Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Pro Wrestling Championship Series show at the Spaulding Hall Club in Alton, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
My weekend plans were nearly very different, as I had agreed to perform at Hey Guys Comedy on Saturday evening. However, the illness bug that had bitten quite a few people(including some co-workers) finally got to me and I had to cancel on that engagement. I did my best to minimize my contact with others(yes, moreso than usual) on this weekend of wrestling escapades...
Your ring announcer was Chris Kaelin; your referee was Adam Kennedy.
Starting scoreboard: Ego Busters 8-1, Resurgence 4-5, Blacklist/Submission Squad 3-6. The 'Busters ran away with the lead this season, but all you have to do is come in second to qualify for the championship match so the records became meaningless at that point.
"Rich Homie Juice" A.J. Gray vs. Brandon Espinosa: Gray had an impressive performance at Proving Ground Pro earlier this year against Hakim Zane, showing great agility and versatility. He faced a tough test in his first appearance in the immediate St. Louis area, taking on the well-traveled veteran Espinosa in this free agent showcase. The competitive opener could have easily gone either way, but Gray scored the upset win after a lariat in 8:35.
"The Dad Bod" Sean Orleans(Submission Squad) & Aaron Dzinic(Blacklist)(w/ "The Incredible Primal Prodigy" Matt Kenway (Look At Him After Dark)) vs. "Sensational" Stevie Fierce(Ego Busters) & Geoffrey Percival Austes(Resurgence)(w/ Greg Jovi): Competing stables had to be on the same page in this one, as the win/loss records would be impacted regardless of who won or lost the fall. Kenway was on crutches due to his recent injury. Midwest fans are familiar with Orleans and Dzinic, of course(even if they're not entirely clear on Dzinic's first name)...Fierce has been down this way a few times, but it was the Midwest debut for Chicago's "G.P.A." While he was associated with the Resurgence stable, his side was clearly of the rulebreaking variety in this matchup. The teams worked fairly well together, but the outside parties made the difference as Jovi antagonized Kenway on the floor. That brought Dzinic out to intervene and G.P.A. rolled up a distracted Orleans with feet on the ropes(HEEL~!) in 13:55. (Ego Busters 9-1, Resurgence 5-5, Blacklist/Submission Squad 3-7)
"The Wind Of Destruction" Makaze(w/ Alexandre Rudolph)(Blacklist) vs "Lights Out" Adrian Surge(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters): These two have battled several times in recent years...it's odd to note that their roles are completely the opposite in Dynamo Pro nowadays. The bout was relatively short as Surge got under his rival's skin by tearing at his mask. Makaze had a chance to win with his patented Kyouhen Sharpshooter, but instead elected to dish out immediate payback in the form of a blatant stomp to the groin. That earned him a disqualification in 6:00, putting his Blacklist team even further behind the eight ball on a crucial night. (Ego Busters 10-1, Blacklist 3-8)
"The Miracle Worker" Davey Vega(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters) vs. Everett Connors(w/ Evan Gelistico)(Submission Squad) for the Gateway Heritage Title: Connors was on a roll in PWCS, scoring wins over Paco Gonzalez and Danny Adams heading into this title bout. Since the title transitioned from the St. Louis Anarchy Championship to its current state, Vega has retained it against Mat Fitchett, Paco, Alexandre Rudolph, and Gary Jay...mostly through dubious means and his deal with the long-haired devil known as Greg Jovi. It was good to see Gelistico and Connors on the same page, given the recent falling-out of their dopplegangers Buddy Shepherd and Skyler Beckett (Gelistico was also in the corner of Paco Gonzalez, who bears a striking resemblance to "Takedown" Javy Torres, later in the show). Some fans seemed intent on dubbing Connors the "master of the chokeslam", a sentiment that Gelistico approved despite the fact that I personally have never seen Connors execute that maneuver. To my surprise, Connors actually did deliver a chokeslam at one point and got a near-fall out of it. Vega survived that devastating maneuver and leveled Connors with the buzzsaw kick, but Connors rolled out of the ring to escape defeat. Connors had the fans on his side and scored with the Bieber Driver(hanging piledriver), but Vega barely got a foot on the bottom rope. Vega had to delve into his submission arsenal, catching Connors in a triangle choke out of nowhere for the tapout in an extremely competitive 18:28! (Ego Busters 11-1, Submission Squad 3-8)
Vega didn't have much time to celebrate as Mat Fitchett made an appearance with the PWCS Championship trophy in tow. He agreed to return it to Jovi, but only under the condition that he finally get his rematch with Vega at the season finale on January 6th!
