WWE Superstars
-Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, & Jimmy Uso.
-Antonio Cesaro d. Bo Dallas with the Sharpshooter(in a nod to injured tag partner Tyson Kidd) (4:56).
-Luke Harper & Erick Rowan won a triple threat match with The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor) and Los Matadores(Fernando & Diego)(w/ El Torito) when Harper pinned Diego after The Way(3-D) (7:28 aired).
ROH TV
-Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino, & Nigel McGuinness.
-Shinsuke Nakamura d. Roderick Strong with the Boma Ye(flying knee strike) (11:35 aired).
-"Unbreakable" Michael Elgin d. Gedo with the spiral bomb (4:45).
-A.J. Styles & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson)(w/ Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) d. "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada & Roppongi Vice(Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta) when Styles pinned Beretta after a triple-team flurry ending in the Styles Clash (14:50 aired).
SICW Wrestling Explosion
-Commentators: Drew Abbenhaus & Patrick Brandmeyer.
-"Dirdey" Jake Dirden, Bobby D, & "Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner d. "The Elitist" Brandon Espinosa, "Volatile" Curtis Wylde, & Bubba Troll(w/ Wyldefyre) when Wyldefyre accidentally tripped her own man, leading to Bobby D pinning Wylde after a Pedigree.
-Promoter Herb Simmons interviewed Barbara Goodish and Stan "The Lariat" Hansen about the Wrestling At The Chase anniversary show and the Bruiser Brody Memorial.
-"Queen Of Chaos" Lucy Mendez d. Paloma Starr after a hanging DDT.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Saturday SICW Results From East Carondelet, IL
-The show started with a ten-bell salute to Dusty Rhodes & Tommy Rogers.
-Travis Cook(w/ Chris Hargas & Bull Bronson) gloated about the fact that Red River Jack had not shown up at the building yet...this brought out Director Of Affairs Cowboy Bob Orton to argue with Cook. Ron Powers wasn't far behind, followed by Big Daddy and...Red River Jack? Travis Cook's Organization retreated at that point...I'm not sure who was under the mask, but it obviously wasn't Ron Powers...
-Keith Smith Jr. fought Ax Allwardt to a time-limit draw; Keith got Ax in the figure-four leglock but the time expired before Ax could submit (10:00).
-Bubba Troll d. "Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner with a sitout Tombstone (5:23).
-"The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas d. "Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson with a guillotine hold when Jackson passed out in the hold rather than submit or tap out (9:04). Travis Cook came out to ringside to scout the match.
-"Volatile" Curtis Wylde(w/ Wyldefyre) d. "Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent; Wyldefyre distracted the referee when Vincent got Wylde in the Mapleleaf Leglock, then hit Vincent with a cheapshot while occupying the ref with a hug. That gave Wylde the opening to win with a Flatliner (8:12).
-Brandon Espinosa d. Farmer Billy Hills via cross-armbreaker (8:53).
-Heath Hatton d. Denzell Vance(w/ Travis Cook) after a spear and layout DDT (0:46).
-"The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz fought Attila Khan(w/ Travis Cook) to a double countout after both men used chairs and Khan's fork against each other (4:16).
-Flash Flanagan d. "The Old School Warrior" Chaz Wesson to retain the Classic Title; Flash pushed the referee into the ropes to trip up Wesson on the turnbuckles, leading to Flanagan hitting a hanging DDT for the win (10:18).
-Ron Powers & Red River Jack d. "The Icon" Chris Hargas & Bull Bronson(w/ Travis Cook); Kahagas attacked RRJ with a kendo stick near the end of the match, but Powers got the pin on Hargas after an RKO (11:43).
-Travis Cook(w/ Chris Hargas & Bull Bronson) gloated about the fact that Red River Jack had not shown up at the building yet...this brought out Director Of Affairs Cowboy Bob Orton to argue with Cook. Ron Powers wasn't far behind, followed by Big Daddy and...Red River Jack? Travis Cook's Organization retreated at that point...I'm not sure who was under the mask, but it obviously wasn't Ron Powers...
-Keith Smith Jr. fought Ax Allwardt to a time-limit draw; Keith got Ax in the figure-four leglock but the time expired before Ax could submit (10:00).
-Bubba Troll d. "Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner with a sitout Tombstone (5:23).
-"The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas d. "Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One" Gary Jackson with a guillotine hold when Jackson passed out in the hold rather than submit or tap out (9:04). Travis Cook came out to ringside to scout the match.
-"Volatile" Curtis Wylde(w/ Wyldefyre) d. "Your Canadian Hero" Sean Vincent; Wyldefyre distracted the referee when Vincent got Wylde in the Mapleleaf Leglock, then hit Vincent with a cheapshot while occupying the ref with a hug. That gave Wylde the opening to win with a Flatliner (8:12).
-Brandon Espinosa d. Farmer Billy Hills via cross-armbreaker (8:53).
-Heath Hatton d. Denzell Vance(w/ Travis Cook) after a spear and layout DDT (0:46).
-"The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz fought Attila Khan(w/ Travis Cook) to a double countout after both men used chairs and Khan's fork against each other (4:16).
-Flash Flanagan d. "The Old School Warrior" Chaz Wesson to retain the Classic Title; Flash pushed the referee into the ropes to trip up Wesson on the turnbuckles, leading to Flanagan hitting a hanging DDT for the win (10:18).
-Ron Powers & Red River Jack d. "The Icon" Chris Hargas & Bull Bronson(w/ Travis Cook); Kahagas attacked RRJ with a kendo stick near the end of the match, but Powers got the pin on Hargas after an RKO (11:43).
Friday, June 19, 2015
Friday DPW Results From Glen Carbon, IL + Other Show Results
-Keith Smith Jr. d. Austin Blackburn after a discus lariat (3:33).
-Tag Team Champion(?) Jayden Fenix(w/ Travis Cook) d. Jackal with a sitout powerbomb (7:08).
-"The Elitist" Brandon Espinosa & "The Filipino Warrior" Elvis Aliaga d. The Bumrush Brothers("The Don Mega" Shorty Biggs & Outtkast) when Espinosa low-blowed Outtkast and rolled him up with a handful of tights (10:23).
-"The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz d. "The Madman" Paco Gonzalez with the Chaotic Clutch(modified Anaconda Vice) to retain the IWRG Rey De Ring Title (10:00).
-Brandon Aarons d. Shawn Santel(w/ Mauler McDarby) by DQ when McDarby shoved Aarons off the top rope (2:32). Evan Morris made the save, setting up an impromptu tag match.
-Brandon Aarons & "Young & Dangerous" Evan Morris d. The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby) when Aarons pinned Santel after he and Morris hit stereo close-range superkicks (5:30).
-Rocket Mapache d. "The Millenial" Danny Adams via small package (8:01).
-"The Irish Luchador" Billy McNeil d. "The Freestyle Phenom" Jay Howard after a top-rope splash (9:20).
-Heavyweight Champion "Dirdey" Jake Dirden & Tag Team Champions The Black Hand Warriors(Michael Magnuson & Dave DeLorean)(w/ Travis Cook) d. Mike Outlaw, Justin D'Air, & Keon Option. Outlaw's team cleaned house in the early going as Option speared Magnuson through the ropes and into Dirden at ringside, then Outlaw delivered a somersault plancha and D'Air launched himself into a somersault dive off the top rope onto all three opponents. Travis Cook's trio isolated Option for several minutes, then D'Air, but Outlaw finally got in and his team took over. Option hit Dirden with Paydirt and D'Air followed up with a 450 Splash, but Magnuson & DeLorean re-entered the fray and dropped Outlaw with a 3-D. D'Air and Option took the Warriors out of the game and left Outlaw alone with Dirden...Outlaw hit the High Noon(top-rope elbowdrop) on Dirden but Travis Cook distracted the referee, leading Outlaw to knock him off the ring apron. However, the distraction allowed Dirden to recover and chokeslam Outlaw, then cover for the pin(as Travis knocked Outlaw's foot off the bottom rope) (20:18).
-----
Friday ROH results from New York, NY:
-Mark Briscoe d. Donovan Dijak.
-B.J. Whitmer & Adam Page d. Matt Sydal & A.C.H.
-Dalton Castle d. Silas Young.
-War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe) d. The C&C Wrestle Factory(Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman).
-Roderick Strong won a triple threat match with Michael Elgin and Moose.
-A.J. Styles & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) d. Adam Cole, Michael Bennett, & Matt Taven.
