Add the High Risk Wrestling Facebook Page here so you can check out the full photo recap later this week, thanks to HRW Promoter Frank Thurman
Fans enjoyed the St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame on tour was in attendance in Warsaw, Missouri for HRW
Kiyoshi Shizuka d. Elvis Aliaga & Danny Adams (triple)
Barackus d. Kevin Lee Davidson
Missouri Wrestling Revival Missouri Champion Brandon Espinosa d. Jack Gamble
Paco Gonzalez fought Jay Howard to a time limit draw
Brandon Espinosa & Brandon Aarons d. Jack Gamble & Matt Kenway to win the vacant HRW Tag Titles
HRW Heavyweight Champ Mike Sydal d. Tony Kozina
Justin D’Air d. Mike Outlaw to win the HRW Mayhem title
High Risk Wrestling Presents “Final Fight” on Friday, December 2nd, at the Warsaw Community Building in Downtown Warsaw, Missouri! The doors open at 7:00PM and The First Bell is at 8:00PM!
After reviewing the footage from October 21st in the HRW Championship Match, it’s obvious that Tony Kozina’s foot was on the rope before the 3 count!
Therefore, after having two great matches against the Champion and there yet to be a clear winner, Tony Kozina absolutely deserves another rematch!
However, since I had already signed the Championship match for December 2nd, prior to October 21st, it can’t be then.
After Talking with Tony, he said that he doesn’t want to make excuses and doesn’t want anything handed to him.
Per his request, Mr. Kozina will be in a number one contenders match on December 2nd, so that he can earn his way back into Title contention!
His opponent will be named next week!
I can now officially announce the Championship match for “Final Fight”!
Champion, Mike Sydal will have his toughest challenge to date as he will defend against a former ROH World Champion / former TNA – Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Champion, who is known around the World as one of The Best Technical Wrestlers alive today!
HRW High Risk Championship Match!
“The Yoga Monster” Mike Sydal (c) VS “The American Wolf” Davey Richards
Also featuring:
High Risk Women’s Match!
“Miss Natural” Heather Patera VS Angelina Love
NEW Ticket Prices are in effect!
All tickets are for Ringside!
$15 for Adult’s
$10 for Kids 10 years old and younger
To reserve tickets, just send HRW a message with your name and number of tickets needed!
HRW’s “Final Fight”
Friday, December 2nd
Doors 7:00PM, Bell 8:00PM
Warsaw Community Building
181 W. Harrison
Warsaw, MO.
65355
September 24th, Cape Championship Wrestling Presents Best Of The Best, Live At The Osage Centre In Cape Girardeau, MO!!! Doors At 6pm, Bell Time 7pm!!! Card Subject To Change.
Main Event
Austin Lane w Psycho
Vs
CCW Champion
Brandon Barbwire W Jeff O’Dell
MWR Championship
Ace Hawkins vs Brandon Espinosa
Hollis Giroux v Cj Shine
I Quit Match
Little Bit
vs
Diamond Doll
“Farmer” Billy Hills w Sarah Summers
vs
Sexy Sarge
“The Cowboy” Ric Maverick vs. “The Incredible Primal Prodigy” Matt Kenway (Look At Him): This was a rematch from the previous Glen Carbon show where Maverick scored the victory over his rookie opponent. I will stop hammering that lame running gag about Kenway into the ground…eventually.
Despite Kenway usually being the rulebreaker in shows around here, this seemed to be a battle of fan favorites as it played out (though a few people still booed Kenway). Kenway cut off Maverick’s rally with a Union Jack-style cobra clutch neckbreaker, then got the surprise tapout win with an Anaconda Vise in 5:09.
C.J. Shine vs. The Snitch:Sophie Darling was absent from Snitch’s corner, leaving the masked man to silently protest about the abundance of fans attempting to take pictures with their phones. Snitch cheated to win their previous encounter, so payback was the order of the day…however, Snitch hid in the audience during C.J.’s entrance to attack him from behind. Shine is gaining popularity, which is a good sign…it’s just a matter of how well he does against more established opposition.
Shine went to the top rope to finish, but Snitch pushed the referee into the ropes to knock him off balance…causing him to land rather painfully on the top turnbuckle. Snitch capitalized by covering with feet on the ropes for the tainted pin in 9:01…aww. Shine got some post-match retribution with a top-rope missile dropkick(not enough headroom in the venue for a springboard move).
Rocket Mapache vs. Orange Lazarus: O.L. is a new masked character…he seemed oddly familiar but I can’t quite place it. I felt like I’d seen this match at some point in a past life…not sure why that was the case.
At a few points during the match, Lazarus was left motionless on the mat only to do an Undertaker-style “Zombie Sit-Up” as if rising from the dead. This freaked out Dynamo’s resident raccoon, but he managed to rebound and win after a Codebreaker followed by a flying boot in 6:42.
Makaze vs. “The Alternative” Ozzie Gallagher: This feud has progressed over the past several months…Sadie Blaze returned to Dynamo and took exception to his former protege’s tactics, especially as it related to the masked competitors. That led to Sadie taking matters into his own hands and bringing his very close personal long-time friend Makaze into the battle. Gallagher won their first outing after a low blow, but he wasn’t quite as sneaky in the rematch and got disqualified for the same nefarious tactic. I’m still getting used to Makaze being FAR more vocal than he had ever been in the past…previously he had remained silent and let managers or tag team partners do his talking.
Makaze even encouraged the fans to chant “Brandon” to antagonize the one who had previously gone by that name. The Wind Of Destruction had pulled his own share of dirty tricks in the past so he knew exactly how to counteract them…the chessgame went in the favor of “age and treachery” in this case. Makaze was able to stun Gallagher with a mulekick to the Universal Weak Point out of the referee’s line of sight, scoring the pinfall in 16:43(!).
