - Ultimate X Match - X-Division Title Tournament Final
-The New Latin-American XChange(Angel Ortiz & Santana Draztik) vs. The Lucha Brothers(Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) - Tag Team Titles
-Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie - Women's Title - Referee Gail Kim
-Abyss vs. Eli Drake - Monster's Ball Match

RING OF HONOR(www.rohwrestling.com)

ROH TV this week has:
-Clip Show

Next show is Saturday 1/12 in Atlanta, GA.

ROH has a show on Sunday 1/13 in Concord, NC.

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

Wrestle Kingdom is on Friday 1/4:
-Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Title
-Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito - IWGP Intercontinental Title
-Kazuchika Okada vs. "Switchblade" Jay White
-Cody Rhodes vs. Juice Robinson - IWGP U.S. Title
-Yujiro Kushida vs. Taiji Ishimori - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title
-Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay - NEVER Openweight Title
-The Guerrillas Of Destiny(Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. Takaaki "Evil" Watanabe & Seiya Sanada vs. The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) - IWGP Tag Team Titles
-El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Shingo Takagi & Bushi vs. Roppongi 3K(Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu) - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles
-Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - Revolution Pro Heavyweight Title
-Trios Gauntlet Match:  Hirooki Goto & The Best Friends(Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor); Minoru Suzuki & The Killer Elite Squad(Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.); Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, & Ryusuke Taguchi; Michael Elgin, Jeff Cobb, & David Finlay; Marty Scurll, "Hangman" Adam Page, and Yujiro Takahashi

LUCHA UNDERGROUND(www.luchaunderground.com)

Information on Season 5 will be posted when it becomes available.

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GLORY PRO WRESTLING(www.gloryprowrestling.com)

Next show is Sunday 1/6 in Collinsville, IL:
-Curt Stallion vs. Bandido - Crown Of Glory Title
-Myron Reed & Stephen Wolf vs. The Besties In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. No New Friends(Kevin Lee Davidson & Danny Adams) - United Glory Tag Team Titles - Tables Ladders & Chairs Match
-Paco Gonzalez vs. Eddie Kingston
-A.J. Gray vs. Jake Something
-Aaron Solow vs. Mike Outlaw
-Shane Sabre vs. Jake Lander vs. Joey Lynch
-Allie Kat vs. Vanessa Azure

DPW(www.dynamoprowrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 1/19 in DeSoto, MO.

DPW has a show on Saturday 1/26 in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners Gym).

SICW(www.sicw.org)

Next show is Saturday 1/19 in East Carondelet, IL.

SICW has a show on Saturday 1/26 in Cahokia, IL.

MMWA(www.southbroadwayac.com)

Next show is Saturday 1/12 in St. Louis, MO(South Broadway Athletic Club):
-Brian James & Ricky Cruz vs. Barackus & Waco
-Khayman vs. Shaft - Casket Match

WLW(www.harleyrace.com)

Next show is Saturday 1/19 in Troy, MO.

WLW has a show on Saturday 3/9 in Troy, MO:
-Nick Aldis vs. Leland Race - NWA World Title

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

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

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

Next show is Saturday 3/30 in Eldon, MO.

CCW(www.capewrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 1/12 in Charleston, MO:
-Jacksyn Crowley vs. Joey O'Riley
-Sarah Summers vs. Marni Gras vs. Tootie Lynn Ramsey - Women's Title

CCW has a show on Saturday 1/26 in Cape Girardeau, MO:
-The Wise Church(Antwane Wise & Reno Diamond) vs. Horn Swoggle & Sarge O'Riley
-Dalton Anthony vs. Justin Smart - Street Fight
-Jake Dirden vs. Derrick King - Heavyweight Title Tournament
-Ace Hawkins vs. Brandon Espinosa - Heavyweight Title Tournament
-Gregory Iron vs. Dexter Roswell - Heavyweight Title Tournament
-Jacksyn Crowley vs. D'Mone Solavino - Heavyweight Title Tournament

PROVING GROUND PRO(www.facebook.com/PGPwrestling/)

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

PRO WRESTLING FORCE(twitter.com/prowrestlingfo1)

Next show is Sunday 2/17 in Springfield, IL:
-Takaaki "Evil" Watanabe vs. Jake Something
-Daga vs. Myron Reed
-Aaron Williams vs. Logan James - Pure Wrestling Title Tournament
-Jake Lander vs. Ace Perry - Pure Wrestling Title Tournament

ST. LOUIS ANARCHY(www.facebook.com/STLAnarchy)

Next show is Friday 1/11 in Alton, IL:
-Jeremy Wyatt vs. Jake Parnell - Gateway Heritage Title - Pure Wrestling Rules
-Gary Jay vs. Craig Mitchell
-Everett Connors vs. Jojo Bravo
-The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) vs. Roscoe Eat Lisa(Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers)
-Hoodie Howlett vs. Jake Dirden
-Ricky Starks vs. Thomas Shire
-The Besties In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. The Riegel Twins(Logan & Sterling)
-Logan James vs. Chip Day

PWCS(www.pwcswrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 2/9 in Alton, IL featuring the St. Louis Invitational Tournament.

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

Next show is Friday 1/18 in Brooklyn, NY.

EVOLVE has a show on Saturday 1/19 in Queens, NY.

PRO WRESTLING GUERRILLA(www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)

Next show is Friday 1/18 in Loas Angeles, CA:
-Jeff Cobb vs. Trevor Lee - Heavyweight Title
-The Rascalz(Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) vs. The Best Friends(Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) - Tag Team Titles
-Flip Gordon vs. Bandido
-The New Latin-American XChange(Angel Ortiz & Santana Draztik) vs. Rey Horus & Flamita
-Jonathan Gresham vs. Robbie Eagles
-D.J. Shiima Xion vs. Puma King
-Brody King vs. Jungle Boy

CHIKARA(www.chikarapro.com)

Next show is Sunday 2/10 in Lancaster, PA (National Pro Wrestling Day).

SHIMMER(www.shimmerwrestling.com)

Next shows are Saturday 3/30 and Sunday 3/31 in Berwyn, IL.

SHIMMER has a show on Friday 4/5 in Woodside, NY.

RISE(www.rise-wrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 3/29 in Berwyn, IL.

SHINE(www.shinewrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 1/19 in Queens, NY.

AAW(www.aawrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 12/29 in Merrionette Park, IL:
-Brody King vs. Sami Callihan - Heavyweight Title
-D.J. Shiima Xion vs. Bandido - Heritage Title
-A.C.H. vs. Eddie Kingston
-The Besties In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) & Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Curt Stallion, Jake Something, & Quinn McKay

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/

Leave a comment or e-mail: patrickab7@yahoo.com
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Glory Pro/Dynamo Pro Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about the Glory Pro Wrestling/Dynamo Pro Wrestling joint show at the Chesterfield Amphitheater in Chesterfield, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

For the second year in a row, Glory Pro & Dynamo Pro held wrestling matches at The Rizzuto Show's Eat & Treat event; it went over well the last time around so why not?  The weather was a bit cooler this time around (it practically felt like summer at this time last year) but it still accomodated the outdoor event.

Your ring announcer was Ben Simon; your referees were Jay King & Scott Ramsey.

Tony Patrico of the Rizz Show introduced the festivities, being the morning show's resident wrestling fan...for a while there, he was using a lot of wrestler's theme songs for bumper music.  Quite a few members of the on-air staff at The Point are wrestling fans on some level...bwahahaha.

"The Empress Of Evil" Rahne Victoria vs. Savanna Stone for the DPW Women's Title:  The never-ending rivalry continued here; they had crossed paths at last year's event with Savanna picking up the win.  I feel like these two could have a good match in their sleep at this point; the bar has definitely been raised as it relates to the quality of women's wrestling across the board, not just in this area.  The finish was similar to the match where Rahne won the title as Savanna attempted a bodyscissors victory roll, but Rahne turned it into a sitout faceplant; that allowed Rahne to retain in 6:08.

Mike Outlaw vs. "The Caramel Bear" C.J. Shine for the DPW D-1 Title:  Both men are products of the Dynamo Pro Dojo, with Outlaw having a slight edge in experience.  While Outlaw's initial rise happened very quickly (winning the Heavyweight Title in less than a year), Shine worked his way up the ranks over a greater period of time.  Neither guy is afraid to bend the rules or bring extra aggression in order to win a match, though Outlaw is probably aware of a few more tricks than C.J.  Outlaw won a competitive matchup with the High Noon(top-rope elbowdrop) in 8:05.

"Lights Out" Adrian Surge vs. Barackus for the DPW Heavyweight Title:  The new Dynamo Pro Champion faced a massive challenge in his first title defense.  The big man left a red handprint on Surge's chest with his chops...but Surge was able to withstand the assault and battle back into the match.  A different strategy was in order as Surge would have had trouble hitting Barackus with his signature spinebuster...Barackus hit one of his own trademark moves, the Baldo Bomb, but Surge was able to kick out at 2 1/2.  Barackus went to the ropes to finish with the frog splash, but Surge rolled out of the way...the crucial miss allowed the champion to deliver a last-ditch Diamond Cutter and hang onto his belt in 8:30.