-The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) d. reDRagon(Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) in a tornado tag match to retain the Tag Team Titles.
-T.V. Champion Jay Lethal d. Jay Briscoe to win the Heavyweight Title.
Friday AAW results from Merrionette Park, IL:
-The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) d. Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett.
-Allysin Kay d. Candice LeRae.
-Tyson Dux d. Shane Hollister.
-Matt Cage won a five-way match with Heidi Lovelace, Brett Gakiya, C.J. Esparza, and Markus Crane.
-Tommaso Ciampa d. Eddie Kingston.
-Johnny Gargano d. D.J. Shiima Xion.
-Louis Lyndon d. Christian Faith to win the Heritage Title.
-Ohio Is 4 Killers(Jake & Dave Crist) d. The Monster Mafia(Heavyweight Champion Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) to retain the Tag Team Titles.
Saturday ROH results from New York, NY:
-Nuclear Casserole(? & ?) d. A.R. Fox & Ken Phoenix.
-Dalton Castle d. Takaaki Watanabe.
-Michael Elgin & reDRagon(Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) d. Adam Cole, Michael Bennett, & Matt Taven.
-Matt Sydal d. Adam Page.
-Will Ferrara d. Silas Young.
-Heavyweight Champion Jay Lethal d. Mark Briscoe to retain the T.V. Title.
-A.J. Styles(subbing mid-match for Nick Jackson) & Matt Jackson d. War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe).
-Cedric Alexander d. The Romantic Touch.
-Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole ended in a no-contest.
-Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly d. Tag Team Champions The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) in a non-title match.
-Michael Bennett & Matt Taven d. Jonathan Gresham & Corey Hollis.
-Moose won a six-way match with Caprice Coleman, Silas Young, Dalton Castle, Cheeseburger, and Brutal Bob Evans.
-Bobby Fish d. A.C.H.
-The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark), Roderick Strong, & O.D.B. d. Heavyweight/T.V. Champion Jay Lethal, Donovan Dijak, J. Diesel, & Truth Martini.
-A.J. Styles & Samoa Joe d. Tag Team Champions The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) in a non-title match.
Other shows:
-Saturday AAW Vanguard in Berwyn, IL
-Tag Team Champion(?) Jayden Fenix(w/ Travis Cook) d. Jackal with a sitout powerbomb (7:08).
-"The Elitist" Brandon Espinosa & "The Filipino Warrior" Elvis Aliaga d. The Bumrush Brothers("The Don Mega" Shorty Biggs & Outtkast) when Espinosa low-blowed Outtkast and rolled him up with a handful of tights (10:23).
-"The King Of Chaos" Ricky Cruz d. "The Madman" Paco Gonzalez with the Chaotic Clutch(modified Anaconda Vice) to retain the IWRG Rey De Ring Title (10:00).
-Brandon Aarons d. Shawn Santel(w/ Mauler McDarby) by DQ when McDarby shoved Aarons off the top rope (2:32). Evan Morris made the save, setting up an impromptu tag match.
-Brandon Aarons & "Young & Dangerous" Evan Morris d. The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby) when Aarons pinned Santel after he and Morris hit stereo close-range superkicks (5:30).
-Rocket Mapache d. "The Millenial" Danny Adams via small package (8:01).
-"The Irish Luchador" Billy McNeil d. "The Freestyle Phenom" Jay Howard after a top-rope splash (9:20).
-Heavyweight Champion "Dirdey" Jake Dirden & Tag Team Champions The Black Hand Warriors(Michael Magnuson & Dave DeLorean)(w/ Travis Cook) d. Mike Outlaw, Justin D'Air, & Keon Option. Outlaw's team cleaned house in the early going as Option speared Magnuson through the ropes and into Dirden at ringside, then Outlaw delivered a somersault plancha and D'Air launched himself into a somersault dive off the top rope onto all three opponents. Travis Cook's trio isolated Option for several minutes, then D'Air, but Outlaw finally got in and his team took over. Option hit Dirden with Paydirt and D'Air followed up with a 450 Splash, but Magnuson & DeLorean re-entered the fray and dropped Outlaw with a 3-D. D'Air and Option took the Warriors out of the game and left Outlaw alone with Dirden...Outlaw hit the High Noon(top-rope elbowdrop) on Dirden but Travis Cook distracted the referee, leading Outlaw to knock him off the ring apron. However, the distraction allowed Dirden to recover and chokeslam Outlaw, then cover for the pin(as Travis knocked Outlaw's foot off the bottom rope) (20:18).
-----
Friday ROH results from New York, NY:
-Mark Briscoe d. Donovan Dijak.
-B.J. Whitmer & Adam Page d. Matt Sydal & A.C.H.
-Dalton Castle d. Silas Young.
-War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe) d. The C&C Wrestle Factory(Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman).
-Roderick Strong won a triple threat match with Michael Elgin and Moose.
-A.J. Styles & The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson) d. Adam Cole, Michael Bennett, & Matt Taven.
-The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) d. reDRagon(Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) in a tornado tag match to retain the Tag Team Titles.
-T.V. Champion Jay Lethal d. Jay Briscoe to win the Heavyweight Title.
Friday AAW results from Merrionette Park, IL:
-The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter) d. Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett.
-Allysin Kay d. Candice LeRae.
-Tyson Dux d. Shane Hollister.
-Matt Cage won a five-way match with Heidi Lovelace, Brett Gakiya, C.J. Esparza, and Markus Crane.
-Tommaso Ciampa d. Eddie Kingston.
-Johnny Gargano d. D.J. Shiima Xion.
-Louis Lyndon d. Christian Faith to win the Heritage Title.
-Ohio Is 4 Killers(Jake & Dave Crist) d. The Monster Mafia(Heavyweight Champion Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) to retain the Tag Team Titles.
Saturday ROH results from New York, NY:
-Nuclear Casserole(? & ?) d. A.R. Fox & Ken Phoenix.
-Dalton Castle d. Takaaki Watanabe.
-Michael Elgin & reDRagon(Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) d. Adam Cole, Michael Bennett, & Matt Taven.
-Matt Sydal d. Adam Page.
-Will Ferrara d. Silas Young.
-Heavyweight Champion Jay Lethal d. Mark Briscoe to retain the T.V. Title.
-A.J. Styles(subbing mid-match for Nick Jackson) & Matt Jackson d. War Machine(Todd Hanson & Raymond Rowe).
-Cedric Alexander d. The Romantic Touch.
-Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole ended in a no-contest.
-Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly d. Tag Team Champions The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) in a non-title match.
-Michael Bennett & Matt Taven d. Jonathan Gresham & Corey Hollis.
-Moose won a six-way match with Caprice Coleman, Silas Young, Dalton Castle, Cheeseburger, and Brutal Bob Evans.
-Bobby Fish d. A.C.H.
-The Briscoe Brothers(Jay & Mark), Roderick Strong, & O.D.B. d. Heavyweight/T.V. Champion Jay Lethal, Donovan Dijak, J. Diesel, & Truth Martini.
-A.J. Styles & Samoa Joe d. Tag Team Champions The Addiction(Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) in a non-title match.
Other shows:
-Saturday AAW Vanguard in Berwyn, IL
Wrestling flood
WWE Main Event
-Commentators: Rich Brennan, John Bradshaw Layfield, & Jimmy Uso.
-Tag Team Champions The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) d. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor)(non-title) when Young pinned Viktor after the Gut Check(fireman's-carry double-knee gutbuster (5:00 aired).
-King Wade "Bad News" Barrett d. Heath Slater when Heath jumped off the top rope into the Royal Bullhammer (3:11). "R-Truth" Ron Killings came out in his own "kingly garb" to make some decrees.
-Naomi Night(w/ Tamina Snuka) d. Summer Rae with a leg-over-head bow-and-arrow hold (4:48).
-Intercontinental Champion Ryback d. Adam Rose(w/ Rosa Mendes)(non-title) via Shellshock (4:60); Mike Mizanin did commentary.
Lucha Underground Episode 32
Commentators: Matt Striker & Vampiro.
