Fans entered the building to receive free NWL KC T-shirts, bumper stickers, and merchandise. They were also welcome to come to the NWL booth to sign up for NWL e-mail updates and purchase tickets for the Jan 7th debut of the NWL at the Scottish Rite Temple .
Chris Gough thanked everyone for their support throughout the years including the fans, wrestlers Turner Rec Staff and Metro Pro Wrestling crew.
He introduced the NWL owner Major Baisden. Baisden welcomed everyone to come out and support NWL in both KC and STL as they are looking to take wrestling in the Midwest to a new level. He then asked to have Metro Pro Wrestling Commissioner Michael Strider to come to the ring. Baisden addressed the near riot at St. Louis Anarchy in November that was led by Strider and fellow NWL KC. Baisden had told Strider NOT to go to STL on that night and for interrupting Davey Vega’s title belt celebration with the chaos, he was FIRED.
Major Baisden then told Strider that he had reinstated Jeremy Wyatt.
Bobby Blackshire, Jordan Kastle, and Allie Gato vs Derek Stone, Kraig Keesaman and Angel Trinity
Mark Sterling (with the Killer City Kings) defeated Devin Thomas to move to the finals of the Metro Pro Wrestling Championship
Jake Dirden defeated Mike Sydal via submission to move to the finals of the Metro Pro Wrestling Championship
The Honky Tonk Man and Rory Fox defeated The Killer City Kings ( Jake and Ryan)
The Commission (Pierre Abernathy and Evan Gelistico) defeated Kobra Kai Dojo (Davey Vega and Mat Fitchet) for the Metro Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship
Kevin Lee Davidson won the Metro Pro invitational battle royal last elimination Donnie Peppercricket
A.C.H. defeated Jon Webb
Jake Dirden defeated Mark Sterling (with the Killer City Kings) for the vacated Metro Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship
Jeremy Wyatt defeated Sterling Riegel – Santa Claus Came to the ringside then attacked Logan Riegel and helped Wyatt win the match. Afterwards Santa unmasked to reveal that he was Micahel Stider. A unholy alliance was made when Wyatt shook hands sending a warning to the NWL that the KC legends were back.
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Redwing defeated Ace Steel in a lumberjack match with special referee Lucy Mendez for the Metro Pro Wrestling Central States Championship.
Jake Dirden came out to celebrate with Redwing only to ambush and lay him out with a big boot with team NWL STL right behind. NWL KC came out for the save and the end of era in Kansas City closed the door on Metro Pro Wrestling .
Free NWL #FightSTL shirts, stickers, and more for the first fans through the door at St. Louis Anarchy’s awesome show.
-The show started with promoter Pierre Abernathy addressing the fans and acknowledging the fact that it was the final show for St. Louis Anarchy. He brought out National Wrestling League promoter Major Baisden; he got a mixed reaction, but he spoke to the fans about his vision for the NWL and seemed to have them on board.
–The Hooligans(Devin & Mason Cutter)(w/ Uncle Leo) d. The Viking War Party(“American Viking” Alexandre Rudolph & “Littlest Viking” Jake Parnell); the match broke down into a bar fight with the four sitting in chairs and punching each other. It finally came down to Devin simply pummeling Parnell to the mat and pinning him (15:53).
–“Dad Bod” Sean Orleans won a four-corner match with Cody Krash, Ken Lee, & Chris Crunk when he pinned Crunk after hitting a double Stone Cold Stunner on Crunk & Lee (6:03).
-Donovan Danhausen d. Slade Sludge with a sitout powerbomb (6:24).
–“Absolute” Ricky Starks d. Kiyoshi Shizuka(w/ Greg Jovi) after the Angel’s Wings(sitout Pedigree) (8:43). Before the match, Starks declared that Vince McMahon did not own him and he tore up the contract in his hand, saying that he would be a member of St. Louis Anarchy for life. (Err…)
–Kevin Lee Davidson d. Mike Outlaw after a Regal Roll off the second rope followed by the spinebuster (10:01).
-Cause members Evan Gelistico & Danny Adams brought out Everett Connors, who seemed to have amicably split from the group…however, tempers flared and Connors chased them from the ring.