Camaro Jackson vs. Kevin Lee Davidson:  In a lot of ways, this seemed like a mismatch on paper; K.L.D. had the edge in experience as well as size and power.  However, Camaro had something to prove and took the fight to the big man, managing to lift him into a Death Valley Driver and released German suplex!  Davidson delivered the Endzone Spike(pumphandle Michinoku Driver), only for Jackson to bounce up in a burst of adrenaline to deliver a low superkick...but K.L.D. answered that with a massive lariat!  Camaro stayed in the fight and the two fought on the turnbuckles, but Davidson took him down with a top-rope Regal Roll, then followed up with a second Endzone Spike...for 2 1/2!  Despite the near-fall, K.L.D. was quick to follow up on offense and delivered his signature spinebuster to win in 11:34!  It was a tremendous matchup and a real proving ground for Jackson as a singles competitor (after having been primarily known from Alpha Omega alongside Kenny Alfonso).

It was a fun day in general and it's always a good thing to get new eyes on the local wrestling product...sometimes people just need a taste of it to check it out at the regular shows.  I wasn't too familiar with the St. Louis independent scene until being told about it personally and being invited to an event...the rest is history.

January looks like this:
-Saturday 1/5:  Strictly Nsane Pro Wrestling in Crossville, IL
-Sunday 1/6:  Glory Pro Wrestling in Collinsville, IL
-Friday 1/11:  St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 1/12:  Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 1/19:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in DeSoto, MO; World League Wrestling in Troy, MO; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 1/26:  Dynamo Pro in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners); SICW in Cahokia, IL

That's my special comment for this, the sixty-fifth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2018.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.

Monday, December 24, 2018

WWE Raw

-Commentators:  Michael Cole, Renee Young, & Corey Graves.
-"The Drifter" Elias Samson d. Bobby Lashley(w/ "The Man Of The Hour" Lio Rush) in a street fight after hitting him across the back with a cello (9:25 aired).
-"The Glorious" Bobby Roode & Chad Gable d. The Revival(Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) to retain the Raw Tag Team Titles when Gable escaped a double-team maneuver and small-packaged Dawson for the pin (6:53 aired).  (There was some controversy in the finish as Wilder was the legal man.)
-Finn Bálor won a triple threat match with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler when he pinned Ziggler after the Coup De Grace(top-rope double-stomp) (8:13 aired).
-Backstage:  Vince McMahon(dressed as Santa Claus) announced that Women's Tag Team Titles would be coming soon.  Also, next week's main event will be Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre in a cage match.
-"The Boss" Sasha Banks, Bayley Rose, & Ember Moon d. Mickie James, Alicia Fox, & Dana Brooke when Bayley pinned Mickie after the Belly-To-Bayley Hugplex (4:59 aired).  The Riot Squad(Ruby Riot, Sarah Logan, & Liv Morgan) attacked Sasha and company afterwards.
-"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey d. Natalya Neidhart with the cross-armbar to retain the Raw Women's Title (12:41 aired).
-Heath Slater d. Jinder Mahal(w/ Samir & Sunil Singh) by DQ when the Singh Brothers interfered (1:52).  The save was made by...Santa Claus?  Santa finished the job with a GORE GORE GORE on Mahal, revealing himself to be Rhyno!
-Seth Rollins d. Baron Corbin via advanced curbstomp (9:12 aired).

Glory Pro Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about the Glory Pro Wrestling show on Friday, October 19th at Pop's Nightclub in Sauget, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

This show was initially scheduled for late August but was pushed back to October.  The main event was an interesting match idea on paper...I think my exact reaction was "...okay, sure, why not?"  Sean Waltman was one of my earliest favorites in wrestling, breaking the mold of the World Wrestling Federation's "land of the giants" and paving the way for smaller competitors to succeed.  Marcus Alexander Bagwell was the perennial underdog fan favorite for several years in WCW, but he truly hit his stride as the arrogant "Buff" after joining the New World Order.  As for Scott Norton, he was a powerhouse in both New Japan and WCW (he was one of the earliest "gaijin"(foreigners) to hold the IWGP Heavyweight Title).  He probably would have been a monster rulebreaker if WCW didn't have a couple hundred people on the payroll at the time.  Time flies, but wrestling fans still fondly remember those days in the Monday Night Wars.  In another added guest appearance, Road Warrior Animal was in the house...very cool.  (It turns out that he lives in the area nowadays; I imagine he moved here when his son was drafted to the Rams.)

Your ring announcer was Ben Simon; your referees were C-Lo Banks and Sean O'Brien(not the local comedian).

The show kicked off with local radio personality Tony Patrico(from 105.7 The Point's Rizzuto Show) hyping the fans, joking about how it was the first time he'd ever entered a wrestling ring.  He brought out Animal as Glory Pro's new talent scout; Animal announced that Bandido had been signed for the first show of the year on January 6th.  Neat.

Ben Simon informed the fans on several absences due to travel problems:  Jake Something, Hakim Zane, The Hierarchy(Murder One & Adrian Armour), & Xavier Walker.  Hopefully we will see The Hierarchy back in the area down the line.

"Hot Fire" Myron Reed & "The Leader Of The Pack" Stephen Wolf vs. The Riegel Twins(Logan & Sterling) for the United Glory Tag Team Titles:  This was originally scheduled to be non-title, but the new champs felt like the sporting types and were cool with putting the gold on the line.  Both Riegels got haircuts, denying me a chance of being able to tell them apart...it's turned into a weird running gag that one of them will inform me after the show about who was involved in the decision.  The Riegels came close to a win with a Doomsday Buff Blockbuster on Wolf (in a nod to Bagwell's presence on the show, perhaps).  However, the champs endured and came back to score the win...Reed & Wolf delivered a Tombstone/superkick combo on Logan(I'm told), then Reed scored the pin with a springboard 450 Splash in 10:03.  Tremendous way to kick off the action!

Farmer Billy Hills vs. Barackus:  Sometimes being there for the show can lead to an opportunity...such was the case for Hills(who I'd seen previously in Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling and Cape Championship Wrestling) as he substituted for Jake Something.  This led to an unusual situation for Barackus as he was facing an opponent of comparable or even greater size and power...it was a different sort of HOSS BATTLE~! than it would have been with Something, but I hope we get that match down the line as well.  Barackus took control, but missed a frog splash off the second rope...Hills went to the top rope himself, but Barackus rolled out of the way of the incoming elbowdrop.  Barackus went to the turnbuckles once again and climbed all the way to the top; this time the frog splash connected and Barackus got the win in 7:51.

Paco Gonzalez & Savanna Stone vs. Jake Lander & "The Little Blue Dragon" Tootie Lynn Ramsey:  Paco vs. Lander had been originally scheduled, but Savanna and Tootie were added to make it an intergender tag.  While all four were fan favorites, Paco/Lander and Savanna/Tootie had many competitive bouts with each other and each side was hoping to score a statement victory.  I've heard a lot of positive things about Lander and I hope to see more of him in 2019.  The highlight of the match occurred when the fight spilled out of the ring and into the crowd...as Paco fought with Lander and Tootie, Savanna climbed the stairs to the upper balcony and dove onto everyone with a plancha!  The match eventually made its way back to the ring and Paco picked up the win for his team with the fireman's-carry Michinoku Driver on Lander in 10:05.

The Gym Nasty Boys(Timmy Lou Retton & White Mike) vs. Alpha Omega(Camaro Jackson & Kenny Alfonso) vs. The Boys From Jollyville(T-Money & Nasty Russ Myers):  This was scheduled to be a four-corner tag match with The Hierarchy.  The Gym Nasty Boys made a good impression at Pro Wrestling Resurgence earlier in the year.  The Boys From Jollyville had an alliance with Crown Of Glory Champion Curt Stallion and Barackus at one time, but we haven't seen them work together in a while.  Any of these three teams could have picked up the victory and moved into contention for the United Glory Tag Team Titles...in this style of match, one quick fall could be all it takes.  The Gym Nasty Boys were able to isolate Nasty Russ long enough to hit their uranagi/backcracker combo, allowing Retton to get the three-count in 6:42.

"The Big Mustache On Campus" Mikey McFinnegan vs. Markus Crane, street fight:  I barely recognized Crane when I saw him at All-American Wrestling a couple of years ago; I first saw him at Metro East Championship Wrestling quite some time before that.  He's become a deathmatch kind of guy in recent years and that's how this particular bout shaped up to be.  I didn't know what to expect out of Mikey in this environment, but he showed his toughness here.  A lot of plunder came into play, including chairs, a trash can, a golf club, a lemon(?), and beer.  The two battled on the top rope with the wreckage piled beneath them...and Crane delivered a top-rope powerslam onto the chairs and trash can on the mat!  That finally put Mikey away in 13:25.

Intermission~!  Ben brought out Vicious & Delicious(Scott Norton & Buff Bagwell) for a promo to lead into the break.  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  My compatriot Zach was nice enough to let me bum a few slices of his pepperoni and breakfast pizzas...thank you much, as always.