Prince Puma d. Johnny Mundo in a No-Countout-No-DQ Ironman Match to retain the LU Title. Falls: Puma pinned Mundo with a victory roll (5:10 aired, Puma 1-0). Mundo evened the score with a bridging O'Connor Roll while holding the ropes (9:11, 1-1 tie). Mundo took advantage of the no-DQ environment and took the lead after hitting Puma in the head with a crowbar (13:39 aired, Mundo 2-1). Mundo hit the Moonlight Drive(flippy neckbreaker) for another quick fall (14:12 aired, Mundo 3-1). Mundo followed up with a Flying Chuck Kick and Fin Del Mundo(corkscrew split-legged moonsault) for another pin (15:08 aired, Mundo 4-1). A ladder and tables came into play as Mundo attempted to stall out the clock. Puma pursued him to the upper deck and bashed him with a guitar, then speared him off the platform and they both fell through a four-table setup!
Puma pulled the bloody Mundo back to the ring and pinned him (27:47 aired, Mundo 4-2). Puma hit an offensive flurry, ending in an inverted suplex lifted into a sitout Tombstone for another fall (29:30 aired, Mundo 4-3). Mundo tried to stall out the clock again by running away, but Alberto El Patrón stopped him from getting away. Alberto kicked him down the stairs of the temple before ramming him into the broadcast table and DDTing him on the floor. Alberto threw Mundo back into the ring and Puma hit a springboard 450 to even the score (33:32 aired, 4-4 tie). Alberto vowed to challenge for the title regardless of who held it after this match, sending the bout into the home stretch. Puma hit the 630 Splash for the final fall in the closing seconds of the match (37:47 aired, Puma 5-4). (37:57 aired, Puma wins 5-4).
TNA XPlosion(from 4/16)
-Commentators: Jeremy Borash & Rockstar Spud.
-Samuel Shaw d. Tommy "Crimson" Mercer with the head-and-arm guillotine hold (7:52 aired).
TNA Impact
-Commentators: Josh Mathews & "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero.
-Mike Tenay officiated the contract signing for the championship match between Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and Ethan Carter III(w/ Tyrus Clay). It was announced that each man would have a tune-up match set up by the other wrestler...Angle chose Bobby Lashley to face EC3.
-Eddie Edwards(w/ Davey Richards) d. Bobby Roode; Aries tried to throw a chair into the ring, but Eddie cut him off and Davey took it away. That allowed Edwards to roll up Roode for the win (8:21).
-Bram Cameron d. Joseph Park in a no-DQ match after spearing him through a table in the corner (3:48).
-Amazing Kong & Brooke Tessmacher d. The Dollhouse(Mia "Jade" Yim & Marti Belle)(w/ Women's Champion Taryn Terrell) when Brooke pinned Marti after an elbowdrop off Kong's shoulders (6:25).
-Jessie Godderz d. D.J. Shiima Xion with the Adonis Crab (1:42). Robbie Eckos returned to save Xion from a post-match attack.
-Ethan Carter III(w/ Tyrus Clay) d. Bobby Lashley after a lot of shenanigans involving Tyrus and a chair; the referee was knocked down and Tyrus elbowdropped Lashley after he speared EC3. A second referee ran in to count two, so Tyrus attacked THAT official and dropped Lashley with the Big Ending. That brought out a third ref to count two, so Tyrus nailed HIM. EC3 hit Lashley in the back with a chair and followed up with the One-Percenter(headlock driver) as the original ref counted three (9:29).
-Next week: Low-Ki vs. Tigre Uno vs. Grado for the vacant X-Division Title, plus EC3 picks Angle's opponent, American Wolves vs. Dirty Heels in match four of the best-of-five series(Full Metal Mayhem), and Sgt. Chris Melendez vs. Eric Young.
WWE Smackdown
-Commentators: Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler, & Byron Saxton.
-Sheamus O'Shaunessy & Kane d. Dean Ambrose by DQ in a handicap match when Roman Reigns ran in to help Ambrose (1:28).
-Brie Bella d. Paige Knight when Alicia Fox shoved Paige off the top rope behind the referee's back, allowing Brie to win with the Bella Buster(X-Factor) (3:52 aired).
-Dolph Ziggler(w/ Lana Perry) d. Bo Dallas with the Zigzag (1:12).
-"The Man That Gravity Forgot" Adrian Neville d. Xavier Woods(w/ Big E Langston & Kofi Kingston) with the Red Arrow(corkscrew shooting star press) (2:47); Tag Team Champions The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) came out to offest the presence of Big E & Kofi at ringside.
-NXT Champion Kevin Owens d. Antonio Cesaro(non-title) with the pop-up powerbomb (6:56 aired).
-Sheamus O'Shaunessy & Kane d. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose; Reigns had Sheamus set up for the spear, but Bray Wyatt popped up on the TitanTron with the photo of Reigns and his daughter from Raw. The distraction allowed Sheamus to hit Reigns with the Brogue Kick for the win (9:23 aired).
-Commentators: Rich Brennan, John Bradshaw Layfield, & Jimmy Uso.
-Tag Team Champions The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) d. The Ascension(Konnor O'Brian & Rick Viktor)(non-title) when Young pinned Viktor after the Gut Check(fireman's-carry double-knee gutbuster (5:00 aired).
-King Wade "Bad News" Barrett d. Heath Slater when Heath jumped off the top rope into the Royal Bullhammer (3:11). "R-Truth" Ron Killings came out in his own "kingly garb" to make some decrees.
-Naomi Night(w/ Tamina Snuka) d. Summer Rae with a leg-over-head bow-and-arrow hold (4:48).
-Intercontinental Champion Ryback d. Adam Rose(w/ Rosa Mendes)(non-title) via Shellshock (4:60); Mike Mizanin did commentary.
Lucha Underground Episode 32
Commentators: Matt Striker & Vampiro.
Prince Puma d. Johnny Mundo in a No-Countout-No-DQ Ironman Match to retain the LU Title. Falls: Puma pinned Mundo with a victory roll (5:10 aired, Puma 1-0). Mundo evened the score with a bridging O'Connor Roll while holding the ropes (9:11, 1-1 tie). Mundo took advantage of the no-DQ environment and took the lead after hitting Puma in the head with a crowbar (13:39 aired, Mundo 2-1). Mundo hit the Moonlight Drive(flippy neckbreaker) for another quick fall (14:12 aired, Mundo 3-1). Mundo followed up with a Flying Chuck Kick and Fin Del Mundo(corkscrew split-legged moonsault) for another pin (15:08 aired, Mundo 4-1). A ladder and tables came into play as Mundo attempted to stall out the clock. Puma pursued him to the upper deck and bashed him with a guitar, then speared him off the platform and they both fell through a four-table setup!
Puma pulled the bloody Mundo back to the ring and pinned him (27:47 aired, Mundo 4-2). Puma hit an offensive flurry, ending in an inverted suplex lifted into a sitout Tombstone for another fall (29:30 aired, Mundo 4-3). Mundo tried to stall out the clock again by running away, but Alberto El Patrón stopped him from getting away. Alberto kicked him down the stairs of the temple before ramming him into the broadcast table and DDTing him on the floor. Alberto threw Mundo back into the ring and Puma hit a springboard 450 to even the score (33:32 aired, 4-4 tie). Alberto vowed to challenge for the title regardless of who held it after this match, sending the bout into the home stretch. Puma hit the 630 Splash for the final fall in the closing seconds of the match (37:47 aired, Puma 5-4). (37:57 aired, Puma wins 5-4).
TNA XPlosion(from 4/16)
-Commentators: Jeremy Borash & Rockstar Spud.
-Samuel Shaw d. Tommy "Crimson" Mercer with the head-and-arm guillotine hold (7:52 aired).
TNA Impact
-Commentators: Josh Mathews & "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero.
-Mike Tenay officiated the contract signing for the championship match between Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and Ethan Carter III(w/ Tyrus Clay). It was announced that each man would have a tune-up match set up by the other wrestler...Angle chose Bobby Lashley to face EC3.
-Eddie Edwards(w/ Davey Richards) d. Bobby Roode; Aries tried to throw a chair into the ring, but Eddie cut him off and Davey took it away. That allowed Edwards to roll up Roode for the win (8:21).
-Bram Cameron d. Joseph Park in a no-DQ match after spearing him through a table in the corner (3:48).
-Amazing Kong & Brooke Tessmacher d. The Dollhouse(Mia "Jade" Yim & Marti Belle)(w/ Women's Champion Taryn Terrell) when Brooke pinned Marti after an elbowdrop off Kong's shoulders (6:25).
-Jessie Godderz d. D.J. Shiima Xion with the Adonis Crab (1:42). Robbie Eckos returned to save Xion from a post-match attack.
