Now, as promised, a special comment about the Pro Wrestling Championship Series show on Friday, August 24th at the Spaulding Hall Club in Alton, Illinois.
The standings had been a dead heat in Season 5; the newly-heelish Blacklist entered this show in the lead at 4-2 with the Ego Busters and Resurgence tied for second at 3-3. The defending champions were at the bottom of the scoreboard with the Submission Squad at 2-4, but they were well within striking distance and one show could easily turn things around. In an unannounced aspect of the show, Angelina Love(who lives in the area) stopped by the merchandise table to sign some autographs.
This HAD been scheduled to be the site of the long-awaited Mat Fitchett vs. David Arquette match and was promoted as a joint show with St. Louis Anarchy, but Arquette cancelled a few days after the initial announcement for questionable reasons. To the best of my knowledge, there was some dispute over the logistics of the match being either a one-on-one bout or a tag match pitting The Besties In The World(Fitchett & Davey Vega) against Arquette and R.J. City. It would have been fun to see that match take place, but it sounds like the window has closed...such is life, I suppose. Oddity of the night: I forgot to bring my Wayne's World cap to work with me and went straight to the show after I clocked out, so I had no hat at a wrestling show for the first time in a while. Le gasp.
Your ring announcer was Chris Kaelin; your referee was Adam Kennedy.
Mighty Micah & Dallas Cayde vs. "Privilege Personified" Rasheed Ali & Shane Sanders: All four men are out of Kansas City as former National Wrasslin' League trainees. Ali is the one with the most established personality and character with Sanders seemingly working as his bodyguard or muscle. Cayde is the artist formerly known as Mat Waterman, recently changing his ring name. The Alton crowd is still getting to know the people involved, though Micah is working well as an underdog fan favorite. While Ali & Sanders had the continuity advantage, Cayde was able to score the rollup pin on Ali in 11:00.
St. Louis Anarchy promoter Matt Jackson(I still have trouble referring to him as anything but Pierre Abernathy) made the official announcement that Anarchy would run its first show in the Kansas City area in October; the event would be held in Overland Park, Kansas on 10/18. It'll be interesting to see how well the brand does in that region; it seemed like the NWL generally drew better around K.C. than in the St. Louis area. There aren't nearly as many promotions out that way...Metro Pro only ran the one show earlier this year and hasn't done anything since, leaving Kansas City Xtreme Wrestling and a handful of smaller promotions. We've been a bit spoiled to have a lot of good options within about an hour's drive of St. Louis during a typical weekend, not to mention more stuff in central/southern Illinois if one is feeling particularly adventurous.
"The Warhorse" Jake Parnell(Resurgence) vs. Leonel "Hoodie" Howlett(Submission Squad): This was a battle of intense brawlers and a contrast between Hoodie's mostly ground-based game against Parnell's tendency to go airborne. Ordinarily this would favor the larger and stronger competitor, but Parnell's tenacity has been well-documented and he hung in there with Howlett from beginning to end. Parnell nearly scored the win with a brainbuster onto the ring apron, but Howlett escaped defeat with a hand on the bottom rope. After more heavy artillery was exchanged, Hoodie scored the win with a Rock Bottom in 13:08. (Submission Squad 3-4, Resurgence 3-4)
"Dirdey" Jake Dirden(Ego Busters) vs. Matt Kenway(w/ Adam Caster)(Blacklist): Despite Kenway's recent run of success, he was clearly the underdog here against the much larger Dirden...and despite both men being rulebreakers in recent times, Dirden seemed to be the crowd favorite (which might explain Greg Jovi's absence from ringside). Kenway did his best to cut the big man down to size, clipping the knee and focusing his attack on the leg. He even pulled out the old standard trick of holding the ropes for illegal leverage while using the figure-four leglock. Alas, it wasn't quite enough to take down the Intelligent Monster; Dirden sealed the deal with a chokeslam and spear in 14:33. (This show had LONG matches...) (Ego Busters 4-3, Blacklist 4-3)
Roscoe Eat Lisa("The Big Mustache On Campus" Mikey McFinnegan & "Zesty" Zakk Sawyers) vs. Friendship Team 9000(Anthony "Sharkbait" Gutierrez & Logan Riegel) vs. "The Professional Lowlife" Christian Rose & Thomas Shire(w/ Greg Jovi): I hadn't heard of any injury to Sterling Riegel, so the booking of the Sharkbait/Logan Riegel team was odd to me. (If nothing else, I didn't have to try to figure out which Riegel was which.) Jovi's crew picked their spots in this battle with two fan favorite duos...McFinnegan and Sawyers had defeated the Riegels at the SLA show in July, but I don't think they had encountered Sharkbait before this match. In this style of match, the opportunists often pick up the win and that held true on this occasion as well...Sharkbait caught Sawyers in a kneebar and nearly got the tapout, but since everyone was legal, Shire jumped on top of Sharkbait to cover for a surprise pin in 6:56.
