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Posts Tagged ‘Todd Countryman’

MWR September 2008 Awards

Posted by Admin on October 4, 2008

MWR September 2008 Awards

The MWR Awards Committee has grown slightly this month in an effort to spread representation around the coverage area. With that said, here are the results for the September voting:

 
September Wrestler of the Month

Hunter Matthews
[Scott County Wrestling]
[Metro East Championship Wrestling]
[Mid Pro Wrestling]

Matthews had quite possibly his best month in his pro wrestling career, becoming the first wrestler in Scott County Wrestling History to win the Quad Cities Championship on three separate occassions.  The title win came about in a grueling “I Quit” match with Dewey Dawson, a man he has been feuding with for months.  He also wrestled at Mid Pro Wrestling’s first show, defeating KC Jackson in front of 200 fans to become the first ever Nose Bleed Seats Middleweight Champion.

1st Runner Up – Ryan Cruz [3XW]
2nd Runner Up – “Vietnam Phenom” Bao Nguyen [WLW]
3rd Runner Up – Kraig Keesaman [Whiplash]

Others receiving votes: Gary Jackson, Tojo Yamamoto Jr., “Serial Thriller” Shane Rich.

 

September Tag Team of the Month

Gentlemen’s Club (Gage Octane & Mark Sterling)
[3XWrestling]

Mark Sterling, Gage Octane & Todd Countryman

Mark Sterling, Gage Octane & Todd Countryman

These two did something that seemed impossible to most 3XW fans… they ended the 20-month 3XW Tag Team Title reign of The Northstar Express, the longest in 3XW history.  What’s even more amazing is the underhanded manner in which it was done.  Being more underhanded than the Northstar Express in 3XW is tough.  The Gentlemen’s Club made it look easy.

1st Runner Up – Zero Gravity (Brett Gakiya & CJ Esparza) [SCW]
2nd Runner Up – Northstar Express (Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz) [3XW][AAW]
3rd Runner Up – Aaron Masterson & Mad Dog McDowell [MECW]

Others receiving votes: None.


September Woman of the Month

Stacey O’Brien
[World League Wrestling]

Thats soooo Stacey O!

That's soooo Stacey O!

Stacey continues to hold it down in WLW as Ladies Champ, and was the only female in the MWR coverage area to pick up a victory in the month of September.

1st Runner Up – Amy Hennig [WLW]

Others receiving votes: None.

 
September Promotion of the Month

World League Wrestling

Harley Races World League Wrestling

Harley Race's World League Wrestling

WLW had two shows in the month of September, and both made a huge impact!  On September 4th, Bobby Lashley faced Marc Godeker and Go Shiozaki in what looked to be a handicap match at various times during the match, with Lashley picking up the victory.  The other show was the annual WLW-NOAH show which took place on September 19th.  Both were big successes

1st Runner Up – Pro Wrestling Phoenix
2nd Runner Up – Whiplash Wrestling
3rd Runner Up – Mid Pro Wrestling

 Others receiving votes: 3XWrestling.


September Personality of the Month

Gary Giaffoglione
[Pro Wrestling Phoenix]

It’s been heard over and over again in MWR conversations: “Not a nicer man can be found in Midwest pro wrestling”.  On top of Gary Giaffoglione’s friendly disposition and love of pro wrestling, he takes some of the best pictures on the Indy scene.  Don’t take our word for it.  Go check out some of his photos here.

1st Runner Up – Todd Countryman [3XW]
2nd Runner Up – Mark Bland [Absolute Wrestling Radio]
3rd Runner Up – Jewells [LWA]

Others receiving votes: None.


September Match of the Month

Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima
vs
Keith Walker & Oliver John
[World League Wrestling]
(September 19, 2008 in Eldon, MO)

This match was one of the hardest hitting and crowd pleasing matches of the entire year.  At the end of the match, Japanese wrestling legend Kensuke Sasaki got a standing ovation and his name chanted by the Eldon, MO crowd.  It was that good.

 

1st Runner Up –

Fans Bring the Weapons Match:
Chris Havius
vs
Stephen Saint

[Pro Wrestling Phoenix]
(September 20, 2008 in Council Bluffs, IA)

 

2nd Runner Up –

Cage Match for the SCW Heavyweight Title:
Shane Hollister
vs
Marek Brave

[Scott County Wrestling]
(September 12, 2008 in Davenport, IA)

 

3rd Runner Up –

Nose Bleed Seats Undisputed Heavyweight Title Match:
Mississippi Madman
vs
Bobby Houston

[Mid Pro Wrestling]
(September 27, 2008 in Decatur, IL)

 

 Others receiving votes:

Last Man Standing Match:
Kyle King
vs
JC Thunder

[Whiplash Wrestling]
(September 27, 2008 in Harveyville, KS)

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MWR Spotlight: Abu Colossus

Posted by Admin on August 20, 2008

Abu Colossus

By Brian “Flair” Kelley
Photo Credits: Gary Giaffoglione for Pro Wrestling Phoenix

Abu Colossus is a mountain of a man. Standing at 6″5 and weighing 280 LBS, the Pro Wrestling Phoenix Champion not only brings power to the ring but uses his speed to electrify the crowd. As soon as his entrance music, Ludacris’s “Move”, hits the PA the fans go wild and his opponents know they will have their hands full.