After the match, Makaze said that he hoped Gallagher had learned a lesson…he didn’t believe in using such tactics, but this was an exception as he was fighting fire with fire. Gallagher remained stubborn and challenged Makaze to one more match to settle things, but he wanted Makaze’s mask to be on the line. Makaze was fine with those terms…as long as Gallagher put his hair on the line as well. That grudge match has been set for Saturday, September 17th in Glen Carbon…mark your calendars, as they say.
Intermission~! I shouldn’t have settled for ramen noodles for my homebound dinner as I indulged a bit on this night. Your Official Ben Simon Concession Count(tm)(Part One), as he was ring-announcing for Pro Wrestling Resurgence: Bag of barbecue potato chips, one Pepsi, and a Hershey bar.
Tag Team Champion Jon Webb vs. MWR Missouri Champion Brandon Espinosa, non-title: Espy had a whirlwind night ahead of him as he was scheduled to wrestle on all three area events (and did so). The MWR Missouri Title was not at stake as the match was on the Illinois side of the river; normally the belt doesn’t even make an appearance in that situation, but Espy wore it to the ring anyway. Webb is set for a big match at World League Wrestling next week as he battles Jayden Fenix in a no-DQ match to determine the first WLW Jr. Heavyweight Champion; he was the fan favorite here despite being in the rulebreaker role with tag partner Jack Gamble at NatsuCon.
They had a really good competitive bout that could have easily gone either way…Webb hit the Sliced Bread #2, but the time limit expired at 15:00 for the draw. Espinosa was notably respectful to his opponent afterwards, saying he would love to do Five More Minutes(tm) but he had a full night ahead of him elsewhere…he’d be cool with a rematch down the line, perhaps even in Missouri so he can put his belt at stake. Cue handshake with no shenanigans.
Outtkast vs. “The Don Mega” Shorty Biggs for the D-1 Title: Outtkast’s challenger was determined by a random draw and turned out to be his longtime tag team partner in The Bumrush Brothers, creating this first-time matchup between the two. The team formed back in the days of Gateway Championship Wrestling and won the GCW Tag Team Titles in November of 2006, defeating the team now known as The Submission Squad (Evan Gelistico(Petrie) and Pierre Abernathy). As you might expect, the two know each other very well and this wasn’t the brawl you would normally expect out of the individual competitors…both are extremely underrated on the technical side and they got to show that in this bout. I really enjoyed this bout as someone who is familiar with their extensive history…they both turned up their aggression but not to the point of outright heelishness against a longtime friend.
Outtkast couldn’t use his power-based moves against Shorty so he had to go to his aerial arsenal, landing his corkscrew senton off the top rope for a close near-fall. However, Outtkast went to the well once too often and missed the move on the second attempt; Shorty capitalized with a Paydirt and then a fireman’s-carry Michinoku Driver, picking up the decisive win in 16:05 to capture the D-1 Championship! It was Shorty’s first singles championship since he won the Lethal Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Title in 2007, something that Shorty made mention of…he said Outtkast could have a rematch anytime he wanted one, so it looks like that’ll be a go for September 17th.
“Dirdey” Jake Dirden vs. Mike Outlaw for the Heavyweight Title: When Outlaw upset Ricky Cruz for the Heavyweight Title in December of 2014, he faced a lot of tough opponents; none was tougher than Dirden, who won the championship under controversial circumstances in May of 2015. In the year-plus since that time, Outlaw had to deal with a lot of obstacles in his quest to regain the championship…all of that finally culminated in this one-on-one bout with no Mark Bland, no Travis Cook, and no Black Hand Warriors to interfere.
Dirden had the advantage when the match turned into a brawl on the floor, throwing Outlaw over several rows of chairs and nearly winning by countout. As the battle continued, the referee was knocked down, leading to a visual pinfall for Dirden after a chokeslam. Dirden brought in a chair, but that backfired as Outlaw dropkicked it back into his face. Outlaw delivered the High Noon(top-rope elbowdrop) and the referee recovered to count…two. Dirden fired back with a big boot but took out the ref AGAIN by mistake. Outlaw springboarded off the second rope for a flying European uppercut, but Dirden was able to get a hold of the chair and bash Outlaw with it. Dirden covered and a second referee ran in to count…two.
Dirden wedged the chair between the turnbuckles as the second referee assisted the first to the backstage area…but Outlaw reversed Dirden into the chair, then used the chair to his own advantage by beating down Dirden with it.
Outlaw delivered the Mafia Kick as the second referee re-entered the ring and covered…for two. Outlaw wasted no time in keeping up the pressure, dropping Dirden with a second Mafia Kick and then going to the top rope for a second High Noon. Three counts later, we had a NEWWWWW Heavyweight Champion!
Outlaw was ecstatic over finally reclaiming the gold…he said Dirden had ducked him for over a year, but he wouldn’t do the same and offered Dirden a rematch whenever he wanted it. After some hesitation, the two shook hands to seal that deal.
By Jared Smith Video Credit Paul Beauchamp of Rasslin On Facebook
Cape Championship Wrestling made a splash in its inaugural show in July and this past weekend, they raised the bar once again with their CCW Homecoming show at the historic AC Brase Arena Building in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The Arena Building was once a tour stop for International Championship Wrestling, which was ran by Angelo Poffo and featured his son’s Lanny Poffo and, oh what was his name…oh yeah, Macho Man Randy Savage! History flows through this building and now, Cape Championship Wrestling calls it home!
