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The Kari Williams MMWA-SICW Recap

Posted by Admin on February 23, 2008

MMWA-SICW results February 16

By Kari Williams

Shock and awe. Pomp and circumstance. Hard-fought victory and crushing defeat. Welcome to yet another night of hot wrestling action hosted by MMWA-SICW at the East Carondelet Community Center in East Carondelet, Illinois.

In a return match from the previous week, Kahyman once again challenged Junior Heavyweight Champion A.J. Williams for the title in the evening’s main event. Both men fought with all the vigor and vitality that make them both champion material. Showing he is a true ring warrior, Kahyman came to battle with his left shoulder taped from the preceding week’s injury, and gained the early advantage by working on Williams’ knee, which he injured in an altercation involving Phil E. Blunt and the returning Steve Montana earlier on the show.

As the match progressed, Kahyman used a few of his devilish tactics such as biting and choking his competitor, but they made no real impact. Consequently, when Kahyman threw Williams into the corner and prepared to lunge for him, Williams connected with a boot to the face and gained the advantage.

The action then spilled to the floor, where Williams rammed the Rammstein loving vampire directly into the ring post and brought a chair into the mix. With the chair, as well as the competitors, in the ring, Williams hung Kahyman upside down in the ring corner and set up the chair in the center of the ring. He then proceeded to launch off the chair and connect with a devastating dropkick.

However, when Williams attempted a second maneuver with the chair as his aide, Kahyman telgraphed the endeavor and stepped out of the way, causing Williams to land squarely on the unforgiving chair. Kahyman’s quick thinking gave him the advantage as the men once again moved the match outside the squared circle.

Using Hammurabi’s ‘eye for an eye’ law, Kahyman forced Williams to collide with the unrelenting ring post. These rabid competitors re-entered the ring where Kahyman seeked to regain his title, but received two consecutive two counts instead.

Williams then attempted a comeback, where the challenger and the champion exchanged fierce punches. Sensing that victory was near, Williams journeyed to the top rope and went for a moonsault, but, once again, Kahyman sensed what was coming and moved out of harm’s way. Taking advantage of the situation, Kahyman connected with a swanton bomb for the pin and 13:47, recapturing the belt he rightly deserves.

Prior to the main event, Phil E. Blunt accepted a challenge made by Steve Montana earlier in the evening.

It was then revealed that MMWA-SICW announcer Travis Cook aligned himself with The Connection, becoming their manager. Cook called out both Lightfoot and “The Urban Legend” Kevin X, proclaimed Blunt as the real urban legend, then declared that Knight is the future of the wrestling business and resigned as announcer—effective immediately.

The match which lead up to the unforeseen turn of events pitted Blunt against Angel, who sported an unconventional black mask instead of his traditional black and white face paint. Blunt gained control in the opening moments with a harsh clothesline, but just as he began to capitalize, Montana charged from the back with his head wrapped in a bandage from a steel chair beating courtesy of Blunt.

The two men attacked each other relentlessly, showing no remorse, causing “The Main Attraction” Tommy Knight, Williams, Jerome Cody, Eric Brewer and “Wild Child” Billy Diamond, among others, to separate the two brawlers. Once Blunt and Montana were separated, Montana issued a challenge to Blunt.

Before the controversy ensued, Mr. Bibbs took on the middle-eastern menace, Saladin. In a fairly even match, both Bibbs and Saladin snuck in formidable offense, where Saladin worked on Bibbs’ arm and Bibbs used his brute strength to capitalize at opportune moments. Five minutes into the contest, Bibbs was in control and went for the pin, but Saladin popped his shoulder up at two.

Bibbs tried to maintain control of the match, but when he went for a splash on Saladin, who layed helpless in the corner, his knees gave out on him. Saladin then capitalized on Bibbs’ misfortune and attempted to end the match, but his pompous attitude became his demise.

Saladin could have won the match. However, when he pinned Bibbs, he prayed to Allah simultaneously and refused to cover Bibbs for the entire three-count. As a result, Bibbs secured his victory at 11:25 with a stiff boot to the face of the now-meager middle eastern.

Initially, the preceding match was set to be Montana taking on the “True Lluchador,” Chucho. However, with the ambush attack by Blunt, Montana was unable to compete. Therefore, “The Main Attraction” Tommy Knight served as a replacement.

A fast-paced bout from the start, Knight controlled the early stages of the match, nailing Chucho with powerful punches and a devastating clothesline. Chucho was able to recover just enough to deliver a hurricanrana that sent Knight to the outside.

Reacting on instinct, Knight quickly made his way back to the ring and locked Chucho into a submission hold. At the five-minute mark, Knight had control of the match, but Chucho took an opportunity to sneak in a second rope moonsault. Unfortunately for Chucho, “The Main Attraction” proved his moniker correct, when he hit his finisher in which he soars from the top rope, and plants his knees squarely into his opponent’s face, and secured yet another victory for The Connection.

The first title match of the evening pitted the challenger Jerome Cody against the Heavyweight Champion, “The Urban Legend,” Kevin X. Cody and X began pummeling each other with a barrage of fists before the bell even rang, as the two hate-fueled men battled their way to the ring. Once they entered the squared circle, X controlled the match and pounded away on Cody with 10 consecutive blows to the head.

With the match fully underway, Knight made his way to ringside to distract X. Knight’s presence forced X to ensure that his presumably unwavering mindset did not falter. Just prior to the 10-minute mark, Cody had X in the corner and delivered devastating chops to him. Much to the pleasure of the crowd, X reversed Cody and became the one laying down the thunderous chops, then followed up with an impressive drop kick.

Knight, possibly sensing defeat for his fellow Connection member, jumped on the ring apron, but was met with a swift shove by X. In retrospect, that may have been the deciding factor for this bout, as Blunt then rushed to ringside to aid his fallen comrade. Commotion ensued, as the commissioner, Keith Smith, entered the fray at ringside, which allowed the Connection to take advantage, stealing a win for their boy, Cody. At the conclusion of the match, Blunt hid something, presumably brass knuckles, in his ring gear.