-Ethan Carter III(w/ Tyrus Clay) d. Bobby Lashley after a lot of shenanigans involving Tyrus and a chair; the referee was knocked down and Tyrus elbowdropped Lashley after he speared EC3. A second referee ran in to count two, so Tyrus attacked THAT official and dropped Lashley with the Big Ending. That brought out a third ref to count two, so Tyrus nailed HIM. EC3 hit Lashley in the back with a chair and followed up with the One-Percenter(headlock driver) as the original ref counted three (9:29).
-Next week: Low-Ki vs. Tigre Uno vs. Grado for the vacant X-Division Title, plus EC3 picks Angle's opponent, American Wolves vs. Dirty Heels in match four of the best-of-five series(Full Metal Mayhem), and Sgt. Chris Melendez vs. Eric Young.
WWE Smackdown
-Commentators: Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler, & Byron Saxton.
-Sheamus O'Shaunessy & Kane d. Dean Ambrose by DQ in a handicap match when Roman Reigns ran in to help Ambrose (1:28).
-Brie Bella d. Paige Knight when Alicia Fox shoved Paige off the top rope behind the referee's back, allowing Brie to win with the Bella Buster(X-Factor) (3:52 aired).
-Dolph Ziggler(w/ Lana Perry) d. Bo Dallas with the Zigzag (1:12).
-"The Man That Gravity Forgot" Adrian Neville d. Xavier Woods(w/ Big E Langston & Kofi Kingston) with the Red Arrow(corkscrew shooting star press) (2:47); Tag Team Champions The Prime Time Players(Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) came out to offest the presence of Big E & Kofi at ringside.
-NXT Champion Kevin Owens d. Antonio Cesaro(non-title) with the pop-up powerbomb (6:56 aired).
-Sheamus O'Shaunessy & Kane d. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose; Reigns had Sheamus set up for the spear, but Bray Wyatt popped up on the TitanTron with the photo of Reigns and his daughter from Raw. The distraction allowed Sheamus to hit Reigns with the Brogue Kick for the win (9:23 aired).
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Comedy Part 576: Stepping Up
Location: Hey Guys Comedy
Emcee: Me
Feature: Mike Ostrowski
Guest Set: Marcelis Flores
Headliner: Tim Sullivan
I went to the show this evening expecting to simply watch...maybe get a guest set if I was lucky. As it turned out, circumstances led to me filling in as emcee for the night...kinda wish I'd dressed better for the occasion, but hindsight and all that. As Mike told me afterwards, always dress for the possibility of going on stage. I did a quick five-minute set which went well considering my brief preparation time...always good to get an opportunity to perform on a weekend show.
Emcee: Me
Feature: Mike Ostrowski
Guest Set: Marcelis Flores
Headliner: Tim Sullivan
I went to the show this evening expecting to simply watch...maybe get a guest set if I was lucky. As it turned out, circumstances led to me filling in as emcee for the night...kinda wish I'd dressed better for the occasion, but hindsight and all that. As Mike told me afterwards, always dress for the possibility of going on stage. I did a quick five-minute set which went well considering my brief preparation time...always good to get an opportunity to perform on a weekend show.
CHIKARA Special Comment
Now, as promised, a special comment about
Sunday's CHIKARA show at the Bethel Park Family Center in Indianapolis,
Indiana...wait, what?...
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
This will have a bit more exposition than usual, so bear with me.
Twenty years ago, the dreaded Internet Wrestling Community was quite different. The WWF's main presence was America Online, WCW had chats on Compuserve, there was a lot of buzz about something called "ECW", and the primary spot for discussion was the rec.sport.pro-wrestling newsgroup. At that time, Eye Dubya See newbie "PowerPB13" decided to try his hand at a rasslin newsletter. Through "The Power Pack", I met quite a few fellow wrestling fans and one of them was "CHAOSRulz"(aka "MrNEWZ", aka Michael Langan II) who became one of my best friends. We had never met in person...until this past weekend.
Michael and his wife Lauren have been traveling to a lot of wrestling shows lately, especially CHIKARA, and Michael had been pushing me to drive to a CHIKARA show at some point. It is my understanding that we're taking a road trip in October for a CHIKARA quadruple-shot across the Midwest, though I'll need to make some arrangements for dog care if that's the case. :) In the previous few days, he pushed hard for me to check out the Indianapolis show. I finally agreed to it on Saturday...I wish I could have asked off work on Monday, but what's done is done. My previous driving distance record for an independent wrestling show was Cape Girardeau(which was about a two-hour drive at the time)...this would come close to doubling that, clocking in at between three and four hours. I also had to take time zones into account as Belleville is Central and Indiana is Eastern...knew all those good grades in math would pay off SOMEDAY.
The drive was lengthy but largely uneventful; it was an afternoon show so I had to leave around mid-morning. Construction zone traffic boxed me into a ramp I didn't want to take, adding a good chunk of drive time to the trip as it took me a while to get turned around. I had to pass on visiting the world's largest golf tee and world's largest wind chime, much to my chagrin...maybe next time.
At any rate, I arrived at the venue shortly after the doors were opened...I met up with Michael and Lauren, who had been at the Chicago show the night before and traveled from there to Indy. (My trip was a drop in the bucket compared to some people who traveled from the east coast.) Talked with a few people at the merchandise table...Dasher Hatfield is still sporting the battle scars from a previous encounter with Gary The Barnowl(aka Gary Jay, aka Gerald James). Yikes. (EDIT: The scars were from the previous night's bout with Tommaso Ciampa, but he said the scars from the Gary match were worse.)
The gymnasium was HOT for most of the day...they finally cranked up the air conditioner around intermission time. They had a pretty good turnout as CHIKARA makes semi-regular stops in Indianapolis...for the record, I'm not good at head-counting.
It would probably take a whole separate blog to explain CHIKARA. They describe themselves as American lucha libre with a lot of masked characters and intricate storylines that might fit better in a comic book than a wrestling ring. They operate under lucha rules in tag matches, which means that if a legal wrestler touches the floor, a member of that wrestler's team can enter the ring and become legal. I would advise curious fans to seek out the many fansites dedicated to the promotion for more in-depth analysis. For perspective: Out of the people on the show, I had only seen three of them at a live event prior to this: Heidi Lovelace(at St. Louis Anarchy a year or two ago) and Fire & Silver Ant(at High Risk Wrestling in December). CHIKARA embraces the wackier aspects of the pro wrestling thing...it's definitely not for everyone, but I had always enjoyed what I had seen of the promotion. Mark this off ye olde wrestling bucket list.
Your ring announcer was Gavin Loudspeaker(who went shirtless for a good portion of the show due to the heat). Your referees were Bryce Remsberg and Percy Davis(IWA Mid-South wrestler).
CHIKARA is currently doing a series called "Challenge Of The Immortals". Ten team captains drafted three wrestlers to their stables and the teams compete for the best record. The top team at the end of the series gets "golden opportunities" for its members(presumably title shots). It sounds similar to the Pro Wrestling Championship Series format, though the teams are more set in stone despite a few trades being made. There are a few unusual partnerships in this context as established tag teams have been split up in some instances.
Jervis Cottonbelly & Los Ice Creams(El Hijo Del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.)(Crown & Court) vs. Ultramantis Black & The Batiri(Obariyon & Kodama)(Arcane Horde), Challenge Of The Immortals: The show started with a battle of fan favorite trios...yes, the evil mastermind UMB and the "toilet demons" of the Batiri are good guys. Jervis is an old-timey British gentleman in a bowler hat with a handlebar mustache and monocle on his mask. Los Ice Creams have cones on their head and chin(respectively) and tend to be punching bags on most occasions. Ultramantis was once associated with Delirious, but UMB forced him out of the promotion not too long ago...despite that, Delirious had the last laugh by turning UMB's minions Hallowicked and Frightmare against him with the "Eye Of Tyr". The Batiri used to be a trio, but Kobald was "killed off" by masked monster Deucalion's chokebreaker. The Crown & Court team is captained by Princess Kimber Lee and Jervis seems to be smitted with her...I believe they're in line for a shot at the Campeonates De Parejas(CHIKARA's Tag Team Titles) in the near future. (The women compete on equal terms with the men in CHIKARA, something that has included such notable names as Sara Del Rey and Daizee Haze in the past.)