D.J. Shiima Xion vs. Air Wolf:  D.J. Z had been scheduled to face "The Mad Dragon" Hakim Zane; Air Wolf had been scheduled for a six-way matchup.  Air Wolf has been extremely impressive for his young age, though he's struggled to come up with wins outside of Resurgence.  He had little time to prepare for a seasoned competitor like D.J. Z, whose resume includes the X-Division and Tag Team Titles in Total Nonstop Action/Impact.  He gave him a great fight, at any rate...but D.J. Z was looking to rebound from his recent loss of the United Glory Tag Titles.  In the end, it took a flying DDT off the top rope to put Air Wolf away, giving D.J. Z the victory in 9:06.

"The Husky Heartthrob" Kody Rice vs. "Gifted" Chase Holliday vs. Edvin Kudic vs. "Rich Homie Juice" A.J. Gray:  This was scheduled to be a six-way match; Xavier Walker was absent and Air Wolf was moved to the match with D.J. Z.  Brandon Aarons was scheduled for the match and was in attendance but did not compete.  Holliday was in the house and got a spot on the show as a result, similar to Billy Hills.  Rice made a great impression in his first appearance in the St. Louis area, getting "Please Come Back" chants afterwards.  As I noted with the triple threat tag match, these multi-way matches can often come down to whoever takes the best opportunity...in this case, Gray picked up the win with a Steiner Screwdriver(vertical suplex-into-sitout Tombstone) on Holliday in 9:20.

Crown Of Glory Champion "The Lone Star" Curt Stallion vs. "Mr. Fun Size" Marko Stunt, non-title bullrope match:  While Marko scored an impressive victory over Maxwell Jacob Friedman at the previous Glory Pro event, it wasn't QUITE enough to earn him a title shot so quickly.  However, a non-title victory over the titleholder would definitely put him in line for a future opportunity...but Stallion wasn't going to make it easy for him by any stretch of the imagination.  This match was decided by pinfall or submission instead of the tag-four-corners rule...your mileage may vary on which you prefer, thought I suppose the possibility of an upset was more likely with the latter.  Marko has become known for his surprising resilience for his size; people have seen quite a few instances of Marko snatching victory from the jaws of defeat as opponents tend to underestimate him.  An upset nearly did occur as Marko managed to block Stallion's signature flying headbutt with the bullrope's cowbell, scoring a close near-fall.  Marko attempted to springboard off the middle rope as a follow-up, but Stallion met him in mid-air with a step-up headbutt and that sealed the deal in 13:09.

The New World Order(Sean Waltman, Scott "Flash" Norton, & Buff Bagwell) vs. No New Friends(Kevin Lee Davidson, "The Millenial" Danny Adams, & Mike Outlaw):  While the NNF trio were technically the rulebreakers of the match, both sides had their supporters in attendance.  The NWO trio haven't been as active in recent years, but they know how to work smarter within a tag match; I don't think Bagwell took any bumps in this bout.  (I had wondered if he would, given his history of neck problems.)  Waltman did the lion's share of the selling for his side and I believe he could still go out there and have a kickass singles match with some of the best.  Norton tagged in for a house-cleaning rally but was stopped by a huge bodyslam from K.L.D.  Waltman came in with his own rally and I was in unashamed fanboy mode when he unleashed his trademark spinning heel kicks.  Waltman finished off Davidson with the X-Factor in 10:25 to wrap up the show.

Afterwards, I did get the chance to chat with Buff Bagwell and Sean Waltman.  I talked with Buff about some of his earlier WCW days, including the tag team with 2 Cold Scorpio which brought him his first major championship (they defeated The Nasty Boys for the WCW Tag Team Titles).  I also noted how popular the Buff Blockbuster has become in wrestling, though a lot of people don't acknowledge him as the innovator of the move (simply calling it the "Blockbuster").  It's too bad things played out the way they did in the WWF/WCW "Invasion".

I waited as long as I could for the chance to meet Waltman...the guy's been just about everywhere in wrestling.  I'm sure he hears it all the time, but he inspired a whole lot of smaller wrestlers (especially on the independent scene) to pursue their dreams.  The average size in wrestling has decreased over the years and we've seen a lot of people make it to the big stage(WWE) that we never would have expected to be there.  (As I write this, the most recent feud for the WWE Title was Daniel Bryan vs. A.J. Styles!)  I think size is still A factor, but it's no longer THE factor as it once was.  I didn't get much chance to talk to Norton...the brief time that I did, he was holding Waltman's dog(who Waltman brings with him everywhere).  I can appreciate a dog person.

At any rate, it was a fun night out at Pop's...contrary to popular belief, I haven't made that many trips to Sauget.  I'll leave it at that.

January looks like this:
-Saturday 1/5:  Strictly Nsane Pro Wrestling in Crossville, IL
-Sunday 1/6:  Glory Pro Wrestling in Collinsville, IL
-Friday 1/11:  St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 1/12:  Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 1/19:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in DeSoto, MO; World League Wrestling in Troy, MO; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 1/26:  Dynamo Pro in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners); SICW in Cahokia, IL

That's my special comment for this, the sixty-fourth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2018.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

MMWA Special Comment

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

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

A couple of pretty big championship bouts were scheduled for the MMWA's monthly offering...and since it was the October show, a few kids came in their Halloween costumes.  One youngster put a lot of effort into his Naruto Uzumaki attire, I noted.

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

"The Heartthrob" Jaden Roller vs. "Volatile" Curtis Wylde(w/ Wyldefyre):  This was set up to be Wylde vs. "Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent, but Vincent was not in attendance...leading to the rare sight of Jaden Roller as a fan favorite.  Wylde firmly established the roles by delivering a low blow before the opening bell, giving himself an early advantage.  Roller fought back into the match, showing that he can be effective as a fan favorite as well as a rulebreaker...versatility is a good thing in wrestling.  Jaden had a good showing, but Wyldefyre's distraction(and a well-timed slap) left him open for the Wylde Ride Flatliner(sometimes it's a Flatliner and sometimes it's a Paydirt, for reference) in 7:54.

Barackus vs. "The Righteous One" Johnny Park:  Park found out, like many rulebreakers before him, that open challenges rarely turn out well.  This was the big man's first MMWA appearance in a while and he made an emphatic statement as he steamrolled Park in short order...Barackus finished with a frog splash off the second rope in 4:39.

"Excalibur" Chase King vs. Shawn Santel(w/ Mauler McDarby):  King started his career in a tag team with his brother Chance, then briefly held the MMWA Tag Team Titles with LaMarcus Clinton...however, it was one-on-one on this night despite facing an established tag team competitor.  After a competitive matchup, King appeared to have the advantage after a superkick but Santel ran in to break up the pin cover, causing a DQ in 6:34.  Santel & McDarby double-teamed King, ending with their back suplex/second-rope elbowdrop combo(I have been informed that's called the "Irish Melancholy")...they vowed to become the first Multi-State Tag Team Champions afterwards.  (Unfortunately they would miss the match that would crown the first titleholders, but I wouldn't bet against them capturing the belts down the line.)

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Bottle of water and Pepsi.

"The Little Blue Dragon" Tootie Lynn Ramsey vs. Camron Bra'Nae:  These two have battled several times...on Bra'Nae's home turf of Kansas City, throughout Missouri, and in this neck of the woods as well.  I would suggest that they're nearly as familiar with each other as Savanna Stone and Rahne Victoria.  Fan support was established before the opening bell as Tootie attempted to enter the ring with a skin-the-cat and Bra'Nae kicked her to the floor to gain an early advantage.  These two work very well together, with Bra'Nae's height and reach advantage playing into Tootie's natural underdog role.  You can never underestimate Tootie's striking ability with her martial arts background...if she can land one of her kicks on point, it can end a match right there.  Such was the case here as she took home the win after a short-arm roundhouse kick in 9:45.

"2.0" Da'Marius Jones(w/ A.J. Williams) vs. "The" Ace Hawkins for the Cruiserweight Title:  Jones had enjoyed a lengthy title reign after capturing the belt from Deacon Cash last December, but he faced a tough test on this night in the form of the returning former titleholder.  Jones tried to duck out of putting his title on the line, saying Ace needed to earn his way back into contention, but it was to no avail.  Ace was on fire from the opening bell and Jones took refuge on the floor...but then Jones sidestepped a suicide dive and Ace hit only guardrail.  The champion took over from there...Hawkins rallied back into the match and delivered his signature swanton bomb, but A.J. pulled the referee out of the ring before the three-count.  A series of pin reversals led to Jones delivering a superkick for a close near-fall.  Williams sought to get involved again, but accidentally(?) tripped Jones as he came off the ropes...Hawkins capitalized with an O'Connor Roll to finally win the title in 14:49!  Jones was outraged over the controversial loss and wanted his rematch, but he also wanted A.J. in the ring to get back at him for costing him the title...this led to Commissioner Jim Harris booking a triple threat match for the belt in November!  Hmm...

