Now, as promised, a special comment about Thursday's National Wrasslin' League show at the Casa Loma Ballroom in St. Louis, Missouri.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
Despite a weather forecast for a gigantic weekend-long ice storm (which turned out to be slightly off the mark), the first NWL show in St. Louis had a strong turnout of around 300 people. (I heard different attendance numbers from different people, for the record.) Given the massive advertising push for the show, including radio spots and ads in the Scottrade Center, a lot of more casual fans had to be aware of the event. There were far more people in the balcony/general admission seating than in the chairs near the ring, but a few fans moved down to ringside.
It was a very professional-looking setup, far above what you'd see at your standard independent show...especially the JumboTron on the entrance stage! I hadn't had a chance to watch many of the preview videos, but they did a fine job of establishing the new characters.
At the inaugural show in Kansas City, several St. Louis competitors "invaded" which led to a six-man tag team match. In that bout, the team of Royal Blood(Jet & Jax Royal, aka Logan & Sterling Riegel) & Blaine Meeks(aka Bolt Brady) defeated Todd Letterman(aka Kevin Lee Davidson), Dez Wellston(aka Mike Outlaw), and Christian Adonis(aka Elvis Aliaga) when both Royals pinned Letterman after stereo standing moonsaults. According to the videos, Letterman was disgusted by the "unfair" situation and refused to take part in that night's STL vs. KC six-man tag. On the KC side, Dak Draper(aka Sammy Six-Guns from the Denver area) inserted himself into the post-match interview and nominated himself for the team, figuratively elbowing Meeks out of the picture. No matches were known ahead of time other than the six-man tag, but we knew it would be the Royals and Draper against The Blood Brothers(Davey Gibson & Matthew Grundy, aka Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) and a partner to be named later.
Your ring announcer was Ben Simon; your referees were Jason Pemberton & Michael Crase.
Dominick Butler(aka Jayden Fenix) vs. Christian Adonis(w/ Carolina Grizelda Esmeralda Rodriguez, aka Lucy Mendez): The name changes will be an adjustment at first, but it's the nature of the business...from my understanding, only the full-time roster members will be changing names for good while the part-time competitors will use their established names at non-NWL shows. In these particular cases, the characters weren't too much different from their previous identities (aside from the names).
Butler seemed to be occupied with the lovely Ms. Rodriguez at ringside, even giving her a kiss on the cheek before the match...she seemed flattered, but didn't hestitate to interfere on her man's behalf when the situation called for it. Her involvement proved to be the deciding factor as she distracted Butler as he ascended the turnbuckles...that allowed Adonis to knock Butler off the top rope. Adonis finished with a crossed-leg fisherman driver in 6:37. After the match, Marti Belle(yes, THAT Marti Belle, formerly(?) of TNA) tried to get a post-match interview with Butler...but he seemed dazed and unaware that he had just lost the match. He attempted to follow Carolina back to the dressing room area...methinks Mr. Butler has a weakness for the ladies.
NWL President Major Baisden made an appearance for an infodump of sorts on the promotion's structure. From what I understand, his Powerpoint presentation went over a LOT better in Kansas City than it did in St. Louis...heh. Championships will be decided in a few months and there will be a mid-year cross-brand event...that will set the stage for the big final show of the year. Going by the fans' reactions, the segment went a bit long...and going by reports from the Kansas City show, Major is attempting to kowtow to the fans of whichever city happens to be the host of each show. (I'm told that fan even called him on this in KC and he admitted as much, noting that he comes out ahead regardless of who wins.) Baisden also showed off the NWL St. Louis Title belt...looks good. At any rate, this segment set up the main event as Draper and Royal Blood made their entrance, followed by the Blood Brothers and their partner Maverick(aka Moonshine Mantell). The St. Louis fans weren't too familiar with Maverick and I think they were expecting someone else...probably Jack Foster(aka Jake Dirden). Foster was a notable absence from the show, though I'm told they are attempting to keep the shows at a reasonable length...with shows every other week, they can probably afford to draw things out and leave some things for future events.
