PWCS Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about last Sunday's Pro Wrestling Championship Series show at the Spaulding Hall Club in Alton, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

I had a comedy show on Saturday so the National Wrasslin' League show was out...I was aiming for ten wrestling shows in the month of August but I settled for nine.  I have no idea if the more recent St. Louis shows will ever see the light of day on YouTube...I'm guessing not.  The main match I hated to miss was A.C.H. vs. Mike Outlaw, though it sounded like A.C.H. was in "heel troll" mode(which has been the story of his most recent EVOLVE stint).  At any rate, I got to work with Last Comic Standing winner Josh Blue(#namedropping) so it was a fun evening.

PWCS had a solid turnout, though not nearly as jam-packed as the previous week's Glory Pro show.  It's a tough market right now with so many quality promotions in one area...and while dorks like me try to go to as many shows as possible, most people have something stupid called a "budget" and space out their show attendance.  I may have to cave to financial pressure in that regard down the line, but I seem to be doing okay at the moment.

Starting scoreboard:  Ego Busters 6-0, Blacklist/Resurgence/Submission Squad 2-4.  I don't know the exact math, but it sounds like the 'Busters have already clinched their spot in the season finale championship match (going by Greg Jovi's promo).  It's just a matter of who opposes them...if you want to use rasslin fan logic, the Submission Squad is the only stable that hasn't won the season championship yet, but it's realistically anybody's ballgame.  Also, an Ego Busters-Resurgence finale would seem fitting with Davey Vega and Mat Fitchett on opposite teams (and potentially the final two in the bout).  Time will tell, as always.  I actually don't like to make predictions as I prefer to watch and see how things play out...fantasy booking tends to be a great way to disappoint oneself when the wrestling company doesn't book things the way you would have done so.

Your ring announcer was Chris Kaelin; your referee was Jason Pemberton.  Chris did a fine job, though he often neglected to mention the stable representations and it was tricky to keep score as a result.  Thankfully the scoreboard was updated as necessary.

Gateway Heritage Champion Davey Vega and manager Greg Jovi started off the show...Jovi gloated over his stable's success and undefeated record for Season Four, then unveiled a brand-new championship belt for Vega.  He wanted no more connection to St. Louis Anarchy and prepared to dump the old belt in a conveniently-present garbage can, but Vega stopped him...because HE wanted to dump the belt himself.  An enraged Gary Jay hit the ring and Vega & Jovi retreated...Gary recovered the SLA Title belt and vowed to make Vega pay for his disrespect.

Dingo(Blacklist) vs. "The Warhorse" Jake Parnell(Resurgence):  With a handful of indidivual exceptions, it seems like The Ego Busters are the only true "rulebreakers" in PWCS; as such, a lot of fan favorite-vs.-fan favorite matches ensue.  This was a match I was wanting to see after I heard about Dingo's comeback; Parnell's come a long way in the past several years and especially in the past eight months.  This was a relatively short match, but hopefully they'll meet again in the near future; Dingo got the pinfall in 6:43 after a released dragon suplex.  (Blacklist 3-4, Resurgence 2-5)  After the match, Danny Adams of The Ego Busters attacked both men...the cad.  Those are two competitors who I would not want mad at me.

Evan Gelistico(w/ Shawshank)(Submission Squad) vs. Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham(w/ hoverboard):  Rockingham seems to have a motivational speaker schtick, but Gelistico didn't buy into what he was selling; he's from Absolute Intense Wrestling out of Ohio, as were several other competitors on this card.  Shenanigans with the inflatable dolphin ensued, including a spot where Rockingham had Gelistico in a headlock and Gelistico slipped Shawshank into the hold in his place.  Rockingham rode his hoverboard across the ring(very...slowly...) for a knee strike on Gelistico in the corner.  In the end, Gelistico was able to make Rockingham tap out to a dragon sleeper in 8:36 (OH MY GOD A SUBMISSION), presumably retaining his spot in the Submission Squad.

Angelus Layne(w/ Makaze)(Blacklist) vs. Paco Gonzalez(Resurgence):  Paco admitted to Angelus that he was "too much of a gentleman" to hit a lady...so since Makaze was cleared to return to action, he proposed an intergender tag match...

"The Wind Of Destruction" Makaze & Angelus Layne(Blacklist) vs. Paco Gonzalez & Savanna Stone(Resurgence):  Savanna had a busy weekend with her first triple threat match on Friday, a bout with Randi West on Saturday at Impact Pro Wrestling, and this intergender tag.  (Quick semantics lesson:  Mixed tag = men don't interact with women and vice-versa; intergender tag = everyone interacts with everyone.)  This was a battle of fan favorite teams, which was a tricky prospect for her as she's mostly fought standard face/heel bouts so far.  This match had some rough patches, but things came together pretty well as the bout progressed; I look forward to seeing the eventual singles match between Savanna and Angelus.  Despite Paco's earlier comments, he had no problem mixing it up with Angelus at a few points in the bout; as Savanna ran Makaze into the ringpost on the floor, he took out Layne with a close-range superkick for the win in 7:18.  (Resurgence 3-5, Blacklist 3-5)

"The True Belieber" Everett Connors(w/ Evan Gelistico & Shawshank)(Submission Squad) vs. "The Millenial" Danny Adams(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters):  Danny unveiled a surprise bit of psyche-out material; he was wearing pink-and-zebra-striped ring attire similar to what Connors wore early in his career.  I suppose even Justin Bieber can get cheered when put up against The Ego Busters and Greg Jovi(who already showed his disdain for St. Louis Anarchy in his NWL alter-ego).  Jovi interfered on a few occasions, as is his wont, though Gelistico's presence counteracted that to an extent.  Adams thought he was cruising to victory and set up for his fisherman driver finisher(Ki-Krusher, to the layman), but Connors countered into a victory roll for the flash pin in 15:54!  That FINALLY put a blemish on The Ego Busters' record for Season Four!  (Submission Squad 3-4, Ego Busters 6-1)

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Mello Yello, a piece or two of a friend's buffalo chicken pizza(yes, he offered), and Dr. Pepper.