At any rate...wrestling match, yay~! The fans who go to CHIKARA shows are generally clued in to the characters and storylines, so they were into the action at most points on this show. Unfortunately, this match was slightly derailed by an apparent knee injury to Ultramantis; Los Ice Creams messed up some kind of double-team and he was down on the floor for a long time afterwards. The finish came out of nowhere and I ass/u/me they had to improvise something...I had to check Michael's Twitter(@MichaelLangan2, cheap plug~!) and he wasn't sure if he got the finish right himself. I'll put it down as "Kodama pinned El Hijo Del Ice Cream after a flying forearm" in 10:33 and leave it at that. (EDIT 8/18: Finish was a running Buff Blockbuster.)
Heidi Lovelace(w/ "Mr. Touchdown" Mark Angelosetti) vs. Argus(w/ Ophidian) for the Young Lions' Cup: This intergender face/face matchup was for CHIKARA's version of a Young Lions' Championship(represented by a physical trophy). It's defended like a title but is vacated every year and put into a big tournament; Heidi defeated Missile Assault Ant to win the most recent tourney. The partnerships here are related to COTI(Heidi's a member of Dasher's Dugout and Argus is with Ophidian's Snake Pit). Argus is a masked newcomer with a gecko motif. Heidi's been moving up in the wrestling world lately, fighting both women and men and holding All-American Wrestling's Heritage Title for a short time. No interference from the cornermen in this one; it was a solid competitive bout; Heidi won in 5:55 with a low-flying rana while Argus was on his knees. Mutual respect afterwards and all that jazz.
Silver Ant, Frightmare, & Blind Rage(Nightmare Warriors) vs. Campeon De Parejas Max Smashmaster, Flex Rumblecrunch, & Jaka(Wrecking Crew), Challenge Of The Immortals: After two matches with nothing but fan favorites, we had Silver Ant as the lone technico in a trios match full of rudos. Frightmare & Blind Rage are traditionally aligned with Hallowicked(current Grand Champion) while Silver Ant(formerly Green Ant) is a part of The Colony with Fire Ant and Worker Ant II(formerly assailANT). Max is one-half of the Campeones De Parejas with Blaster McMassive(who was in the house but didn't wrestle). In CHIKARA, you earn a title shot by winning three matches(singles or tags) in a row, accumulating points along the way. I'm a big fan of making wins and losses matter in that regard. The Wrecking Crew stable is comprised of the three members of the Devastation Corporation(Blaster, Max, & Flex), Jaka, and Oleg The Usurper. However, manager Sidney Bakabella(absent for this show) traded Oleg away to the Arcane Horde, leaving Oleg as the proverbial black sheep of the family(more on that later). Got all that?
Anywho...wrestling match, yay~! The Wrecking Crew trio was the more cohesive unit and Silver Ant took the brunt of the punishment(again, lone good-guy on his side). The Nightmare Warrior trio turned the tide, but Blaster ran in and hit Silver Ant with a Blackhole Slam(referee's attention was elsewhere, as you might guess). Jaka capitalized with a splash off the top for the win in 11:37.
Missile Assault Ant vs. "Juke Joint" Lucas Calhoun(w/ Kevin Condron & The Lithuanian Snow Troll): Okay, there's a lot to cover here as it relates to a non-match. We started with The Colony, but then there were evil ants called The Swarm(all gone except for the face-turned Worker Ant II). THEN there was The Colony Xtreme Force which was created as a blatant knockoff of the originals. Orbit Adventure Ant and Arctic Rescue Ant seem to have dropped off the map, leaving M.A.A. on his own and only capable of saying his own name(see also his Twitter account). Missile Assault got over with the fans by virtue of being pretty good in the ring(sadly, I wouldn't get to see that here). On the other side, we have a crew who ditched their old mask gimmicks(except for Snow Troll who seems to be a slave of some kind): Condron was Kid Cyclone, but Deucalion done kilt his old partners. Calhoun was Volgar and is now in some sort of "fat Elvis" gimmick. Condron reminded M.A.A. of his past rudo tendencies and encouraged him to join his group...of course, the response he got was little more than "MISSILE! ASSAULT! ANT!" Something had to give and M.A.A. finally gave his real response in the form of a European uppercut that sent Condron staggering back into the ropes. At that point, everyone just left and there was no match...all righty then.
Eddie Kingston(Snake Pit) vs. Drew Gulak(Gentleman's Club): The Club is captained by Chuck Taylor and includes Orange Cassidy and Swamp Monster...yes, "Swamp Monster". This was a rare straight-up wrestling match with zero masks...go figure. Kingston is a veteran of independent wrestling who openly acknowledges that his physique, style, and verbage probably wouldn't fit well in a bigger company. Meanwhile, Gulak is one of the young up-and-coming guys on the indie circuit, having competed regularly for groups like EVOLVE and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. No one was really a fan favorite or rulebreaker in this one...at least not that I could tell. Lots of FIGHTING SPIRIT~! in this one...they traded major strikes until Kingston landed his second spinning backfist of the match. (It's called the "Backfist To The Future" and has even caused involuntary time travel in CHIKARA-land...yeah, long story.) Eddie followed that up with a Saito Suplex/backdrop driver for the win in 13:13. Nicely done.
Intermission~! The vending machines weren't too accepting of things such as dollar bills, so I settled for the resident water fountain. Talked to Gavin Loudspeaker for a bit...he's not a regular with the promotion any more, but he travels with some of the guys so he worked this weekend's double shot.
Gavin and Bryce did a drawing for the MAGIC MOVE~! of the night. The premise is that if someone does the chosen move in a match, the fans all win prizes...goodie. Bryce drew...the bionic elbow. Oddly enough, that was the Magic Move in Chicago as well and Gavin called Bryce on this. He then discovered that EVERY slip of paper in the drawing had "Bionic Elbow" on it...bwahahaha. Gavin finally allowed it, leading into our next bout. (R.I.P. Dusty Rhodes.)
The Throwbacks(Dasher Hatfield & "Mr. Touchdown" Mark Angelosetti) & Icarus(Dasher's Dugout) vs. Amasis, Worker Ant II, & "Smooth Sailin'" Ashley Remington(Battle Hive), Challenge Of The Immortals: This was another all-technico matchup. Dasher and Touchdown have been on-again-off-again tag partners with Touchdown playing the bully/jock character until their reconciliation. (NERDS~!) Icarus went from being one of the most hated guys in CHIKARA history to one of the most popular, fighting his way to the top to unseat Eddie Kingston as Grand Champion. He recently lost the title to Hallowicked and seems to be on a bit of a downturn as he was surprisingly not selected to be a captain in COTI. Osirian Portal partners Amasis & Ophidian were divided by virtue of being captains of separate teams in the competition, plus Worker was separated from the rest of The Colony. Ashley Remington is a wrestling sailor who gives opponents fruit baskets after defeating them...tremendous. He also bears a striking resemblance to Dalton Castle.
Anywho...wrestling match, yay~! A lot of SHENANIGANS~! ensued(with some tomfoolery on the side) as Remington was way too enthusiastic about witnessing ye olde Test O' Strength. It somehow ended up in a six-way knucklelock with the referee caught in the middle(Ashley: "THIS IS HAPPENING!"). Dasher and Amasis engaged in some pantomime baseball, leading to Dasher accidentally hitting Amasis with a pitch and a "bench-clearing brawl" nearly ensuing. As a peace offering, they had an impromptu dance-off...The Funky Pharaoh Amasis was the clear favorite in that exchange, but Hatfield showed that he's got some good old-timey moves. Remington did his best to get Touchdown to join in the fun with limited success. At one point, five men were in a chain of headlocks and Remington came in to hit a bulldog on the lead guy, causing all five guys to get dropped to the mat. The bionic elbow was teased repeatedly, but eventually all six men started throwing jabs at each other in preparation for the old "flip flop 'n' fly"...finally, everyone hit bionic elbows on their respective opponents at the same time, leaving all six down on the mat. Bwahahaha. Alas, things got slightly more serious as the match progressed...finishers were exchanged, ending with Touchdown muscling the powerhouse Worker Ant up into a delayed superplex for the victory in 18:11. Handshakes all around afterwards...woo.
The Magic Move prize of the night: Brand-new CHIKARA pens~!
