WWE(www.wwe.com)
Main Event this week has:
-Dolph Ziggler vs. Stardust
-Sin Cara vs. Baron Corbin
-Titus O'Neil vs. Damien Sandow
-Apollo Crews vs. Rick Viktor
NXT this Wednesday has:
-The Hype Bros(Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley) vs. The Revival(Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)
-Austin Aries vs. Tye Dillinger
-Jose Valenzuela vs. Noah Kekoa
-Tessa Blanchard vs. Nia Jax
-In action: Samoa Joe
Superstars this week has:
-Apollo Crews vs. Heath Slater
-Damien Sandow vs. Darren Young
Smackdown on Thursday has:
-Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows
-Mike Mizanin vs. Sami Zayn
-Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas vs. The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch)
-Natalya Neidhart & Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair & Emma Tayla
-Zack Ryder vs. Alexander Rusev
-In action: Roman Reigns, A.J. Styles
Extreme Rules is on Sunday 5/22:
-Roman Reigns vs. A.J. Styles - WWE Title Extreme-Rules Match
-The New Day(Big E Langston & Kofi Kingston) vs. The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch) - Tag Team Titles
-Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya Neidhart - Women's Title Submission Match
TNA(www.tnawrestling.com)
Impact next Tuesday has:
-Ethan Carter III vs. Tyrus Clay - Last-Man-Standing Match
-The Decay(Abyss & Crazzy Steve) vs. Jeff Hardy & James Storm - Tag Team Titles
-Mia "Jade" Yim vs. Gail Kim - Women's Title
-Mahabali Shera vs. Al Snow
-Eddie Edwards & D.J. Shiima Xion vs. Trevor Lee & Andrew Everett
-In action: Jeff Hardy, Mike Bennett
RING OF HONOR(www.rohwrestling.com)
Next show is Sunday 5/8 in Chicago Ridge, IL:
-Jay Lethal vs. Colt Cabana - Heavyweight Title
-War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe) vs. The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) - Tag Team Titles
-Tomohiro Ishii vs. Bobby Fish - T.V. Title
-Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada & Moose
-Tetsuya Naito vs. Kyle O'Reilly
-Matt Sydal, Yujiro Kushida, & The Motor City Machineguns(Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) vs. The Guerrillas Of Destiny(Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa) & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson)
-Jushin Liger & Cheeseburger vs. The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian)
-Crazy Mary Dobson vs. Kelly Klein
ROH has a show on Monday 5/9 in Dearborn, MI:
-The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) vs. The Motor CIty Machineguns(Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley)
-Jay Lethal & Tetsuya Naito vs. reDRagon(Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish)
-War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe) vs. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo
-Tomohiro Ishii vs. Moose
-Yujiro Kushida vs. Dalton Castle
-Jushin Liger vs. Roderick Strong
-Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin vs. The All NIght Express(Kenny King & Rhett Titus)
-Matt Sydal & A.C.H. vs. Silas Young & "Beer City Bruiser" Matt Winchester
ROH has a show on Wednesday 5/11 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
-Jay Lethal vs. Donovan Dijak
-Tetsuya Naito vs. Moose
ROH has a show on Saturday 5/14 in New York, NY.
ROH returns to the St. Louis area on Friday 6/3 in Collinsville, IL.
NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING(www.njpw.co.jp/english)
Information on upcoming episodes will be posted when it becomes available.
LUCHA UNDERGROUND(www.luchaunderground.com)
This week's episode has:
-King Cuerno vs. El Siniestro De La Muerte
-Willie Mack vs. Marty Martinez
-Sexy Star vs. Mariposa - No Mas Match
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ST. LOUIS ANARCHY(www.slawrestling.com)
Next show is Friday 5/20 in Alton, IL:
-Davey Vega vs. T.J. Perkins
-Gary Jay vs. Jonathan Gresham
-The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) vs. Team I.O.U.(Nick Iggy & Kerry Awful) - Tag Team Contenders Tournament
-The Viking War Party(Alexandre Rudolph & Jake Parnell) vs. Roscoe Eat Lisa(Zakk Sawyers & Mikey McFinnegan) - Tag Team Contenders Tournament
SLA has a show on Saturday 5/21 in Alton, IL:
-Tag Team Contenders Tournament Final
-Gary Jay vs. Trik Davis
-Paco Gonzalez vs. Andy Dalton
DPW(www.dynamoprowrestling.com)
Next show is Saturday 5/7(afternoon) in St. Louis, MO(Cinco De Mayo Festival).
DPW has a show on Saturday 5/7(evening) in Fenton, MO:
-Ricky Cruz vs. Brandon Espinosa - MWR Missouri Title
-The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby) vs. High Level Enterprise(Jack Gamble & Jon Webb) - Tag Team Titles
-Makaze vs. Ozzie Gallagher
SICW(www.sicw.org)
Next show is Saturday 5/21 in East Carondelet, IL:
-Ron Powers vs. Attila Khan - Classic Title
-Bruiser Brody Memorial Battle Royal
-Gary Jackson vs. Curtis Wylde - Wyldefyre Locked In A Cage
MMWA(www.southbroadwayac.com)
Next show is Saturday 5/14 in St. Louis, MO:
-The Family(Prince Moses & Damion Cortess) vs. The Eternals(Brandon Espinosa & Ace Hawkins) - Tag Team Titles
-Big Jim Hoffarth & Moondog Rover vs. Jimmy D & ?
PWCS(www.pwcswrestling.com)
Next show is Saturday 7/9 in Granite City, IL:
-Appearing: Arik Cannon
HIGH RISK WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/hrwstl)
Next show is Saturday 6/25 in Warsaw, MO.
PRO WRESTLING EPIC(www.prowrestlingepic.com/)
Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.
METRO PRO WRESTLING(www.metrowrestling.com)
Next show is Saturday 6/4 in Kansas City, KS:
-Heavyweight Title Tournament
-Appearing: Demolition(Ax & Smash)
3XW(www.3xwrestling.com)
Next show is Friday 5/6 in Des Moines, IA:
-Nate Redwing vs. Arik Cannon - Heavyweight Title
-Marek Brave vs. Kraig Keesaman - Pure Wrestling Title
-The Northstar Express(Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz) vs. The Bayside Bruisers(Jaysin Strife & J.C. Slater)
-Violet Parker vs. Dominique Fabiano
-30-Man Royal Rumble
WLW(www.harleyrace.com)
Next show is Saturday 5/14 in Troy, MO:
-Leland Race vs. Superstar Steve Fender - Referee Ricky Steamboat
-Jon Webb vs. Jayden Fenix - Jr. Heavyweight Title Tournament Final
-Kyle Roberts vs. Karim Brigante
GATEWAY ELITE WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/TheGatewayElite)
Next show is Friday 6/3 in Camdenton, MO.
STRIDE PRO WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/Cmaprowrestling/)
Next show is Saturday 5/7 in Marion, IL:
-Battle Royal
-Jay Spade & Josh Totten vs. Steven Davis & Frank Wyatt - To Crown The First Tag Team Champions
OUTLAW WRESTLING(www.facebook.com/outlawwrestling01)
Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.
WRESTLING INVADES AMERICA(wrestlinginvamerica.wix.com/wrestlinginvamerica)
Next show is Sunday 5/22 in Swansea, IL.
CENTRAL STATES CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING(nwaccw.x10.bz)
Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.
WORLD POWERHOUSE WRESTLING(sites.google.com/site/worldpowerhousewrestlingstl/home)
Next show is Saturday 5/14 in Kampsville, IL:
-Curtis Payne vs. Damian Blade - Heavyweight Title - I Quit Match
-Gauge Evans vs. Bronson - U.S. Title
-Scar & Victor Cortez vs. Wapo Choncho & ? - Tag Team Titles
-Ivan Strokgenovf vs. Uriah Eleazar
WPW has a show on Saturday 5/21 in Collinsville, IL:
-Curtis Payne vs. Winner Of Ivan-Uriah Match On 5/14 - Heavyweight Title
NEW BREED WRESTING(www.facebook.com/NewBreedMO)
Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.
CCW(www.facebook.com/CapeChampionshipWrestling/)
Next show is Saturday 7/16 in Cape Girardeau, MO:
-Leland Race vs. Trevor Murdoch
-Osby Tomlin vs. Chris Jones
-Sarge O'Riley vs. Brandon Barbwire
-Billy Hills vs. Jason Vaughn
-Jake Dirden vs. Tony Kozina
-Little Bit vs. Stacey O'Brien
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EVOLVE(www.wwnlive.com & www.dgusa.tv)
Next show is Friday 5/6 in Joppa, MD:
-Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Chris Hero
-Ethan Page vs. Drew Galloway
-Catch Point(Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams) vs. T.J. Perkins & Fred Yehi - Tag Team Titles
-Lio Rush vs. Caleb Konley
-Johnny Gargano vs. Marty Scurll
-Matt Riddle vs. Anthony Nese
-The Bravado Brothers(Harlem & Lancelot) vs. The Devastation Corporation(Blaster McMassive & Flex Rumblecrunch)
EVOLVE has a show on Saturday 5/7 in Queens, NY:
-Johnny Gargano vs. Drew Galloway
-Drew Gulak vs. Tracy Williams
-T.J. Perkins vs. Fred Yehi
-Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Marty Scurll
-Lio Rush vs. Matt Riddle
-The Bravado Brothers(Harlem & Lancelot) vs. Milk Chocolate(Brandon Watts & Randy Summers)
-Ethan Page vs. Chris Dickinson
PRO WRESTLING GUERRILLA(www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)
Next show is Friday 5/20 in Reseda, CA:
-Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Michael Elgin - Heavyweight Title
-Roderick Strong vs. Sami Callihan
-Drew Galloway vs. Brian Cage
-Mark Andrews vs. Marty Scurll
-Chris Hero vs. Jeff Cobb
-Dalton Castle vs. Adam Cole
-Andrew Everett vs. Trevor Lee
CHIKARA(www.chikarapro.com)
Next show is Friday 5/6 in Reading, PA:
-Dasher Hatfield vs. The Proletariat Boar Of Moldova
-Fire Ant vs. Warren Barksdale
-Estonian Thunderfrog vs. Hallowicked
CHIKARA has a show on Saturday 5/7(afternoon) in Philadelphia, PA:
-Princess Kimber Lee vs. Jaka - Grand Championship
-N_R_G(Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell) vs. Juan Francisco De Coronado & Prakash Sabar
-Silver Ant vs. Frightmare
-Soldier Ant vs. Hallowicked
-The Batiri(Obariyon & Kodama) vs. The Proletariat Boar Of Moldova & Mr. Azerbaijan
CHIKARA has a show on Saturday 5/7(evening) in Philadelphia, PA:
-The Infinite Gauntlet
-The Osirian Portal(Amasis & Ophidian) vs. Mathieu St. Jacques & Thomas DuBois
-Argus vs. Warren Barksdale
-Team Sea Stars(Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo) vs. Orange Cassidy & Swamp Monster
WHY WE WRESTLE(www.anarchy-wrestling.com)
Next show is Saturday 5/14 in Cornelia, GA:
-The Get Along Gang("P-Dog" Mike Posey & C.B. Suave) vs. The Ambassadors(Jacoby Boykins & Chris Mayne) - Tag Team Title Tournament
-The Big F'n Deal(Geter & Brian Blaze) vs. The Beardos(Wade Adams & Chris Spectra) - Tag Team Title Tournament
-Slim J vs. Ethan Case
HOUSE OF HARDCORE(www.houseofhardcore.net)
Next show is Saturday 5/7 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada:
-Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young
-Tommy Dreamer & Mickie James vs. Pepper Parks & Cherry Bomb
-Moose vs. Rhino
-R.J. City vs. Alex Reynolds vs. Tony Nese
-Colt Cabana vs. Chris Hero
-Bull James vs. Eddie Kingston
SHIMMER(www.shimmerwrestling.com)
Next shows are Saturday 6/25 and Sunday 6/26 in Chicago, IL.
