Missouri Wrestling Revival’s
April 2008 Awards!

It’s that time again. As we head into the month of May, let’s look back at April and a great month of pro wrestling in the Midwest. It was a busy time, as the Kansas wrestling scene continued to heat up, Missouri saw more shows from all over the state, and Illinois stayed as busy as ever. Things seemed to be evolving in Iowa, too. Scott County Wrestling set their promotion’s record for attendance and 3XWrestling continued to thrive in their new home.

Our Awards Committee grew again for April 2008, and we encourage those with knowledge of the Midwest wrestling scene and an ability to be unbiased to make themselves known to us. The more people MWR has who can intelligently vote on these awards, the more prestigious and meaningful these awards can be!

Enough of the drama, though. Let’s get right to the meet and potatoes, shall we?

Wrestler of the Month

Ruddick is a promising and continually improving athlete. He has traveled across the Midwest and made a name for himself, but his first big step toward greatness could be his recent victory over Shorty Biggs in the Lethal Wrestling Alliance (LWA) on April 19, 2008 in Fairview Heights, IL, making him LWA Heavyweight Champion. It may be nearly impossible to take the title from him.

1st Runner Up – Shane Hollister [3XW/AAW/SCW]
2nd Runner Up – Cecil Cerveza [GAW]
3rd Runner Up – MsChif [NWA:CS/LWA/WLW/SHIMMER]

Tag Team of the Month

The LONRs continue a solid run as a tag team. Mark Sterling and Darrien Sanders are still the Pro Wrestling Phoenix (PWP) Tag Team Champions, defeating one of the best Midwest tag teams (Northstar Express) to retain the belts on April 26, 2008. They’ve also been active and successful recently in All American Pro Wrestling (AAPW). Both men are excellent singles wrestlers, but just seem to have a great chemistry together, making them a team to fear.

1st Runners Up – Northstar Express (Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz) [PWP/SCW/3XW/AAW]
2nd Runners Up – Johnny Vinyl & Davey Vega [LWA]
3rd Runners Up – Feature Presentation (Eric Ruffington & Blake Steel) [NMW/SLW]

Promotion of the Month

World League Wrestling

With two big title changes (Stacy O’Brien defeating Ms. natural for the Ladies title and Dangerous Derek defeating Chris Masters for the Heavyweight title), WLW continued to put together great shows across the Midwest. To top it all off, WLW was quite possibly the most active promotion for the month of April, with four very solid cards.

1st Runner Up – Lethal Wrestling Alliance
2nd Runner Up – Scott County Wrestling
3rd Runner Up – AAW: Pro Wrestling Redefined

Woman of the Month

MsChif [NWA:CS/LWA/WLW/SHIMMER]

MsChif arguably had the most productive and busy month of all female wrestlers. After a run in World League Wrestling in which she fell short of championship glory, the NWA Midwest Champion made her way to Chicago and became the SHIMMER Champion by defeating one of the best female wrestlers in the world, Sara Del Ray, giving her only her second career loss. She wasn’t done there, though. She headed to cape Girardeau, MO on April 27, 2008 and defeated the one and only Amzing Kong for the NWA Women’s Championship!

1st Runner Up – Stacey O’Brien [MMWA-SICW/WLW]
2nd Runner Up – Alexis Lightfoot [MMWA-SICW]
3rd Runner Up – Ms. Natural [WLW]

Personality of the Month

Harley Race [WLW]It’s amazing that a living legend such as Harley Race hasn’t been nominated before this point. Although Harley isn’t an active pro wrestler anymore, he is still a very active part of the Midwest wrestling scene. You’d be hard pressed to find a more credible individual to be head of a wrestling promotion, and as owner of World League Wrestling (WLW) he has found a winning combination that has allowed him to put on numerous high quality shows across the Midwest. Harley Race is a class act, seeking to put on great pro wrestling events, educate children at those shows, and train top notch pro wrestlers!

1st Runner Up – Tiffany Lafane [LWA]
2nd Runner Up – Doug Devore [HWA/OSWA]
3rd Runner Up – Skylar Pierce [3XW]

Match of the Month

SCW Championship Match:
Tyler Black vs Shane Hollister
(April 4, 2008 in Davenport, IA)

This was a tremendous match with an excellent background story of a partner’s betrayal behind it. After what must have seemed like an eternity, Shane Hollister had a shot at revenge as well as a shot at the Scott County Wrestling Heavyweight Championship! Hollister managed to defeat Black, who up until this point had dodged him, and become champ. From all reports, a great match in front of SCW’s largest crowd to date!

