Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling show at the Community Center in East Carondelet, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
The local rasslin schedule continues to be crowded as Saturday also featured a Wrestling Invades America show in Swansea. The fact that the choice for the weekend was a difficult one speaks volumes about the progress that WIA has made in recent years; I will catch up on their goings-on via YouTube in the near future.
The aforementioned crowded wrestling schedule has meant that I haven't been to SICW shows as regularly as I had been. I know that I can keep tabs on the product through Wrestling Explosion, but some things are better experienced in person. Attendance seemed to be lower than usual at this event, but then there was probably going to be a dropoff after last month's big Wrestling At The Chase anniversary show. The fans were into the show and that's really what counts, not one dork's opinion. Heh.
Your ring announcer was Drew Abbenhaus; your referees were Denny Thomas, Nick Ridenour, & Terry Riley.
Promoter Herb Simmons started the show by acknowledging the recent passings of Gypsy Joe and Muhammad Ali. Gypsy Joe was a bit before my time, but he had in-ring wars in his later years against such opponents as New Jack and Necro Butcher. Quite a few of the wilder rasslin stories in history involve the name of Gypsy Joe, to say the least. Herb also noted that it was the birthday of the late Bruiser Brody, segueing into the ten-bell salute.
GCS Ballpark is hosting a meet-and-greet with Kurt Angle on Friday, July 1st...there won't be a wrestling show associated with it, but SICW helped to promote the event with some representatives from GCS in attendance.
"Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent vs. Britton Tucker: Tucker is not well-liked in East Carondelet; one female fan was particularly irate about Tucker's mere presence and Tucker promised to take her out to Olive Garden after the show. Bwahahaha. They had a solid opener and Vincent appeared to be on the verge of winning with his Mapleleaf Leglock, but "Unstable" Dave Vaughn entered the ring and blatantly attacked TUCKER...thus getting Vincent disqualified in 7:44. Har har. Afterwards, Vincent reaffirmed that Vaughn would not turn him back into a "villain" as he insisted he would...
"The Fury" Jason Vaughn vs. "The Incredible" Matt Kenway (Look At Him): We have two guys in SICW with the last name of Vaughn...cue the MARKET CONFUSION~! Kenway was substituting for Ax Allwardt(Vaughn's scheduled opponent). Vaughn's two young children were in attendance and were VERY vocal in their support of their father. Kenway did a good job in the rulebreaking role and targeted Vaughn's arm, but Vaughn made El Big Comeback and got the figure-four leglock out of nowhere for the submission in 6:08. Good enough for government work, as they way.
Bobby D vs. "Unstable" Dave Vaughn: Vaughn's transition into Heath Ledger Joker continues with the similar hair and the eye makeup. Vaughn controlled most of the matchup, but had trouble putting D away and went for a chair. That brought out Vincent to confiscate the weapon, leading to Bobby D getting the rollup pin on a distracted Vaughn in 5:14. Vaughn didn't seem too upset about the loss, laughing about how Vincent's interference proved that he truly was reverting to his old ways...more on this as it develops.
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): Cheeseburger, two Coca-Colas, and a leftover bag of popcorn that I picked up as a freebie after the show had ended. (Ben was ring-announcing at WIA on this night.)
Flaming Freddie Fury vs. Purple Passion: WHEN EFFEMINATE MASKED GIMMICKS COLLIDE~! I try to be diplomatic in these commentaries...it takes a lot for me to even say "that match wasn't very good". That being said: This was a dumpster fire wrapped in a car wreck surrounded by a trash explosion. It not only made me wish I had been at WIA for the evening, it made me wish I had driven two-plus hours to Litchfield for the return of Rampage Championship Wrestling. It set LGBQT rights back several decades and I felt like issuing a personal apology to the citizens of Orlando. I accept that wrestling, by its very nature, is extremely politically incorrect; note the endless string of evil foreigners and stereotypical gimmicks that exist to this day. However, the usually-forgiving audience in East Carondelet did not care for this at all. I heard several people call out "This isn't wrestling!" At any rate, the two ended up falling into 69 position on the ring apron and both were counted out in a 5:43 match that was about five minutes too long. The two literally left arm-in-arm...I award you negative five stars, may God have mercy on your soul, and let us never speak of this again.
"Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner vs. Brandon Espinosa(w/ Travis Cook): The MWR Missouri Title is only defended in its namesake state, so Espy didn't have the belt here. Travis started out by loudly complaining about the previous match, asking if Vince Russo had booked it. I'M AGREEING WITH TRAVIS COOK...QUIT THAT. Espinosa followed suit, continuing his mindset that he's above everyone else in the promotion by insulting several members of the locker room...that included his scheduled opponent for the evening. Anything would have looked like Gotch-Hackenschmidt after what preceded this...this was a solid matchup with Gunner doing better than I would have expected. I suspect a small part of Travis' soul dies when he has to extol the virtues of Ring Of Honor as part of Espinosa's resume. At any rate, Espy got the cross-armbreaker out of nowhere for the tapout in 7:18.
Big Jim Hoffarth vs. Bubba Troll(w/ Big Daddy): Hoffarth won last month's Bruiser Brody Memorial Battle Royal and Troll was the last man eliminated, so Troll obviously wanted some payback in this battle of super heavyweights. I jokingly throw around "#ClubbingForearms" at times like this, but it's not like we're gonna see a lucha-style match out of these guys. I'm often told that casual fans would rather see a "fight" than a "wrestling match", at any rate. In a slight surprise, Troll got the win after a splash off the second rope in 8:30...Drew tried to get a word with Hoffarth afterwards, but he wasn't feeling up to an interview after BEING SPLASHED FROM THE SECOND ROPE BY A LARGE OPPONENT. Timing, Drew.
"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson & "Ironman" Ken Kasa vs. "The Icon" Chris Hargas(w/ Travis Cook), "St. Louis Handicap Match": Hargas & Espinosa defeated Kasa in this style of match in May, so Hargas wanted to prove that he could do what Kasa couldn't. The match had a fifteen-minute limit and the tag team would win if the single wrestler couldn't win a decision in that time frame. Kasa wanted to fight on his own and asked Gary to stay outside the ring...so the match was basically a singles bout with Gary doing his beset to thwart interference attempts by Travis Cook. Travis was able to get involved enough that the referee was distracted after Kasa delivered the John Wu Dropkick...at that moment, Jackson chased Travis back to the dressing room area. Kasa locked on a version of the rear naked choke as the time limit ticked down, but Hargas didn't tap out until RIGHT after the closing bell sounded at 15:00. Technically Jackson & Kasa won the match, but Kasa wanted a decisive victory...so the July show will feature a thirty-minute Ironman Match between Kasa and Hargas. Goodie.
Intermission numero dos~! The show was running pretty late at this point and Ben Simon called me during the handicap match about the WIA show being finished.
Johnny Blade vs. "The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas(w/ Travis Cook): I had totally forgotten about Kahagas being on the show. Blade returned to the St. Louis area fairly recently after previously being a regular for both SICW and the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Aliance. At this point in the night, I think people just wanted to get to the main event...Kahagas won with a pumphandle Michinoku Driver in 5:54.
Ron Powers vs. Attila Khan for the Classic Title, Travis Cook Banned From Ringside: The past two months of Wrestling Explosion have attempted to compare this rivalry to Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah The Butcher, as Powers is a protege of the late Brody and Khan has a similar style to the "Madman From The Sudan". This wasn't a technical classic and wasn't expected to be...Khan played that popular Memphis game of "Where Oh Where Could The Foreign Object Be?" Hey, it ticks off the fans and that's what counts for a rulebreaker. Ron had control when the rulebreakers' locker room essentially emptied on Khan's behalf to cause the DQ in 3:53. It started with Bubba Troll, then continued with Brandon Espinosa, Chris Hargas, and Kahagas with Big Daddy attempting to direct traffic. It took a while for the fan favorites' locker room to get the memo, but finally Ken Kasa and Gary Jackson hit the ring to help. Once they brought chairs into the fray, the rulebreakers backed off...that wrapped up the show.
I honestly wouldn't mind having an easy weekend for a change...there's nothing in the immediate area this coming weekend. If anyone feels like letting me bum a ride to High Risk Wrestling in Warsaw, MO, feel free to drop me a line. I'm getting old, folks...har har.
