Missouri Wrestling Revival

By Kari Williams

On Sept. 11 at the Skywalker Sports Complex in Decatur, IL PWN fans witnessed five intense matches. Every competitor brought his ‘A’ game on this night, and delivered in fine fashion.

Hunter Matthews took on Tony Kozina in the opening contest. These two competitors matched each other hold for hold and seemed to have a counter for every move. Matthews wore down Kozina in the early portion of the bout, and nearly had the victory on more than one occasion. But Kozina’s mental toughness would not let him down.

Tony Kozina pounds Hunter Matthews during the opening contest of PWN's Manifest Destiny. Photo by Kari Williams

He slowly made his way back from the brink of defeat to connect with a clothesline that sent Matthews flying out of the ring. The two tangled on the outside, and once they got back in the ring, Kozina dominated with a flurry of flying elbows, flying crossbodies and punches in the corner. Matthews attempted to steal a quick victory with his feet on the ropes during the pinning combination, but the referee caught Matthews. Kozina reversed Matthew’s illegal attempt to pick up the win.

The following contest pitted the North Star Express (Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz) against the Submission Squad (Evan Gelistico & Pierre Abernathy) with the winning team earning a shot at the Lethal Wrestling Alliance tag team titles, which the Hooligans currently hold. The match got off to an explosive start, with Abernathy and Gelistico gaining the early advantage.

Darin Corbin puts the boots to Evan Gelistico in his attempt to earn a shot at the LWA Tag Team Titles for the North Star Express. Photo by Kari Williams

However, Cruz and Corbin quickly resorted to distracting the referee and getting in cheap shots on Gelistico while Abernathy was left helpless in the corner. The North Star Express dominated Gelistico for a large portion of the bout, until Gelistico breaks free from the torment and submission holds. Abernathy exploded with fury and did his best to exact revenge for his partner. However, it was not to be, and Cruz pinned Abernathy to qualify the North Star Express as contenders for the LWA Tag Titles.

Mike Sydal and Guy Smith took each other on prior to intermission. Sydal’s quickness and agility kept Smith off balance and on guard, but Smith’s pure forcefulness played an important role as well. Smith had Sydal in dangerous predicaments where Sydal had almost no choice but to tap out, but his intestinal fortitude willed him on.

Guy Smith wears down Mike Sydal. Photo by Kari Williams

Once gaining enough momentum, Sydal went airbourne, delivering his own style of high-flying excellence. The opportunistic Smith capitalized on Sydal’s desire to fly, and quickly got the pin.

Jake Manning had a test before him when he faced Mark Sterling, whose ego played a big part in the matchup. Sterling grounded Manning early on, but Manning refused to submit so easily; he focused his attack on Sterling’s arm, possibly to eliminate a resounding offense. But nothing discouraged Sterling’s rage and determination to be the best.

Mark Sterling pushes back the referee in his attempt to punish Jake Manning. Photo by Kari Williams

That same rage propelled Sterling’s tenacious attack on Manning. Nonetheless, Manning’s willpower matched, and perhaps according to some, surpassed that of Sterling, seeing as Manning walked away with the victory. That is not to discount Sterling’s skill, but that, in this instance, Manning had the upperhand.

Arik Cannon and Kyle O’ Reilly duked it out in the main event. Cannon appeared hesitant to start, but once the two got going, they wrestled an impressive bout. Throughout the battle, Cannon tried—on multiple occasions—to convince the referee that O’ Reilly had pulled his hair or done some other illegal action. This only fueled O’ Reilly’s desire to put Cannon in his place.

Kyle O' Reilly slows down Arik Cannon in Manifest Destiny's fast-paced main event. Photo by Kari Williams

Moments after Cannon challenged O’ Reilly to a test of strength and lost, he rolled out of the ring and sat down in the front row to take a break from the action. Once back in the ring, Cannon had regained his composure and wore down his competitor. But O’ Reilly’s heart and his fight brought him back into the game, and he slowly worked his way back from defeat to deliver an impressive kick and get the one, two, three.