WPW Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's World Powerhouse Wrestling show at the VFW Hall in Collinsville, Illinois...wait, what?...

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

In the early 2000s, Midwest Powerhouse Wrestling(promoted by Chris Powell) was one of the better-known promotions in the St. Louis area.  Shortly after closing down in late 2005, Full Throttle Wrestling was formed with most of the same players.  That promotion lasted a few years before shutting down and a lot of those guys dropped off my radar; I'm told some of them worked for central/southern Illinois promotions like HCW.  In January, World Powerhouse Wrestling(promoted by Chuck Maddox) had their first show with a similar core roster along with some newer faces.

MPW had a working relationship with Gateway Championship Wrestling for a while, but things went south and the promotions threw a lot of verbals jabs at each other (mostly through the commentary on MPW's local-access TV show and GCW's home videos).  I never attended an MPW show but watched their TV; I went to a handful of FTW shows.  As for WPW, I watched videos on their YouTube channel but this was my first time attending one of their events.

Early this year, I reposted a WPW flyer on Facebook since one of my friends is a fan of one of the wrestlers featured(The Hollywood Stud).  The discussion on the flyer turned into a lot of mudslinging and I let it go for far too long, upsetting some people in the process.  I attempted to push the discussion in a constructive direction, but I was also guilty of tagging a few people who threw gasoline on the fire.  One of the WPW guys contacted me to ask that I take the picture and discussion down; I appreciate him being the cooler head in the situation.  I took down the photo, but not before I was labeled a "troublemaker" and indirectly warned that "words can get you hurt".

I was hesitant to attend a WPW show, mostly due to that particular bit of social media drama.  With the busy schedule of local wrestling, they fell a bit low on my list of priorities; however, the stars aligned on Saturday as the next-nearest show was halfway across Missouri.

I do my best to be fair and diplomatic in these commentaries...though it's to the point that some people say I'm too easy on things that deserve harsher criticism.  I don't go to shows to be a critic, honestly; I go to be a fan and have a good time.  It feels weird when some wrestlers actually ask for my feedback; while I have watched wrestling since 1991, I'm not a wrestler(something that's a big qualifier for some people).  Attempting basic bumps and rope-running in a ring on ONE occasion is the most I've done, and I'll freely admit that I did it "to say that I'd done it".  It gave me an appreciation for how much practice(and soreness) goes into the most basic things that wrestlers do.  No, I'm not athletically gifted enough to do it myself, and yes, I wish I was.

I knew one of the regular area fans in attendance and talked to him for most of the show...I also crossed paths with a high school classmate and her family as they knew one of the wrestlers on the show(Knyght Fyre).  They had a decent fan turnout; the energy level was all over the place.  My friend said it seemed like some fans were into the show more than others, if that makes sense.

Your ring announcer was Chuck Maddox; your referee was only identified as "The Whole Reffin' Show".

The Hellhounds("Hitman" Jake Capone & Juggernaut Jones) vs. The Purple Dragons:  Capone wrestles in central Illinois and also goes by "Justice"; I saw him a few times on Pro Wrestling Collision's YouTube show.  Had never seen the other three guys; the Dragons consisted of one non-masked guy and one guy in a purple Deadpool-looking mask (no idea about their individual names).  Don't know anything about Juggernaut Jones; a quick Google search brings up his name on a central Illinois show by Strictly Nsane Pro Wrestling.  This went surprisingly long for something that looked like a squash at first glance...Jones pinned the non-masked Dragon after a Blackhole Slam by Capone in 12:13(!).

This began the show on a decent note in the category of gear-wearing and wrestling-without-a-shirt.  It's something that people do notice and the knee-jerk first impression of someone who wrestles in regular clothing instead of tights/trunks tends to be "yarder" (regardless of what you can do in the ring).  There are other people saying these things that are more qualified than myself to say them, I suppose.

