Now, as promised, a special comment about the Southern Illinois Chamionship Wrestling show on Saturday, November 3nd at Fire Department Engine House #2 in Swansea, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
After the long drive to Pro Wrestling Epic the previous night, the short trip to Swansea was very welcome. On one hand, it would be smart to cut back on the long road trips to save money on gas...on the other hand, I want to check out some different promotions. 2018 was a year where I got to a lot of promotions for the first time...I don't know if 2019 will be similar but I guess time will tell.
Your ring announcer was Drew Abbenhaus; your referees were Nick Ridenour, Shaft, "Killer" Keith Smith, & "Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson.
Devin & Hannah Randolph sang the National Anthem to start the show, then promoter Herb Simmons did a quick interview with legendary manager James J. Dillon (best known for his work with the Four Horsemen).
Moondog Rover vs. "The Mountain Man" Jake Prater: This opener wouldn't feature a lot of technical finesse...just two big guys slugging it out until one stays down. Normally Moondog or Prater could manhandle his opposition, but not in this case with an opponent of comparable size. Rover had to go a bit deeper into his bag of tricks, winning with a flying forearm in 5:33.
Billy McNeil & "The Pain Train" P.T. Beckham vs. The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby): While Santel & McDarby had the obvious edge in team experience, McNeil and Beckham had a lot of past success with other tag partners. McNeil had a lot of great tag matches in the Gateway Championship Wrestling days with Matt Sydal and Ryan Ash as his teammates, while Beckham was a part of Prostatus with David X. The Professionals did a great job of cutting off the ring for most of the bout, but McNeil was able to score a flash pin on McDarby with a small package in 13:13! I'm not entirely sure if McDarby was the legal man, though...
Travis Cook made his entrance with the Classic Title belt in tow(he thinks it's "his", after all) and extolled his own virtues...Champion "Superstar" Steve Fender was not in attendance on that night (he was taking care of business elsewhere, which happened to be World League Wrestling), but Cook was more than happy to crow about his accomplishments in his absence. He also threw a few choice words in the direction of J.J. Dillon with regards to their respective managerial accomplishments...I think Dillon has a slight edge in that regard. This all led to Herb Simmons asking Dillon to be in Flash Flanagan's corner for the night's main event against King Christopher Hargas (managed by Cook).
Lady Pride vs. Camron Bra'Nae: This was my first look at Lady Pride, who also hails from the Kansas City area...I imagine these two ladies have locked up in the past. The crowd support was interesting as Pride was the fan favorite, but Bra'Nae(often the rulebreaker) was better known in the St. Louis area than her opponent. I enjoyed the match and hope that Lady Pride can return to this area at some point down the line...we shall see. Bra'Nae won a competitive match in 9:41 after an Air Raid Crash, pulling the tights during the cover for extra leverage.
"The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz(w/ Ironman" Ken Kasa) vs. "Volatile" Curtis Wylde(w/ Wyldefyre): These two had an altercation at the previous Swansea show...Wylde had his Bruiser Brody Memorial Battle Royal trophy in hand and was hoping to make an even bigger name for himself at the expense of the former Classic Wrestling Champion. Tempers flared early and the two brawled on the floor before things settled back down in the ring. The match could have gone either way, but Cruz appeared to be on the verge of victory when Wylde bailed out of the ring to escape defeat. Wylde got in the face of recent opponent Kasa, leading to an exchange of shoves as the official was occupied with Cruz. Wylde tried to milk it for all it was worth, hoping to get Cruz disqualified for outside interference...but the official didn't seem to buy it. Wylde opted to stay down on the floor and got counted out in 10:19, avoiding the worst of what Cruz would have dished out to him.
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): Root beer, Lays potato chips, Ski Red soda, and two leftover hot dogs after the show. #scavenger
Herb Simmons and New Breed Wrestling promoter Scott Zei spoke to the fans about the Multi-State Tag Team Titles, which would be defended for the first time on this show...
The Iceman & The Math Magician vs. Guerrilla Warfare(The Big Texan & Waco) for the Multi-State Tag Team Titles: The first champs were crowned on October 27th in Eldon at a New Breed show; it was scheduled to be The Professionals, Alpha Omega(Camaro Jackson & Kenny Alfonso), Iceman & Math Magician, and David Cattin & Tyler Grey in the match, but Santel & McDarby were unable to attend the show (transportation problems, I think?); they were replaced by Richard Goldman & Calvin Aldridge. (My question is, when do The Professionals get their title shot?) At any rate, the former MMWA Tag Champs were a tough test for the new titleholders...I've only seen Math Magician a handful of times, but Iceman has visited the area on a few more occasions. The masked men hoped to win with underhanded tactics, but the referee caught Waco loading his mask and disqualified the challengers. That allowed Iceman & Math Magician to retain via DQ win in 12:57.
"Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent vs. Attila Khan: Vincent was in for a long night, as the fight broke out on the floor before the opening bell. Vincent rammed Khan's face into the ringpost, busting him open before the match could even begin...that only served to fire up the big man. Chairs came into play quickly as well as Khan's signature fork...when the official attempted to restore order, Khan simply decked him. A second referee was nailed as well, leaving only Herb Simmons to call for the bell in 4:52 as Vincent was declared the winner by DQ. It was far from over at that point as Khan continued his assault, leaving Vincent bloody as well...he slammed Vincent through the timekeeper's table and then gave him a two-handed chokeslam through a second table. Bobby D and Billy McNeil attempted to intervene only to be wiped out as well. Khan's former manager Travis Cook decided to make an appearance with the black hood he used to calm down the big man...that seemed to do the trick and Cook led Khan to the backstage area.
"Ironman" Ken Kasa vs. Rob Kowalski: With both Nick Ridenour and Shaft out of commission, Keith Smith stepped in to officiate. The former Classic Champion had his hands full with the much larger Kowalski...he attempted to use the ropes to get some extra momentum, but went to the well once too often and ran into a uranagi. It seemed like the size and power advantage would be too much for Kasa to overcome, but he used his head to turn the tide...Kowalski went for a running powerslam and Kasa held onto the top rope to block the move. When Kowalski tried to pull him loose, Kasa shifted his weight and turned it into an inverted DDT in mid-air! That was enough for Kasa to get the quick pin in 5:41...but his night wasn't quite over as Curtis Wylde hit the ring to attack him! Help arrived as Ricky Cruz hit the ring; Keith Smith also joined the fray to send Wylde into retreat mode.
Flash Flanagan(w/ James D. Dillon) vs. King Christopher Hargas(w/ Travis Cook): Gary Jackson, a man who's no stranger to either competitor, officiated the main event for the night. These two crossed paths in the finals of the Classic Wrestling Title tournament in 2017 with Hargas winning the championship in a best-of-three-falls match. Flanagan had an opportunity to even the score and he had some backup in his corner to counteract Travis Cook's presence. The two were very evenly matched and it could have easily gone either way before the outside factors got involved...Flanagan had a good chance for victory after a middle-rope springboard legdrop, but Travis got up on the ring apron to distract Gary Jackson. J.J. Dillon was quick to intervene by whacking Cook across the back with Flanagan's kendo stick, drawing Jackson to the floor to admonish both managers. However, Dillon slipped the kendo stick into the ring and Flash used it to level Hargas behind the referee's back...that led to Flanagan scoring the three-count in 11:50 once Jackson returned to the ring to make the count!
After the match, the fan favorites assembled in the ring to back up Flanagan and Ricky Cruz issued another challenge to Travis Cook for a multi-man cage match...Cook remained uninterested in this proposition. Herb capped off the night by announcing that Attila Khan had been suspended for his actions earlier in the evening...nice to see a rulebreaker get some comeuppance for once.
After two weekends of being snowed out of wrestling shows, I'm looking forward to getting back out to events. This Saturday has three choices: Dynamo Pro Wrestling at Concordia Turners Gym in St. Louis, MO; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling at the Holy Family Gymnasium in Cahokia, IL; and Cape Championship Wrestling at the A.C. Brase Arena in Cape Girardeau, MO. Have fun wherever you go!
February looks like this:
-Saturday 2/2: World League Wrestling in Troy, MO
-Saturday 2/9: Pro Wrestling Championship Series in Alton, IL; Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO
-Saturday 2/16: WLW in Troy, MO; SICW in East Carondelet, IL
-Sunday 2/24: Glory Pro Wrestling in Collinsville, IL
That's my special comment for this, the sixty-ninth 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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