Dynamo Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about the Dynamo Pro Wrestling show on Friday, July 6th at The Loading Dock in Grafton, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

I'm a big fan of wrestling tournaments in general, so I was psyched to hear that Dynamo's second annual Riot On The River Tournament had been expanded to sixteen participants.  They even provided brackets to fill out at this particular show...I got about half of my picks right, though my attempt at a clean sweep was derailed with the opening match.  There was a great fan turnout for the show, which I hope continues through the other two Grafton events this year.

The brackets shaped up as follows:

Adrian Surge vs. Jackal
Shiroi Senshi vs. The Snitch

C.J. Shine vs. Tony Esteem
Billy McNeil vs. Jimmi LaFleur

Ricky Rodriguez vs. Xavier Shadowz
Mike Outlaw vs. Viktor Von Stein

Benjamin Trust vs. Camaro Jackson
Outtkast vs. Ryan Ash

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

The show kicked off with a group photo of the sixteen tournament entrants; it was very Japanese/super indie style.  Heavyweight Champion "The Wind Of Destruction" Makaze made an appearance, saying he had initially been entered in the tournament but decided to rest on his championship laurels instead.  He dismissed any of the competitors in the ring as a threat, though his actions later in the night would speak differently...

"Lights Out" Adrian Surge vs. Jackal, Riot On The River Tournament:  Surge was one of the tournament favorites, particularly in his quarter of the bracket...of course, one can never underestimate Jackal with his experience advantage.  Jackal actually managed to deliver a chokeslam for a near-fall...I hadn't seen him use that move since his GCW series with Daizee Haze.  Near the end of the bout, Makaze made his way to ringside, taking an interest in recent contender Surge.  When Jackal managed to hit the Killswitch #2(step-up Unprettier), Makaze made his move and held Surge's foot from outside the ring.  Neither Jackal nor the referee saw this subterfuge...thanks to the unwanted involvement of the champion, Jackal picked up the win in 11:28 to advance in the tournament!  I had figured on Makaze screwing over Surge in the tournament...I just didn't see it happening until round TWO.  Jackal and Surge made nice afterwards (as Jackal was unaware of Makaze's interference with the pinfall)...but Surge's night wasn't quite over.  He got the microphone and challenged Makaze to defend the Heavyweight Title against him at the August 3rd show in Grafton!

"The Spanish Red Devil" Ricky Rodriguez vs. Tag Team Champion Xavier Shadowz, Riot On The River Tournament:  With the bracket setup, there was a chance that the Agents Of Chaos would face each other in the quarterfinals.  These two were no strangers to each other as Rodriguez had challenged for the Tag Titles previously with Edvin Kudic.  Rodriguez put forth a great effort, even delivering a DDT on the ring apron.  He went for the win with a Fameasser, but Shadowz blocked it and hit a sitout powerbomb to get the duke in 9:27...Viktor Von Stein celebrated with his partner afterwards, but would they be opponents in the next round?

Benjamin Ulysses Trust vs. Camaro Jackson:  Trust had mostly competed for Wrestling Over Everything in recent months, but he had competed for Dynamo a handful of times in the past and this was his return to the DPW ring.  Trust had quite a few supporters in the audience on this night, which may have caught Jackson off guard as he's usually the crowd favorite.  There were a handful of rough spots but things got smoother as the match progressed...I've seen that both guys are capable of delivering in the ring.  Trust picked up the win in 10:41 with a fireman's-carry slam(a la John Cena's F-U/Attitude Adjustment...is that the Trust Fall?).

Outtkast vs. "The Beach Body" Ryan Ash, Riot On The River Tournament:  The winner of this match would face Trust in the quarterfinals.  While it seemed like a logical outcome for Outtkast to avenge his loss to Ash from FUBAR, my brackets had Ash going to the semifinals and losing to Mike Outlaw there...hopefully that match can happen eventually.  (Ash's availability was a factor as well; that should have been a dead giveaway.)  These guys first fought in 2001 and know each other very well...I think they're 2-2 against each other all-time.  (They traded wins on GCW TV, Ash won the hair-vs.-hair ladder match at an Adults F'n Only show, and Ash won at FUBAR.  WHY DO I KNOW THIS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.)  For the newbies reading this, Ash started his career at the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance as "Danny Kidman" due to his resemblance to the former WWE/WCW Cruiserweight Champion...when he joined Gateway Championship Wrestling, his character was a Pokemon fanatic(taking the name from the main hero of the anime franchise) before becoming "The Rock 'N' Roll Sensation".  He teamed regularly with Billy McNeil and Matt Sydal before turning on Sydal and becoming a rulebreaker.