SHINE(www.shinewrestling.com)
Information on upcoming shows will be posted when it becomes available.
IWA MID-SOUTH(iwamidsouthwrestling.webs.com)
Next show is Friday 5/13 in Clarksville, IN:
-Reed Bentley vs. John Wayne Murdoch - Heavyweight Title
-Michael Elgin vs. Chris Hero
-Matt Cage vs. Jonathan Gresham
-Tracey Smothers, Spyder Nate Webb, & Randi West vs. Joseph Schwartz, Zodiak, & Thunderkitty
-J.C. Rotten vs. Derek Neal - Country Whippin' Match
-J.J. Garrett vs. Sugar Dunkerton vs. Trik Davis vs. Teddy King vs. Franklin Isaac Anderson vs. Colin Delaney
AAW(www.aawrestling.com)
Next show is Friday 5/6 in Merrionette Park, IL:
-Sami Callihan vs. Tommaso Ciampa - Heavyweight Title
-Fenix vs. Pentagon Jr.
-Michael Elgin vs. Juice Robinson
-Colt Cabana, Chuck Taylor, & Dan Barry vs. The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) & Bucky Collins
-Candice LeRae vs. Jessicka Havok
ACW(www.anarchychampionshipwrestling.com)
Next show is Sunday 5/15 in Austin, TX:
-Jojo Bravo vs. Steve O. Reno - Heavyweight Title
-Darin Childs vs. Ricky Starks
-Raymond Rowe vs. Curt Stallion
-Angel Blue vs. Laynie Luck - Joshi Title
Missouri Wrestling Revival: http://www.missouriwrestlingrevival.com/
St. Louis Wrestling: http://www.saintlouiswrestling.com/
St. Louis Wrestling Community: http://community.livejournal.com/stlwrestling/
Leave a comment or e-mail: patrickab7@yahoo.com
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook at: @patrickab7
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
WWE Raw Special Comment
Now, as promised, a special comment about Monday's World Wrestling Entertainment Monday Night Raw show at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
I accepted a while back that WWE's current product just "isn't for me"; I speak only for myself and not anyone else. That general dissatisfaction with the product was a factor in my decision to skip WWE's St. Louis shows in recent years; I hadn't been to a WWE live event since March of 2011. To put that in perspective, Mike Mizanin was WWE Champion at that Raw show. The state of affairs is particularly frustrating as WWE's roster is ridiculously loaded with talent...it's at the point that one wonders what they're going to do with everybody. One could write a book about the current environment, who's getting cheered/booed and why, etc. I have opted to gloss over a lot of the particulars on the shows and usually give promo segments the fast-forward treatment. There is just SO MUCH wrestling nowadays that it legitimately limits one's time to watch EVERYTHING. Financial belt-tightening has also been a factor; now that I'm making car payments again, that may become a bigger factor in the future. Given the number of independent shows I've attended, I usually find a way to attend shows if I really want to go.
Anywho, the text exchange with Landon Meyer on Sunday essentially went like this: "Girlfriend's working late, want to go to Raw?" "Sure." "I've got the ticket, just pay for parking and we'll call it even." "K." I tend to connect with people pretty quickly when they're compatriots in the rasslin-type matters and Landon is a local Illinois-side comedian who's also a wrestling fan; we'd even done a few podcasts with or without wrestling in the equation. Parking in downtown St. Louis can be pretty expensive, which is why I usually opt for MetroLink.
This was a post-"pay-per-view" Raw so anticipation was pretty high...it's weird to call them PPVs since they're essentially Network specials. WWE has phased out the PPV side of things to the point of openly mocking those who pay full price (as opposed to subscribing to the Network for an undisclosed fee). At any rate, this show came on the heels of Payback where no titles changed hands and most of the major feuds are continuing...so yeah, that didn't turn out to be the most productive show.
We got to the building pretty early and the show had a really strong turnout despite the Cardinals' baseball game in town. I didn't leave my seat too often so I didn't cross paths with too many familiar faces, though I did say hi to a couple of people. I'm pretty sure this was my first three-hour Raw to attend; live TV shows can be a bit slower-paced due to the real-time commercial breaks. I attempted to call when the broadcast went to break during matches; it usually happens when a wrestler is down on the floor, for the record. The building's air conditioning was turned up to the point of frigidity...is that a hockey thing? (I'm told that it is.)
Your ring announcers were Greg Hamilton(Superstars) and Eden Stiles(Raw); your commentators were Tom Phillips(Superstars), Byron Saxton(Superstars & Raw), Michael Cole(Raw), and John Bradshaw Layfield(Raw). (Fare thee well, Rich Brennan.)
Darren Young vs. Damien Sandow (Superstars taping): Sandow got a great response; one of the best reactions from Survivor Series 2014 in St. Louis was when he got the pin to win the Tag Team Titles for himself and The Miz. One could speculate for eternity about how he went from the breakup and feud with Miz to a comedy tag team with Curtis Axel to near-invisibility on television. In the meantime, he's gone back to his old music and entrance robe despite remaining a fan favorite; he attempted to subtlely work heel but the fans weren't buying into it. Young hasn't really connected with the fans as much as his tag team partner Titus O'Neil. Young won with his Gut Check finisher(fireman's-carry double-knee gutbuster, a la Roderick Strong) in 5:09.
Apollo Crews vs. Heath Slater(w/ Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas): Crews politely declined an invitation to join the Social Outcasts, so he's been beating them up in recent weeks. The Outcasts are without their resident radical mongoose Adam Rose due to un-wellness. Bo Dallas is one of my favorite heel characters; he's such a total weenie and it's hilarious. Sadly, we would get no "Bo Train" on this night. Slater is an underappreciated talent; he was the guy who worked with the "legends" a few years back, including Bret Hart's limited return to the ring. Crews won with the delayed Blue Thunder Bomb in 7:55 (it'll probably have an ad break when it airs). I wonder if Jun Akiyama knew that his signature move would become so prolific?
Cole & JBL made their individual entrances for Raw; Cole had been using the Kerwin White theme but had different theme music here. He still gets some residual boos from his stint as a heel commentator; if they'd had someone to cover play-by-play at the time, he could have been a hell of a manager as he drew THAT much hatred. The last time I was at a WWE show, he was in his "Cole Mine" plexiglass booth to protect him from Jerry Lawler...it would have been huge if he'd gotten a legitimate amount of comeuppance, but his presence dragged for several more months until Lawler's real-life heart attack forced him back to being the straight man. In a weird way, I feel for Cole as he has gigantic shoes to fill; Jim Ross is/was one of the most respected commentators in wrestling history and he was a tough act to follow as the "voice of WWE".
Synopsis of the McMahon family saga: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley(The Authority) had been in charge for several years, but both dropped off the map after HHH's title loss at WrestleMania. In the meantime, Shane McMahon made his WWE return after a long absence with the desire to regain power...Vince McMahon made him fight for it against The Undertaker at Mania. Taker didn't really want to do Vince's bidding, but he also didn't want to lose at Mania again, plus Vince forced the issue by ruling that Taker would never compete at Mania again if he did lose. Taker won, but Vince humored Shane by allowing him to run Raw for a few weeks in the hopes that he would flop as boss. The shows seemed to show dramatic improvement so the "Board Of Directors" kept Shane in charge, leading up to Payback where Vince said that Shane and Stephanie would share power. Stephanie seems to be playing nice, but people are rightly suspicious about her true motivations.
The show started with Stephanie and Shane. As someone who harbored a crush on Steph since she was the shy withdrawn background character on TV, she looks REALLY good for a mother of three. (Her outfit at Mania was tremendous.) For his part, Shane got one of the best reactions of the night. They played up the friendly rivalry until Kevin Owens interrupted to "suggest" that he get an Intercontinental Title rematch (he hasn't had a return match since losing it in the Mania ladder match). That brought out Antonio Cesaro with his new tearaway suit; he felt like he deserved another shot after Owens and Sami Zayn messed with his Payback match. That led to the obvious impromptu match:
Antonio Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens: I-C Champ Miz(w/ Maryse Ouellet-Mizanin) joined the commentary team for this one; I definitely appreciate Maryse's return to television. Owens is one of the most effective heel characters in WWE nowadays and it's great to see Cesaro back in the ring. I remember seeing Claudio Castagnoli at a Lethal Wrestling Alliance show in 2010; he had a note on his merchandise table that he would autograph an 8x10 for free if you brought him a Starbucks coffee. The fight spilled out of the ring and inevitably approached the broadcast table, drawing Miz into the fray when Owens attempted to use Miz's title belt as a weapon. Miz grabbed his belt away from Owens and Cesaro popped him with a European uppercut for being there...that led to Miz attacking Cesaro when he set up for the giant swing. Call it a DQ in 11:30 (real-time)...Sami Zayn made the save and took a good long look at the I-C Title belt as he stood tall in the ring. I suspect there's a four-corner match in our future and I do not have a problem with that.
Goldust(w/ Johnny Fandango) vs. Tyler Breeze(w/ "R-Truth" Ron Killings): The odd saga of the "Golden Truth" has seen Goldust attempt to actively recruit R-Truth as a tag team partner and be turned down. R-Truth had a change of heart, but Goldust was miffed at the rejection and now they're hanging out with different tag team partners. It's nice to see four underutilized guys get something to do, particularly Breeze and Fandango. The match wasn't much outside of interplay with the cornermen, leading to Breeze winning with Ye Olde Distractione Rollupe in 1:48. BREEZOWITZ WINS~!
I saw New Day merchandise EVERYWHERE on this night...a year ago they were dead in the water as generic fan favorites, now they've got people chanting for imaginary breakfast cereal. The Vaudevillains were indeed declared the winners of the Payback match due to the referee stoppage; Enzo Amore sustained a scary injury when he hit his head on the ring rope as Simon Gotch threw him out of the ring. It's often stated: Ring ropes are steel cables and hurt if you hit them wrong. He "only" suffered a concussion, but it could have been much worse; a few people were reminded of Perro Aguayo Jr.'s death in the ring. The 'Villains were quick to take credit for Enzo's injury with Aiden dusting off his singing gimmick...Gotch got off a few good lines as well, declaring Enzo the realest guy in the EMERGENCY room. After that, the Dudleys made an appearance as They Want Da Belts as well. Big Cass was the next to appear and was all business as he was looking for revenge on behalf of his injured tag team partner. Cue brawl...and Shane & Steph popped up on the TitanTron to make the impromptu match.
Tag Team Champions The New Day(Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods) & "Big Cass" Colin Cassady vs. The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch) & The Dudley Boys(Buh-Buh Ray & D-Von): A by-product of the recent rash of injuries is that Raw matches are getting a LOT of time and this was an example of that. I imagine there was at least one commercial break during this matchup as it went close to twenty minutes. The fans are still warming to the new arrivals, though Cass was really over for a relatively fresh face. Hot tag Cass, bonzo gonzo, East River Crossing(sitout swinging uranagi) on D-Von for the win in 17:01(!). Nice for Cass to get a feel-good win, though I was wondering if we'd see a Vaudevillain pin a New Day member to further set up the Extreme Rules title match.
Becky Lynch vs. Emma Tayla: This had been set up through backstage vignette on recent shows, but the audience didn't seem to care much for this one. Emma's still working her way back to relevancy and her quick loss to Natalya last week probably didn't help in that regard. The fans liked Becky, as do I. It's odd that the rulebreakers don't cheat nearly as outrageously as they once did...it's to the point where a thumb to the eye is now a particularly dastardly heel move. That made the difference in this one as Emma capitalized with a modified Michinoku Driver to win in 5:43.
