Now, as promised, a special comment about Sunday's Glory Pro Wrestling show at the Spaulding Hall Club in Alton, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
Even without an overly notable "big name" in the house, Glory Pro packed the venue once again...it was to the point where I was having trouble finding a good vantage point to watch the show. I almost felt claustrophobic at times...I'm not the most social person in the world, as you may know. Despite that, it was a good time and I got to see some people who I don't see all that regularly.
Your ring announcer was Kevin Harvey; your referees were C-Lo, Brandon Tolle, and Richard White.
Xavier Walker, Logan James, & Kevin Giza vs. "The Diamond Tiger" Kobe Durst, Adam Slade, & Leone Mephisto: Mephisto's been putting in the work to rebuilt his bridges, to his credit. I remembered Slade from his previous Glory Pro appearance; Giza also competed at Glory Pro in the past. I saw Walker as one half of "Super Future" at Proving Ground Pro in Taylor Springs; he's a big dude who could be a standout over time. James was the only one I wasn't overly familiar with. It took a great deal of effort for the rulebreaking trio to chop down the big man Walker, but it finally took its toll and Durst pinned him after a piledriver in 7:25. Durst wasn't too pleased with being relegated to the preshow match after competing at the first Glory Pro event (he was in the inaugural Crown Of Glory Title tournament!) and let everyone know about it.
Space Monkey vs. "All Ego" Ethan Page: The fan favorite was clear in this bout, though Page had his share of supporters. As Space Monkey was introduced, the fans showered the ring with bananas instead of streamers...bwahahaha. Page had the distinct size and power advantage, but Space Monkey's unorthodox style can thrown anyone off. Page delivered a bodyslam off the top rope and swanton bomb(!) for a close near-fall...he was stunned by the kickout and Space Monkey managed to crucifix him to the mat for the flash pin in 7:42.
Eight-Man Rumble-Style Gauntlet Match: It was tough to keep up with the action in this one and I whiffed on writing down elimination times...whoops. Entries: "Sensational" Stevie Fierce, "The Warhorse" Jake Parnell, "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway(Look At Him After Dark), "The Stiff Robo Ginger" Gary Jay, Calvin Tankman(that's a big dude), Aaron Dzinic, "Marvelous" Matt Knicks, and Barackus(w/ Jason Saint). No eliminations took place until most of the competitors were entered; Pride members Kenway and Dzinic united for a Codebreaker/German suplex combo, allowing Kenway to pin Fierce. Despite the teamwork, their luck ran out as Gary Jay pinned Kenway after a lariat. The simmering issue between Gary and Jake Parnell surfaced a few times in this battle...Parnell used his own lariat to eliminate Dzinic. Most of the competitors hit dives to the floor, including the massive Tankman...yikes! Barackus took out Knicks with the clawhold chokeslam. Tankman and Barackus added a different dimension to the bout and, of course, we did get the crowd-pleasing HOSS SHOWDOWN~! Barackus came out on top of that exchange, pinning Tankman after a Bossman Slam. Gary and Parnell attempted to work together against the heavyweight, but couldn't stay on the same page and came to blows...Gary eliminated Parnell with the Michinoku Driver. Gary gave Barackus a great fight to close out the match, but the size disadvantage was too much and Barackus got the final win with the Baldo Bomb in 16:24. Cue Jason Saint's self-congratulatory post-match promo...
Tyler Matrix vs. "The Mad Dragon" Hakim Zane: Matrix has appeared for Glory Pro a few times in the past, but I think this was his first singles match in the area. Have seen Zane at both Glory Pro and Proving Ground. This was another fine match in a show full of them, as you might expect...Zane got the win with the top-rope double-stomp in 10:40.
"The Lone Star" Curt Stallion vs. Fred Yehi: Stallion's been making a lot of waves on the independent scene in recent months; he picked up his first Glory Pro win in July against Martin Stone. I first saw Yehi in Georgia's Anarchy Wrestling as he had a classic series of bouts with Slim J; he moved on to EVOLVE and held their Tag Team Titles with "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams as part of Catch Point. It was a battle of fan favorites on paper, but Stallion has become a mainstay at St. Louis-area shows so the crowd support was mostly in his corner. The match got an extra added dimension in the weeks leading up to the show: The winner of this match would face the winner of the Paco Gonzalez-Danny Adams match at the October show with the winner of THAT match getting a title shot. As such, Stallion had a great opportunity to work toward his championship goals while Yehi had a chance to make an impact in his Midwest debut. Yehi has a unique style that stood out to me on this show; he definitely made a great first impression on St. Louis-area fans. In the end, Stallion managed to finish off Yehi with the flying headbutt in 13:25!