Party Crasher Boulder(aka Mikey McFinnegan)(w/ Spike, aka Zakk Sawyers) vs. August Marshall(aka Austin Blackburn) of the Anti-Social Network(w/ Tommy Flagg, aka Christian Rose): According to the NWL roster page, Flagg was originally set to team with Oliver James(aka Jason Roberts) but plans changed. The ASN team appears to be a group of "basement dwellers" who REALLY don't like people; Flagg has already blocked me on Twitter! Flagg used his pre-match mic work to complain about the bright lights and the excessive amount of humanity in the building; he and Marshall were a stark contrast to the more "social" Party Crashers. While a few tag teams stayed together in NWL(Roscoe Eat Lisa and Vega/Fitchett), quite a few new pairings were formed like the ASN and The Underground. One nice thing about a stable roster is the ability to focus on steady tag teams (not to mention storylines!). The cornermen were not a major physical factor in this one, but they did help to get the fans into the match. Boulder won by boosting Marshall into a sitout powerbomb in 6:18...all righty then. (I wondered if this was originally supposed to be a tag match...since Missouri licensing is A Thing(tm) for NWL STL, it may or may not have come into play for some people.)
"Takedown" Javy Torres(aka Paco Gonzalez) vs. "Greatness" Marcellus Gaines(aka Stephen Wolf)(w/ Drew Gold, aka Greg Jovi): Gaines is portrayed as a boxing standout who is making the transition into wrestling; Torres has an amateur singlet and uses a more technical style. It was a definite style shift for Gaines who is more of a fast-paced high-flyer as Wolf, but perhaps they'll tell the story that he is adjusting to the wrestling game over time. They seemed to work well together...hopefully they'll cross paths again in the future. Javy went aerial to gain an advantage, but a leap off the second rope landed him on the receiving end of Gaines' knockout punch(the "Southpaw Shooter"); that was all she wrote in 5:08.
The Soldiers(Dez Wellston & Neon Iverson)(aka Mike Outlaw & Justin D'Air) vs. The Underground(Adam Ryan & Jackie Lee Bosch)(aka Danny Adams & Jake Parnell): According to the videos, Ryan is a disgruntled office worker and Bosch is a stranger who has convinced him to get out his aggression in the wrestling ring. The soap-bar logo emphasizes the Fight Club parallel...but is Bosch merely an aspect of Ryan's own personality? (Sorry, spoiler alert.) Wellston & Iverson have been tag team partners in their past lives, including a reign as High Risk Wrestling Tag Team Champions. Iverson is still recovering from a recent knee injury, but he still pulled off some impressive aerial moves...unfortunately, he seemed to reaggravate the injury when Bosch shoved him off the top rope to the floor. Iverson was assisted to the backstage area, forcing Wellston to fight on his own against two opponents. Dez had a lot of fan support, including several family members in attendance...but it wasn't quite enough to propel him to victory on this night. Ryan pinned Wellston after he and Bosch hit a back suplex/top-rope double-stomp combo(Insomnia Dream?) in 9:07.
Intermission...oh wait, NO intermission. Nevertheless, Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): Two Coca-Colas, both of which were generously bought for me (thanks Jackal and David Cox!). Also had a nacho or two from Timothy Miller's plate (again, he offered)...seems like Casa Loma has an upscale menu of food items.
"Supersoul" Coco Rumble(aka Sugar Dunkerton) vs. "The Hanover Hooligan" Jay Lutz(aka Gary Jay): Apparently Rumble was scheduled to face "The Billion-Dollar Brother" Emmett DuBois(aka Dorian Victor), but Victor claimed cramps and sent his accountant Clayton Fox(aka Matt Kenway) to pay off a replacement. Of the out-of-area talents to be included in the NWL, Rumble/Dunkerton was one of the bigger surprises; he's been a national independent standout for several years and had only competed in the St. Louis area a handful of times before this (for St. Louis Anarchy and High Risk Wrestling). Lutz's character is a barfly who loves to fight...he said he took the monetary offer because he has bills to pay and the rent is due. Rumble was a definite standout among the new characters on the show; he definitely has the charisma to capture the fans' attention. Of course, the fans know Jay Lutz quite well from his previous exploits in the area. Coco won a fun match with the Zigzag(which is apparently called the Krush Groove) in 8:47.
Cal Stark(aka Chip Day) vs. "The All-American" Todd Letterman(aka Kevin Lee Davidson): Another surprising NWL roster member was Chip Day, who hadn't competed in the Midwest other than a couple of St. Louis Anarchy shows. The fans weren't too familiar with Stark when he answered Letterman's open challenge, but they were into the match by the end of it; that said a lot about how well the match worked. The former K.L.D. will definitely be a standout in the NWL and one of the favorites to be the first NWL St. Louis Champion. Despite a good effort by Stark, Letterman stopped him with his trademark spinebuster and then followed up with a pumphandle Michinoku Driver for the victory in 5:52.
