MMWA Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance show at the South Broadway Athletic Club in St. Louis, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

My standard route to the beautiful and/or historic SBAC was impeded by road construction, so a slight detour had to be taken as my usual exit ramp was closed.  It was a hot and humid summer evening, accentuated by the usual packed house for the MMWA's monthly offering...if it was that uncomfortable for the fans, I can only imagine how the wrestlers must have been feeling.

Briefly chatted with Pierre Abernathy before the show; he noted that he had rarely been to the South Broadway venue despite his lengthy involvement with the area's wrestling scene.  He and Evan Gelistico were headed to a show in Texas on Sunday, so they had to get on the road ASAP once Evan's obligations were wrapped up.  We talked about the St. Louis Wrestling Hall Of Fame and who would be worthy of induction; obvious names included Gary Jackson and Ron Powers.  We also agreed that Big Bad Ben should be on the list; Gateway Championship Wrestling was the beginning of a change for the better in the area's independent wrestling scene.  Other names included Matt Sydal(who's been busy in New Japan as of late) and current Ring Of Honor booker Delirious.  Of course we can't forget about MsChif or Daizee Haze, as they were a big part of the movement toward better women's wrestling that has culminated in WWE's "revolution".  I'm sure this subject matter is up for debate, depending on each's fan's perspective.  This area's generation of wrestlers is fortunate to be a part of a strong local scene; it's people like those mentioned above who played a part in paving the way.  When I first discovered the local scene, there wasn't a whole lot besides South Broadway and Frank Reed's Rampage Championship Wrestling...a lot has changed since those days.

Your ring announcer was Ben Simon; your referees were Nick Ridenour & Jay King.

Damion Cortess vs. "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway(Look At Him)(w/ Evan Gelistico):  Even though the opener was relatively short, both guys were sweating up a storm in there...Cortess had trouble with his finisher setup since Kenway slid right off his shoulders in early attempts at the move.  Gelistico got involved as you might expect, but Cortess finally got Kenway up in the air and knocked Evan off the ring apron with Kenway's feet.  Cortess delivered the torture-rack neckbreaker from there and got the win in 4:25.

Moondog Rover vs. Barackus vs. Evan Gelistico(w/ "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway(Look At Him)):  This was a qualifying match for next month's King Of St. Louis Cup Tournament; every winner of that tournament has gone on to capture the Heavyweight Title within a few months.  It sounds like the tournament format will be the same as in recent years with four first-round matches followed by a four-way final.  Evan told Kenway to stay at ringside and watch his mentor up close.  Most of the match consisted of Barackus and Gelistico double-teaming Moondog OVAH~!...they blatantly used Moondog's bone as a weapon since multi-way matches are no-countout-no-DQ by default nowadays.  (The mentality is that if one person gets counted out or disqualified, which of the remaining competitors is the "winner"?)  The teamwork broke down because THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE~!, allowing Rover to make the comeback.  Moondog delivered an impressive powerslam on Barackus and then dropped Gelistico with the World's Strongest Slam, but Jimmy D stuck his nose into the proceedings to distract the fan favorite.  Barackus threw Rover out of the ring and stole the pinfall on Gelistico in 6:49...so the big man is officially the first entrant for the King Of St. Louis Cup Tournament.  The combined rulebreaker force attacked Moondog until Big Jim Hoffarth made the save, causing Commissioner Jim Harris to kick-start the next matchup...

Big Jim Hoffarth vs. "The Enforcer" Jimmy D:  This was short, relatively painless, and fairly one-sided; Hoffarth got a near-fall after a huge elbowdrop off the second rope, then went on to win after the double-underhook powerbomb in 3:39.  Commissioner Harris got on D's case about the dress stipulation, though the match was started in an impromptu manner...

Brandon Aarons vs. "Risky Business" Everett Connors for the Jr. Heavyweight Title:  This was Connors' return to South Broadway after an absence of over a year; he had been stripped of the championship due to the controversial "unsanctioned match" with Sean Orleans in the training ring.  That led to the suspension of both men and neither had returned to the MMWA until now.  Connors was quick to remind everyone that he never truly lost the title; his Justin Beiber T-shirt and cocky demeanor turned the fans on him in a hurry, as Aarons had become an in-house favorite at the SBAC.  It didn't help that Connors kick-started the match by way of microphone cheapshot.  They had a really good matchup and, as always, Aarons' hair was in impeccable condition.  Connors scored the surprise win in 9:40 with a double-chickenwing faceplant, regaining the title he had never lost in the ring...as it turned out, his night wasn't quite over.

