Dynamo Special Comment

Now, as promised, a special comment about the Dynamo Pro Wrestling show on Friday, August 3rd at The Loading Dock in Grafton, Illinois.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm biased.  Deal with it.

Attendance was a bit down from the previous Grafton show; someone had said there was something else going on in town so that may have been a factor.  It'll be interesting to see how it goes on September 14th for the tournament semifinals and final, especially with the competition from St. Louis Anarchy just a bit down the road in Alton.  However, I imagine the two promotions have distinct audiences so it won't be as big a deal as one might think.  This was another road trip with my esteemed colleague Ben Simon, who I met up with after work on this particular Friday.

Your ring announcer was Chris Roedel, your assistant ring announcer was Luke Roberts, and your referees were Scott Ramsey & Jay King.

The show began with a ten-bell salute to recently departed wrestlers:  Nikolai Volkoff, Brian Christopher(aka Grandmaster Sexay, aka Brian Lawler), and Brickhouse Brown.

"The Mercenary" Graham Bell vs. Reilly MaGuire:  MaGuire is a newer trainee who was making his Dynamo Pro debut...he'd worked a handful of matches prior to this, including the "Worst Royal Rumble" at Pro Wrestling Championship Series as Jack Griffin.  The relatively short opener came down to Bell's experience advantage as The Mercenary won with a superkick in 4:47.

D-1 Champion Mike Outlaw vs. Tag Team Champion Xavier Shadowz, Riot On The Riot Tournament Quarterfinal, non-title:  This was a good matchup, but didn't have a lot of suspense to it since Outlaw had beaten Shadowz' more physically imposing tag team partner Viktor Von Stein the previous month.  Shadowz was hardly a pushover and was coming off a round-one victory over Ricky Rodriguez, but he came up a bit short against the former Heavyweight and current D-1 Champion here; Outlaw notched the win after the High Noon(top-rope elbowdrop) in 8:00.  Shadowz met his partner Von Stein in the aisleway and Viktor was visibly unhappy with his partner's defeat...

Jackal vs. The Snitch, Riot On The River Tournament Quarterfinal:  Jackal upset Adrian Surge in the first round(with an unwanted assist from Makaze) while Snitch defeated Shiroi Senshi.  Jackal had the big edge in experience, but Snitch had been on a roll in recent weeks so it was anybody's ballgame.  Jackal showed his toughness when he survived Snitch's Olympic Slam, kicking out of the pin attempt at 2 1/2.  Snitch took the fight to the floor, ramming Jackal into the ringpost and getting the win by countout in 9:29...a win is a win, I suppose.

Outtkast vs. "Mr. Extraordinary" Benjamin Trust, Riot On The River Tournament Quarterfinal:  Outtkast defeated longtime rival "Beach Body" Ryan Ash to advance in the tournament while Trust won a hard-fought matchup with Camaro Jackson to reach this point; the winner of this bout would move on to face Outlaw in the semifinals in September.  While both are fan favorites, Trust had a vocal set of supporters in attendance as he did the previous month in Grafton...on the other side of things, Outtkast had a distinct advantage in terms of experience and strength.  The tactics that worked in round one wouldn't be enough this time around...Trust delivered the fireman's-carry slam(a la John Cena's F-U/Attitude Adjustment) that won him his opening-round match, but Outtkast kicked out at two.  It looked like Outtkast would move on to the semifinals after he hit the Case Study, but Trust incredibly got a shoulder up at 2 1/2.  Outtkast looked to finish with a pop-up powerbomb, but Trust countered in mid-air with a hurricanrana into a pinning combination, edging out a win over the former titleholder in 8:22!  One semifinal was set:  Mike Outlaw vs. Benjamin Trust.

Billy McNeil vs. "The Caramel Bear" C.J. Shine, Riot On The River Tournament Quarterfinal:  Both men had to deal with the Arch City Mercenaries in the first round; McNeil defeated Jimmi LaFleur while Shine scored a victory over Tony Esteem.  That led to this battle of fan favorites to determine who would move on to face The Snitch in the semifinal round; Shine had the size and power advantage while Billy had the edge in speed and experience.  That experience paid off as McNeil has become a more well-rounded competitor in recent years; Shine was likely expecting an aerial attack, but it was a ground-based move that won the match as Billy scored the three-count with a fisherman suplex in 5:49.  That set the semifinals of the tournament:  Billy McNeil vs. The Snitch and Mike Outlaw vs. Benjamin Trust!