Holding up the belt and glowing with an evil aura about him, Cody smirked to the crowd and belted, “My southern ways keep me laid and paid,” as he rejoiced with The Connection, until X chased him from ringside.

“Wild Child” Billy Diamond waged battle against Waco in the second bout of the evening. Only minutes into the match, Waco clotheslined Diamond out of the ring, and followed up with a dive over the top rope, landing directly on Diamond. To ensure the match did not end by count-out, Waco crawled back to the ring to break the count, giving Diamond time to recuperate. Consequently, Diamond forced Waco to collide with the ring post. After tossing Waco back into the ring, Diamond attempted to exploit his challenger, but his cocky pinning predicament allowed Waco to get his shoulder up at the two count.

From this point on, Waco gained control of the bout, hitting Diamond with three consecutive suplexes and a death valley driver to gain another check in the ‘win’ column.

Eric Brewer took a trip to the dog pound in his opening match against Moondog Rover. In the back and forth contest, Rover did not gain a clear-cut advantage over Brewer until he connected with a full-nelson slam. Utilizing his lead, Rover also connected with a modified falling head-butt and a ‘low blow punch’ when the referee was distracted. Brewer got in very little offense for the remainder of the match, and left the pound with his tail between his legs after taking a running powerslam from Rover.

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Mark This Down

Posted by Admin on February 17, 2008

“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.
I know you all missed me. To tell you the truth, I missed myself a little, too.

 

I’ve been staying busy doing what I do best, and that is sitting at my computer keeping track of all of the wrestling news. On the Midwest front, there isn’t a whole heck of a lot going on when you look at the surface. Fortunately, the voice of the Internet Wrestling Fan (or IWF, as Disco In-Crappo refers to my people) digs a little deeper into the state of affairs to find a few glimmering pieces of hope. While some may be doom and gloom, or drama lovers (reference my last column, please), I prefer to find hope and remain intelligently optimistic. I say “intelligently optimistic” meaning that I look hopefully into the future while still realizing that we’ve got plenty of smartly placed steps before we get to that bright conclusion.

Okay, I’m rambling a bit. Let’s dive into my column by looking at some of the bright spots in Midwest wrestling.

1. Chris Masters is the new World League Wrestling Champion.

Some people might downplay this, as WLW has a reputation for being uncooperative with other promotions. I do feel that Chris Masters as WLW champ raises WLW’s clout in the Midwest and can give a residual effect to other promotions operating in Missouri and the immediate area surrounding the state. He’s been very high profile on WWE television relatively recently, and for long enough in duration to have made a solid impression in the casual fans mind. If Chris Masters can draw attention to a smaller Midwest promotion, perhaps he can help talent in the Midwest gain some name recognition from area fans.

2. NWA Wrestling Showcase on Colours.

It is still too early to tell whether NWA’s TV show on Dish Network is going to be a success or not, but already it has given professional wrestlers from different areas of the country a chance to shine on a larger stage. It shouldn’t be too much longer before NWA Midwest has some sort of presence on the show and with NWA Midwest receiving exposure, so will the Midwest talent that is showcased.

3. Missouri Wrestling Revival

Okay, I’ve gone and done it. I can’t help but brag on my sponsor, MWR. Some might saying my nose is brown, but you can’t deny that MWR is trying to do a good thing for the Midwest wrestling community. Josh and MWR offer solid cheap publicity to the various promotions across the Midwest, and are even offering advertising space on the site for a nominal fee. I personally don’t know the rates, but I assume they are fairly priced. On top of that, MWR is trying to work out the kinks in a ratings system for Midwest wrestling and did a bang up job on last months awards. I’ve talked to Josh on more than one occassion, and the guy is genuine without the shadiness people have come to expect from the wrestling business.

This edition of “Mark This Down” is shorter than usual, but tune in next time around when I drop science once again on the Midwest wrestling world from my throne high above my Internet Kingdom!

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

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The Kari Williams MMWA-SICW Recap

Posted by Admin on February 15, 2008

The Kari Williams MMWA-SICW Recap
(February 9, 2008)
On the MMWA-SICW Feb. 9 show at South Broadway Athletic Club, the action was just as much inside the ring as outside. Nearly every match entailed a spill out of the ring, and the fans ate up every minute of it.

Junior Heavyweight Champion A.J. Williams defended his title against Kahyman, MMWA-SICW’s resident vampire in the night’s main event. Neither man gained a clear advantage early on and each competitor made a statement that demanded victory—Kahyman with a picture-perfect dropkick and Williams with a relentless attack filled with flying fists and furious punches. Only minutes into the match, the action spilled to the outside, where Williams connected with a double axe-handle from the ring apron. Although Williams appeared to be in control, Kahyman turned the match around and gained a distinct advantage at the 10-minute mark.

Moments later, both athletes ended up on the outside of the ring for a second time. At some point while on the outside, Kahyman injured his left arm. Hoping to secure a quick victory on a weakened Kahyman, Williams went for the cover, but to no avail. Going on instinct, Kahyman, with only one good arm, recooperated enough to hit a swanton bomb from the top rope. Nevertheless, fate was not on Kahyman’s side as Williams hit a superkick and the 450 splash to secure the victory and retain his title.

Shrouded in confusion, the preceding bout, as oringially billed, had Phil E. Blunt set to face Eric Brewer. However, when Brewer did not come to the ring after two consecutive announcements, Dave Vaughn, Moondog Rover and Shaft appeared at ringside. The fans were then informed that Brewer was not in the building.