"Da Bomb" Brian James vs. "Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson for the Heavyweight Title:  These two have battled several times over the belt but rarely seem to end up with a decisive winner...they're very evenly matched in a number of respects.  Gary brought the gladiator gear and helmet for his title shot, as well as orange trunks with fringe; this has been your Gary Jackson Fashion Watch(tm).  Unfortunately as the match was heating up, Barackus decided to make his presence felt...this led to a no-contest in 10:41 as he laid out both men.  Barackus punctuated his attack with a splash off the second rope on Jackson...the big man Wants Da Belt(tm).

A.J. Williams vs. "The Incomparable" Deacon Cash:  So who was the fan favorite HERE?  Cash's recent rival "P.O.D." Damion Cortess made an appearance at ringside to distract him, but it was a good competitive matchup...Cash hit his signature LARIATOOOOO~! but A.J. got a foot on the bottom rope.  Cortess stuck his nose into the action again, giving Williams the opening to land the superkick for the win in 6:16.

"Rough Cut" Rick Ruby vs. "P.O.D." Damion Cortess:  The night was capped off with a couple of heavy hitters...but Cash was eager to get some payback for his loss.  A few minutes into the match, he re-emerged from the dressing room area with a baseball bat in hand...he chased Cortess away from the ring area, which led to Ruby winning by countout in 7:29.  That was an...interesting way to close out the show.

My year seems to have wrapped up with a few open weekends...I've been doing a lot of sleeping, which seems to have been necessary.  I'll leave it at that.

January looks like this:
-Saturday 1/5:  Strictly Nsane Pro Wrestling in Crossville, IL
-Sunday 1/6:  Glory Pro Wrestling in Collinsville, IL
-Friday 1/11:  St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 1/12:  Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 1/19:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in DeSoto, MO; World League Wrestling in Troy, MO; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 1/26:  Dynamo Pro in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners); SICW in Cahokia, IL

That's my special comment for this, the sixty-third wrestling show I've attended in the year 2018.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.

Final show count for 2018

Cape Championship Wrestling:  1
Dynamo Pro Wrestling:  16
Glory Pro Wrestling:  7
Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance:  9
National Wrasslin' League:  2
NXT:  1
Outlaw Wrestling:  1
Proving Ground Pro:  1
Pro Wrestling Championship Series:  6
Pro Wrestling Epic:  1
Pro Wrestling Force:  1
Pro Wrestling Resurgence:  3
Rampage Championship Wrestling:  1
Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling:  10
St. Louis Anarchy:  2
Strictly Nsane Pro Wrestling:  1
The Beard Productions:  1
Wrestling Over Everything:  8
World League Wrestling:  6
World Powerhouse Wrestling:  1
Zero-One USA:  1

TOTAL:  80

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Weekend wrestling

TNA Back To Cali

-Eddie Edwards d. Marcus Lewis.
-Calder McColl d. Kaka Meng.
-Jules d. Lisa Lace.
-Eli Drake d. Sledge.
-Scotty Wringer d. Tony Vargas.
-Brian Cage & Rich Swann d. Ohio Vs. Everything(Jake & Dave Crist).
-Tessa Blanchard d. Kiera Hogan to retain the Women's Title.
-Johnny Impact d. Moose to retain the Heavyweight Title.

WWE Main Event

-This week's episode had no exclusive matches, just highlights of the main shows.

ROH TV

-This was the first of two year-end clip shows for Ring Of Honor.
-Matt Taven & The Kingdom(Vinny Marseglia & T.K. O'Ryan) d. "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) to win the Six-Man Tag Team Titles; Marseglia pinned Matt Jackson after he and Marseglia hit the House Of A Thousand Horses(O'Ryan backdrops Marseglia into elevated Regal Roll) (joined in progress; 6:55 aired).

Thursday, December 20, 2018

WWE Tribute To The Troops

-Commentators:  Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, & John Bradshaw Layfield.
-Raw Women's Champion "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey & Natalya Neidhart won a triple threat match with Nia Jax & Tamina Snuka and The Riot Squad(Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan)(w/ Ruby Riot) when Ronda made both Sarah & Liv tap out to a double cross-armbar (6:54).
-Finn Bálor & "The Drifter" Elias Samson d. Drew McIntyre & Bobby Lashley(w/ "The Man Of The Hour" Lio Rush) when Elias pinned Lashley with a re-sunset flip after an enzuigiri from Bálor (6:16 aired).
-Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair d. Absolution(Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose) when Becky made Sonya tap out to the Dis-Arm-Her(armbar submission) (5:55).
-"The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles & Seth Rollins d. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan & Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose when Styles pinned Bryan after the springboard forearm (6:01 aired).

TNA Impact was a best-of-2018 clipshow.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

WWE NXT

-Commentators:  Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, & "Showtime" Percy Watson.
-"The Genius Of The Sky" Io Shirai & Dakota Kai d. Marina Shafir & Jessamyn Duke when Shirai pinned Shafir after the moonsault (4:27).
-Dominik Dijakovic d. Aaron Mackey with the Feast Your Eyes(torture-rack Go 2 Sleep) (1:48).
-Heavy Machinery(Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight) d. Mike Howell & Danny Dacarto when Knight pinned Dacarto after he and Dozovic hit the Compactor(assisted World's Strongest Slam) on both opponents at once (2:24); The Undisputed Era(Adam Cole, NXT Tag Team Champions Roderick Strong & Kyle O'Reilly, & Bobby Fish) watched the match from the entrance stage.
-Johnny Gargano d. Aleister Black in a cage match; Gargano nearly escaped over the top of the cage as Black went for the door, but NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa slammed the cage door on Black's head.  Gargano re-entered the cage and he and Ciampa hit their old tag team finisher(close-range superkick/running knee strike combo)...Ciampa left the cage and Gargano scored the pin (17:59 plus several minutes of pre-bell brawling on the floor).
-Next week:  Roderick Strong & Kyle O'Reilly vs. Heavy Machinery for the NXT Tag Team Titles, plus Biancia Belair vs. Lacey Evans vs. "The Blasian Baddie" Mia Yim vs. Io Shirai for the next shot at NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler.

WWE 205 Live

-Commentators:  Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, & "Showtime" Percy Watson.
-Hideo Itami(w/ Ariya Daivari) d. "The Scottish Supernova" Noam Dar with the inverted neckbreaker-into-knee strike (6:58).
-"The Man Of The Hour" Lio Rush d. Aaron Solow after hitting the Final Hour(frog splash) twice (1:06).
-"The" Brian Kendrick & Akira Tozawa d. Drew Gulak & "The Extraordinary Gentleman" Jack Gallagher in a street fight when Kendrick pinned Gallagher after hitting the Sliced Bread #2 from the top rope (17:02).

WWE NXT UK

-Commentators:  Vic Joseph & Nigel McGuinness.
-"The Irish Ace" Jordan Devlin d. "The Wild Boar" Mike Hitchman with the Ireland's Call(snap Northern Lights Bomb)(4:58).
-Fabian Aichner d. "The English Lion" Eddie Ryan via spiral bomb (5:05).
-Moustache Mountain(Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) d. "The King Of The Travelers" Tyson T-Bomb & "The Muscle Cat" Saxon Huxley; Seven pinned Huxley after he and Bate hit the rebound lariat/release dragon suplex combo (7:03).
-Rhea Ripley d. "The White Witch" Isla Dawn with the Riptide(pumphandle powerbomb) to retain the U.K. Women's Title (9:01).
-----
-Commentators:  Vic Joseph & Nigel McGuinness.
-Toni Storm d. Charlie Morgan with the Storm Zero v2.0(tigerdriver) (3:57).
-"Liverpool's #1" Zack Gibson & "Mr. Mayhem" James Drake d. Mark Andrews & "The Modfather" Flash Morgan Webster after Fabian Aichner interfered, leading to Gibson making Andrews tap out to the Shankly Gates(grounded top wristlock) (8:49).
-Nina Samuels d. Killer Kelly after a Death Valley Driver onto the knee (4:30).
-"The Iron King" Joe Coffey d. "The Kiwi Buzzsaw" Travis Banks after the discus lariat (11:13).

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Smackdown + This Week In Wrestling

WWE Smackdown

-Commentators:  Tom Phillips, David Otunga, & Corey Graves.
-Asuka Urai d. Naomi Night with the Asuka Lock(crossface chicken wing) to retain the Smackdown Women's Title (8:54 aired); Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair watched the match from ringside.
-"The Miz" Mike Mizanin & Mandy Rose d. "R-Truth" Ron Killings & Carmella Van Damme when Miz pinned R-Truth after the Skull-Crushing Finale (1:27).
-Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. The Good Brothers(Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) ended in a no-contest when Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Bar(Antonio Cesaro & Sheamus O'Shaunessy) caused a distraction and Sanity(Eric Young, Killian Dain, & Alexander Wolfe) attacked both teams (joined in progress; 5:49 aired).
-"The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles & Mustafa Ali d. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan & Andrade "Cien" Almas(w/ Zelina Vega) (joined in progress; 5:27 + 8:06 aired).
-Next week:  Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Alexander Rusev for the U.S. Title and Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe.