Paco Gonzalez(Resurgence) vs. "The Stiff Robo Ginger" Gary Jay(Submission Squad) for the Gateway Heritage Title: Paco had successfully defended his title against Matt Kenway and Christian Rose previously, but he faced his toughest challenge to date in the form of the longest-reigning St. Louis Anarchy Champion. It felt like Paco's title reign had flown under the radar as his title matches were not the main events of St. Louis Anarchy or PWCS shows. Both men are fan favorites but the Anarchy faithful gave Gary a slight edge in the fan support here. The match was everything you would expect with a lot of aerial moves and high-impact offense...quite a few fans were thinking the title could change hands, but Paco pulled off a big win with the fireman's-carry Michinoku Driver in 17:27! This win did a lot to establish Paco as a legitimate champion, in my opinion... (Resurgence 4-4, Submission Squad 4-4)
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): I bummed a few slices of cheeseburger pizza from a friend...hey, some nights I don't have a lot of spare cash on hand. Of note, "Pizza Ebert" was still sporting the Gordie Boggs Championship belt...
"The Millenial" Danny Adams(Blacklist) vs. "Lights Out" Adrian Surge(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters): After Jovi dismissed Adams from the Ego Busters, he signed on with the Blacklist stable and immediately got a chance for payback against one of Jovi's main guys. Surge thought he was the new captain of the team and wore a "C" on his T-shirt to emphasize that point. Good guy Danny is something the local fans aren't used to seeing, though Surge & Jovi's combined efforts helped to emphasize the attitude change. Despite said combined efforts, Adams scored the victory with the reverse Stunner in 10:50. (Blacklist 5-3, Ego Busters 4-4)
Mike Outlaw(Resurgence) vs. "The Monarch" Jeremy Wyatt(Submission Squad): Wyatt's presence in the otherwise-fan-friendly Submission Squad was attributed to Matt Jackson's connection to former NWL Kansas City Champion Wyatt. These two have crossed paths a handful of times in the past couple of years and Outlaw was hoping to finally pick up a win against the Midwest mainstay. Whatever you may think of his attitude, Wyatt is one of those guys who is always adding new facets to his game plan and has competed at a high level for a long time. Outlaw gave him a hell of a fight but Wyatt was able to force a tapout with the Rings Of Saturn in 13:36...appropriate for a member of the Submission Squad. (Submission Squad 5-4, Resurgence 4-5)
"The Miracle Worker" Davey Vega(Ego Busters) vs. Kevin Lee Davidson(Blacklist): This was a match I was looking forward to seeing as the former St. Louis Anarchy Champion took on one of the top rising stars of the Midwest. Vega's usual striking tactics weren't as effective against a much larger opponent like K.L.D., so he had to speed up the pace and try to outmaneuver the big man. Davidson controlled a lot of the match with his power advantage, but Vega's experience allowed him to mount a comeback. K.L.D. retaliated with the Endzone Spike(pumphandle Michinoku Driver) for a close near-fall, then hit his signature spinebuster for another close two-count. Davidson went to the well once too often and a second spinebuster attempt was countered into a victory roll by Vega for the flash pin in 15:22! I wouldn't mind seeing these two lock up once again in the future... (Ego Busters 5-4, Blacklist 5-4)
"The Mad King" Eddie Kingston vs. "The Dirty Rook" Mat Fitchett: Both men are a part of the Resurgence stable, but this was a special challenge match as Kingston stepped up to replace David Arquette as Fitchett's opponent. In a nod to that situation, Fitchett wore a T-shirt that said "I'm A Courtney Cox Guy". While one would see Kingston as the favorite in a striking contest, Fitchett was able to hold his own against the well-known brawler. Both guys brought the heavy artillery in the closing stretch...Fitchett was able to lift Kingston up into torture-rack position and drop him into his Go 2 Sleep variation, but Kingston got a hand on the bottom rope to escape defeat. Kingston rallied on offense with a brainbuster onto the knee, Rock Bottom, and a huge lariat...Fitchett managed to survive and deliver the cradle piledriver, but Kingston rolled out of the ring before Fitchett could get a pin cover. Once he was back in the ring, Kingston delivered the spinning backfist out of nowhere, but Fitchett came back with a last-ditch flying knee strike and both men were down! The two rose for one last exchange of offense, ending with Kingston hitting a Saito Suplex and a second spinning backfist to win in 19:20!
Kingston approved of Fitchett's toughness, but noted that he held wins over two of the "pillars of Anarchy" in Davey Vega and now Mat Fitchett. He said that he wanted to be a champion in the Midwest and also said that he wanted a match with Gary Jay down the line...both of those work for me and I think the fans in attendance were on board as well!
Final scoreboard for the night: Blacklist/Ego Busters 5-4, Resurgence/Submission Squad 4-5. The competition remained very close and no one was able to break away from the pack...the top two would have to be decided at Stage Four in October.
I'm still behind but I'm almost through August, at any rate...progress! *victory pose*
Upcoming shows:
-Friday 10/19: Glory Pro Wrestling in Sauget, IL
-Saturday 10/20: Glory Pro/Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Chesterfield, MO (Rizzuto Show Eat & Treat) (afternoon); WLW in Troy, MO; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL; World Powerhouse Wrestling in Jerseyville, IL
-Sunday 10/28: Rampage Championship Wrestling in Granite City, IL
-Friday 11/2: Pro Wrestling Epic in Brownstown, IL
-Saturday 11/3: WLW in Troy, MO; SICW in Swansea, IL
-Sunday 11/4: DPW in St. Louis, MO(4 Hands Brewery)
-Saturday 11/10: MMWA in St. Louis, MO
-Sunday 11/11: Glory Pro in Collinsville, IL; Wrestling Over Everything in Centreville, IL
-Friday 11/16: St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 11/17: SICW in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 11/24: MMWA in Lemay, MO
That's my special comment for this, the fifty-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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