The YMCA was literally across the street from the River's Edge building where other organizations had done shows in the past, so it wasn't hard to find. They fit a lot of people into a relatively small room, so thumbs-up on the promotional side of things. That's a good turnout for a new organization's first show(announced as 110), as well as the first wrestling show of any kind in that building.
A few lineup changes took place en route to the show. I believe the original main event was Makaze vs. Davey Vega; that changed to Makaze vs. Danny Cannon and finally to Makaze vs. Jeremy Wyatt. (Vega was booked for AAW.) Ricky Starks vs. Jordynne Grace was announced, then changed to Grace vs. Angelus Layne. Layne was injured at IWA Mid-South so they changed the "free agent showcase" into a triple threat and a tag match. Evan Gelistico cancelled and was replaced by Alex Castle as Pierre's tag partner. As for last-minute changes: Billy McNeil had a family emergency, Jordan Lacey cancelled(not sure why), and Christian Rose was at Proving Ground Pro that night.
I've been told in the past that people don't go to wrestling shows to think...but PWCS has the unique concept of a "team-based" product. Wrestlers are associated with stables and earn points for their groups, leading up to an elimination tag "finale" at the end of the year between the top two point-getters. They helpfully had a scoreboard at the show to keep track of the wins and losses...I do appreciate when the match results get emphasis.
Your ring announcer was Luke Roberts; your referees were Eric Davis, Keith Smith Jr., and Patrick Hook.
Bolt Brady(Resurgence) vs. Brandon Espinosa(Ego Busters)(w/ Greg Jovi): Jovi did the cheap heat promo to start, saying he'd speak slowly since he knows how the Granite City school system works. He simply said that he had lied about Jordan Lacey being on his team, then Espinosa attacked Brady from behind to kick-start the matchup. Brady was the clear fan favorite in this one, but Espinosa won clean with the jumping DDT in 5:04. (Ego Busters 1-0, Resurgence 0-1)
Rocket Mapache vs. Ace Hawkins vs. Dangerous Deveroux, free agent showcase: I know nothing about the new masked man Deveroux. Mapache was the lone fan favorite and he was OVAH with the predominantly younger audience. I wasn't in a good position to see if any shenanigans were afoot in the deciding pinfall; Deveroux pinned Mapache with an O'Connor Roll in 7:35.
Outtkast(Blacklist) vs. Pierre Abernathy & Alex Castle(Team Anarchy): Outtkast was scheduled to team with Christian Rose; he said Rose was running late and he would fight both men by himself. Pierre doesn't wrestle in this area very often; he's normally handling behind-the-scenes matters at St. Louis Anarchy. "WHO WANTS TO SEE A MOONSAULT?" (simply stomps on downed opponent) Pierre and Castle have plenty of tag team experience with other partners, but Outtkast took advantage of a miscue to crucifix Castle for the flash pin in 4:32. (Blacklist 1-0, Team Anarchy 0-1)
Steven Kennedy(Resurgence 0-1) vs. Gary Jay(Ego Busters 1-0)(w/ Greg Jovi): This was one of the most hyped matches on the card and got the most time other than the main event. They brawled outside the ring at one point, though there wasn't much room for that sort of thing. I astutely noted that the scoreboard had no spot for draw finishes, so a double countout was unlikely. Lots of big moves for near-falls in this one; Jovi distracted the ref when Kennedy had a definite pin after the Assassinaton. Kennedy chased him around the ring and through the ropes where Gary caught him with an O'Connor Roll for the pin in 14:08. Second O'Connor Roll finish of the night, yes. (Ego Busters 2-0, Resurgence 0-2)
Brady A. Dezire & J.J. Garrett vs. Mad Dog McDowell & Barackus, free agent showcase: Hadn't seen Dezire or Garrett before; had seen their names on results from Iowa indies like 3XW. McDowell hadn't wrestled in this area since the MECW days and this was my first time seeing him in the rulebreaker role. Garrett took a ton of punishment; Dezire got the tag but made the crucial mistake of tagging J.J. back into the match for the finish. J.J. got planted with a double spinebuster and Barackus got the pin in 6:27.
Mat Fitchett(Team Anarchy 0-1) vs. Jojo Bravo(Blacklist 1-0): Makaze and Outtkast accompanied Jojo to ringside but left before the opening bell. While the fan favorite/rulebreaker alignments of the other teams are fairly clear, this was a battle of fan favorites despite the rest of Team Anarchy being rulebreakers. Strong matchup, as expected; Fitchett took the win after a sunset bomb off the turnbuckles followed by the cradle piledriver in a time of 12:38, putting Anarchy on the board. (Team Anarchy 1-1, Blacklist 1-1)
Rocket Mapache(Resurgence 0-2) vs. Dan Walsh(Ego Busters 2-0)(w/ Greg Jovi): Kennedy brought out Mapache as a substitute for Billy McNeil, saying he had impressed him in his earlier match. Mapache is doing a good job with his unique character by working in comedy spots...hey, distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack. These two may have crossed paths in a past life; I'm not positive. At any rate, Walsh got the win with the cobra clutch slam in 6:15. (Ego Busters 3-0, Resurgence 0-3)
Makaze(Blacklist 1-1) vs. Jeremy Wyatt(Team Anarchy 1-1): Hadn't seen Makaze since his abrupt departure from Dynamo Pro Wrestling. It looks like Fitchett is the lone fan favorite member of Team Anarchy as the other three are clearly rulebreakers in PWCS. The finish came out of nowhere as Makaze caught Wyatt with a blizzard suplex(Northern Lights suplex with a leg-hook a la Perfectplex) for the win in 19:59(!). Wyatt feigned sportsmanship after the match only to sucker Makaze into a cheapshot; that brought out members of the Ego Busters team to join in the attack until the other Blacklist members made the save. (Blacklist 2-1, Team Anarchy 1-2)
Current standings: Ego Busters 3-0, Blacklist 2-1, Team Anarchy 1-2, Resurgence 0-3. The next event was announced as being on Saturday, August 9th(same venue).
I guess I'm fortunate to live in an area where the in-ring quality is generally good. Your mileage may vary on a few aspects, but I'm generally cool with the matches I see around here. I'm a big advocate of making one's own judgements in that regard...different people like different things out of their wrestling products. Also, I watch a little bit of everything and may admittedly be "burned out" to a degree, so my viewpoint may not necessariy be the best...
Next weekend, Ring Of Honor will be in the area with a Friday show in Carbondale and a Saturday show in Collinsville. Saturday the 14th will have Dynamo in Fenton and MMWA at South Broadway. Thatt will be a busy weekend as WLW has a show in Green Ridge, MO and Metro Pro has their reunion show in Kansas City; talent may be spread thin, depending on who works where. Saturday the 21st has SICW in East Carondelet with Ted DiBiase appearing; DiBiase has been getting the "special guest" emphasis for the show, leading me to wonder about Bobby Heenan's status for the event. Also, NWA:CSCW has a show in Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Saturday the 28th has Dynamo in Glen Carbon and WLW in Troy, MO.
Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
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