LWA Arena Report
By Kari Williams
The atmosphere at the Knight of Columbus Hall in House Springs, MO was buzzing—and not just in the alcoholic sense—on June 28 as 100 LWA fans prepared for an intense night of full-throttled action.
“Thee” Brandon Espinosa with Brandon Aarons vs. Gary the Barn Owl
Despite the fans showing their full-fledged support for Gary the Barn Owl, Espinosa had all the support and encouragement he needed in his best friend, Brandon Aarons. Gary and the fans appeared to get to Espinosa with their snide remarks. As a result, the resident Barn Owl dominated. However, Aarons’ presence at ringside proved to be the deciding factor.
“Thee” Brandon Espinosa def. Gary the Barn Owl with interference by Brandon Aarons
In a precursor to the main event of the evening, Jordan Lacey attempted to make the champion, “Future” Donovan Ruddick lighten up by singing the Garth Brooks tune, “Friends in Low Places,” as well choice selections from a few other genres. When that failed to lift Future’s spirits, Lacey turned to dance—specifically, Soulja Boy. Ruddick walked to the back, disgusted, and it appeared as though Lacey had only angered the champ.
Dorian Victor vs. Rick Stone
The Money Mogul Dorian Victor prepared to put a beating on Rick Stone in the second match of the night. Stone attempted to make Victor put his money where his mouth was, but came up a few dollars short. Victor capitalized and succeeded in delivering the Bankbuster to ensure a three count and another check in the “win” column.
Dorian Victor def. Rick Stone
Dingo vs. Steven Kennedy
In a bout filled with as much technical prowess as one can find, Dingo and Kennedy had, arguably, one of the best matches of the night. Trading holds relentlessly, neither man held back one ounce of aggression in this fast-paced, high-impact showdown. When it came down to the final moments, Dingo’s wherewithal proved to be most influential on his performance.
Dingo def. Steven Kennedy with his feet on the ropes for leverage
“The Rebel” Jeremy Wyatt vs. Mark Sterling
Coming off of his victory last month, Wyatt looked to retain his newly won Medallion against Sterling. In a technically sound match, both competitors showcased their strengths in unique fashion. Despite Sterling’s best efforts and stellar performance, it was shown on this night why Wyatt holds the Medallion.
“The Rebel” Jeremy Wyatt def. Mark Sterling
Pierre Abernathy & Johnny Vinyl vs. Evan Gelistico & K.C. Karrington
The Submission Squad, as well as Gelistico and Karrington, were primed and ready for this battle. The crowd got into this match from the get-go, firmly on the side of Gelistico and Karrington. An all-out war was being waged, setting the stage, so to speak, for Circus Maximus. Each competitor was on top of his game, going above and beyond to prove that they deserve to win. However, Karrington and Gelistico proved to be the more cohesive unit.
Evan Gelistico & K.C. Karrington def. Pierre Abernathy & Johnny Vinyl
Presidential Elimination
Moving the presidential race one-step closer to its end, Jacob Dangle was eliminated from the competition. Then, it was brought to everyone’s attention by Steve Miller that Bavarian Boy cannot run in the election because he is not old enough. With two candidates gone, and only two remaining, fans will have to wait until July 12 to see who the newly crowned president will be—Luke Roberts or Steve Miller.
Brandon Aarons with Brandon Espinosa vs. Mike Serious
Serious sought to gain a measure of retribution on Aarons after the tag team loss Serious and A.J. Williams suffered last month. With Espinosa in his corner, Aarons had the fate of his match secured. Whenever it appeared as though Aarons was in trouble, Espinosa came to the rescue. Nonetheless, Serious’ performance should not be looked upon in shame, as he capitalized at every possible opportunity.
Brandon Aarons def. Mike Serious
“Future” Donovan Ruddick vs. XXX Jordan Lacey in a Last Man Standing Match
After the encounter earlier in the evening, Ruddick was in no mood to be messed with. Even so, Lacey was prepared for battle, as he brought a ladder and a sledgehammer into the mixture, among other objects. The match ended in pure, unbridled havoc, as Ruddick slammed ferociously into a pile of metal chairs.
“Future” Donovan Ruddick def. XXX Jordan Lacey to retain the Heavyweight Championship
Overall Analysis:
The fans were in rare form on this night, giving the show that extra ounce of adrenaline it needed. Every match was a stellar performance, and all of the competitors came across as more determined than ever to succeed. A safe assumption of the night is that every, single fan walked away pleased to have chosen LWA as their entertainment for a Saturday night.
