PGP Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about last Saturday's Proving Ground Pro show at the VFW Hall in Taylor Springs, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

My free time has become a bit sparse lately, so I've been late on these commentaries...at least I'm getting this one done before the next wrestling show I attend.  My choices for this particular Saturday were Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling's monthly offering in East Carondelet, IL and Proving Ground Pro...as it turned out, I missed a title change as "Ironman" Ken Kasa won the SICW Classic Title from "The Icon" Chris Hargas.  They'll have a best-of-three-falls rematch at the next East Carondelet show on November 4th.

The drive was relatively uneventful, led by the GPS in my smartphone...though I drove right past the venue and had to double back.  (I was expecting it to be on the right and it was on the left...whoops.)  The attendance wasn't that great, but the fans enjoyed the show...I hope they continue to run in Taylor Springs as it's the closest the promotion gets to me, but they'll have to draw better in the future.

Your ring announcer was Chris Roedel(on call from Dynamo Pro Wrestling).  Your referees were Scott Ramsey & Richard White.

Dakota Wrestleford vs. "The Upperclassman" Cody Herrich:  I initially misheard Herrich's name as "Tarek"and tweeted as such; my bad.  Dakota has a nerd gimmick with a white shirt, tie, suspenders, and a white-guy afro...he used an inhaler a few times when he got short of breath.  This was announced as a preshow match for newcomers and both guys looked solid; Dakota won with a modified elevated DDT(landing his opponent in X-Factor position) in 6:54.

One of the promoters announced that Corbin Blaze was injured, so the scheduled mixed tag match was off(he was supposed to team with Savanna Stone against Aaron Dzinic and Rahne Victoria).  Enter Dzinic and Victoria; Rahne complained about Savanna getting the night off due to outside circumstances.  It was announced that Savanna and Rahne would face each other one-on-one...as for Dzinic, he would be added to the scheduled Kyle King vs. Bailey Bright match to make it a triple threat.  Oh, and as long as Rahne was out at the ringside area, that match is NEXT!

Savanna Stone vs. Rahne Victoria:  I've seen the majority of the history between these two; both ladies have been doing very well after a mere six months in the wrestling business.  Their whole careers are ahead of them and they have plenty of time to learn and grow.  There were a few hesitant spots but still a fine outing from these two...as announced prior to the match, the winner would face Laynie Luck at the big PGP show in November.  Rahne ripped up a fan's pro-Savanna sign at one point...that's just not nice.  Savanna survived Rahne's Flatliner finisher, but Rahne kept up the pressure until being caught with a sunset flip out of the corner for the flash pin in 8:41; Savanna moves on to face Laynie Luck next month!

"The Master Of Hairflips" Brandon Aarons vs. "The Filth King" Nick Brubaker for the Dynamo Pro Heavyweight Title:  Aarons was a bit cockier on this night as he threw out his scheduled open challenge...the answer came in the form of the central Illinois standout Brubaker, who was sporting a new green tint to his hair.  It seemed unlikely that Aarons would lose his title outside of DPW, but Brubaker gave him a run for his money...it's hard to believe that Aarons is nearing the one-year mark of his title reign.  In the end, Aarons bent the rules a bit to achieve victory, rolling up Brubaker with a handful of tights in 11:30.  In a side note, his hair did look as impeccable as always...

Bailey Bright vs. "K-Dos" Kyle King vs. Aaron Dzinic:  I've only seen King a handful of times, dating back to Full Throttle Wrestling; I think he still works with the same crew in World Powerhouse Wrestling on occasion.  He travels from Kansas City where he regularly competes for Kansas City Xtreme Wrestling...I've heard of a receding hairline, but King has what I can only describe as "proceeding sideburns".  Bright was the lone fan favorite in this one, though King and Dzinic weren't really on the same page for any length of time.  King apparently refers to his behind-the-back Pedigree move as the Human Centipede...good to know.  Bright was able to edge out a victory, pinning King after a Zigzag in 7:47...nicely done.

Kevin Lee Davidson vs. "The Ice Pick" Vic Capri:  Capri isn't too well-known in St. Louis circles, but he debuted in 1998 and was trained by "The Fallen Angel/Almighty" Christopher Daniels...he's the very definition of a well-traveled veteran.  The last time I saw him at a show was one of the early High Risk Wrestling events when he defeated Ace Steel, then went on to challenge A.C.H. for the Heavyweight Title.  Davidson dominated with his size and power advantage, but Capri showed impressive power by suplexing K.L.D. on more than one occasion.  The experience was on Capri's side, but sometimes that's not quite enough to achieve victory...K.L.D. won with his signature spinebuster in 12:13.

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Cheeseburger, Fritos, root beer, Pepsi.  (I didn't get a chance to eat dinner before I left the house because I slept late...weekends seem to be my time for catching up on the Z's...)

Firelord Draconis vs. "The Bad Wolf" Blake Belakis:  The winner of this match would move on to the November show to challenge Space Monkey for the Cutting Edge Title; Space Monkey recently defeated Belakis for that championship in a triple threat match that also involved Draconis.  Draconis is a masked competitor who I've heard about but had never seen in person; he used the Gangrel theme for his entrance.  Belakis primarly competes in central Illinois but occasionally ventures for the St. Louis area; he held the High Risk Wrestling Title for several months before the promotion moved out to western Missouri.  Belakis targeted Draconis' arm when he was in control of the match...when the tide turned, Belakis attempted to use his infamous spike but the referee took it away from him...that allowed Draconis to hit a mid-air Flatliner(a la Baron Corbin's End Of Days) for a near-fall!  The two fought on the top rope until Draconis knocked Belakis back to the mat, then followed up with a cross-bodyblock off the top for the win in 8:50!  Draconis will challenge Space Monkey for the Cutting Edge Title in November!

C.J. Esparza vs. Jake Lander:  I hadn't seen Lander before; Esparza is known for his tag team partnership with Brett Gakiya in Zero Gravity but is an accomplished singles competitor as well.  This was a battle of fan favorites and they had a really good match.  The finish to this one was similiar to the previous contest, only Lander was in a seated position on the mat when Esparza delivered his cross-body off the top...that got the pinfall in 10:35.

Mario Crivello & Derek St. Holmes vs. Paco Gonzalez & "Pretty Reckless" Everett Connors for the Tag Team Titles:  I don't know for sure why Johnny Alves was absent from this event, but Crivello was given the option of choosing a substitute partner for the night.  St. Holmes is a veteran who I'd previously only seen as a commentator for All-American Wrestling, but he still competes at Wisconsin indies.  He brought a very old-school style to the table, as he has been known as the "Thinking Man's Wrestler".  Fans heckled Crivello with chants of "Luigi"...come on, clearly he's that guy's brother.  I couldn't tell you about Alves' exact status so I didn't know if they'd switch the belts to a steadier team...in this era of "gotta swerve people and be unpredictable, logic be damned", you can't really rule out anything.  Connors went for a sunset flip on St. Holmes, but Derek blocked the move and hung onto Crivello for illegal leverage to get the cheap pin in 16:54...the titles stayed put for a little bit longer.

The schedule doesn't get any lighter...the next three weekends will be jam-packed as everyone will be scheduling their shows around the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  This weekend had two Dynamo Pro outings in St. Louis, MO as well as a Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling event in Caseyville, IL.  Next weekend has Pro Wrestling Epic's annual show in Brownstown, IL on Friday...on Saturday, SICW returns to East Carondelet, IL while World League Wrestling has their monthly offering in Troy, MO with Ron Simmons in the house.  Sunday will be highlighted by the National Wrasslin' League's visit to the area as they have a show in O'Fallon, Missouri.

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