WLW Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Wednesday's World League Wrestling show at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds in Troy, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

WLW held matches on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of the Lincoln County Fair.  Since the event was held outdoors, I passed on Tuesday due to the heat wave in the area...but I wanted to attend at least one of the two WLW outings.  With a more reasonable evening forecast in the cards, I picked up Ben Simon for our trip to the good ol' county fair last night.  The previous night only had four matches so I was expecting a shorter show.  According to Ben, Tuesday had some interesting character notes:  Mike Outlaw worked heel by default against Brandon Espinosa and Jon Webb worked heel against Justin D'Air.

For whatever reason, the admission price was higher on Wednesday than on Tuesday...okay then.  I didn't partake in much of the fair atmosphere, though they had some classic arcade games under a tent.  Wow, Defender and Centipede!  Though they scrapped all of those machines for the war effort.  Brian Kelley of Missouri Wrestling Revival(*thumbs up, cheap plug*) was particularly interested in sampling the local cuisine, i.e. funnel cake.

Due to the setup, there were several awkward lapses between matches and ring entrances...everyone came and went in golf carts, including Harley Race.  Saw Michael Magnuson and Women's Champion Stacey O'Brien in attendance but they didn't wrestle.

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

Brandon "Espy" Espinosa vs. Jon Webb:  Espinosa's nickname remains semi-redundant.  Webb worked heel again so maybe that's gonna stick...perhaps a balance in effect with the Black Hand Warriors trending faceward.  Espinosa really turns up the androgynous schtick in WLW, which is interesting for a fan favorite character.  (Hey, we don't judge.)  He kissed Webb's hand after the opening handshake and kept wanting to lay a more direct kiss on his flustered opponent...at least one fan was particularly vocal against these actions.  I didn't see if it was the guy in the "Redneck Lives Matter" T-shirt with the Confederate flag on it...sorry, I promised myself I wouldn't get political on here.  #equalrightsforconfederosexuals  Anywho, the match was fun while it lasted...Espinosa finally got his Greco-Roman liplock and then small-packaged Webb for the pin in 5:39.

Mike Outlaw vs. "The Ego" Dustin Bozworth vs. John E. Rock:  Rock seemed to be a heel on this night; he played his theme music into Thompson's microphone for an overly long period of time.  Weird Al Yankovic should be used for good, not for evil.  That left Outlaw as the lone fan favorite against two heels (since the guy nicknamed "Ego" was probably not goint to be a humble hero of the people).  Outlaw had made his WLW debut at the previous night's show and was the clear underdog, though he hit a major somersault plancha in the early going.  Rock hit a swinging uranagi into a DDT on Bozworth, but Outlaw broke up the pin with the High Noon(top-rope elbowdrop); that allowed Outlaw to cover Rock for the pin in 6:06.

Justin D'Air & "Kickin'" Kyle Roberts vs. Heavyweight Champion "The Legacy" Leland Race & Trevor Murdoch:  Murdoch's appearance was a nice surprise.  Roberts made his return from injury on the Tuesday show; he had suffered a broken collarbone in the Tag Team Title tournament match in which he and D'Air upset Superstar Steve Fender & Dangerous Derek McQuinn.  Now that Fender & McQuinn are the champs, perhaps D'Air & Roberts will be in line for a title shot...we shall see.  This was my first time seeing Roberts at a show, though I had seen a few of his matches on YouTube.  Race & Murdoch worked as heels for the night and attacked their less-experienced opponents before the opening bell.  Roberts was isolated for most of it, but D'Air got the hot tag and cleaned house.  Wonder if D'Air thought a year or so ago that he'd be in the ring with Trevor Murdoch?  D'Air tried to set up Murdoch for the 450 Splash, but Race fought off Roberts and shoved D'Air off the top rope.  Murdoch wrapped him up in a pinning combination(with feet on the ropes for good measure) and got the three-count in 10:45.  After the match, Murdoch bad-mouthed Harley at ringside and got a fist in the face for his efforts, leaving him flat on his back momentarily...even today, you don't mess with Harley Race.

Thus ended a relatively brief wrestling event...my previous shortest shows were the power outage-shortened Dynamo show in Glen Carbon several years ago and the St. Louis Anarchy benefit in East Alton, both of which only had four matches.  Had a brief chat with Harley after the show...just regular small talk, mentioned my association with MWR and all that.  Seriously, what does a person say to Harley Race?

No plans to go to WWE Battleground in St. Louis on Sunday...card looks decent enough, but I'll probably work my way back to attending WWE live events in the near future.  Honestly, I'd rather watch from the comfort(?) of my own home instead of spending extra money on ticket and parking/Metrolink, then being crammed into a cheap seat next to people I don't know.

The rest of July looks like this:
-Saturday 7/18:  Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 7/25:  Gateway Elite Wrestling in Lake Ozark, MO; World Powerhouse Wrestling in Collinsville, IL
-Sunday 7/26:  High Risk Wrestling in Cahokia, IL

Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

P.S. We are all marks.