The night kicked off with promoter Ken Murphy and GM Hunter Hendricks in the ring, in which Hunter Hendricks noted that The Pinnacle, led by Jeff O’Dell, had been making things rough and that he was going to do his best to ensure that tonight went smoothly. Suddenly, The Pinnacle’s music hit. Jeff O’Dell, Sarge O’Riley, Billy Hills, Sarah Summers and CCW Champion, Brandon Barbwire, came to ringside. In a show of dominance, they cornered Hunter Hendricks, before Jeff O’Dell laid out his group’s plans for dominance for the evening, even saying they would show up in the main event.
The first match of the night featured a very well-traveled and well-respected veteran, “Tornado” Tony Kozina taking on young challenger CJ Shine. CJ Shine tried to us his overly confident (ie, cocky) demeanor to bully Kozina throughout the match. However, once Tony laid in some MASSIVE knife edge chops, the momentum slowly began to turn toward Kozina. Tony hit a vaulting senton bomb, then later hit a springboard bulldog to secure the win!
Up next, BT Daramola took on God’s Gift to Wrestling “Drop Dead” Dale Wylde. Daramola got the crowd behind him early on. Wylde, after he continued to admire himself in his mirror, slowed the pace of the match by grinding the momentum down and controlling the energy of Daramola. Wylde slipped in a few, well, less than honest attacks and ultimately took the win by a quick schoolboy roll up.
Sexy Sarge was up next and in the weeks prior to Homecoming, he had issued an open challenge, stating that if nobody answered it, he would still come down and give the fans a show. His idea of a show would be a tutorial on what he calls “porn star dancing.” Thank the Good Lord above that his challenge was answered while he was in the ring by none other than young star Hollis Giroux! Jeff O’Dell, assuming Hollis was out to join The Pinnacle, soon learned that Hollis was out there to stop Sarge’s display. This was a great match with a lot of back and forth action, even some outside interference from Jeff O’Dell. The match ended when O’Dell mistakenly tripped up Sarge while hitting the rops, which led to a Superkick and a victory for Hollis Giroux. After the match, Sarge and O’Dell had words which almost led to Sarge punching O’Dell when suddenly, Drop Dead Dale Wylde ran into the ring to save Jeff O’Dell! After that, O’Dell claimed that Sarge had been replaced by a younger, better looking version, to which Sarge replied that he didn’t need The Pinnacle, that he regretted the decision to join and was now out to reclaim the love from the fans.
Coming back from intermission, GM Hunter Hendricks came out to announce there was a change in the women’s match. Paloma Starr had been booked to take on Lil Bit, however, Paloma was unable to attend due to other obligations. Lil Bit’s new opponent turned out to be none other than her nemesis, Diamond Doll! Lil Bit and Diamond Doll had a match on the inaugural show, which resulted in Diamond Doll attacking Lil Bit after the bell. These two had another intense match with each other, featuring a lot of back and forth offense and flat out brawling. The ending saw Diamond Doll roll up Lil Bit and use the ropes for leverage for the win due to the fact that the ref didn’t see the feet on the ropes! I smell a rubber match coming!
The following match featured a title defense of the prestigious Missouri Heavyweight Championship, featuring champion Brandon Espinosa making his CCW debut against Farmer Billy Hills with Sarah Summers. Farmer got this match after he, seemingly, took out his prior opponent “The Fury” Jason Vaughn in what we will just call an automobile accident. Early on, Farmer used his size and strength to push Espy around the ring. Espy was able to turn the tides with his quickness and his own deceptive strength. Billy began favoring his shoulder midway through, but was still able to weather the storm of power moves, showing his grit and determination. Suddenly, Jason Vaughn’s music started playing and a bewildered Hills looked at the entrance. This gave Espy enough time to launch an attack that, in the end, resulted in a win from an armbar submission. What a performance from both guys and a great title defense from Espinosa!
The co-main event was up next, featuring The Monster, Jake Dirden against CCW Champion, Brandon Barbwire with Jeff O’Dell. Ever since winning the CCW Championship in July, Brandon has developed his boisterous personality, and came into the night with a large chip on his shoulder due to the fact he wasn’t in the main event. Jake Dirden came into the night with one thing in mind, to claim a title and destroy Barbwire. This match was a slugfest, with the champ, Barbwire, taking large amounts of punishment early on. However, Barwire absorbed the damage and turned the tides after throwing Dirden into the ring post outside. Toward the end of the match, Barbwire ran to grab the CCW Title belt and then brought it into the ring as a weapon! Dirden, seeing what was transpiring, knocked the belt from Barbwire’s hand, then hit The Cure on the belt! It looked like a sure-fire win, however, Jeff O’Dell distracted the referee long enough for Barbwire to be able to kick out of the eventual pin. This ignited the Monster, as he lunged for O’Dell, who was now on the ring apron. Barbwire attacked, but again was hit with The Cure, which again, O’Dell distracted the ref. Dirden went after O’Dell one more time, however, this time the champion was able to hit Dirden with the belt to take the win and hold onto his title.