As a result, officials determined that one of the three men who had come down would have the opportunity to serve as Brewer’s substitute. Shaft got the go ahead, as well as the early advantage, but Blunt quickly took over. Soon after the bout began, one of Blunt’s partners-in-crime, Jerome Cody, ventured to ringside and interfered in the match, out of sight of the referee. By the five-minute mark, Cody’s antics benefited Blunt, as he had firm control of the match. Shaft got in very little offense for the remainder of the match, securing only an ankle lock, which Blunt reversed.

The closing moments consisted of Blunt planting Shaft with a viscious power bomb at 9:57. Because Blunt could not be content only boasting of his accomplishment, he enlisted the aid of Cody to help him beat down Shaft, resulting in both Tommy Knight and Kevin X venturing to ringside. Initially, it appeared as though X would assist Shaft. However, proving his false motivations, X boasted that he would take on all comers, including Shaft.

Prior to that predicament, X defended his Heavyweight Championship against Jeremy Lightfoot. Tensions were high from bell to bell, as the two warriors held nothing back. During the contest, Shaft made his way to ringside to observe the proceedings.

In an attempt to eliminate the Lightfoot Driver from the equation, X consistently worked on Lightfoot’s arm throughout the battle. After 10 minutes had elapsed, X executed a running powerslam and journeyed to the top turnbuckle. However, Lighfoot had him scouted and blocked X with a big boot to the face. Gaining momentum, Lightfoot connected with a moonsault from the second rope, but could not capitalize as a result of X lying within arm’s reach of the ropes.

In effect, Lightfoot positioned X on the turnbuckles for a superplex, but X telegraphed it, and was able to put Lightfoot in yet another arm-wrenching submission. Although a valiant effort on Lightfoot’s part, X’s targeting of a specific body part ensured his victory, as Lightfoot tapped out.

Following his triumph, X said that Shaft, who was still ringside, could have a title shot at any time. X followed that statement by saying, “I don’t lie down, and I kick down!” Every fan in the building seemed to be on Shaft’s side of the confrontation. Even one of the Slamzone crew, who were selling merchandise, held up 8x10s of Shaft, and chanted in unison with the rest of the crowd, “Shaft! Shaft! Shaft!”

Prior to that stellar match-up, Moondog Rover tried to make puppy chow out of Lumberjack Abe. After back and forth action in the beginning moments, Abe forced Rover to the outside, where Lumberjack Gabe, who had accompanied Abe to ringside, was lying in wait. The action continued, with neither man claiming a distinct advantage. Near the final moments of the match, Gabe stole Rover’s signature bone, much to the shagrin of Rover. Gabe used Rover’s ally against him, giving the win to his partner—no bones about it.

Shaft and Jerome Cody made their initial appearances in the bout just prior to intermission. Jerome Cody appeared to be at a disadvantage in the beginning stages until Lightfoot came out to observe the goings on of the contest, distracting Shaft. Ten minutes in, Cody had a decisive advantage. However, Shaft’s ‘never-say-die’ personality would not allow him to give up easily. He had Cody tied up with an ankle lock, and it appeared as though Shaft had the match won. Cody slammed his hand to the mat once—but that did not constitute a ‘tap out’—then twice—still not an official ‘tap’—and once again he pulled the same trick, giving himself just enough time to grasp for the bottom rope.

After another back and forth encounter, the match ended in a draw, with Cody nearly tapping to the ankle lock.

All hell broke loose in the evening’s ladies’ match, where Stacy O’ Brien took on Alexis. O’ Brien controlled the opening moments of the bout until Alexis connected with a piledriver and a near fall. No clear advantage could be seen until five minutes in, where O’ Brien lead the match. After a viscious chase around the ring, both athletes found themselves back in the squared circle with O’ Brien on the receiving end of feroucious chops by Alexis. The women then found their way to the outside once again, pummeling each other with a barrage of flying fists, causing the referee to end the contest with a double count-out. The sounding of the bell did not deter these two hard-hitting individuals. It took the referee, Lightfoot and Waco to separate the two.

In the first title match of the evening, Saladin and Waco took on the Tag Team Champions Mr. Bibbs and Dave Vaughn. Saladin and Vaughn started the match for their respective teams, with Vaughn antagonizing Saladin with unrelenting chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” As the match got underway, Saladin and Waco used excellent tag team strategy by cutting the ring in half, executing quick tags and double-teaming Vaughn in the early stages.

However, Bibbs’ experience combined with Vaughn’s natural athleticism sealed the victory for the tag team champs. Bibbs ended the match with a boot to the face of Saladin, and an added spear by Vaughn for good measure, to get the three count. Following the victory, The Lumberjacks came out to challenge the champions to a match, which Bibbs and Vaughn readily accepted.

Kicking off an explosive night, Lumberjack Gabe, accompanied by Abe, took on “Hot Shot” Tommy Knight, accompanied by Blunt. In a back and forth contest, Gabe and Knight both implemented key moves from their arsenal, with Gabe utilizing his pound-and-ground attack and Knight tying up Gabe in a classic figure-four leglock. With both Blunt and Abe interfering at one point or another, Gabe essentially cost his own brother a victory by accidentally connecting with a fist to the face on Abe when Knight ducked out of the way and secured the pin.

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Combat Tested, Mother Approved

Posted by Admin on February 6, 2008

“Combat Tested, Mother Approved”
Issue 1

by Joshua Ray

Introduction, Thoughts, and Paying Respect to Wrestling!

I’ve been planning on writing a column for the site since I started this thing a month ago, but until now I hadn’t had the time. Between my actual job and a labor of love known as Missouri Wrestling Revival, I have been keeping myself very busy and very tired. I’m not complaining, though, as I am enjoying every minute of it. I have time to do both and still spend time with the family, so life is good.

A little bit about me:

I’m a wrestling fan. I was a fan in the early 80’s when my grandma (mom’s side) would take me to the shows to yell at the bad guys in Alabama. I was a fan when I move to Missouri at the age of 5 and my grandpa (dad’s side) would record, rent, and buy any wrestling he could get his hands on so that we could watch together. I stayed a fan until 1999 when I was 18 and joined the Army.

