WLW Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about last Saturday's World League Wrestling show at the Tri-County Sports Center in Moscow Mills, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

This was a big show for WLW in a different venue, titled Night Of Champions 3 with several special guests.  "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson was at the afternoon meet-and-greet but couldn't stick around for the evening show due to his WWE commitments.  The other guests included "The Mouth Of The South" Jimmy Hart, James J. Dillon, Cowboy Bob Orton, and "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner.  The names on the show paid dividends as the event was said to be a legitimate sellout...between the packed house at this show and the capacity crowd on the other side of town for the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance, it was a good night for the pro wrestling.

Your ring announcers were Brian Thompson & Dane Horst; your referees were Richard White & Martin Kattich.

Tammy Fults sang the National Anthem to start off the show...most tremendous.

"The" Ace Hawkins vs. "KB Violence" Karim Brigante(w/ Miss Monica Passeri) for the MWR Missouri Title:  Hawkins won the title from Brandon Espinosa last July at a Dynamo Pro Wrestling event; he had defended the title at a few recent events, but he often preserved his reign by taking a walk for the countout loss.  It looked like this battle of speed vs. power would go in Brigante's favor...Ace attempted to gain the upper hand by using Monica as a shield outside the ring, but it didn't last long enough to achieve him victory.  When Ace attempted to take a hike once again, Monica put a stop to it and threw him back in the ring.  With Hawkins' escape option out the window, Brigante put him away with the pop-up forearm smash in 12:53 to become the NEWWWWW MWR Missouri Champion!  Hawkins had held the title for 232 days, but a new reign began in Moscow Mills...

"The Wrestler For The People" Rex Fults vs. "The Heartthrob" Jaden Roller(w/ "Can-Do" Curtis Dearling):  These guys have battled on several occasions with Roller usually getting the upper hand.  Curtis played a major role in a lot of those matches and this time was no different...but there was a countermeasure this time in the form of Jimmy Hart.  The Mouth Of The South ran to ringside and prevented Curtis from getting in a cheapshot with his briefcase, then shoved the younger manager down!  Unfortunately he didn't stay at ringside as Curtis attempted to stick his nose into things AGAIN...that allowed Roller to blindside Rex with his own nightstick and pin him in 11:10.  (I'd recommend keeping someone in your corner from bell to bell, is all...)

Jayden Dominic Rose vs. Jack Gamble, strap match for the Jr. Heavyweight Title:  Rose used his Harley Race Invitational Tournament trophy to cash in for an immediate title shot at the previous WLW show, upsetting Jon Webb and ending his lengthy championship reign.  Webb's longtime tag team partner Gamble would step up as Rose's first challenger and the bad blood was well established; the two fought for a few minutes before the referee could even secure the strap to each man's wrist and ring the opening bell.  It was tag-the-corners rules, which throws a different spin on finish teases...I don't think anyone went for pins.  At one point Rose blatantly removed the strap from his wrist and tagged all four turnbuckles, but the referee astutely told him that it didn't count...which earned him a punch to the face from the titleholder (no-DQ!).  Gamble rallied on offense(which allowed the official to refasten the strap around Rose's wrist) and tagged three corners, but Rose spit mist in Gamble's eyes before he could reach the fourth (THERE'S a new trick for him!).  With the challenger disabled, Rose was able to touch all four corners for the win in 16:38...both guys were showing the battle scars from the strap afterwards!

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Coca-Cola and Sunkist orange soda.  Main quibble with the venue was that they were clearly not used to the number of people in attendance for the show; the restrooms were single-occupant and there was a line backed up for the men's room for the entire evening.

Announced for Troy, MO on June 2nd:  ULTIMO DRAGON!  Didn't see that coming.

