Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling show at the Firehouse in Swansea, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
On the job front, I'm working part-time as a delivery driver for Pizza Hut; my first day was on Saturday and it turned into a longer day than anticipated. Despite a break in the middle, I had a serious baptism by fire but came away with some decent tip money. I didn't get off work until almost 8:00...I had already figured that I wouldn't make it to World League Wrestling in Troy, MO due to the driving distance and some sort of attempt to budget myself (plus that show started at 7). (I am still keeping an eye out for full-time employment...so if anyone knows of a place that's hiring in that regard, drop me a line.)
I dashed home to change clothes and then made the quick drive to the Swansea Firehouse for SICW, arriving at about 8:15; I had to park in the lot of a nearby church as the firehouse's lot was full. Ben Simon informed me that all I missed was a lot of talking, as promoter Herb Simmons and company acknowledged the fire department and the sponsors for the show. I got there as the first match was starting...it was a packed house!
Moondog Rover vs. Flaming Freddie Fury: I would not have thought of this bout as a fast-paced opening contest, but that's why I'm not a promoter/booker. It was more of a light-hearted comedy bout as schticks collided...Fury even gave an impromptu lap dance to Nathan Shaw at ringside! Moondog OVAH picked up the win with a World's Strongest Slam in 7:34.
Bobby D vs. "Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner: This battle of fan favorites was a rematch from a recent bout in East Carondelet; that encounter ended in a no-contest when D injured his knee while executing a somersault plancha. Gunner was originally going to be awarded the victory because D was unable to continue, but he didn't want the win that way...so the two finally crossed paths again on equal footing on this night. The two knew each other well and Gunner was able to counter D's attempts at a Pedigree, but D switched tactics and won with a sunset flip in 7:01.
J-Mal Swagg vs. Brandon Espinosa(w/ Travis Cook): Espy was as outspoken as always, complaining about a lack of competition as he was matched up against a man in his SICW debut. While the two had met before in other promotions(specifically the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance), Espinosa made it clear that his sights were set higher, specifically on the Classic Wrestling Championship held by Ron Powers. Espy clarified himself to his manager Travis Cook: It didn't matter if Cook's other protege Attila Khan held the gold at the end of the night because he would still want a title opportunity. That left Travis with some food for thought as the competitors locked up...Swagg gave his recent rival a good fight, but Espinosa finished him off with a double-underhook brainbuster in 8:42.
"The Enforcer" Jimmy D vs. "The" Ace Hawkins: Hawkins hadn't competed for SICW in a few years (and had been missing from MMWA lately as well, despite being one-half of their Tag Team Champions with Espy). Notably, the fans considered Jimmy D to be the lesser of two evils and he had their support in this particular outing. D's brawling style and experience weren't quite enough to overcome Hawkins' agility and cunning; Ace delivered a running somersault Ace Crusher for the win in 4:39.
Like his tag team partner Espinosa, Hawkins was not impressed by the level of his competition and said he wanted a bigger challenge...that brought out Gary Jackson, who was scheduled to have the night off but was more than willing to take Ace up on his request. Ace backed off, but promoter Herb Simmons got Ace to agree to face Gary in the future. However, Herb defined "the future" as "later that night" and said the match would happen right after the intermission...bwahahaha.
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): Mountain Dew, Pepsi, and Skittles. I had no time to eat anything and threw a frozen dinner in the microwave when I got home, so I had an empty stomach that evening...
"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson vs. "The" Ace Hawkins: Not many people can make fashion choices work like Gary Jackson, and that includes the combination of leopard-print tights and tassels. Maybe I should institute the Gary Jackson Fashion Watch(tm) as a regular feature in these commentaries...we shall see. The match was relatively short, but then it was essentially a preview of coming attractions...Jackson let his temper get the better of him as he beat down Hawkins in the corner, then shoved the referee away when he called for a break. That led to a disqualification in 5:33 as Ace got his second win of the night, though Jackson got some post-match retribution by locking Hawkins in the Texas Cloverleaf. Gary said he would never strike an official intentionally(so what did we just see?) and wanted another piece of Ace, but Herb said he had his match for the night. Perhaps sometime in the near future, though...