Ophidian & Shynron(Snake Pit) vs. Jakob Hammermeier & Soldier Ant(Das Bruderschaft Des Kreuzes): Shynron does flippies. Jakob was once an underling of the original BDK(led by some guy named Claudio Castagnoli) but is now attempting to remake the stable to his own liking. His minions include Pinkie Sanchez(who had worked as "Carpenter Ant" for a while), Nokken(who was scheduled for the weekend of shows but didn't appear), and the returning Soldier Ant. Soldier Ant had previously retired due to injuries, but he returned under the control of the rudos(and missing one antenna). The original lineup had a trios match with the Snake Pit members against Jakob/Soldier/Nokken, but it was changed to a tag match with Kingston facing Gulak instead. Jakob seemed to have trouble controlling Soldier Ant, lecturing him at the start of the bout. Ophidian took abuse, hot tag Shynron, WE GOT OURSELVES A FLYIN' SPIRIT DRAGON, MAGGLE~! Bonzo gonzo, Shynron pinned Jakob after a rope-handspring Diamond Cutter(a la Jay Lethal's Lethal Injection) in 11:36 as Ophidian cut off Soldier Ant.
Hallowicked(w/ Frightmare & Blind Rage) vs. Oleg The Usurper for the Grand Championship: It actually took CHIKARA several years to establish a singles title...Eddie Kingston was the first belt holder with Icarus capturing the gold after the company's hiatus. Hallowicked recently defeated Icarus for the title on an overseas tour. Oleg has become popular as the outcast of the Wrecking Crew and the fans have been chanting "Oleg Oleg Oleg Oleg" in the same style as the "Ole" chants for El Generico. (Whatever happened to that guy, anyway?) The stemmed superstar had his minions at ringside to run interference while Oleg was on his own without the support of the Wrecking Crew or Bakabella. (I guess he's not good enough friends with the rest of the Arcane Horde?) This was a battle of the big boys...Wicked is a lot bigger than I expected him to be. (He used to be tag team partners with Delirious in a tandem known as "Incoherence"...yup.) Oleg delivered his "Off With His Head" finisher(sort of a modified Asiatic Spike) but Wicked rolled out of the ring to escape defeat. Oleg got a really close near-fall after a top-rope chokeslam(!). Despite all of that, Hallowicked unleashed the educated feet and retained his title in 11:49 after a flying boot. Better luck next time, Usurper.
Gavin attempted to close out the show, but the fans started chanting "ONE MORE MATCH". Fans did that at the previous night's Chicago show and they were rewarded with an extra bonus bout, so why not two-for-two? Gavin conferred with Bryce and teased that they would just be ending the show...but then announced the next contest. WOO~!
Fire Ant & N_R_G(Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell) vs. Juan Francisco De Coronado, The Proletariat Boar Of Moldova, & Prakash Sabar: Coronado's team is three-fourths of the United Nations team in COTI along with the esteemed Mr. Azerbaijan. The Boar is a big dude with a tail on the back of his attire...the fans come up with clever chants and shoutouts like "Boar-ing". Sabar is described as an ex-Pakistani...so, in other words, he's "Ex-Pak". He dresses primarily in green and black, has a mask with a goatee and extended tongue, and does a lot of moves reminiscient of our old buddy Sean Waltman(though he usually misses the Bronco Buster). N_R_G are newcomers who dress in baggy pants similar to those worn by the High Energy tag team in the early '90s(Owen Hart & Koko B. Ware), even using the old High Energy theme music. Their odd gimmick is that Rockwell is lethargic and often dozes off while waiting in the corner...but give him an energy drink and he's the proverbial house afire. Okay then. I think Fire Ant is in the Battle Hive stable for COTI; don't think N_R_G are in that competition.
So...bonus wrestling match, yay~! Fun quick sprint to send the fans home happy. The rudos tried to shush the crowd when Rockwell dozed off, but he wasn't likely to wake up on his own anyway. The evil foreigners controlled the bout until Race got the appropriate beverage to pep up his partner...then Hype got the tag and cleaned house! Cue trainwreck dive sequence(right in front of us!), then Fire Ant pinned Coronado after a brainbuster in 7:26. Woo-hoo.
Afterwards, myself and the Langans conferred with other traveling fans(Alec, William, & Heather) and decided to grab dinner at Culver's, home of the butterburger. Sounded nutritious enough. Had a good combo meal plus a brownie-bite concrete. Yup, diet starts tomorrow.
The sky got dark FAST once I got back onto the highway to go home...thankfully, I only had to drive in the rain for a small portion of my return trip. In my younger days, I would have liked to stop at a wide-open space to just stargaze...but as it was, I got home around midnight and had to get some shut-eye before work the next morning. Thus ended my interesting little adventure for the weekend.
I think I'm officially out of excuses to skip shows that are a larger distance away...heh. I do want to get to Metro Pro in Kansas City at some point. Other groups I'd like to check out include 3XW in Iowa, AAW in Berwyn(near Chicago), and maybe even SHIMMER(also in Berwyn).
The rest of June looks like this:
-Friday 6/19: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Glen Carbon, IL
-Saturday 6/20: Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Friday 6/26: World League Wrestling in Troy, MO
-Sunday 6/28: High Risk Wrestling in Cahokia, IL
Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
P.S. We are all marks.
DISCLAIMER: I'm biased. Deal with it.
This will have a bit more exposition than usual, so bear with me.
Twenty years ago, the dreaded Internet Wrestling Community was quite different. The WWF's main presence was America Online, WCW had chats on Compuserve, there was a lot of buzz about something called "ECW", and the primary spot for discussion was the rec.sport.pro-wrestling newsgroup. At that time, Eye Dubya See newbie "PowerPB13" decided to try his hand at a rasslin newsletter. Through "The Power Pack", I met quite a few fellow wrestling fans and one of them was "CHAOSRulz"(aka "MrNEWZ", aka Michael Langan II) who became one of my best friends. We had never met in person...until this past weekend.
Michael and his wife Lauren have been traveling to a lot of wrestling shows lately, especially CHIKARA, and Michael had been pushing me to drive to a CHIKARA show at some point. It is my understanding that we're taking a road trip in October for a CHIKARA quadruple-shot across the Midwest, though I'll need to make some arrangements for dog care if that's the case. :) In the previous few days, he pushed hard for me to check out the Indianapolis show. I finally agreed to it on Saturday...I wish I could have asked off work on Monday, but what's done is done. My previous driving distance record for an independent wrestling show was Cape Girardeau(which was about a two-hour drive at the time)...this would come close to doubling that, clocking in at between three and four hours. I also had to take time zones into account as Belleville is Central and Indiana is Eastern...knew all those good grades in math would pay off SOMEDAY.
The drive was lengthy but largely uneventful; it was an afternoon show so I had to leave around mid-morning. Construction zone traffic boxed me into a ramp I didn't want to take, adding a good chunk of drive time to the trip as it took me a while to get turned around. I had to pass on visiting the world's largest golf tee and world's largest wind chime, much to my chagrin...maybe next time.
At any rate, I arrived at the venue shortly after the doors were opened...I met up with Michael and Lauren, who had been at the Chicago show the night before and traveled from there to Indy. (My trip was a drop in the bucket compared to some people who traveled from the east coast.) Talked with a few people at the merchandise table...Dasher Hatfield is still sporting the battle scars from a previous encounter with Gary The Barnowl(aka Gary Jay, aka Gerald James). Yikes. (EDIT: The scars were from the previous night's bout with Tommaso Ciampa, but he said the scars from the Gary match were worse.)
The gymnasium was HOT for most of the day...they finally cranked up the air conditioner around intermission time. They had a pretty good turnout as CHIKARA makes semi-regular stops in Indianapolis...for the record, I'm not good at head-counting.
It would probably take a whole separate blog to explain CHIKARA. They describe themselves as American lucha libre with a lot of masked characters and intricate storylines that might fit better in a comic book than a wrestling ring. They operate under lucha rules in tag matches, which means that if a legal wrestler touches the floor, a member of that wrestler's team can enter the ring and become legal. I would advise curious fans to seek out the many fansites dedicated to the promotion for more in-depth analysis. For perspective: Out of the people on the show, I had only seen three of them at a live event prior to this: Heidi Lovelace(at St. Louis Anarchy a year or two ago) and Fire & Silver Ant(at High Risk Wrestling in December). CHIKARA embraces the wackier aspects of the pro wrestling thing...it's definitely not for everyone, but I had always enjoyed what I had seen of the promotion. Mark this off ye olde wrestling bucket list.
Your ring announcer was Gavin Loudspeaker(who went shirtless for a good portion of the show due to the heat). Your referees were Bryce Remsberg and Percy Davis(IWA Mid-South wrestler).