1st Runner Up –
LWA Championship Match:
Shorty Biggs (C) vs “The Future” Donovan Ruddick
(April 19, 2008 in Fairview Heights, IL)

2nd Runner Up – FTW Championship Match (2 out of 3 falls, Multi Stipulation):
Damian Blade (C) vs Curtis Payne
(April 12, 2008 in Kampsville, IL)

3rd Runner Up – PWP Tag Team Championship Match:
LONRs [Mark Sterling & Darrien Sanders](C) vs Northstar Express [Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz] (April 27, 2008 in Council Bluffs, IA)

Missouri Wrestling Revival and the April 2008 Awards are brought to you by:

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Pro Wrestling and More Radio plays wrestling related music… AND MORE! PWAM also supports breast cancer awareness and hopes for a cure. We are proud to be sponsored by PWAM, and encourage you to go give them a listen!

MMWA-SICW Results for April 19, 2008

By Kari Williams
Throwing one’s weight around seems to be the norm in MMWA-SICW as of late. The Connection has become like a tyrant in the company, running rampant and attempting to create a dictatorship, which was seen throughout the night on April 19th in East Carondelet, Illinois at the Community Center.

Ending the night with an explosive bang, Jeremy Lightfoot waged an uphill battle against Waco and the returning Jeff Hawkins. Fans were in an uproar for this emotionally fueled contest, where Hawkins and Waco dominated Lightfoot nearly the entire match. In the beginning moments, Lightfoot had tossed Waco to the outside, which resulted in Hawkins interfering and planting Lightfoot face first into a steel chair. Hawkins then continued the beat down on Lightfoot, using a chain as his aide. After this barrage, Lightfoot had blood trickling from his skull like water from a leaky faucet. Hawkins then forced Lightfoot upright, holding him from behind, as Waco journeyed to the top rope and launched onto a dazed Lightfoot, connecting with a double axe handle. Once making their way back into the ring, Lightfoot had to fight valiantly to gain even the slightest bit of momentum. He delivered fierce chops and punches to Hawkins, but just as it seemed that Lightfoot would reign supreme, Hawkins was able to tag Waco. The Texan native worked on Lightfoot’s arm continuously, perhaps to eliminate the Lightfoot Driver from the equation. Waco then distracted Referee Jim Harris, which allowed Hawkins to further injure Lightfoot with the chain. Showing his ‘no surrender’ attitude, Lightfoot tried once again to take the advantage. He had the strength to level Waco with a clothesline, and he may have gotten the win, if not for Hawkins breaking up the count. Waco and Hawkins dictated the remainder of the match-up—with the exception of Lightfoot having the wherewithall to hit Waco with a Lightfoot Driver—and after double-teamed headbutts from the top rope in opposite corners, Hawkins secured the victory at 13: 44. Unfortunately for Lightfoot, the beating did not end there, as Hawkins and Waco continued after the bell. Phil E. Blunt then entered the fray, revealing an apparent alliance with the two aforementioned men.

Previously, “The Main Attraction” Tommy Knight took on “Wild Child” Billy Diamond in a rematch from the March 15th show at the South Broadway Athletic Club. Knight controlled the match from the bell with an impressive shoulder tackle. However, Knight’s glory was short lived as Diamond quickly took over. Sensing that he himself was in trouble, Knight distracted referee Jim Harris, which allowed The Connection manager Travis Cook to attack Diamond, thus saving his “precious main attraction.” Cook’s antics turned the tide, so to speak, for Knight, giving him complete control. Then, when Diamond started getting some offense, and could have quite possibly gone 2-0 against Knight, Cook grabbed a bag of white powder—and after Knight had Diamond positioned—thrust it into Diamond’s face, thus leading to a disqualification victory for Diamond. In the aftermath, The Connection, doing what they do best, came out and attacked Diamond from behind.

