NWL Special Comment

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.

NWL's third St. Louis offering had a slight improvement in attendance from the second show...they will be giving a different night of the week a try as the shows will move to Sundays starting on March 26th.  The promo area was set up with The Blood Brothers(Davey Gibson & Matthew Grundy) & Jay Lutz bringing in fans for interviews...I gave it a shot and focused on pushing the night's lineup.  I do have an announcer voice...I just haven't used it in a while.

Your ring announcer was Ben Simon, your referees were Michael Crase & Jason Pemberton, and your ring girl(holding the NWL St. Louis Title belt during the introductions for the tournament matches) was Laynie Luck.

"Takedown" Javy Torres(aka Paco Gonzalez) vs. "Greatness" Marcellus Gaines(aka Stephen Wolf)(w/ Drew Gold, aka Greg Jovi), St. Louis Title Tournament:  These two met at the first NWL St. Louis show with Gaines emerging victorious, so I was thinking that Javy might even the score...the winner would face Todd Letterman in the quarterfinals.  Both wrestlers have adjusted their styles for their NWL characters; Paco works a more technical game while Gaines relies on his fisticuffs and occasional aerial moves to showcase his athleticism.  Torres nearly got the win with an anklelock and leg grapevine, but Gaines just barely reached the ropes.  Gaines' punching power made the difference as he scored the win after a pop-up knockout punch in 7:05...I suspect the fans may support Letterman in that second-round matchup.

NWL President Major Baisden made his entrance to update fans on ticket deals and the move to Sundays; the PowerPoint is OVAH.  He helpfully pointed out that "Thursdays = Bad, Sundays = Good"...hopefully that's the case, but running on Sundays will put NWL in a bit more conflict with other area wrestling companies.  The PowerPoint was interrupted by a text message on the big screen from the mysterious manifesto guy...since Major IDed the tech guy as Rupert, I felt like yelling out "DAMN IT RUPERT, GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!"  I've heard theories about who is behind the messages, but I don't like to make predictions...

Wayne Taylor(aka Jack Gamble) vs. "The Five-Star Phenom" Todd Letterman:  Taylor is doing a karate-fighter gimmick, complete with nunchuks...the fans didn't seem to think too much of his chances here.  While Taylor did get in a few good kicks, the size and power of LETTERMAAAAAN~! was too much for him...Letterman won with the pumphandle Michinoku Driver(now named the Endzone Spike) in 4:21.

Cal Stark(aka Chip Day) vs. Tommy Flagg of the Anti-Social Network(aka Christian Rose)(w/ August Marshall, aka Austin Blackburn):  The video promo with the Anti-Social Network before the event was hilarious...the characters are really entertaining.  THEY'RE UNDEFEATED IN EMPTY ARENA MATCHES~!  Stark's character has been all over the map as he was a fan favorite against Letterman at the first show, a rulebreaker against Maverick at the second event, and back to being a fan favorite here.  (On top of that, he'll definitely be in the rulebreaker position in his tournament match with Matthew Grundy at the next show.)  Stark has a look that reminds me of former WWE tag team Deuce & Domino.  Flagg distracted the referee so that Marshall could run in with a spear on Stark, but that only got Flagg a two-count.  Stark fought back and delivered a buzzsaw kick, followed by a knee-to-back-of-head version of Seth Rollins' advanced curbstomp...that earned Stark the victory in 7:45, giving him momentum heading into his tournament matchup.

Jay Lutz(aka Gary Jay) vs. Dez Wellston(aka Mike Outlaw):  I THINK that was the scheduled matchup, but we'll never know as The Underground(Adam Ryan & Jackie Lee Bosch) attacked Wellston as he made his entrance.  Lutz dove off the top rope onto Ryan & Bosch for the save and the four men brawled until referees and General Manager Matt Jackson restored order.  Jackson admitted that he hadn't been in the G.M. position for very long, but he felt like the proper way to handle the situation was to order an impromptu tag match (holla holla, playa!).

Dez Wellston & Jay Lutz vs. The Underground(Adam Ryan & Jackie Lee Bosch)(aka Danny Adams & Jake Parnell):  With the split of The Viking War Party, I feel like Bosch/Parnell could have a breakout year in 2017.  He's been in several big matches in recent months, particularly in IWA Mid-South where he's faced Sami Callihan and will be facing Michael Elgin this Thursday.  It was a first-time teamup for Wellston and Lutz, to the best of my knowledge; The Underground are 1-1 in NWL competition.  Ryan & Bosch seem to have trouble staying on the same page and their miscommunications have been costly.  Lutz got the pinfall on Bosch after a running double-stomp to the back of the head in 7:20.

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Two Coca-Colas.  Three dollars a pop (so to speak)?  Eep.