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WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT(www.wwe.com)

NXT UK this week has:
Episode 1
-Rhea Ripley vs. Isla Dawn - NXT Women's Title
-Moustache Mountain(Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs. Tyson T-Bone & Saxon Huxley
-Mike Hitchman vs. Jordan Devlin
-Fabian Aichner vs. Eddie Ryan
Episode 2
-Travis Banks vs. Joe Coffey
-Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster vs. Zack Gibson & James Drake
-Toni Storm vs. Charlie Morgan
-Nina Samuels vs. Killer Kelly

205 Live this week has:
-Brian Kendrick & Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak & Jack Gallagher - Street Fight
-Noam Dar vs. Hideo Itami
-Lio Rush vs. Aaron Solow

NXT this week has:
-Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano - Cage Match
-Io Shirai & Dakota Kai vs. Marina Shafir & Jessamyn Duke
-In action:  Dominik Dijakovic

Main Event this week has:
-Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley

Tribute To The Troops on Thursday 12/20 has:
-A.J. Styles & Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan & Dean Ambrose
-Ronda Rousey & Natalya Neidhart vs. Nia Jax & Tamina Snuka
-Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs. Absolution(Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose)

The Royal Rumble is on Sunday 1/27:
-30-Man Royal Rumble
-30-Woman Royal Rumble
-Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman - Universal Title

TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION(www.impactwrestling.com)

Impact on Thursday has:
-Clip Show

Homecoming is on Sunday 1/6:
-Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage - Heavyweight Title
-Jake Crist vs. Ethan Page vs. Rich Swann vs. Trey Miguel - Ultimate X Match - X-Division Title Tournament Final
-The New Latin-American XChange(Angel Ortiz & Santana Draztik) vs. The Lucha Brothers(Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) - Tag Team Titles
-Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie - Women's Title - Referee Gail Kim
-Abyss vs. Eli Drake - Monster's Ball Match

RING OF HONOR(www.rohwrestling.com)

ROH TV this week has:
-Clip Show

Next show is Saturday 1/12 in Atlanta, GA.

ROH has a show on Sunday 1/13 in Concord, NC.

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

Wrestle Kingdom is on Friday 1/4:
-Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Title
-Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito - IWGP Intercontinental Title
-Kazuchika Okada vs. "Switchblade" Jay White
-Cody Rhodes vs. Juice Robinson - IWGP U.S. Title
-Yujiro Kushida vs. Taiji Ishimori - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title
-Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay - NEVER Openweight Title
-The Guerrillas Of Destiny(Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. Takaaki "Evil" Watanabe & Seiya Sanada vs. The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) - IWGP Tag Team Titles
-El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Shingo Takagi & Bushi vs. Roppongi 3K(Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu) - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles
-Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - Revolution Pro Heavyweight Title
-Trios Gauntlet Match:  Hirooki Goto & The Best Friends(Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor); Minoru Suzuki & The Killer Elite Squad(Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.); Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, & Ryusuke Taguchi; Michael Elgin, Jeff Cobb, & David Finlay; Marty Scurll, "Hangman" Adam Page, and Yujiro Takahashi

LUCHA UNDERGROUND(www.luchaunderground.com)

Information on Season 5 will be posted when it becomes available.

-----

GLORY PRO WRESTLING(www.gloryprowrestling.com)

Next show is Sunday 1/6 in Collinsville, IL:
-Curt Stallion vs. Bandido - Crown Of Glory Title
-Myron Reed & Stephen Wolf vs. The Besties In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. No New Friends(Kevin Lee Davidson & Danny Adams) - United Glory Tag Team Titles - Tables Ladders & Chairs Match
-Paco Gonzalez vs. Eddie Kingston
-A.J. Gray vs. Jake Something
-Aaron Solow vs. Mike Outlaw
-Shane Sabre vs. Jake Lander vs. Joey Lynch
-Allie Kat vs. Vanessa Azure

DPW(www.dynamoprowrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 1/19 in DeSoto, MO.

DPW has a show on Saturday 1/26 in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners Gym).

SICW(www.sicw.org)

Next show is Saturday 1/19 in East Carondelet, IL.

SICW has a show on Saturday 1/26 in Cahokia, IL.

MMWA(www.southbroadwayac.com)

Next show is Saturday 1/12 in St. Louis, MO(South Broadway Athletic Club):
-Brian James & Ricky Cruz vs. Barackus & Waco
-Khayman vs. Shaft - Casket Match

WLW(www.harleyrace.com)

Next show is Saturday 1/19 in Troy, MO.

WLW has a show on Saturday 3/9 in Troy, MO:
-Nick Aldis vs. Leland Race - NWA World Title

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

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

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

Next show is Saturday 3/30 in Eldon, MO.

CCW(www.capewrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 1/12 in Charleston, MO:
-Jacksyn Crowley vs. Joey O'Riley
-Sarah Summers vs. Marni Gras vs. Tootie Lynn Ramsey - Women's Title

CCW has a show on Saturday 1/26 in Cape Girardeau, MO:
-Appearing:  Gregory Iron, Horn Swoggle

PROVING GROUND PRO(www.facebook.com/PGPwrestling/)

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

PRO WRESTLING FORCE(twitter.com/prowrestlingfo1)

Next show is Sunday 2/17 in Springfield, IL:
-Takaaki "Evil" Watanabe vs. Jake Something
-Daga vs. Myron Reed
-Aaron Williams vs. Logan James - Pure Wrestling Title Tournament
-Jake Lander vs. Ace Perry - Pure Wrestling Title Tournament

ST. LOUIS ANARCHY(www.facebook.com/STLAnarchy)

Next show is Friday 1/11 in Alton, IL:
-Jeremy Wyatt vs. Jake Parnell - Gateway Heritage Title - Pure Wrestling Rules
-Gary Jay vs. Craig Mitchell
-Everett Connors vs. Jojo Bravo
-The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) vs. Roscoe Eat Lisa(Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers)
-Hoodie Howlett vs. Jake Dirden
-Ricky Starks vs. Thomas Shire
-The Besties In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. The Riegel Twins(Logan & Sterling)
-Logan James vs. Chip Day

PWCS(www.pwcswrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 2/9 in Alton, IL featuring the St. Louis Invitational Tournament.

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

Next show is Friday 1/18 in Brooklyn, NY.

EVOLVE has a show on Saturday 1/19 in Queens, NY.

PRO WRESTLING GUERRILLA(www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)

Next show is Friday 1/18 in Loas Angeles, CA:
-Jeff Cobb vs. Trevor Lee - Heavyweight Title
-The Rascalz(Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) vs. The Best Friends(Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) - Tag Team Titles
-Flip Gordon vs. Bandido
-The New Latin-American XChange(Angel Ortiz & Santana Draztik) vs. Rey Horus & Flamita
-Jonathan Gresham vs. Robbie Eagles
-D.J. Shiima Xion vs. Puma King
-Brody King vs. Jungle Boy

CHIKARA(www.chikarapro.com)

Next show is Sunday 2/10 in Lancaster, PA (National Pro Wrestling Day).

SHIMMER(www.shimmerwrestling.com)

Next shows are Saturday 3/30 and Sunday 3/31 in Berwyn, IL.

SHIMMER has a show on Friday 4/5 in Woodside, NY.

RISE(www.rise-wrestling.com)

Next show is Friday 3/29 in Berwyn, IL.

SHINE(www.shinewrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 1/19 in Queens, NY.

AAW(www.aawrestling.com)

Next show is Saturday 12/29 in Merrionette Park, IL:
-Brody King vs. Sami Callihan - Heavyweight Title
-D.J. Shiima Xion vs. Bandido - Heritage Title
-A.C.H. vs. Eddie Kingston
-The Besties In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) & Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Curt Stallion, Jake Something, & Quinn McKay

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/

Leave a comment or e-mail: patrickab7@yahoo.com
Follow me on Facebook at: @patrickab7
Follow me on Instagram at: @patrick.ab7

