Now, as promised, a special comment about the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance show on Saturday, July 14th at the South Broadway Athletic Club in St. Louis, Missouri.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
South Broadway is rarely lacking for attendance...it seemed light at first but filled up well as bell time approached. Disaster nearly struck as there was a power outage in the neighborhood at 7:55, including this particular venue...thankfully the lights came back on at 8:05. After some extra time was taken for everyone to get their bearings (and get their technical equipment in order), the event kicked off at about 8:25.
Your ring announcer was Drew Abbenhaus(subbing for Ben Simon who was out of town); your referees were Nick Ridenour & Shaft.
"2.0" Da'Marius Jones(w/ A.J. Williams) vs. El Diablo Loco for the Cruiserweight Title: Loco upset Johnny Park in June, leading to this championship opportunity. However, the match barely got past its opening lockup(about a minute) before Park made an appearance, griping about how Loco's "fluke win" shouldn't have earned him this opportunity. Long story short, Park wanted into the match...Jones and Loco had no problem with that, so Commissioner Jim Harris made it so.
"2.0" Da'Marius Jones(w/ A.J. Williams) vs. El Diablo Loco vs. "The Righteous One" Johnny Park for the Cruiserweight Title: Jones continues to be a major "tweener" at South Broadway as he works as a rulebreaker but still gets a lot of cheers, as does A.J. In general, MMWA shows benefit from a hot crowd as they were into the action from start to finish on this night. Park was taken out of play long enough for Jones to deliver a pop-up Paydirt to Loco, pinning him in 7:17 to retain his title.
"The Supreme" B.T. Daramola vs. "P.O.D." Damion Cortess, referee Deacon Cash: This situation seemed slightly unfair as Cortess and Cash had some serious issues at the June show. B.T. wrestled in his street clothes and claimed Cortess stole his gear; Cortess admitted as much and said that his attire had improved. Despite any previous issues, Cash called the match down the middle...Cortess countered a dropkick attempt with a modified powerbomb to scoe the win in 4:20. The match had barely ended before Cash attacked B.T....it looked like a two-on-one situation, but Cash blindsided Cortess with a low blow before departing.
Khayman(w/ Abigail) vs. A.J. Williams(w/ Cruiserweight Champion Da'Marius Jones): These two hadn't crossed paths in a very long time; they once feuded over the belt then known as the Jr. Heavyweight Title. Khayman focused his attack on A.J.'s arm in the early going, hoping to wear him down for the Fujiwara armbar or some other submission maneuver. Jones repeatedly stuck his nose into the proceedings, distracting the referee at key moments...Khayman could have had the win with a Crippler Crossface but the official was with Da'Marius at the time. Williams capitalized with a superkick and Stone Cold Stunner, then a top-rope elbowdrop for a close near-fall. Khayman rallied on offense and hit the swanton bomb, but A.J. kicked out at 2 1/2. Jones' distraction turned the tide AGAIN, allowing Williams to hit the 450 Splash...for ANOTHER close two-count. Khayman hooked a leg-applied full nelson and Jones once again jumped up on the ring apron to distract referee Shaft...A.J. took advantage of the situation to bridge back into a pinning combination, getting the quick three-count in 10:25! Needless to say, Khayman was not happy with the officiating...he and Shaft seemed to come to an understanding, but then Khayman spit mist in Shaft's eyes! Jones ran back in to level Khayman with his title belt, then he and A.J. hit a Flapjack/Paydirt combo before El Diablo Loco hit the ring and the 2.0 duo bailed.
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): Pepsi, Sierra Mist(or Mist Twist or whatever), and popcorn.
"The Supreme" B.T. Daramola & "Mr. Mustache" Ricky Rodriguez vs. "The Heartthrob" Jaden Roller & "The Caramel Bear" C.J. Shine: I believe this was Roller's MMWA debut. Rodriguez seems to switch up nicknames between Mr. Mustache and Spanish Red Devil...whatever sells the most T-shirts, I would imagine. A little birdie told me that this was supposed to be two singles matches and B.T. was filling in for the absent Chase King...I forget who was supposed to face who. Both teams worked pretty well together, despite the egos on the rulebreaking side...B.T. was already banged up from the first half of the show and that made the difference. Shine finished off B.T. with the TKO in 10:32.
"Da Bomb" Brian James vs. Deacon Cash for the Heavyweight Title: Cash answered an open challenge for this championship bout...he'd been looking for his opportunity for several months and finally got it. I found it odd that Cash moved from the cruiserweight to the heavyweight division but seems to have dropped weight in that transition. The match hadn't gone too long before Damion Cortess decided to get a little payback on Cash...it nearly backfired as Cash reversed an Irish whip by James to send the champion crashing into Cortess on the ring apron. The referee made the call to disqualify Cash for the interference against James, making James the winner by DQ and still champion in 6:54. Needless to say, this didn't sit well with Cash...
Moondog Rover vs. The Big Texan, no-DQ match: This was set up to determine the next challenger for the Heavyweight Title; they had brawled to a no-contest in June in a triple threat match (also involving Deacon Cash). This was never going to a technical classic; it was two big guys slugging it out for a shot at the top prize at South Broadway. A.J. Williams attempted to get involved for some reason(he and Jones were both former Heavyweight Champions, at any rate), but was held off by a second official. In the resulting chaos, Moondog hit Texan with his trademark bone and got the win in 10:10...all righty then.
I'm up way too late after a long day...hospital bills, doctor's appointments, court dates, work, and plenty of other fun stuff. Hopefully I can get some stuff done this weekend and relax at the wrestling shows...
August looks like this:
-Friday 8/3: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Grafton, IL
-Saturday 8/4: Stride Pro Wrestling in Carterville, 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
-Sunday 8/26: Proving Ground Pro in Petersburg, IL
That's my special comment for this, the forty-second 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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