Exciting fan turnouts throughout the Midwest this weekend proves that Pro Wrestling is alive and well in 2010 as major title changes happened while some champions were able to walk away still champions.
On Friday in Leavenworth, Kansas, St Louis powerhouse Trent Stone upset Brian Breaker for the World League Wrestling Championship. Stone follows in the footsteps of wrestler’s superstars such as Derek Stone, The Barbarian, Butch Reed, Takeshi Morishima, Trevor Rhodes and Keith Walker as men who have held this prestigious Championship. Also on the card WLW Women’s Champion Becca Swanson survived a triple treat match with former WLW Champion Amy Hennig and Lucy Mendez.
On the same night in Des Moines Iowa at 3XW this past Friday saw the New Gentleman’s Club of Gage Octane and Casanova led by Todd Countryman defeated the young exciting team of the High Flyers of Mike Sydal and Zach Thompson. Jimmy Rockwell hit a rock on bomb off the top rope to beat Brady A. Dezire and retain the Cruiserweight Title while The Viking Warrior” Kraig Keesaman successfully defended the 3XW Pure Wrestling championship over the returning Buck Albright by pinfall after a vicious Nordic Spike. Amazingly Keesaman has now not been pinned or submitted in over 20 months of 3XW competition.
In shocking news 3XW Heavyweight Champion Jeremy Wyatt was involved in another heated moment when he teamed with Gage Octane to beat Brian Ash and Maddog McDowell. Wyatt and Octane would get the win when he with a Kansas Tumbleweed set up by Ash shockingly turning on his partner and protégé McDowell and nailing him with a brutal clothesline. After the match, Ash stood triumphant with the rest of Gentlemen’s Club as fans pelted the ring with trash and loudly booed Ash’s actions. For the second month in a row, The Gentlemen’s Club added a prominent figure from 3XW’s past to the group.
Friday set the tone for the whole weekend as the action continued on Saturday.
IHW Illinois Champion Eric Allen (Photo Credit Brian Kelley)
Missouri Wrestling Revival was on hand at IHW in Dupo Illinois at a packed house to take in the tournament for the IHW Illinois Championship that saw Eric Allen defeat Mephisto in the first round while Billy McNeil advance by beating Sean Vincent. In the finals Sean Vincent would make his presence known by hitting McNeil with a fireball allowing Allen to get the pin in a Match of the Year Candidate.
The Submission Squad(Pierre Abernathy & Evan Gelistico) won a triple threat match with Justin Wade & Shawn Santel and Cabal & Brandon Graves(w/ Mr. Late-Nite & Michael Gideon Morbid) to retain the ACW Tag Team Titles when Gelstico executed a single-arm DDT out of nowhere and caught Cabal in a Fujiwara armbar until he tapped out.
IHW Champion Brandon Aarons was put to the test in the Main event when he took on “Spoiled” Steven Kennedy. At times it looked like there would be a new IHW Champion but Aarons once again showed why he is one of the top young stars in the Midwest as he beat Kennedy with a cobra clutch suplex to retain the title.
IWAP in Olney Illinois promised to be an exciting night of wrestling when Dynamite Danny Cannon granted Christian Rose a rematch for the IWAP Title that he won in January. Rose was on top of his game and regained the championship when he pulled the turnbuckle cover off early in the match and that would be the deciding factor when Christian Rose slammed Cannon into the dangerous corner. In tag team action the The Northern Saints (Canadian Kidd Tony Flood and Damien Thorne) beat Team xXx ( Jay Spade and Joey O’ Riley) to win the Tag Team Titles.
A weekend of wrestling would not be complete without the 2009 MWR Wrestler of the Year Mark Sterling making his impact known. WLW had a tournament to for the vacated WLW Tag team titles in El Dorado Springs MO . Sterling is capable of winning tag team titles with any partner but when you match him up with one of the best in the Midwest in “Superstar” Steve Fender then the odds in Vegas goes way up. Sterling and Fender would have their hands full with the ultra talented Brian Breaker and Ryan Drago but in the end it would be Sterling and Fender who would have their hands raised. Sterling and Fender has the skills to dominate the tag team scene in 2010.
WLW Women’s Champion Becca proved that Friday night was no fluke when she survived once again in a triple treat between Amy Hennig and Lucy Mendez.
Look for more recaps in depth from these exciting shows in the future at MWR.
Wrestling fans gear up for an exciting 2010 as Pro Wrestling comes to your town. We hope to see you there.
EDITORS NOTE: I would like to personally apologize to former WLW Champion Brian Breaker for not having him listed as the WLW Champion this past week in the MWR Roll Call of Champions. Instead I had “Superstar “ Steve Fender listed and thanks to several MWR Readers I was reminded that Breaker won the title from Fender this past October. Breaker is one of the top young talents in the Midwest with a great look, awesome power and a bright future in this sport. In no way was Breaker not being listed meant as disrespect for his accomplishment of winning the WLW title.
Brian Kelley
Missouri Wrestling Revival 