In one of the few matches The Connection did not interrupt, Shaft took on Saladin. The fans berated Saladin from the opening bell with “U-S-A!” chants and willed Shaft to continue the fight. Shaft controlled nearly the entire bout by targeting the ankle, setting Saladin up for the ankle lock. The melancholy Middle Easterner barely had a chance to mount an offense, as a result of Shaft’s vigorous tenacity. Saladin made a weak attempt to defeat Shaft after Shaft connected with his signature turnbuckle-walk bulldog. However, it was not be, and Saladin tapped to the ankle lock at 16:04.

Lumberjacks reigned supreme in the much-anticipated lumberjack match between Steve Montana and Phil E. Blunt. Neither man gained a clear advantage early on, but both were able to dish out some formidable offense. Montana used his brute strength to execute multiple clotheslines, whereas Blunt connected with an impressive DDT. However, the contest was not as crisp as it appears, because where ever Blunt is, The Connection follows. Both men were knocked out of the ring multiple times, with the lumberjacks playing their part, and shoving them back into the squared circle—some even got a few shots in on the competitors as well. Just when Blunt began to lose some ground, The Connection found their way to ringside, distracting nearly all of the lumberjacks. That distraction then gave way to Jerome Cody sneaking in from the outside—entering the ring, thanks to Bobby D, Saladin and Tommy Riggs sidetracking Harris—and forced Montana to the mat with a crushing spear. Cody was in and out quicker than lightning can strike, and after further commotion, Blunt was able to steal a victory from Montana. All hell broke loose in the aftermath, where all of the lumberjacks began to turn on each other, until peace was eventually restored. Montana, Blunt and Cody then had words following the bout, expressing their obvious hatred for each other.

The preceding match saw Josh Arnold—in only his second professional match—taking on the All-American Hero Johnny Courageous. Once again proving his worth in the company, Arnold was able to match Courageous in speed, endurance and strength. Arnold focused on the leg of Courageous, locking him into a single leg Boston crab at one point, then an even more devastating leg-lock submission that had Courageous screaming in agony. However, Courageous was able to pull out the win with a small package after taking a clothesline and a dropkick from Arnold.

Prior to that match, Bobby D and Tommy Riggs fought with all the vigor and vitality that make them MMWA-SICW material. D dominated the match from the get go, focusing on Riggs’ leg. He even went so far as to forcefully slam the injured leg into the ring post. It appeared the match would be over quickly, when D received a three count from Harris, but the decision was quickly reversed when Harris discovered Riggs’ foot resting on the bottom rope. Using the anger which resulted from the missed call, D relentlessly attacked Riggs. However, Riggs found one moment of opportunity and capitalized. He delivered a devastating body slam, followed up by a People’s Elbow—shades of The Rock. At the five minute mark, Riggs slammed D to the mat with a clothesline, went for the pin, but only received a two-count. He then went for a chokeslam, and secured himself victory.

The opening bout of the evening pitted one-half of the Tag Team Champions, Mr. Bibbs, against Moondog Rover. Both men came to battle with every intention of winning. However, because of their equal determination, neither man was able to gain a clear advantage. With one minute remaining in the match, Rover went to deliver a corner splash to a dazed Bibbs, but Bibbs side-stepped Rover and had gotten a slight advantage with 30 seconds left. Bibbs then kicked the dog when he was down, delivering a boot to the chest, but just as Harris was bringing his hand down for the third count, time expired, and the match was declared a draw.

Before the action got underway, Travis Cook forced the fans to endure his new interview segment, “The Champagne Room.” His first guest was Commissioner Keith Smith. After back and forth bickering, in which Cook asked the question, “Why aren’t you wrestling?” Smith then pointed to his neck and said that two cervical neck fusions were keeping him from being in action. Soon though, the real reason for Smith being the guest was revealed—Cook had found a loop hole in the contract for the match he was scheduled to wrestle. A thirty day period had to elapse before Cook could compete. Therefore, Smith said that next month, there would be a drawing, open to all the fans in attendance, to determine who will be handcuffed to Cook in the match.

Combat Tested, Mother Approved
by Joshua Ray

I’ve been doing some thinking about how to get more involved in Midwest pro wrestling. I say that as if I am doing something differently than I normally do, but the fact of the matter is that i am always trying to stay involved in one capacity or the other. It’s hard to get that respect when somebody first starts out in this business, especially when they are involved as less than a promoter or a wrestler. Let’s face it, we love wrestling, but we all realize that you have to pay your dues before you can be taken seriously.