The Main Event of the evening featured one of the biggest names on the independent wrestling scene across the world, Ricochet! There’s a chance you’ve seen him on Lucha Underground as Prince Puma, or possibly from the match against Will Ospreay, among many others, but he brought his insane talents to Cape Girardeau for a huge match up with the Best of the Best, Austin Lane. Prior to the match, Hunter Hendricks brought out a second referee to stand guard to prevent The Pinnacle from coming to ringside. The match started with some humor as Austin Lane refused to shake Ricochet’s hand, but then business picked up in a hurry as both guys were able to reverse out of a series of chain wrestling holds, in which neither guy was able to gain an advantage, each competitor holding a counter for the other’s move. Ricochet finally gained an advantage outside with a series of chops which led to him being able to hit The People’s Moonsault in the middle of the ring once they returned. However, Austin Lane was able to regain his composure and launch a counter attack and at one point, scoring a 2.9999 count. The athletic abilities of these two wowed the crowd. At one point, Jeff O’Dell tried to interfere, but was caught at the entrance area and sent back. The match ultimately went in the favor of Ricochet, with a wonderful sequence of his Benadryller kick, followed by a high knee to the face, and capped off with a well-executed Shooting Star Press. During the celebration, The Pinnacle ran down to ringside and attacked Austin Lane, which prompted Ricochet to run back out and help his opponent. Hunter Hendricks came out and stated that since Brandon Barbwire was so desperate to get into the main event, that he will be on the next show against 2 TUFF TONY! After that announcement, The Pinnacle was sent back, while Austin Lane thanked Ricochet and the crowd.
Cape Championship Wrestling will be back at the AC Brase Arena Building for their next card on September 24th, featuring 2 Tuff Tony and Brandon Barbwire for the CCW Title, plus many matches still to come! Don’t miss out on another great show in September!
Note: Patrick Brandmeyer and Brian Kelley arrived late to this event.
Your ring announcer was Drew Abbenhaus; your referees were Nick Ridenour, Jay King, & Denny Thomas.
Bobby D vs. “The Enforcer” Jimmy D: I somehow suspect this may not make it to television, so the particulars of the match may be lost to the ages. All I know is that Bobby won by pinfall in 5:11 (thanks Drew & Doug).
Karim Brigante vs. “The Freestyle Phenom” Jay Howard(w/ Roy Lewis & “The Natural” J.A. Fair): I feel like I’m doomed to eternally miss Fair’s official appearances on wrestling shows; I’ve crossed paths with him at shows in the past, but never when he’s actually booked. I look forward to seeing this one as it was probably a good one, judging by the participants…guess I’ll find out in due time. Reportedly Brigante scored the victory after a roaring elbow in 6:13 (again, thanks Drew & Doug).
“Your Canadian Hero” Sean Vincent & Johnny Blade vs. “Volatile” Curtis Wylde & “Unstable” Dave Vaughn(w/ Wyldefyre): Given the nicknames, that rulebreaker team seems like a surprisingly good fit. Vincent and Vaughn have the current feud, but the history between Vincent and Wylde is extensive and well-documented.
Blade ran afoul of Vaughn in July in more ways than one, as Vaughn scored a cheap win over him via low blow. Vincent & Wylde brawled out of the building…THAT would have been a fine time for me to walk in the door if I’d arrived a few minutes later.
Wyldefyre tripped up Blade and Vaughn capitalized with the double-underhook DDT for the win in 9:49.
Moondog Rover vs. Waco(w/ Big Daddy): Circumstances beyond his control have left Big Daddy reaching for proteges, it would seem. Ax Allwardt has been MIA; Bubba Troll is out with injury issues and Vaughn was cut loose from the stable a few months back.
Of course Moondog remains OVAH~!. but the impeccably-attired Big Daddy had to be sure his new charge made a strong impression.
Moondog nearly won with his version of the World’s Strongest Slam, but a distraction by the manager allowed Waco to get the rollup pin with a handful of denim in 5:47.
“Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One” Gary Jackson vs. Big Jim Hoffarth vs. “The Tokyo Monster” Kahagas(w/ Travis Cook): This match would determine the next challenger to the Classic Title. I could have sworn a previous TV show had set up a Hoffarth vs. Wylde & Wyldefyre handicap match of some kind, but I guess I was mistaken. Kahagas had made a splash in his SICW debut with a surprising clean win over the veteran mainstay Jackson.
This one was surprisingly short; Kahagas had Jackson cornered, but sidestepped as Hoffarth charged with an avalanche. The big man hit Gary by mistake, leading to Kahagas disposing of Hoffarth with a roundhouse kick to the head before pinning Jackson in 5:55. Kahagas is the new number-one contender to the Classic Wrestling Championship and he appears to have the number of Gary Jackson.
“Ironman” Ken Kasa & “Dead Sexy” Daniel Gunner vs. Brandon Espinosa & “The Icon” Chris Hargas(w/ Travis Cook): Oddly, this was the only one of the three matches featuring Travis’ charges where he provided his own introductions. Espy and Hargas added their two cents; Hargas has shown a lot of improvement on his mic work in recent months.
Kasa has been feuding with Travis Cook’s Organization in general and Hargas in particular, culminating in last month’s 30-Minute Ironman Match victory over Hargas. Kasa got Cook in the ring for five minutes and humiliated him by pulling down his pants, revealing his trademark Spongebob Squarepants boxer shorts…bwahahaha. As a result, Travis promised a reward to either of his proteges if they did some damage to Kasa in this tag match.
The TCO were a slightly more cohesive unit in this one, having done a lot of damage in recent months with the spike piledriver…when they teased the double-team move on Gunner, the referee warned them against it only to be blatantly decked by Espy.
That drew a disqualification in 9:53 as Espy and Hargas delivered the spike piledriver…Gunner had to be stretchered out of the ring, leaving Kasa to vow revenge for his partner’s injury.
Miss Monica Passeri vs. Paloma Starr: Despite being a fan favorite in her previous SICW apperance(vs. Lucy Mendez), Paloma was a rulebreaker on this night.