Cue Buddy Shepherd...despite Skyler Beckett rejecting his mentorship on two previous occasions, he invited Skyler to the ring for one more chance to accept his proposal.  Beckett gave it some thought and finally decided to accept The Buddy System into his life.  Buddy proclaimed that "Buddy's coming into you!" and Beckett put on the T-shirt.  #HALLELUJAH

On the big screen, Marti Belle interviewed Dominick Butler about his tournament match with Maverick.  He knew he'd be an underdog, but he wanted to prove himself...though it seemed as though he still had the fairer gender on his mind.

Maverick(aka Moonshine Mantell) vs. Dominick Butler(aka Jayden Fenix), St. Louis Title Tournament:  Both were fan favorites but Maverick was obviously positioned more strongly in the tournament...it was your standard battle of size/power against speed/agility.  However, the match was nearly derailed in the early minutes as Maverick appeared to injure his ankle while executing a full nelson slam.  Butler took the opportunity to target the bad leg, putting the highly-touted prospect's tournament hopes in doubt.  I imagine that the ankle injury would have made it difficult for Maverick to deliver his Short Shot(Gory Bomb) finisher, so he finished with a discus lariat in 9:00; Maverick will face the winner of Dez Wellston vs. Adam Ryan on the 23rd.

"The Mile-High Magnum" Dak(ota) Draper vs. Jet Royal(w/ Jax Royal)(aka Sterling & Logan Riegel):  Starting with the previous NWL Kansas City show, each region would feature a "showcase" match from the other side's roster; Maverick had defeated Christian Adonis in Kansas City.  The Royal Blood duo complained about injuries suffered at the previous KC show(at the hands of Leonel & Marco Howlett and Rudy & Geno Mancini) and being forced to compete in St. Louis...for his part, Draper departed from his usual rulebreaking demeanor and said he had no interest in the city rivalry...he definitely preferred St. Louis to Kansas City, thus establishing himself as the fan favorite for the night.  With the Royals being identical twin brothers, the only definite way to tell them apart is the names on their tights...however, that can easily be overlooked.  As a result, the Royals switched places a few times during the match and a lot of fans didn't pick up on it(including myself).  Late in the bout, Jax openly interfered and Draper fought off both men, leading to a moment where Draper hit his Mile-High Doctor Bomb on Jax and had to be told that Jax wasn't his official opponent.  That allowed Jet to hit a low Buff Blockbuster and shooting star press for a CLOSE near-fall, but Draper was able to bounce back and finish the right Royal with the Mile-High Doctor Bomb in 10:08.

"Super Soul" Coco Rumble(aka Sugar Dunkerton) vs. "The Billion-Dollar Brother" Emmett DuBois(aka Dorian Victor), St. Louis Title Tournament:  DuBois seemed to be FINALLY ready to compete...but as the referee made a move to do the standard pre-match check, DuBois' cramps acted up again.  I'm honestly starting to wonder if he'll EVER wrestle...my theory is that match with Samoa Joe from ten years ago took a lot out of him.  Accountant Clayton Fox(aka Matt Kenway) came out to check on DuBois and Matt Jackson said that if DuBois couldn't compete, then he was out of the tournament and Fox would take his place.  DuBois suddenly seemed to feel a lot better, but Jackson told him to go to the dressing room area for his own safety...heh.

"Super Soul" Coco Rumble vs. Clayton Fox, St. Louis Title Tournament:  Fox lasted a bit longer than I expected, especially against one of the top seeds in the tournament.  Rumble finally put him out of his misery with the Krush Groove(Zigzag) in 5:04; he'll face the winner of Matthew Grundy vs. Cal Stark on the 23rd.

On the big screen, Marti Belle interviewed The Blood Brothers about the main event...

The Blood Brothers(Davey Gibson & Matthew Grundy)(aka Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. "The Bull City Boss" Cornell Douglass & Christian Adonis(w/ Carolina Grizelda Esmeralda Rodriguez)(aka Murder One & Elvis Aliaga w/ Lucy Mendez):  This was a preview of another first-round tournament matchup on the 23rd between Gibson and Douglass.  Douglass had a distinct size and power advantage over both opponents, but it was the first time he and Adonis had ever been a tag team.  In that respect, the team experience and continuity of Gibson & Grundy made the difference...Gibson pinned Douglass in 14:47 after a double-stomp off the top rope.  Going by normal wrestling logic, that would foreshadow a Douglass victory in the tournament...but nowadays(in wrestling or otherwise), logic rarely applies.  With the win, The Blood Brothers are now 3-0 in NWL competition.

Post-show, myself and Ben Simon ventured to a nearby bar called The Whiskey Ring...I wasn't hungry but did have a Coca-Cola.  Of course, our plot to take over St. Louis wrestling continued exactly as planned...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  Err...ahem.

I worked on Saturday night so I was unable to attend the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance show at the South Broadway Athletic Club; the Missouri Wrestling Revival MO State Title changed hands once again as "The" Ace Hawkins defeated Barackus thanks to a low blow.  The feud between "Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson and "Da Bomb" Brian James continued, setting up a rare cage match at the March event.

However, my weekend was far from over...but that's another story for another time.  Tune in next time...Same Pat-Time, Same Pat-Channel.

That's my special comment for this, the fifth 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.