July looks like this:
-Saturday 7/2: Stride Pro Wrestling in Marion, IL (a bit of a haul, but not much else on 4th Of July weekend...)
-Saturday 7/9: Pro Wrestling Championship Series in Granite City, IL; Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 7/16: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Glen Carbon, IL; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Friday 7/22: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Collinsville, IL (NatsuCon)
-Saturday 7/23: Pro Wrestling Resurgence in St. Louis, MO (Ready Room)
That's my special comment for this, the twenty-eighth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2016. Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991
P.S. We are all marks.
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WWE(www.wwe.com)
Main Event this week has:
-Alexander Rusev vs. Zack Ryder
-Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor)
-Sin Cara vs. Baron Corbin
-Becky Lynch vs. Summer Rae
NXT this week has:
-Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Buddy Murphy
-Oney Lorcan vs. Tye Dillinger
-Bayley Rose vs. Deonna Purrazo
-Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax
-In action: "No Way" Jose Valenzuela
Superstars this week has:
-The Lucha Dragons(Kalisto & Sin Cara) vs. The Dudley Boys(Buh-Buh Ray & D-Von)
-The Golden Truth(Goldust & "R-Truth" Ron Killings) vs. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor)
Smackdown on Thursday has:
-Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins
-Antonio Cesaro vs. Alberto Del Rio
-Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus O'Shaunessy
-The New Day(Big E Langston & Kofi Kingston) vs. The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch)
-Jimmy Uso vs. A.J. Styles
-Becky Lynch vs. Dana Brooke
Battleground is on Sunday 7/24:
-Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins - WWE Title
TNA(www.tnawrestling.com)
Impact next Tuesday has:
-Bobby Lashley vs. Drew Galloway vs. Ethan Carter III - Heavyweight Title
-Eddie Edwards vs. Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett vs. D.J. Shiima Xion vs. Mark Andrews vs. Rockstar Spud vs. Braxton Sutter
-Tyrus Clay, Mahabali Shera, & Grado vs. Al Snow & The Tribunal(Basille Baracca & Baron Dax)
-Bram Cameron vs. Rosemary Rush
-In action: Mike Bennett
RING OF HONOR(www.rohwrestling.com)
Next show is Friday 6/24 in Concord, NC:
-Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe - Heavyweight Title
-Bobby Fish vs. Dalton Castle - T.V. Title
-The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. The Motor City Machineguns(Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) - Tag Team Titles
-Steve Corino vs. B.J. Whitmer - Unsanctioned Fight Without Honor
-Moose & War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe) vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) - Tornado Tag Match
-Mark Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong
-Kyle O'Reilly vs. Kamaitachi
-A.C.H. vs. Silas Young
ROH has a show on Saturday 6/25 in Concord, NC:
-Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O'Reilly - Heavyweight Title
-The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) vs. The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson)
-The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. Silas Young & "Beer City Bruiser" Matt Winchester - Tag Team Titles
-Kamaitachi vs. Jay White
-War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe) vs. Keith Lee & Shane Taylor
-Dalton Castle vs. Roderick Strong
NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING(www.njpw.co.jp/english)
Information on upcoming episodes will be posted when it becomes available.
LUCHA UNDERGROUND(www.luchaunderground.com)
This week's episode has:
-Mascarita Sagrada vs. Daga
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ST. LOUIS ANARCHY(www.stlanarchy.com)
Next show is Friday 8/26 in Alton, IL:
-Gary Jay vs. Martin Stone
SLA has a show on Saturday 8/27 in Alton, IL.
DPW(www.dynamoprowrestling.com)
Next show is Saturday 7/16 in Glen Carbon, IL.