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Notably, Brigante and Monica are fan favorites here…both have struck me as being extremely friendly and courteous in person. Monica had some clothing issues as her T-shirt was ripped, so she was covering herself for a good portion of the matchup. This actually led to a fan throwing her a jacket at one point!
Curtis Wylde & Wyldefyre made their way to ringside for a closer look at the bout; Monica overcame both opponent and wardrobe malfunction as she won with an X-Factor(sitout faceslam) in 8:07.
The Wyldes cornered Monica afterwards, as apparently Wyldefyre has exclusive rights to female presence in this promotion…that brought out Karim Brigante to back up his lady and set up a mixed tag match for September 17th.
Wylde threatened to send them back to Italy by getting their work visas revoked…and that somehow turned into an official stipulation for the matchup. However, the Wyldes will be booted from SICW if THEY lose…huh. Wyldefyre hasn’t been in a lot of official matches; her previous action took place at South Broadway almost ten years ago against Jennifer Starr, so it’ll be interesting to see how she does in next month’s mixed tag.
Ron Powers vs. Attila Khan(w/ Travis Cook), no-DQ match for the Classic Title:
These two traded falls in last month’s best-of-three-falls six-man tag, setting up this bout. The referee checked Khan for weapons and found his fork, only to Travis to remind him of the stipulation so it was all for naught. As you might expect from the personalities involved, they didn’t wait long before throwing fists and brawling out of the ring. This scared the bejeezus out of some kids in my section, who were left crying and wanting to go home!
I dare say that Chuck Taylor(err, DUSTIN) has nothing on these two. Chairs flew, Khan bled, and miraculously they made it back to the ring. Travis instructed Khan to wedge a metal garbage can between the turnbuckles, but the momentary loss of focus allowed Powers to avalanche him from behind.
Khan was sandwiched between his opponent and the trash can and turnbuckles, giving Powers the opening to finish with the RKO in a brisk 4:34!
Chaos erupted after the bell as Brandon Espinosa and Chris Hargas hit the ring to attack Powers along with Khan. Ken Kasa and Gary Jackson joined the fray, as did Kahagas…ending the show with a staredown between Powers and Kahagas, who will face each other for the title on September 17th.
So two matches are set up for the next East Carondelet show…
With our next event only a few weeks away on August 13, it’s now time to make a match announcement.
After last months first ever Championship Scramble match at MMWA, we saw 2.0 sneak away with the MMWA championship once again. Champion AJ Williams had the help of his partner and other competitor in the match, Da’Marius Jones as well as their associate BT Daramola. This match saw Gary Jackson get busted open from the hands of 2.0 that lead to multiple stitches for the St. Louis legend.
Gary has contacted commissioner Jim Harris and requested a match with any member of 2.0 and Harris has answered. With that being said here is the first match we at MMWA would like to announce, Gary Jackson will face BT Daramola in a Street Fight with the rest of 2.0 banned from ringside!!!
If 2.0 decides to ignore this rule, AJ Williams will relinquish the MMWA Championship.
Fans will also be able to witness a MWR MO title defense as the Champion Brandon Espinosa looks to continue his impressive reign as champ against J-Mal Swagg . Swagg enters into this match with a lot of confidence. Will he be able to shock the wrestling world and become only the 3rd man ever to capture the championship?
The co-main event from Pro Wrestling Resurgence July 23rd, 2016. Champion Brandon ‘Espy’ Espinosa defending against challenger Paco Gonzalez for the Missouri Wrestling Revival Missouri Championship.
Filmed at The Ready Room by Cold Meal Productions.
Promoter Herb Simmons started the show by acknowledging the recent passings of Gypsy Joe and Muhammad Ali. Gypsy Joe was a bit before my time, but he had in-ring wars in his later years against such opponents as New Jack and Necro Butcher. Quite a few of the wilder rasslin stories in history involve the name of Gypsy Joe, to say the least. Herb also noted that it was the birthday of the late Bruiser Brody, segueing into the ten-bell salute.
“Your Canadian Hero” Sean Vincent vs. Britton Tucker: Tucker is not well-liked in East Carondelet; one female fan was particularly irate about Tucker’s mere presence and Tucker promised to take her out to Olive Garden after the show. Bwahahaha.
They had a solid opener and Vincent appeared to be on the verge of winning with his Mapleleaf Leglock, but “Unstable” Dave Vaughn entered the ring and blatantly attacked TUCKER…thus getting Vincent disqualified in 7:44. Har har. Afterwards, Vincent reaffirmed that Vaughn would not turn him back into a “villain” as he insisted he would.
“The Fury” Jason Vaughn vs. “The Incredible” Matt Kenway (Look At Him): We have two guys in SICW with the last name of Vaughn…cue the MARKET CONFUSION~! Kenway was substituting for Ax Allwardt(Vaughn’s scheduled opponent).
Vaughn’s two young children were in attendance and were VERY vocal in their support of their father. Kenway did a good job in the rulebreaking role and targeted Vaughn’s arm, but Vaughn made El Big Comeback and got the figure-four leglock out of nowhere for the submission in 6:08.
Bobby D vs. “Unstable” Dave Vaughn: Vaughn’s transition into Heath Ledger Joker continues with the similar hair and the eye makeup. Vaughn controlled most of the matchup, but had trouble putting D away and went for a chair.
That brought out Vincent to confiscate the weapon, leading to Bobby D getting the rollup pin on a distracted Vaughn in 5:14. Vaughn didn’t seem too upset about the loss, laughing about how Vincent’s interference proved that he truly was reverting to his old ways…more on this as it develops.