CHIKARA is currently doing a series called "Challenge Of The Immortals". Ten team captains drafted three wrestlers to their stables and the teams compete for the best record. The top team at the end of the series gets "golden opportunities" for its members(presumably title shots). It sounds similar to the Pro Wrestling Championship Series format, though the teams are more set in stone despite a few trades being made. There are a few unusual partnerships in this context as established tag teams have been split up in some instances.
Jervis Cottonbelly & Los Ice Creams(El Hijo Del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.)(Crown & Court) vs. Ultramantis Black & The Batiri(Obariyon & Kodama)(Arcane Horde), Challenge Of The Immortals: The show started with a battle of fan favorite trios...yes, the evil mastermind UMB and the "toilet demons" of the Batiri are good guys. Jervis is an old-timey British gentleman in a bowler hat with a handlebar mustache and monocle on his mask. Los Ice Creams have cones on their head and chin(respectively) and tend to be punching bags on most occasions. Ultramantis was once associated with Delirious, but UMB forced him out of the promotion not too long ago...despite that, Delirious had the last laugh by turning UMB's minions Hallowicked and Frightmare against him with the "Eye Of Tyr". The Batiri used to be a trio, but Kobald was "killed off" by masked monster Deucalion's chokebreaker. The Crown & Court team is captained by Princess Kimber Lee and Jervis seems to be smitted with her...I believe they're in line for a shot at the Campeonates De Parejas(CHIKARA's Tag Team Titles) in the near future. (The women compete on equal terms with the men in CHIKARA, something that has included such notable names as Sara Del Rey and Daizee Haze in the past.)
At any rate...wrestling match, yay~! The fans who go to CHIKARA shows are generally clued in to the characters and storylines, so they were into the action at most points on this show. Unfortunately, this match was slightly derailed by an apparent knee injury to Ultramantis; Los Ice Creams messed up some kind of double-team and he was down on the floor for a long time afterwards. The finish came out of nowhere and I ass/u/me they had to improvise something...I had to check Michael's Twitter(@MichaelLangan2, cheap plug~!) and he wasn't sure if he got the finish right himself. I'll put it down as "Kodama pinned El Hijo Del Ice Cream after a flying forearm" in 10:33 and leave it at that. (EDIT 8/18: Finish was a running Buff Blockbuster.)
Heidi Lovelace(w/ "Mr. Touchdown" Mark Angelosetti) vs. Argus(w/ Ophidian) for the Young Lions' Cup: This intergender face/face matchup was for CHIKARA's version of a Young Lions' Championship(represented by a physical trophy). It's defended like a title but is vacated every year and put into a big tournament; Heidi defeated Missile Assault Ant to win the most recent tourney. The partnerships here are related to COTI(Heidi's a member of Dasher's Dugout and Argus is with Ophidian's Snake Pit). Argus is a masked newcomer with a gecko motif. Heidi's been moving up in the wrestling world lately, fighting both women and men and holding All-American Wrestling's Heritage Title for a short time. No interference from the cornermen in this one; it was a solid competitive bout; Heidi won in 5:55 with a low-flying rana while Argus was on his knees. Mutual respect afterwards and all that jazz.
Silver Ant, Frightmare, & Blind Rage(Nightmare Warriors) vs. Campeon De Parejas Max Smashmaster, Flex Rumblecrunch, & Jaka(Wrecking Crew), Challenge Of The Immortals: After two matches with nothing but fan favorites, we had Silver Ant as the lone technico in a trios match full of rudos. Frightmare & Blind Rage are traditionally aligned with Hallowicked(current Grand Champion) while Silver Ant(formerly Green Ant) is a part of The Colony with Fire Ant and Worker Ant II(formerly assailANT). Max is one-half of the Campeones De Parejas with Blaster McMassive(who was in the house but didn't wrestle). In CHIKARA, you earn a title shot by winning three matches(singles or tags) in a row, accumulating points along the way. I'm a big fan of making wins and losses matter in that regard. The Wrecking Crew stable is comprised of the three members of the Devastation Corporation(Blaster, Max, & Flex), Jaka, and Oleg The Usurper. However, manager Sidney Bakabella(absent for this show) traded Oleg away to the Arcane Horde, leaving Oleg as the proverbial black sheep of the family(more on that later). Got all that?
Anywho...wrestling match, yay~! The Wrecking Crew trio was the more cohesive unit and Silver Ant took the brunt of the punishment(again, lone good-guy on his side). The Nightmare Warrior trio turned the tide, but Blaster ran in and hit Silver Ant with a Blackhole Slam(referee's attention was elsewhere, as you might guess). Jaka capitalized with a splash off the top for the win in 11:37.
Missile Assault Ant vs. "Juke Joint" Lucas Calhoun(w/ Kevin Condron & The Lithuanian Snow Troll): Okay, there's a lot to cover here as it relates to a non-match. We started with The Colony, but then there were evil ants called The Swarm(all gone except for the face-turned Worker Ant II). THEN there was The Colony Xtreme Force which was created as a blatant knockoff of the originals. Orbit Adventure Ant and Arctic Rescue Ant seem to have dropped off the map, leaving M.A.A. on his own and only capable of saying his own name(see also his Twitter account). Missile Assault got over with the fans by virtue of being pretty good in the ring(sadly, I wouldn't get to see that here). On the other side, we have a crew who ditched their old mask gimmicks(except for Snow Troll who seems to be a slave of some kind): Condron was Kid Cyclone, but Deucalion done kilt his old partners. Calhoun was Volgar and is now in some sort of "fat Elvis" gimmick. Condron reminded M.A.A. of his past rudo tendencies and encouraged him to join his group...of course, the response he got was little more than "MISSILE! ASSAULT! ANT!" Something had to give and M.A.A. finally gave his real response in the form of a European uppercut that sent Condron staggering back into the ropes. At that point, everyone just left and there was no match...all righty then.
Eddie Kingston(Snake Pit) vs. Drew Gulak(Gentleman's Club): The Club is captained by Chuck Taylor and includes Orange Cassidy and Swamp Monster...yes, "Swamp Monster". This was a rare straight-up wrestling match with zero masks...go figure. Kingston is a veteran of independent wrestling who openly acknowledges that his physique, style, and verbage probably wouldn't fit well in a bigger company. Meanwhile, Gulak is one of the young up-and-coming guys on the indie circuit, having competed regularly for groups like EVOLVE and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. No one was really a fan favorite or rulebreaker in this one...at least not that I could tell. Lots of FIGHTING SPIRIT~! in this one...they traded major strikes until Kingston landed his second spinning backfist of the match. (It's called the "Backfist To The Future" and has even caused involuntary time travel in CHIKARA-land...yeah, long story.) Eddie followed that up with a Saito Suplex/backdrop driver for the win in 13:13. Nicely done.
Intermission~! The vending machines weren't too accepting of things such as dollar bills, so I settled for the resident water fountain. Talked to Gavin Loudspeaker for a bit...he's not a regular with the promotion any more, but he travels with some of the guys so he worked this weekend's double shot.
Gavin and Bryce did a drawing for the MAGIC MOVE~! of the night. The premise is that if someone does the chosen move in a match, the fans all win prizes...goodie. Bryce drew...the bionic elbow. Oddly enough, that was the Magic Move in Chicago as well and Gavin called Bryce on this. He then discovered that EVERY slip of paper in the drawing had "Bionic Elbow" on it...bwahahaha. Gavin finally allowed it, leading into our next bout. (R.I.P. Dusty Rhodes.)
The Throwbacks(Dasher Hatfield & "Mr. Touchdown" Mark Angelosetti) & Icarus(Dasher's Dugout) vs. Amasis, Worker Ant II, & "Smooth Sailin'" Ashley Remington(Battle Hive), Challenge Of The Immortals: This was another all-technico matchup. Dasher and Touchdown have been on-again-off-again tag partners with Touchdown playing the bully/jock character until their reconciliation. (NERDS~!) Icarus went from being one of the most hated guys in CHIKARA history to one of the most popular, fighting his way to the top to unseat Eddie Kingston as Grand Champion. He recently lost the title to Hallowicked and seems to be on a bit of a downturn as he was surprisingly not selected to be a captain in COTI. Osirian Portal partners Amasis & Ophidian were divided by virtue of being captains of separate teams in the competition, plus Worker was separated from the rest of The Colony. Ashley Remington is a wrestling sailor who gives opponents fruit baskets after defeating them...tremendous. He also bears a striking resemblance to Dalton Castle.
