NWL Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about Friday's National Wrasslin' League show at the Elks Lodge in O'Fallon, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

A lot of notable things have been happening in the NWL; Maverick regained the Spirit Of NWL Title from Gary Jay, plus The Besties In The World(Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) won the Tag Titles from The Foundation(Michael Strider & Ace Steel) in a street fight.  On top of that, Todd Letterman(Kevin Lee Davidson) returned on the side of Matt Jackson to feud with Dak Draper.  Maverick turned down an offer to join the Jackson Administration and dumped Drew Gold in the process, but Thor Theriot was a bit more receptive to the opportunity and joined Gold's growing stable.  The YouTube and television content is a bit behind on these events, which can leave the St. Louis crowd in a bit of a lurch...I don't think the fans around here follow the Kansas City goings-on as closely as they think.  You've got a big video screen at the shows...use it.

Your ring announcer was Ben Simon; your referees were Michael Crase & David Gulick.

Mat Waterman(w/ Tootie Lynn Ramsey) vs. S.K. Bishop:  With the show taking place on March 16th(you know, "3/16"), Waterman came out to the old "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Disturbed theme music with a Waterman 3:16 entrance video.  Waterman is a rookie from the NWL Performance Center who just recently made his debut; I'd never seen Bishop before.  Tootie brought enough enthusiasm for everyone, to her credit.  Waterman utilized some Austin-esque tactics as well as his own arsenal...he won after a swinging uranagi in 6:32.

Mike Outlaw vs. Everett Connors(w/ Rasheed Ali):  I feel like these two have crossed paths in one-on-one competition in the past, but the time and place escapes me.  Music producer Ali gave his client a grandiose introduction and also wasn't above getting involved in the match; this one could have easily gone either way without outside factors.  Outlaw had things going his way, but Ali made enough of a nuisance of himself that Outlaw chased him around the ring and then through the ropes...Connors seized the opening and rolled up Outlaw with a handful of tights in 9:03 to get the cheap win.

Will Lowe vs. Leonel Howlett:  Lowe is Alpha Omega's Kenny Alfonso working under his real name; he wore a mask for this match for some reason.  He recently appeared on Smackdown alongside Mat Fitchett against the Bludgeon Brothers...which went about as well for them as you'd expect.  Lowe had a very impressive outing here as he showed great speed and agility...but the battle-tested Howlett has been in some recent wars with competitors on the level of Jimmy Jacobs and Eddie Kingston.  The only question is where he true focus lies:  On singles glory or tag team gold with Marco?  Leonel scored a hard-fought win with a pop-up Diamond Cutter in 7:55.

"The Mile-High Magnum" Dak(ota) Draper vs. Rasheed Ali(w/ Everett Connors):  Connors was ejected from ringside fairly quickly, forcing Ali to fight on his own against the former Kansas City Champion.  This was a surprisingly long match that unfortunately didn't draw a lot of crowd noise; I don't think the people bought Ali as much of a threat to the nearly-undefeated Draper.  Dak picked up the victory with the Mile-High Doctor Bomb in an even 10:00.

"The Five-Star Phenom" Todd Letterman vs. "The Professional Lowlife" Christian Rose:  Rose spoke his mind before the match, proclaiming Letterman to be a quitter for leaving NWL last year after his St. Louis Title loss.  The setup here was a bit suspect as they seemed to expect a positive crowd response for Letterman on his home turf; the problems with this were that a) Letterman was a rulebreaker for his entire NWL run, b) Kevin Lee Davidson has competed as a rulebreaker in the St. Louis area for the better part of the past year, and c) Letterman returned to NWL as a rulebreaker by attacking Dak Draper.  Letterman's reception was far more lukewarm than one might have expected...it got to the point where Rose attempted to play to the crowd like a fan favorite to get SOME noise out of them.  The match itself was a good one, but the circumstances just weren't favorable on this occasion.  Rose busted out a Stone Cold Stunner(3/16!) for a near-fall, but Letterman planted him with the spinebuster before finishing with the Endzone Spike(pumphandle Michinoku Driver) in 12:36.

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Dr. Pepper, Payday candy bar, Coca-Cola.  Unless you're getting water, concessions at NWL are a bit pricey($2 for soda and $3 for a candy bar?).  During intermission, the big-screen video was a feature on Maverick's recent WWE Performance Center tryout (the true reason for his "walkout" prior to getting his title rematch with Gary Jay).

