Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling show at the Community Center in East Carondelet, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
While the SICW attendance had admittedly been down a bit in recent months, it seemed to be revitalized on this night as they had a strong turnout. I hung out with Luke Roberts for most of the evening...his presence was fortunate as they had problems with the sound system and house microphone. Luke had a wired microphone and cable in his car and was able to lend it to the promotion for the night.
Your ring announcer was Drew Abbenhaus; your referees were Jay King, Shaft, & Nick Ridenour.
A young man named Darren sang the National Anthem, having to do it acapella as they didn't have the working microphone yet.
Keith Smith Jr.(w/ "The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz) vs. Mauler McDarby: Keith Jr. defeated McDarby's Professionals tag team partner Shawn Santel a few months ago, so it was McDarby's turn this time around. Last month, Keith Jr.'s brother-in-law Cruz decided to help him out as a mentor of sorts, so he was in his corner for this one...with SICW's television contract expired, he couldn't exactly do commentary. McDarby had a huge edge in experience, but Keith Jr. was the larger and stronger competitor of the two. Smith picked up the win with the fireman's-carry double-knee gutbuster in 8:52.
Moondog Rover vs. "The Enforcer" Jimmy D: As both men are fan favorites in SICW, they actually started off in somewhat technical fashion...but that didn't last too long as both men are brawlers by nature. Moondog is on the comeback trial after losing the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Title to The Big Texan in January. Rover won after a modified cross-bodyblock in 6:12.
Drew and promoter Herb Simmons did an in-ring interview with Wrestle Talk Podcast host Rene Martinez; Rene has interviewed quite a few St. Louis-area competitors and has paid a visit to our neck of the woods on a few occasions.
Billy McNeil vs. Waco: Billy made his SICW debut in January, losing to long-time rival Sean Vincent in a good competitive matchup (thanks to Kathy Hanner to recording that match and putting it on YouTube). McNeil seems like an odd fit for SICW, but he's already very popular in the Community Center as he's a different sort of competitor from what the fans usually see there. Waco is no slouch as he's proven himself capable of scoring big wins. McNeil won a solid matchup in 8:04 after a Gary Jay-style "Shadows Over Hell-bow", dropping an elbow from the top rope to Waco's back.
"Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent & "The Wrestling Machine" Dave Vaughn vs. "Volatile" Curtis Wylde & Bubba Troll(w/ Wyldefyre): Wylde has a lot of history with both opponents and found some major-league backup in the form of the 400-pounder Troll. Things wouldn't be settled on this night as Troll blatantly threw Vincent over the top rope, drawing a DQ in 10:39.
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): Nachos, two bottles of water, and a Pepsi. SICW's return date to the Community Center is March 24th.
Travis Cook brought out "The Icon" Chris Hargas, still griping about how Hargas should have won the best-of-three-falls match with Classic Champion Ken Kasa. He presented Hargas with a crown and cape, declaring him to be the "King" of SICW...okay then.
Bobby D vs. "The Icon" Chris Hargas(w/ Travis Cook): Cook immediately dismissed Bobby D as an unworthy opponent for the king; the two took a walk and Hargas was counted out in 0:54.
"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson vs. The Big Texan: These two are no strangers to each other; in fact, Jackson defeated Texan in the match where Texan initially unmasked. Texan decided to alter the course of his career about a year ago when he started wearing the mask again, feeling it revitalized his killer instinct...it paid dividends with his MMWA Heavyweight Title win in January. The status of Texan and his regular tag team partner Waco seems to change with the tide, but they seemed to be on the same page here as Waco slipped in a roll of tape...Texan used it to tape Jackson to the corner ropes and beat him down. He refused to break before the five-count and was disqualified in 9:04, but Texan continued the assault...I suspect this old issue will continue anew.
Flash Flanagan vs. Superstar Steve Fender(w/ Travis Cook): This was a really good battle between two old-school veterans...Flanagan is a multi-time former Classic Wrestling Champion and Fender has held titles all over the world. Fender focused his attack on Flanagan's leg to slow him down...he attempted to use the ropes for illegal leverage for a pin but was caught by the referee. Fender went for another leglock, but Flash countered with a rollup and HE held the ropes...the official didn't see it in this case and Flanagan scored the win in 19:03. That will just add fuel to the fire of Travis Cook's conspiracy theories...get Alex Jones on the horn.
"Ironman" Ken Kasa vs. "Big Country" Clint Poe(w/ Big Daddy) for the Classic Wrestling Title: Kasa had run afoul of the "Axemen"(Poe & Cowboy Marc Houston) in Swansea a few months ago as the long-time tag team partners brought their union to the Midwest. However, Houston was not in attendance on this night so it was mostly one-on-one. Poe had the edge in size and power, but he also had the help of Big Daddy who got in his cheap shots here and there. The referee was accidentally knocked down and the manager attempted to interfere, but he nearly got knocked off the ring apron by his own charge by mistake. With the official still clearing the cobwebs, Kasa took the opportunity to level Poe with Big Daddy's cane and scored the pinfall in 11:03 to retain his title! Kasa hung onto the belt on this night, but he'll have to deal with Cowboy Marc Houston in March...
Of course, it was a full weekend and I'll get to that story in due time...as for this coming weekend, I'm going to Pro Wrestling Championship Series in Alton, Illinois on Saturday. Davey Vega defends the Gateway Heritage Title against Ego Busters compatriot Danny Adams, plus the annual St. Louis Invitational Tournament will take place...should be a good time!
As for Glory Pro last Sunday: Tune in next time. Same Pat-Time, Same Pat-Channel.
That's my special comment for this, the tenth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2018. Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991
P.S. We are all marks.
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