Now, as promised, a special comment about the Pro Wrestling Force show on Sunday, December 16th at the 8th Street Gymnasium in Springfield, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
Pro Wrestling Force seemed to be a new pet project for Michael Elgin after his parting of ways with Glory Pro Wrestling...it showed promise, but unfortunately they only ran two shows (this being the first). They were hoping to bring in some pretty significant names but it didn't come to pass for various reasons. In fact, Elgin himself was supposed to compete on this show but was sidelined with a torn ACL; he was going to team with Juice Robinson, but Jimmy Jacobs came in as an eleventh-hour replacement.
Your ring announcer was Rob Leach; your referees were Jason Pemberton, Joe Pohlman, Chris Beherans, and Scott...something.
Corey Roberts, Austin Hayes, & Nick King vs. James Brady, Reilly MaGuire, & Harrison C. Kolmer: This pre-show match featured some of Elgin's trainees, several of whom I was seeing for the first time. The main ones I knew were Brady and MaGuire; Brady accounted himself well as a rulebreaker, I thought. I look forward to seeing the progression of everyone from this bout and I hope they get to compete more around my neck of the woods. Everyone got a chance to shine at some point and Roberts pinned MaGuire with a hammerlock small package in 8:53.
"The Baddest Man Alive" Aaron Williams vs. "The End Of The World" Jake Omen, Pure Wrestling Title Tournament: This show featured two one-on-one bouts and the tag team main event to determine which four competitors would advance to the tournament semifinals. Williams showed some impressive skill with nunchuks before the matchup; he looked like a straight-ahead fighting type, but he displayed exceptional agility with an Asai moonsault during the bout. Williams missed a frog splash and Omen nearly scored the upset with an Oklahoma roll, but Williams managed to kick out at two. Williams wasted no more time in finishing the job, laying out Omen with a roundhouse kick to the head and scoring the pinfall in 12:48.
"The Leader Of The Pack" Stephen Wolf vs. "Diamond Cut" Ace Perry, Pure Wrestling Title Tournament: I hadn't seen Perry in quite a while, but he seems to be dabbling more in the Dark Side of The Force these days. Wolf would go on to have a banner 2019, earning a spot on the EVOLVE roster and recently competing on the WWE Network during EVOLVE's anniversary show. He also held the United Glory Tag Team Titles in Glory Pro with Myron Reed. Wolf seemed to have the momentum in this one, but a move off the top rope was countered by Perry catching him with a Diamond Cutter in mid-air...that was enough to give Perry the win in 11:13 to advance in the tournament.
"The Little Blue Dragon" Tootie Lynn Ramsey vs. Sophie King: Tootie was announced as such, but this was the first appearance of the mask that would signify her change to the Seishin identity. These two had battled a few times in the past, including a match I saw at Strictly Nsane Pro Wrestling which was one of Sophie's first. Tootie took on a more serious approach with the new identity, but it wasn't quite enough on this night as Sophie forced her to tap out to a seated crossed-leg guillotine hold in 7:42.
Lotus(Juntai Miller & Gavin Quinn) vs. The Top Guys(Adam Slade & Kevin Giza): I'd seen Slade & Giza a few times in the last and liked Slade's rulebreaking work. Juntai had once been a regular for All-American Wrestling so I knew his work from there. Juntai & Quinn looked great as a team and I hope to see more of them down the line. They nearly had the win on Slade at one point but Giza pulled the referee out of the ring. The bout continued with The Top Guys attempting to edge out a win, but the Lotus duo took out Giza before finishing Slade with a double Spanish Fly; Juntail got the pin in 12:31! After the match, Matt Kenway & Joe Alonzo(who I hadn't seen before) came out in an attempt to recruit The Top Guys...Slade wasn't interested, but the offer wasn't exclusive to him and Giza attacked his partner from behind! Slade was left laying as Giza left with Kenway & Alonzo...
Intermission~! Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm): Nothing at the show, though I picked up a bottle of Pepsi on the trip to Springfield. Thank goodness for water fountains.
Bandolero vs. "The Gypsy Warrior" Orion Creed vs. Paco Gonzalez vs. Golden Dragon vs. "The Warhorse" Jake Parnell vs. Gringo Loco: I remember Loco from his great showing at the previous year's Glory Pro anniversary show. I was impressed with the aerial ability of the two competitors with whom I was unfamiliar(Bandolero & Golden Dragon). The traditional schmozz match dive sequence took place, ending with Warhorse spearing Bandolero from the apron to the floor into the other four combatants! Warhorse picked up the win in 10:46 when he pinned Creed after the second-rope double-stomp to the back.
"Hot Fire" Myron Reed vs. "The Dirty Rook" Mat Fitchett: This was a singles match that I was definitely looking forward to seeing. At one point Reed managed to counter a suicide dive by Fitchett with a mid-air Diamond Cutter. Reed tried to follow up with a 450 Splash but Fitchett got his knees up, then small-packaged Reed for a close near-fall. Fitchett pushed his advantage with a spear and Jackhammer (Bill Goldberg shoutout!) but only got 2 1/2. Reed finally managed to put him away with a springboard 450 Splash to the back in 10:26...most tremendous.
"The Flamboyant" Juice Robinson & "The Zombie Princess" Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jake Lander & Logan James, Pure Wrestling Title Tournament: As previously noted, Jacobs was a last-minute replacement for the injured Michael Elgin; the members of the winning team would both advance in the championship tournament. Both teams were fan favorites so it was a different sort of flow for a tag match, though Lander & James were the clear underdogs against their world-traveled opponents. Despite that, Lander & James were known as two of Elgin's top students and the match was a clear proving ground for them...despite the odds, they stayed in the fight. With the tournament in play, one would suspect that the local guys would advance...but nowadays in wrestling, everyone's trying to swerve everyone so who knows? Lander & James were able to isolate the smaller Jacobs; Lander delivered a rolling Death Valley Driver and James followed up with a pump knee off the top rope, scoring the big win in 22:23! Your tournament semifinalists: Aaron Williams, Ace Perry, Jake Lander, and Logan James.
So nine months and change later, I've finally finished my Special Comments from last year. Hopefully I can catch up in due time because a lot has happened in 2019.
October 2019 looks like this:
-Saturday 10/5: Glory Pro Wrestling in Affton, MO
-Saturday 10/12: Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO(South Broadway Athletic Club)
-Sunday 10/13: Wrestling Over Everything in Centreville, IL
-Saturday 10/19: Glory Pro in Chesterfield, MO (Rizz Show Eat & Treat, afternoon); Pro Wrestling Championship Series in Alton, IL (evening); Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Saturday 10/26: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO(Concordia Turners Gymnasium)
-Sunday 10/27: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO(South Broadway Athletic Club)
That's my special comment for this, the eightieth wrestling show I 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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