I spent years deployed and in the field, with no real time to stay up to date on wrestling, so I missed WCW and ECW being bought by WWE, and all of the lackluster wrestling that followed. I returned to wrestling in 2005 while attending Korean language school after becoming an interrogator for the Army. I needed time to unwind, and wrestling once again provided an outlet for me to keep from stressing out. By this time, I was married with a kid on the way… I wanted to spend time watching wrestling with my son just as my grandfather had done with me.

In 2007 I left the Army (at the time I was in California) and moved back to Missouri, where I now reside. I work as a government civilian and love the time I have to pursue my dreams as opposed to marching through the desert in Iraq or other great places. Wrestling is a part of that dream.

Now I’ll get to the meat and potatoes of my first column on the site.

Since returning, I have went out of my way to get my wife involved in my labor of love. I try to make her sit down and watch wrestling, but it just doesn’t appeal to her very much. To her, most of the angles are boring and unrealistic. Promos are rarely entertaining to her, although she enjoys old videos of the Rock, Stone Cold, Flair, and others deemed as great “talkers”, which lends to the theory that those guys really ARE great. She’s still very entertained by Ric Flair even though he is old.

Recently, as I’ve got more involved with wrestling and shown interest in the business side of it, I’ve tried to bring my wife to live wrestling events. She’s not been very enthused, but she’s been to three shows with me. The first was a WWE house show, the second one she was sick, and the third one was this Saturday. It was Central States Wrestling’s “Reloaded”.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This is not some lame plug for CSW. This is a look at what it takes to bring in those fans that sit down and watch WWE every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, yet won’t go to an Indy wrestling show. This is how Indy wrestling won my wife over.

To understand my wife’s frame of mind as it pertained to that show, you need to understand that:

– She’s not a wrestling fan, but watches about 5 to 10 hours of TV wrestling (and MMA) per month with me.

– She got up at 6AM with her husband, prepared the food and packed, spent time with her son and then helped her sister-in-law and mother get ready to babysit.

– She then rode in a car for 4-5 hours, checked into a hotel in Lawrence, KS, and then went to eat and relax.

By the time the show rolled around, both of us were tired. The first match was exciting but things slowed down until the main event, which was Michael Strider vs Jeremy Wyatt in a no rope barbed wire match.

She seemed out of it for most of the show. I passed the time by talking with friends and buying/trading DVDs in between matches. Until that main event, she was very apathetic… and apathy is a trait you don’t want in a crowd at a wrestling event. That main event made her interested in the product, and afterward I talked to her about what she did or did not like.

The no rope barbed wire match really got to her, but in a good way. She couldn’t stop talking about the respect she had for wrestlers like Michael Strider and Jeremy Wyatt who obviously put a tremendous amount of effort into entertaining the fans. In her mind, it seems like some wrestlers just go through the motions and aren’t there to entertain. She said that she would go to a show anytime that she knew people like those two were going to be there.

I was curious whether or not the blood had anything to do with it, but she was quick to let me know that the blood wasn’t a factor. To her, the main thing was that the wrestlers gave it their all and tried to make sure the crowd was involved. She pointed to Mark Sterling, who earlier in the night had berated the fans and seemed to always be aware of fan reaction and how to keep them involved in his match with Darrien Sanders.

She also mentioned the first match and how fast paced and interesting it was. It featured Hype Gotti, Jaysin Strife, and Tony Cortez. While there wasn’t as much interaction with the fans in the match, it was entertaining and all three seemed to be aware of crowd reaction.

One thing is for certain, and that is that she has a newfound respect for professional wrestling. In her eyes, these men and women go out there and do extraordinary things and getting hurt in the process, simply for our entertainment. We all need to look at wrestling through these new eyes. Promoters, fans, Internet smarks, and wrestlers should all take a look through my wife’s eyes at the things that do and do not work, and give each other the respect without all of the attitude.

She reminds me of how wrestling used to be.

Here’s to all of those wrestlers out there with a dream and the integrity to give it their all for the fans. Here’s to the promoters that work with their talent and their fans to create a great and profitable atmosphere.

Here’s to the fans that give proper respect where respect is due, and don’t critique everything as if they could do it better.

This is Josh… Combat Tested, Mother Approved!

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MWR January 2008 Awards

Posted by Admin on February 1, 2008

It’s that time!

After much deliberating, the MWR staff (with your help) has completed our first ever monthly awards. These awards are meant to give a pat on the back to those who distinguished themselves this past month, and is in no way derogatory to anyone who did not receive honors. We here at Missouri Wrestling Revival openly admit that we can not cover every single promotion, match, and wrestler, but we do hope to help educate wrestling fans in the area as to what is going on in the Midwest!

Let’s take a look at the nominees and winners!


January 2008 Wrestler of the Month

Honorable Mention – Michael Strider (CSW), Shorty Biggs (LWA/CSW), Adam Raw (LWA), Eric Ruffington (NMW/GAW)

Winner – Jerome Cody (MMWA-SICW)

Jerome Cody (MMWA-SICW) went 3 and 0 for the month of January, including a Battle Royale! On 1/12/2008, he defeated Jeremy Lightfoot w/ Shaft as a special guest referee. One week earlier he defeated Jeremy Lightfoot after winning a 20-man Battle Royale the same night. He’s proven that he’s durable and talented, and he’s MWR’s Wrestler of the Month for January 2008!


January 2008 Tag Team of the Month

Honorable Mention – Phoenix Twins [Tweek & Dash] (AAW), Trik Davis & Danny Daniels (SCW), Zero Gravity [Bret Gakiya & CJ Esparza](NMW/SCW)

Winners – North Star Express [Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz] (AAW)

It was very tough to choose a top tag team this month as there were solid claims to the spot by each and every one of the honorable mentions, but in the end we had to go with the North Star Express. This month Darin Corbin and Ryan Cruz unexpectedly won the AAW Tag Team straps by defeating the Phoenix Twins AND the Murder City Machine Guns in a January 19th bout!