DPW has a show on Saturday 7/22 in Collinsville, IL as part of NatsuCon:
-Appearing: Davey Richards, Delirious
SICW(www.sicw.org)
Next show is Saturday 7/16 in East Carondelet, IL:
-Ron Powers, Cowboy Bob Orton, & Gary Jackson vs. Kahagas, Attila Khan, & Bubba Troll - Best-Of-3-Falls Match
-Ken Kasa vs. Chris Hargas - 30-Minute Ironman Match
-Bobby D vs. Brandon Espinosa
MMWA(www.southbroadwayac.com)
Next show is Saturday 7/9 in St. Louis, MO:
-Gary Jackson vs. Kevin Lee Davidson vs. A.J. Williams vs. Da'Marius Jones - For The Held-Up Heavyweight Title
-Brandon Aarons vs. Tyler Copeland - Jr. Heavyweight Title vs. Hair
-Big Jim Hoffarth vs. Jimmy D
PWCS(www.pwcswrestling.com)
Next show is Saturday 7/9 in Granite City, IL:
-Arik Cannon(Blacklist) vs. K.C. Karrington(Ego Busters)
-Davey Vega(Resurgence) vs. Darin Corbin(Submission Squad)
-Mat Fitchett(Resurgence) vs. Everett Connors(Submission Squad)
-Jojo Bravo(Blacklist) vs. Danny Adams(Ego Busters)
-Makaze & Mike Outlaw(Blacklist) vs. Jake Dirden & Adam Caster(Ego Busters)
-Steven Kennedy & Roscoe Eat Lisa(Zakk Sawyers & Mikey McFinnegan)(Resurgence) vs. Evan Gelistico, Pierre Abernathy, & Austin Blackburn(Submission Squad)
HIGH RISK WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/hrwstl)
Next show is Saturday 6/25 in Warsaw, MO:
-High Level Enterprise(Jack Gamble & Jon Webb) vs. A.J. Williams & Da'Marius Jones - For The Vacant Tag Team Titles
-Tony Kozina vs. Elvis Aliaga vs. Tyler Copeland
-Prince Moses vs. Mike Outlaw - Mayhem Title Tournament
-Justin D'Air vs. Ace Hawkins - Mayhem Title Tournament
-Kiyoshi Shizuka vs. Jay Howard - Mayhem Title Tournament
-Evan Morris & Matt Kenway vs. Babewatch(Brandon Espinosa & Brandon Aarons)
PRO WRESTLING EPIC(www.prowrestlingepic.com)
Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.
METRO PRO WRESTLING(www.metrowrestling.com)
Next show is Saturday 7/30 in Kansas City, KS:
-Jeremy Wyatt vs. Michael Strider - No-Holds-Barred Match
-Ace Steel vs. Vic Capri - Central States Title
-Stevie Richards vs. Mike Sydal - Heavyweight Title Tournament
-Sonjay Dutt vs. Devin Thomas - Heavyweight Title Tournament
-Mike Outlaw vs. Hype Gotti - Heavyweight Title Tournament
-Nate Redwing vs. Kevin Lee Davidson - Heavyweight Title Tournament
3XW(www.3xwrestling.com)
Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.
WLW(www.harleyrace.com)
Next show is Saturday 6/25 in Bell, MO.
GATEWAY ELITE WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/TheGatewayElite)
Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.
STRIDE PRO WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/Cmaprowrestling/)
Next show is Saturday 7/2 in Marion, IL:
-Ax Allwardt vs. Heath Hatton - Heavyweight Title
-Steven Davis & Frank Wyatt vs. Jay Spade & Josh Totten
-Billy Hills vs. Osby Tomlin
-Madman Pondo & Bull Bronson vs. The Boyz In Da Hood
-Team Flood vs. Team Mike
OUTLAW WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/outlawwrestling01)
Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.
WRESTLING INVADES AMERICA(wrestlinginvamerica.wix.com/wrestlinginvamerica)
Next show is Sunday 8/7 in Swansea, IL:
-Kevin Lee Davidson vs. Leone Mephisto - Heavyweight Title vs. Interstate Title
PRO WRESTLING RESURGENCE(no website)
Next show is Saturday 7/23 in St. Louis, MO(Ready Room):
-Kevin Lee Davidson vs. Da'Marius Jones - WIA Heavyweight Title
-Brandon Aarons vs. Leone Mephisto
-Appearing: Brandon Espinosa, Tony Kozina, Everett Connors, Curt Stallion, Paco Gonzalez, A.J. Williams, Barackus, Jason Roberts
CENTRAL STATES CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING(nwaccw.x10.bz)
Next show is Saturday 7/16 in Lebanon, MO.