Anywho, the match ruled, thanks for asking.  Ash scored close near-falls after an Unprettier and another after a Razor's Edge flipped forward into a version of the Pedigree(I think that used to be the Hard Knox Drop or something to that effect)...he nearly got the tapout with the triangle hold that won him the FUBAR match but Kast just barely reached the ropes.  Outtkast finally managed to hit his Case Study finisher out of nowhere, scoring the pinfall in 10:00...our first confirmed quarterfinal would be Outtkast vs. Benjamin Trust!

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  Popcorn(free at the venue) and a root beer.  Indie fan rule of thumb:  Look for freebies (or a water fountain) if you're short on cash.

"The Caramel Bear" C.J. Shine vs. Tony Esteem, Riot On The River Tournament:  I figured on one of the Arch Town Mercenaries(Esteem & LaFleur) advancing to the next round via chicanery so it would be a fan favorite-vs.-rulebreaker bout...I went with Esteem here and Billy McNeil to beat LaFleur, though it could have easily gone either way.  This was another setup where members of a tag team could end up as opponents in the quarterfinals.  I'm still waiting for Shine's title shot since he scored an upset win over Makaze a little over a year ago.  Shine has been branching out to central Illinois in recent times and gaining valuable experience in the process.  Esteem tried to slow him down with his traditional roughhouse tactics, but Shine wiped him out with a huge LARIATOOOOO for the win in 8:00.

Billy McNeil vs. Jimmi LaFleur, Riot On The River Tournament:  With Shine winning, Billy's chances seemed to diminish (as noted above); the winner of this bout would take on Shine in the quarters.  LaFleur tried to keep McNeil grounded by focusing his attack on the arm, but the experience edge was too much for the rookie to overcome on this night.  McNeil took to the air and hit a flying elbowdrop off the top rope to the back of LaFleur, scoring the three-count in 9:15.  Second quarterfinal confirmed:  McNeil vs. Shine!

Shiroi Senshi vs. The Snitch, Riot On The River Tournament:  Snitch gave Chris Roedel his usual lengthy introductory spiel.  My money was on the masked guy in this one...*cough*  Someone pointed out their own theory about Senshi's identity...they may be on to something, but you can't truly say unless you see the person take off the mask in front of you, you know?  With all the rumors and gossip going around these days, you never can tell.  The match seemed like it could go in either direction, but Snitch came out on top with an Olympic Slam in 9:35...meaning he'll move on to face Jackal in the next round.  The two competitors shook hands afterwards, but Senshi leveled Snitch with a superkick before leaving the ring.

Mike Outlaw vs. Tag Team Champion Viktor Von Stein, Riot On The River Tournament:  Outlaw faced a tough test in round one against the largest man in the tourney.  Outlaw had already earned a future D-1 Title shot against Jayden Dominic Rose in the gauntlet match at FUBAR and was hoping to add to his accolades for 2018.  However, it turned out Surge wasn't the only contender Makaze was worried about as he stuck his nose into this match as well...his distraction nearly led to a win for Von Stein as he crushed Outlaw with an avalanche and Vader Bomb for a close near-fall!  Adrian Surge ran out to ringside to fend off Makaze, chasing him to the backstage area...in the meantime, Outlaw managed to make a comeback, lifting the big man on his shoulders for his version of the Go 2 Sleep!  He followed up with the mafia kick, scoring the victory in 13:07!

The quarterfinals are set for August:  Jackal vs. Snitch, McNeil vs. Shine, Outlaw vs. Shadowz, and Outtkast vs. Trust.  We shall see how things shape up from there...and August will also feature the championship match between Makaze and Surge.  Before we get there, Dynamo returns to the Concordia Turners Gymnasium in St. Louis, MO this Saturday the 28th...Outlaw gets his shot at Jayden Dominic Rose and the D-1 Title!

Upcoming shows:
-Saturday 7/28: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners Gym)
-Friday 8/3: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Grafton, IL
-Sunday 8/5: Glory Pro Wrestling: Resurgence in Swansea, IL; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in St. Louis, MO(Archie Moore Ave.)
-Saturday 8/11: Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO
-Sunday 8/12: Wrestling Over Everything in Centreville, IL
-Saturday 8/18: World League Wrestling in Troy, MO; SICW in East Carondelet, IL
-Friday 8/24: St. Louis Anarchy/Pro Wrestling Championship Series in Alton, IL
-Saturday 8/25: SICW in Swansea, IL

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