"The Raging Bull" Maverick vs. "The Connoisseur" Niles Plonk for the Spirit Of NWL Title, no-DQ match:  The enthusiasm level wasn't looking good to start...Plonk got very little reaction despite his pre-match promo.  Since the title is contested under the no-DQ stipulation by default, the other members of Top Shelf Entertainment(Everett Connors & Rasheed Ali) hit the ring immediately after the bell to gang-attack Maverick.  Former titleholder Gary Jay ran out to help, clearing out the extra parties to make it one-on-one...he even made a point to shake hands with Maverick before departing(MUTUAL RESPECT~!).  That was a positive step to get the fans behind Maverick, but it'll be a tough road...I once referred to Maverick as the Roman Reigns of the NWL, but at least Maverick had a rulebreaking run to freshen up his character.  The match turned into a pretty good battle with Maverick retaining his title via LARIATOOOOO~! in an even 10:00 (wow, twice in one night).

The Royal Blood(Jet & Jax Royal) vs. Thor Theriot & Thomas Shire(w/ Drew Gold):  Both Royals were plagued by injuries in 2017; Jax was on the shelf for so long that I legitimately wondered if he was out for good (Jet even formed a regular partnership with Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez in recent months).  Thor seemed to be a bit bland as a fan favorite and often needed a dynamic rulebreaking personality as his foil (i.e. Jeremy Wyatt), so I think a rulebreaking run with Gold as his manager will benefit him greatly.  The Royals didn't have their names on their gear like usual (though they had their names on their SHIRTS which they removed before the bout), so I had trouble keeping them straight.  A more observant colleague noted that Jet appeared to be doing most of the work for his side, thus allowing Jax to ease his way back into in-ring competition (this was his first match in several months, after all).  Jax did get the hot tag near the end of the bout, leading into the finishing sequence where he delivered a crucifix bomb on Theriot as Jet hit a running Buff Blockbuster!  Gold distracted the referee and Shire turned the pinning combination so that Thor was on top, but Jet re-reversed the positions and his brother got the winning fall on Theriot in 11:52!

Savanna Stone vs. Rahne Victoria:  This was almost exactly one year to the day of both women's in-ring debuts against each other.  In just that year, they've traveled all over the country and competed against a wide variety of opponents...but the feud between the two continues to this day.  These two had a couple of rough spots in the match but worked through them fairly well; it happens from time to time.  I'm sure they'll face each other again down the line (way to go out on a limb, huh?)...Savanna tilt-a-whirled into a small package for the pinfall in a brisk 4:36.

Jack Foster, "The Stiff Robo Ginger" Gary Jay, & "Dominican Dynamite" Marti Belle vs. Kansas City Champion "The Monarch" Jeremy Wyatt, Michael Strider, & Carolina Rodriguez:  Foster has his sights set on Wyatt's title and has a couple of title shots coming up(including one at the show tonight in K.C.).  On the ladies' side, Marti has been itching to get Carolina in the ring only to be constantly sidestepped, with Carolina claiming injuries AND putting alternate opponents in her path.  Gary and Strider chop really hard.  With mixed tag rules in effect, there was a lot of do-si-do as Carolina would tag in, Marti would enter the ring, and then Carolina would quickly tag out.  While Gary was isolated by the Foundation duo/trio for a long stretch, it was inevitable that this fight would get out of hand...it ended with the other parties brawling to the backstage area, leaving Foster and Wyatt in the ring.  Wyatt went to the top in an attempt to finish off Foster, but Marti re-entered in time to grab Wyatt's foot and distract him from the task at hand.  That momentary loss of focus was enough of an opening for Foster to mount a comeback, pinning Wyatt after a spear in 20:36!

I'm caught up for the moment, but I've got a two-show weekend ahead...Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling has its monthly offering tonight in East Carondelet, IL (best wishes to those at Proving Ground Pro tonight as well!).  Tomorrow night, Glory Pro Wrestling has a show in Swansea, IL in a revival of the Pro Wrestling Resurgence brand...a one-night eight-man tournament will not only determine an opponent for "The Zombie Princess" Jimmy Jacobs at the next big Glory Pro event, but will also crown a new Resurgence Champion!  March wraps up for me with Dynamo Pro Wrestling back at Concordia Turners Gymnasium in St. Louis, MO on Saturday the 31st!

That's my special comment for this, the sixteenth 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.