It was promo time, courtesy of the new incarnation of The Legion:  Damian Blade, Scar, & Uriah Eleazar.  The Legion was a faction in the MPW days that included these three and several others.  Blade(wearing a partial pig mask) did all of the talking for the group; it had been a few months since WPW's previous show in Collinsville, so they were essentially introducing the stable for the benefit of the newer fans.  This included some attempts to scare the younger fans, particularly in the case of the devil-masked Uriah.  Blade reminded everyone that he holds a Money In The Bank-style briefcase (earned in a Royal Rumble-style battle royal at a previous show).  Heavyweight Champion Xavier Frost came out to confront them, saying they could do the scheduled title match right then and there.  However, Chief Executive Officer Scotty Mac(never mentioned by name in the promo; I had to look him up online) came out to say that he'd been reinstated and the title match wouldn't happen until the main-event slot.  However, Scar's scheduled bout would take place right away.

Bio Shock(w/ Chipster) vs. Scar(w/ Damian Blade & Uriah Eleazar), no-DQ match:  This was pushed on the promotion's Facebook page as no-DQ but the stipulation wasn't formally announced, leaving people wondering why the Legion members were interfering in full view of the ref.  I didn't expect this battle of big men to be a technical classic; it was basically a schmozz with all the interference.  Scar won with the Rings Of Saturn as Uriah jabbed him in the head and neck with a chair, leading to the submission in 6:44.

Kyle King vs. Moondog Pongo(w/ Gavin Alexander):  I'm not too clear on whether the Moondog in question is "Pondo" or "Pongo" since I've seen him listed under both names at different times.  I don't think he has any connection to the original Moondogs; he teams with Moondog Bernard elsewhere in Illinois.  King is from the Kansas City area and I saw him at FTW shows; it was odd for him to be in the role of fan favorite here.  Saw Pongo once before at Wrestling Invades America.  This was decent; King got the win in 6:38 after Alexander accidentally hit Moondog with his own bone.

The Unidentified Foreign Objects(Ivan Strokgenovf & Victor Cortez)(w/ Scarlet Wyld) vs. "The Real Deal" Alexander Steele & Knyght Fyre for the Tag Team Titles:  Not sure of the proper spelling of Knyght's name as I've seen it spelled several different ways.  Ivan was the unfortunate source of an incident at a previous WPW show; he suffered an apparent concussion when he landed on his head while being suplexed.  That led to him rolling out to the floor and vomiting at ringside...eep.  Head injuries and especially concussions are a serious thing, as many can attest.  This has been the main feud for the tag belts; Ivan & Cortez defeated Steele & Knyght to become the first champions.  In one of those weird funny wrestling moments, I saw a YouTube video of a previous match where Ivan(billed from Russia) and Cortez(billed from Mexico) encouraged the fans to chant "USA" for support against the rulebreaking duo(both American).  Scarlet is a new valet and is presumably no relation to Curtis Wylde & Wyldefyre.  I'll simply say that my friend was fixated on her for a good portion of the show...heh.  I'm almost positive Cortez wrestled in the FTW days under a different name or names.

The Legion appeared at ringside and chased Scarlet into the ring...but then she turned on Ivan and whacked him with his own kendo stick.  On top of that, Cortez suddenly turned on his partner, dropping him with a superkick.  That led to Steele pinning Ivan for the win and newwwww Tag Team Champions...and The Legion gained two new members.  The fans didn't seem to know what to make of the whole angle.  Thought Steele looked solid from what I saw of him.

Intermission~!  I just had a soda on this night.  The wrestlers were out and about to mingle with the fans and Blade trolled me a bit...I felt a bit weird about interacting with him, given the aforementioned Facebook drama.  (He later assured me that his problem wasn't with me, for what it's worth.)

Sniper vs. Wapo Choncho & Paradox, handicap match:  Sniper is a tall biker-looking dude who was previously aligned with The Searcher; Searcher and Christian Haze were both said to be injured at the hands of The Legion and were not at the show.  This was a quick squash, as expected; a clotheline put Paradox down on the mat and a chokeslam dropped Wapo right next to his partner.  Sniper laid across both for the pin in 0:51, casually pulling a Gatorade bottle out of his pocket for a drink as the three-count was made.

Bronson vs. Gavin Alexander:  I don't know much about Bronson; I think he was billed as hailing from Chicago.  He seemed decent enough; my only other exposure to him was a match with Scar from WPW's YouTube channel.  I had previously seen Gavin at WIA events, though he's a fan favorite there and a rulebreaker here.  This one ended out of nowhere with a Bronson flying forearm in 7:04; the two shook hands afterwards.

