I did a column for Missouri Wrestling Revival on the history of the Circus Maximus event...unfortunately, lineup changes seem to be a part of its lore as well. Samoa Joe vs. Dorian Victor was scheduled for Circus Maximus 2007 but Joe had to cancel(I forget if it was a travel issue or a TNA contractual thing); the match was rescheduled for later in the year. The 2006 event had to be reorganized entirely due to Missouri licensing headaches.
Gerald James' 10,000 Thumbtacks Match was originally scheduled to be against Rachel Summerlyn(sidelined with a neck injury). Khris Wolfe was set up for the match but he was absent on Friday for unknown reasons. Adam Raw had already wrestled Jordan Lacey, but he accepted James' open challenge for the match. The two are no strangers to each other as James(then known as Gary The Barnowl) upset Raw for the LWA Heavyweight Title at Yuletide Terror 2006, sparking an intense rivalry between the two.
On top of that, a few last-minute changes had to be made. Tadarius Thomas was injured at the previous weekend's Ring Of Honor events. T.J. Perkins was booked for the weekend's TNA Impact tapings, having recently been revealed as the man behind the Suicide mask...Jonathan Gresham had a scheduling conflict as well. Thomas and Gresham's scheduled opponents(Jojo Bravo and Arik Cannon, respectively) faced each other in a rematch from the previous SLA show while Vega(already set for an unsanctioned fight with K.C. Karrington) stepped up to face his recent tag partner A.C.H. in Perkins' place.
In a more understated card change, the scheduled six-way match was changed to two separate bouts due to Darin Childs' absence: Dean vs. Shire and McNeil vs. Alex vs. Solo.
Vega set up the brawl with Karrington as a fans-bring-the-weapons affair, something that has always resulted in some unique implements of destruction. It looked like Vega had some sort of object attached to his attire when he delivered the finishing move on Karrington...I don't recall if there were any opening or closing bells, but they did announce Vega as the winner.
The Jordan Lacey-Brandon Espinosa issue seemed to surface out of nowhere...
Raw teased a sumo showdown with Lacey but couldn't knock him off his feet, so he called out Jojo Bravo to give it a shot...and Bravo succeeded in knocking the big man down. I think the laws of physics broke at that moment in time...heh.
The fans weren't sure who to support in the Darren Dean-Thomas Shire matchup...then Shire Cheated To Win(tm) and only then was it clear.
Alex The Big Owl appeared to hurt his knee during his entrance...I think he slipped on a wet spot on the floor. He stayed outside the ring for most of the three-way dance and picked up the pieces after Aaron Solo eliminated Billy McNeil.
Arik Cannon vs. Jojo Bravo turned into a makeshift drinking game...the fans took a drink whenever a competitor's back touched the mat, then everyone chugged their beverage for each two-minute interval. Good way to drum up sales for the bar, I suppose. :-D
Davey Richards & Kyle O'Reilly had done the "Team Ambitchin'" schtick at other shows in the past, but this was the first time I had seen it. It was...perversely entertaining. Had to appreciate the Bill & Ted reference in the pre-match promo...bwahahaha.
Odd choose-your-stipulation scenario: Does Mat Fitchett challenge for the ACW Heavyweight Title or does he get his ex-manager in the ring in the event of a victory? Gelistico holds SLA wins over names like Michael Elgin, Arik Cannon, Akira Tozawa, T.J. Perkins, and Shane Hollister...so this was a pretty huge win for Fitchett.
It was odd that former champion Dan Walsh was left off the card...and he expressed those feelings in no uncertain terms.
Vega had already competed earlier in the night, so that probably made the difference in his match with A.C.H. Not sure if I heard it right, but it sounds like they're doing a best-of-three series between these two.
As mentioned, Gerald James and Adam Raw had quite the violent past and they had another war on Friday. Both were left bloody, James splashed Raw through a table, and both guys hit the thumbtacks. James got the win, but what's next for him?
Just like that, we're halfway through 2013...wow. Here's July as it stands right now:
Friday 7/12: DPW in Glen Carbon
Saturday 7/13: MMWA in St. Louis
Saturday 7/20: SICW in East Carondelet
Friday 7/26: FIST in Sauget
As always: #yaywrestling
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