Dynamo Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about the Dynamo Pro Wrestling show on Friday, June 15th at FUBAR in St. Louis, Missouri.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

This was Dynamo's first venture to a new venue...I parked a few blocks away since I was unaware that I wouldn't have to put money in the meters after a certain time.  I tried to swing by a Regions ATM in St. Louis, but traffic was terrible downtown and I gave up on that when I couldn't find a place to park.  At any rate, I recognized the venue once I was inside since I had done a comedy show there several years ago.  They had a really good crowd there, to the point where it was tough to find a place to stand where I wouldn't be blocking anyone's view.  My favorite discovery was a couple of old arcade machines in the back of the room:  Popeye and Burgertime!  (Too bad they weren't working...WHY WEREN'T THEY WORKING?!?)

Your ring announcers were Chris Roedel & Luke Roberts; your referees were Scott Ramsey & Jay King.

Heavyweight Champion Makaze kicked off the show, not having an announced match for the evening.  He called out Ricky Rodriguez for getting involved in his business(saving Adrian Surge from a post-match attack at the Glen Carbon show on May 4th).  Rodriguez showed no intimidation in the face of the more experienced champion (not to mention one of the men who trained him), saying he respected him as a wrestler but didn't respect his recent tactics.  This led to an impromptu challenge, albeit not for the title.

Heavyweight Champion "The Wind Of Destruction" Makaze vs. "The Spanish Red Devil" Ricky Rodriguez, non-title:  Ricky's very first match was against then-new champion Makaze last October and he gave the titleholder a good fight...would the story be different this time around?  It didn't seem likely, but the champion's arrogance could have potentially led to him underestimating his opponent.  Rodriguez once again gave his mentor a spirited effort, but he fell to the Northern Lights Perfectplex in 9:29.  Makaze actually showed Ricky some respect with a post-match handshake, but then hit him from behind and beat him down with a chair.

Shiroi Senshi vs. "The Heartthrob" Jaden Roller:  Senshi was a masked newcomer who I hadn't seen before...I have no idea if he's an established competitor in a new identity or someone completely new to the game.  It was a good match, at any rate...the finish saw a minor ref bump, which allowed Roller to escape a sleeperhold with a mule kick to the Universal Weak Point(tm).  Jaden finished with a jumping side kick in 6:20.

The Agents Of Chaos(Viktor Von Stein & Xavier Shadowz) vs. The Arch City Mercenaries(Tony Esteem & Jimmy Lafleur) for the Tag Team Titles:  Esteem & Lafleur were scheduled for a rematch with Jackal & Ricky Rodriguez, but Jackal wasn't there...since Esteem & Lafleur had won the previous encounter with Jackal & Ricky, it put them in position for a title shot anyway.  It was an interesting dynamic with both sides being traditionally rulebreakers, so Esteem & Lafleur seemed to be working as the fan favorites by default.  The fans were into the match, at any rate...of course things broke down into a fight by the end of it.  The referee was occupied with checking on Lafleur outside the ring as Esteem had the momentum against Von Stein...but Shadowz snuck in with an unseen low blow on Esteem.  (Twice in as many matches...)  The Agents unveiled a new finisher as Von Stein picked up Esteem in a fireman's-carry Flapjack with Shadowz catching Esteem in mid-air with a Diamond Cutter!  The official re-entered to count Shadowz' pinfall on Esteem in 13:19...the champs hung onto their belts once again.

Gauntlet Match:  With new D-1 Champion Jayden Dominic Rose not in the house for the evening, this five-man gauntlet was set up to determine his first challenger...all but "The Caramel Bear" C.J. Shine were participants in the ladder match where Rose became champion ("The Valedictorian" Keon Option was the other ladder match entrant).  Things kicked off with Mike Outlaw and "The Mercenary" Graham Bell...a lot of people had Outlaw pegged as the favorite in the ladder match and he was the favorite going into this match, but he had a long road ahead of him at the start of the gauntlet.  Bell and Luke Langley were a consistent tag team for a while under a few different team names(most recently the Diamond Dogs, but they seem to be focusing on their solo careers nowadays.  Bell gave Outlaw a really good fight but Outlaw emerged victorious with the High Noon(top-rope elbowdrop) in 9:26.

Next out was C.J. Shine, hoping to get the better of the worn-down Outlaw.  Shine pressed his advantage, but Outlaw's experience edge made the difference and he eliminated Shine with the mafia kick in 13:10.  The Snitch jumped into action as the next entrant, but was a bit too hasty and Outlaw surprised him with a quick rollup pin in 14:18!  Snitch lost his cool and beat down Outlaw after the fall, leaving Outlaw in rough shape heading into the final part of the gauntlet against "Lights Out" Adrian Surge.

Surge had been on a roll heading into this matchup, including a non-title win over current Heavyweight Champion Makaze, so it seemed like the odds were totally against Outlaw at this point.  The gauntlet seemed to be almost all fan favorites besides Snitch(Bell wasn't really heelish) so Outlaw did have that going for him.  Surge was totally fresh while Outlaw had battled three other competitors, but Outlaw showed a lot in terms of his overall endurance.  When Outlaw got the edge, he went full-blast with a suicide dive and then a somersault plancha!  He got Surge back in the ring and quickly hit the High Noon...for two-and-a-half!  Surge caught him with the spinebuster out of nowhere but Outlaw got a foot on the bottom rope to escape defeat.  They battled on the edge of the ring(Surge outside the ropes, Outlaw inside) until Outlaw delivered an inside-out variation of the Slingblade...he kept up the momentum with two mafia kicks, went up to hit a second High Noon, and that finally sealed the deal in a total time of 22:46!