January 2008 Promotion of the Month
Honorable Mentions – All American Wrestling, Lethal Wrestling Alliance, MMWA-SICW

 

Winner – Scott County Wrestling

Scott County Wrestling had two extremely good shows this month. With talent like Mississippi Madman, Shane Hollister, Trik Davis, Danny Daniels, Shane Hollister, and Tyler Black, only the best is to be expected. Tyler Black vs Shane Hollister is a great angle/feud, and Trik Davis and Danny Daniels becoming tag team champions at the event following their number one contendership win was interesting, as well. In the coming months we could see SCW back in the winners column in the promotion of the month category, as matches such as Trik Davis & Danny Daniels vs Zero Gravity and the Tyler Black vs Shane Hollister rematch are possibly on the horizon!


January 2008 Woman Wrestler of the Month
Honorable Mention – Lacey (LWA)

Winner – MsChif (LWA)

In the month of January, nobody else in the Midwest comes close. There was only one women’s wrestling match in the Midwest that MWR covered, but that isn’t to say that this award is a freeby for MsChif. MsChif is recognized around the region as the best female wrestler, winning the Stranglehold Awards best local female wrestler for 2007. Looks like she’s started the new year off right!
Honorable Mention – Tiffany Lafane (LWA), Todd Countryman (3XW), Kimberly Kash (EPW), “Smart” Mark Anthony (MWR), Justin Poole (LWA Forums and LWA Superfan), Crimefighter (St. Louis Wrestling Community)
January 2008 Personality of the Month

 

Winner – Joey Eastman (AAW)

Mr. Eastman pulled off a major personal victory when he signed Arik Cannon and the North Star Express to his stable on January 19th. Later in the evening they won the AAW Tag Team titles, by beating fellow stablemates the Phoenix Twins and the defending tag team champions, the Murder City Machine Guns. The Phoenix Twins aren’t happy with Joey Eastman’s new additions, which could prove troublesome down the road for the January 2008 Personality of the Month, but for now Mr. Eastman is riding high!


January 2008 Match of the Month

Honorable Mentions – Dingo vs Michael Strider (CSW) [1/12/2008 in Mt. Vernon, IL], Tyler Black vs Shane Hollister (SCW) [1/4/2008 in Rock Island, IL], Shorty Biggs vs Jeremy Wyatt (LWA) [1/5/2008 in Fairview Heights, IL]

Winner – Trik Davis & Danny Daniels vs Zero Gravity [Brett Gakiya & CJ Esparza] (SCW) [1/4/2008 in Rock Island, IL]

VS

SCW called this “quite possibly the greatest tag team match in SCW’s history”, and for good reason. This was a fast paced match for number one contendership to the SCW Tag Team titles! While Davis and Daniels won the match and then went on to win the Tag Belts at the next show, it looks like Zero Gravity just might be in line for a rematch… this time with the SCW Tag Team Titles on the line!

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Mark This Down

Posted by Admin on January 27, 2008

“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.
It’s time for another edition of the fabled MWR column, “Mark This Down”.

Well, fabled might be too strong of a word, but you catch my drift. This time around, I’ll tackle people who take wrestling way too seriously.

Yikes! What?

That’s right, I said it. There are people out there who take professional wrestling even more seriously than I do… and that is scary.

You know, I have to claim these individuals as my people… my peeps, as it were… but sometimes they go too far. They complain for the sake of complaining. They stir up drama for no other reason than to make themselves feel important. It becomes difficult to believe that they are even wrestling fans at all.

This worker is under pushed and I’m pissed off about it.

Somebody has to do the good old J-O-B. Get over it. Usually the best jobbers are those that can actually move, because they can sell their opponents move as actually effective. That’s not to say that every main eventer needs to be the Great Khali to balance things out, but hopefully you catch a brutha’s drift.

They are shoving this wrestler down my throat, so I’m never watching the product ever again

Funny how they say that, yet seem to know more about what is going on in the product than everybody else who is still watching…

Your fans are too rowdy and they run other fans away/cheap beer is bad, mmmkay.

This is what I’ve been seeing around the Midwest lately. It’s stupid, really. If the promotion in question were really doing as terribly as some would like to believe, then I don’t think they would have any problem politely asking the fans to tone it down a little bit for the sake of better business. That’s not to say that the die hard fans aren’t running some new fans away. No, not at all. The great thing about it is that if it bothers you then there are a host of other promotions in the area to go to. There is no reason to stir up drama about it. Just say your opinion, let your word be your word, and don’t be a bitch about it. Yes, I said it… bitch.

I can’t say that hanging around a rowdy crowd at EVERY wrestling event would be fun, but luckily there are alternatives and I am a grown ass man who can be somewhat professional when required to.

The above quotes are only a few examples of what I am talking about. We as wrestling fans have an obligation to criticize the things in the business that we do not like. That’s why the Internet was invented (Thanks Mr. Gore!). Unfortunately, when everything out of your mouth (or in your forum/blog posts) is negative about wrestling, you lose all credibility. You become a pisser and a moaner as opposed to an authority on anything. You need to leave the pro wrestling world and go read some comic books, hang out at a Star Wars grand opening, or something equally nerdy if you feel the urge to get your rocks off.

I’ve been around for awhile on the D/L (that means I have been in the area inconspicuously for those that don’t know), as it were. I’ve witnessed people here in the Midwest wrestling scene going on and on about this promotion selling cheap beer, or that promotion going under because they “just couldn’t hang”. I’ve heard about the wrestlers who have attitude problems and all of the egotistical promoters. Most of this talk is drummed up by the drama queens of the net that feel a need to be a part of something, but can only do so if they have some sort of dramatic mess to be a part of.