Abu has dominated the PWP ring for over three years while waiting to claim what he has always felt was rightfully his: the Pro Wrestling Phoenix Championship. That goal was achieved on May 10, 2008 at PWP’s 3rd Year Anniversary Spectacular when he was able to defeat Babyface” Tony Cortez, Jaysin Strife, & “The Rebel” Jeremy Wyatt in a 4-way Elimination Match for the title.

Tony Cortez will be the first to tell you that he was the longest reigning Champ with an amazing 20 months and that the belt will return around his waist yet PWP has claimed that we are in “The Era of Colossus”. Cortez and his partner in crime, Hype Gotti will pull out all stops to make sure that the Era is more like a Moment. Cortez and Gotti, once bitter enemies, now collectively known as Simply the Best, are sure to be a thorn in the side of the current champ.

Abu grew up a wrestling fan and took special interests in the Bret the Hitman Hart along with Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat. He was trained by “Irish” Mick Tierney and has worked hard building his reputation as one of the most respected wrestlers in the area. He also utilizes former ECW Champion Tazz’s suplex to punish his opponents along with signature moves the Two Handed Choke Slam and the Colossal Slam.

[Abu hits a Two Handed Choke Slam.]

I had the chance to talk to Jeremy Wyatt and asked him how he approaches a wrestler with the talent that Abu possesses. He said, “Abu is a guy who can be classified as a true heavyweight, there’s not many guys his size working the Indies. You might be able to wear him down if you can keep him from getting a hold of you but he’s not a guy to try and trade shots with. Seems as if he has stepped up his game a bit in the last year or so. With his size and strength, I think he should look to branch out a little more and try to work more places.”

I was able to track down Independent wrestling’s best kept secret, Abu Colossus, the night before he would defend his title at Raising the Bar against the winner of the 2008 Phoenix Challenge, “Number One” Brett Young on August 16th in Council Bluffs, IA .

When I asked him what his favorite matches were to this date, he was quick to say PWP’s December 9, 2006 Candy Cane Chaos match with Michael Strider that ended up in a double DQ. It was a match that took the big man to his limits and led to a dog collar match at PWP’S Year of the Phoenix . A Match with Mark Sterling on November 18th at PWP’S In Your Church was a close second as he feels Sterling is among the elite in the business.

Michael Strider had this to say about the man whose nickname is the Big Hurt:

“Abu Colossus has a million dollar look and I knew every night that we wrestled that I had to bring my ‘A’ game. That guy is just starting to show his full potential”.

[Michael Strider had his hands full during a Dog Collar match that you can purchase on the PWP DVD Year of the Phoenix 2.]

Abu takes great pride in representing Pro Wrestling Phoenix and working with the upstart wrestling promotion Magnum Pro Wrestling. He looks forward to showcasing his skills with the best to prove to the fans in the Midwest that he is the standard that all wrestlers should be compared to. The names that he would like to work with on the national scene were TNA wrestler Abyss, Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson. In the Midwest he would love to hook up with NWA/CSW Missouri Champion Dingo, Gage Octane, Brian Ash and Mitch Paradise.

When asked if there was anything that he would like to say to the fans he replied “We love what we do and we appreciate their support and we hope that they know that the Independent wrestlers will give a 100% to entertain. They are the reason we do what we do.”


Final thoughts

As a fan of Independent Pro Wrestling I look forward to seeing some of the best take on each other and there is no doubt that Abu Colossus should be in the sights of all promoters and would add to the show instantly.

Love it or hate it, the truth of the matter is fans enjoy powerhouse wrestlers and they are few and far between in this area. Abu is something special and I would love to see how 3XW Commissioner Todd Countryman and his men, Mark Sterling and Gage Octane would deal with this monster of a man. Maybe Casanova will need some assistance with 3XW Champion Devin Carter after turning on him at 3XW’S “On a Stick” show this past month.

Central States Wrestling in Kansas has stated that they will be making a comeback soon and though the talent in the company is plentiful, Abu would be a force from the start, and the fan favorites could use a little help with the “In Crowd” or the Barrio Boys, two factions that have been terrorizing the fans and their favorites in the area.

Let’s not forget that Lethal Wrestling Alliance president Luke Roberts is looking for a man that can defeat the Future Donovan Ruddick. Why not bring in an outsider to do their dirty work. Yet who knows maybe the Future will contact Abu to help him in his dominance of LWA, a combination that could prove unstoppable.