Outlaw celebrated his win and his well-earned D-1 Title shot, but he was interrupted by a familiar face:  The returning "Dirdey" Jake Dirden!  Dirden got a great reception complete with "Welcome Back" chants...the two seemed to be on relatively friendly terms, but also wanted to face each other in the ring once again.  Outlaw said that once he wins the D-1 Title from Jayden Dominic Rose, he'll be more than happy to give Dirden a title shot...woo.

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  One Pepsi(since I didn't have cash, someone bought it for me and I forget who...sorry).

Outtkast vs. "The Beach Body" Ryan Ash:  Given my past connection to Ash, I was psyched to see that he was returning to the ring here against one of his biggest rivals.  I tell the story all the time about meeting him at Broadcast Center and him encouraging me to check out an independent wrestling show for the first time...so yeah, that's his fault.  (MWAHAHAHA!)  Ash and Outtkast had some really good matches in the Gateway Championship Wrestling days, culminating in a hair-vs.-hair ladder match at an Adults F'n Only show.  Over time, Ash grounded his style and added elements of his mixed-martial-arts training, going into full rulebreaker territory after turning on Matt Sydal...that also resulted in a hair-vs.-hair ladder match and that time Ash got an unwanted haircut.  Ash was quick to let everyone know that he was much happier after having moved away from the St. Louis area to California, solidifying Outtkast as the one to cheer.

Neither guy takes to the air as much as they once did, so it was a battle between the brawler Outtkast and the technician Ash.  It had been a LONG time since they last crossed paths, so Outtkast may not have been used to Ash's updated ring style (he jumped to the Lethal Wrestling Alliance not long after his heel turn).  In a spot that was commonplace in his previous rulebreaking run here, Ash had his tights pulled down on a sunset flip attempt and took his sweet time readjusting his ring attire...eww.  Ash hit one of his old finishers, the Unprettier/Tomakazi, but only got a two-count.  (The full-fledged "Van Halenator" was that move, but dropped from the Vertebreaker position...very cool.)  Outtkast rallied and hit his own signature move, The Case Study, but Ash managed to counter Outtkast's pin attempt into a triangle hold out of nowhere...Outtkast was forced to tap out in 11:35!  That result was surprising, but it sounds like Ash will be around the area for a little bit for some more matches...and these two will cross paths again in the upcoming Riot On The River Tournament.

Camaro Jackson vs. "The Millenial" Danny Adams:  I had seen Danny in the building but didn't realize he was there to compete until I spotted him in his ring gear during intermission.  He was in the interesting position of having the experience edge over the relative newcomer Camaro Jackson, but Jackson was looking to make an impact in singles competition with his regular tag partner Kenny Alfonso absent.  Adams surprisingly took the air at one point with an Asai DDT, but Jackson managed to get a foot on the bottom rope to stop the three-count.  Camaro rallied with a string of high-impact offense, ending with a pump knee strike for the upset victory in 12:35!

Savanna Stone vs. "The Little Blue Dragon" Tootie Lynn Ramsey vs. "The Empress Of Evil" Rahne Victoria, no-DQ match:  It was a pretty cool thing for the women to main-event the show; Rahne came prepared for the stipulation with a kendo stick.  Despite the crowded building, the three brawled beyond the guardrails and all over the venue!  The finish was reminiscient of the triple threat at Cinco De Mayo, only this time there was a different winner...Savanna gave Rahne a taste of her own medicine with a uranagi, then powerbombed Tootie onto Rahne before pinning both in 9:01!  It was a great way to cap off the show and give a nod to the women's division for their hard work in the past year.

Post-show, a bunch of us made the trip to Uncle Bill's Pancake House to celeberate Sophie King's birthday...I went relatively simple with the "4D" meal of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage.  Most of the crew occupied one table...since I got there later, my table was basically myself, Ben Simon, and C.J. Shine.

The summer months seem to have a lighter schedule in terms of local shows...the past two weekends didn't have a lot of events, which led to me doing a bit of traveling this past weekend to check out Outlaw Wrestling in Lincoln, IL and Proving Ground Pro in Athens, IL.  I've seen a few promotions for the first time in 2018 and I'm keeping my options open to see as much of the Midwest talent as possible.

Dynamo shifts its focus to Grafton this coming weekend for the second annual Riot On The River Tournament...I'm a huge fan of tournaments so I'm happy to see this become a regular thing.  On top of that, the tournament has been expanded to sixteen participants!

July looks like this:
-Friday 7/6:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Grafton, IL
-Friday 7/13:  St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 7/14:  Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO; Wrestling Over Everything in Centreville, IL
-Saturday 7/21:  World Wrestling Entertainment in St. Louis, MO(Chaifetz Arena); Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Sunday 7/22:  Glory Pro Wrestling in Collinsville, IL

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