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.

For those unaware, my five-plus years as a dental claim processor/examiner at Dearborn National ended on Wednesday.  I've got a job interview lined up tomorrow and some good leads otherwise, so hopefully my unemployment will be short-lived.  Saturday night was a good time to take my mind off the real-life stuff and enjoy the pro rasslin at the Midwest's longest-running promotion and venue.

The theme for the night was the annual King Of St. Louis (Cable) Cup Tournament; the winner would receive a contract for a guaranteed shot at any title of his choosing.  To date, every tournament winner has gone on to capture the Heavyweight Championship within a few months, so it has become an important stepping stone for MMWA competitors to climb the ladder of contention.  Broadway had its traditional strong attendance despite Beyonce having a concert in St. Louis that night...I'm pretty sure that the crossover audience was minimal there.

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

"The Millenial" Danny Adams & J-Mal Swagg vs. T.V. Champion "Da Bomb" Brian James & Junior Heavyweight Champion "Risky Business" Everett Connors:  Connors had wrapped his championship belt in Justin Bieber-themed wrapping paper and renamed it the Bieber Championship...I'm pretty sure that's not official.  Connors regained the Jr. Title from Brandon Aarons in August and then interfered to help James regain his Television Championship from Adams.  With Aarons on the road for the weekend, Adams teamed with former Jr. Champ Swagg for this opening matchup.  Evan Gelistico and "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him) casually strolled out into the audience to observe the first half of the show from that vantage point.  Swagg seemed to be the odd man out of the ongoing story, but I could see him stepping up to challenge Connors in the near future.  The end came when Adams pinned James after his reverse Stunner in 8:21, re-establishing his claim to a title rematch.

Kevin Lee Davidson vs. B.T. Daramola(w/ Da'Marius Jones), King Of St. Louis Cup Tournament:  Heavyweight Champion A.J. Williams seemingly had the night off as the eight contenders battled for a potential shot at his title.  While B.T. seemed to be a better matchup than usual for K.L.D. in terms of sheer size, he wasn't going to be overpowering the former titleholder; Davidson won with his signature spinebuster in 5:19.

Big Jim Hoffarth vs. Barackus, King Of St. Louis Cup Tournament:  Hoffarth was absent from the South Broadway Athletic Club on this night; I don't know if it had to do with Missouri licensing or some other issue.  At any rate, this battle of super heavyweights was not to be; after a mandatory ten-count from the official, Barackus was declared the winner by forfeit and got an easy ride to the finals.

Tag Team Champion Brandon Espinosa vs. Damion Cortess for the MWR Missouri Title:  Espinosa had been scheduled to defend the Tag Titles with Ace Hawkins against Evan Gelistico & "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him).  However, Hawkins cancelled on the show a few days beforehand so Espy was rescheduled for a singles match with the MWR belt at stake.  I had primarily seen Cortess in tag team matchups before this, so this was a good test for him against a versatile opponent; he's still early in his career so I look forward to his progress in the next few years.  Espy got sidetracked for a bit as he yelled at Jason Spurgeon(of the Dirty Heinous web show) for encouraging a "Shaft" chant.  Espinosa won a competitive match with the cross-armbreaker in 14:11.

After the bout, Espy talked about how the two of them had gone to high school together but Cortess had only recently entered the wrestling fray.  The two seemed to have mutual respect for each other, but Gelistico & Kenway stormed the ring to ruin the mood.  They focused their attack on Espinosa, then complained that they were contractually supposed to get a shot at the Tag Team Titles and should get them by forfeit if Ace Hawkins wasn't there to compete with his tag team partner (it had been several months since the titles had been defended by The Eternals).  In the heat of the moment, Espinosa said that he would face both of them at once with the Tag Titles at stake...the match was set for later in the evening.

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  A Mountain Dew and a Pepsi.  I probably should have gotten something to eat as well, as I hadn't had much for dinner...