-“The Savior Of Pro Wrestling” Jimmy Rave d. Everett Connors after the Ghanarhea(snap cradle Olympic Slam) (15:46).
–Angelus Layne & Austin Blackburn d. Evan Gelistico & Danny Adams when Blackburn pinned Gelistico with a Code Red (13:10). The building had a power outage during the match and the fans lit the ring with their cellphones so the match could continue!
–Aaron Solow won a triple threat match with Paco Gonzalez and Jason Roberts when he pinned Roberts after a cradle DDT (9:53); the power remained out for the duration of this match, but was finally restored before the next bout.
-Roscoe East Lisa(“Zesty” Zakk Sawyers & “The Big Mustache On Campus” Mikey McFinnegan) d. Team I.O.U.(“The Down-South Dandy” Nick Iggy & “The Music City Mutt” Kerry Awful) to retain the Tag Team Titles; Sawyers pinned Awful after he and McFinnegan delivered a spiked Air Raid Crash (16:38).
-“Gorgeous” Jordan Laceyd. “The Incredible Primal Prodigy” Matt Kenway (Look At Him) after the Jenna Jameson(swinging uranagi) (2:02). Gelistico & Adams attacked Lacey after the match, but the returning Adam Caster and Frankie Big Balls made the save! Caster addressed the fact that he had bought into Gelistico’s “bull$#!+”, but he had to retire from wrestling due to concussions and had cleared his head.
He introduced Frankie Big Balls as well as several personalities from SLA’s predecessor, the Lethal Wrestling Alliance: Jordan Taylor(former LWA President), Tim Pickerill(who did a lot of behind-the-scenes work for the LWA), and Mad Dog Daffronian(LWA ring announcer).
-“The Ace Of Anarchy” Davey Vega won a triple threat match with Gary Jay(w/ Dorian Victor & Mrs. Victor) and Mat Fitchett(C) to win the Heavyweight Title. Vega delivered his brainbuster onto the knee on Gary Jay, then hit the move on Fitchett as well and pinned the champion for the win (17:02)! Vega barely had time to celebrate his win as several competitors from the Kansas City side of the NWL attacked all three competitors; I saw Logan & Sterling Riegel), Jake & Ryan King, Kiyoshi Shizuka, and even Michael Strider!
The locker room emptied to run them off, ending with K.L.D. Awesome-Bombing one of the Riegels over the top rope onto the other K.C. interlopers! Major Baisden and Lucy Mendez stood with the St. Louis crew in the ring as Baisden admonished the Kansas City crew for interfering with the show.
The three competitors and Pierre Abernathy said their final words before the show officially wrapped up, closing the book on an era in St. Louis wrestling.
The next Metro Pro Wrestling event is Saturday, December 3, at 7 p.m. inside Turner Rec Center in Kansas City, KS! Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
– Lumberjack Match for the Central States Championship – Ace Steel (c) vs. Redwing
– Kiyoshi Shizuka vs. Rory Fox
– Metro Pro Tag Team Championship Match – NO HOLDS BARRED – Kobra Kai Dojo (c) vs. The Commission
– Metro Pro Championship Tournament Semi-Final Match – Mark Sterling vs. Devin Thomas
– Metro Pro Championship Tournament Semi-Final Match – Jake Dirden vs. Mike Sydal
– Metro Pro Championship Final will take place as well, as we’ll crown a new champ!
– Our special guest for the show — The Honky Tonk Man!
Front Row: $20
General Admission: $15
Kids 5-12 (Does not count front row): $10
Under 5: Free
Kraig Keesaman, Howard Moritz, & Kiyoshi Shizuka def. Jay Howard, The Math Magician & Bobby Blackshire
Metro Pro Wrestling Central States Champ Ace Steel def. Vic Capri
Metro Pro Wrestling Tag Champs The Kobra Kai Dojo (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) def. Evan Gelistico & Pierre Abernathy, The Diamond Dogs (Graham Bell & Luke Langley) and Jake & Ryan King
Metro Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title Tourney Round One
Devin Thomas def. Sonjay Dutt
Mike Sydal def. Stevie Richards
Ace Steel was able to get the attention of Redwing, who left the ring to chase his arch rival.