Jeff Cobb vs. Jake Something vs. Kevin Lee Davidson: Cobb had competed for Cape Championship Wrestling earlier this year, but this was his first appearance in the greater St. Louis area; he's become an indie standout in recent years on top of his fame in Lucha Underground as the masked Matanza Cueto. K.L.D. has solidified himself as the rulebreaking type through his alliance with Danny Adams, though he still has his share of supporters. Something has gained a cult following in this area; not bad for someone who had flown under the national radar until recently. This was hyped as a HOSS FIGHT~! of epic proportions and we got several FEATS OF STRENGTH~! out of the competitors...Cobb in particular displayed impressive power as well as uncanny agility for his size. This match would determine the next challenger to the Crown Of Glory Title at the October show...Something scored one of the biggest wins of his career as he pinned Cobb in 12:13 after the sliding lariat to the back of the head!
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): Bottle of water and root beer.
"The Kentucky Gentleman" Chuck Taylor vs. Austin Theory vs. Maxwell Jacob Feinstein vs. Brandon Espinosa: "The Dad Bod" Sean Orleans was scheduled to be in the match, but Espy attacked him in the aisleway and threatened to shave his head before wrestlers and security guards intervened. Espinosa settled for taking Orleans' place in the scheduled bout featuring two Midwest newcomers and the reigning Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Heavyweight Champion. Chuck Taylor has reached some career milestones in the past year that were a long time in coming, including appearances for Total Nonstop Action and Ring Of Honor. I'm not that familiar with Theory or M.J.F.; M.J.F. came in with a lot of hype and was an entertaining character (fans threw toilet paper instead of streamers!). Theory has a good look and has become a standout on the east coast...I'll need to do a bit more research on both of those guys. The referee was bumped(in a four-corner match, which is essentially no-DQ by definition anyway?) and Espy delivered a low blow to M.J.F., stunning him long enough for a small package pin in 7:03. BOO~! Espy celebrated, but Orleans returned to the ring to attack Espinosa! Cue pull-apart brawl...they'll (hopefully) settle their differences at the October show. If Orleans wins, Espy loses his hair. If Espy wins, Orleans is forced to be Espy's manager!
Paco Gonzalez vs. "The Millenial" Danny Adams, dog collar match: I suspected that this would be a very different dog collar match than the one at SICW the previous night. Paco was busted open in this one as they brought the violence...Kevin Harvey even warned the fans that this would NOT be a family-friendly matchup. It was hoped that this would settle the issues between the two without any outside involvement, but K.L.D. thought otherwise...when Paco nearly had the match won, the big man ran into the ring to plant Paco with a spinebuster! Jake Something hit the ring to run off Davidson, but the damage had been done. Adams set up a table on the floor and teased a superplex through it(!), but Paco reversed the superplex into the ring and then set up Danny for a frog splash through the table! Unlike the previous night's match, this match was won by pinfall or submission...Paco got some poetic justice by hanging Danny over the top rope with the chain(similar to what K.L.D. did to him in July) and that got the tapout in 15:36!
"The Miracle Worker" Davey Vega & "The Dirty Rook" Mat Fitchett^H^H^H"The Leader Of The Pack" Stephen Wolf vs. "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin & "Pretty Reckless" Everett Connors for the United Glory Tag Team Titles: Vega came out alone and said that Fitchett wasn't cleared to compete...he'd gotten stitches from his match the previous night(in the National Wrasslin' League against The Faces Of Fear). He introduced Wolf as his substitute partner for this title defense...Connors had won a scramble match earlier in the year for a United Glory Tag Team Title shot and chose his trainer Elgin as his partner (despite Elgin's winless record in the promotion). Wolf more than held up his end as the sides were essentially even in tag team experience (both duos were joining forces for the first time). Bombs were thrown, as you might expect. There were a lot of close calls, but the last-minute change in plans for the defending team may have made the difference. Connors scored the victory over Wolf with the torture-rack Diamond Cutter in 20:43, crowning NEWWWWW United Glory Tag Team Champions!
Post-match, Elgin expressed his regret that he didn't get to lock up with Fitchett...he also guaranteed that The Besties In The World would definitely get a title shot once Fitchett was healthy. Works for me.
"Hot Fire" Myron Reed vs. "The Real-Life Ben Affleck" Alex Daniels for the Crown Of Glory Title: As this was a defense for Reed against someone who WASN'T a big outside name, the chances for a title change were actually higher than usual. Daniels had his multiple Affleck T-shirts in full effect. Daniels came closer than Reed's previous challengers to dethroning him, but the young titleholder stayed strong and withstood his assault. After a really good competitive matchup, Reed won with the Spanish Fly in 15:47 to retain his title!
As noted, I'm behind on my commentaries and now I've got two more shows in the books from this past weekend. Comedy obligations meant I did not attend the National Wrasslin' League show in St. Peters, MO on Saturday, but I still hit a personal best of nine wrestling shows in one calendar month (NWL would have made it ten). I don't know if anything local is happening next week (Labor Day weekend and all that), but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. In the meantime, I should get some sleep or something stupid like that...
That's my special comment for this, the forty-third 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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