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.
From its beginnings as a backyard promotion called the WCWF to one of the most unique independent groups in the area as the Lethal Wrestling Alliance to its most recent incarnation as St. Louis Anarchy, this group has been a unique brand in the Midwest. My first LWA show was in the summer of 2004 when Gateway Championship Wrestling was on a hiatus; they had a very enthusiastic fanbase who extolled their virtues on the Internets. When GCW returned, several LWA competitors became regulars for the promotion; a slight rivalry ensued as LWA fans felt like their guys weren't represented well on GCW shows and weren't shy about expressing that sentiment. Despite that, they had their own distinct product that embraced the "sports entertainment" side of the business and promoted musical acts and comedy videos on their shows.
As the promotion was in its transition to St. Louis Anarchy, they began a working relationship with the Texas-based Anarchy Championship Wrestling. Several wrestlers traveled to and from Texas to work both groups; a few even moved from Texas to St. Louis. The most notable of those competitors was A.C.H., who has made a splash in Ring Of Honor and in Japanese wrestling in recent years. They also made more of an effort to bring in nationally-known stars. It's hard to believe, but I never missed a St. Louis Anarchy show...I even went to the mini-show in a parking lot in East Alton which had four matches and a handful of fans in attendance. (Look it up.)
Dating back to the LWA days, their guest list reads like a who's-who of wrestling: Matt Sydal, Alex Shelley, MsChif, Chris Sabin, Samoa Joe, Lacey, Austin Aries, Mike Quackenbush, Davey Richards, Daizee Haze, Delirious, Michael Elgin, Ariya Daivari, Darin Corbin, Arik Cannon, Shane Hollister, Tyler Black(Seth Rollins), Sara Del Rey, Ricochet, Chuck Taylor, Claudio Castagnoli(Antonio Cesaro), El Generico(who has been rumored to have some connection to WWE superstar Sami Zayn, but nothing has been conclusively proven), Colt Cabana, Athena(Ember Moon), A.C.H., Robert D. Evans, Tony Kozina, Akira Tozawa, Kyle O'Reilly, Portia Perez, Johnny Gargano, Raven, T.J. Perkins, King(Bad Luck) Fale, Jessicka Havok, Sami Callihan, Heidi Lovelace, Jonathan Gresham, Mark Andrews, Travis Banks, Pete Dunne, B-Boy, Roderick Strong, The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson), Chris Hero, Takaaki Watanabe(EVIL), Trevor Lee, Cedric Alexander, Candice LeRae, Louis Lyndon, Tommaso Ciampa, Sugar Dunkerton, Trik Davis, D.J. Shiima Xion(or simply D.J. Z, if you prefer), Martin Stone, Chip Day, Aaron Solow, Aaron Epic, and finally Jimmy Rave.
The show had a strong turnout, especially once word got out that it would be their final event. I crossed paths with a lot of familiar faces and made some new friends as well: Papa Hales of Wrestling Twitter(tm) fame and "The Marky Smark" Trina from the Last Mark Standing podcast. I appreciated the number of people who said hi and asked how I was doing...the past few months have been rocky for me but I'm working my way through it.Shoutouts in particular: Brian Kelley from Missouri Wrestling Revival, Ben Simon, Drew Abbenhaus, Sarah Rose, Sophie Darling, Jennifer Kieule, Tommy Peterson, David McCutcheon, Mike Chapman, James & Aaron (Roy) Lewis, Greg Flores, Jeff Milovich, Jason Cline, John T, Cearan McGrath, Corey Goodman of Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketskip, John Middendorff, Scott Woll, Bill Volz and Brandon Messmer from the Rent Is Due Podcast, Robert Schwent, and a bunch of people who, regrettably, I'm having difficulty attaching names to but I know their faces(yay social media area). You can bug me about that at the next show I attend.
Saw a few notable wrestling-related names in the house as well; Michael Elgin was promoting his new Glory Pro Wrestling group, which will debut in the Alton venue in 2017. I also saw Ace Steel and Lucy Mendez in the house, giving me a hint about later events...
Your ring announcer was Sarah Rose; your referee was Jason Pemberton.
Promoter Pierre Abernathy started the show; he had rarely appeared in an "official" capacity for SLA in recent years, preferring to focus on behind-the-scenes matters. He acknowledged the situation and introduced National Wrasslin' League promoter Major Baisden to a mixed response. (There is already a "National Wrestling League" in existence, thus the "Wrasslin'".) He joked that it was his first time stepping into a wrestling ring, but he outlined his vision for the NWL and seemed to garner some support from the more skeptical observers. The main focus of the promotion's advertising has been the rivalry between the St. Louis and Kansas City branches...and Pierre would be a big part of the NWL side of things. (I will work out a full scorecard for the name changes in due time.) Fans chanted for Major to "Sign The Pizza Guy", as the guy from the concession stand/bar who delivers pizzas to the wrestling fans had become a minor celebrity in his own right. Major acknowledged that the Thursday shows weren't his first choice, but he hoped to be able to move the events to weekends in the near future.