Dean Ambrose hosted his Ambrose Asylum talk show and was accompanied by his potted plant Mitch...yes, he named his potted plant, because why not? His feud with Chris Jericho stemmed from Shane McMahon creating the Asylum as a replacement for Jericho's Highlight Reel. Ambrose is a polarizing figure nowadays...his style doesn't seem to mesh with just anyone, but his promos are entertaining as he'll say and do some off-the-wall things. (When he delivered Shane's memo to Jericho, he mistakenly handed Jericho a speeding ticket.) Ambrose repeatedly needled Stephanie about Shane's partial usurping of Raw control...to the point where Steph decided to cancel his talk segment. Well, he had that coming, when you think about it. Ambrose was disappointed but took his leave peacefully, even as Stephanie introduced Jericho for the newly-renewed Highlight Reel. Of course Ambrose and Jericho fought it out...Jericho stunned him with a Codebreaker, then broke the potted plant over the back of Ambrose's head. NOOOOO, NOT MITCH~! Between Xavier's first trombone(Francesca) and Mitch, Jericho has been at war with inanimate objects...
Battle Royal: U.S. Champion Kalisto did guest commentary as this was for the next shot at his title. John Cena attempted to bring the belt back to relevancy last year, but it lost its prestige pretty quickly once it was no longer around his waist. The main angle in recent weeks has been the implosion of the League Of Nations...they had already booted King Wade "Bad News" Barrett out of the group after deeming him to be the weak link, but then they struggled to coexist and fought with each other on last week's Smackdown. This battle royal was the very definition of "throw a bunch of midcarders on TV" and it got a ton of time for what it was. Rick Viktor(flying solo due to the un-wellness of his Ascension partner Konnor O'Brian) was gone first, followed by poor, poor Damien Sandow. Stardust and Darren Young were the next to go. Apollo Crews could have been considered a favorite, but Sheamus disposed of him to (hopefully) set up a feud for him. Dolph Ziggler eliminated Baron Corbin, so Corbin dragged him out of the ring and beat the hell out of him...then he dumped him back through the ropes so Dolph could be properly eliminated. The final eight lasted a long time(and I imagine there was an ad break around this time). Titus O'Neil was returning to TV after his recent weird-ass suspension and could have been another favorite(he was one of the few guys to get a separate entrance), but he was sent floorward around this time. Curtis Axel was tossed next (though he is still, in fact, in the 2015 Royal Rumble per the Axelmania website). I was Bo-lieving in Bo Dallas, but he was eliminated shortly after his Social Outcast teammate...the fans weren't booing that, they were chanting "Bo". Sin Cara had a brief flurry to tease the possibility of a bout between the Lucha Dragons, but Faceless was eliminated when he went high-risk once too often. That left the three League Of Nations members and Zack Ryder...the League formed a temporary truce to beat down Ryder, but THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE and they started turning on each other. Sheamus and then Del Rio hit the floor...Ryder rallied against Rusev, but Rusev turned the tide and threw out Ryder for the win in 13:39(!). Lana Perry joined Rusev's celebration as Kalisto looked concerned at ringside.
Women's Champion Charlotte Flair(w/ Ric Flair) joined us to address the controversial ending to her Payback match with Natalya Neidhart...see, referee Charles Robinson rang the bell when Charlotte put Natalya in her own Sharpshooter, despite the fact that Natalya seemingly never gave up. That seems like a familiar finish for some reason but I can't quite place it...it feels Canadian for some reason. Charles Robinson was known as "Little Naitch" from his previous friendship and allegiance to Flair in WCW...they even showed a clip from his match at Slamboree 1999. Coincidentally, that Slamboree ALSO took place in St. Louis...since it happened on Mother's Day, that was also the only time I ever took my mom to a wrestling show. (She never quite "got" the whole wrestling thing...LOL.) Robinson categorically denied any wrongdoing and claimed that Nattie verbally submitted, though he had a few Freudian slips in his responses to Charlotte's questions. That brought out Nattie, who blew past Robinson to confront the Flairs...she slapped Charlotte and took Ric down into the Sharpshooter for good measure. That led to a backstage segment where Stephanie made a submission match for Extreme Rules between Charlotte and Natalya...with Ric banned from ringside.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns & Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson, & Luke Gallows: After WWE portrayed Daniel Bryan's feud with The Authority as the fan-preferred underdog against the hand-picked "chosen ones" of those in charge, fans seemed to progress to supporting similar underdogs while rejecting those they saw as "chosen ones". That's been the best explanation that I've seen for the recent fan responses...while Roman got a lot of boos on this night, there were a few dueling "A.J. Styles/Roman Reigns" chants throughout the main event. The Usos have seemingly been drawn into Roman's circle of influence as his Samoan cousins and I don't know if they deserve that level of venom. Some have suggested that people boo Roman simply because it's now seen as the "cool" thing to do.
One of the biggest storylines in New Japan Pro Wrestling has featured a heel stable known as the Bullet Club, once astutely described by an online observer as "New World Order cosplay". Prince Devitt(now known as Finn Bálor) was the original leader of the group that also included Anderson & Luke/Doc Gallows, but Styles took over when Devitt jumped to WWE/NXT. While Anderson & Gallows are decidedly rulebreakers, Styles has been a fan favorite and doesn't seem to want their interference in his matches (though they have remained friends). Their first targets were the Usos and then Reigns, so Roman and the Usos don't trust A.J. as he benefits from their actions. Circumstances and escalating aggression has led to some questionable tactics from both sides, reinforcing each side's suspicions about the other. The commentators have acknowledged Styles' past with Anderson & Gallows without specifically mentioning the name of their stable.
Anywho, wrestling match (WOO~!). It's still surreal to see Styles in WWE. It looked like it might come down to Reigns and Styles, but Jimmy Uso tagged into the match near the end. Styles pinned Uso after the springboard forearm in 11:31, then the post-match fireworks took center stage. Anderson & Gallows beat down Reigns and held him for A.J. to continue the beatdown...but Styles threw away the steel chair. One of the Usos got the chair and hit Styles from behind with it, re-triggering the brawl...A.J. turned the chair against the Usos, but Reigns recovered to see Styles standing in the ring with a chair. Roman proceeded to deck Styles with a Superman Punch and continued the beating, finishing with a running powerbomb through the broadcast table. It's an interesting storyline as there are reasons to support either side and it's a whole lot of misunderstandings that are escalating between the two sides. It's a genuine divide between the fans who support Reigns and the Usos and the fans who support Styles and/or the Bullet Club members.
Downtown traffic sucks a basketball through a crazy straw. That is all.
May looks like this:
-Saturday 5/7: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO (afternoon/Cinco De Mayo festival), Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Fenton, MO (evening); Stride Pro Wrestling in Marion, IL
-Saturday 5/14: World League Wrestling in Troy, MO (Ricky Steamboat appearing); Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO; World Powerhouse Wrestling in Kampsville, IL
-Friday 5/20: St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 5/21: St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Sunday 5/22: Wrestling Invades America in Swansea, IL
-Saturday 5/28: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO (Ready Room)
That's my special comment for this, the eighteenth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2016. Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991
P.S. We are all marks.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
I accepted a while back that WWE's current product just "isn't for me"; I speak only for myself and not anyone else. That general dissatisfaction with the product was a factor in my decision to skip WWE's St. Louis shows in recent years; I hadn't been to a WWE live event since March of 2011. To put that in perspective, Mike Mizanin was WWE Champion at that Raw show. The state of affairs is particularly frustrating as WWE's roster is ridiculously loaded with talent...it's at the point that one wonders what they're going to do with everybody. One could write a book about the current environment, who's getting cheered/booed and why, etc. I have opted to gloss over a lot of the particulars on the shows and usually give promo segments the fast-forward treatment. There is just SO MUCH wrestling nowadays that it legitimately limits one's time to watch EVERYTHING. Financial belt-tightening has also been a factor; now that I'm making car payments again, that may become a bigger factor in the future. Given the number of independent shows I've attended, I usually find a way to attend shows if I really want to go.
Anywho, the text exchange with Landon Meyer on Sunday essentially went like this: "Girlfriend's working late, want to go to Raw?" "Sure." "I've got the ticket, just pay for parking and we'll call it even." "K." I tend to connect with people pretty quickly when they're compatriots in the rasslin-type matters and Landon is a local Illinois-side comedian who's also a wrestling fan; we'd even done a few podcasts with or without wrestling in the equation. Parking in downtown St. Louis can be pretty expensive, which is why I usually opt for MetroLink.
This was a post-"pay-per-view" Raw so anticipation was pretty high...it's weird to call them PPVs since they're essentially Network specials. WWE has phased out the PPV side of things to the point of openly mocking those who pay full price (as opposed to subscribing to the Network for an undisclosed fee). At any rate, this show came on the heels of Payback where no titles changed hands and most of the major feuds are continuing...so yeah, that didn't turn out to be the most productive show.
We got to the building pretty early and the show had a really strong turnout despite the Cardinals' baseball game in town. I didn't leave my seat too often so I didn't cross paths with too many familiar faces, though I did say hi to a couple of people. I'm pretty sure this was my first three-hour Raw to attend; live TV shows can be a bit slower-paced due to the real-time commercial breaks. I attempted to call when the broadcast went to break during matches; it usually happens when a wrestler is down on the floor, for the record. The building's air conditioning was turned up to the point of frigidity...is that a hockey thing? (I'm told that it is.)
Your ring announcers were Greg Hamilton(Superstars) and Eden Stiles(Raw); your commentators were Tom Phillips(Superstars), Byron Saxton(Superstars & Raw), Michael Cole(Raw), and John Bradshaw Layfield(Raw). (Fare thee well, Rich Brennan.)
Darren Young vs. Damien Sandow (Superstars taping): Sandow got a great response; one of the best reactions from Survivor Series 2014 in St. Louis was when he got the pin to win the Tag Team Titles for himself and The Miz. One could speculate for eternity about how he went from the breakup and feud with Miz to a comedy tag team with Curtis Axel to near-invisibility on television. In the meantime, he's gone back to his old music and entrance robe despite remaining a fan favorite; he attempted to subtlely work heel but the fans weren't buying into it. Young hasn't really connected with the fans as much as his tag team partner Titus O'Neil. Young won with his Gut Check finisher(fireman's-carry double-knee gutbuster, a la Roderick Strong) in 5:09.
Apollo Crews vs. Heath Slater(w/ Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas): Crews politely declined an invitation to join the Social Outcasts, so he's been beating them up in recent weeks. The Outcasts are without their resident radical mongoose Adam Rose due to un-wellness. Bo Dallas is one of my favorite heel characters; he's such a total weenie and it's hilarious. Sadly, we would get no "Bo Train" on this night. Slater is an underappreciated talent; he was the guy who worked with the "legends" a few years back, including Bret Hart's limited return to the ring. Crews won with the delayed Blue Thunder Bomb in 7:55 (it'll probably have an ad break when it airs). I wonder if Jun Akiyama knew that his signature move would become so prolific?
Cole & JBL made their individual entrances for Raw; Cole had been using the Kerwin White theme but had different theme music here. He still gets some residual boos from his stint as a heel commentator; if they'd had someone to cover play-by-play at the time, he could have been a hell of a manager as he drew THAT much hatred. The last time I was at a WWE show, he was in his "Cole Mine" plexiglass booth to protect him from Jerry Lawler...it would have been huge if he'd gotten a legitimate amount of comeuppance, but his presence dragged for several more months until Lawler's real-life heart attack forced him back to being the straight man. In a weird way, I feel for Cole as he has gigantic shoes to fill; Jim Ross is/was one of the most respected commentators in wrestling history and he was a tough act to follow as the "voice of WWE".
Synopsis of the McMahon family saga: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley(The Authority) had been in charge for several years, but both dropped off the map after HHH's title loss at WrestleMania. In the meantime, Shane McMahon made his WWE return after a long absence with the desire to regain power...Vince McMahon made him fight for it against The Undertaker at Mania. Taker didn't really want to do Vince's bidding, but he also didn't want to lose at Mania again, plus Vince forced the issue by ruling that Taker would never compete at Mania again if he did lose. Taker won, but Vince humored Shane by allowing him to run Raw for a few weeks in the hopes that he would flop as boss. The shows seemed to show dramatic improvement so the "Board Of Directors" kept Shane in charge, leading up to Payback where Vince said that Shane and Stephanie would share power. Stephanie seems to be playing nice, but people are rightly suspicious about her true motivations.
The show started with Stephanie and Shane. As someone who harbored a crush on Steph since she was the shy withdrawn background character on TV, she looks REALLY good for a mother of three. (Her outfit at Mania was tremendous.) For his part, Shane got one of the best reactions of the night. They played up the friendly rivalry until Kevin Owens interrupted to "suggest" that he get an Intercontinental Title rematch (he hasn't had a return match since losing it in the Mania ladder match). That brought out Antonio Cesaro with his new tearaway suit; he felt like he deserved another shot after Owens and Sami Zayn messed with his Payback match. That led to the obvious impromptu match:
Antonio Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens: I-C Champ Miz(w/ Maryse Ouellet-Mizanin) joined the commentary team for this one; I definitely appreciate Maryse's return to television. Owens is one of the most effective heel characters in WWE nowadays and it's great to see Cesaro back in the ring. I remember seeing Claudio Castagnoli at a Lethal Wrestling Alliance show in 2010; he had a note on his merchandise table that he would autograph an 8x10 for free if you brought him a Starbucks coffee. The fight spilled out of the ring and inevitably approached the broadcast table, drawing Miz into the fray when Owens attempted to use Miz's title belt as a weapon. Miz grabbed his belt away from Owens and Cesaro popped him with a European uppercut for being there...that led to Miz attacking Cesaro when he set up for the giant swing. Call it a DQ in 11:30 (real-time)...Sami Zayn made the save and took a good long look at the I-C Title belt as he stood tall in the ring. I suspect there's a four-corner match in our future and I do not have a problem with that.
Goldust(w/ Johnny Fandango) vs. Tyler Breeze(w/ "R-Truth" Ron Killings): The odd saga of the "Golden Truth" has seen Goldust attempt to actively recruit R-Truth as a tag team partner and be turned down. R-Truth had a change of heart, but Goldust was miffed at the rejection and now they're hanging out with different tag team partners. It's nice to see four underutilized guys get something to do, particularly Breeze and Fandango. The match wasn't much outside of interplay with the cornermen, leading to Breeze winning with Ye Olde Distractione Rollupe in 1:48. BREEZOWITZ WINS~!
I saw New Day merchandise EVERYWHERE on this night...a year ago they were dead in the water as generic fan favorites, now they've got people chanting for imaginary breakfast cereal. The Vaudevillains were indeed declared the winners of the Payback match due to the referee stoppage; Enzo Amore sustained a scary injury when he hit his head on the ring rope as Simon Gotch threw him out of the ring. It's often stated: Ring ropes are steel cables and hurt if you hit them wrong. He "only" suffered a concussion, but it could have been much worse; a few people were reminded of Perro Aguayo Jr.'s death in the ring. The 'Villains were quick to take credit for Enzo's injury with Aiden dusting off his singing gimmick...Gotch got off a few good lines as well, declaring Enzo the realest guy in the EMERGENCY room. After that, the Dudleys made an appearance as They Want Da Belts as well. Big Cass was the next to appear and was all business as he was looking for revenge on behalf of his injured tag team partner. Cue brawl...and Shane & Steph popped up on the TitanTron to make the impromptu match.
Tag Team Champions The New Day(Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods) & "Big Cass" Colin Cassady vs. The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch) & The Dudley Boys(Buh-Buh Ray & D-Von): A by-product of the recent rash of injuries is that Raw matches are getting a LOT of time and this was an example of that. I imagine there was at least one commercial break during this matchup as it went close to twenty minutes. The fans are still warming to the new arrivals, though Cass was really over for a relatively fresh face. Hot tag Cass, bonzo gonzo, East River Crossing(sitout swinging uranagi) on D-Von for the win in 17:01(!). Nice for Cass to get a feel-good win, though I was wondering if we'd see a Vaudevillain pin a New Day member to further set up the Extreme Rules title match.
Becky Lynch vs. Emma Tayla: This had been set up through backstage vignette on recent shows, but the audience didn't seem to care much for this one. Emma's still working her way back to relevancy and her quick loss to Natalya last week probably didn't help in that regard. The fans liked Becky, as do I. It's odd that the rulebreakers don't cheat nearly as outrageously as they once did...it's to the point where a thumb to the eye is now a particularly dastardly heel move. That made the difference in this one as Emma capitalized with a modified Michinoku Driver to win in 5:43.
Dean Ambrose hosted his Ambrose Asylum talk show and was accompanied by his potted plant Mitch...yes, he named his potted plant, because why not? His feud with Chris Jericho stemmed from Shane McMahon creating the Asylum as a replacement for Jericho's Highlight Reel. Ambrose is a polarizing figure nowadays...his style doesn't seem to mesh with just anyone, but his promos are entertaining as he'll say and do some off-the-wall things. (When he delivered Shane's memo to Jericho, he mistakenly handed Jericho a speeding ticket.) Ambrose repeatedly needled Stephanie about Shane's partial usurping of Raw control...to the point where Steph decided to cancel his talk segment. Well, he had that coming, when you think about it. Ambrose was disappointed but took his leave peacefully, even as Stephanie introduced Jericho for the newly-renewed Highlight Reel. Of course Ambrose and Jericho fought it out...Jericho stunned him with a Codebreaker, then broke the potted plant over the back of Ambrose's head. NOOOOO, NOT MITCH~! Between Xavier's first trombone(Francesca) and Mitch, Jericho has been at war with inanimate objects...
Battle Royal: U.S. Champion Kalisto did guest commentary as this was for the next shot at his title. John Cena attempted to bring the belt back to relevancy last year, but it lost its prestige pretty quickly once it was no longer around his waist. The main angle in recent weeks has been the implosion of the League Of Nations...they had already booted King Wade "Bad News" Barrett out of the group after deeming him to be the weak link, but then they struggled to coexist and fought with each other on last week's Smackdown. This battle royal was the very definition of "throw a bunch of midcarders on TV" and it got a ton of time for what it was. Rick Viktor(flying solo due to the un-wellness of his Ascension partner Konnor O'Brian) was gone first, followed by poor, poor Damien Sandow. Stardust and Darren Young were the next to go. Apollo Crews could have been considered a favorite, but Sheamus disposed of him to (hopefully) set up a feud for him. Dolph Ziggler eliminated Baron Corbin, so Corbin dragged him out of the ring and beat the hell out of him...then he dumped him back through the ropes so Dolph could be properly eliminated. The final eight lasted a long time(and I imagine there was an ad break around this time). Titus O'Neil was returning to TV after his recent weird-ass suspension and could have been another favorite(he was one of the few guys to get a separate entrance), but he was sent floorward around this time. Curtis Axel was tossed next (though he is still, in fact, in the 2015 Royal Rumble per the Axelmania website). I was Bo-lieving in Bo Dallas, but he was eliminated shortly after his Social Outcast teammate...the fans weren't booing that, they were chanting "Bo". Sin Cara had a brief flurry to tease the possibility of a bout between the Lucha Dragons, but Faceless was eliminated when he went high-risk once too often. That left the three League Of Nations members and Zack Ryder...the League formed a temporary truce to beat down Ryder, but THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE and they started turning on each other. Sheamus and then Del Rio hit the floor...Ryder rallied against Rusev, but Rusev turned the tide and threw out Ryder for the win in 13:39(!). Lana Perry joined Rusev's celebration as Kalisto looked concerned at ringside.
Women's Champion Charlotte Flair(w/ Ric Flair) joined us to address the controversial ending to her Payback match with Natalya Neidhart...see, referee Charles Robinson rang the bell when Charlotte put Natalya in her own Sharpshooter, despite the fact that Natalya seemingly never gave up. That seems like a familiar finish for some reason but I can't quite place it...it feels Canadian for some reason. Charles Robinson was known as "Little Naitch" from his previous friendship and allegiance to Flair in WCW...they even showed a clip from his match at Slamboree 1999. Coincidentally, that Slamboree ALSO took place in St. Louis...since it happened on Mother's Day, that was also the only time I ever took my mom to a wrestling show. (She never quite "got" the whole wrestling thing...LOL.) Robinson categorically denied any wrongdoing and claimed that Nattie verbally submitted, though he had a few Freudian slips in his responses to Charlotte's questions. That brought out Nattie, who blew past Robinson to confront the Flairs...she slapped Charlotte and took Ric down into the Sharpshooter for good measure. That led to a backstage segment where Stephanie made a submission match for Extreme Rules between Charlotte and Natalya...with Ric banned from ringside.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns & Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson, & Luke Gallows: After WWE portrayed Daniel Bryan's feud with The Authority as the fan-preferred underdog against the hand-picked "chosen ones" of those in charge, fans seemed to progress to supporting similar underdogs while rejecting those they saw as "chosen ones". That's been the best explanation that I've seen for the recent fan responses...while Roman got a lot of boos on this night, there were a few dueling "A.J. Styles/Roman Reigns" chants throughout the main event. The Usos have seemingly been drawn into Roman's circle of influence as his Samoan cousins and I don't know if they deserve that level of venom. Some have suggested that people boo Roman simply because it's now seen as the "cool" thing to do.
One of the biggest storylines in New Japan Pro Wrestling has featured a heel stable known as the Bullet Club, once astutely described by an online observer as "New World Order cosplay". Prince Devitt(now known as Finn Bálor) was the original leader of the group that also included Anderson & Luke/Doc Gallows, but Styles took over when Devitt jumped to WWE/NXT. While Anderson & Gallows are decidedly rulebreakers, Styles has been a fan favorite and doesn't seem to want their interference in his matches (though they have remained friends). Their first targets were the Usos and then Reigns, so Roman and the Usos don't trust A.J. as he benefits from their actions. Circumstances and escalating aggression has led to some questionable tactics from both sides, reinforcing each side's suspicions about the other. The commentators have acknowledged Styles' past with Anderson & Gallows without specifically mentioning the name of their stable.
Anywho, wrestling match (WOO~!). It's still surreal to see Styles in WWE. It looked like it might come down to Reigns and Styles, but Jimmy Uso tagged into the match near the end. Styles pinned Uso after the springboard forearm in 11:31, then the post-match fireworks took center stage. Anderson & Gallows beat down Reigns and held him for A.J. to continue the beatdown...but Styles threw away the steel chair. One of the Usos got the chair and hit Styles from behind with it, re-triggering the brawl...A.J. turned the chair against the Usos, but Reigns recovered to see Styles standing in the ring with a chair. Roman proceeded to deck Styles with a Superman Punch and continued the beating, finishing with a running powerbomb through the broadcast table. It's an interesting storyline as there are reasons to support either side and it's a whole lot of misunderstandings that are escalating between the two sides. It's a genuine divide between the fans who support Reigns and the Usos and the fans who support Styles and/or the Bullet Club members.
Downtown traffic sucks a basketball through a crazy straw. That is all.
May looks like this:
-Saturday 5/7: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO (afternoon/Cinco De Mayo festival), Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Fenton, MO (evening); Stride Pro Wrestling in Marion, IL
-Saturday 5/14: World League Wrestling in Troy, MO (Ricky Steamboat appearing); Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO; World Powerhouse Wrestling in Kampsville, IL
-Friday 5/20: St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 5/21: St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Sunday 5/22: Wrestling Invades America in Swansea, IL
-Saturday 5/28: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO (Ready Room)
That's my special comment for this, the eighteenth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2016. Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991
P.S. We are all marks.