Miss Monica Passeri vs. Savanna Stone for the Women's Title, special guest referee Stacey O'Brien:  With Monica as a fan favorite, I got to see Savanna as a rulebreaker for the first time...the merchandise section even had more "heelish" 8x10s for her, which was a nice touch.    (Perhaps the upbeat theme music will need adjustment for situations such as these...heh.)  Former titleholder Stacey was the official; she hadn't wrestled in quite some time and I'd even heard rumblings of possible retirement.  I'd seen this combination in the past but with the roles reversed; considering Savanna is traditionally the fan favorite, I thought the match went really well.  Monica did some damage to the arm as the match progressed, setting up the finish as Monica tilt-a-whirled into a Fujiwara armbar takedown for the submission in 8:56.  After the match, Stacey decided she wasn't QUITE done yet as she leveled Monica with the belt, then tried it on for size before leaving it with the titleholder in the ring.

"The Legacy" Leland Race(w/ "Can-Do" Curtis Dearling) vs. "The Hybrid Ace" Jon Webb for the Heavyweight Title, no-DQ match:  Race had held the title for nearly a year(323 days) and did battle with Webb several times in that span...even a thirty-minute Ironman Match didn't settle things as that bout ended in a draw.  In that time, Race edged closer to the Dark Side of The Force, finally lowering himself to acquiring the managerial services of Can-Do Curtis.  As a result of recent altercations with both Race and Jayden Dominic Rose(who defeated him for the Jr. Heavyweight Title in February), Webb's ribs were bandaged...of course, that put a bullseye on the injured area for the experienced titleholder.  Curtis conspicuously entered without the champion...as Webb turned his attention to the manager, Race jumped the guardrail to attack from behind.  A chair and a ring bell came into play in this one (no-DQ!) and Curtis got in his cheapshots as well, putting Webb at a disadvantage...I presume Gamble was indisposed due to the damage suffered earlier in the night.  The tide finally turned when a miscommunication led to Race decking his manager with the briefcase by mistake...Webb hit the moonsault and got a close near-fall.  Race brought in the chair once again, but missed a wild swing and it rebounded off the top rope into his face...Webb capitalized with the Asai DDT to finally capture the WLW Heavyweight Title in 20:48!

Intermission numero dos~!  Not much to add here...Savanna joked about whether I'm scared of her since she was a heel for the night.  For the record:  I'm scared of most people.

Superstar Steve Fender & Brandon Espinosa vs. "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner & Kyle Roberts for the Tag Team Titles:  Fender & Espy defeated Roberts and Warwick Stephans to win the long-vacant Tag Titles, though the two had issues with getting on the same page.  When Stephans was injured and unable to attend the show where he and Roberts would get their rematch, Roberts fought on his own for the night and somehow managed to pull out the non-title win, giving him the opportunity to challenge for the belts with a partner of his choice.  Of course Steiner's history of tag team glory with his brother Rick was well-documented...Rick Steiner had appeared for WLW as well, even holding their Heavyweight Title.  If Steiner and Roberts were victorious on this night, it meant that both Steiner Brothers would have held WLW gold!  I wish I had brought my June 1992 WWF house show program from when the Steiners won the Tag Titles from Money Inc.(Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster)...I had Rick and DiBiase's autographs and could have gotten Scott's as well.

Fender & Espy knew the situation and seemed to be on better terms on this night...as Steiner made his entrance, the champions jumped him and destroyed him with chairs!  They made a point to "Pillmanize" his leg with the chairs...Steiner had to be assisted to the backstage area, meaning Roberts was once again in a two-on-one situation.  (I saw a few fans leave at this point, probably feeling like there was a bait-and-switch on some level.)  While the champions had things well in hand, a few instances of miscommunication derailed their momentum on a few occasions...so Roberts was able to last a lot longer than one might expect.  At a key moment, Steiner limped back out with a chair as a makeshift crutch...as the referee was occupied with Fender, Steiner tossed in the chair and Roberts used it for a Van Daminator on Espy!  That assist made the difference as Roberts got the winning three-count in 16:17...your newwwww WLW Tag Team Champions are Scott Steiner & Kyle Roberts!  Steiner spoke to the fans after the match, saying he wasn't feeling so good but his partner didn't need too much help in the end...but he would be back to defend the belts with Roberts.  All righty then!

That weekend wasn't quite over as I would make my way to Centreville for Wrestling Over Everything on Sunday...but that's another story for another time.  Tune in next time:  Same Pat-Time, Same Pat-Channel.

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