I compare this phenomena to the high school atmosphere. Remember back in the day (some of you have to go way back) when there were people that were impossible to like, yet always seemed to be part of the “in” group? I remember those days, and I remember that those people stayed in that cool crowd because they always managed to drum up some sort of drama between this girl and that girl… or this jock and his girlfriend… or this teacher and that teacher… you know what I’m saying?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Midwest wrestling is struggling as a whole. Those out there that do nothing but tear it down are doing nothing to help the situation. They need to shut the hell up or start doing something positive. Give a little time, give a little effort… but for the love of God be CONSTRUCTIVE!

Word.

I’m out!

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

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Your Trip to Space Mountain

Posted by Admin on January 23, 2008

Your Trip On Space Mountain

By Brian “Flair” Kelley
Another Monday night is upon us and pro wrestling’s biggest show will be on, WWE’s Monday Night Raw. Will I be home to watch it? Well, there is a chance that I will come in late and watch it tomorrow. Maybe it could be a week later.

How, you may ask? Well, because of one of the greatest inventions since the TV, TIVO. TIVO allows you to set your TV to record a show prior to it coming on. With the push of a button you can have a season pass to all of your favorite shows such as Survivor and American Gladiators… and to boot you can even skip the commercials! Earlier today I asked myself how this technology shaped the way I have been able to watch wrestling.

It seems like only yesterday that I had a mere 3 channels living in the country. I would wait all week to watch pro wrestling on Saturday nights with All-Star Wrestling after Saturday Night Live. To see such stars as Harley Race, Bulldog Bob Brown, and Rufus R. Jones in action in towns that seemed like they were millions of miles away (though it was less than an hour’s drive at times) was a great treat. I came from a family that did not like wrestling, so there was no chance of going to see it live. If I was lucky, sometimes there would be a special WWF Saturday Night show with Hulk Hogan before my favorite All-Star Wrestling. I would be treated with back to back shows of my first love, pro wrestling. For some reason there were many times when All-Star Wrestling was a rerun, though. It was a lot better than the times when it wasn’t on at all and the western program “Branded” starring Chuck Connors took it’s place (to my chagrin).

I loved wrestling so much that I would wake up early on Sundays and skip church so that I could see if the weather was nice enough for a channel that broadcasted pro wrestling out of Texas. World Class Championship Wrestling would broadcast without a picture, but I could hear the play-by-play of wrestlers like One Man Gang and the Fabulous Freebirds. It brought excitement to my ears.

Then there was that day (I don’t remember the exact day) that All-Star Wrestling featured a wrestler that was brought in to defend his belt against the Central States’ best. I watched a wrestling show on TBS that Saturday evening at my Uncle’s that introduced me to the wrestler I would look up to, and embodied my pro wrestling love, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.

The man was everything I wanted to be. He had all the ladies and he could really talk. His promos sold me, mainly because he told me he was the best and also had the belt to prove it. Yes, he made me believe… and boy, did he work me over! Anytime I could get in town on Saturday nights (which wasn’t very often) I turned on the TV to see what Flair had done. With the money I had earned by mowing yards and doing other odd jobs, I never missed an issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) at the newsstand. I swear, I would read them over and over again… always checking out the rankings in each organization and stories of dream matches like Flair versus Hogan.

I was fortunate enough to live in the coming age of the VCR, and if I got to rent an event such as Wrestlemania or Starcade then the show was months (if not years) old. That didn’t deter me from watching every match or promo on that tape over and over again, loving every minute of it.

One Christmas right before I turned 16, Santa brought me a VHS titled “Road Warriors: Tag Team Champs”. It was only 30 minutes long, but I got to relive the history of the tag team that introduced me to “Iron Man” and prompted a search through my father’s albums at the age of ten to find the album “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath. That jump started my love for Heavy Metal. If there ever was a perfect VHS then this was it, as you had the Road Warriors at their best. They nearly caused a riot as they destroyed a very young and future great Curt Hennig and his father Larry “The Ax” Hennig. All this and more can now be found easily on DVD in the WWE’S “Road Warriors: The Life and Death of the Most Dominant Tag Team in Wrestling History”.

Fast forward to the present, and pro wrestling has changed considerably. It seems like there is a show on every day and a PPV every Sunday. I feel that there is possibly too much wrestling, but you can contribute some of my lack of interest to the fact that some of the magic has been taken out of the sport since Vince McMahon broke down and said that pro wrestling is in fact sports entertainment. I can’t really say that, though, because it has allowed me to know the wrestlers better as they are more accessible for autographs and pictures (which of course I enjoy).

The Internet Age has allowed me to keep up with all that is happening in the world of wrestling, keep in contact with fellow fans and build friendships with them along the way. I now know of shows that are headed my way farther in advance, and know more about the sport than ever. Many have complained about the impact of the Internet, but I must say it beats paying nearly $10.00 an issue for my beloved magazine PWI only to be given watered down information.

That brings us full circle to the beginning of my article and TIVO, the device that allows me to watch wrestling when I want. Once, I would hurry to make it on time to watch wrestling with my friends because I didn’t want to hear about it second hand. Now, my son always says “Dad, your not even watching it, your listening to the show while checking out the web”. He definitely has a point. If I hear something that appeals to me then I just push the rewind button, and truthfully I don’t see a whole match anymore due to that.

What once made shows like Saturday Night Live, David Letterman and any pro wrestling show special and “must see” has lost that pizazz with technology such as TIVO.

Times have changed, as they should, but at one time I took a break from wrestling for almost 10 years because of these changes. WCW closed the doors and my wrestling love was lost. Thankfully, my love for pro wrestling was reborn when I took a trip to Lawrence, Kansas to see an independent show put on by Central States Wrestling. It rekindled my love for the sport, and unlike TIVO or DVD, at a live independent show you need to keep all eyes focused. You never know what you may miss, because you can’t push a button to see it again. For that 3 hours you have the sport the way it should be.

I hope you enjoyed your first “Your Trip On Space Mountain” and I want to see you at a show soon.