The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter)(w/ Uncle Leo) vs. The Viking War Party("American Viking" Alexandre Rudolph & "Littlest Viking" Jake Parnell): The Hooligans first came to prominence in the St. Louis area as part of the LWA, holding their Tag Team Titles on two occasions and also being the first SLA Tag Team Champions. In recent years, they've racked up an impressive resume of championships all over the country. This was Uncle Leo's first appearance in St. Louis Anarchy, though he's become their regular manager in other promotions. Rudolph was once one of the LWA "Superfans" and eventually trained to wrestle, becoming a major force in both singles competition and as a part of the Vikings team. These two teams have a long history as both rivals and allies; they've fought across the U.S. and crossed paths in the SLA Tag Title tournament as well. This was a wild way to kick off the in-ring portion of the show as the teams brawled all over the place, much to the delight of the fans in attendance. SLA has always had fairly relaxed rule enforcement and disqualifications rarely happen, so weapons came into play on the floor. The match boiled down to the "bar fight" squareoff that tends to happen in the Hooligans' matches; the four men sat in chairs and traded punches. For a change of pace, this exchange actually led to the end of the match as Devin Cutter simply pummeled Parnell to the mat and pinned him in 15:53...all righty then. Both teams spoke to the fans after the match(which would become a trend for the evening, understandably so); however, Rudolph stunned the fans by announcing that the Vikings would go their separate ways. It seemed to be an amicable split as the two remain friends, but they will be focusing on their singles careers.
"Dad Bod" Sean Orleans vs. Chris Crunk vs. Kody Lane vs. Ken Lee: I was unclear on whether Kody was going by Lane or Krash; I think it said Lane on his gear, but he had gone by Kody Krash in previous appearances. Crunk and Lee team up as the Spring Street Suicide Squad in the southeast and I ass/u/me they traveled to the show with Jimmy Rave. It's tough to get a read on people in this format of a match, but I plan to look up some of their other work. I'm still getting used to Orleans as a fan favorite; it reminds me of when Sean Vincent first took that career path and I felt a bit dirty to be rooting for him. Orleans was decked out in random Kinesio Tape(a la WWE wrestlers like Cesaro), telling the fans "I've heard it helps!" It was a fun sprint and Orleans got the pin on Crunk in 6:03 after a double Stone Cold Stunner on Crunk and Lee.
Donovan Danhausen vs. Slade Sludge: Danhausen had appeared for Anarchy a handful of times in the past; the fans recognized him and gave him a "Welcome Back" chant. One of my friends noted the obvious C.M. Punk influence in his ring gear and tattoos. Sludge began appearing for Anarchy fairly recently, but I had first seen him at Outlaw Wrestling. They had a solid matchup and Danhausen won with a sitout powerbomb in 6:24.
"Absolute" Ricky Starks vs. Kiyoshi Shizuka(w/ Greg Jovi): This was Shizuka's Anarchy debut and Jovi presented him as one of his masked army. Starks said that he had an epiphany; Vince McMahon DID NOT OWN HIM and he tore up his WWE contract, saying he would staying with St. Louis Anarchy FOREVER! (.........so who's telling him?.........) Anywho, fun match...I did note that Shizuka was another guy who typically wrestles in the Kansas City area. Starks won with his version of the Angel's Wings in 8:43...given the move's similarity to a pretty famous finisher, I wonder if he should call it the Ode To Paul? #AllHail #AllHale
Mike Outlaw vs. Kevin Lee Davidson: Outlaw and K.L.D. had told me about this match the week before at South Broadway; I really liked their match at Dynamo Pro and they told me that their recent bout at Proving Ground Pro was even better. Both guys are on the verge of moving up in the wrestling world and I've been fortunate to see them learn and grow as competitors. In fact, I think it was at an Anarchy show that pre-wrestling Outlaw introduced himself to me(coming to the unusual deduction that I "looked like someone important") and asked me about training spots in the area. K.L.D. rose to the top of the area's scene pretty quickly and was one of the first major signings of the new NWL group; after his December matches in Metro Pro and PWCS, he'll officially be known as Todd Letterman. (Adjusting the crowd chants may take some time.) Outlaw won their Dynamo encounter and I hadn't heard who emerged victorious in PGP. As expected, these guys had a tremendous matchup...Davidson cut off Outlaw on the top rope and delivered an impressive Regal Roll off the second rope! The finishing spinebuster was just the icing on the cake and the big man scored a major victory in 10:01.
"Risky Business" Everett Connors vs. Jimmy Rave: Rave's appearance was the product of Mat Fitchett's open challenge to defend his Heavyweight Title...I had tweeted about wanting Anarchy to bring in Rave, so Rave responded and the show's original main event was set to be Fitchett-Rave for the championship. (That is as close as I'll ever come to booking a match, for the record.) However, the card was subject to change and the title match was altered, so Rave faced Connors instead. Connors is one of the youngest members of the St. Louis wrestling scene and has gotten quite a few opportunities thus far, including matches with D.J. Z and Grado. Rave was an alumnus of NWA Wildside, a Georgia promotion that produced such competitors as A.J. Styles, Abyss, and "R-Truth" Ron Killings; he was also known as the "Crown Jewel" of Prince Nana's Embassy in ROH.
Before the match, Evan Gelistico & Danny Adams officially granted Connors his separation from The Cause so he could "be himself"; Connors then made his entrance in his Justin Beiber-inspired attire. However, the seemingly-peaceful separation turned ugly and Connors fought off his former stablemates, establishing himself as the fan favorite for this match with the veteran rulebreaker Rave. They had a strong bout with a lot of close calls either way, but Rave put him away with the Ghanarea(snap cradle Olympic Slam, a la Jeremy Wyatt's Lightning Spiral) in 15:46. Rave complimented Connors afterwards and thanked the fans and promotion for having him in St. Louis...thank you much for being here, sir.
You know, this is getting long, so I'm gonna make this a two-parter if you don't mind...second half will be posted in the next few days. Stay tuned...Same Pat-Time, Same Pat-Channel.
-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991
P.S. We are all marks.
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