Ron Powers vs. Attila Khan(w/ Travis Cook) for the Classic Title: This was some odd match placement; Drew noted that there were two more matches after this scheduled main event (the only match announced prior to the show). Travis Cook asked the fans NOT to chant "USA" in the name of multiculturalism since it would seriously offend Khan...har har. It was about what I expected; the two brawled all over the building and Khan was left bloody from being rammed into the garage door of the firehouse. Powers fought back and delivered the RKO, but Espinosa & Hawkins attacked Powers for the disqualification in 6:10. Gary Jackson made the save and the post-match promos set up Powers & Jackson vs. Khan & Espinosa in a cage(!) for November 5th in Swansea. (Notably, SICW Wrestling Explosion mentioned the match as Khan teaming with Chris Hargas and the bout being a best-of-three-falls affair, but the card is subject to change as always.)
Intermission number two~! I have nothing to add, really. I'm still tired and it's Monday evening.
"Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent & Big Jim Hoffarth vs. "Volatile" Curtis Wylde & "Unstable" Dave Vaughn(w/ Wyldefyre): Vincent has long-term issues with both Wylde and Vaughn, plus Hoffarth crossed paths with Wylde in recent months. Vincent and Hoffarth weren't exactly the most fluid of tag team combinations, but I don't think they had teamed up before this. On the flip side, Wylde and Vaughn had defeated Vincent and Johnny Blade in East Carondelet last month so they had a slight edge in team experience. The fans in attendance came up with a new one in terms of chants: "Shiny Pants Has No Butt" (directed at Wyldefyre). Vaughn got the winning fall on Vincent after the double-underhook DDT in 12:04, so that feud MUST CONTINUE~!
After the match, Curtis Wylde gloated about his team's win and directed his venom at both the fans in attendance and the firehouse's resident mascot "Firepup". That brought out Ken Kasa for a confrontation with Wylde, nicely segueing into the final match of the evening...
"Ironman" Ken Kasa vs. Waco(w/ Big Daddy): This harkened back to the days when MMWA/SICW would put the main event in the middle of the card. If I remember Larry Matysik correctly, that was done in the Wrestling At the Chase days as well. Kasa appeared to tweak his knee when the fight spilled out of the ring, giving Waco a brief advantage...but the former Classic Champion built momentum before his upcoming title shot at Ron Powers with his victory here. Kasa took Waco down in the Tazmission and the referee called for the bell at 8:05, awarding Kasa the match by "technical submission" as Waco lost consciousness.
The Wyldes had came back out to ringside to observe the match, leading to another verbal sparring session. Wylde suggested a lumberjack match at the next Swansea show...perhaps with the Swansea firefighters serving as the lumberjacks? Promoter Herb Simmons liked the idea and joked that he was glad he thought of it, suggesting that the firefighters may not be terribly fond of Wylde...and Wylde seemed to be rethinking his match suggestion at that moment.
My current work situation may put a damper on upcoming weekends...I'm currently scheduled to work next Saturday evening, so it looks like I'll be relegated to YouTube viewing for the MMWA show that night. Will have to miss a family get-together bonfire as well, unfortunately. Metro Pro Wrestling has a show that night for those in the Kansas City area.
World League Wrestling is in a weird place right now as Heavyweight Champion Trevor Murdoch has been missing in action and the Tag Team Titles have been vacated due to the absences of Michael Magnuson(quit wrestling) and Dave DeLorean(injured). Lucy Mendez defeated Stacey O'Brien to capture the WLW Women's Title for a third time...good for her.
The rest of October looks like this:
-Saturday 10/15: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Glen Carbon, IL; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 10/22: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO (4 Hands Brewery/afternoon show)
-Saturday 10/29: Pro Wrestling Championship Series in Granite City, IL
-Sunday 10/30: Wrestling Over Everything in Swansea, IL
That's my special comment for this, the forty-second 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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