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The Kari Williams MMWA-SICW Recap

Posted by Admin on January 19, 2008

MMWA-SICW Recap for January 12, 2008

By Kari Williams
Heartfelt farewells. Backstabbing betrayals. Controversial refereeing. All of these events encompassed Mid-Missouri Wrestling Associaton-Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling (MMWA-SICW) January 12 show in East Carondelet, which started the year with a bang.

In the main event, Jerome Cody took on Jeremy Lightfoot, with Shaft as the special guest referee. Although a fairly even match up in the beginning, Lightfoot gained the advantage by the five minute mark, and the two competitors traded blows in the corner. While controlling the match, Lightfoot attempted his signature chops, but Shaft prevented him from doing so and forced Lightfoot out of the corner. Lightfoot ended up hitting Cody with a DDT but was unable to capitalize because he had a minor confrontation with Shaft. The match ended swiftly with each man having his shoulders down on the mat when Shaft began the count. However, Shaft only saw Cody raise his arm before the three count, therefore causing Lightfoot to lose the contest. The night ended with Lightfoot calling out Shaft, and when he didn’t come to the ring, Lightfoot went to the back to confront him. To see what develops further, one must venture to East Carondelet, Illinois on February 16.

The previous contest pitted Junior Heavyweight Champion A.J. Williams against one half of the newly crowned tag team champions, Dave Vaughn, in the first title match of the evening. Beginning with an exchange of holds, neither competitor gained a definitive lead over the other. Just after the five minute mark, Williams gained control, scoring a two count on the challenger. Williams then went to the top rope and connected with an elbow drop, but was unable to secure victory, as Vaughn’s foot rested on the bottom rope. In the closing moments, Vaughn prepared for a spear but Williams telegraphed it and leapfrogged over his opponent and landed a super kick on Vaughn for the win at 9:56.

In his final match with MMWA-SICW, Brandon Espinosa took on Saladin in a 20 minute time-limit bout. Espinosa gained the early advantage, aggravating Saladin with a test of strength challenge, but Saladin took over moments later. A fairly even match, with neither competitor gaining the upper hand for an extended length of time, Espinosa controlled the final minutes of his final match. He connected with a boot to the face and then hit his signature move, the mood swing, at the 10:14 mark. After having his hand raised in victory, Espinosa spent his final moments in an MMWA-SICW ring thanking the fans.

After a brief intermission, the MMWA-SICW title was on the line, pitting the champion, Kevin X, against fellow Connection member “Hot Shot” Tommy Knight. Before the bout even began, X asked Knight to lay down for the three count. But Knight, not wanting to let a golden opportunity such go to the wayside, said that he would fight. Though a fairly one-sided match, with X in control for the majority of the time, Knight hit a few key spots. One notable moment for Knight came near the closing stages of the bout when he connected with a flying cross body from the top rope and got a near fall on the champion, proving that he has what it takes to become a champion in the company. Nonetheless, X was able to secure his victory with a powerbomb and the three count at 10:56. Moments after the match had concluded, The Connection turned on X, beating him relentlessly, even going so far as to “pin” him in the middle of the ring, showing their true colors.

Kahyman was in action as well, battling Connection member, Phil E. Blunt with Jerome Cody. In the opening moments, Kahyman had a slight advantage which was quickly overturned by Blunt. By the five minute mark, Kahyman had gained the upper hand but only enough to capture a two count. Soon after the pin, Blunt scored with a powerbomb gaining a decisive advantage. Despite Blunt’s multiple attempts to pin Kahyman in the closing seconds of the ten minute match, the bout ended in a time-limit draw.

The second match of the night was between Moondog Rover and Brewer. Moondog had a clear advantage nearly the entire bout, with Brewer getting in little offense. Filled with typical Moondog shenanigans, Moondog barked at the fans, “peed” on the referee and tried to take the shoe of a fan in the front row. In the end, it was essentially Moondog who prevailed by getting the pin.

In the opening bout, one half of the newly crowned tag team champions, Mr. Bibbs, took on Waco. The action spilled to the outside early on with Waco gaining the advantage by the five minute mark. The first pin attempt came from Bibbs, with Waco getting his shoulder off of the mat at the two count. For the remainder of the match, Waco remained fairly dominate with Bibbs barely gaining an advantage. At the ten minute mark, Waco nailed Bibbs with a DDT and went for the quick pin but only got a two count. Waco then went for another DDT, securing himself the victory at 11:02.

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Mark This Down

Posted by Admin on January 18, 2008

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.

In the first installment of “Mark This Down”, I let things fly off the top of my head. In this installment, I will cover two previously announced topics. The first is my take on the current Midwest wrestling scene. The second topic covers my picks for an elite Midwest stable.

I will remind you from the very beginning, take everything in this column as gospel. Why? Well, because I am the official voice of the Internet, for one. Anything you read on the Internet is true. Go read my first “Mark This Down” column if you have any questions. If you read it and still have questions afterwards, e-mail me.

My take on the Midwest:

Midwest wrestling is struggling, folks. Don’t get me wrong – there are positive signs, strong promotions, and talented wrestlers, but we’re a long way away from the glory days. From what I see, there are too many promotions, not nearly enough business savvy promoters, and basically no continuity.

I’ve heard the arguments over and over and over again that Indy promotions in the Midwest don’t draw well enough to have continuity between shows. The only problem with that is that not having any sort of continuity between shows, and in a lesser case between promotions, hurts the big picture. Remember the big picture, guys? The big picture is what a promoter should be looking at BEFORE he starts his wrestling promotion.

Where’s the investment? Where’s the promoting and advertising? Are these promotions simply run as a hobby?

Some promotions have a few things right. They don’t look down at their fans. They keep those fans up to date on what is going on, and do whatever they can to bring the fans back to their website to check for updates. No updates for a promotion’s website is the equivalent of telling the fans that you have shut down. Add a video interview from time to time. Allow writers such as myself or the editor of Missouri Wrestling Revival to help make the promotion more believable and accessible to the fans.