Monday, May 2, 2016
WWE Raw (live report from St. Louis, MO)
-Greg Hamilton ring-announced for Superstars; it looked like Tom Phillips doing commentary with Byron Saxton. Lillian Garcia was conspicuously absent this weekend as Eden Stiles ring-announced for Raw (Eden split announcing duties with Jojo Offerman at Payback.) Raw commentators, as usual, were Michael Cole(using different music and not the old Kerwin White theme), Byron Saxton, & John Bradshaw Layfield.
-Taped for Superstars: Darren Young d. Damien Sandow with the Gut Check(fireman's-carry double-knee gutbuster) (5:09).
-Taped for Superstars: Apollo Crews d. Heath Slater(w/ Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) via delayed Blue Thunder Bomb (7:55).
-Antonio Cesaro d. Kevin Owens by DQ when Intercontinental Champion Mike Mizanin(w/ Maryse Ouellet-Mizanin) attacked Cesaro after being drawn into the fight from the commentary table (11:30); Sami Zayn made the save and took a closer look at the Intercontinental Title belt.
-Tyler Breeze(w/ "R-Truth" Ron Killings) d. Goldust(w/ Johnny Fandango) via rollup (1:48).
-Tag Team Champions The New Day(Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods) & "Big Cass" Colin Cassady d. The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch) & The Dudley Boys(Buh-Buh Ray & D-Von) when Cass pinned D-Von after the East River Crossing(sitout swinging uranagi) (17:01).
-Emma Tayla d. Becky Lynch after a thumb to the eye set up a modified Michinoku Driver (5:43).
-Alexander Rusev(w/ Lana Perry) won a battle royal for a shot at U.S. Champion Kalisto(who did commentary). Eliminations: Rick Viktor, Damien Sandow, Stardust, Darren Young, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Titus O'Neil, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Sin Cara, Sheamus O'Shaunessy, Alberto Del Rio, and Zack Ryder (13:39).
-A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson, & Luke Gallows d. WWE Champion Roman Reigns & Jimmy & Jey Uso when Styles pinned Jimmy Uso after the springboard forearm (11:31). Anderson & Gallows encouraged Styles to lay out Reigns with a chair, but he refused to do it...the Usos re-entered and hit Styles with the chair, so A.J. retaliated and turned the chair on them. However, Reigns recovered to see Styles with the chair and attacked him, finishing with a powerbomb through the broadcast table.
-Taped for Superstars: Darren Young d. Damien Sandow with the Gut Check(fireman's-carry double-knee gutbuster) (5:09).
-Taped for Superstars: Apollo Crews d. Heath Slater(w/ Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) via delayed Blue Thunder Bomb (7:55).
-Antonio Cesaro d. Kevin Owens by DQ when Intercontinental Champion Mike Mizanin(w/ Maryse Ouellet-Mizanin) attacked Cesaro after being drawn into the fight from the commentary table (11:30); Sami Zayn made the save and took a closer look at the Intercontinental Title belt.
-Tyler Breeze(w/ "R-Truth" Ron Killings) d. Goldust(w/ Johnny Fandango) via rollup (1:48).
-Tag Team Champions The New Day(Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods) & "Big Cass" Colin Cassady d. The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch) & The Dudley Boys(Buh-Buh Ray & D-Von) when Cass pinned D-Von after the East River Crossing(sitout swinging uranagi) (17:01).
-Emma Tayla d. Becky Lynch after a thumb to the eye set up a modified Michinoku Driver (5:43).
-Alexander Rusev(w/ Lana Perry) won a battle royal for a shot at U.S. Champion Kalisto(who did commentary). Eliminations: Rick Viktor, Damien Sandow, Stardust, Darren Young, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Titus O'Neil, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Sin Cara, Sheamus O'Shaunessy, Alberto Del Rio, and Zack Ryder (13:39).
-A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson, & Luke Gallows d. WWE Champion Roman Reigns & Jimmy & Jey Uso when Styles pinned Jimmy Uso after the springboard forearm (11:31). Anderson & Gallows encouraged Styles to lay out Reigns with a chair, but he refused to do it...the Usos re-entered and hit Styles with the chair, so A.J. retaliated and turned the chair on them. However, Reigns recovered to see Styles with the chair and attacked him, finishing with a powerbomb through the broadcast table.
PWCS Special Comment
Now, as promised, a special comment about Saturday's Pro Wrestling Championship Series show at KG's Sports Bar & Banquet Center in Granite City, Illinois.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
As I may or may not have previously noted, my transportation situation has been stabilized for the moment as I am driving a 2016 Nissan Sentra. Much appreciation to Amber Klear for guiding me through the leasing process as it was my first time leasing a vehicle and getting a totally new car. The car has about fifty more buttons than I'm used to having, but otherwise it's been smooth sailing.
My streak of attending PWCS shows ended last October as I missed an event that, unfortunately, may never see the light of day in video form. I had a comedy show a few months ago that conflicted with the most recent PWCS event, but I picked up the DVD from that event on Saturday evening; review forthcoming, of course. This was "Stage One" of PWCS' third season, so scorekeeping applies anew as everyone starts fresh; of note, Chaos Nation is now known as the Submission Squad and a few people have been shuffled around. I spent most of the show chatting with retired local wrestler Kory Twist, who brought his son to the show.
Your ring announcer was Tito McGee; your referees were Sean Orleans and ?.
Jojo Bravo(Blacklist) vs. Austin Blackburn(w/ Evan Gelistico, Pierre Abernathy, & Everett Connors)(Submission Squad): Gelistico was accompanied by an inflatable dolphin named "Shawshank" in a Gary Jay T-shirt...because why not? The competitors decided to start the bout with some "classic St. Louis wrestling" by going technical, but that didn't last too long. The story of the Submission Squad is that Pierre is TRYING to reform his evil ways but the others(particularly Evan) aren't interested in that career path...in fact, Gelistico tripped Jojo at one point to give Blackburn the advantage. The younger members of the team(Connors & Blackburn) are the ones who may be swayed one way or the other in the long run...stay tuned, as they say. Bravo won with a funky backslide variation in 7:24 to give Blacklist its first win of the season. (Blacklist 1-0, Submission Squad 0-1)
Mat Fitchett & "Zesty" Zakk Sawyers(Resurgence) vs. Adam Caster & "The Blue Chipper" Danny Adams(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters): Fitchett had his St. Louis Anarchy Heavyweight Title belt, while Sawyers had the medallion he won in the St. Louis Invitational Tournament. This was a lengthy match with a lot of false finishes; the point had been made to me about both PWCS and SLA that a lot of the guys work the same style with similar movesets. That's something I see in a lot of different groups (even WWE); a ton of guys do missile dropkicks and suicide dives. It's cool if a fan likes that style, but it can get repetitive over the course of a single show; the point was made that it's the moves that are over, not the wrestlers. Establishing a character is an important thing to make a wrestler stand out from the pack...otherwise, you've got a lot of interchangable workers in the talent pool. Anywho, side comment over...the tag match was a lot of fun to watch, Maggle. Sawyers pinned Adams after he and Fitchett hit their version of Chasing The Dragon(brainbuster/head kick combo) in 18:19. (Resurgence 1-0, Ego Busters 0-1)
Paco Gonzalez(Resurgence) vs. Justin D'Air: In this match, the free agent(D'Air) could challenge someone currently in a stable(Paco) for the opportunity to "steal" their spot on the team. It was a battle of fan favorites so the audience wasn't as into this match as the others, but they pulled off some impressive aerial moves(particularly D'Air). Paco won with a Death Valley Driver in 8:18 and they shook hands afterwards.
Davey Vega(Resurgence) vs. "Dirdey" Jake Dirden(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters): This was a particularly intriguing matchup as Dirden had been a Resurgence teammate of Vega's in Season 2, but he was drafted to the Ego Busters and has become particularly surly across the board. Even Jovi seemed wary of his client as he accompanied him to the ring. Vega was seemingly expecting a sportsmanlike contest like their previous meeting in Season 1(which he won), but this was a different Jake Dirden and he quickly found that out. They had a really good matchup, but shenanigans ensued when Jovi distracted the ref as Vega hit a German suplex. That brought out Vega's longtime rival and new Ego Buster K.C. Karrington to run interference; Vega fought him off, but Dirden took advantage of the opening to chokeslam Vega for a CLOSE near-fall. It even fooled the timekeeper as he rang the bell early, but the referee signalled that it wasn't quite a three-count. Despite that close call, Dirden quickly throttled Vega to the mat with a variation of his trademark Asiatic Spike, leading to the real pinfall in 16:32. (Ego Busters 1-1, Resurgence 1-1) After the match, Karrington and Jovi confronted Vega and Vega seemed to think Dirden would side with him...but he was mistaken as Dirden joined his stablemates in the beatdown. Mat Fitchett and Zakk Sawyers made the save, but the damage had been done.
Intermission~! Apologies to Ben Simon as there was no Official Concession Count(tm) on this night; I brought cash for my ticket and used the rest on the DVD of the previous event. Thankfully there was a water fountain in the building.
Arik Cannon was announced for the next PWCS show on July 9th...he hadn't competed in this area in a while (he wrestled semi-regularly for St. Louis Anarchy and appeared a few times for High Risk Wrestling).
Makaze & The Viking War Party("American Viking" Alexandre Rudolph & "Littlest Viking" Jake Parnell)(Blacklist) vs. Evan Gelistico, Pierre Abernathy, & Everett Connors(Submission Squad): Makaze has primarily competed for PWCS in recent years, though he's making a comeback in Dynamo Pro and has been branching out to central/southern Illinois a bit. The Vikings showed their disdain for Shawshank the inflatable dolphin by giving it a Dudley Death Drop, much to Connors' shock and dismay. Gelistico and Abernathy have been tag team partners for quite some time and have become well-traveled in recent years, including forays to Texas, Florida, and the east coast. Kory's assessment of Rudolph(who he wrestled in one of his final matches) was "hair everywhere"...very astute. Things broke down near the end of the matchup as Pierre seemingly tweaked his knee...that brought out Gary Jay and Austin Blackburn to check on him. Gelistico(who had been warned against underhanded tactics by Abernathy on a few occasions) took the opportunity to stun Makaze with a low blow behind the referee's back, pinning him with a jackknife cradle in 13:41. BOO~! (Submission Squad 1-1, Blacklist 1-1) After the match, Pierre professed respect for his opponents, saying Makaze was a local legend and the Vikings were the best up-and-coming tag team in the Midwest...his team won this time around, but it could have gone either way. We'll see if this change of heart holds water in the long run.
Mike Outlaw(Blacklist) vs. Gary Jay(Submission Squad): I was really interested in seeing this matchup as it was a good test for the less-experienced Outlaw. Gary Jay has been traveling a lot in recent years and making waves in Beyond Wrestling as well as EVOLVE...he's one of the most deceptive-looking wrestlers as he's small by wrestling standards but hits HARD. This lived up to my expectations as they had a really good competitive matchup...there was one insane sequence where Gary hit two suicide dives in a row and went for a third, but Outlaw blocked him and gave him an overhead suplex into the chairs in the audience! Gary delivered a hiplock into a kneestrike, then followed up with the Michinoku Driver to win in 11:35. (Submission Squad 2-1, Blacklist 1-2) Cue post-match mutual respect.
Luke Langley(w/ Graham Bell) vs. Kody Krash: Saw these guys for the first time in a pre-show match at the most recent St. Louis Anarchy shows; Langley & Bell compete as the Kansas City Wolves. The fans knew nothing about any of these guys...if nothing else, it worked as a cooldown/breather match between two big competitive bouts on the show. Langley countered a tilt-a-whirl somethingorother into a small package for the flash pin in 4:54...then Tank Engine Thomas hit the ring to destroy all three men, yelling about how they stole his spot on the card. All righty then.