Those who do not pay their dues are those people we hear so much about. You know the people I’m talking about. These people are the people who try to train professional wrestlers but have barely been wrestling a few months. They are the people who take $5,000 and try to run a full time wrestling promotion with it, often cancelling shows and stiffing talent in order to make a quick buck.

Anybody who has the desire to make it in the pro wrestling has to accomplish two things. The first is to always stay true to yourself. You’ve always got to be honest with yourself about what you want to do. Set goals. Stick to the plan. Be yourself. Do not brag and boast about things that truthfully have nothing to do with you. It will only make you look like a fraud and a phony in the long run. Sure, in the short term you may achieve a moderate amount of success. In the end, however, the truth will be let out of the bag and you will lose every ounce of success you managed to attain, and then some.

The second thing you need to do is play to your strengths. For me, it’s writing and talking. Gone are my athletic days where I had big dreams of being the next Rey Mysterio Jr. The left me when I injured my back in Iraq in 2003. I’ve got to utilize the things that I am still proficient at. If you are not good in an area but want to be, then practice, practice, practice and train! One day you might be able to add that skill to your list of strengths.

Back to what I was originally talking about. I’ve been thinking about ways for MWR to better promote wrestling in the Midwest. I got to thinking about the MWR Awards and what I want to accomplish with them, and things started to spiral (which is a good thing).

Want to know how my brainwaves started spiraling? Take a look:

Right now, this site makes approximately zero dollars and zero cents. I’m not complaining, but it does make it difficult for me to get more involved in the wrestling scene like I want to. Wouldn’t it be great to have enough money by the end of the year to actually present the end of the year awards to the winners? I would love to have enough money through donations, ad revenue, personal funds, and merchandise sales to be able to buy the awards and present them to everyone who won! That would be awesome.

What would be even better would be to help promotions sanction matches in a few years for an MWR cup! It could be a one evening event with one promotion, but I think that the more than likely scenario would involve a couple of promotions and would take a few months. That idea might actually work as it could be a great promotional tool for all involved, plus it could bring talent to various promotions that wouldn’t normally be able to make it.

Do any of you have ideas or suggestions for a man with a very erratic train of thought? E-mail me!

Missouri Wrestling Revival’s 1st Quarter 2008 Awards!

Here are the winners and honorable mentions for 1st Quarter 2008.

Eric Ruffington has stayed busy chalking up wins and staying high profile in Illinois over the past three months, primarily staying busy in NMW and GAW. In GAW, he was GAW Central States Champion until February 2, 2008, when he was defeated by Cecil Cerveza. He was nearing five months with the title when he lost it. He then went on to face Jaxson Pride for the vacant GAW Heavyweight Championship, but came up on the short end. In NMW, he is a mainstay with the Central Illinois Championship belt. He is also one half of the SLW Tag Team Champions and NBWA’s Heavyweight Champ.

Chris Masters [WLW] – Recently released from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Chris Masters quickly became WLW Heavyweight Champion and has defeated all comers ever since in one of the best and most active promotions in the Midwest.

Shorty Biggs [LWA/CSW] – Shorty is currently the Lethal Wrestling Alliance (LWA) Heavyweight Champion. He became the champion early in the quarter and has taken on all comers, including a very hard fought battle with “The Rebel” Jeremy Wyatt. Shorty also has been climbing the ranks in Central States Wrestling since his debut last summer.

The Phoenix Twins are one of those tag teams in the Midwest that seem to be everywhere! If a promotion isn’t booking them, it’s easy to be puzzled as to why. They are that good. While AAW, AAPW and SCW have them bringing their intense and entertaining brand of wrestling to their respective areas of operation, many other promotions are taking notice. At the end of April, the Phoenix Twins even have an opportunity to be shown on NWA Wrestling Showcase (or scouted by those who are taping NWA Showcase). Their stock is rising, and they’ve had a very positive start to the year in 2008!

Honorable Mention:

“Da Bomb” Brian James & Brandon Espinosa [AAPW] – While not the most active tag team in the Midwest, these two left a great impression in limited action as partners. One highlight of their 1st Quarter 2008 was an impressive victory over Mark Sterling and “Showtime” Darrien Sanders on February 9th.

