EWF put on a strong showing on October 24th in Covina, with a little something for everyone.The show started off with a really great tribute to Hawk & Stu Hart. All of the workers got in the ring while there was a 10-count that was followed by Steve Masters gettin on the mic and sharing some of his experiences. It was a great moment and Masters’ comments made it all the more touching.
Rudy Luna over Bino Gambino
These guys worked a hot little opener that pretty much saw Luna take Gambino to school. It was a quick match that got the crowd into. Finish saw Luna hit a modified electric chair drop to get the win. A good match to start, but I think the crowd would have liked to see it go longer.
Psycho Silly Willy over Handsome Johnny Star
Another good match with really solid work. Both of these guys were getting into the flow of things when Willy scored a 3 after a series of roll-ups. There was some argument from Star that he got his shoulders up but that was cut short by the return of the Iceman John Black. Iceman hit the ring and put the boots to Star before dropping Willy with his DVD into an inverted DDT. Iceman got on the match and starting talking about how Jesse doens’t respect someone like him who has accomplished so much. Iceman demanded a match next month so Jesse made the stipulation that the following match would determine Iceman’s opponent next month in Covina.
Vizzion over Ragin’ Dawg & Kenny King
These three guys worked a really great match that was probably the best one of the night. This was my first time seeing Kenny live (I had seen him on Tough Enough and what not) and I was impressed by how smooth he looked in the ring. Ragin’ Dawg and Vizzion are so over with the fans in Covina its ridiculous. The match started with King double teaming Dawg. Soon after, their partnership broke down and all hell broke loose. Each guy tried to use their best stuff on the others, but someone would always break it up. The finish saw Dawg reverse King’s attempt at an Acid Drop into his wheelbarrow facebuster. Vizzion then dropped Dawg and dropped the elbow to pick up the win. After the match, all three guys hugged and showed much respect to each other. Iceman came out as Vizzion was celebrating his win and talked trash to build heat for their show next month.
The Patriot over Mad Mac MacIntosh & Alex Pincheck in a handicap match
Another great match that probably had the most heat of the enitre evening. Pincheck & MacIntosh tried to get the crowd to sing the Russian National Anthem when Patriot came in. He grabbed a flag from someone in the crowd and led the buidling in chants of “USA”. Once the match got started, Pincheck and MacIntosh tried to use their numbers to their advantage by constantly distracting the referee while the other choked out the Patriot. After the Patriot mounted some offense, the foreigners got upset and both of them stormed the ring. MacIntosh tried to hit Masters with his flask but ended up KO’ing Pincheck which allowed Masters to roll up MacIntosh for the win. All in all, this match had some very good work from all three guys that kept the crowd into it the whole time, and the finish was perfect.
Intermission was next with fans having the chance to take pictures with their favorite EWF superstars.
Jason King over Kayam by DQ to retain the EWF American Title
This match-up was a brilliant thinking man’s match. The whole match, Los Chivos worked over King’s lower back. They used chairs on the outside and referee’s distractions inside the ring to get the upper hand. At one point, King had Kayam tapping to a Boston Crab but Kayam’s partner had the referee distracted. Once the ref turned around, Kayam reached the ropes causing King to break the hold. Kayam then powdered and after a discussion with his partner, Enigma de Oro went to the back as Kayam rolled in to break the 10-count and rolled back out. Kayam then walked out which prompted the ref to see what was going on. Kayam came back out and quickly worked over King before making him tap to a Boston Crab. However, post match, Jesse thought something was amiss and made the ref and King hold “Kayam” while he de-masked him, revealing Enigma de Oro. Kayam was thus disqualified, allowing King to retain his title. Los Chivos then jumped Jesse until Jason King and Rudy Luna made the save. Los Chivos promised payback at the next show as they exited.
Bo Cooper over Big Q to retain the EWF World Title
This match was a battle of the monsters with both Q and Cooper being big guys. Q kept trying to get on Cooper before the match started, but had to be continually restrained by the ref. After a fair amount of jaw-jacking, these guys got underway. While somewhat lumbeiring at times, these guys worked a good mach with both guys getting in good offense. Cooper heeled it up with numerous low blows and other dastardly tactics. The finish came when Q tried to hit a corner splash on Cooper, but Bo pulled the ref into the way, thus knocking him out. Cooper then hit Q with the title before rousing the ref to get the win. Post-match, Steve Masters came out and destroyed Cooper with a chair before challenging him to a match for the title next month.
Overall, a solid show that had TONS of heat. Covina is really an under-rated venue and until you experience it first hand, its hard to understand. They built numerous stories leading into their next show in Covina, making it a must-see event.