Flaming Freddie Fury vs. Purple Passion: WHEN EFFEMINATE MASKED WRESTLERS COLLIDE~! The fans in attendance had no idea what to make of this encounter, though I heard several people call out “This isn’t wrestling!”
The two ended up falling into 69 position on the ring apron and both were counted out in 5:43. The two literally left arm-in-arm.
“Dead Sexy” Daniel Gunner vs. Brandon Espinosa(w/ Travis Cook): . Travis started out by loudly complaining about the previous match, asking if Vince Russo had booked it. Espinosa followed suit, continuing his mindset that he’s above everyone else in the promotion by insulting several members of the locker room…that included his scheduled opponent for the evening.
This was a solid matchup with Gunner doing better than I would have expected. At any rate, Espy got the cross-armbreaker out of nowhere for the tapout in 7:18.
Big Jim Hoffarth vs. Bubba Troll(w/ Big Daddy): Hoffarth won last month’s Bruiser Brody Memorial Battle Royal and Troll was the last man eliminated, so Troll obviously wanted some payback in this battle of super heavyweights. I jokingly throw around “#ClubbingForearms” at times like this, but it’s not like we’re gonna see a lucha-style match out of these guys. I’m often told that casual fans would rather see a “fight” than a “wrestling match”, at any rate.
In a slight surprise, Troll got the win after a splash off the second rope in 8:30…Drew tried to get a word with Hoffarth afterwards, but he wasn’t feeling up to an interview after BEING SPLASHED FROM THE SECOND ROPE BY A LARGE OPPONENT. Timing, Drew.
“Night Train/Gorgeous/Great One” Gary Jackson & “Ironman” Ken Kasa vs. “The Icon” Chris Hargas(w/ Travis Cook), “St. Louis Handicap Match”: Hargas & Espinosa defeated Kasa in this style of match in May, so Hargas wanted to prove that he could do what Kasa couldn’t. The match had a fifteen-minute limit and the tag team would win if the single wrestler couldn’t win a decision in that time frame. Kasa wanted to fight on his own and asked Gary to stay outside the ring…so the match was basically a singles bout with Gary doing his beset to thwart interference attempts by Travis Cook.
Travis was able to get involved enough that the referee was distracted after Kasa delivered the John Wu Dropkick…at that moment, Jackson chased Travis back to the dressing room area. Kasa locked on a version of the rear naked choke as the time limit ticked down, but Hargas didn’t tap out until RIGHT after the closing bell sounded at 15:00. Technically Jackson & Kasa won the match, but Kasa wanted a decisive victory…so the July show will feature a thirty-minute Ironman Match between Kasa and Hargas. Goodie.
Johnny Blade vs. “The Tokyo Monster” Kahagas(w/ Travis Cook): Blade returned to the St. Louis area fairly recently after previously being a regular for both SICW and the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance. Kahagas won with a pumphandle Michinoku Driver in 5:54.
Ron Powers vs. Attila Khan for the Classic Title, Travis Cook Banned From Ringside: The past two months of Wrestling Explosion have attempted to compare this rivalry to Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah The Butcher, as Powers is a protege of the late Brody and Khan has a similar style to the “Madman From The Sudan”. This wasn’t a technical classic and wasn’t expected to be…Khan played that popular Memphis game of “Where Oh Where Could The Foreign Object Be?” Hey, it ticks off the fans and that’s what counts for a rulebreaker. Ron had control when the rulebreakers’ locker room essentially emptied on Khan’s behalf to cause the DQ in 3:53. It started with Bubba Troll, then continued with Brandon Espinosa, Chris Hargas, and Kahagas with Big Daddy attempting to direct traffic.
It took a while for the fan favorites’ locker room to get the memo, but finally Ken Kasa and Gary Jackson hit the ring to help. Once they brought chairs into the fray, the rulebreakers backed off…that wrapped up the show.
The show started with a ten-bell salute for Muhammad Ali.
Brandon Aarons vs. “Infamous” Tyler Copeland for the MMWA Jr. Heavyweight Title:
These guys have been around the horn a few times and had a good solid opener; Aarons won with the close-range superkick in 9:47. Copeland complained that he wasn’t adequately prepared since the match was the opener(suuuuure) and wanted a rematch, even offering to put his hair on the line. Copeland doesn’t have a whole lot to sacrifice in that regard, but Aarons accepted the challenge and the match was set for July 9th. If that stipulation went both ways, the female fans would have heart attacks over the prospect of Aarons’ luxurious locks being in jeopardy…in all heterosexuality, the man has a tremendous head of hair.
Tag Team Champion Brandon Espinosa vs. “The Millenial” Danny Adams for the Missouri Wrestling Revival Missouri Title: This was the first appearance of the MWR MO belt at South Broadway. Espy & Ace Hawkins’ Tag Title feud with The Family (Prince Moses & Damion Cortess) seems to be on the back burner as Moses is out of action with an injury. Espy referenced the fact that he and Adams both train with Michael Elgin, so he has a bit more respect for Adams than for a lot of the guys in the locker room.
They had a really good matchup that got a lot of time; Adams is progressing nicely and has been getting his name on people’s radars in recent months. The cross-armbreaker is a tough hold to transition into professional wrestling as people are expected to fight through the pain of submission holds…however, this particular maneuver can legitimately break an arm if fully applied for enough time.
In that regard, a wrestler/fighter is likely to surrender quickly rather than risk a major injury. (I say this as someone who is not well-versed in the mixed martial arts world, so bear with my relative ignorance.) Espinosa won with the aforementioned hold in 16:19(!), but not without a strong effort on Adams’ part…they shook hands afterwards, though Espy was still a bit dismissive of his opponent’s efforts.
