Last year at this time Jake Dirden was just another young aspiring wrestler looking to make his mark in the Midwest. During 2013, he had wrestled at Dynamo Pro Wrestling taking on El Sanchez and picking up an impressive wins against veteran Sean Vincent. He would also make his debuts in some random matches at Metro Pro Wrestling, 3XWrestling and a few other promotions. Yet, it would be a trip to Eldon, Missouri to Harley Race’s World League Wrestling’s annual WLW/WWE and Pro Wrestling NOAH week long camp that would set the foundation for make 2013 the year of “ DirdEY”.
At the WLW/WWE/NOAH camp show he was so dominate and impressive in his destruction of the talented Mizfitt Manners that we have not seen Manners return to the Midwest ever since. More importantly the devastation was witnessed by the top minds of NOAH who quickly signed him for a tour of Japan in the spring.
With the confidence of that match at WLW, Jack Dirden had his biggest test to date when he matched up with the “Rockstar” Jimmy Rockwell on January 4th at 3XWrestling. Once again Dirden was flawless as he upset the then former 3-time 3XW Pure Wrestling Champion. TNA Wrestling on SPIKE TV had a contest called Gut Check where fans could vote for a young star that they felt worthy for a chance to wrestle for TNA. Though Dirden would be one of the wrestlers to receive most of the votes for this opportunity, the contest would just never come together and just went away.
Prior to leaving to Japan he would make a statement at Dynamo Pro Wrestling when he defeated Ricky Cruz, a man that has been pinned only by a select few in the Midwest.
The trip around the world would not slow down the man as he terrorized the fans, and opponents. He would find himself in magazines and in the media in Japan during his first tour while wrestling close to 50 matches that involved Takeshi Morishima, Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura, Super Crazy, Taiji Ishimori, Maybach Taniguchi, Mohammed Yone, TMDK, Hitoshi Kumano, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Atsushi Kotoge, Yoshinari Ogawa, Mikey Nicholls, Masao Inoue. He would also debut at Kensuke Sasaki’s Diamond Ring promotion.
His return to the Midwest came with much fanfare as promoters quickly sought out his services. At Dynamo Pro wrestling Dirden won a handicap match against Billy McNeil and Dash Rando. During FIST Wrestling’s second tournament of the year he would demolish Poo Doo the Cow. In the second round he would not be stopped as he defeated arch rival Cruz, Alexander Rudolph, and David Vaughn in a four way match. In the finals he would meet the winner of the first FIST tournament Billy McNeil. McNeil fought with heart and gave it his all in an exciting match, but Dirden would not be denied and won the second FIST Tournament Championship.
A return to Kansas City’s Metro Pro Wrestling saw Dirden tested against a wrestler that is one of the top wrestling technicians in the Midwest, Steve Fender. Fender a Harley Race Protégé has enjoyed several trips to Japan as well as appearances for WWE. Once again Dirden would have his hand raised and the best was yet to come.
At SICW in 2013 he had picked up wins against the Waco, Purple Passion and “Lockdown” Tony Raze, but was tested on October 12th in his biggest match for the promotion against Flash Flanagan. Though he would not have his hand raised, Flanagan would not either as it would become double count out. The main event that night was a 15 man style Royal Rumble style match that saw everyone at SICW unable to take Dirden off of the top of the mountain.
Jake Dirden would return to his hometown of Pittsfield, Illinois on October 26th and pin Dan Walsh to win the DPW Heavyweight title. The next day he would debut for BEYOND Wrestling with a win against Texas standout wrestler Ricky Starks. His next match at SICW saw him defeat Travis Cook’s Organization member Dave Vaughn to secure a title match on the December show in East Carondelet, Illinois.
If anyone doubted his victory against former DPW Champion Dan Walsh, then all doubts were erased when he retained the title in a rematch. The show was sponsored by when STAG Beer and received rave reviews.
On November 30th Proving Ground Pro had a tournament that was to determine the vacant PGP Franchise title in Petersburg, Illinois. Dirden was the underdog when he met Ring of Honor star Tadarius Thomas. But on this night the power and intensity of Dirden was just too much for Thomas to handle. In the first round in the other bracket Ruff Crossing would defeat Tyson Dux. The finals of the tournament would see one of the most explosive and exciting matches of the year as the two went at each other with a vengeance. In a shocking moment and a testament to the heart of Ruff Crossing, Dirden was able to viciously drop Crossing onto a table, but somehow, someway Crossing was able to kick out. The battle continued with blows rocking each other that only the best could survive. When the smoke cleared, Crossing won the vacated title and became the first man in the MWR coverage area to defeat Dirden in singles action in 2013.
With the first loss of the year in the area for Dirden, he looked to end the title reign of the Ironman, Ken Kasa . But with the influence of Cook ringside the always opportunistic Kasa took advantage of that one mistake and turned the Asiatic Spike into a pin combo for the win.
Dirden had the wins, the tour of Japan, the championship. But most importantly he had the emotion that he was able to receive from the fans as they come to their feet and watch intensely because they just never know what Jake Dirden will do. From huge kicks in the middle of the ring, to throwing his opponent over a row of chairs into the wall, there is never a dull moment in a “ DirdEY” match.
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