Steven Kennedy(Resurgence) vs. K.C. Karrington(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters), last-man-standing match: These two had a long history as V.I.P. and then The Ego Express, but Karrington left wrestling for a few years. When K.C. made his surprise return about a year ago, he turned on his best friend and partner; Kennedy won their first one-on-one meeting, but Karrington evened the score by stealing a fall on him in a four-corner match in October. They briefly crossed paths in the Season 2 finale, but Karrington was disqualified for bashing Kennedy with a chair and Kennedy had to leave the match due to injuries sustained from two of Karrington's piledrivers.
It didn't take long for this fight to get out of hand as they brawled out of the ring and Kennedy suplexed Karrington on the concrete floor(OUCH). Chairs came into play, then they brought in the timekeeper's table...they fought on the top rope and BOTH crashed through the table. The chairs were set up near the corner and K.C. tried to set up SSK on them, but SSK took him down from the turnbuckles with a Splash Mountain-style powerbomb onto the chairs! Karrington hit Kennedy with his own Assassination(double-underhook sitout faceplant, a la Angel's Wings) but it couldn't keep him down. K.C. followed up with the piledriver and THAT didn't work...neither did the SECOND piledriver as SSK kept getting up. Karrington set up a second table and took SSK to the top rope for the finishing blow, but Kennedy stopped him with a low blow(paying him back for a nut shot earlier in the bout). That set up Kennedy for a piledriver off the second rope to drive Karrington through the table! That was finally enough to end the match as Karrington stayed down for ten in 17:05...whew! (Resurgence 2-1, Ego Busters 1-2)
This show definitely delivered in a big way, especially with regards to the main matches I was anticipating(Dirden-Vega, Gary-Outlaw, Kennedy-Karrington). I've previously noted that I'm a sucker for adding meaning to wins and losses...it's a core part of PWCS since they keep track of the W/L records and build to the season finales. Good show, gentlemen.
My local comedian friend Landon Meyer had an extra ticket to WWE Raw at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis tonight, so I'll be attending my first WWE live event since March of 2011...to put that in perspective, The Miz was WWE Champion at that show. Yikes.
The rest of May looks like this:
-Saturday 5/7: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO (afternoon/Cinco De Mayo festival), Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Fenton, MO (evening); Stride Pro Wrestling in Marion, IL
-Saturday 5/14: World League Wrestling in Troy, MO (Ricky Steamboat appearing); Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO; World Powerhouse Wrestling in Kampsville, IL
-Friday 5/20: St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 5/21: St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Sunday 5/22: Wrestling Invades America in Swansea, IL
-Saturday 5/28: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO (Ready Room)
That's my special comment for this, the seventeenth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2016. Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991
P.S. We are all marks.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
As I may or may not have previously noted, my transportation situation has been stabilized for the moment as I am driving a 2016 Nissan Sentra. Much appreciation to Amber Klear for guiding me through the leasing process as it was my first time leasing a vehicle and getting a totally new car. The car has about fifty more buttons than I'm used to having, but otherwise it's been smooth sailing.
My streak of attending PWCS shows ended last October as I missed an event that, unfortunately, may never see the light of day in video form. I had a comedy show a few months ago that conflicted with the most recent PWCS event, but I picked up the DVD from that event on Saturday evening; review forthcoming, of course. This was "Stage One" of PWCS' third season, so scorekeeping applies anew as everyone starts fresh; of note, Chaos Nation is now known as the Submission Squad and a few people have been shuffled around. I spent most of the show chatting with retired local wrestler Kory Twist, who brought his son to the show.
Your ring announcer was Tito McGee; your referees were Sean Orleans and ?.
Jojo Bravo(Blacklist) vs. Austin Blackburn(w/ Evan Gelistico, Pierre Abernathy, & Everett Connors)(Submission Squad): Gelistico was accompanied by an inflatable dolphin named "Shawshank" in a Gary Jay T-shirt...because why not? The competitors decided to start the bout with some "classic St. Louis wrestling" by going technical, but that didn't last too long. The story of the Submission Squad is that Pierre is TRYING to reform his evil ways but the others(particularly Evan) aren't interested in that career path...in fact, Gelistico tripped Jojo at one point to give Blackburn the advantage. The younger members of the team(Connors & Blackburn) are the ones who may be swayed one way or the other in the long run...stay tuned, as they say. Bravo won with a funky backslide variation in 7:24 to give Blacklist its first win of the season. (Blacklist 1-0, Submission Squad 0-1)
Mat Fitchett & "Zesty" Zakk Sawyers(Resurgence) vs. Adam Caster & "The Blue Chipper" Danny Adams(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters): Fitchett had his St. Louis Anarchy Heavyweight Title belt, while Sawyers had the medallion he won in the St. Louis Invitational Tournament. This was a lengthy match with a lot of false finishes; the point had been made to me about both PWCS and SLA that a lot of the guys work the same style with similar movesets. That's something I see in a lot of different groups (even WWE); a ton of guys do missile dropkicks and suicide dives. It's cool if a fan likes that style, but it can get repetitive over the course of a single show; the point was made that it's the moves that are over, not the wrestlers. Establishing a character is an important thing to make a wrestler stand out from the pack...otherwise, you've got a lot of interchangable workers in the talent pool. Anywho, side comment over...the tag match was a lot of fun to watch, Maggle. Sawyers pinned Adams after he and Fitchett hit their version of Chasing The Dragon(brainbuster/head kick combo) in 18:19. (Resurgence 1-0, Ego Busters 0-1)
Paco Gonzalez(Resurgence) vs. Justin D'Air: In this match, the free agent(D'Air) could challenge someone currently in a stable(Paco) for the opportunity to "steal" their spot on the team. It was a battle of fan favorites so the audience wasn't as into this match as the others, but they pulled off some impressive aerial moves(particularly D'Air). Paco won with a Death Valley Driver in 8:18 and they shook hands afterwards.
Davey Vega(Resurgence) vs. "Dirdey" Jake Dirden(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters): This was a particularly intriguing matchup as Dirden had been a Resurgence teammate of Vega's in Season 2, but he was drafted to the Ego Busters and has become particularly surly across the board. Even Jovi seemed wary of his client as he accompanied him to the ring. Vega was seemingly expecting a sportsmanlike contest like their previous meeting in Season 1(which he won), but this was a different Jake Dirden and he quickly found that out. They had a really good matchup, but shenanigans ensued when Jovi distracted the ref as Vega hit a German suplex. That brought out Vega's longtime rival and new Ego Buster K.C. Karrington to run interference; Vega fought him off, but Dirden took advantage of the opening to chokeslam Vega for a CLOSE near-fall. It even fooled the timekeeper as he rang the bell early, but the referee signalled that it wasn't quite a three-count. Despite that close call, Dirden quickly throttled Vega to the mat with a variation of his trademark Asiatic Spike, leading to the real pinfall in 16:32. (Ego Busters 1-1, Resurgence 1-1) After the match, Karrington and Jovi confronted Vega and Vega seemed to think Dirden would side with him...but he was mistaken as Dirden joined his stablemates in the beatdown. Mat Fitchett and Zakk Sawyers made the save, but the damage had been done.
Intermission~! Apologies to Ben Simon as there was no Official Concession Count(tm) on this night; I brought cash for my ticket and used the rest on the DVD of the previous event. Thankfully there was a water fountain in the building.
Arik Cannon was announced for the next PWCS show on July 9th...he hadn't competed in this area in a while (he wrestled semi-regularly for St. Louis Anarchy and appeared a few times for High Risk Wrestling).
Makaze & The Viking War Party("American Viking" Alexandre Rudolph & "Littlest Viking" Jake Parnell)(Blacklist) vs. Evan Gelistico, Pierre Abernathy, & Everett Connors(Submission Squad): Makaze has primarily competed for PWCS in recent years, though he's making a comeback in Dynamo Pro and has been branching out to central/southern Illinois a bit. The Vikings showed their disdain for Shawshank the inflatable dolphin by giving it a Dudley Death Drop, much to Connors' shock and dismay. Gelistico and Abernathy have been tag team partners for quite some time and have become well-traveled in recent years, including forays to Texas, Florida, and the east coast. Kory's assessment of Rudolph(who he wrestled in one of his final matches) was "hair everywhere"...very astute. Things broke down near the end of the matchup as Pierre seemingly tweaked his knee...that brought out Gary Jay and Austin Blackburn to check on him. Gelistico(who had been warned against underhanded tactics by Abernathy on a few occasions) took the opportunity to stun Makaze with a low blow behind the referee's back, pinning him with a jackknife cradle in 13:41. BOO~! (Submission Squad 1-1, Blacklist 1-1) After the match, Pierre professed respect for his opponents, saying Makaze was a local legend and the Vikings were the best up-and-coming tag team in the Midwest...his team won this time around, but it could have gone either way. We'll see if this change of heart holds water in the long run.
Mike Outlaw(Blacklist) vs. Gary Jay(Submission Squad): I was really interested in seeing this matchup as it was a good test for the less-experienced Outlaw. Gary Jay has been traveling a lot in recent years and making waves in Beyond Wrestling as well as EVOLVE...he's one of the most deceptive-looking wrestlers as he's small by wrestling standards but hits HARD. This lived up to my expectations as they had a really good competitive matchup...there was one insane sequence where Gary hit two suicide dives in a row and went for a third, but Outlaw blocked him and gave him an overhead suplex into the chairs in the audience! Gary delivered a hiplock into a kneestrike, then followed up with the Michinoku Driver to win in 11:35. (Submission Squad 2-1, Blacklist 1-2) Cue post-match mutual respect.
Luke Langley(w/ Graham Bell) vs. Kody Krash: Saw these guys for the first time in a pre-show match at the most recent St. Louis Anarchy shows; Langley & Bell compete as the Kansas City Wolves. The fans knew nothing about any of these guys...if nothing else, it worked as a cooldown/breather match between two big competitive bouts on the show. Langley countered a tilt-a-whirl somethingorother into a small package for the flash pin in 4:54...then Tank Engine Thomas hit the ring to destroy all three men, yelling about how they stole his spot on the card. All righty then.
Steven Kennedy(Resurgence) vs. K.C. Karrington(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters), last-man-standing match: These two had a long history as V.I.P. and then The Ego Express, but Karrington left wrestling for a few years. When K.C. made his surprise return about a year ago, he turned on his best friend and partner; Kennedy won their first one-on-one meeting, but Karrington evened the score by stealing a fall on him in a four-corner match in October. They briefly crossed paths in the Season 2 finale, but Karrington was disqualified for bashing Kennedy with a chair and Kennedy had to leave the match due to injuries sustained from two of Karrington's piledrivers.
It didn't take long for this fight to get out of hand as they brawled out of the ring and Kennedy suplexed Karrington on the concrete floor(OUCH). Chairs came into play, then they brought in the timekeeper's table...they fought on the top rope and BOTH crashed through the table. The chairs were set up near the corner and K.C. tried to set up SSK on them, but SSK took him down from the turnbuckles with a Splash Mountain-style powerbomb onto the chairs! Karrington hit Kennedy with his own Assassination(double-underhook sitout faceplant, a la Angel's Wings) but it couldn't keep him down. K.C. followed up with the piledriver and THAT didn't work...neither did the SECOND piledriver as SSK kept getting up. Karrington set up a second table and took SSK to the top rope for the finishing blow, but Kennedy stopped him with a low blow(paying him back for a nut shot earlier in the bout). That set up Kennedy for a piledriver off the second rope to drive Karrington through the table! That was finally enough to end the match as Karrington stayed down for ten in 17:05...whew! (Resurgence 2-1, Ego Busters 1-2)
This show definitely delivered in a big way, especially with regards to the main matches I was anticipating(Dirden-Vega, Gary-Outlaw, Kennedy-Karrington). I've previously noted that I'm a sucker for adding meaning to wins and losses...it's a core part of PWCS since they keep track of the W/L records and build to the season finales. Good show, gentlemen.