Moondog Rover vs. "The Enforcer" Jimmy D, King Of St. Louis Cup Tournament:  Commissioner Jim Harris bugged Jimmy D about not wearing his dress(as he supposed to wear it for all of his matches after the loss to Shaft), but it didn't really lead to anything of consequence.  The match was not a technical classic and I never expected it to be...it was a brawl from start to finish.  Moondog OVAH~! is still one of the most popular competitors in the area.  The fight spilled out of the ring and never returned to it...the referee tried to restore order and was shoved down by both competitors, resulting in a no-contest in 6:36 and both men being eliminated from the tournament.  Several wrestlers had to help separate the two before things could settle down.

"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson vs. Da'Marius Jones(w/ B.T. Daramola), King Of St. Louis Cup Tournament:  Out of the tournament field, these two were the only previous winners.  Jackson lost the Heavyweight Title under controversial circumstances as he was in a triple threat match with Jones and A.J. Williams; both men had him in submission holds at the same time and Jackson tapped out, resulting in the championship being held up.  Williams would emerge with the belt in a championship scramble match involving Jackson, Jones, and K.L.D....Jackson took out his frustration on B.T. in August, so Jones was next on his list with the champion M.I.A.  Jones has come a long way in the rulebreaker role and I hope to see him branch out in his career soon.  Jackson appeared to have the advantage, but a rope break gave Jones the opening to deliver a mule kick to the groin that the referee missed.  Jones finished with a more traditional Flatliner(instead of his usual Paydirt) in 7:39 to secure the remaining spot in the tournament final.

MWR Missouri Champion Brandon Espinosa vs. Evan Gelistico & "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him) for the Tag Team Titles:  Ace Hawkins has been M.I.A. for a few recent events; he's scheduled for at least one other upcoming show to my knowledge.  Espy actually tried to challenge for the Tag Titles on his own once, but the numbers were too much as he lost to Andrew "The Wolf" Wilder & "Black Panther" Johnathan Zulu...he finally secured the tag team gold when he brought back Hawkins to reform their team.  This was an odd situation as Espy managed to be hated in his first match of the night and then the fan favorite in his second match...go figure.  The numbers were in favor of the challengers, but Espinosa wouldn't stay down and frustration got the better of them...Kenway finally BELTed Espy for the disqualification finish in 9:00 on the dot.  The post-match beatdown ensued...with Hawkins absent, Espinosa had no friends to help him out.

Kevin Lee Davidson vs. Da'Marius Jones vs. Barackus, King Of St. Louis Cup Tournament Final:  Jones tried to stay out of the line of fire in the early going, letting the two big guys battle it out...every time he tried to stick his nose into things, he was swatted aside.  Whenever K.L.D. was on the verge of gaining a sustained advantage, Jones would run in to break things up...Da'Marius attempted to forge an alliance of convenience with Barackus, but that was as short-lived as you might expect.  Davidson got the massive Barackus up on his shoulders on two occasions, but each time Jones interrupted with a well-timed superkick.  K.L.D. had to deal with each opponent individually to secure the victory; he finally got Jones out of the way long enough to deliver the Regal Roll on Barackus!  With the master of the clawhold out of the way, Davidson finished off Jones with the spinebuster in 9:49, becoming the sixth winner of the King Of St. Louis Cup Tournament!  While his handicap match loss to Williams & Jones in August had seemingly prevented him from seeking another title opportunity at Williams, his newly-won contract may tell a different story...

Next Saturday will have two significant shows in the area; Dynamo Pro Wrestling returns to Glen Carbon, IL and Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling has its monthly offering in East Carondelet, IL.  Dynamo's two new singles champions will defend their titles as Mike Outlaw puts the Heavyweight Title on the line against both Brandon Espinosa and Tag Team Champion Jon Webb; new D-1 Champion Shorty Biggs defends against his Bumrush Brother tag team partner (and former D-1 Champ) Outtkast.  On top of that, Makaze faces Ozzie Gallagher in a mask-vs.-hair grudge match.  On the SICW side, Ron Powers defends the Classic Title against Kahagas; in a battle of Italy vs. The Wylde Side, Karim Brigante and Miss Monica Passeri face Curtis Wylde and Wyldefyre.  (It will be Wyldefyre's first official match in several years!)  Also, B. Brian Blair of The Killer Bees will be in the house.  Either way you go, it'll be a good time for area rasslin fans next weekend...go where your mood and personal taste takes you.

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