Damion Cortess vs. Barackus: The big man turned on The Family in May to cost Moses & Cortess the Tag Titles to Espinosa & Ace Hawkins.
This one didn’t even get started as the combatants brawled at ringside until Hawkins blindsided Cortess, leading to a two-on-one attack. With Moses on the disabled list, it seemed like no one was available to help Cortess…but he got assistance from a surprise source in the form of J-Mal Swagg. Commissioner Jim Harris ordered an impromptu tag match as a result…playa.
J-Mal Swagg & Damion Cortess vs. Tag Team Champion “The” Ace Hawkins & Barackus: Swagg has his own fanbase at South Broadway, so this change of attitude seemed like a natural progression. he rulebreaking duo took a walk for the countout in 11:49; by that, I mean Barackus walked out with Hawkins slung over his shoulder. Heh.
Moondog Rover vs. “The Incredible” Matt Kenway (Look At Him): When I don’t make it to an MMWA event, I watch the archived webcast. The commentary is provided by The Dirty Heinous Show and “Dirty” is the main guy on the mic…his insistent reference to THE INCREDIBLE MATT KENWAY LOOK AT HIM created my above designation. (To be fair, being the only pale white guy in the building with cornrows probably prompted a few awkward glances at the May show.) At this show, the commentary was primarily provided by Evan Gelistico and Mike Outlaw, creating the unusual setup of a St. Louis Anarchy guy and a Dynamo Pro guy (respectively) calling an MMWA show. Moondog OVAH~! tends to be the fan favorite by default…whoever he’s facing rarely gets cheered against him, so opponents just have to go with that flow.
The Incredible Matt Kenway Look At Him tried to take out the leg, but Moondog simply overpowered him and won with a World’s Strongest Slam in 5:33. After the match, Gelistico left the webcast position and entered the ring with a chair…Rover turned his attention to Evan, setting up The Incredible Matt Kenway Look At Him to deliver a low blow from behind. Gelistico beat down Moondog with a chair until Big Hoffarth hit the ring to run him off; Evan and The Incredible Matt Kenway Look At Him left together.
“Da Bomb” Brian James vs. Big Jim Hoffarth for the T.V. Title: All things considered, Big Jim probably didn’t need to go back to the dressing room as he was in the next matchup; that left the door open for James to attack him from behind as he made his re-entrance. Jimmy D came out to ringside but didn’t actively get involved; his presence was probably a distraction to the challenger as they’ve had issues in recent months. James won with the sitout gourdbuster (not an easy task given Hoffarth’s size) in 6:56; Jimmy D made fun of Hoffarth’s losing effort afterwards, but D had his own matters to attend to.
Shaft vs. “The Enforcer” Jimmy D, loser-wears-a-dress match: The stipulation said that the loser would be forced to wear a dress for all of his subsequent wrestling appearances in the MMWA. Shaft has been a consistent presence at local wrestling shows but hasn’t competed regularly in several years. Jim Hoffarth took a seat at ringside, looking for some payback for Jimmy D’s earlier actions.
Jimmy D appeared to be the more ring-ready of the two, but Hoffarth’s distraction allowed Shaft to get the rollup pin in 7:14. Unfortunately Jim Harris didn’t have a full-fledged dress for D to wear, instead opting for a black skirt that didn’t look all that notable against D’s dark-colored attire. Harris promised that D would have a brighter-colored ensemble when he faces Hoffarth in July.
“Night Train/Great One/Gorgeous” Gary Jackson vs. “2.0” Da’Marius Jones(w/ B.T.) vs. A.J. Williams: B.T. is the former Jackson Whitechapel/Clownman Jacko and he brought a stop sign to the ring. Since this match format is no-DQ anyway, B.T. blatantly whacked Jackson with the sign in the early going, prompting a fight at ringside between the champion and Jones’ security man. Since Jones and Williams are tag team partners, the main question was whether a split would occur over who would get the title-winning victory. We got an answer, but probably not the one we wanted…Williams locked Jackson in a Sharpshooter while Jones hooked a Crippler Crossface at the same time. Jackson tapped out in a surprisingly short 6:40…but who was the champion?
MMWA went through a similar situation last year when then-champion Williams fought Jones to a double-fall draw, leading to a title vacancy…and we got the same result here as Harris declared the title to be held up. The championship would be decided in July in a four-corner match involving Jackson, Williams, Jones, and another former champion: Kevin Lee Davidson.
The show started with Brian Kelley presenting the 2015 Missouri Wrestling Revival Tag Team Of The Year plaques with sponsor Jack Tierney to High Level Enterprise(Jack Gamble & Jon Webb). The ceremony was interrupted by The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby), who used underhanded tactics to beat HLE for the Tag Team Titles at the April show…they said the awards were nice but the title belts were even better. Of course, it would be a real downer for HLE to win those awards and then fall short in their return match for the belts…but we’ll get to that later.
Rocket Mapache vs. C.J. Shine: Shine faced fan favorites in both of his matches on Saturday…I don’t know if that means he’s being positioned as an eventual rulebreaker, but time will tell how the fans react to his character. It was a quick competitive matchup, ending with Rocket avoiding a kick and getting the rollup pin in 4:00.
“The Valedictorian” Keon Option & Justin D’Air vs. Billy McNeil & Jayson Khaos(w/ C.J. McManus): The fan support was divided in this one as Option & D’Air are popular, but so is Billy McNeil. The story of the match was the dissension between the Midnight Society members as Khaos and McManus wanted to break the rules and McNeil did not. The tension turned into a full-blown argument by the end of the match as they could have gotten the win over D’Air but lost focus. Option took the opportunity to jump in the ring and blitz Khaos with a series of moves, ending in an axe kick that led to D’Air scoring the three-count in 13:00. The Society totally fell apart after the bell as McNeil shoved C.J. to the mat and picked up a chair on his way out of the ring…but the sides parted ways without further incident.