Kevin Lee Davidson def. Nate Redwing by countout
Hype Gotti def. Mike Outlaw
Jeremy Wyatt def. Michael Strider in a hardcore match (unsanctioned).
By James Head
Wrestle Radio’s very own James Head and Jake Ryan Patty with Redwing. Thanks to this podcast and Metro Pro Wrestling the first 200 fans went home with a true collectable.
On Saturday July 30th, 2016 Metro Pro Wrestling handed wrestling fans another stellar card. We had huge stars such as Stevie Richards from ECW and Sonjay Dutt from TNA (Who is now the Global Force Wrestling Champion). There was even a Redwing MWR trading card give away sponsored by the Wrestling Radio Podcast to the first 200 paying fans.
Tina Noire of Galaxy Wrestling All-Stars & Noire Comics designed the awesome back of the Redwing Trading Card.
However this night on Saturday July 30th, 2016 was all about President Michael Strider and “The Rebel” Jeremy Wyatt.
As a Wrestling Fan in the Midwest we have watched President Strider and Jeremy Wyatt developed as two of the best Indy Wrestlers around. Going into this match “A War To End It All” President Strider hasn’t wrestled in 4 years this would be Jeremy Wyatt’s last match.
They have torn each other up all over the Midwest, however this rivalry kicked into high gear 2 years ago when President Strider dressed up as a Referee and cost Jeremy Wyatt his Metro Pro Championship to Derek Stone. This lead to the decision for President Strider to make that if Jeremy Wyatt were to loses his next match that he would be done at Metro Pro . President Strider brought in great talent such as Ricky Cruz and Christopher Daniels. For 2 years Wyatt was unbeaten untill April 2016 when Rhino beat Jeremy Wyatt for the Metro Pro Championship that he got back when he dressed up as Rebulucha. President Strider bought the Championship off Rhino. The next month in May, Jeremy Wyatt manipulated President Strider to get one last match in July where it be Jeremy Wyatt vs President Strider in an unsanctioned Street Fight. Metro Pro and not even the State of Kansas would sanction this Fight.
For President Strider this is his first match in 4 years and it lived up to the hype. Jeremy Wyatt for his final match just wanted to kick President Strider’s ass. For years they have been friends, rivals, back to friends and then more hated rivals. As a wrestling fan you have to respect what these brave men have accomplished. President Strider have won Championships and Jeremy Wyatt is the Belt Collector for a reason as he has won Championships everywhere he has competed. These two men fought all over the Turner Rec Center. They went through tables, chairs, and even had a Barbwire baseball bat that was used in horrific fashion. They used every type of weapon you could think of. Jeremy Wyatt made a promise that he would leave President Strider laying in a pool of his own blood. That’s what he did. After making President Strider bleed a lot he hit his Lightening Spiral for the Pin Fall.
I don’t blame Metro Pro or the State of Kansas to not sanction this Fight. It was a War. There was even blood shed all over the hard wood basketball court. For President Strider I have a new found respect for him. I want to thank him for everything he has done and for putting his body through hell for our entertainment!!
The Rebel Jeremy Wyatt, for that to be his last match he most definitely went out with a bang. I want to thank him for the years of entertainment!!
I would like to thank him for each show he stepped up and made each show better.
Thank you Jeremy Wyatt for the memories. You will be Mr. Metro Pro!! Have a Happy Retirement and you will always be Jeremy Wyatt “The Belt Collector”!!
For a complete recap of the Michael Strider vs Jeremy Wyatt match click here.
BBQ, music and laughter is what you would have walked up to even if you had planned to be one of the first people in line at Metro Pro’Wrestling‘s 6th anniversary show on June 4th. If you failed to drink a strong cup of coffee that morning you might have thought you were outside of Arrowhead Stadium with a bunch of wild fans. Come to find out Metro Pro fans aren’t too different from Chiefs fans in that they are loyal, loud and a little over the top. To no one’s surprise, it was the guys and gals of the Wrestle Talk Podcast and the WWE Universe Worldwide Chapter fantasy wrestling group. I expect that this isn’t the last time we will see or hear about this group. Especially since every Metro Pro show keeps getting better and better and this show was without a doubt better than the last and we are sure the next will be better than this one. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves because we have a lot of ground to cover as we breakdown this show. Just know this writer’s only goal is to make you wish you would have made this show and to get you fired up and exited for the next show coming up in July. So let’s get going!