Monday, December 17, 2018

WWE Raw

-Commentators:  Michael Cole, Renee Young, & Corey Graves.
-Kurt Angle, Raw Tag Team Champions "The Glorious" Bobby Roode & Chad Gable, & Apollo Crews d. Baron Corbin in a no-DQ handicap match when Angle got the pin after the Olympic Slam (5:32 aired); Heath Slater was the referee and was biased to the point of attacking Corbin himself.
-Finn Bálor d. Dolph Ziggler by DQ when Drew McIntyre attacked Bálor (6:15 aired).
-Dean Ambrose d. Tyler Breeze with the Dirty Deeds v2.0(double-underhook DDT) to retain the Intercontinental Title (4:04 aired).
-Coming soon:  Ethan Carter III, Lacey Evans, Heavy Machinery(Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight), Nikki Cross, & Lars Sullivan.
-Returning soon:  Sami Zayn.
-The Revival won a four-corner match with The Authors Of Pain(Akam Dhinsa & Rezar Selmani)(w/ Drake Maverick), The Lucha House Party(Kalisto & Lince Dorado)(w/ Gran Metalik), and The B Team(Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) when Wilder pinned Dallas after he and Dawson hit the Shatter Machine(Flapjack-into-Codebreaker) (6:39 aired).
-Gauntlet Match:  Bayley Rose d. Alicia Fox via rollup (4:23 aired).  Bayley d. Dana Brooke with the Belly-To-Bayley Hugplex (7:06 aired).  Mickie James d. Bayley after the jumping DDT (12:40 aired).  Ember Moon d. Mickie with the Eclipse(flying Stunner off the top rope) (16:58 aired).  Natalya Neidhart d. Ember via O'Connor Roll (20:22 aired).  Natalya d. Ruby Riot(w/ Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan) via rollup (26:38 aired).  Natalya d. "The Boss" Sasha Banks with the Sharpshooter (34:34 aired).  Raw Women's Champion "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey congratulated Natalya afterwards.
-Returning soon:  Kevin Owens.
-Next week:  Ronda Rousey vs. Natalya Neidhart for the Raw Women's Title, plus "The Drifter" Elias Samson vs. Bobby Lashley in a street fight and Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin

Sunday, December 16, 2018

WWE Tables Ladders & Chairs

-Buddy Murphy d. Cedric Alexander after the Murphy's Law(pumphandle Death Valley Driver) to retain the Cruiserweight Title.
-"The Drifter" Elias Samson d. Bobby Lashley(w/ "The Man Of The Hour" Lio Rush) in a ladder match by retrieving the guitar suspended above the ring.
-Mixed Match Challenge Tournament Final:  "R-Truth" Ron Killings & Carmella Van Damme d. Jinder Mahal & Alicia Fox(w/ Samir & Sunil Singh) when Carmella made Alicia tap out to the Code Of Silence(push-up headscissors submission).
-The Bar(Antonio Cesaro & Sheamus O'Shaunessy) won a triple threat match with Jimmy & Jey Uso and The New Day(Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)(w/ Big E Langston) to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Titles when Sheamus pinned Woods after the Brogue Kick.
-Braun Strowman d. Baron Corbin in a tables-ladders-and-chairs match; Strowman was still injured but said that anyone who was sick of Corbin as General Manager was welcome to lend a hand.  This led to Apollo Crews, "The Glorious" Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, and Finn Bálor arriving to destroy Corbin...referee Heath Slater even threw off his striped shirt and joined in the fun.  Kurt Angle was the last to get involved, hitting an Olympic Slam before Bálor delivered the Coup De Grace(top-rope double-stomp)...Strowman got the easy pin with Slater making the three-count.
-Natalya Neidhart d. Ruby Riot(w/ Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan) in a table match by superbombing Riot through a table.
-Finn Bálor d. Drew McIntyre with the Coup De Grace after interference by Dolph Ziggler.
-Rey Misterio Jr. d. Randy Orton in a chair match via victory roll.
-"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey d. Nia Jax(w/ Tamina Snuka) with the cross-armbar to retain the Raw Women's Title.
-Daniel Bryan d. "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles by reversing a small package to retain the WWE Title.
-Dean Ambrose d. Seth Rollins with the Dirty Deeds v2.0(double-underhook DDT) to win the Intercontinental Title.
-Asuka Urai won a three-way ladder match with Becky Lynch(C) and Charlotte Flair to win the Smackdown Women's Title; Ronda Rousey dumped Charlotte and Becky off a ladder when both were close to getting the belt, giving Asuka the opening to climb the ladder and take down the title.

Comedy Part 819: Cobblestone Comedy

Location:  Cobblestone Eatery & Drinkery(Lincoln, IL)
Emcee:  Vincent Opper
After:  Tino Terrell Jr.
Before:  Lucas Hinderliter

I went up second-to-last after Vincent, Kathy Brennan, and Tino...it was an interesting crowd on Friday to say the least.  While I always appreciate paid gigs, I feel like I didn't get as many laughs as I could have...a lot of my usual material wasn't hitting like normal.  They said my time was twenty-two minutes, so it's good to know I can reach that mark...but this show was a bit of a wake-up call to write some new bits and refocus on my comedy.  Hopefully that can happen in the new year.

Sunday PWF Results From Springfield, IL

-Corey Roberts, Austin Hayes, & Nick King d. James Brady, Reilly MaGuire, & Harrison C. Kolmer when Roberts pinned MaGuire with a hammerlock small package (8:53).
-Pure Wrestling Title Tournament: “The Baddest Man Alive” Aaron Williams d. “The End Of The World” Jake Omen after a roundhouse kick to the head (12:48).
-Pure Wrestling Title Tournament: “Diamond Cut” Ace Perry d. “The Leader Of The Pack” Stephen Wolf after catching him in a mid-air Diamond Cutter as he jumped off the top rope (11:13).
-Sophie King d. “The Little Blue Dragon” Tootie Lynn Ramsey with a seated guillotine hold (7:42).
-Lotus(Juntai Miller & Gavin Quinn) d. The Top Guys(Adam Slade & Kevin Giza); Juntai pinned Slade after he and Quinn hit a double Spanish Fly (12:31). After the match, Matt Kenway & Joe Alonzo came out to recruit for their group...leading to Giza turning on Slade and leaving with them.
-”The Warhorse” Jake Parnell won a six-way match with Bandolero, Paco Gonzalez(subbing for Jackson Stone), Golden Dragon, Gringo Loco, and “The Gypsy Warrior” Orion Creed when he pinned Creed after the second-rope double-stomp to the back (10:46).
-”Hot Fire” Myron Reed d. “The Dirty Rook” Mat Fitchett after a springboard 450 Splash to the back (10:26).
-Pure Wrestling Title Tournament: Logan James & Jake Lander d. “The Flamboyant” Juice Robinson & “The Zombie Princess” Jimmy Jacobs(subbing for “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin who had a torn ACL); Lander hit Jacobs with a rolling Death Valley Driver and James got the pin after a pump knee strike off the top rope (22:23).

Saturday, December 15, 2018

Weekend wrestling

WWE Main Event

-Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, & "Showtime" Percy Watson.
-Tyler Breeze d. Mojo Rawley by escaping an attempted Alabama Slam and getting the pin with a sunset flip (5:02).
-The Lucha House Party(Kalisto, Gran Metalik, & Lince Dorado) d. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor) & Curt Hawkins when Metalik pinned Hawkins after the tightrope-walk elbowdrop (7:27 aired).
ROH TV

-Commentators:  Ian Riccaboni, Colt "Boom Boom" Cabana, & Caprice Coleman.
-The Twisted Sisterz(Holidead & Thunder Rosa) d. Madison Rayne & Dr. Britt Baker; Holidead hit Baker with an Air Raid Crash and Rosa got the pin after a top-rope double-stomp to the back (7:25 aired).
-Heavyweight Champion Jay Lethal, T.V. Champion Jeff Cobb, Vinny Marseglia, Rhett Titus, & Cheeseburger d. Matt Taven, "The Octopus" Jonathan Gresham, "The Villain" Marty Scurll, & The Bouncers("Beer City Bruiser" Matt Winchester & "The Kingpin" Brian Milonas) when Cobb pinned Bruiser with the Tour Of The Islands(rewind powerslam) (13:04 aired).
-Next two weeks:  Clip shows!

Saturday DPW Results From St. Louis, MO

-Tag Team Champions The Unlikely Heroes(Jackal & Ricky Rodriguez) kicked off the show by singing Christmas carols, but they were attacked from behind by The Agents Of Chaos(Viktor Von Stein & Xavier Shadowz). This led to the Agents being added to the scheduled Tag Title match.
-Ezra Zealous won a triple threat match with “The Valedictorian” Keon Option and “Mr. Excitement” Christopher Adams when he stole the pin on Adams after two axe kicks by Option (8:13).
-Savanna Stone d. Women's Champion “The Empress Of Evil” Rahne Victoria by DQ when Ezra Zealous pulled Savanna off the pin after a close-range superkick (8:57). Keon Option ran in to fight with Zealous, leading to co-promoter Crystal Yount ordering a mixed tag match.
-”The Valedictorian” Keon Option & Savanna Stone d. Ezra Zealous & Women's Champion “The Empress Of Evil” Rahne Victoria when Option pinned Zealous after the Paydirt (9:55).
-The Arch City Mercenaries(Tony Esteem & Jimmi LaFleur) won a triple threat match with The Agents Of Chaos(Viktor Von Stein & Xavier Shadowz) and The Unlikely Heroes(Jackal & “Mr. Mustache” Ricky Rodriguez)(C) to win the Tag Team Titles. The tension between the Agents erupted as the tag team partners brawled. LaFleur zip-tied Rodriguez to the guardrail, leaving Jackal on his own; Esteem delivered a low blow behind the ref's back and finished Jackal with the headlock driver (14:40).
-”The Wind Of Destruction” Makaze d. “The Caramel Bear” C.J. Shine by DQ to retain the Heavyweight Title. Shine had the match won after a TKO but the referee was distracted by Viktor Von Stein's presence at ringside. Makaze brought in a chair, banged it on the mat, and then threw it to Shine before dropping to his back. The official turned around to see this and disqualified Shine (11:38).
-Mike Outlaw d. Outtkast with the High Noon(top-rope elbowdrop) to retain the D-1 Title (15:52).

