Now, as promised, a special comment about Friday's St. Louis Anarchy show at the Spaulding Hall Club in Alton, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
I went to seven wrestling shows in the month of August (well, six and two-thirds), so I won't mind taking it easy on Labor Day weekend. Who knows, maybe someone will talk me into driving to Stride Pro Wrestling in Marion, IL next Saturday; I seem to be easily persuaded like that.
People seem to be more combative than ever on the Internetz, and not just in the realm of professional wrestling (I've seen friends and even family members separated by political arguments). Recently, a prominent wrestler openly threatened fans on social media. I have discovered that show business(in all its forms) is not for the thin-skinned...it's the nature of The Biz(tm) that spectators will judge you, but that judgement is a lot more visible nowadays. Standup comedy is a realm where I had to learn to accept feedback ranging from constructive to "u suk"; one improves by taking the RIGHT feedback to heart. I've never been a fan of the mindset that one can only judge if they've been in those shoes; it certainly strengthens that opinion, but it's not the be-all end-all.
Also, I try not to say anything online that I wouldn't say in person...that may lead to my commentaries being overly "diplomatic" at times, I suppose. At the end of the day, I'm one fan with one seat at the show and writing one whiny blog...I only speak for myself. I'm a big believer in watching for oneself and drawing one's own conclusion, especially since people see fit to start huge arguments about whose "fake fighter"(phrase used in jest) is better. Different people like different things; it's a business and the only true measure of who's doing it "right" or "wrong" is the almighty dollar. Are some people just assholes? Absolutely, but that doesn't give anyone the right to threaten violence.
Anywho...wrestling show, yay! It was time for another Friday/Saturday double-shot for St. Louis Anarchy with the premise of a "Bragging Rights" series between Team Anarchy and four prominent independent competitors. Trik Davis was scheduled to be on Anarchy's team but he was missing in action for the weekend; Curt Stallion took his place. As a result, a few matches were switched around on this show; it was originally scheduled to be Davey Vega vs. Aaron Epic, Jojo Bravo vs. Chip Day, and Trik vs. Aaron Solow. The point system awarded five points for a pinfall win, ten points for a submission, and twenty points for a knockout.
Your ring announcer was Sarah Rose, making her debut in that position; she was a bit nervous at first but settled into the role over the course of the weekend. Your referees were Austin Blackburn & Brandon Tolle.
Jeff Gant & "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him) vs. The Diamond Dogs(Luke Langley & Graham Bell): The show started late due to technical issues; I was told the sound equipment didn't arrive until the last minute. As a result, this "pre-show" match took place around 7:20 on a show advertised to begin at 7:00. The Diamond Dogs have also competed as the Kansas City Wolves. Hadn't seen Gant at SLA in a while; he had more recently competed for Pro Wrestling Championship Series as well as Outlaw Wrestling. This was Kenway's debut for SLA. Tag team experience was the deciding factor in this one; one of the Dogs delivered a top-rope version of a Codebreaker on Gant, then held him across his knees as the other hit a top-rope double-stomp to the back. That was enough for Bell to pin Gant in 6:34.
The show officially started with Team Gary Jay and Team Stone meeting in the ring for a layout of the rules and point system. Stone did an arrogant promo which turned some of the fans against his squad...
"Absolute" Ricky Starks vs. Jason Roberts: Starks' blossoming WWE career has continued its progression; he made his first appearance on WWE programming in a loss to Kane on Main Event. His WWE/NXT deal is right around the corner (and has been for quite some time now) and the fans chanted "We Will Miss You". #takeaknee In a shocker, Roberts got a sunset flip pin out of nowhere in 0:38...say what? Starks was stunned, but he said that wanted to give the fans something more and challenged Roberts to an immediate rematch.
"Absolute" Ricky Starks vs. Jason Roberts: This was a more standard competitive matchup and Starks threw in a few shoutouts to his WWE compatriots, including what I will refer to as "The People's Backflop". Roberts put up a good fight, but Starks put him away with a Rock Bottom in 5:04. Starks praised Roberts afterwards, saying the kid had something and would be counted on to hold down the fort once he leaves for The Fed(tm).
"The Lone Star" Curt Stallion vs. Aaron Solow, Bragging Rights Match: I hadn't seen Solow in quite a while; he was a regular in this area for a short time, teaming up with his then-tag team partner and fellow Davey Richards trainee Darren Dean(RIP). He's made an appearance or two on NXT, so hopefully Ricky Starks can put in a good word for him with The Office(tm). Stallion has been a semi-regular in the area in recent years, though he competes all over the place (particularly in Texas). I always appreciate an old-school finishing hold; Solo focused on Stallion's arm en route to a tapout win via Fujiwara armbar in 7:20. That put Team Stone in the lead with a score of 10-0.