The show inside the building kicked off with a match between the Math Magician and The Iceman (1/2 of Team Vintage).
This was a fun match where the fans especially the kids enjoyed themselves. Few things are as fun as counting along with the Math Magician when his music hits or even as he attempts to rally for a comeback. As fun as it is to count along with one guy it is just as fun to boo and heckle The Iceman. Who since has gone to “the dark side” has been on a slide. Sadly, (for him and Team Vintage) tonight was no different.
The Mathmagician was able to get the crowd behind him and pull off the big win in a match that lasted 6 minutes and 31 seconds. That was not the last time we would see the The Iceman this night.
Following the opening match the crowned was treated (I use that term loosely) to an appearance by President Michael Strider and his stunning partner in crime, Lucy Mendez. As you can imagine, they were met with a tremendous fan disapproval. Not more than 10 seconds in the ring Strider started bragging about how thanks to him Metro Pro fans would no longer have to see, hear or even have to worry about Jeremy Wyatt, all thanks to him and of course a little help with former ECW champion “The Man Beast,” Rhyno. All those who are familiar with the situation know what for over 2yrs Striders only goal has to rid Metro Pro wrestling of Wyatt, the undisputed fan favorite. It was also pointed out that Strider had a piece of what seemed like toilet paper on his shoe which he had Lucy remove for him in all of his arrogance.
In an attempt to get back to business Strider reminded that crowd that this wasn’t just any show but Metro Pro’s 6th anniversary show and that night we would have the pleasure of seeing him accept the MWR wrestler of the year award on the behalf of the recently fired Jeremy Wyatt. Also that we would get to see some great matches in round 1 of the tournament to crown a new Metro Pro Wrestling champion. And of course that the legendary tag team Demolition would be teaming with fan favorite ‘The Commission’ in the main even match of the night, and a whole lot more. The best part of this segment of the show according to most fans is when it was over.
We then moved on to some more in ring action. First up we had Jon Webb vs Kiyoshi Shizuka.
Where even though Davey Vega was ring side and in Shisuka’s corner, Jon Webb was able to pull off the win in just under 13 minutes. This advances Webb to round two of the Metro Pro Wrestling tournament to crown the new Metro Pro champion and left both Shisuka and Vega with a bad taste in their mouths.
Next we moved into some hard hitting tag team action where we had a team the we will affectionately call “The Beards” Redwing and Jay Howard vs long time bad guys and well known trouble makers the KC Kings. This match as good as should be expected but just as Redwing and Howie had things well in hand the man known as Ace Steele felt like he needed to come out and make his presence felt by hitting Howard over the head with his central states championship. Surprisingly though, that would not be enough as Redwing was able to get the 1,2,3 even though his partner was outside the ring and out for the count at that moment.
New comer Rory Fox caught almost everyone off guard with this energy and skill as he faced Metro Pro’s resident bad guy “The World’s Fittest Wrestler,” Mark Sterling. As you would expect the KC King Brothers were there and they played their usual role of heel-aids by helping Sterling secure the win after several attacks on Rory with referee Michael Case’s back turned. Though he gave a valiant effort this almost 3 on 1 affair, it ended with Mark Sterling getting the win in a little under 9 minutes and 30 seconds.
The match between Kraig Keesaman and Jake Dirden started days before they actually faced off in the ring. A few days earlier there was some back and forth on Twitter on who exactly would come out on top in this match and move on to round two of the Metro Pro’s Championship Tournament. The fans seemed to be split right down the middle and Dirden and Keesaman both confidently asserted that they indeed would be winning this match. To no ones’ surprise by the time the match started we quickly found out that even after all the trash talking Keesaman did on Twitter he still felt to bring his insurance policy The Iceman to the ring with him.
In the end it didn’t matter, Dirden was too much for both Keesaman and The Iceman and put Keesaman away with a in a little over 10 minutes.
