WLW Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's World League Wrestling show at the Race Wrestling Arena in Troy, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

It's been noted that these commentaries are essentially recaps, rather than opinion pieces.  I'm at the point where I just don't feel like arguing with people about these things.  Quality is usually in the eye of the beholder...or, more importantly, the customer/consumer.  I've enjoyed things that had the rest of the audience sitting on its hands; conversely, I've rolled my eyes at things that the rest of the audience loved.  It's a business; if you're making money and the fans are having a good time, then that's what counts.  I'll throw out opinions every once in a while, but they're the perspective of a jaded and cynical fan who may or may not be seen as one of the dreaded "smart marks".  Grain of salt and all that.

My journey to Troy was less eventful than the one in February, particularly since I knew which exit to take.  I declined an I-70 exit sign's invitation to sightsee in "Historic Downtown Ferguson", given the fact that the area is currently historic for different reasons than the sign intended to reference.  They had a strong turnout for the one-year anniversary of their training center's move from Eldon to this neck of the woods.  Despite the more traditional product, certain rulebreakers like the Black Hand Warriors seem to have their share of fan support...more on that later.

Conspicuous by their absences were Elvis Aliaga(also not on the previous WLW show I attended) and Jayden Fenix.  Women's Champion Stacey O'Brien was in attendance but didn't wrestle(same as in February); finding female wrestlers is a tough prospect by itself, but finding female wrestlers who are licensed in Missouri is an even taller order.  Newcomer Jay Howard was scheduled to wrestle but I didn't see him in the building.

Your ring announcer was Brian Thompson; your referee was Richard White.

Air Raid vs. Michael Magnuson:  Air Raid is a masked gentleman who strikes me as a slightly more successful Super Castaldi.  Magnuson has been getting the singles push while Dave DeLorean has moved to teaming with Fenix.  The outcome seemed inevitable, but instead Magnuson stomped down Air Raid at the bell and shoved away the referee when he tried to intervene...triggering a quickie DQ in 13 seconds.  Magnuson delivered a post-match TKO and continued the assault until Justin D'Air hit the ring to confront him...Magnuson decided he was just leaving.

John E. Rock vs. Evan "Money" Morris:  Morris hadn't used the "Money" nickname in a while; he had recently been announced as "Young & Dangerous" Evan Morris.  (His gear and T-shirts have "E2M" on it from that time period.)  Before this could get started, Dustin Bozworth interrupted to extol his own virtues(including that appearance on Steve Austin's Broken Skull Ranch show) and insert himself into the matchup.  The original scheduled match was Morris vs. Bozworth, but was changed to this...

John E. Rock vs. Evan "Money" Morris vs. "The Ego" Dustin Bozworth:  This was a really fun triple threat match...Bozworth stalled outside the ring at first, then got in for a few big power moves.  Those included a double German suplex spot and also delivering a Samoan Drop on both guys at once.  The end came when Rock rolled up Bozworth out of nowhere at 7:00...slight surprise in that outcome.

Intermission numero uno...got a slice of pizza.  My beverage intake for the night was a Powerade, a can of Mountain Dew, and (when the soda went down the wrong way for whatever reason), a bottle of water.  I'm sure you're interested.

Brandon Espinosa vs. Dave DeLorean:  I need a scorecard to keep track of Espinosa's schtick from promotion to promotion.  In WLW, he's a fan favorite who does the effeminate schtick(similiar to St. Louis Anarchy).  Given his history in the area, Espy would have been the favorite in any other promotion; however, this was DeLorean's home turf.  They had a really good matchup here; Espinosa nearly plowed over the guardrail with his suicide dive at one point.  DeLorean picked up the hard-fought victory after a Tombstone in 13:56...the two Hugged It Out(tm) afterwards, but they were attacked by Superstar Steve Fender & Dangerous Derek McQuinn.  Fender & McQuinn griped about the level of competition and said that the new group on the block(Black Hand Warriors) didn't seem so tough...so will the Warriors be the lesser of two evils in that situation or become full-fledged fan favorites?  Hmm...

Justin D'Air vs. Michael Magnuson:  Wonder who D'Air was scheduled to face if Magnuson didn't accept this challenge?  At any rate, he had another impressive showing and really got the fans behind him as the match progressed.  Everything in-ring was really good on this night (depending on how you count the quickie opener).  D'Air nearly won with a blind cross-bodyblock off the top rope, but Magnuson rolled through and held the tights for the win in 10:54.  HEEL~!

Intermission numero dos.  Water fountain proved to be non-operational, thus my multiple trips to the concession stand.

Heavyweight Champion "The Legacy" Leland Race & Trevor Murdoch vs. Superstar Steve Fender & Dangerous Derek McQuinn, no-DQ match:  The heel duo was billed as "The Team Formerly Known As The Gold Exchange", referencing the days when Johnny Gold managed most of the rulebreakers on the roster.  This had more of a street fight theme as everyone came out in everyday clothing...Fender comically equipped himself with a baseball catcher's chest protector and helmet with mask.  This was a great brawl as they fought all over the ringside area.  Murdoch made a particular point to destroy the timekeeper's table, despite the fact that it was made of plastic/metal and wouldn't completely break.  Brian Thompson made a point of noting that Fender has Money In The Bank privileges from his Harley Race Invitational Tournament win, making me wonder if he would cash in on this night regardless of the tag match result.  A lot of foreign objects came into play, including multiple chairs...a few whippings were handed out courtesy of a leather belt.  A miscommunication led to the finish as Murdoch accidentally hit Race with a chain when Fender ducked out of the way.  Derek took out Murdoch with a chair and Fender pinned Trevor after a swandive headbutt off the top rope (wearing the catcher's helmet and mask for extra impact) in 13:14.  No dissension on the side of the fan favorites...they just shrugged it off and that was that.  More on everything as it develops...

I hadn't made it to WLW before this year, but I've attended two events in 2015 and I should make it to the Troy show in June...woo.  There's a lot of hype for the upcoming training camp with Ric Flair as the scheduled special guest...that should be interesting.

More on the weekend in the next edition...good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

P.S. We are all marks.