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): A bottle of water, plus a couple of slices of buffalo chicken pizza offered to me by my compatriot Zach. You can tell I'm under the weather when my appetite suffers...
"The Warhorse" Jake Parnell(Resurgence) vs. Matt Knicks(Blacklist): I hadn't seen much of Chicago competitor Knicks in a while; he worked in a tag team with Chris Castro in St. Louis Anarchy in the past. Knicks got a lot of hatred from the fans; I blame the man-bun. I think everyone was expecting Parnell to win this one, so it was a bit of a surprise when Knicks pulled off the upset via buzzsaw kick in 9:11. (Blacklist 4-8, Resurgence 5-6)
Paco Gonzalez(Resurgence) vs. Evan Gelistico(w/ Matt Kenway & Shawshank)(Submission Squad): This was a battle of fan favorites, thought Gelistico is a rulebreaker in most places...one might even call it a battle of the buddies. (Har har.) While Evan admittedly doesn't have the best physique in the world, he's got a great mind for the business and is an excellent talker as well. The finish was unique as Gelistico leapfrogged out of the corner, somehow landing on Paco's upper chest and lifting him up into the setup for a Tombstone from there...that scored Gelistico the important victory in 12:49! (Submission Squad 4-8, Resurgence 5-7) As the dust settled from the battle, Danny Adams hit the ring to attack Paco(the feud spans all promotions!)...Gary Jay made the save, kick-starting our main event matchup...
"The Millenial" Danny Adams(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters) vs. "The Stiff Robo Ginger" Gary Jay(Submission Squad) vs. "The Dirty Rook" Mat Fitchett(Resurgence) vs. "The Chainsaw Viking" Alexandre Rudolph(Blacklist)(w/ chainsaw): The Blacklist's representative had been scheduled to be Dingo, but he had to cancel...too bad, would have liked to see him in this mix. Rudolph presented a unique element to the bout with his size and power, compared to the other smaller participants. In fact, Rudolph stacked up all three opponents on the ring apron with huge chokeslams! #hardestpartofthering A chair came into play(no disqualifications in a four-corner bout!) and Adams wasn't above using a low blow or two to gain an advantage...but Gary put him away with a double-stomp to the back of the head in 10:15! (Submission Squad 5-8, Ego Busters 11-2, Resurgence 5-8, Blacklist 4-9)
The final standings for the season had the Ego Busters in first place by a wide margin, but a rare tie for second between the Submission Squad and Resurgence...as a result, an impromptu "tiebreaker" match was decided upon to determine who advanced to the season championship match. Each squad chose a representative, both of whom just happened to be in the preceding bout.
"The Stiff Robo Ginger" Gary Jay(Submission Squad) vs. "The Dirty Rook" Mat Fitchett(Resurgence): The stables all remained at ringside to support their teammates. Since both men had just competed, this was a quick sprint as both men threw bombs right out of the gate. Gary rode his wave of momentum to victory, picking up the win with the sliding forearm smash in 5:40 to make it Ego Busters vs. Submission Squad in the finals! (Submission Squad 6-8, Resurgence 5-9) Cue mutual respect speeches regarding everyone in the ring area and that, my friends, was a wrap. ACTUAL final season scoreboard: Ego Busters 11-2, Submission Squad 6-8, Resurgence 5-9, Blacklist 4-9.
The ensuing week wasn't much better in terms of my physical well-being, as I've been zonked out at home for most of my non-work hours. At least I should actually get caught up on these commentaries before my next indie show...but I'm not QUITE caught up. That's another story for another time, so tune in next time: Same Pat-Time, Same Pat-Channel.
That's my special comment for this, the fifty-eighth 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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