Intermission~!  Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm):  One root beer.

Battle Royal:  Our list of entrants:  "Mr. Mustache" Ricky Rodriguez, Outtkast, Jackal, Tony Esteem, Jimmi LaFleur, Prince Akkanatan, C.J. Shine, Tag Team Champion Xavier Shadowz, and Tag Team Champion Viktor Von Stein.  The safe money seemed to be on Von Stein bulldozing everybody for the easy win, but there was still the possibility of a team effort to get the largest man in the match over the top rope.  Von Stein didn't waste time in asserting his dominance, throwing out Outtkast and Esteem.  Shadowz worked closely with his partner and threw out Jackal, but then Shadowz was dumped to the floor by LaFleur.  The newcomer Akkanatan was the next to go at the hands(and the 'stache) of Ricky Rodriguez.  LaFleur continued his success by eliminating Shine, but was sent to the floor by Von Stein shortly afterwards.  That left Von Stein and Rodriguez, two men who are extremely familiar with each other...the size difference seemed to indicate a huge favorite, but Ricky used his head in this exchange.  Rodriguez ducked out to the ring apron and used Von Stein's hot-headedness against him, low-bridging him to the floor for the surprise win in 6:22!  The outcome did little to improve the big man's mood as he chokeslammed Rodriguez after the bell, then greeted a re-entering Jackal with IT'S THE BIG FOOT.

Savanna Stone vs. "The Little Blue Dragon" Tootie Lynn Ramsey vs. "The Empress Of Evil" Rahne Victoria, no-DQ match:  I'd seen practically every combination of these ladies mix it up in the past year and a half, though there were hints that there was something special about this particular bout.  Sure enough, co-promoter Crystal Yount made a pre-match appearance with SOMETHING under a black cloth...and she announced that the match would decide the first-ever Dynamo Pro Women's Champion!  The belt looks tremendous and I was super psyched about its unveiling...the only question was, who would get the honor of being the inaugural titleholder?  With the no-DQ stipulation in play, the fight spilled out of the ring and traveled all over the Loading Dock, including an exchange in the bleacher seats!  All of these women held victories over each other and they were very evenly matched across the board, so it was likely to come down to the combatant would would take advantage of the best opportunity.  In this case, it came down to Savanna and Rahne in the ring as Tootie was down outside the ropes.  Savanna went for one aerial move too many and Rahne capitalized, dropping Savanna with a wheelbarrow faceplant and scoring the pin in 10:45 to become the first ever Dynamo Pro Wrestling Women's Champion!  Congratulations to Rahne Victoria!

"The Wind Of Destruction" Makaze vs. "Lights Out" Adrian Surge for the Heavyweight Title:  Surge held a non-title win over Makaze and the masked man has been making his life miserable ever since.  After Makaze cost Surge several recent matches, Surge challenged him to a title bout at this event...the champion was in no hurry to accept, but the match was made.  Surge was fired up for this bout as he dominated the champion, not wanting to give him any opportunity to dig into his bag of tricks.  Unfortunately Makaze had some backup on his side as Viktor Von Stein & Xavier Shadowz made their way to the ring area...Von Stein distracted the referee as Shadowz attacked Surge from the other side, but Surge quickly threw Shadowz to the floor.  In the confusion, Makaze stunned Surge with a low blow and quickly covered for the pin in 6:12 to retain his title!  It looked like Surge was at a three-on-one disadvantage, but Jackal and Ricky Rodriguez ran down to even the odds...Surge laid out Makaze with the spinebuster to wrap up the show with the good guys standing tall.

It turned out to be a historic night with the first DPW Women's Champion being crowned...I talked to a few people who thought such a thing should have been promoted ahead of time instead of being a surprise, but I suppose what's done is done.  The Riot On The River Tournament marches on to its conclusion in September amidst a very busy Midwest wrestling scene...more on that as it develops, as always.

Upcoming schedule looks like this:
-Sunday 9/9:  Wrestling Over Everything in Centreville, IL
-Friday 9/14:  Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Grafton, IL; St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 9/15:  World League Wrestling in Troy, MO; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL; World Powerhouse Wrestling in Collinsville, IL
-Friday 9/21:  Dynamo Pro in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners)
-Saturday 9/29:  SICW in Swansea, IL

That's my special comment for this, the forty-sixth 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.