NXT Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about the World Wrestling Entertainment/NXT house show on Thursday, October 11th at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

I've lost my taste for WWE's main-roster events, especially the televised shows...I came close to going to the house show earlier this year, but once A.J. Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura was off the table I changed my mind.  However, NXT house shows are a different animal entirely and I enjoyed last year's offering at the Family Arena, so I carpooled with Ben Simon to the festivities.

Your ring announcer was Kayla Braxton; your referees were D.A. Brewer & Eddie Orengo.

We saw an introductory video from Triple H to kick off the evening...it's so weird to reconcile evil main-roster bad guy troll Triple H with proud NXT dad Triple H.  From all accounts, HHH is a huge fan of old-school wrestling; a lot of people seem to be hoping for that sentiment to transfer to the WWE product if/when he gets more creative control.  Only time will tell, of course...with our luck the company will be endlessly run by Vince McMahon's head in a jar a la Futurama.

The Street Profits(Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) vs. The Forgotten Sons(Jaxson Ryker & Wesley Blake):  Ironically, the Forgotten Sons seemed to have forgotten Steve Cutler on this night.  It took quite a few gimmick shifts for Dawkins to find something that truly worked for him...at one time, he was rumored to be a part of a "Shoot Nation" stable with Chad Gable, Jason Jordan, Sawyer Fulton, and Tucker Knight.  Of course Gable & Jordan became American Alpha, while Dawkins & Fulton teamed on NXT television a few times; Knight wouldn't make it onto the programming until teaming with Otis Dozovic as one-half of Heavy Machinery.  Montez Ford is an impressive athlete and has a ton of charisma, so I could easily see him as a singles star in the future.  I'm not sure what's in the cards for the 'Sons, though Ryker(formerly Gunner in TNA and Phil Shatter on the independent circuit) seems to be their main prospect.  I think I heard someone in the audience try for a "TNA" chant for Ryker but it didn't catch on.  A blind tag and knee clip allowed the 'Sons to isolate Ford for a while, but Dawkins got the hot tag and became the proverbial House Afire(tm).  Dawkins planted Blake with a spinebuster/Skyhigh variant, then Ford(having tagged back in) finished with the frog splash in 8:35.  Since this show, the Profits would shock the wrestling world by winning the EVOLVE Tag Team Titles from Chris Dickinson & Jaka, signalling a shift in EVOLVE's roster to feature some of NXT's lesser-used competitors.

Raul Mendoza vs. Kassius Ohno:  Mendoza competed in the Cruiserweight Classic and has occasionally appeared on 205 Live and NXT TV since that time; more recently he has formed a tag team with Humberto Carrillo(formerly Ultimo Ninja).  Ohno's character has shifted into a grumpy veteran who is tired of being overlooked for opportunities in favor of the "shiny new toy" of the month.  This puts him in the position of working with the younger up-and-coming wrestlers as they adjust to the WWE/NXT product and presentation.  Mendoza went from being a virtual unknown to St. Louis fans to getting pretty good reactions for his aerial maneuvers by the end of the bout.  Anyone familiar with Ohno/Chris Hero at all knows what he brings to the table:  A huge arsenal of strikes along with a technical game that he's refined around the globe.  Mendoza withstood Ohno's assault for most of the match, leading to Ohno pulling out a finisher that nearly defied description...I had to rewatch someone's GIF on Twitter multiple times before I referred to it as a "powerbomb pickup dropped into a spinning Michinoku Driver".  Whatever it was, it got the win in 8:40.

Candice LeRae & Dakota Kai vs. Aliyah Areebi & Reina Gonzalez:  Gonzalez made a good impression in the recent Mae Young Classic.  I knew that Kai and Aliyah were on the show, but Candice was a nice surprise as well.  The fan favorite side of this match was exceptionally cheerful, as per their respective characters, though Candice has taken a darker turn in recent weeks along with her husband Johnny Gargano.  I've quickly become a big fan of the New Zealander Kai...she's good in the ring and very cute too.  Aliyah is an odd case as she's repeatedly slipped through the cracks in NXT...she's recently settled into the rulebreaking role and hopefully that'll give her a bit more stability.  Aliyah tried to boss around her larger tag team partner, leading to a rift between the two as Reina walked out on her partner.  Candice went on to finish Aliyah with the Unprettier in 9:15.

Johnny Gargano vs. Lars Sullivan:  This came about as a result of Gargano accepting Sullivan's open challenge...it would be tough to think of a bigger size and power discrepancy between two competitors.  I don't really have a problem with Lars; I imagine it's easy to look at someone as big as him and think "Vince McMahon is gonna love this guy".  (Sure enough, he's already on the fast track to the main roster.)  Gargano has been defined by his partnership and subsequent feud with Tommaso Ciampa; it's led to a level of obsession where he's committed some questionable acts in his pursuit of revenge on The Sicilian Psychopath.  Considering how good of a fan favorite he is, I wonder how feasible it will be to get him back to "good guy" territory again.  I could see Candice being the angel on his shoulder in opposition to Ciampa's devil who finally gets him back to the Light Side of The Force.  They did a really good job of making Gargano out to be a threat to Sullivan, though he had to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the big man to wear him down.  Gargano rallied after Lars missed a swandive headbutt, then countered an attempted Freak Accident(waistlock uranagi) into a DDT before delivering a close-range superkick...for 2 1/2.  Gargano went to the top rope, but Lars shoved the referee into the ropes to knock Gargano off-balance...and that led to a disqualification in 9:36.  Lars continued his assault on Gargano and brought in a chair, but Gargano superkicked Lars and nailed him twice with the chair before the big man retreated.

NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era(Roderick Strong & Kyle O'Reilly) vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch, non-title:  Lorcan & Burch had challenged for the belts at a previous Takeover but fell just short; I'm unclear why they didn't rate a title shot here, but it may have had to do with Lorcan's injury layoff.  While practically every set of Tag Titles in existence seem to function under Freebird Rules(any two of the group can defend), it was the reDRagon pairing of O'Reilly & Bobby Fish who won them the first time.  When Fish was injured, Adam Cole subbed for him until Roderick Strong turned on United Kingdom Champion "The Bruiserweight" Pete Dunne and joined the stable.  From there it was usually Strong & O'Reilly defending until they dropped the belts to Moustache Mountain(Tyler Bate & Trent Seven), but then Strong & O'Reilly quickly regained the belts to OFFICIALLY become the champs.  Lorcan & Burch had a series of matches with each other that led to them becoming a regular team, as their similar looks and brawling styles fit well with each other.  A lot of NXT fans seem to be REALLY pro-Era; on this night, it meant that Lorcan & Burch got a few boos.  These duos work very well together and this was one of my favorite matches of the night...after a whole bunch of close calls, Strong pinned Lorcan in 12:46 after he and O'Reilly hit the legsweep/flying boot combo.

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Nothing...glad there was a water fountain there.  Five bucks for a soda?  I'll pass...

Ricochet vs. Adam Cole for the NXT North American Title:  Cole wanted a one-on-one rematch for the title he lost to Ricochet at Takeover...on television, he only had a triple threat match with Ricochet and Pete Dunne (and Ricochet pinned Dunne to win that).  While the crowd LOVED to sing along with "ADAM COLE BAY-BAY!", the fan support was more even than in the tag match.  After a really good competitive matchup, Ricochet won with a shooting star press in 13:40...most tremendous.

Kairi Sane vs. Lacey Evans for the NXT Women's Title:  Evans has been featured heavily on NXT television, so she was in prime position to challenge for Kairi's title...she also holds a previous win over Kairi.  She worked well as the rulebreaking foil to the flashier style of the champion...my only real nitpick is that I'm not fond of punch finishers like her "Woman's Right".  Call it old-school mentality since closed fists are supposed to be illegal in wrestling, though that's begun to fall by the wayside more and more in recent times.  Lacey has plenty in her arsenal and used it to great effectiveness, but it wasn't quite enough to overcome the titleholder...Kairi retained her pirate treasure after the diving elbowdrop off the top in 8:20.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. "The Velveteen Dream" Patrick Clark for the NXT Title:  This was an interesting choice to headline the show, but Dream was extremely popular at the Family Arena.  While he had been cast as the rulebreaker in his previous feuds, the fans had been entertained by his character and gave him increasingly positive reactions over time.  This was the first program where he was truly and definitively the fan favorite.  If I'm not mistaken, this was the first ever one-on-one matchup between these competitors as well.  The title wasn't likely to change hands, so it was just a matter of how things would play out.  Dream targeted Ciampa's previously-injured knee in the early going, even utilizing the ringpost figure-four.  Later in the bout, the two fought for a suplex until both went tumbling over the top to the floor.  Ciampa got desperate and brought in the title belt, but Dream rolled up him for two, then hit his swinging DDT onto the title belt for a super-close near-fall.  A superkick and rolling Dream Valley Driver earned him another close 2 1/2-count.  The titleholder was able to cut him off and hit the Project Ciampa(powerbomb into backcracker), but it only got 2 1/2!  It went down to the wire, but Ciampa was able to catch Dream stepping through the ropes and hit the hanging DDT to retain in 19:59.  Whew!  Good times.