Pro Wrestling Phoenix fans are fortunate to have one of the most exciting wrestlers in the Midwest as their champion and some big matches will be in Abu’s future with the very talented roster that PWP now boast to have in Number One” Brett Young, Jaysin Strife, Rebel” Jeremy Wyatt, Arya Daivari, The Anarchist” Arik Cannon, Mark Sterling, Tyler Cook and familiar foes Simply the Best gunning for the title.

You can check out Abu Colossus at Pro Wrestling Phoenix http://www. prowrestlingphoenix. com/ where you can purchase DVDs and find out who he will be up against at future shows. He can also be found at Magnum Pro Wrestling at http://www. myspace. com/magnumpw . Booking info for Abu Colossus http://www. myspace. com/abucolossus

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MWR February 2008 Awards

Posted by Admin on March 2, 2008

MWR February 2008 Awards

February 2008 is in the record books, so once again MWR takes a look at Midwest wrestling with monthly awards!

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


February 2008 Wrestler of the Month

Honorable Mention – Michael Strider (CSW), Shorty Biggs (LWA/CSW), Cecil Cerveza (GAW), Evan Gelistico (LWA), Chris Masters (WLW), “Serial Thriller” Shane Rich (AAPW)

Winner – Payday Patterson (CSW)

How can a guy be wrestler of the month and not wrestle a single match? Well, Payday managed to shock Central States Wrestling fans by doing a Pearl Harbor job on both Michael Strider AND Jeremy Wyatt after a brutal barbed wire match on February 2, 2008. He had been inactive for more than a year due to a career ending “Best of 7” series of matches against Michael Strider, during which he was cheered by many CSW fans. Add to this the fact that he somehow managed to recruit Jaysin Strife and CSW fan favorite Tyler Cook, and you can see how giving CSW a huge “F— You” earns him the top spot for the month of February.


February 2008 Tag Team of the Month

Honorable Mention – None

Winner – “Da Bomb” Brian James & Brandon Espinosa (AAPW)

NO PICTURE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE

These two make the grade for the month of February by defeating the debuting tag team of Mark Sterling and Darrien Sanders at a big AAPW show. While Sterling and Sanders made their debut as a tag team for AAPW, they are no strangers to the Midwest wrestling scene, and are a very formidable combination. James and Espinosa strengthen their reputation by defeating them in an AAPW ring.


February 2008 Promotion of the Month
Honorable Mentions – Lethal Wrestling Alliance, MMWA-SICW, All American Pro Wrestling, Scott County Wrestling

 

Winner – Central States Wrestling


CSW has struggled since last summer to build the type of momentum the promotion had for a very long period of time, but the month of February gave the fans something that they can get behind. Both a very modern Myspace page and official web page have been released, revealing more about the new roster and upcoming events. They put on a solid show on February 2, 2008 that culminated in one of the best Midwest main events of the past year featuring Jeremy Wyatt and Michael Strider. On top of that, CSW has kicked off a very promising angle that could turn the entire promotion upside down with the return of Payday Patterson and the underhanded recruitment of Jaysin Strife and Tyler Cook. There are a few minor things that need to be ironed out with the company, such as the fulfillment of last years silent auction obligations and the free DVDs that are owed to some of the diehard fans that purchased VIP tickets, but the resolving of these issues seems right around the corner!


February 2008 Woman Wrestler of the Month
Honorable Mention – MsChif (LWA)

 

Winner – Miss Natural (WLW)

Another slow month for women’s wrestling, but this month’s award goes to Miss Natural. She retained the WLW title this month by defeating Rebecca Raze, and doesn’t look to be letting go of the title anytime soon!


February 2008 Personality of the Month

Honorable Mention – Joey Eastman (AAW), Brian “Flair” Kelley (MWR), Crimefighter (St. Louis Wrestling Community)

Winner – Todd Countryman (3XW)

Todd Countryman is one of the most prominent figures in 3XWrestling, and not for good reasosn. Alligning himself with the top two wrestlers in the company right now (Gage Octane and Mark Sterling), he is positioned to be a powerful force in Midwest wrestling for quite some time.


February 2008 Match of the Month

Honorable Mentions – “Serial Thriller” Shane Rich vs “Homicidal” Steven Davis (AAPW) [For AAPW Heavyweight Championship]

Winner – Barbed Wire Match: Michael Strider vs Jeremy Wyatt (CSW) [2/2/2008 in Lawrence, KS] [For CSW Heavyweight Championship]

CSW takes another award with this brutal match! Thumbtacks, barbed wire, and two of the most talented wrestlers in the Midwest!

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MWR January 2008 Awards

Posted by Admin on February 1, 2008

It’s that time!

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

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


January 2008 Wrestler of the Month

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

Winner – Jerome Cody (MMWA-SICW)

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


January 2008 Tag Team of the Month

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

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

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


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

 

Winner – Scott County Wrestling

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


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

Winner – MsChif (LWA)

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

 

Winner – Joey Eastman (AAW)

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


January 2008 Match of the Month

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

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

VS

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

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