Winner of the very first MWR Monthly Award for Promotion of the Month (January), Scott County Wrestling has done an excellent job of matching two very important pieces of the wrestling pie of success: consistent shows and fantastic booking. The tag team scene has been fantastic, with two MWR matches of the month being SCW tag matches (Phoenix Twins vs Absolute Answer, Trik Davis & Danny Daniels vs Zero Gravity [Brett Gakiya & CJ Esparza]). The feud between Tyler Black and Shane Hollister has been highly entertaining. Mississippi Madman, Keith Walker, Marek Brave, and others on an extremely talented roster round out reasons why SCW should be much more widely recognized than they are.

Honorable Mentions:

World League Wrestling – WLW has one of the most active schedules, a high profile heavyweight champion, and a great working relationship with Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH. A very good promotion that barely missed being Promotion of the Quarter by ending in a three-way tie for second place.

All American Wrestling – Another of the promotions that barely missed being Promotion of the Month, AAW has another very active schedule and has one of the most entertaining and talented rosters in the Midwest. Jerry Lynn is their heavyweight champion and has almost made it a year with a very intense schedule of title defenses, defeating Marek Brave, Delirious, Keith Walker, Tyler Black, Silas Young and Austin Aries, among others.

Lethal Wrestling Alliance – Coming off of a rough show, LWA had a string of very successful and entertaining shows to begin the year to come in as the third member of the three-way tie for second place. Talent from all over the wrestling world has competed in an LWA ring this year, and they’ve got an underrated crowd favorite champion in Shorty Biggs.

Miss Natural [World League Wrestling]

There were a handful of female wrestlers who were active in the first three months of the year, but the race for Woman of the Quarter was down to two in the eyes of the voting wrestling community. Miss Natural edged out MsChif in very close voting, largely due to her two MWR Woman of the Month awards (February and March) and her victory over MsChif in WLW in the month of March. While she doesn’t really compete outside of the promotion that calls her their champion, she is a dominant force there and definitely won over the voters for the Woman of the Quarter.

MsChif [LWA/WLW] – The only other woman to receive votes for Woman of the Quarter, MsChif was Woman of the Month for the month of January and was arguably the most active female wrestler in the Midwest. MsChif is the NWA Midwest Woman’s Champion, and will soon battle TNA and NWA’s Awesome (Amazing) Kong in an all-important battle.

Love him or hate him, the man known as Mad Conservative Crimefighter is one of the more knowledgeable wrestling fans in the area. Running a website about the St. Louis Wrestling Community, Crimefighter keeps everybody up to date on wrestling results and the inner workings of the wrestling business as it relates to the St. Louis area. His forum is one of the most active non-promotion forums on the Internet, and he has one amazing list of promotions in Illinois and Missouri! These are but some of the reasons why Crimefighter has been selected by the MWR Awards Committee as Personality of the Quarter.

Honorable Mention:

Luke Roberts [LWA/UWA/RCW/CSW] – As we mentioned in our MWR March Awards, this guy must be doing something right!
Luke Roberts list of credentials:
– Ring Announcer/Official for Lethal Wrestling Alliance
– Ring Announcer/Official/Commentator for Ultimate Wrestling Alliance
– Ring Announcer/Official/Commentator for Rampage Championship Wrestling
– Ring Announcer for Central States Wrestling-Missouri
– Ring Announcer for Cage of Fury (MMA)
Great job by a very hardworking member of the Midwest wrestling community! He missed out in the voting for Personality of the Quarter, but that is no indication that the work he’s doing on the Midwest pro wrestling scene is meaningless!

MWR Match of the Quarter

Michael Strider. Jeremy Wyatt. Barbed wire. Nearly-severed arms. Nipples that actually were severed. Brutal.

Here is the breakdown of a match that could very easily be match of the year:

At least everyone thought the match would be inside the ring.

Honorable Mention:

TLC Dog Collar Match for the CSW Heavyweight Title:

The only other vote-getter in the Match of the Quarter category, this match had two things in common with the winner. First of all, it featured CSW Heavyweight Champion Michael Strider. Secondly, it was a sanctioned CSW Heavyweight Title match. Another brutal affair, this TLC Dog Collar Match featured two of the best in the Midwest competing for the gold. NWA Missouri Champion Dingo almost picked up the huge win, but Strider used some underhanded tactics to retain his title.