"Weird Bod" Evan Adams vs. Josh Bishop vs. "Eye Candy" Elliot Paul vs. Pat Monix vs. Aaron Dzinic vs. "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway(Look At Him After Dark)(Submission Squad):  The newer names came from AIW in Ohio along with Rockingham and Dominic Garrini.  Adams is...not large.  This was scheduled to be a five-way match, but Kenway complained about being left off the card and inserted himself into the bout, even putting his spot in the Submission Squad on the line.  Multi-way schmozz matches have jumped the shark for me personally; the fact that four of the six competitors were total unknowns to the local audience didn't help matters as the match didn't get much in the way of audience reaction.  Kenway retained his spot in the Submission Squad when he pinned Monix after his version of the fisherman buster in 10:40.

"The Dirty Rook" Mat Fitchett(Resurgence) vs. "The Wildman From The Ozarks" Alexandre Rudolph(w/ chainsaw)(Blacklist):  For completeness, the chainsaw's name is "Jackie Blue".  These two crossed paths in Dynamo Pro Wrestling very early in their careers, but a lot has changed since that time.  Both men have been getting on the national indie radar; it's just a matter of getting the right break at the right time.  Rudolph nearly won with the Goozleplex(half-throttle released German suplex) but Fitchett was fortunate enough to land near the ropes and got his foot on the bottom strand.  It took two flying knee strikes for Fitchett to put Rudolph away in 8:42, but he had been through a war to earn that win!  (Resurgence 4-5, Blacklist 3-6)

"The Dad Bod" Sean Orleans(Submission Squad) vs. "Lights Out" Adrian Surge(Ego Busters):  Greg Jovi was conspicuous by his absence here, but my understanding was that he was taking care of some off-camera business.  Surge had repeatedly attempted to sabotage Orleans' efforts to join a stable in PWCS, but Orleans finally accomplished his goal by defeating Matt Kenway in June.  While Surge didn't have his usual backup, he had the edge in size and power...of course, Orleans had the popularity advantage with the fans in attendance.  Orleans gave him a good fight but Surge won with the spinebuster in 9:37.  (Ego Busters 7-1, Submission Squad 3-5)

"The Leader Of The Pack" Stephen Wolf vs. "The Bone Collector" Dominic Garrini:  This was billed as a "boxing vs. MMA" match in reference to the recent Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight.  Wolf wore boxing shorts with "GMG" on them, in reference to the recently-retired boxer-turned-wrestler "Greatness" Marcellus Gaines...he disposed of those shorts in favor of more traditional wrestling attire a few minutes into the bout.  It was my first time seeing the MMA convert Garrini and hopefully he'll be back again soon.  He had a definite size/strength edge over Wolf...though Wolf had agility on his side, Garrini was able to win via tapout in 9:23 with a reverse triangle hold and elbow strikes.

"The Miracle Worker" Davey Vega(Ego Busters) vs. "The Stiff Robo Ginger" Gary Jay(Submission Squad) for the Gateway Heritage Title:  These two once fought to an hour draw in Spaulding Hall, so the history runs deep...but Vega's actions earlier in the show made things a bit more personal.  Vega focused his attack on Gary's hand to reduce the impact of his infamous chops, but it would take more than that to slow down the motivated challenger.  Vega accidentally kicked the referee at one point...as a result, Gary's sliding forearm smash only got a two-and-a-half count.  The official was still dazed and Danny Adams ran in to interfere...Mat Fitchett attempted to counteract Adams' presence, but he accidentally hit Gary with his flying knee strike!  Adams took out Fitchett with the title belt and Vega covered...for two-and-a-half.  However, the damage had been done and Vega's game plan paid off...he caught Gary in a kimura out of nowhere, forcing him to tap out in 22:12!  Evan Gelistico and Fitchett checked on Gary after the match, but he wasn't happy about The Resurgence's Fitchett sticking his nose into The Submission Squad's business...  (Ego Busters 8-1, Submission Squad 3-6).

Final scoreboard:  Ego Busters 8-1, Resurgence 4-5, Blacklist/Submission Squad 3-6.  There's still one more show to go before the season final is settled, but it looks like Ego Busters vs. Resurgence at the moment...

HEY, I'm finally caught up.  The off-weekend helped, at any rate.

September looks like this:
-Saturday 9/9:  World League Wrestling in Troy, MO; Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO(South Broadway Athletic Club)
-Sunday 9/10:  Wrestling Over Everything in Centreville, IL
-Friday 9/15:  Outlaw Wrestling in Alton, IL
-Saturday 9/16:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners Gym); Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 9/23:  National Wrasslin' League in St. Peters, MO

That's my special comment for this, the forty-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.