Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Dynamo Pro Wrestling show at the Mineral Springs Mall in Alton, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
Dynamo had been in limbo for a few months with a lack of a steady venue (The Sports Academy in Glen Carbon is booked for soccer season). Also, several key roster members had departed for various reasons; Ricky Cruz had retired and Jake Dirden & Mike Outlaw had moved on to full-time spots with the National Wrasslin' League. It was time for newer faces to step up to the plate and make their mark.
The attendance was a good sign as the show had a really solid turnout...the event got a good plug at Glory Pro last Sunday. (Thanks Trina!) Hopefully this can turn into a consistent venue for the promotion.
Your ring announcers were Chris Roedel & Luke Roberts; your referees were Jay King, Scott Ramsey, & Richard White.
Tag Team Champion Justin D'Air vs. Jackal vs. Jayson Khaos vs. The Snitch: D'Air had been scheduled to team with "The Valedictorian" Keon Option in a title defense against The Professionals, but Option was absent for unknown reasons. D'Air had been wrestling sparingly in recent months due to a knee injury but appears to be back to full speed; however, the low ceiling made high-flying maneuvers a riskier option than normal. That didn't keep the competitors from the dive sequence that is traditional in a match such as this, capped off by a D'Air somersault plancha from the top rope onto the other opponents! D'Air got Khaos in the ring with Jackal and Snitch occupying each other on the floor. Khaos tried to roll away from D'Air's attempted top-rope move, but D'Air still landed the frog splash from three-quarters of the way across the ring for the victory in 12:49!
"The Wind Of Destruction" Makaze vs. Jack Gamble: Gamble & Jon Webb have walked the line between fan favorites and rulebreakers in Dynamo; this seemed to be a battle of fan favorites as Gamble threw Mardi Gras beads to the fans, but he adopted a more aggressive style once the match began. That solidified the fan support for the masked Wind Of Destruction; Gamble gave him a good fight and seemingly teased the use of a foreign object at one point, but Makaze rolled him up for the pin in 8:43.
The Troy Athletic Club("The Freestyle Phenom" Jay Howard & Roy Lewis) vs. The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby): It had been a while since I'd seen the T.A.C.; stablemate "The Natural" J.A. Fair was in attendance but didn't appear in an official capacity. Howard has been busy in Missouri promotions, currently holding the High Risk Wrestling Heavyweight Title and also holding the NWA Missouri Title until recently. It was noted to me that Dynamo Pro is one of the only area promotions with active Tag Team Titles (the World League Wrestling and Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance Tag Championships are both vacant), so Dynamo is the place to go for tag team competition in the Midwest. Hopefully we'll see a good feud between Straps Down University(Option & D'Air) and The Professionals once Option returns to action. The finish saw Santel run Howard into the ringpost on the floor; the referee turned his attention to that situation, allowing McDarby to KO Lewis with brass knuckles for the cheap win in 10:48. (HEEL~!)
"The Roman Dynasty" Karim Brigante(w/ Miss Monica Passeri) vs. Jayden Fenix: The Italians were fan favorites for the night, notably. The Black Hand Warriors are no more with Michael Magnuson and Dave DeLorean out of the picture, so Fenix has sole rights to their theme music...bwahahaha. Fenix isn't as much of a gentleman as his alter-ego Dominick Butler professes to be as he put his hands on Monica outside the ring, drawing Brigante to the floor...Fenix used Monica as a shield to deliver a cheapshot. Not to be outdone, Monica got some payback at a moment when Karim had the referee's attention, jumping off the second turnbuckle for a flying tornado DDT on Fenix! With the momentum thus shifted, Brigante scored the victory with a pop-up forearm smash in 7:13.
C.J. Shine vs. "The Hybrid Ace" Jon Webb: The winner of the match would qualify for Proving Ground Pro's Buckley Cup Tournament in central Illinois. Like his High Level Enterprise partner, Webb took on a more aggressive attitude as he attacked Shine before the bell. The match was shorter than I expected, given the stakes, but it was a fine outing for both men; Webb won after the Sliced Bread #2 in 5:42.
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): I indulged with peanut butter cups and barbecue potato chips. I had a bottle of water instead of soda...trying to cut back on the sugary stuff, though I'm not always as good about it as I'd like to be.
Outtkast vs. "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin for the D-1 Title: Outtkast was the inaugural champion after winning a tournament, defeating Elvis Aliaga and Jayden Fenix in the triple threat final last February. He lost the title to his Bumrush Brother tag team partner Shorty Biggs in August but quickly regained it in September...this would be his toughest challenge to date. With the low ceiling, Elgin couldn't do some of his usual power maneuvers...he took a more technical approach by targeting the arm after running Outtkast shoulder-first into the ringpost. Outtkast fought back but had trouble executing his own power-based offense due to the arm damage. His aerial attack went a bit better, but Elgin finally put a stop to his offense with a massive lariat...after having used the Fujiwara armbar a few times, he finally cinched it in with no means of escape and Outtkast had to tap out in 12:36! A resume that includes the Ring Of Honor Heavyweight Title, IWGP Intercontinental Title, and AAW Heavyweight Title can now add the Dynamo Pro Wrestling D-1 Championship...someone will have to step up his game in a major way to relieve him of that title belt.
Brandon Aarons vs. "The Filipino Warrior" Elvis Aliaga for the Heavyweight Title: Aarons finally reached the top of Dynamo Pro by beating Mike Outlaw in November; his first challenger was a man who had competed for the title on several occasions but never quite won it. Aliaga was without Lucy Mendez on this night...aww. Aliaga denied a hand slap to a young fan, unifying the younger crowd against him with "Elvis Sucks" chants. Of course Aarons' hair was on point, but that goes without saying. The fight slipped out of the ring as Aliaga threw Aarons into the merchandise table and some ringside chairs, but Elvis took too much time to pose in the ring and Aarons crucifixed him for the flash pin in 12:50! Aliaga continued his attack and even called in Jayden Fenix to lend a hand, but Jack Gamble & Jon Webb hit the ring for the save...Roy Lewis had remarked that the show had a major WLW presence and the show-closing segment reinforced that.
Post-show, the options were Fast Eddie's and Denny's on Lindbergh...myself, Brian Kelley, Ben Simon, and Drew Abbenhaus opted for Denny's. However, the restaurant had a large party group in the house so we decided to change our plans, driving a bit further down the road to Steak 'N' Shake. I went with my traditional bacon-lovers' steakburger with fries and water to drink. The nefarious plans to control Midwest wrestling continue, need you ask.
That wrapped up a three-show calendar week for me...oddly enough, this coming weekend has no local wrestling shows. NWL has their Kansas City offering on Saturday, for those willing to make the trip across Missouri.
The rest of March looks like this:
-Thursday 3/9: National Wrasslin' League in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 3/11: World League Wrestling in Troy, MO (Kurt Angle); Pro Wrestling Resurgence in Edwardsville, IL; Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 3/18: Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Sunday 3/19: Wrestling Over Everything in Swansea, IL
-Saturday 3/25: Pro Wrestling Championship Series in Alton, IL
-Sunday 3/26: NWL in St. Louis, MO
That's my special comment for this, the ninth 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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