Missouri Wrestling Revival

By Kari Williams

High Voltage Wrestling (HVW) delivered an explosive night of action to 131 fans in Granite City, IL at the River’s Edge Complex on March 14. New champions were crowned, new alliances formed and a monster was unleashed.

The Bandana Mafia (Evan Gelistico, Pierre Abernathy) and stand-in member Juice Robinson defended the six-man cup against CJ Esparza, Brett Gakiya and Nick Brubaker. Despite not teaming regularly with Robinson, Gelistico and Abernathy worked extremely well with him. However, the high-flying antics of Esparza, Gakiya and Brubaker slowed down the Mafia’s momentum for a short while. Being the determined individuals that they are, Gelistico, Abernathy and Robinson pushed forward and retained the six-man cup against formidable opponents.

Nick Brubaker hits Robinson & Abernathy with a kamikaze attack from above.

TNT Keny G then introduced a former HVW Champion in Rick Fuller to the fans and proceeded to call out Magic Man and “Future” Donovan Ruddick. Keny told Ruddick that he “is a big fish in a little pond, and I’m fixing to drain the pond.” Magic Man then announced that he wanted to see Fuller in a gauntlet match, to which Fuller obliged and made quick work of Mark Smart, Mephisto, Fire Ant and Cabal. Before Fuller could demolish Cabal as he had the others, Ruddick rushed into the ring and attacked Fuller, prompting a one-on-one match up between the two behemoths.

Rick Fuller dominates Fire Ant in the unexpected gauntlet match. Photo by Kari Williams

Fuller was arguably Ruddick’s biggest test to date, but that did not deter the 6’ 9” monster from relentlessly punishing Fuller. Perhaps fearing Fuller’s dominance, Ruddick had backup in the form of B.A.B.E.WATCH (Brandon Aarons and Brandon Espinosa) who interfered. That intrusion prompted Kahagas to even the odds and sent Aarons and Espinosa running to the back.

"Future" Donovan Ruddick does his best to get the advantage on Rick Fuller. Photo by Kari Williams

In the next bout, Eric Allen wrestled Max Archer. With the fans firmly behind Archer and determination burning in his eyes, he had a shot at getting the win over Allen. Despite a number of pin attempts on both sides, Allen used a window of opportunity to lock Archer in a double-leg Boston Crab to secure a tap out victory.

Espinosa, accompanied by Aarons, returned to the ring in the next bout as he took on Gary Jay to crown the Livewire Champion. With both men determined to claim their first piece of HVW gold, they wrestled one of the best matches of the night.

Brandon Espinosa wrestles Gary Jay to determine the HVW Livewire Champion. Photo by Kari Williams

Espinosa’s more technical style dominated his offense in contrast to Gary’s high-flying. Unfortunately for Gary, Aarons’ presence, and Ruddick’s appearance, at ringside determined how the match would end. Not to discount Espinosa’s skill, but if Aarons and Ruddick were not there for support and interference, Gary could have walked away with the Livewire Title.

Kahagas had his chance to exact revenge on Aarons for earlier troubles in the next match. Aarons was slow to start the bout, but once Espinosa came to ringside, he felt comfortable enough to get the match underway. As much as Aarons may have wanted to attack Kahagas, even with Espinosa’s presence, he still appeared hesitant. Only minutes into the match, Espinosa rushed into the ring, attacking Kahagas, with Ruddick following suit. Those antics provoked Fuller’s return to the ring to even the odds for Kahagas, who won via disqualification.

After intermission, Donovain Cain and Jason Lyte locked up with Mason and Devin Cutter. Both teams fought valiantly against one another, but neither gained a clear advantage throughout the bout. These men did everything they could, but nothing was enough to wound the other team long enough for a three count. With one minute remaining, all four men began throwing punches in hopes of being able to get the quick pin. However, it was not meant to be, and the bout ended in a no contest.

Neither team (Donovain Cain/Jason Lyte and Mason/Devin Cutter) could gain a clear advantage during the tag match, which ended in a no contest. Photo by Kari Williams

Steve Fender and Steve Anthony wrestled in the Support our Troops match for MWR’s Owner Josh Ray, who recently returned from Iraq. In this technically sound match up, filled with reversals, stand offs and submissions, these stellar athletes left nothing to be desired. With multiple two counts from each man, it was unclear who would take the victory in this impressive bout. However, Anthony’s cunning ways gave him a slight advantage over Fender when he used a roll up and grabbed the tights for the victory.

Steve Anthony delivers the 450 splash to Steve Fender during the Support Our Troops match. Photo by Kari Williams

The main event pitted Espinosa and Ruddick against Fuller and Kahagas, with the stipulation that if Espinosa or Ruddick was pinned the respective man would lose his championship. Fuller and Kahagas’ rage fueled their antics, allowing their power and agility to subdue Ruddick and Espinosa. Despite illegal actions on Espinosa’s behalf, Kahagas pulled through and severly punished Espinosa. Ruddick and Fuller had their scuffles as well, but as the match came to a close, Kahagas pinned Espinosa, and Kahagas became the new Livewire Champion.

New HVW Livewire Champion Kahagas and "Big" Rick Fuller (Photo Credit Brian Kelley)

HVW will return to The River’s Edge Complex on May 9. For more information, go to http://www.highvoltagewrestling.tk.