I saw a few Glory Pro representatives outside the building aftewards with flyers for their upcoming show...hey, the New World Order!  At any rate, fun evening...

The rest of the year looks like this:
-Saturday 12/15: Dynamo Pro in St. Louis, MO(FUBAR); Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Sunday 12/16: Pro Wrestling Force in Springfield, IL
-Saturday 12/22: Dynamo Pro in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners Gym)

That's my special comment for this, the sixty-second wrestling show I've attended in the year 2018.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.

Friday, December 14, 2018

Show results

Thursday Journey Pro Wrestling results from Kansas City, KS:

-Fuego Del Sol d. Jay Ballard.
-Jaysin Strife d. Devin Thomas.
-Gary Jay d. Kevin Ku.
-Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez won a triple threat match with Stephen Wolf and Logan Riegel.
-Rasheed Ali vs. Mighty Micah vs. Dallas Cayde vs. Kenny Alfonso ended in a no-contest.
-Dak Draper d. Niles Plonk.
-Ricky Starks d. Jake Parnell.
-The Besties In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) d. The Left Coast Guerrillas(Hoodie & Anaya).
-Jeremy Wyatt d. Matt Cross in a pure-wrestling-rules match to retain the Gateway Heritage Title.

Friday ROH results from Manhattan, NY:

-Kenny King d. Eli Isom.
-Jeff Cobb d. “Hangman” Adam Page to retain the T.V. Title.
-Kelly Klein won a four-corner match with Madison Rayne, Karen Q, and Sumie Sakai(C) to win the Women Of Honor Title.
-Zack Sabre Jr. d. Jonathan Gresham.
-Six-Man Tag Team Co-Champion Matt Taven d. Dalton Castle.
-Marty Scurll d. Christopher Daniels.
-Flip Gordon d. Bully Ray in an I Quit Match.
-Jay Lethal d. Cody Rhodes to retain the Heavyweight Title.
-The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) won a three-way ladder match with Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky(C) and The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) to win the Tag Team Titles.

Saturday SICW results from East Carondelet, IL(credit to Ben Simon):

-Bobby D d. Tony Raze via sunset flip (4:02).
-"Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent d. "The Canadian Boss" Trystan Brady Shadeux with the Death Valley Driver (6:00).
-Guerrilla Warfare(The Big Texan & Waco) d. "Killer" Keith Smith & "The Pain Train" P.T. Beckham; Waco pinned Smith after Texan broke up a figure-four leglock with a diving headbutt (12:07).
-"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson, Moondog Rover, & Khayman(w/ Abigail) d. The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby) & "The Mountain Man" Jake Prater when Jackson rolled up Prater (8:56).
-Gil Rogers d. "The Heartthrob" Jaden Roller by DQ when Roller threw Rogers over the top rope (12:13).
-"The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz, Flash Flanagan, "Ironman" Ken Kasa, & Billy McNeil d. Classic Champion "Superstar" Steve Fender, King Christopher Hargas, Rob Kowalski, & Attila Khan in an elimination tag cage match.  Eliminations:  Hargas p. Kasa after a powerbomb into the cage followed by a powerbomb to the mat (10:10).  Cruz made Khan tap out to an Indian Deathlock (13:51).  McNeil p. Hargas after kicking off the cage to counter an F-5 and delivering a DDT, then jumping off the top of the cage with an elbowdrop to Hargas' back (19:15).  Kowalski p. McNeil after a sitout Tombstone (19:58).  Fender p. Cruz after mule-kicking his way out of a sleeper and delivering a running boot to the face (23:08).  Flanagan p. Kowalski after Kowalski missed a top-rope splash and Flanagan ran him into Fender (27:14).  Flanagan p. Fender via Oklahoma roll after Fender missed a swandive headbutt (28:06).
-Flash Flanagan d. Travis Cook in a cage match with a figure-four leglock (3:06).

Saturday Ringside Championship Wrestling results from Ft. Leonard Wood, MO:

-Kenny Alfonso won a triple threat match with The Iceman and "The Wrestler For The People" Rex Fults.
-Miss Monica Passeri d. Camron Bra'Nae.
-Kyle Roberts d. "The Legacy" Leland Race.
-"The" Ace Hawkins d. "K.B. Violence" Karim Brigante to win the MWR Missouri Title.
-MWR Missouri Champion "The" Ace Hawkins & Camron Bra'Nae d. "K.B. Violence" Karim Brigante & Miss Monica Passeri.

Saturday SHINE results from New York, NY:

-Shotzi Blackheart d. Christina Marie.
-Willow Nightingale & Allie Recks d. Brandi Lauren & Jenna Van Muscles.
-Priscilla Kelly won a handicap match against Luscious Latasha & Gabby Gilbert.
-Kiera Hogan d. Aerial Monroe.
-Aja Perera d. Dementia D'Rose to retain the Nova Title.
-Mercedes Martinez d. Kimber Lee.
-Allysin Kay d. Su Yung to retain the SHINE Title.

Saturday ROH results from Philadelphia, PA:

-The Bouncers("Beer City Bruiser" Matt Winchester & Brian Milonas) d. The Sons Of Savagery(Bishop Khan & Malcolm Moses).
-T.V. Champion Jeff Cobb d. Luchasaurus in a non-title match.
-Sumie Sakai & Jenny Rose d. The Twisted Sisterz(Holidead & Thunder Rosa).
-Kelly Klein d. Nikki Adams to retain the Women Of Honor Title.
-Dalton Castle won a four-corner match with Flip Gordon, Marty Scurll, and Chris Sabin.
-Zack Sabre Jr. d. Tracy Williams.
-Madison Rayne & Britt Baker d. The Twisted Sisterz(Holidead & Thunder Rosa).
-Tag Team Champions The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) d. Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky(non-title).
-Eli Isom d. Facade.
-Rush d. Six-Man Tag Team Co-Champion T.K. O'Ryan.
-Juice Robinson d. P.J. Black by DQ.
-Shane Taylor d. Mike Law.
-SIlas Young d. "Beer City Bruiser" Matt Winchester in a no-DQ match.
-Villain Enterprises(Marty Scurll, Pierre Carl Ouellet, & Brody King) d. Cheeseburger, Eli Isom, & Ryan Nova.
-Heavyweight Champion Jay Lethal, Flip Gordon, & The Best Friends(Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) d. Cody Rhodes, "Hangman" Adam Page, & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson).

Saturday EVOLVE results from Queens, NY:

-Harlem Bravado d. Joe Bailey.
-Bishop Raphael King d. Joe Gacy.
-Josh Briggs d. Leon Ruff.
-A.R. Fox d. Curt Stallion.
-Kassius Ohno d. Darby Allin.
-The Street Profits(Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) fought The Work Horsemen(WWN Champion James D. Drake & Anthony Henry) to a no-contest to retain the Tag Team Titles; Drake's title was also on the line if he was pinned/made to submit.
-Austin Theory won a triple threat match with Roderick Strong and Fabian Aichner(C) to win the EVOLVE Title.

Sunday EVOLVE results from Deer Park, NY:

-Joe Gacy d. Joe Bailey.
-Curt Stallion won a four-corner match with Anthony Greene, Bishop Raphael King, and Colby Corino.
-Priscilla Kelly d. Shotzi Blackheart.
-James D. Drake fought Eddie Kingston to a no-contest to retain the WWN Title.
-The Street Profits(Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) d. EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory & Harlem Bravado to retain the Tag Team Titles.
-Josh Briggs d. Adrian Alanis.
-A.R. Fox d. Leon Ruff.
-Roderick Strong d. Darby Allin.
-Kassius Ohno d. Anthony Henry.


Sunday ACW results from Austin, TX:


-Johnny Axxle d. Dyl Dempsey.
-D.G. Taylor d. Frisco Flame to retain the U-30 Title.
-Smurf & Turf(J.C. Bravo & Junior Garza) won a three-way dance with The Buddy System(C.T. Jones & Danny Burroughs) and Prince Adam Lee & Marc Champion.
-Ethan Price d. Mr. B to retain the T.V. Title.
-Steve O. Reno d. Zac Taylor.
-Sky DeLacrimosa won a five-way elimination Deathmatch with Angel Blue, Dimitri Alexandrov, Thomas Munoz, and Insidious One.
-Jeff Gant d. Tag Team Champion A.C.H.
-Tag Team Champion Kody Lane d. Jazzy J. Serious(Jojo Bravo).
-Gregory James d. Jason Silver in a last-man-standing match to retain the Heavyweight Title.