WORLD POWERHOUSE WRESTLING(sites.google.com/site/worldpowerhousewrestlingstl/home)
Next show is Saturday 7/9 in Collinsville, IL:
-Curtis Payne vs. Uriah Eleazar - Heavyweight Title
-Alexander Steele vs. Bronson - U.S. Title
NEW BREED WRESTING(www.facebook.com/NewBreedMO)
Next show is Saturday 7/16 in Sedalia, MO.
NBW has a show on Saturday 7/23 in Eldon, MO.
CCW(www.facebook.com/CapeChampionshipWrestling/)
Next show is Saturday 7/16 in Cape Girardeau, MO:
-Leland Race vs. Trevor Murdoch
-Osby Tomlin vs. Chris Jones
-Sarge O'Riley vs. Brandon Barbwire
-Billy Hills vs. Jason Vaughn
-Jake Dirden vs. Tony Kozina
-Little Bit vs. Stacey O'Brien
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EVOLVE(www.wwnlive.com & www.dgusa.tv)
Next show is Saturday 7/16 in Queens, NY.
EVOLVE has a show on Sunday 7/17 in Melrose, MA.
PRO WRESTLING GUERRILLA(www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)
Next show is Friday 7/29 in Reseda, CA:
-Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kyle O'Reilly - Heavyweight Title
-The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Death By Elbow(Chris Hero & J.T. Dunn) - Tag Team Titles
-Timothy Thatcher vs. Roderick Strong
-Tommy End vs. Adam Cole
-Sami Callihan vs. Marty Scurll
-Trevor Lee vs. Jeff Cobb
-Chuck Taylor vs. Trent Barreta
CHIKARA(www.chikarapro.com)
Next show is Saturday 7/23(afternoon) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
-Dasher Hatfield vs. Drew Gulak
-Kobald vs. Evil Uno
CHIKARA has a show on Saturday 7/23(evening) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
-Missile Assault Man vs. Pinkie Sanchez
WHY WE WRESTLE(www.facebook.com/ThisIsWhyWeWrestle)
Next show is Saturday 6/25 in Cornelia, GA:
-Slim J vs. Anthony Henry
-Stryknyn vs. Bobby Moore
-Billy Buck & James Drake vs. The Lynch Mob(Joey & Matt Lynch)
-Kyle Matthews vs. Gunner Miller
-The Bruiserweights(John Skyler & Corey Hollis) vs. Prince Apollo & Black Baron
-Trever Aeon vs. Elijah Evans IV
HOUSE OF HARDCORE(www.houseofhardcore.net)
Next show is Friday 6/24 in East Burwood, Australia.
SHIMMER(www.shimmerwrestling.com)
Next shows are Saturday 6/25 and Sunday 6/26 in Chicago, IL.
SHINE(www.shinewrestling.com)
Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.
IWA MID-SOUTH(iwamidsouthwrestling.webs.com)
Next show is Thursday 7/14 in Clarksville, IN.
AAW(www.aawrestling.com)
Next show is Saturday 7/23 in Merrionette Park, IL:
-Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon Jr.
-A.R. Fox vs. Mat Fitchett - Heritage Title
ACW(www.anarchychampionshipwrestling.com)
Next show is Sunday 6/26 in Austin, TX featuring the Queen Of Queens Tournament:
-Tournament Participants: Christi Jaynes, Jessica James, Baby Dumplins, Allie Kat, Laynie Luck, Claudia Del Solis, Sage Sin, Erica Torres
-Raymond Rowe & ? vs. Curt Stallion & ?
-The Hole F'n Team(Johnny Axxle & Mr. B) vs. The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) vs. The Unholy Complex(Gregory James & Jason Silver) vs. The Bad Boyz(Li'l Tony & Seph Anunnaki)
-Darin Childs vs. Jack Jameson vs. Sky DeLacrimosa vs. Killah Kash
Missouri Wrestling Revival: http://www.missouriwrestlingrevival.com/
St. Louis Wrestling: http://www.saintlouiswrestling.com/
St. Louis Wrestling Community: http://community.livejournal.com/stlwrestling/
Leave a comment or e-mail: patrickab7@yahoo.com
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook at: @patrickab7
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