PWE Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Friday's Pro Wrestling Epic show at the Junior/Senior High School in Brownstown, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

This was slightly over an hour's drive for me; the other option for the evening was World Powerhouse Wrestling in Jerseyville.  Thankfully the trip was pretty straightforward(mostly a straight route down I-70 East).  Hadn't been to a wrestling show in a school gymnasium in a while...my first indie show was at North County Tech in Florissant back in the spring of 2000.  They had a really good turnout with an announced attendance of 164 and the fans seemed to really enjoy the event.

Your ring announcer was Ben Simon; your referee was Jay King.

Justin D'Air vs. Brandon Espinosa:  These two faced each other at last month's Dynamo show in Fenton with Espy scoring the win.  This was a good opener; my only minor nitpick was a lack of arm selling on D'Air's part during his comeback.  Otherwise, I thought the match went really well...the fans were into the entire show, from my perspective.  D'Air scored the upset win after a springboard Buff Blockbuster in 9:53.

Dash Rando vs. Deacon Cash(w/ Sean Orleans):  Cash is the artist formerly known as Laurence Johnson.  Orleans joked about Brownstown having a population of merely 750 and threw in a smartaleck question about whether the mayor was in attendance...har har.  I don't recall having seen Rando wrestle barefoot before.  This went a bit long, considering it was set up as a glorified squash.  Cash won with the LARIATOOOOO~! in 8:53.

Clownman Jacko vs. Kevin Lee Davidson:  I'm quickly becoming a major believer in K.L.D....if he keeps progressing at the rate he's been going, he'll be a big deal down the line.  He'll actually be appearing on Ring Of Honor TV next weekend in a match against one of his trainers, Michael Elgin.  Jacko attempted to lift Davidson on his shoulders for a power move but couldn't quite get him up...he finally managed to deliver a fireman's-carry slam despite not getting a lot of height to it.  K.L.D. cut off the offensive flurry and finished with the spinebuster in 8:24.

Barackus vs. "The Enforcer" Jimmy D:  This was the only change to the announced lineup as Barackus had been scheduled to face Adam Caster; Caster's absence was acknowledged but not explained with any great detail.  This one was basically a slugfest with sheer size and power winning out over experience and underhanded tactics...Barackus probably could have gotten a submission with the clawhold, but he turned it into a modified chokeslam and scored the pin in 5:50.

Intermission~!  I didn't have any small bills on me, so I bought a bag of popcorn so I could use the change for the soda machine.  I had two cans of soda, root beer and Code Red Mountain Dew.  (This concludes Ben Simon's favorite portion of the Special Comment.)

Billy McNeil vs. Leone Mephisto:  This feud reignited at the most recent Wrestling Invades America show when Mephisto cheated to win their matchup.  The issue actually dates back to the days of Independent Hardcore Wrestling when Mephisto turned on Billy after he won their Heavyweight Championship.  Mephisto hid amongst the ringside fans to ambush McNeil as he walked to the ring, sparking a brawl that lasted several minutes before the match could officially begin.  Things eventually settled down into a more standard contest in the ring, but Mephisto couldn't put him away and went under the ring for some international objects.  He went with the good old folding chair, blatantly beating down McNeil and getting disqualified in 8:10...Mephisto wanted to do more damage and brought out a screwdriver(!), but Billy fought him off to stand tall for the moment.  This feud...MUST CONTINUE~!

"The Young Thriller" Derek Moss vs. "Infamous" Tyler Copeland:  Moss was the only person on the show that I hadn't seen; I imagine Crimefighter would be more familiar with him since he's a central Illinois guy.  He's a big dude and is really good at working the crowd, as evidenced by the dueling mic work before the bout.  Copeland kick-started the fight by taking a cheapshot with the microphone, so they brawled out of the ring and up into the bleachers in the early minutes.  Once they got back to the ring, they had a solid exchange and Moss made a good first impression on me...Copeland won after a curbstomp in 10:53.

Brandon Aarons vs. Ace Hawkins(w/ Sean Orleans) for the Heavyweight Title, no-DQ match:  Ben Simon almost forgot to announce the stipulation; it was a no-disqualification match because...um, reasons?  Despite the stip, Hawkins and Orleans still felt a need to distract the referee when Orleans interfered.  Orleans was knocked around a few times, including one spot where Aarons backdropped Ace over the top rope onto him.  They fought up to the bleachers(as Moss and Copeland had before them), leading to a spot where Aarons dove off the bleacher railing onto Hawkins and Orleans on the floor!  (The dive also took out both security guards...Hardcore Andy just can't catch a break, can he?)  Aarons finally took out Orleans for good, but the distraction allowed Hawkins to deliver a running somersaulting Ace Crusher for a near-fall.  Ace followed up with a flying DDT for another close two-count.  Aarons finally fought back and delivered a Snake Eyes, then superkicked Ace in the corner before finishing with the close-range superkick in 24:10(!).

Fine show...they actively pushed to the fans to contact the venue about bringing PWE back, so hopefully they'll return to Brownstown in the near future.  I haven't heard anything about when the next Epic show will be...stay tuned, as they say.

It was a busy weekend, but that story will continue in the next commentary...Same Pat-Time, Same Pat-Channel.

Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.

-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991

P.S. We are all marks.