Anywho...wrestling match, yay~! A lot of SHENANIGANS~! ensued(with some tomfoolery on the side) as Remington was way too enthusiastic about witnessing ye olde Test O' Strength. It somehow ended up in a six-way knucklelock with the referee caught in the middle(Ashley: "THIS IS HAPPENING!"). Dasher and Amasis engaged in some pantomime baseball, leading to Dasher accidentally hitting Amasis with a pitch and a "bench-clearing brawl" nearly ensuing. As a peace offering, they had an impromptu dance-off...The Funky Pharaoh Amasis was the clear favorite in that exchange, but Hatfield showed that he's got some good old-timey moves. Remington did his best to get Touchdown to join in the fun with limited success. At one point, five men were in a chain of headlocks and Remington came in to hit a bulldog on the lead guy, causing all five guys to get dropped to the mat. The bionic elbow was teased repeatedly, but eventually all six men started throwing jabs at each other in preparation for the old "flip flop 'n' fly"...finally, everyone hit bionic elbows on their respective opponents at the same time, leaving all six down on the mat. Bwahahaha. Alas, things got slightly more serious as the match progressed...finishers were exchanged, ending with Touchdown muscling the powerhouse Worker Ant up into a delayed superplex for the victory in 18:11. Handshakes all around afterwards...woo.
The Magic Move prize of the night: Brand-new CHIKARA pens~!
Ophidian & Shynron(Snake Pit) vs. Jakob Hammermeier & Soldier Ant(Das Bruderschaft Des Kreuzes): Shynron does flippies. Jakob was once an underling of the original BDK(led by some guy named Claudio Castagnoli) but is now attempting to remake the stable to his own liking. His minions include Pinkie Sanchez(who had worked as "Carpenter Ant" for a while), Nokken(who was scheduled for the weekend of shows but didn't appear), and the returning Soldier Ant. Soldier Ant had previously retired due to injuries, but he returned under the control of the rudos(and missing one antenna). The original lineup had a trios match with the Snake Pit members against Jakob/Soldier/Nokken, but it was changed to a tag match with Kingston facing Gulak instead. Jakob seemed to have trouble controlling Soldier Ant, lecturing him at the start of the bout. Ophidian took abuse, hot tag Shynron, WE GOT OURSELVES A FLYIN' SPIRIT DRAGON, MAGGLE~! Bonzo gonzo, Shynron pinned Jakob after a rope-handspring Diamond Cutter(a la Jay Lethal's Lethal Injection) in 11:36 as Ophidian cut off Soldier Ant.
Hallowicked(w/ Frightmare & Blind Rage) vs. Oleg The Usurper for the Grand Championship: It actually took CHIKARA several years to establish a singles title...Eddie Kingston was the first belt holder with Icarus capturing the gold after the company's hiatus. Hallowicked recently defeated Icarus for the title on an overseas tour. Oleg has become popular as the outcast of the Wrecking Crew and the fans have been chanting "Oleg Oleg Oleg Oleg" in the same style as the "Ole" chants for El Generico. (Whatever happened to that guy, anyway?) The stemmed superstar had his minions at ringside to run interference while Oleg was on his own without the support of the Wrecking Crew or Bakabella. (I guess he's not good enough friends with the rest of the Arcane Horde?) This was a battle of the big boys...Wicked is a lot bigger than I expected him to be. (He used to be tag team partners with Delirious in a tandem known as "Incoherence"...yup.) Oleg delivered his "Off With His Head" finisher(sort of a modified Asiatic Spike) but Wicked rolled out of the ring to escape defeat. Oleg got a really close near-fall after a top-rope chokeslam(!). Despite all of that, Hallowicked unleashed the educated feet and retained his title in 11:49 after a flying boot. Better luck next time, Usurper.
Gavin attempted to close out the show, but the fans started chanting "ONE MORE MATCH". Fans did that at the previous night's Chicago show and they were rewarded with an extra bonus bout, so why not two-for-two? Gavin conferred with Bryce and teased that they would just be ending the show...but then announced the next contest. WOO~!
Fire Ant & N_R_G(Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell) vs. Juan Francisco De Coronado, The Proletariat Boar Of Moldova, & Prakash Sabar: Coronado's team is three-fourths of the United Nations team in COTI along with the esteemed Mr. Azerbaijan. The Boar is a big dude with a tail on the back of his attire...the fans come up with clever chants and shoutouts like "Boar-ing". Sabar is described as an ex-Pakistani...so, in other words, he's "Ex-Pak". He dresses primarily in green and black, has a mask with a goatee and extended tongue, and does a lot of moves reminiscient of our old buddy Sean Waltman(though he usually misses the Bronco Buster). N_R_G are newcomers who dress in baggy pants similar to those worn by the High Energy tag team in the early '90s(Owen Hart & Koko B. Ware), even using the old High Energy theme music. Their odd gimmick is that Rockwell is lethargic and often dozes off while waiting in the corner...but give him an energy drink and he's the proverbial house afire. Okay then. I think Fire Ant is in the Battle Hive stable for COTI; don't think N_R_G are in that competition.
So...bonus wrestling match, yay~! Fun quick sprint to send the fans home happy. The rudos tried to shush the crowd when Rockwell dozed off, but he wasn't likely to wake up on his own anyway. The evil foreigners controlled the bout until Race got the appropriate beverage to pep up his partner...then Hype got the tag and cleaned house! Cue trainwreck dive sequence(right in front of us!), then Fire Ant pinned Coronado after a brainbuster in 7:26. Woo-hoo.
Afterwards, myself and the Langans conferred with other traveling fans(Alec, William, & Heather) and decided to grab dinner at Culver's, home of the butterburger. Sounded nutritious enough. Had a good combo meal plus a brownie-bite concrete. Yup, diet starts tomorrow.
The sky got dark FAST once I got back onto the highway to go home...thankfully, I only had to drive in the rain for a small portion of my return trip. In my younger days, I would have liked to stop at a wide-open space to just stargaze...but as it was, I got home around midnight and had to get some shut-eye before work the next morning. Thus ended my interesting little adventure for the weekend.
I think I'm officially out of excuses to skip shows that are a larger distance away...heh. I do want to get to Metro Pro in Kansas City at some point. Other groups I'd like to check out include 3XW in Iowa, AAW in Berwyn(near Chicago), and maybe even SHIMMER(also in Berwyn).
The rest of June looks like this:
-Friday 6/19: Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Glen Carbon, IL
-Saturday 6/20: Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, IL
-Friday 6/26: World League Wrestling in Troy, MO
-Sunday 6/28: High Risk Wrestling in Cahokia, IL
Good night, good luck, and #yaywrestling.
P.S. We are all marks.
Comedy Part 575: Park It Here
Location: Valley Park Funny Bone
Emcee: Jon Venegoni
After: Stryker Spurlock
Before: Andrew Topping
Was feeling iffy earlier in the day, but I decided to haul out to Valley Park anyway...why not? I mostly did newer material...I'll simply say that some worked and some didn't. Maybe it was the wrong crowd for some of the jokes, but they're all works in progress so maybe they just suck right now...heh. If nothing else, it was good to get those jokes "on the table", so to speak. I've written far too many potential bits that just waste away in my notebook without ever being tried. On a side note, I highly recommend Rob Durham's book "Don't Wear Shorts On Stage" to the new aspiring comedians in the area...and I'm not just saying that because I saw him at the shows this week. *cheap plug* Next up for me: Probably Westport next Tuesday, then Hey Guys Comedy next Wednesday. Woo
Emcee: Jon Venegoni
After: Stryker Spurlock
Before: Andrew Topping
Was feeling iffy earlier in the day, but I decided to haul out to Valley Park anyway...why not? I mostly did newer material...I'll simply say that some worked and some didn't. Maybe it was the wrong crowd for some of the jokes, but they're all works in progress so maybe they just suck right now...heh. If nothing else, it was good to get those jokes "on the table", so to speak. I've written far too many potential bits that just waste away in my notebook without ever being tried. On a side note, I highly recommend Rob Durham's book "Don't Wear Shorts On Stage" to the new aspiring comedians in the area...and I'm not just saying that because I saw him at the shows this week. *cheap plug* Next up for me: Probably Westport next Tuesday, then Hey Guys Comedy next Wednesday. Woo
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