Mike Wilson
Photos Brian Kelley

On February 27, 2016 High Risk Wrestling, a St. Louis mainstay since 2014, brought their brand of wrestling to the small town of Warsaw, Mo. Frank Thurman, the owner of High Risk Wrestling, recently decided to move his shows from the St. Louis area to Warsaw.

The show was highlighted with the first round of a tournament to decide who the new High Risk Heavyweight Champion was going to be after Blake Belakis relinquished the title shortly before the move.

In the first match of the tournament we saw “The Yoga Monster” Mike Sydal pick up an impressive victory over Paco.

The two high flyers put on an amazing match to open the show and really got the crowd of over a hundred people into the show from the start.

The show wasn’t just about the tournament though, The Magic Man  introduced the crowd to a special attraction.

All the way from Japan, Kiyoshi Shizaka made his debut with the Magic Man issuing an open challenge on his behalf. As fast as his Monster fueled legs could carry him John E. Rock was in the ring and hyped for the challenge.

In an impressive display of aerial maneuvers and super quick feet Shizaka proved to be a little too much for the crowd favorite, and beat Rock with a backslide pin. Showing his respect to the better man that night Rock bowed to his opponent before exiting the ring.

The theme of the night seemed to be sportsmanship and respect for one’s opponent up to that point in the night, but when Tyler Copeland extended his hand to Jack Gamble in the next quarter final match for the High Risk Championship bout, Gamble was treated to a boot to the gut for his trouble.

Gamble shook it off and went to work on Copeland. The two men had a great back and forth match with multiple two counts, but Copeland decided Gamble came to close one too many times. With a quick low blow while the ref’s back was turned Copeland rolled up Gamble for the win.

Next up the ultra-charismatic bad guy Elvis Aliaga took on The Math-Magician in the third quarter final match in the tournament.

Elvis tried to confuse his opponent before the match even started with some impossible math problems, but they proved to be no problem for the Magician. Unfortunately, Aliaga himself proved to be a problem as he pinned him 1-2-3 to advance to the next round of the tournament.

The final match in the tournament that night saw two veterans, Tony Kozina and Jeremy Wyatt, in a one on one match that was easily main event material. As the two battled back and forth in the ring, “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton took an interest in the match and came out to ringside to observe. Eaton’s distractions kept Wyatt off his game just enough for Kozina to pick up the win and advance to the next round in the tournament.

Obviously unhappy with the result of the match, Wyatt confronted the legend which quickly escalated from verbal confrontation to Wyatt laying Eaton out with a punch to the jaw. With all four matches in the tournament in the books we will see Mike Sydal, Tyler Copeland, Elvis Aliaga, and Tony Kozina advance to the semi-final round on April 23rd to decide who the next High Risk Champion will be.

The newly coined MWR Missouri Championship was on the line next as champion Ricky Cruz defended his title against Brandon Aarons and his manager Garrett “Freakin” Williams.

After much primping and preening by Aarons the match finally got underway. In a spectacular display of power and agility Cruz seemed to have Aarons number at every turn. Even with the constant interference of manager Williams, including choking the champion in the bottom rope and a jab to the throat from Aaron’s brush, Cruz came out on top retaining the coveted Missouri Title.

The main event of the night was for High Risk Wrestling Tag Team Titles. Champions Mike Outlaw and Justin D’air took on the up and coming Riegel Twins to see who the best tag team in High Risk Wrestling was. Both teams were firing on all eight cylinders that night as they threw everything they had at each other. The Riegel Twins, who are relatively new to the wrestling scene, already have an impressive collection of tandem moves in their arsenal had their hands full with the champion duo of Outlaw & D’air.

In an impressive display from both teams they battled back and forth and showed the crowd exactly why they all deserved to be in that championship match. With D’air on the shoulders of Logan, Sterling climbed to the top rope and delivered a devastating flying clothesline that put D’air down for the three count winning them their first tag team title victory in High Risk Wrestling.

After the match all four men shook hands in a show of respect even though a dejected Mike Outlaw was visibly upset about the loss of his belt.  Unfortunately, after hands were shook all around and the Riegels left the ring

Outlaw, who was becoming more visibly upset as the celebration went on, took out his frustration on his partner D’air. Taking three referees and the Riegel Twins to pull him off the prone D’air, Outlaw left the ring only to be met by Bobby Eaton. For a second we prepared for a confrontation, but were surprised when Eaton simply raised his hand and nodded in approval to end the show.

With great stories told more through wrestling than talking, new wrestlers with different styles most haven’t seen before, diverse highly entertaining performers, and an overall family friendly atmosphere High Risk Wrestling really delivered for its audience. If this show is any indicator of the product Frank Thurman will continue to build on, his brand of wrestling is one we can expect many great shows from in the future. There is no doubt Warsaw Missouri has a new asset in their town.

From Promoter Frank Thurman

High Risk Wrestling Presents: “It’s good to be King!” on Saturday April 23rd in Warsaw, Missouri at The Knights of Columbus hall, with the doors opening at 6:00PM and the first bell at 7:00PM!

At this time I am honored to announce a Very Special Legend who will be available for you to meet and get autographs from!

Former WWE, ECW, WCW, NWA, SMW Superstar, “The Wild Eyed Southern Boy” Tracey Smothers!

All tickets are just $15 each for reserved ringside!

Advanced tickets are available at The Warsaw Chamber of Commerce in the Town Square!

HRW Presents: “It’s good to be King!”
Saturday, April 23rd
6:00PM Doors and 7:00PM Bell!

Knights of Columbus Hall
31687 Highway 83
Warsaw, Mo.
65355