Outtkast vs. Kiyoshi Shizuka(w/ Lucy Mendez) for the D-1 Title: Shizuka traded wins with Outtkast’s tag team partner Shorty Biggs in recent months. While Lucy has her share of…admirers, I’ll say…she does really well in her role as a rulebreaking manager. I’ve commented a lot on my desire for more women’s wrestling in this area; hopefully the wheels are in motion for that to happen soon. I don’t know much about the masked newcomer Shizuka, but he’s had solid matches in his handful of in-ring appearances.
Lucy was nearly a factor in the outcome as she caused a distraction, allowing Shizuka to hit Outtkast with his Japanese flag pole behind the referee’s back. He followed up with a Perfectplex, but Outtkast barely kicked out before the three-count. The masked challenger set up to finish with a brainbuster, but Outtkast small-packaged him for the flash pin in 12:21 to retain his title.
Makaze vs. “The Alternative” Ozzie Gallagher: Sadie Blaze made a surprise return to Dynamo Pro a few months ago and immediately had issues with his former student Gallagher over his underhanded tactics. He especially took issue with Gallagher’s disrespect toward masked wrestlers like Rocket, which is understandable given his masked alter-ego Makaze. Gallagher stole Rocket’s mask on one occasion and kept trying to swipe it again after Rocket reclaimed it; that finally drove Blaze to take matters into his own hands and bring “Makaze” back into action. Makaze’s one of the only guys from the first independent show I attended(in the spring of 2000) who’s still working today. The match itself was solid as a first chapter in the series…a near-ref bump allowed Gallagher to deliver a punt to the Universal Weak Point, then roll him up in a modified Oklahoma roll for the cheap pin in 8:40. I somehow suspect that this issue is not quite over, regardless of Gallagher’s sentiment on the matter.
“The Millenial” Danny Adams vs. “The Filipino Warrior” Elvis Aliaga(w/ Lucy Mendez): Good heel wrestlers can take some time to appreciate and I feel like I’ve turned that corner with regards to Aliaga; he’s very underrated. Adams has proven his versatility in recent months as I’ve seen him work in both the fan favorite and rulebreaking roles. They had a really good matchup and Lucy got involved on more than one occasion…that led to Elvis rolling him up for the pin with feet on the ropes in 11:04.
Mike Outlaw vs. “The Yoga Monster” Mike Sydal: These two nearly crossed paths a while back as Outlaw and Justin D’Air had been scheduled to face Mike and his brother Matt, but Matt’s travel issues ixnayed that potential bout. This was a battle of fan favorites and a good one; I’ll never quite understand why Ring Of Honor didn’t do more with Sydal. I joked that my money was on Mike to win this match and at least one fan tried to start a “Let’s Go Mike” chant…MARKET CONFUSION~! Sydal made the fatal mistake of dropping his yoga mat and going out to retrieve it for the sake of his Yogasault…Outlaw had enough time to roll out of the way of the move, then finished with the Mafia Kick in 12:23. Nicely done.
Post-match, Outlaw acknowledged Dirden’s absence and said he hadn’t had a fair rematch for the title since losing it in May of the previous year. He said that he wanted his title shot…and if Dirden wouldn’t give it to him, then he would stay on his trail until he got it. Glad to see he’s getting back into the title hunt…woo.
The Professionals(Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby) vs. High Level Enterprise(Jack Gamble & Jon Webb) for the Tag Team Titles: As noted, Santel & McDarby had captured the belts under dubious circumstances in April; this was the rematch. I think these teams are good foils for each other and I hope the series will continue after this point. Option & D’Air watched the match from ringside and seem to be positioned as future challengers. There’s also the possibility of the Black Hand Warriors re-entering the championship picture, not to mention the Midnight Society in whatever form it may take. The finish saw HLE isolate McDarby; Gamble picked up McDarby on his shoulders and held him for a superkick from Webb, then delivered a fireman’s-carry Michinoku Driver for the winning fall in 13:12…Gamble & Webb are now two-time Dynamo Pro Tag Team Champions! Option & D’Air made a point to hand the belts to the new champions…just like that, the hunters are once again the hunted.
“The King Of Chaos” Ricky Cruz vs. Brandon Espinosa for the MWR Missouri Title: The history between these two runs deep over the past few years, including a brief reign as Dynamo Tag Champs. While it’s a source of bitterness for Espinosa that he had to start at the bottom of this promotion and claw his way to the top, Ricky has been a two-time Heavyweight Champion as well as SICW Classic Champion. These two had an altercation at the Cinco De Mayo show that led to Cruz pinning Espy in a six-man tag. The pre-match promos set up the bout as a sportsmanlike contest between the two, though both men have been known to throw the rulebook out the window. Each guy withstood the best that the other had to offer, including Espinosa surprisingly kicking out after the Cruz Control(swinging fisherman buster). Cruz unloaded with kicks, but Espy ducked the last one and rolled him up for the shockingly clean pinfall in 15:18! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a newwwww MWR Missouri Champion!
Ricky was stunned but took the loss graciously at first…of course, Espinosa couldn’t just leave it alone and rubbed the loss in Cruz’s face. When he demanded that Cruz fulfill his promise to raise his arm after the match, Ricky did so…only to punctuate his action with a superkick to the mush. The new champion was laid out as the show wrapped up…
Missouri Wrestling Revival 