Dynamo Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Dynamo Pro Wrestling show at the Stratford Inn in Fenton, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

The local wrestling schedule has become extremely crowded; there were two shows on Friday night and two shows on Saturday night.  It gets especially hectic when a wrestler works multiple shows in a night...Brandon Espinosa got to the building RIGHT before his match since he was working the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance show at South Broadway earlier in the evening!  This sort of thing can force fans to make a choice between promotions; it can also force wrestlers to decide where they want to work, or if(in Espy's case) they want to work multiple times in a single evening.  In that case, you can be at the mercy of the traffic conditions.  Some of the World League Wrestling regulars were at their show in Richmond, Missouri...the only WLW competitor who was conspicuously absent from Dynamo was Dave DeLorean.

Dynamo had a pretty good turnout in terms of fan numbers, but the crowd seemed subdued or lethargic for some reason and I'm not sure why.  While a handful of things seemed "off" on this night, I don't know if that was the cause or if wrestlers were thrown off a bit by the lack of energy.  My friend Jesse was in town and she knows Mike Sydal, so she stopped by the show and I sat with her for most of the event so she wouldn't be sitting by herself (she hadn't been to many wrestling shows before that).  I'm sure it drew a few double-takes from people I knew: "PATRICK'S SITTING WITH A GIRL, CHECK WEATHER FORECAST IN HADES."

I was playing a bit of catch-up; I missed both Dynamo shows in October due to comedy and CHIKARA (respectively).  At the previous Fenton show, High Level Enterprise finally captured the Tag Team Titles from The Black Hand Warriors(Michael Magnuson & Dave DeLorean), then retained them in a street fight rematch in Glen Carbon.  Also, Ricky Cruz defeated Jake Dirden for the Heavyweight Title...that occurred partially due to the presence of Mike Outlaw as an impromptu special guest referee after the two active officials had been knocked out of the matchup.  Travis Cook's attendance has been spotty due to a rash of suspensions across both Dynamo and Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling, so his charges are becoming a bit disgruntled.  On top of that, Dynamo is finally starting up a secondary singles championship called the D-1 Title; Jayden Fenix won a six-way dance at the previous Fenton show to become the first qualifier for the upcoming championship bout.

Your ring announcer was Chris Roedel, your assistant ring announcer was Luke Roberts, and your referee was Patrick Hook.  (This was a case of the local officials' roster being spread thin as Jay King was at South Broadway...not sure what happened on Friday that led to Jay being the lone ref at PWE.)

The Bite Club(Rocket Mapache & Jackal) vs. "The Alternative" Ozzie Gallagher & The Snitch:  One guess which side had the better teamwork and cohesion.  Gallagher and Snitch got it together long enough to isolate Jackal, but their miscues got the best of them and Rocket cleaned house after the hot tag.  Snitch accidentally knocked his partner off the ring apron in the chaos and the masked man was double-teamed, ending with a frog splash by Jackal.  Rocket got the pin in 11:02...and Gallagher and Snitch got into a shoving bout after the bell.  (Odd side note:  Jackal has switched from a Dingo shirt to a Jynx shirt for some reason...)

Outtkast vs. C.J. Berry:  This was a face/face battle between the experienced Outtkast and the rookie Berry.  Berry made his debut at the Wood River show in May; it was a baptism by fire as he faced then-champion Jake Dirden.  This was a pretty quick bout as Berry didn't seem to have much of an answer for Outtkast's game plan; Outtkast wrapped up with the Case Study in 3:11.

"Dirdey" Jake Dirden, Michael Magnuson, & Jayden Fenix hit the ring along with Alexander P. Dixon, Esquire...I believe Fenix is out of action with an injury, but it was odd for Dirden to be without a match on this night.  Dirden did all the talking and complained about how they had lost their gold in the past month and Travis Cook had done nothing about it...so he was taking charge of the group.  He said that Dixon had gotten Dirden his obligatory rematch for the title in December...but with that, he had "served his purpose".  Dirden leveled the lawyer with a clothesline...Magnuson and Fenix initially balked at supporting Dirden, but then put the boots to Dixon until the group decided they were done.  Dixon had to be assisted out of the ring and I doubt we'll see him again...he hadn't done much in a while anyway.  What does this mean for Travis Cook's status?  I guess he's out of the picture for the time being, but who knows what'll happen in the long run.

Mason Conrad vs. Brandon Aarons vs. "The Yoga Monster" Mike Sydal vs. "The Filipino Warrior" Elvis Aliaga(w/ Lucy Mendez) vs. "The Don Mega" Shorty Biggs vs. Michael Magnuson, D-1 Title Qualifier:  The winner of this match would advance to a three-way matchup in the near future to crown the inaugural champion; Jayden Fenix earned his spot last month in a similar six-way dance.  Conrad made one prior Dynamo appearance but I hadn't seen him in a while.  It's hard to pick a winner in this style of match, though the elimination format made it more coherent than your standard multi-way schmozz.  Normally it's just a matter of everyone "getting their (stuff) in" and someone stealing the single fall at the end, which is why that style of match has jumped the proverbial shark for me.

At any rate...wrestling match, yay~!  Conrad was the first one to be eliminated as Lucy tripped him up and Aliaga rolled him up with a handful of tights in 4:49.  Shorty and Magnuson's old issues came into play as Magnuson snapped his throat off the top rope; Aarons didn't see the cheapshot, but took what was offered and pinned Shorty after a modified Pele Kick in 8:48.  Aliaga and Magnuson got on the same page for a little while, leading to Magnuson pinning Sydal after the TKO in 11:38.  The teamwork broke down long enough for Aarons to pin Magnuson with a German suplex in 13:53, but the devilish woman outside the ring made the difference as she kept getting involved on Elvis' behalf.  A slap to the face behind the referee's back was enough of an opening for Aliaga to finish with a Ki-Krusher in 17:18, so he advances to the D-1 Championship match!  Despite the loss, Aarons made a strong accounting for himself(along with his recent bout against Dirden) and has raised his Dynamo stock in recent months.

Intermission~!  Concession count was a mere two Cokes(to keep Ben Simon up to speed), but Dynamo finally released the DVD of the Pittsfield show from two years ago.  A video review is forthcoming in the near future...woo.

High Level Enterprise(Jack Gamble & Jon Webb) vs. The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby) for the Tag Team Titles:  After the wars that HLE had with the Black Hand Warriors,  this would be a more traditional outing for our resident NOAH alumni.  I honestly think that Santel and McDarby's old-school approach might fit well with a promotion like WLW or Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling.  I also think these teams could have a good series with each other...this was their first encounter and hopefully there will be more.  Santel & McDarby won a triple threat match with The Bumrush Brothers(Shorty & Outtkast) and The Bite Club to earn this shot.

HLE threw in a unique baseball metaphor as Gamble pantomimed hitting a long fly ball, then Webb dove off the top rope onto The Professionals in the process of "catching" the ball.  (On that note, congratulations to the Kansas City Royals.  1985 World Series notwithstanding, if it wasn't going to be the Cardinals...or even the Cubs...I'm glad it was you guys.)  Anywho, standard tag formula, bonzo gonzo, and the shillelagh backfired this time as Santel hit McDarby by mistake.  That allowed Webb to roll up McDarby for the win in 10:23.

Mike Outlaw vs. Brandon Espinosa:  Espinosa complained about his position in the pecking order, saying that he had been with Dynamo since it was an NWA affiliate and he deserve more opportunities.  Co-promoter Crystal Yount set up this match to give him a main-event-caliber opponent...they had crossed paths earlier this year when Espy challenged then-champion Outlaw for the gold.  Ricky Cruz got involved in that matchup to give Outlaw the win, so no clear "better man" was established on that night.  These guys have faced each other a few other times in other promotions, including Pro Wrestling Championship Series.  The match was going well until the abrupt finish:  Outlaw went for a move off the top rope and Espinosa blatantly punted him in the Universal Weak Point(tm) for the DQ in 7:12.  BOO~!  Espy sought to do more damage, but Outlaw fought him off...looks like we have a full-fledged feud on our hands.

"The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz vs. "Young & Dangerous" Evan Morris for the Heavyweight Title:  These guys have crossed paths in other parts of the Midwest, but it was their first encounter in a Dynamo ring.  Dirden and company made a big production out of situating themselves at the nearby bar...I worried a bit about Dirden perching himself on top of the bar on his plastic folding chair (heh).  Morris has come a long way, particularly in the past few years...it was good to see Aarons and Morris get some elevation on this show to shake up the title picture.  The distraction factor came into play, mostly on Cruz's side of things...over the course of the match, the trio slooooowly approached the ringside area from the other side of the guardrail.  Cruz had control and confronted Dirden at the railing...words turned into actions as Dirden threw his beer in Cruz's face.  Ricky finally blew his top and dragged Dirden over the guardrail, triggering all-out mayhem and an apparent no-contest in about 8:20 or so.  Referees and security did all they could to break up the fight as Magnuson, Fenix, and Morris all got involved...things settled down for a moment, but then Morris circled around the building to jump on Dirden from the other side!  It took another minute or two before order was restored...

Post-show, myself and some of the usual suspects(Brian Kelley, Drew Abbenhaus, & Gary Weiss) congregated at the nearby Denny's...my money management skills continue to need work as I indulged in the Grand Slamwich along with root beer to drink.  Gotta learn to curb that appetite.

Dynamo has a busy month all by itself with two more shows in November...I don't know how eventful the shows will be or if they'll save the fireworks for the next Fenton show in December.  Dynamo returns to Wood River on the 21st(a venue I always enjoyed when I went there for Metro East Championship Wrestling) and makes its debut at The Ready Room in St. Louis on the 28th.

Next weekend has a double-shot for St. Louis Anarchy with Gerald James defending the title against Davey Richards on Friday; incredibly, James has surpassed the two-year mark as champion.  The Saturday show will feature a thirty-man Royal Rumble; will be interested to see how they fill that out.  SICW returns to the Swansea Firehouse with Flash Flanagan defending the Classic Title against Gary Jackson, plus WLW wraps up their year at their home base in Troy.

The rest of November looks like this:

-Friday 11/13:  St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 11/14:  St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL; SICW in Swansea, IL; WLW in Troy, MO
-Saturday 11/21:  Dynamo in Wood River, IL; SICW in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 11/28:  Dynamo in St. Louis, MO(Ready Room); Wrestling Invades America in Swansea, IL; World Powerhouse Wrestling in Collinsville, IL

That's my special comment for this, the sixty-second wrestling show I've attended in the year 2015.  Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.