Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling show at the Community Center in East Carondelet, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
The weather forecast wasn't looking too sunny heading into the weekend. Fortunately, the worst of it didn't hit the Metro East as it was 40 degrees and clear for most of Saturday. Unfortunately, it did affect the status of the special guest as James J. Dillon's flight was cancelled due to weather issues. Promoter Herb Simmons posted the info on his Facebook that afternoon...I appreciate his honesty in that regard. (He did the same thing with Marty Jannetty's no-show.) The attendance was a bit lower than usual but filled out to be a decent crowd.
Your ring announcer was Drew Abbenhaus; your referees were Denny Thomas & Terry Riley.
Morgan sang the National Anthem again...good job.
Herb Simmons started the show by letting the fans know about J.J. Dillon's absence, offering refunds to anyone who wanted them. I didn't see any takers.
"The Don Mega" Shorty Biggs vs. "Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner: I wanted to make the joke about how one of these guys might just win a match, but it would have been ill-timed since Gunner won in January (beating Keith Smith Jr.). Fine opener for what it was; the referee caught Gunner trying to use the ropes for illegal leverage at one point. Shorty went on to win via clean rollup in 10:05...it was a popular finish for the night, as you'll see.
Keith Smith Jr. vs. Waco: This was Keith Jr.'s second singles match after losing his one-on-one debut against Gunner. Keith has definitely been emulating his father's style with the technical game and the chops. However, shenanigans led to the finish as Waco won with a rollup(second of the night) and a pull of the tights right in the TV camera's view...have fun editing that, guys. Anywho, the masked man walked away with the cheap win in 6:12...this was the second time Keith Jr. had fallen victim to underhanded tactics. Will that sway his sense of fair play in the near future?
"Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent vs. "Ironman" Ken Kasa(w/ Travis Cook): Don't think these guys had crossed paths since the GCW days...back then it would have been "Slim Sexy" vs. Ian Storm and the face/heel roles would have been reversed. Vincent hasn't been taking it easy since his return as he's had a few lengthy matches, including the time-limit draw with Brandon Espinosa. I thought they had a pretty good matchup here; Travis got in a cheapshot with his cane behind the referee's back, allowing Kasa to get the screwy victory in 12:28.
Cue intermission~! Side note: Espy worked the Ring Of Honor show in Georgia this past weekend; he was one of the notable absences from the SICW card, others being Daniel Eads and Ax Allwardt.
Ron Powers vs. Bubba Troll: Didn't expect a technical classic here, obviously. Powers seemed to play by his own rules as he destroyed Troll with a chair outside the ring...this was in full view of the referee without a disqualification being called. Not a big deal, just a question of consistent officiating (especially after his match with Attila Khan last month). Powers finished the job in short order after that beatdown, winning with a legdrop off the second rope in 3:44.
Big Jim Hoffarth vs. "The Icon" Chris Hargas(w/ Travis Cook): We got a double surprise here...not just Hargas' return to action after a long layoff, but also his new alignment with the Travis Cook Organization. He's a soft-spoken guy, so having a mouthpiece will probably do him some good. I wasn't sure how this one would turn out, but Hargas won via rollup(number three on the night) with feet on the ropes for illegal leverage in 5:12.
"The Old School Warrior" Chaz Wesson vs. "Wildchild" Curtis Wylde(w/ Wyldefyre): The effects of Wesson's chops were somewhat blunted by Wylde's shirt. Wyldefyre wasn't shy about getting involved on more than one occasion. The ending was oddly weak as she got into the ring to bodily shield her man from Wesson's chops...that somehow drew a DQ in 8:51 despite no contact being made with Wylde's opponent. Chaz got his hands on Wyldefyre and threatened to hit her, but settled for a quick swat on the backside to send her on her way. I suspect that issue isn't settled.
Cue intermission numero dos. Side note: I was made aware that Jayden Fenix(the new third member of the Black Hand Warriors) is the artist known as Jamell Harris in World League Wrestling.
Flash Flanagan vs. "Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson(w/ Big Daddy) for the Classic Title: This was announced as Gary's last shot at the title...they didn't specify if it was his last shot at Flash or his last shot at the belt, period. It seemed like an odd stipulation considering this was his first match against Flanagan while Flash was champion; if Flash had screwed him over previously and refused to grant him a rematch until Gary made that concession, then it might have been a bit more logical. They had crossed paths a few times in tag matches and traded pinfall victories, but I'm pretty sure this was their first one-on-one encounter. Gary brought out the GLADIATOR HELMET~! for the big occasion...only Gary could get away with some of the ring attire choices that Gary makes, and I mean that in the best possible way. Solid bout between these two, as expected...Flanagan couldn't put Gary away so he went for his kendo stick. Big Daddy protested and drew the champion's attention, giving Jackson the opening to roll up Flanagan for the three-count(fourth rollup of the night) and win the Classic Title in 13:02!
A big celebration ensued as the face locker room emptied to congratulate the new titleholder...it had been a little while since Gary had held a championship(his last being the MMWA Heavyweight Title). Gary reminded us of THE RULES~! before taking his leave...Flash blew his top and refused to leave the ring until Herb called some of East Carondelet's finest law enforcement officers to ringside to escort him to the exit.
Red River Jack(w/ Big Daddy) vs. Attila Khan(w/ Travis Cook): Interesting choice of a main event...the title match hasn't gone on last in the past few shows. This was another match that I didn't expect to go long or be a high-flying affair...Khan played hide-the-international-object for most of it. Having learned a bit about Khan's past, I have to tip my Wayne's World cap in respect to how completely the man reinvented himself. Jack hit his Double-R-J(Diamond Cutter) finisher but Kasa & Hargas manhandled Big Daddy at ringside and handcuffed him to the ringpost, then rushed the ring for the DQ in about 3:32. (Drew admittedly didn't get the precise time, but that sounds about right.) The heels choked out RRJ with a rope and held him against the ropes, leading to Travis calling out "The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz for the honor of unmasking the man they believe to be Ron Powers. Ricky nearly got the mask completely off...but then turned around and attacked Kasa and Hargas! What's Spanish for "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a face turn"? Ricky even got in a shot on Travis before the heels took their leave...
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The weather affected other parts of the wrestling world this weekend...World League Wrestling cancelled their show in Troy, MO due to ice on their parking lot. The show was put off until next Friday...so I may finally be able to attend a WLW show. Woo.
World Powerhouse Wrestling had their second show on Saturday in Collinsville, IL. The event raised a bit of a firestorm on my Facebook page over the potential quality of the show...I should probably leave it at that. I wasn't there so I can't personally judge, but I'll try to watch whatever video of the event that I can find. Comments are anonymous on my blogs, so chime in if you wish. It sounds like they had a decent enough attendance number.
Next few weeks look like this:
-Friday 2/27: WLW in Troy, MO
-Saturday 3/7: Dynamo in Fenton, MO; PWE in Pontoon Beach, IL
-Saturday 3/14: PWCS in Granite City, IL; MMWA in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 3/21: SICW in East Carondelet, IL (Nikolai Volkoff appearing)
Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
P.S. We are all marks.
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