When Ring of Honor made the trip to Chicago in this past month, Sara Del Ray made her presence felt by defeating two women who’ve made a name for themselves in the Midwest in MsChif and Daizee haze. Hopefully the entire Missouri Wrestling revival coverage area can see more of this talented wrestler!
Mark Bland is one of the men behind Absolute Wrestling Radio, a radio program in the St. Louis are (syndicated on the Internet) that covers pro wrestling and mixed martial arts. The great thing about the show is that it also lends broadcasting power to local independent wrestling promotions. AWR and the broadcast team were the first writre-in winners of an MWR Award!
Hollister had one of the toughest schedules of all wrestlers in the Midwest for the month of May. It all started with a tough tag team loss (with Bryce Benjamin) to the Motor City Machine Guns in AAW. It was all good after that, as he followed the loss up with a victory (although tainted) over Egotistico Fantastico in a hard-hitting affair, the closed out the month by defending his Scott County Wrestling Title not once, but twice in one night. He retained the title after defeating Danny Daniels and Marek Brave. It was a successful month for Shane Hollister, as he wrestled some of the best in the business and came out on top in three out of the four encounters.
The Phoenix Twins continue to impress wrestling fans across the Midwest. This month, Tweek and Dash won two non-title matches against current tag champions in SCW and AAW. They also each competed in singles matches as part of “Best of Three” series of matches with members of Zero Gravity, splitting the contests and inching closer to being the number one contenders for the SCW Tag Team Titles. For 2008, Tweek and Dash have set the bar very high. It often seems as if they are the only tag team that can surpass this high standard.
Stacy O’Brien has emerged in the second quarter of 2008 as the premier female wrestler in the Midwest. She currently owns the World League Wrestling and MMWA-SICW Women’s Championships. She defeated Ms. Natural and Alexis Lightfoot for each belt, respectively. In yet another month where female wrestlers have been inactive, Stacy is a step in the right direction.
I have seen Mark Sterling and Darrien Sanders many times before, but this would be the first time that I would see them in person as The LONRS. These two have been making a name for themselves in the Midwest tag team division lately. The crowd was hot for The LONRS to get what was coming to them before the match even started. The fans were excited to see All American J.T.Calhoun and his partner Mike Masters enter the ring, with chants of “USA! USA!” ringing throughout the gym.
The next match seemed to be a mismatch, at least on paper, as MWR wrestler of the month for April 2008 “The Future” Donovan Ruddick faced “Playboy” Paul Rose. Rose was accompanied by his manger, Gaylord Stevens. Stevens is one of the best managers I have seen in the indies, because as soon as he walks through a curtain the fans know that they want to see his guy lose. “Playboy” Paul Rose, whom I had seen in action before, has a ton of charisma and can really move for a guy that looks totally out of shape. This may have been the hardest hitting match of the night, and it received my girlfriend’s favorite match award for the night. “The Future” would go on to win the match, but not without a fight as Rose and Stevens gave him fits throughout.
Intermission was over and AAPW had the card set up perfectly as they re energized the crowd with another good match. Edmund “Livewire” McGuire hooked up with Ax Stevens, who was accompanied by his manger Gaylord Stevens. Edmund used his speed to cause Stevens all kinds of problems, but just when you thought McGuire would get the win, Gaylord would interfere, allowing Ax to bring the pain for Edmund. “Livewire” has been on a roll as of late, but when he went up top for a leg drop, Ax moved and then used a piledriver for a victory that stunned not only myself but the entire crowd.
“#1” Brett Young and K.C. Jackson entered the ring to demand some action, but had to belittle the Chester natives, too. K.C. and Brett let them know that they were all number two, which made them the first losers. This went on for some time before the intimidating promoter Sean Chambers had had enough. He called the Atomic Dogg to the ring. I am not a fan of a 2 on one contest because I feel as if it makes the wrestlers that are teaming up look weak, but on this occasion the wrestlers had a very entertaining match. It made sense and the Dogg was very over with the crowd. The Dogg would able to with stand the double teams and pin the two wrestlers for the victory.
In the main event of the evening former AAPW Champion, “Homicidal” Steven Davis received his 1 on 1 rematch with the current champ, “Serial Thriller” Shane Rich. Davis entered the ring with his manager, and I think AAPW has the use of managers down to a science. The managers had the right “bad guy” look and really knew how to work the crowd. This was a great match, and the girls in attendance were clearly on Shane’s side. They screamed every time Steven Davis got the upper hand.
Missouri Wrestling Revival 