“Mark This Down”
by “Smart” Mark Anthony

Note from MWR: “Smart” Mark Anthony is a pro wrestling aficionado, Internet advocate, and aspiring wrestling manager with strong opinions and a blunt personality. The views expressed in his column do not necessarily reflect the thoughts, opinions, or feelings of MWR or the MWR staff.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: This article has been HEAVILY edited by me in order to protect the individuals and promotions involved. I will never run a pointed and negative article about any individual or entity unless thorough investigation has been conducted by me.
What’s the matter? Did you miss me?

I know there are those of you out there who will deny it but I, as your leader, know the truth. You’ve been lost without me. You’ve been clamoring for more from “Smart” Mark Anthony. You need me to tell you what you like and don’t like.

Here I am, basking in the glow of your adoration.

There are some strange things happening in the world of Midwest professional wrestling, friends. Very strange things. It’s my job to talk about them. Due to my connection with Missouri Wrestling Revival and the fact that I do not have my own website platform to project my views from, I’ve got to tread lightly on this topic. That being said folks… here goes nothing.

In the world of American professional wrestling, there are very few instances where a wrestler would find it feasible to limit himself/herself to only one wrestling promotion. Sure, a newer wrestler might have obligations to a wrestling school that is connected with a promotion, but I’m talking about wrestlers with more than a year of experience. Indy wrestlers in particular need to do some traveling in order to bring in steady money and showcase their skills. Most wrestling promotions only have one (maybe two) shows each month. Most wrestlers are lucky to make fifty to one hundred dollars per show. Do the math.

World Wrestling Entertainment has exclusive contracts. Total Nonstop Action only recently started using exclusive contracts when the company became more established last year. Other than those two promotions, I would venture to guess that the only exclusive contracts would be in connection with the various wrestling schools across the country.

I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt it.

The Midwest wrestling scene is no different. That is, it wasn’t until recently. There have been rumblings across the greater Midwest that a promotion, which as of my writing of this (April 8, 2008) hadn’t even had it’s first show yet, started sending out exclusive contracts to many Midwest wrestlers. The word on the street is that the promotion is claiming to have actually signed some of these wrestlers to exclusive contracts.

How much is this promotion paying? I’ll quit my job here at MWR (sorry, Josh!) and go to work for them if they are making it as worth a wrestler’s while as I imagine they’d need to.

Think about it.

I’ll break it down in optimistic fashion. If the average indy wrestler makes $300 per appearance (I’d say the average “good” Indy wrestler does not even make that much), and he/she typically works four shows per month for various promotions, that is $1,200. Can a start up Midwest promotion have the capability to pay $1,200 per month to make it worth a wrestler’s while? I seriously doubt it.

What’s more troubling is the rumor that has been running rampant with wrestlers whom have received these “exclusive contracts”, but have not signed them. Reports have varied, but wrestlers have stated that the contracts are between fifteen and twenty pages long. My sources also tell me that the “exclusive” part of this contract is hidden.

If we are all fans of professional wrestling, why would we want to sit idly by and support an organization that is obviously trying to exploit our wrestlers? It makes no sense to me.

Even more troubling is the report of stereotypical promotional infighting that has resulted in underhanded tactics from this new promotion. One example is a very well-respected promotion being undermined by a phantom entity calling the venue of each of the established promotion’s events. The caller stated that he/she was the owner of the established promotion and said that the show had been cancelled. The established promotion went from having nearly a year of wrestling dates, to having two or three.

When I originally wrote this article, I had much more information included in it. The article was much less vague then, but I’ll go on ahead and say that the editor of MWR is professional enough to keep somebody like me in check. That means that many of the details have been removed from this article pending a full investigation.

I’ll jump start the investigation by being at this organization’s first show to check on how things run.

You all haven’t heard the last of me!

RELATED LINKS

“Mark This Down” for January 18, 2008
“Mark This Down” for January 27, 2008
“Mark This Down” for February 17, 2008
“Mark This Down” for April 10, 2008
“Mark This Down” for May 9, 2008