My point? When you show the fans that you care, they start to emotionally invest in your product.

Emotional investment becomes monetary investment.

Come on, guys! This is not rocket science! I won’t mention any names, out of respect for my employer, but people know which organizations I’m talking about.

I’ve heard promoters talk, and it all seems to boil down to a defeatist attitude. They are content to dabble in their hobby… to hell with the wrestling fans. They’re positive that money can’t be made.

I have to ask, “So, why run a promotion?”

The most harm done to the independent wrestling scene are the fly-by-night craptacular promotions that have sprung up all over the place with no real goal in sight.

On the positive side of things, the wrestlers want to work. I have read comments on wrestlers’ blogs and have received a few e-mails from them as well, all stating that they are bummed about the lack of work they’ve had. Some haven’t worked a show in six months! Many of them are disheartened by the cancelled shows, failing promotions, and lack of cooperation here in the Midwest… but they still want to perform and would support any organization that gave them the opportunity.

I want to break it all down into my first ever Midwest Wrestling Report Card.

Promotions: C
There are some strong promotions out there, but with the overall show infrequency, continuity issues, and plethora of cancelled shows, this area of Midwest wrestling is definitely suffering. It definitely needs improvement.

Wrestling Talent: B+
I could go on and on about the talented wrestlers, referees, managers, and announcers that are out there, but I won’t. I will say that with Midwest talent such as Awesome Kong, Dingo, Delirious, and Tyler Black moving up to ROH and TNA, it’s a sign that the wrestlers aren’t the problem.

Fans: B-
The fans are, no doubt, the double-edged sword of Midwest wrestling. Some are extremely negative to the point that it’s hard to believe they are wrestling fans. Some are so loyal that they’d sacrifice their first born son in a show of dedication to a wrestling promotion. A strange mix, and yet there is an untapped potential for more casual fans to go to Midwest wrestling events. Will the crazy negative/loyal fans turn them off of attending?

Overall: B-
Let me know what you think about my first attempt at grading pro wrestling in the Midwest!

My picks:

As I mentioned in the last installment and earlier in this one, I have put a lot of thought into who my picks would be for a bad ass Indy Midwest stable… one that could wreak havoc on promotions across the entire Midwest. Here are my picks, and the logic behind them.

Michael Strider
The voice of the stable when I’m not talking. Strider has the charisma and in-ring ability to be this stable’s poster child. He’s currently the CSW Heavyweight Champion, and he’s not afraid to get dirty.

Mark Sterling
He’s got ring psychology on lock and while he can piss a person off like nobody’s business, people can’t help but admire his tenacity and talent. He’d be my guy to go after any secondary titles, with the assumption that if Strider falls, he’d easily slide into his place as voice of the stable.

Tyler Black
A young guy with the ability to be a very shady character. He’d be my ambassador to AAW and SCW, and would make sure that if my stable came to those areas they’d get nothing but respect.

Keith Walker
I can think of nobody better in the Midwest to be in the Arn Anderson role of enforcer. He’s big, he’s bad, he’s currently the WLW Heavyweight Champion. If he eventually goes to WWE, he lends even more credibility to my awesome stable.

So, what did you think? Agree with my picks? Think I need to have my head examined. Let me know!

Until next time!

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

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Mark This Down

Posted by Admin on January 10, 2008

“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.

For the first edition of my column, I’ll just take a big step forward and get this thing started. With my brash style, I’m sure that the good people at Missouri Wrestling Revival have already issued some sort of disclaimer about me to start this column out. Might as well skip my ego-infected self-introduction.

If you can’t tell by my nickname and whatever publicity that MWR has given me thus far, I’m a fan of the Internet and all of the professional wrestling communities that have sprung up because of it. Sure, Internet wrestling fans have a bad reputation for being severely and unabashedly negative, but there isn’t anyone who can run a wrestling organization like a wrestling fan with access to an Internet-capable computer. I mean, our opinions are numerous, we have no concern for the money involved in running a promotion, and damn it, we have standards. Five star standards, if you weel (imagine me saying that with the best Dusty Rhodes voice humanly possible without being the American Dream, himself).

In keeping with the mission of my sponsor, Missouri Wrestling Revival, I think it is important for me to point out that without fans like us the independent wrestling scene would really be suffering. We are typically known as an indy promotion’s “super fans”, due to our loyalty and willingness to spend hard earned money on indy products. Yes, we’ll stream a WWE or TNA pay per view every chance we get, but if somebody asks us to burn a copy of that Ring of Honor DVD or even a Central States Wrestling or New Midwest Wrestling show, then we’ll slit their throats!

How can you complain about die hard fans like that?

I’m here to represent this minority group. We’re the vocal majority, but often our voices are scattered and ineffective. TNA Booking is living proof of that fact. I volunteer to step up and be the focused voice of my people. Along the way, I will do what Internet wrestling fans live for the chance to do… improve wrestling in general and bring selected talent with me to the top!

You want to be my protege? Well, you’ve got to be entertaining, fast, and willing to listen to my guidance. No overly muscled idiot with three moves in his arsenal is ever going to make it in this business if I have anything to say about it. You have to have an attitude, of course, but when it comes to the Internet community, you best be knowing what’s up!

You’ve got to have respect for my peoples, yo!

MWR has given me the opportunity to become the great leader I always knew I could be. I thank them, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll always say things that they agree with. I’m an ambitious and opinionated guy. Those two qualities and public forums do not mix well. If they stick with me, though, I can promise greatness!

That’s it for me and this edition of Mark This Down. In the next edition, I’ll break down what I feel is wrong with indy wrestling today. I’ll also reveal to the world which four current Midwest wrestlers I’d kill to manage as part of an “Independent Super Stable”.

RELATED POSTS

“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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »