By Kari Williams
Lethal Wrestling Alliance (LWA) returned to the Vetta Sports Complex in St. Peters, MO with a crowd of 103 ready to watch “Future” Donovan Ruddick take on LWA Champion Jeremy Wyatt for the title. They were also sitting on the edge of their seats anticipating who would win the battle of the submission squads. Would the new breed of Evan Gelistico and Pierre Abernathy dominate? Or would the originals, Nick Tyson and Dingo, prove their worth?
Before either of those explosive matches took place, the always-flamboyant Mike Sydal, with Brandon Aarons and Brandon Espinosa, had his hands full against Shamus O’ Flannery. Sydal and O’ Flannery kicked off the show with a high-flying, fast-paced bout, which Sydal appeared to dominate.
Mike Sydal’s highflying offense led him to victory against Shamus O' Flannery. Photo by Kari Williams
However, O’ Flannery had the opportunity to get in a few key offensive maneuvers with his astounding antics. Despite the fans being firmly against Sydal and his companions, O’ Flannery came up short in this instance, as Sydal pinned him for the three count.
Former LWA Champion Shorty Biggs took on Mark Sterling in the following contest. The more technical Sterling controlled the majority of the match up against the more grounded Biggs. Sterling’s ‘I’m better than you’ attitude stood at the forefront during the bout, as he berated Biggs inbetween suplexes and punches.
Mark Sterling’s tenacity and skill allowed him to get a win over the former LWA Champion Shorty Biggs. Photo by Kari Williams
At the urging of the fans, Biggs nearly had Sterling defeated, but the tenacious Sterling would not relent, despite a painful submission hold. Sterling wound up delivering a punishing piledriver to Biggs for the win.
Pierre Abernathy, Evan Gelistico, Gary the Nightowl and Tiffani LaFane then came to the ring, claiming they did not want to wrestle Tyson and Dingo. When the trio called out their opponents, Adam Raw emerged, stating that the match will go on and that Tyson and Dingo ditched the current Submission Squad members because Abernathy and Gelistico turned the group into a joke. Angered by Raw’s statement, the three men attacked Raw, even going so far as to pulverize Raw’s already-injured arm with a ladder.
B.A.B.E.WATCH made their second appearance for Aarons’ match against Super Electro. With Sydal present at rignside, Electro began at an immediate disadvantage, but he worked relentlessly to come out on top. After nearly besting Aarons in a test of strength, he looked poised to win the bout, but Sydal’s constant interference cost Electro.
Mike Sydal causes a distraction, allowing Brandon Aarons to cover Super Electro for the win. Photo by Kari Williams
Sydal’s antics included jumping on the ring apron to distract the referee and choking Electro on the ropes. He even aided Aarons’s winning pin, when he held Electro’s foot to ensure that the masked man could not kick out.
Next, Gary the Nightowl, accompanied by Tiffani LaFane, tried to get the best of K.C. Karrington. As the bell rang, Karrington got the best of Gary by throwing sunflower seeds on the mat, causing the nightowl to run around eating seeds. Once the contest got underway, both men put on a terrific showing of their athleticism.
K.C. Karrington took Gary the Nightowl to the limit in their match. Photo by Kari Williams
Gary’s newfound rage, and LaFane’s guidance at ringside, made him a ruthless opponent. However, Karrington would not be denied. He overcame the odds of having his former manager present and defeated Gary after Gary missed hitting Karrington from the top rope. Karrington saw his moment, and took advantage, securing victory.
After intermission, the battle of Submission Squads ensued. Tyson and Dingo fought with fire and determination burning in their eyes. Their focus seemed to shock Abernathy and Gelistico, who resorted to illegal tactics. They even goaded Tyson in the ring when Dingo was hurting, only to have the referee stop Tyson, allowing the new Submission Squad to further punish Dingo.
Pierre Abernathy and Evan Gelistico double-team Dingo during the battle of the Submission Squads. Photo by Kari Williams
The technical approach of Tyson and Dingo put them in control of the bout. Both teams fought valiantly, but Tyson and Dingo’s fervor did not equate to success. Gelistico forced Tyson to tap, allowing the new squad to retain the tag team titles.
Abernathy grabbed a mic after the match and proclaimed that the match they just participated in was Tyson’s last match and that Gelistico and he wanted to shake Dingo and Tyson’s hands out of respect. The fans did not buy in to Abernathy’s spiel, and just as the four men were about to shake, Gelistico and Abernathy spat in the faces of their former allies.
Karrington returned to the ring for an interview with Paul Parker, where Karrington discussed the end of the Ego Express, his newfound singles career, and his forthcoming title match.
Dash Rando wrestled B.A.B.E.WATCH’s third man, Espinosa, in an intense battle. Rando’s highflying, enigmatic style made him popular with the fans and allowed him to excel against Espinosa. With Aarons and Sydal at ringside, one could imagine that Rando had no chance of surviving.
“Thee” Brandon Espinosa does his best to wear down Dash Rando. Photo by Kari Williams
He handled the difficulty quite well though, even taking out all three men with one shot from the top turnbuckle. Unfortunately, after Espinosa planted Rando with a double-underhook backbreaker, Rando came to a dead stop. Espinosa attacked Rando as Rando escaped to the back. Espinosa won via countout.
Wyatt and Ruddick went through a hellacious battle in the main event. These two tremendous athletes put everything on the line for the sake of championship gold. Wyatt’s tenacity and pure viciousness and Ruddick’s raw strength were present throughout the entire encounter.
LWA Champion Jeremy Wyatt launches onto the challenger, ‘Future’ Donovan Ruddick during their main event battle for the title. Photo by Kari Williams
Approximately half way through the match, Ruddick and Wyatt took it outside, and fans scattered to get away from the angered-fueled athletes. Champion and challenger battled all the way through the fans, going from one side of the arena to the other, holding nothing back.
Controversy ensued after the referee made a three count, awarding Ruddick the belt, despite Wyatt's foot being on the ropes. Photo by Kari Williams
Ruddick looked poised for victory as they made their way back to the ring, and nearly earned himself the LWA championship after delivering the Iconoslam, but Wyatt had his foot on the bottom rope and the referee did not see it—LWA President Luke Roberts did, however. Roberts ordered the match restarted, and after a few minutes, Wyatt covered Ruddick while Ruddick’s foot was on the ropes, and retained his belt. Despite the referee noticing Ruddick’s foot after the count, Roberts did not restart the match.
LWA President Luke Roberts and Referee Kurt Styles argue over Ruddick’s foot being on the ropes when Wyatt went for the pin. Photo by Kari Williams
Once Ruddick went to the back, Karrington came out to challenge Wyatt for the title. After arguing, begging and pleading, Wyatt accepted the challenge proclaiming, “It will be your only shot because I am
going to murder you.”
LWA’s next event, Circus Maximus, will take place on June 20 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in O’ Fallon, IL. Check http://www.lwawrestling.com for more details.
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