Intermission~!  I binged a bit on this night, especially given the expanded menu of the South Broadway kitchen.  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Two Pepsis, a Mountain Dew, and mozzarella sticks.  Mmm, mozzarella sticks...

Tag Team Champion Brandon Espinosa vs. J-Mal Swagg for the MWR Missouri Title:  Swagg had gone to a time-limit draw with Espy's tag team partner Ace Hawkins, setting up this bout.  This was a good competitive matchup, though Swagg seemed to be affected pretty badly by the heat...he needed assistance in getting to the backstage area afterwards.  Espinosa requested the fifteen-minute time limit to show that he could do what his partner could not accomplish...Swagg nearly lasted until the closing bell, but Espy put him away with a modified Penalty Kick in 14:30.  Afterwards, Espy told Swagg that he had a lot of talent(just not as much as himself) and he would go a long way...all righty then.

"The Millenial" Danny Adams vs. "Da Bomb" Brian James for the T.V. Title:  Adams upset James for the championship at the July show; I believe that was his first championship win of any kind.  At any rate, this was the rematch...but Adams was distracted before the bell by Everett Connors as he was flaunting HIS newly-won gold.  I feel like these two have a longer match in them; their previous encounters were fairly short and this was no different.  (Given the heat, I don't blame them TOO much.)  Adams had control and the referee had to check on James in the corner, but that allowed Connors to re-enter the picture and BELT Adams...James capitalized by covering for the pin to regain his title in 5:32.  Commissioner Harris(who had a REALLY long night) said he would set up a tag match with James and Connors against Adams and a partner of his choice.

"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson vs. B.T. Daramola, street fight:  B.T.'s interference on behalf of 2.0 played a major role in Jackson's loss of the MMWA Heavyweight Title, so this match was set up with A.J. Williams and Da'Marius Jones banned from ringside.  Williams & Jones teased a PRE-match attack(since they were only banned DURING the match), but Commissioner Harris headed them off at the pass in a hurry.  Given the stipulation, there weren't a lot of weapons in play...B.T.'s stop sign was used by both men, but that was about it.  They had a good brawl, ending with Jackson scoring the tapout win via Texas Cloverleaf in 8:41...Gary vowed to go through Jones and Williams en route to regaining his title.  You know, if more people followed Rule #4, he wouldn't have to keep repeating Rules #1-#3...

Heavyweight Champion A.J. Williams & Da'Marius Jones vs. Kevin Lee Davidson:  After the double-submission finish to the triple threat title match in June, the title was held up and decided in a scramble match between these three and Gary Jackson in July.  Despite the question of whether Williams and Jone would fight each other over the championship, their teamwork held up and Williams scored the final fall on Jackson to become a two-time titleholder.  The stipulation was that if K.L.D. could win this handicap match, he would earn a title shot at Williams; however, a loss meant that he would not get any title matches with Williams as long as he is the champion.  This played out similarly to previous bouts involving all three men, though without the possibility of Williams and Jones being forced to fight each other...Davidson overpowered both men at once on a few occasions and even busted out a version of the somersault plancha!  However, the numbers game caught up to him eventually...when he attempted to suplex Williams over the ropes, Jones tripped him and held his foot as Williams fell on top, leading to A.J. scoring the three-count in 13:05.  As a result, K.L.D. is out of the championship picture as long as Williams is the titleholder...

There's a lot on the horizon for the MMWA with the King Of St. Louis Cup Tournament in September and the St. Louis Wrestling Hall Of Fame inductions in October.  As for the remainder of the area, the last two weekends in August will be crowded to say the least.

Dynamo Pro Wrestling has an earlier start time of 5 PM on Saturday the 20th as they return to Wood River, IL; the show is headlined by a major title bout as Heavyweight Champion Jake Dirden defends against former champion Mike Outlaw.  Later that evening, Pro Wrestling Resurgence has a show at Pop's in Sauget, IL with K.L.D. vs. Moose as the main event.  Also, Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling has its monthly event in East Carondelet, IL with Ron Powers defending the Classic Title against Attila Khan and Paloma Starr vs. Miss Monica Passeri.  (Both of those shows start at 8 PM.)

As for the final weekend of August, St. Louis Anarchy has a double-shot on Friday the 26th and Saturday the 27th in Alton, IL; World League Wrestling has its big summer show on Saturday the 27th in St. Peters, MO with Mark Henry and Hurricane Helms scheduled for appearances.  Capping off the summer months, PWR has a show on Sunday the 28th in Swansea, IL.

That's my special comment for this, the thirty-third 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.