Skyler Beckett(aka Everett Connors) vs. "The Bull City Boss" Cornell Douglass(aka Murder One): Beckett's character is a rich kid who is making the transition from polo to wrestling. On the other side of the ring was a ring veteran from the southeast making his St. Louis-area debut; Murder One was a mainstay in NWA Wildside during that promotion's heyday. In one of the odder ring name stories in wrestling, he originally called himself "Homicide" but changed his name due to the other Homicide's fame (despite having the name first). Unfortunately for Beckett, he was dominated in this outing as Douglass had the edge in size, power, and experience. Douglass finished with a heart punch(OLDSCHOOL) in 2:29.
Beckett was disappointed over the loss, but his spirits would be lifted by the grand entrance of Buddy Shepherd(aka Evan Gelistico)! Dancing his way to the ring to the tunes of some up-tempo gospel music, Shepherd seemed to be channeling one of his earliest characters(Reverend Evan Gelist) with a touch of Joel Osteen(as one of my esteemed colleagues noted). He entered the ring and seemingly "saved" Beckett, embracing him before leaving the arena in as grand a fashion as he appeared. It's safe to say that Buddy Shepherd was a big hit in his debut appearance...bwahahaha.
Maverick & The Blood Brothers(Davey Gibson & Matthew Grundy) vs. Dak Draper & Royal Blood(Jet & Jax Royal): Scroll up for the alternate identities, I won't type them again...nyah. I hope I wasn't the only one who thought the Royals competed like smaller versions of The Young Bucks (if they were both blond-haired). Over time, they will probably establish a more solid overall approach to their in-ring games...similar to that Matt Sydal fella, if I may say so. Draper is an impressive-looking competitor and got his personality across very well for first-time onlookers. I had only seen Maverick one previous time at a World League Wrestling event(the one with Ric Flair in attendance, about a year and a half ago); I thought he had a strong showing here and established himself well for fans who weren't familiar with him. I look forward to seeing the eventual tag match between the Blood Brothers and Royal Blood. Since Kansas City won their home-turf outing the previous week, it was only natural for the St. Louis crew to emerge victorious in this exchange. The Royals got a little too fancy for their own good and Davey Gibson blocked Jax's top-rope Frankensteiner attempt, then Matthew Grundy dropkicked him as Gibson held him upside-down...and Gibson completed the combination with a superbomb! That was enough for Gibson to score the pinfall in 16:09...though I'm sure the story will continue this Saturday in Kansas City, it ended the night on a high note for the NWL St. Louis team.
I did my best to talk to different fans about their opinions...some were disappointed that it wasn't like St. Louis Anarchy, but that seemed to be acknowledged going into the transition. One of the main positives about NWL is that wrestlers are getting paid well and the full-time guys are even getting health insurance out of the deal...wrestling as a full-time occupation is nearly impossible unless you're under WWE contract. I feel like this group can build an audience over time...with a stable roster and venue, they're better able to build storylines and feuds than your average indie promotion. There have been a lot of critics in the early going and I can understand that on some level, given that this is an entirely new entity in the area and Major Baisden is an unknown to most people around here. Only time will tell in some respects...but I am interested in how things will play out.
Post-show, myself and Ben Simon literally walked across the street to a bar called Yaquis On Cherokee for some late-night pizza. While my current job has given me great experience with this particular food item, I'm still not too keen on vegetable-heavy pizzas. Nevertheless, we split a pizza with Italian sausage and green peppers...stomach be damned, evidently. Since Ben was obviously busy with his ring announcing duties, we had a meeting of the minds(such as it was) about the NWL in general and the local wrestling scene in particular. It will be time for other competitors to step up to the plate with several major players being locked down to NWL(KLD, Dirden, and Outlaw to name a few).
I worked on Saturday so I wasn't at the South Broadway Athletic Club for the monthly offering from the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance...I have the show clips from YouTube but haven't watched them yet. It's been a busy week and I may do a full commentary on that event as well. Updates as warranted, of course. Work also kept me away from most of the Wrestling Over Everything show on Sunday the 8th...I nearly passed on the whole event, but Sarah Rose talked me into stopping by the venue and I caught most of the main event between Leone Mephisto and LaMarcus Clinton.
The next few weeks look like this:
-Saturday 1/21: Pro Wrestling Championship Series in Alton, IL; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Thursday 1/26: NWL in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 2/4: World League Wrestling in Troy, MO
-Thursday 2/9: NWL in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 2/11: MMWA in St. Louis, MO; World Powerhouse Wrestling in Jerseyville, IL
-Sunday 2/12: Wrestling Over Everything in Swansea, IL
-Saturday 2/18: SICW in East Carondelet, IL
-Sunday 2/19: Glory Pro Wrestling in Alton, IL
That's my special comment for this, the first wrestling show I've attended in the year 2017. Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991
P.S. We are all marks.
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