My local comedian friend Landon Meyer had an extra ticket to WWE Raw at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis tonight, so I'll be attending my first WWE live event since March of 2011...to put that in perspective, The Miz was WWE Champion at that show. Yikes.
The rest of May looks like this:
-Saturday 5/7: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO (afternoon/Cinco De Mayo festival), Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Fenton, MO (evening); Stride Pro Wrestling in Marion, IL
-Saturday 5/14: World League Wrestling in Troy, MO (Ricky Steamboat appearing); Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance in St. Louis, MO; World Powerhouse Wrestling in Kampsville, IL
-Friday 5/20: St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL
-Saturday 5/21: St. Louis Anarchy in Alton, IL; Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Sunday 5/22: Wrestling Invades America in Swansea, IL
-Saturday 5/28: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in St. Louis, MO (Ready Room)
That's my special comment for this, the seventeenth wrestling show I've attended in the year 2016. Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
-PB, Watching Wrestling Wrong Since 1991
P.S. We are all marks.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
WWE Payback
-Dolph Ziggler d. Baron Corbin via rollup.
-Kalisto d. Ryback aftedr the Salida Del Sol(sitout Asai DDT) to retain the U.S. Title.
-Tag Team Contenders' Tournament Finals: The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch) d. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady; the match was stopped when Enzo was injured while being thrown out of the ring by Gotch. Tag Team Champions The New Day(Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods) watched the match from ringside.
-Kevin Owens d. Sami Zayn via pop-up powerbomb.
-Mike Mizanin(w/ Maryse Ouellet-Mizanin) d. Antonio Cesaro to retain the Intercontinental Title. Kevin Owens joined the commentary team after his match, but Sami Zayn returned to ringside to brawl with Owens. That distracted the referee from seeing Miz tap out to a Crippler Crossface and Cesaro knocked them both off the ring apron; Miz capitalized with a rollup and handful of tights for the cheap win. All four men fought afterwards and Owens was the last man standing with the I-C Title belt.
-Dean Ambrose d. Chris Jericho with the DIrty Deeds v2.0(double-underhook DDT).
-Charlotte Flair(w/ Ric Flair) d. Natalya Neidhart(w/ Bret Hart) to retain the Women's Title when referee Charles Robinson called for the bell as Charlotte had Natalya in the Sharpshooter. Bret and Natalya locked Ric and Charlotte in stereo Sharpshooters after the match.
-A.J. Styles d. WWE Champion Roman Reigns by countout after a springboard forearm to the floor, sending Reigns backwards through the broadcast table. However, Shane McMahon came out to restart the match as a no-countout bout.
-A.J. Styles d. WWE Champion Roman Reigns by DQ in a no-countout match when Reigns hit Styles as he jumped off the second rope, accidentally hitting him in the groin. That led to Stephanie McMahon ordering a restart as a no-DQ matchup.
-Roman Reigns d. A.J. Styles via spear to retain the WWE Title. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows interfered, which brought out Jimmy & Jey Uso to even the odds.
-Kalisto d. Ryback aftedr the Salida Del Sol(sitout Asai DDT) to retain the U.S. Title.
-Tag Team Contenders' Tournament Finals: The Vaudevillains(Aiden English & Simon Gotch) d. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady; the match was stopped when Enzo was injured while being thrown out of the ring by Gotch. Tag Team Champions The New Day(Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods) watched the match from ringside.
-Kevin Owens d. Sami Zayn via pop-up powerbomb.
-Mike Mizanin(w/ Maryse Ouellet-Mizanin) d. Antonio Cesaro to retain the Intercontinental Title. Kevin Owens joined the commentary team after his match, but Sami Zayn returned to ringside to brawl with Owens. That distracted the referee from seeing Miz tap out to a Crippler Crossface and Cesaro knocked them both off the ring apron; Miz capitalized with a rollup and handful of tights for the cheap win. All four men fought afterwards and Owens was the last man standing with the I-C Title belt.
-Dean Ambrose d. Chris Jericho with the DIrty Deeds v2.0(double-underhook DDT).
-Charlotte Flair(w/ Ric Flair) d. Natalya Neidhart(w/ Bret Hart) to retain the Women's Title when referee Charles Robinson called for the bell as Charlotte had Natalya in the Sharpshooter. Bret and Natalya locked Ric and Charlotte in stereo Sharpshooters after the match.
-A.J. Styles d. WWE Champion Roman Reigns by countout after a springboard forearm to the floor, sending Reigns backwards through the broadcast table. However, Shane McMahon came out to restart the match as a no-countout bout.
-A.J. Styles d. WWE Champion Roman Reigns by DQ in a no-countout match when Reigns hit Styles as he jumped off the second rope, accidentally hitting him in the groin. That led to Stephanie McMahon ordering a restart as a no-DQ matchup.
-Roman Reigns d. A.J. Styles via spear to retain the WWE Title. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows interfered, which brought out Jimmy & Jey Uso to even the odds.
Weekend wrestling
ROH TV
-Commentators: Kevin Kelly & Mr. Wrestling III.
-Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Moose, & IWGP Tag Team Champion Tomoaki Honma d. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Yujiro Takahashi, & Cody Hall when Moose pinned Hall after the spear (10:58 aired).
-IWGP NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) d. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows when Jay pinned Anderson after Mark's Froggy Bow (8:05 aired).
SICW Wrestling Explosion
-Commentators: Drew Abbenhaus & Herb Simmons.
-Promoter Herb Simmons interviewed Funk and Orton, only to be interrupted by Classic Champion Flash Flanagan. Flanagan said that he had planned to make a name for himself at the expense of the two legends...but then revealed that he wasn't cleared to compete due to a torn rotator cuff. He surrendered the title to Simmons, after which the promoter and the two legends mutually decided that the winner of the Terry Funk Title Tournament would become the new SICW Classic Wrestling Champion!
-Terry Funk Title Tournament Quarterfinal: Ron Powers d. Big Jim Hoffarth after a released German suplex.
-Terry Funk Title Tournament Quarterfinal: Ax Allwardt d. "Unstable" Dave Vaughn; Big Daddy entered separately from his two proteges. The manager claimed not to care about who won, but he distracted the referee after Vaughn delivered the spear. The distraction allowed Ax to knock out Vaughn with his chain behind the referee's back for the tainted win; Big Daddy fired Vaughn from his stable after the match.
-Terry Funk Title Tournament Quarterfinal: "The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas(w/ Travis Cook) d. "Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent via lariat.
3XW All Stars Of The Midwest Episode 44
-Commentators: Jeremy Jacobs & Commissioner Todd Countryman.
-Kevin Lee Davidson d. "Iceman" Howard Moritz after the corner cannonball (7:21).
-The Bayside Bruisers("The Bulletproof Tiger" Jaysin Strife & "The Retro Renegade" J.C. Slater) d. Devin Thomas & Adrian Alexander when Strife made a blind tag and rolled up Alexander with a handful of tights (10:11).
-Sentai d. Preston Maxwell with a crucifix pin (7:14).
-Brandon Espinosa d. "Chainsaw" Stephen M. King(w/ Skylar Pierce) when King accidentally knocked his manager off the ring apron, allowing Espy to capitalize with a flying knee strike for the win (13:32). Pierce bad-mouthed King for losing and King backed him into the corner, but "The Hoss Of The Highway" J.D. Riggs made the save and chokeslammed King.
-Commentators: Kevin Kelly & Mr. Wrestling III.
-Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Moose, & IWGP Tag Team Champion Tomoaki Honma d. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Yujiro Takahashi, & Cody Hall when Moose pinned Hall after the spear (10:58 aired).
-IWGP NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) d. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows when Jay pinned Anderson after Mark's Froggy Bow (8:05 aired).
SICW Wrestling Explosion
-Commentators: Drew Abbenhaus & Herb Simmons.
-Promoter Herb Simmons interviewed Funk and Orton, only to be interrupted by Classic Champion Flash Flanagan. Flanagan said that he had planned to make a name for himself at the expense of the two legends...but then revealed that he wasn't cleared to compete due to a torn rotator cuff. He surrendered the title to Simmons, after which the promoter and the two legends mutually decided that the winner of the Terry Funk Title Tournament would become the new SICW Classic Wrestling Champion!
-Terry Funk Title Tournament Quarterfinal: Ron Powers d. Big Jim Hoffarth after a released German suplex.
-Terry Funk Title Tournament Quarterfinal: Ax Allwardt d. "Unstable" Dave Vaughn; Big Daddy entered separately from his two proteges. The manager claimed not to care about who won, but he distracted the referee after Vaughn delivered the spear. The distraction allowed Ax to knock out Vaughn with his chain behind the referee's back for the tainted win; Big Daddy fired Vaughn from his stable after the match.
-Terry Funk Title Tournament Quarterfinal: "The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas(w/ Travis Cook) d. "Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent via lariat.
3XW All Stars Of The Midwest Episode 44
-Commentators: Jeremy Jacobs & Commissioner Todd Countryman.
-Kevin Lee Davidson d. "Iceman" Howard Moritz after the corner cannonball (7:21).
-The Bayside Bruisers("The Bulletproof Tiger" Jaysin Strife & "The Retro Renegade" J.C. Slater) d. Devin Thomas & Adrian Alexander when Strife made a blind tag and rolled up Alexander with a handful of tights (10:11).
-Sentai d. Preston Maxwell with a crucifix pin (7:14).
-Brandon Espinosa d. "Chainsaw" Stephen M. King(w/ Skylar Pierce) when King accidentally knocked his manager off the ring apron, allowing Espy to capitalize with a flying knee strike for the win (13:32). Pierce bad-mouthed King for losing and King backed him into the corner, but "The Hoss Of The Highway" J.D. Riggs made the save and chokeslammed King.
Saturday PWCS Results From Granite City, IL + Other Show Results
-Jojo Bravo(Blacklist) d. Austin Blackburn(Submission Squad)(w/ Evan Gelistico, Pierre Abernathy, & Everett Connors) with a modified backslide pin (7:24). (Blacklist 1-0, Submission Squad 0-1)
-Mat Fitchett & "Zesty" Zakk Sawyers(Resurgence) d. Adam Caster & "The Blue Chipper" Danny Adams(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters) when Sawyers pinned Adams after he and Fitchett hit a brainbuster/head kick combo (18:19). (Resurgence 1-0, Ego Busters 0-1)
-Paco Gonzalez(Resurgence) d. Justin D'Air with a Death Valley Driver (8:18).
-"Dirdey" Jake Dirden(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters) d. Davey Vega(Resurgence); Jovi distracted the referee and K.C. Karrington ran interference, allowing Dirden to deliver a chokeslam and throttle Vega to the mat with the Asiatic Spike for the pinfall (16:32). (Ego Busters 1-1, Resurgence 1-1) Fitchett & Sawyers made the post-match save.
-Evan Gelistico, Pierre Abernathy, & Everett Connors(Submission Squad) d. Makaze & The Viking War Party("American Viking" Alexandre Rudolph & "Littlest Viking" Jake Parnell)(Blacklist); Pierre wanted to play by the rules while the other two continued their rulebreaking ways. Pierre seemed to injure his knee late in the contest and Gary Jay and Austin Blackburn checked on him; while the referee was occupied with that situation, Gelistico stunned Makaze with a low blow and got him in a jackknife cradle as the referee turned around to count three (13:41). (Submission Squad 1-1, Blacklist 1-1)
-Gary Jay(w/ Austin Blackburn)(Submission Squad) d. Mike Outlaw(Blacklist) with the Michinoku Driver (11:35). (Submission Squad 2-1, Blacklist 1-2)
-Luke Langley(w/ Graham Bell) d. Kody Krash by countering a tilt-a-whirl slam into a small package pin (4:54). After the match, Tank Engine Thomas attacked all three men in the ring area.