Paco Gonzalez vs. Kevin Lee Davidson vs. Slade Porter vs. Slade Sludge: Sludge was making his SLA debut; I had previously seen him at Outlaw Wrestling and he has become a regular for IWA Mid-South. The only wrestler I hadn't previously seen was fratboy Porter, who wrestles in the southeast and presumably traveled with the Team Stone crew. K.L.D. seemed to be the obvious favorite in terms of sheer size, but Paco had a title shot scheduled for the follow night and was looking for a momentum boost. I'll freely admit to being a bit burned out on the multi-way schmozz matches; it's a way to get several people on the card, everyone hits their cool moves, then someone usually steals a pinfall to end it (with psychology falling by the wayside in favor of wrestlers simply rolling out of the ring while the other participants fight). The match was fun for what it was; the wrestlers ganged up on K.L.D. a few different times, trying to get the big man out of the picture so they could have a better shot at winning. The finish came rather quickly as Paco pinned Sludge after a Death Valley Driver in 5:15, then vowed to win the Heavyweight Title at the following night's show regardless of who had it. (Champion Mat Fitchett was scheduled to defend against a mystery opponent in the night's main event.)
Jojo Bravo vs. Aaron Epic, Bragging Rights Match: Out of the members of Team Stone, I was the least familiar with Epic. His trainers included Kahagas, Matt Bentley, Jamie Knoble, and Hack Myers; he teamed with Sugar Dunkerton as The Kings Of The Armory(#KOA for short) and had a few matches in Pro Wrestling Collision. Despite his actions at the previous St. Louis Anarchy event, Jojo still got a lot of cheers...he had face paint and different ring attire to go with his more serious attitude. They had a good solid matchup, ending with Jojo's Samurai Driver(crossed-leg fisherman driver) in 7:21 to put Team Gary Jay on the board. (Team Stone 10, Team Gary Jay 5)
Gary Jay vs. "The Guvnor" Martin Stone, Bragging Rights Match: These two had battled in the southeast and I believe Gary scored the win in their first encounter. Stone had a cup of coffee in NXT, competing at different times as Martin Stone and Danny Burch. This had the most hype out of the Friday night matches as the two team captains squared off...it was exactly the kind of hard-hitting affair that everyone expected. Gary Jay has come a long way since he and the other Submission Squad members were treated as a joke at CHIKARA King Of Trios; he's earned a ton of respect on the national scene, including appearances for promotions like EVOLVE and Full Impact Pro. As for Stone, it didn't take long for him to win over the Midwest fans; I've gained a greater appreciation for the British wrestling style in recent years. The two threw some serious bomb as the match wore on, with Stone incredibly surviving some of Gary's most lethal forearm strikes. Stone finally felled Gary with a nasty step-up headbutt, scoring the three-count in 22:30 to widen his team's lead to 15-5.
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm)(which he can verify since he was there): One root beer, plus I humbly and graciously asked if I could have a slice of two of Ben's pizza. Much appreciated.
"The Leader Of The Pack" Stephen Wolf vs. Austin Blackburn(w/ Tag Team Champion Evan Gelistico, Danny Adams, & Everett Connors): Blackburn had officiated some matches in the first half of the show and called things fairly; he was under a lot of pressure from The Cause to redeem himself for recent setbacks in this bout. Blackburn got some major air on a no-hands plancha to the floor, nearly overshooting his opponent Wolf! The Cause member stuck their noses into the proceedings, but Blackburn had a change of heart and refused to use the Rulebook as a weapon. As a result, his stablemates walked away from ringside and Wolf capitalized with the Blue Thunder Bomb to win in 9:46. After that, Gelistico had Blackburn remain at ringside to see how things should be done...and he professed his hatred for "carnies", prompting the arrival of The Cause's next opponents.
Team I.O.U.("The Down-South Dandy" Nick Iggy & "The Music City Mutt" Kerry Awful) vs. Danny Adams & Everett Connors(w/ Tag Team Champion Evan Gelistico & Austin Blackburn): While Iggy & Awful had been rulebreakers at times in St. Louis Anarchy, they were pretty clearly the fan favorites in this encounter. Once again it came down to tag team experience as Team I.O.U. was the more cohesive unit; Iggy pinned Adams after the Carnie Stomp(which involved Awful boosting Iggy up into an advanced curbstomp) in 12:13.