"The Shooter" Curtis Payne vs. Uriah Eleazar(w/ Victor Cortez & Scarlet Wyld) for the U.S. Title:  Payne defeated Bio Shock for the title a few months ago.  These two have a ton of history as they started out as tag partners in MPW as the Men In Black-esque "Agency".  Uriah turned on Payne to join the original Legion, starting a lengthy feud.  They reformed their team in FTW as the "Agents Of Destruction", but now they're on opposite sides of the fence again.  I had the highest expectations for this one as the two know each other very well.  They had a solid match in progress and Payne delivered a Death Valley Driver in what seemed to be a tide-turning spot...but it turned out to be the finish as the referee counted three at the 8:10 mark despite Uriah seemingly getting his shoulder up.  I don't know if that was a botch on someone's part, but Payne didn't seem happy after the win; Uriah complained about the result on the house mic and demanded a rematch, but it was not to be on this night.

Hawk Elliot vs. Gauge Evans(w/ Chipster):  Chipster is a heel manager, but I guess he was the "lesser of two evils" in the Bio Shock vs. Scar feud.  This was set up as an open challenge by Evans that was answered by Elliot.  I think Evans was around in the FTW days as well(under a different name or names).  I honestly don't remember much about this one; Gauge won with a rollup and handful of tights in 5:21.

Xavier Frost(w/ Ivan Strokgenovf & Sniper) vs. Damian Blade(w/ Scar, Uriah Eleazar, Victor Cortez, & Scarlet Wyld) for the Heavyweight Title:  It was emphasized that this was Blade's "last title shot"...he does still have that briefcase, though.  With the 82nd Airborne at ringside, this promised to get chaotic right away as Frost brought out backup to counteract the presence of The Legion.  Sniper and Scar quickly brawled to the back, though the ringside area was still fairly crowded.  The referee actually asserted himself at one point by knocking the other Legion members off the apron...random.  Blade stalled a lot in the early minutes, causing Chuck Maddox to declare the match a no-countout affair.  Ivan finally got into it with former partner Cortez and THEY brawled away from ringside, but Uriah was still there to interfere.  There were a number of instances on this night of interference that the referee clearly saw and let slide...call it "allowing leeway" if you wish, but it makes the official look worse than usual.  At one point, Frost was complaining about a low blow and joked that he got hit in his "Patrick"...IIIII see what you did there, it's because I'm a...*drops mic, walks away*  Anywho, Frost delivered a Stone Cold Stunner(his recent finisher) and seemingly had the win, but Uriah pulled the referee out of the ring.  In a weird moment, the referee simply got back in the ring and made the three-count anyway...though, as in the earlier match, it looked like Blade may have gotten a shoulder up.  This time around, Chuck Maddox got on the mic and declared it a two-count, ordering the match to continue.  The restart was rendered moot as the real finish happened about a minute later with another Stunner, giving Frost the win in 17:35.

Chaos erupted after the match as Uriah attacked Frost, but Curtis Payne made the save and laid him out with a Diamond Cutter.  The fan favorite domination continued to the point of absurdity as Uriah took multiple Diamond Cutters, including a 3-D with Frost's assistance.  Scotty Mac announced a no-DQ rematch between Payne and Uriah for the next show(date and location to be announced) and emphasized the "Blade's last title shot" stipulation as well.  Blade groggily offered a handshake to the champion, but Frost simply dropped him with another Stunner and then whacked him with his own briefcase.  Hey, I'll give them points on the "send the fans home happy" front.

I know that my colleague, "The Mad Conversative Crimefighter", is a bit more blunt when it comes to show criticism and that rubs some people the wrong way.  Yes, there was some in-ring stuff on this show that wasn't so great.  In the Facebook Thread Of Doom, it was noted that there are several spots in the St. Louis area for people to train and learn.  The most respected people are the ones that continuously work on their craft.  I couldn't say what training or practice these guys do and I couldn't say where else they work, so maybe they have something else going on.  I certainly don't claim to know everything about what's going on, though I try to stay as informed as possible.  If I'm off base on something, feel free to leave a comment or drop me an e-mail or social media message.  I'm open to a civil discussion.

The weekend was a tale of two promotions, but that's a story for another commentary...Same Pat-Time, Same Pat-Channel.

Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

P.S. We are all marks.