-Steven Kennedy(Resurgence) d. K.C. Karrington(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters) in a last-man-standing match. Kennedy suplexed Karrington the floor, the two bashed each other with chairs, and both men crashed through a table from the top rope. Kennedy delivered a Splash Mountain Bomb on Karrington to drop him onto two set-up chairs. Kennedy incredibly survived two piledrivers and K.C. attempted a move off the top rope onto a second table, but Kennedy delivered a low blow and piledrove Karrington off the turnbuckles and through the table! K.C. was unable to answer the ten-count after that, giving the win to Kennedy (17:05)! (Resurgence 2-1, Ego Busters 1-2)
-Scoreboard at the end of Season 3 Stage 1: Resurgence 2-1, Submission Squad 2-1, Ego Busters 1-2, Blacklist 1-2.
-----
Saturday SICW results from Millstadt, IL (credit to Drew Abbenhaus):
-"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson & Moondog Rover d. "Volatile" Curtis Wylde & "The Enforcer" Jimmy D(w/ Wyldefyre) when Rover pinned D (13:52).
-"Ironman" Ken Kasa d. "The Show" Chris Adams (5:07).
-Britton Tucker d. "Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner (8:37).
-"Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent d. "Unstable" Dave Vaughn (8:21).
-Ax Allwardt(w/ Big Daddy) d. "The Fury" Jason Vaughn (8:49).
-Brandon Espinosa & "The Icon" Chris Hargas(w/ Travis Cook) d. Big Jim Hoffarth & Bobby D (12:35).
-"The Dwarf Destroyer" Little Kato d. "Ladies' Man" Beautiful Bobby Dean (9:55).
-Ron Powers d. Bubba Troll(w/ Big Daddy) by DQ when Kamala Jr. interfered (3:30).
Saturday ROH results from West Warwick, RI:
-Taeler Hendrix d. Sumie Sakai.
-Dalton Castle d. Kongo.
-Donovan Dijak d. Joey Daddiego.
-Lio Rush d. Christopher Daniels by DQ.
-Moose & Lio Rush d. The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian).
-Jay Lethal d. Vinny Marseglia to retain the Heavyweight Title.
-Veda Scott won a triple threat match with Mandy Leon and Jenny Rose.
-Silas Young d. Delirious.
-The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) d. The All Night Express(Kenny King & Rhett Titus).
-A.C.H. d. Kamaitachi.
-The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) won a triple threat match with reDRagon(Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) and The Motor City Machineguns(Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley).
Saturday NBW results from Sedalia, MO (credit to Brian Kelley):
-NWA Missouri Champion Evan Morris d. Mark Sterling (10:44).
-Superstar Steve Fender won a triple threat match with John E. Rock and Karim Brigante (14:33).
-"Miss Natural" Heather Patera & Stacey O'Brien d. Lucy Mendez & Miss Monica Passeri (11:58).
-Cousin Gator vs. The Math Magician ended in a time-limit draw (10:00).
-Ricky Cruz d. Leland Race by DQ to retain the MWR Missouri Title (7:53).
-MWR Missouri Champion Ricy Cruz & Leland Race d. Superstar Steve Fender & NWA Missouri Champion Evan Morris (14:22).
Saturday GEW results from Camdenton, MO:
-Jack Gamble won an eleven-man Royal Rumble. Entries: Gamble, Kiyoshi Shizuka, Elvis Aliaga, Jon Webb, Mike Sydal, Brandon Aarons, Dave DeLorean, Shorty Biggs, Jayden Fenix, Outtkast, and Michael Magnuson. Eliminations: Shizuka, Webb, Sydal, Outtkast, Webb, Aarons, Fenix, Shorty, Magnuson, and DeLorean (11:58).
-Mike Sydal d. Kiyoshi Shizuka via Yogasault(yoga-mat moonsault) (11:17).
-Dave DeLorean d. Jon Webb after an F-5 (12:05).
-Brandon Aarons & Elvis Aliaga d. The Bumrush Brothers(Shorty Biggs & Outtkast) when Aliaga pinned Shorty after a low blow (20:21).
-Jayden Fenix d. Michael Magnuson by DQ when Magnuson hit Fenix with brass knuckles (8:48).
-Brian Breaker d. Jack Gamble via rollup to retain the UWE U.S. Title (15:53).
Sunday IWA-MS results from Clarksville, IN:
-J.J. Garrett won a triple threat match with Jake Parnell and Teddy King.
-Spyder Nate Webb & Randi West d. Joseph Schwartz & Thunderkitty.
-Alexandre Rudolph d. Ray Waddell.
-Derek Neal d. J.C. Rotten.
-Zicky Dice d. Jorge Bravo.
-Aidan Blackhart d. Shad O'Satu.
-John Wayne Murdoch d. Matt Cage.
-Reed Bentley d. Kongo Kong to win the Heavyweight Title; John Wayne Murdoch was the referee.
-Mat Fitchett & "Zesty" Zakk Sawyers(Resurgence) d. Adam Caster & "The Blue Chipper" Danny Adams(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters) when Sawyers pinned Adams after he and Fitchett hit a brainbuster/head kick combo (18:19). (Resurgence 1-0, Ego Busters 0-1)
-Paco Gonzalez(Resurgence) d. Justin D'Air with a Death Valley Driver (8:18).
-"Dirdey" Jake Dirden(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters) d. Davey Vega(Resurgence); Jovi distracted the referee and K.C. Karrington ran interference, allowing Dirden to deliver a chokeslam and throttle Vega to the mat with the Asiatic Spike for the pinfall (16:32). (Ego Busters 1-1, Resurgence 1-1) Fitchett & Sawyers made the post-match save.
-Evan Gelistico, Pierre Abernathy, & Everett Connors(Submission Squad) d. Makaze & The Viking War Party("American Viking" Alexandre Rudolph & "Littlest Viking" Jake Parnell)(Blacklist); Pierre wanted to play by the rules while the other two continued their rulebreaking ways. Pierre seemed to injure his knee late in the contest and Gary Jay and Austin Blackburn checked on him; while the referee was occupied with that situation, Gelistico stunned Makaze with a low blow and got him in a jackknife cradle as the referee turned around to count three (13:41). (Submission Squad 1-1, Blacklist 1-1)
-Gary Jay(w/ Austin Blackburn)(Submission Squad) d. Mike Outlaw(Blacklist) with the Michinoku Driver (11:35). (Submission Squad 2-1, Blacklist 1-2)
-Luke Langley(w/ Graham Bell) d. Kody Krash by countering a tilt-a-whirl slam into a small package pin (4:54). After the match, Tank Engine Thomas attacked all three men in the ring area.
-Steven Kennedy(Resurgence) d. K.C. Karrington(w/ Greg Jovi)(Ego Busters) in a last-man-standing match. Kennedy suplexed Karrington the floor, the two bashed each other with chairs, and both men crashed through a table from the top rope. Kennedy delivered a Splash Mountain Bomb on Karrington to drop him onto two set-up chairs. Kennedy incredibly survived two piledrivers and K.C. attempted a move off the top rope onto a second table, but Kennedy delivered a low blow and piledrove Karrington off the turnbuckles and through the table! K.C. was unable to answer the ten-count after that, giving the win to Kennedy (17:05)! (Resurgence 2-1, Ego Busters 1-2)
-Scoreboard at the end of Season 3 Stage 1: Resurgence 2-1, Submission Squad 2-1, Ego Busters 1-2, Blacklist 1-2.
-----
Saturday SICW results from Millstadt, IL (credit to Drew Abbenhaus):
-"Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson & Moondog Rover d. "Volatile" Curtis Wylde & "The Enforcer" Jimmy D(w/ Wyldefyre) when Rover pinned D (13:52).
-"Ironman" Ken Kasa d. "The Show" Chris Adams (5:07).
-Britton Tucker d. "Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner (8:37).
-"Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent d. "Unstable" Dave Vaughn (8:21).
-Ax Allwardt(w/ Big Daddy) d. "The Fury" Jason Vaughn (8:49).
-Brandon Espinosa & "The Icon" Chris Hargas(w/ Travis Cook) d. Big Jim Hoffarth & Bobby D (12:35).
-"The Dwarf Destroyer" Little Kato d. "Ladies' Man" Beautiful Bobby Dean (9:55).
-Ron Powers d. Bubba Troll(w/ Big Daddy) by DQ when Kamala Jr. interfered (3:30).
Saturday ROH results from West Warwick, RI:
-Taeler Hendrix d. Sumie Sakai.
-Dalton Castle d. Kongo.
-Donovan Dijak d. Joey Daddiego.
-Lio Rush d. Christopher Daniels by DQ.
-Moose & Lio Rush d. The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian).
-Jay Lethal d. Vinny Marseglia to retain the Heavyweight Title.
-Veda Scott won a triple threat match with Mandy Leon and Jenny Rose.
-Silas Young d. Delirious.
-The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) d. The All Night Express(Kenny King & Rhett Titus).
-A.C.H. d. Kamaitachi.
-The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark) won a triple threat match with reDRagon(Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) and The Motor City Machineguns(Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley).
Saturday NBW results from Sedalia, MO (credit to Brian Kelley):
-NWA Missouri Champion Evan Morris d. Mark Sterling (10:44).
-Superstar Steve Fender won a triple threat match with John E. Rock and Karim Brigante (14:33).
-"Miss Natural" Heather Patera & Stacey O'Brien d. Lucy Mendez & Miss Monica Passeri (11:58).
-Cousin Gator vs. The Math Magician ended in a time-limit draw (10:00).
-Ricky Cruz d. Leland Race by DQ to retain the MWR Missouri Title (7:53).
-MWR Missouri Champion Ricy Cruz & Leland Race d. Superstar Steve Fender & NWA Missouri Champion Evan Morris (14:22).
Saturday GEW results from Camdenton, MO:
-Jack Gamble won an eleven-man Royal Rumble. Entries: Gamble, Kiyoshi Shizuka, Elvis Aliaga, Jon Webb, Mike Sydal, Brandon Aarons, Dave DeLorean, Shorty Biggs, Jayden Fenix, Outtkast, and Michael Magnuson. Eliminations: Shizuka, Webb, Sydal, Outtkast, Webb, Aarons, Fenix, Shorty, Magnuson, and DeLorean (11:58).
-Mike Sydal d. Kiyoshi Shizuka via Yogasault(yoga-mat moonsault) (11:17).
-Dave DeLorean d. Jon Webb after an F-5 (12:05).
-Brandon Aarons & Elvis Aliaga d. The Bumrush Brothers(Shorty Biggs & Outtkast) when Aliaga pinned Shorty after a low blow (20:21).
-Jayden Fenix d. Michael Magnuson by DQ when Magnuson hit Fenix with brass knuckles (8:48).
-Brian Breaker d. Jack Gamble via rollup to retain the UWE U.S. Title (15:53).
Sunday IWA-MS results from Clarksville, IN:
-J.J. Garrett won a triple threat match with Jake Parnell and Teddy King.
-Spyder Nate Webb & Randi West d. Joseph Schwartz & Thunderkitty.
-Alexandre Rudolph d. Ray Waddell.
-Derek Neal d. J.C. Rotten.
-Zicky Dice d. Jorge Bravo.
-Aidan Blackhart d. Shad O'Satu.
-John Wayne Murdoch d. Matt Cage.
-Reed Bentley d. Kongo Kong to win the Heavyweight Title; John Wayne Murdoch was the referee.
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