MMWA-SICW September 6, 2008 Recap

by Kari Williams

MMWA-SICW’s return to South Broadway Athletic Club this month enticed fans with high profile matches, controversy and even the surprise return of a former champion.

Johnny Courageous battled Waco to top off a memorable night. Both competitors were as determined as ever to control the match up, as each had his moment of glory. Waco tried to control the match as best he could, all the while wearing Courageous out with numerous pinfall attempts. At one point, Waco had Courageous hanging upside down in the corner of the ring and delivered an imposing dropkick to the helpless American hero. In the closing moments of the match, Courageous was able to get in a bit of revenge against his foe, as The Big Texan—who Courageous has feuded with in the past—interjected himself in the bout, causing so much confusion that Courageous squeaked out a win with a quick roll-up on Waco.

The prior encounter was all in good fun as two fan favorites—Jeremy Lightfoot and Mr. Bibbs—gave the fans everything they had. Bibbs and Lightfoot went nearly 15 minutes, and each man once again proved why they are adored by the fans—they will do anything to please the crowd. Lightfoot controlled the first half of the bout, connecting with numerous aerial moves and, of course, his signature chops, that have caused some fans to call him “Sir-chops-a-lot.” The tide changed for Lightfoot when Bibbs was able to stop the Indian warrior instantaneously, almost as if Lightfoot had run directly into a freight train. Bibbs then looked as if he would secure a win, but it was not to be. Lightfoot smashed his boot square in Bibbs’s face and followed that up with a headscissors from the top rope. Victory soon followed, and the two men shook hands after the match, signifying their friendship.

One word can describe the previous match fairly easily—Chaos. A.J. Williams and “Night Train” Gary Jackson relentlessly fought The Connection’s Phil E. Blunt and Jerome Cody, who were accompanied by Travis Cook., in a tag team elimination match. The winner would then get a chance to take on the reigning champion, Kevin X. From the moment the bell rang, bodies were flying every which way, and one could hardly keep up with the action at hand. Less than a few minutes into the fight, Williams, with an assist from Jackson, launched over the top rope and crashed to the floor, making sure to take The Connection with him. For most of the brawl, Cody, Blunt and Cook did everything they could to put the odds in their favor, regardless of whether or not it was legal. Eventually those tactics caught up to the Junior Heavyweight Champion, and Williams was the first man eliminated. Jackson then had to face his adversaries at a disadvantage. Not one to give up, Jackson threw everything he had at Cody and Blunt, managing to come out on top—but not without controversy. The final two competitors—Jackson and Blunt—each claimed that they had the other’s shoulders pinned, however the referee ruled in favor of Jackson. That prompted Blunt to request a re-match with Jackson at some point in the future.

In a somewhat calmer match, the Battle Royal Championship was on the line because Commissioner Keith Smith forced Lumberjack Gabe to forfeit either the tag team title or battle royal championship. According to MMWA-SICW rules, a wrestler cannot hold more than one belt at a time. After much hesitation, Gabe refused to give up the tag team belts, proclaiming that, “The Lumberjacks will always be tag champions.”

The bout consisted of Jeremy Lightfoot, Mr. Bibbs, A.J. Williams, Shaft, The Big Texan, Waco, Blunt, Dave Vaughn, Cody, and Brandon Espinosa who made a surprise return earlier in the evening. Throughout the bout, Cody snuck out of the ring through the second and third ropes, giving himself an unfair advantage. However, he got what he deserved in the end, as The Big Texan eliminated Cody to become the new Battle Royal Champion.

Dave Vaughn took on Shaft before competing in the aforementioned match. Vaughn’s vicious persona shined bright, as he attacked Shaft before the bell had even rung. Once the match actually got underway, both men tried to outwrestle each other with technical skill, although Vaughn seemed to have the advantage in this area. Nonetheless, Shaft was able to catch Vaughn at a weakened moment and clasped on the ankle lock with relentless force. Unfortunately, both men let their egos get in the way, as they both shoved the referee out of the way and continuously struck each other, until the match was called as a double disqualification.

Two powerhouses wrestled in the second match of the night, as The Big Texan attempted to defeat one-half of the tag team champions in Lumberjack Abe. Neither man gained a clear advantage but both showed their will to win. There were a decent amount of pinfalls from either man, and both tried their best to outsmart the other. To the disappointment of fans in attendance, the bout ended in a time-limit draw.

Despite an action-packed night, the opening bout was more than likely the most surprising, as Brandon Espinosa, a former MMWA-SICW Junior Heavyweight Champion, appeared with the company for the first time since January of this year. He was welcomed back whole-heartedly and had the majority of fans behind him as he attempted to defeat Bobby D. Espinosa wrestled a techinically sound match against D, incorporating some of his signature moves that Broadway fans remember him for. D appeared at times to be disgruntled that fans cheered Espinosa, which may have caused him to use as many illegal tactics as he did. Despite Espinosa’s advantage, when he attempted a frogsplash and D moved out of the way, D capitalized by rolling up the former champion and cheating his way to victory by grabbing Espinosa’s tights for leverage. In spite of this, Espinosa walked away from the ring with fans cheering for his performance.