After 4 incredible matches since their last appearance President Michael Strider and Lucy Mendez made their way back into the ring this time to except the MWR wrestler of the year award that Brian Kelley himself would be presenting. Just as Brian would reluctantly begin to hand the trophy over to Strider who at this point is nearly foaming at the mouth at the idea of being handed this award, Jeremy Wyatt’s music hits and the crowed in the Turner Rec Center. Wyatt made his way in the ring and did something surprising and turned his attention to Brian Kelley and expressed what most people in attendance that are familiar with MWR and that work that whole crew does already knew. That the work they do is amazing and has been a cornerstone in helping to elevate wrestling in the Midwest to a whole new level. Brian and his wife in particular have spent years traveling all over to show support and uplift that sport that we all love dearly. The crowd was 100% in agreement and Brian was given a well-deserved standing ovation which lasted well over 2 minutes. This really seemed to catch Brian off guard and the look on his face was priceless. Truly a highlight moment of the night and one to be remembered.
Wyatt then turned his attention to Strider and the two locked eyes as they have so many times before. You could cut the tension with a knife at this point.
Wyatt proceeded to inform Strider that he would be accepting the MWR award himself and that he had some new regarding a letter he had in his possession via the Board Of Directors. According to Wyatt this letter guarantees a match No holds barred match at the July 30th show. Not only that, if Strider refused to sign he would lose his job as President and Wyatt would take over that position. After throwing what would be comparable only to the fit of 5 year old spoiled brat, Strider was forced to sign it.
Only to be told a few seconds later by Wyatt that he lied about him losing his job and it was all made up to get him to sign it. This indeed may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back because only a few seconds later Strider removed his shirt and challenged Wyatt to jump back into the ring. Which almost seemed to be exactly what Wyatt was waiting for.
Fists and kicks lashed out and it got so out of hand that the whole locker room was forced to come out and break them up. Flashes of Undertaker vs Brock Lesner went through the minds many as this was all going on inside and outside the ring for what seemed like an eternity.
Once the ring was finally cleared we go the in ring action back underway and there was no time for anyone to catch their breath because the following match included the fabulous Riegal Twins vs the always game KC Wolves. The match was high energy and high flying, first we were treated to a front flip by Sterling Riegal over one of the ring posts right on top of both KC Wolfs then we got an amazing cross body where Logan Riegal, was by the estimation of many over 10 feet in the air!
Once the action got back into the ring the KC Wolfs did the unexpected and resorted to the low blow behind the refs back and the Wolves ended up getting the win.
We also had to other great matches before the main event the delivered the goods. We had a unification match between Steve Fender and Ace Steele.
This match was bring the belts ( Kansas State Championship,) (Central States Championship) together to crown one true champion.
After a lot of hot dogging and fooling with the ref the action got underway and Ace Steele was able to pull off the win with a little help from Redwing to retain the Central States title and to unify it with the Kansas State title.
Next, we had hot up-and-comer and recent graduate from the KC Pro Wrestling Training Center, Bobby Blackshire face off against former Metro Pro champion Derek Stone in a hard fought match where to Savvy Ol’ Vet ended up getting the win.
For the main event of the night we had the legendary Demolition team up with fan favorites “The Commission” to face a team full of stars to include Mike Sydal, Mark Sterling, Davey Vega and Kiyoshi Shizuka
This was a dream come true for many wrestling fans in the crowd. So many remember the legacy that Demolition left in there time in WWF and their title reign which is still the longest tag team championship reign of all time. The match did not disappoint and at one point there opponents couldn’t even decide who should go in the ring because they were so out matched by Demolition and the Commission. Near the end, something incredible happened, Axe and Smash decided to pass the torch to the next generation by helping Pierre and Gelistico set up the DEMOLITION DECAPITATION!
That as it always has been was enough to get the win and close out the show with a bang!
So at the end of the night, as awesome as it was there is still a lot of unfinished business. Lots of questions to be answered. Will this no holds barred match truly be the end of the rivalry between Wyatt and Strider? What other wrestlers will move on to round two of the tournament? Will Cobra Kai be back to defend their tag team titles, and if so, against who? One thing that is without a question is that some of the names that have already been released as scheduled to appear are the who’s who of pro wrestling to include Stevie Richards, Hype Gotti, Kevin Lee Davidson, and Sonjay Dutt. And that’s just what has been announced up to this point. Definitely a great time to be a fan in the Midwest because the local guys keep getting better and the stars that are being brought in are all class acts like Axe and Smash. That’s something that can’t be taken for granted. Nor is your chance to catch the next Metro Pro Wrestling show on July 30th at Turner Rec Center in Kansas City Kansas. See you there!
Rene Martinez, host of the Wrestle Talk Podcast with Joe and Rene
Twitter/Instagram/Snapchat: @WrestleTalkCast
Photo Credit – Brian Kelley Missouri Wrestling Revival
Of course, the special guest at WLW was a factor in my decision: Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. I got started as a regular wrestling viewer after his most famous feuds with “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Ric Flair, but he was in the opener of the first pay-per-view that I saw via home video(SummerSlam 1991). I heard about the Savage and Flair feuds after the fact and got to see some of his classic bouts through home videos and WCW’s “All-Nighter” marathons. His career essentially ended in 1994 after being injured in his U.S. Title win over some nobody named Stunning Steve Austin, but he had a brief WWE comeback in a feud with Chris Jericho.
His son Richie briefly wrestled for WWE’s developmental system in Florida Championship Wrestling and then NXT, but injuries cut his wrestling career short. Steamboat was an eternal fan favorite for his entire career, despite a handful of temptations to stray to the Dark Side of The Force.
As set up at the April show, Steamboat had already been announced as the special guest but became the special guest referee for the night’s main event bout between Leland Race and Steve Fender. Also, WLW’s first Junior Heavyweight Champion was scheduled to be crowned on this night in a tournament final between Jon Webb and Jayden Fenix. The show had a strong turnout due to Steamboat’s presence…not competing with playoff hockey may have also been a factor. (Go Blues!) I looked after the Missouri Wrestling Revival merchandise table as Brian Kelley took photos at ringside…woo.
Your ring announcer was Brian Thompson; your referee was Richard White.
Roy Lewis vs. Cody Jones: This was my first time seeing Jones in action; I had seen him at previous independent shows but not in the ring. My initial thought was speculation on who Lewis would be losing to, then I immediately noted that he could have been facing Air Raid or something. However, this one was honestly a pick-’em with a rookie fan favorite against a relatively unknown rulebreaker. Lewis is one-third of the Troy Athletic Club with “The Freestyle Phenom” Jay Howard and “The Natural” J.A. Fair, but he usually flies solo when competing in this area. It was a fine underdog effort for Lewis who survived a lot of heavy artillery from Jones; Jones went to the top rope but missed a frog splash. Lewis capitalized with a La Majistral cradle for the flash pin in 8:12…ROY WINS~! He celebrated his first WLW win in grand fashion with Brian Thompson acknowledging it.
Justin D’Air vs. “The King Of Crossfit” Mark Sterling: D’Air has recently been sporting light-up wrestling boots, a la Naomi Night’s footwear in WWE; Sterling was emphatically unamused, so D’Air decided to poke fun at Sterling’s toe shoes. Hey, a feud over footwear would be far from the weirdest reason for an issue between professional wrestlers. At any rate, these guys had a solid competitive matchup; Sterling avoided a 450 Splash and D’Air rolled through for a relatively safe landing, but Sterling got the rollup pin with a handful of tights in 11:50(HEEL~!).
Stacey O’Brien & Lucy Mendez vs. Women’s Champion “Miss Natural” Heather Patera & Paloma Starr: Hey, a women’s division! While the “Divas’ Revolution” has seemingly cooled off to some degree, it’s been good to see women’s wrestling get a higher profile on the national stage. Despite their recent issues, Stacey and Lucy worked well together as a tag team. On the other side, the newer duo of Miss Natural and Paloma Starr had a few glitches in their teamwork, leading to a few shifts in momentum. Stacey had defeated Miss Monica at the April show to re-establish herself as the top contender to Miss Natural’s title. Stacey went old-school with her ring attire, going back to the plaid skirt ensemble. Things broke down near the finish and I felt like more than one person lost track of who was legal, particularly the referee. I could have sworn that Lucy and Natural were legal, but Stacey hit the backcracker on Paloma and got the three-count in 12:16…all righty then. It was a fine match, at any rate.
“Kickin'” Kyle Roberts vs. Karim Brigante(w/ Miss Monica Passeri): This stemmed from Karim physically abusing his valet at the April show, leading to Kyle making the save. In a pre-recorded video, Kyle told Karim that men don’t put their hands on women in America. The video promo prompted a sneak attack by Brigante in the locker room area, as well as a counter-promo. Brigante has struggled to pick up wins in the Midwest, though I think he won a battle royal at a WLW show elsewhere in Missouri. At any rate, Monica interfered on a few occasions and finally slipped a chain into the ring for her man to use; this brought out Stacey O’Brien for a brief Catfiiiiight(tm Joey Styles). The referee turned his attention to the action on the floor and missed Karim KOing Roberts with the chain, getting the tainted pinfall in 11:43. BUT WAIT~! The referee discovered the international object after the fact and ordered a restart to the match…Roberts immediately capitalized with an enzuigiri and rollup for the real victory in 0:12 of the restart (11:55 total).
“The Hybrid Ace” Jon Webb vs. Jayden Fenix, Jr. Heavyweight Title Tournament Final: General Manager Matt Murphy brought out the title belt under a cover; his intention was to unveil the championship before presenting it to the winner. Fenix came out to the usual Black Hand Warriors theme, but loudly proclaimed that he was NO LONGER associated with that group; since the BHWs are fan favorites in WLW, that established him as the heel in this bout. Given the eternal series of bouts between High Level Enterprise(Webb & Jack Gamble) and the Black Hand Warriors, these two know each other very well and had one of my favorite matches of the night. Unfortunately, it was marred by an indecisive finish as Fenix brought a chair into the ring…when the referee tried to stop Fenix from using the weapon, Fenix shoved him to the mat. That triggered a disqualification in 18:23 and Fenix whacked Webb with the chair anyway. Fenix continued his dispute with the referee, so Webb got a hold of the chair and nailed Fenix with it. So Webb is the first WLW Jr. Heavyweight Champion, right?…
…not so fast. Murphy voiced his disapproval of both men’s actions and said that the lineage of the new championship shouldn’t start that way. As a result, he declared that a no-DQ rematch would take place at the show on August 27th and the winner of THAT match would be the first Jr. Heavyweight Champion.
“The Legacy” Leland Race vs. “Superstar” Steve Fender, special guest referee Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat: In April, Heavyweight Champion Trevor Murdoch & Fender defeated Race and The Math Magician(one of these names is not like the others…) when Fender pinned Race; this match was set up to determine a top contender to Murdoch’s title. (Of note, neither Murdoch nor Tag Team Champions Michael Magnuson & Dave DeLorean were in the house on this night.) The match was good but the crowd response was a bit down; they were probably waiting until Steamboat had his “moment” before they got invested.
Several spots were obvious odes to Steamboat: Backflip out of an armwringer, armdrags, inside cradle counter to a bodyslam, etc. All it was missing was a cross-bodyblock off the top rope. Steamboat was bumped down and Fender hit the brainbuster(which was how he won the tag match in April), but Steamboat wasn’t available to make the count. When he did recover to count, Race kicked out at two-and-a-half…leading to the anticipated confrontation between Steamboat and Fender. Fender repeatedly shoved Steamboat until The Dragon finally retaliated with a shove of his own to assert his authority…at that point, the match continued and Fender’s loss of focus may have contributed to his downfall. The two traded near-falls until Race finally finished with the Go 2 Sleep in 19:36…woo-hoo.
I imagine Murdoch vs. Race will be the main event of the show in August…we’ll see how the rest of the card shapes up.
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 was excited to cover the return of pro wrestling in Sedalia, Missouri as the MWR Missouri Championship was on the line, a women’s tag match featuring 3 of the past MWR Female Wrestlers of the Year winners and the NWA Missouri Championship title bout.
Let us take a look at that historic evening.
Stacey O’Brien was presented the New Breed Wrestling Female Wrestler of the Year award by Wade Chism. Thanks to the chaos and complaining from Lucy Mendez and Miss Monica Passeri at the start of the night, we were able to get a photo of her with her award… Speaking of the rude
NWA Missouri Champion Evan Morris def. Mark Sterling
Missouri Wrestling Revival 