The night wasn't quite over for Iggy & Awful...Greg Jovi had promised to wreak havoc on Circus Maximus weekend and brought a slew of masked competitors out to attack Team I.O.U. It was interesting to see Makaze in that group as he and Jovi hate each other...in fact, Makaze beat the hell out of Jovi in that very venue less than a year ago. The rest of the crew included Bahamut, Dash Rando, Super Electro, another electricity-themed masked man, Orange Lazarus, Dangerous Deveroux, Rebelucha, and Intrepidus. Jovi said that the end had arrived for St. Louis Anarchy...stay tuned for further developments.
"The Ace Of Anarchy" Davey Vega vs. "Do Or Die" Chip Day, Bragging Rights Match: Day had a slew of nicknames and made Sarah recite each and every one of them. I hadn't seen Day since his days in NWA Anarchy; he's bulked up since that time (not a bad thing). Day feigned a knee injury in the early stages of the match to lure Vega into a cheapshot, taking the advantage for the next several minutes. It seemed like Team Gary Jay should have been going for more submission victories(or even knockouts) to counteract their early deficit, but that's why I'm not a wrestler. They exchanged a lot of near-falls, but Vega pulled out the win with a modified victory roll that was more like a reverse jackknife cradle(if that makes sense) in 11:44. That closed the gap, but Team Stone remained in the lead at 15-10.
The Cause(Evan Gelistico & Adam Caster)(w/ Danny Adams & Everett Connors) vs. Roscoe Eat Lisa("Zesty" Zakk Sawyers & "The Big Mustache On Campus" Mikey McFinnegan) for the Tag Team Titles: R.E.L. won a four-team tournament at the previous Anarchy double-shot to earn this opportunity, beating The Viking War Party(Alexandre Rudolph & Jake Parnell) and The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter). The presence of Austin Blackburn as referee was cause for concern, but he seemed intent on calling it down the middle after his blowup with the rest of The Cause earlier in the night. The match was progressing nicely until Sawyers accidentally laid out referee Blackburn with a kick...he had to be assisted to the backstage area and Tolle took his place (one of the few times Tolle's gotten a positive crowd reaction at Anarchy!). Roscoe Eat Lisa had control of the match and McFinnegan nearly had the title-winning pin, but Caster pulled Tolle out of the ring before the three-count...that led to Tolle ejecting the extra Cause members from ringside. As Tolle was occupied with escorting Adams and Connors from ringside, McFinnegan hit Gelistico with a Code Red and had him pinned...Blackburn ran back into the ring and it seemed as though the fix was in. However, Blackburn surprised everyone by making a legitimate three-count...ladies and gentlemen, we have NEWWWWW Tag Team Champions! The Cause's 370-day reign had ended and the reign of Roscoe Eat Lisa had begun! Zakk and Mikey made nice with Blackburn afterwards and all was right with the world...
Mat Fitchett vs. "Dirdey" Jake Dirden for the Heavyweight Title: I had no idea who the challenger might be...when the song "House Of The Rising Sun" started up, I joked that it might be Sean Orleans(who was running the audio for the night). Someone else suggested "Dirty" Andy Dalton(as he uses that theme)...but I certainly was NOT expecting Jake Dirden to walk through the curtain. The mood changed in a hurry as the champion was up against a much larger and stronger opponent in their first-ever meeting. I had been hoping to see this match for a while...with Dirden no longer holding the Dynamo Pro Heavyweight Title, he might be more open to competing for other area promotions. The cliche "David vs. Goliath" is often used in this case, but it was very fitting as Fitchett had to stick and move against the big man...he also surprised Dirden with a couple of released German suplexes! Fitchett survived the best that Dirden could dish out, striking fast with moves like the Pele Kick...it took not one but two flying knee strikes, but Fitchett finally put Dirden down for the count in 17:05 to retain his title!
After the match, Paco Gonzalez hit the ring to confront the titleholder...it looked like a simple tease for the following night's championship match, but after words were exchanged, Paco laid out Fitchett with a superkick! Paco had sent a message...he was coming for the title and he didn't care about being the "fan favorite" in the process.
It was a long weekend and it was far from over...but that's another story for another time. Tune in next time...same Pat-Time, same Pat-Channel.
That's my special comment for this, the thirty-sixty 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment