EWF in Moreno Valley (05/06/04)
by Jeff Baker
On Thursday night, the EWF was at Rancho Verde High School in Moreno Valley for an event that drew roughly 175 people. The facility was very fresh and the lively crowd was treated to six entertaining matches including an American Title match and an enthusiastic Tag Team Title main event.Match 1: ‘Handsome’ Johnny Star over Black Demon
Handsome Johnny’s sneaky heel tactics were in full effect here and had the crowd booing him basically from the sound of the bell. Star and the deranged Demon kicked the event off appropriately, as the crowd was really into it. Some genuine highlights in this one came in the form of a high-risk plancha from the ring all the way to the floor by Black Demon, and a hellacious top rope superplex by ‘Handsome’ Johnny Star that nearly tore the roof down. Its my belief that the first match on the card should be one that gets the crowd involved, and that’s exactly what these two did.
Match 2: Ragin Dawg over Bonzai to retain the EWF American Title
Both men were ready for this one and competed in an unyielding match up. Like two bulls colliding, these true heavyweights got physical right off the bat with hard punches and chops mixed with equilibrium of power moves. The Dawg was clearly the favorite here, and Bonzai told the crowd to shut up several times, but to no avail. In the end, Ragin Dawg showed exactly why he is the American Champion by executing a mammoth tilt-a-whirl slam on the big man that the crowd popped crazy for. Apparently that wasn’t enough, because Ragin’ then went up to the top rope and hit his Dawg Splash (a variant of the frog splash) that shook the ring and gave him the victory. After the match Ragin Dawg went into the crowd and celebrated with his cheering fans. So add Moreno Valley to the Dawg Pound.
Match 3: Sexy Starlit over Hurricane Havana
As usual, the EWF fans were eager to see these ladies get it on in the ring, and Starlit and Havana have developed quite a rivalry over the recent weeks. They’ve traded victories all across SoCal, but tonight it would be the Sexy One from the City of Sin getting the duke. While the crowd wasn’t into the match as much as say, the opening bout, they generally got a good response. Some authentic wrestling maneuvers mixed with street fighting techniques (ala biting and hair pulling) kept the crowd engaged. In the end, Starlets devious techniques proved too much for Hurricane.
Intermission/JC Castro and Sirus Segment
Now it was time for intermission, but no, coming to the ring was the team of JC Castro and Sirus. With grins on their faces, you couldn’t tell if they were coming in good faith or not, but after Castro started talking, it became apparent. It only took a couple of cheap shots at the Moreno Valley crowd to get them madder than hell. Describing what went on from here is pretty tough, but suffice to say, Bino Gambino and Rudy Luna, the opponents for tonight, came out to stop the madness. Eventually some more of the locker room came out but somehow Sirus and Castro were able to escape in the best shape. This pier six brawl definitely gave an added element to the main event later in the evening.
Match 4: Alex Pincheck over Mad Mac Macintosh
Pincheck was all smiles in the ring, and received a grand response (especially from the female audience). Macinstosh was the antithesis, insulting the fans, taunting, and going so far as too lift up his kilt and dance in the middle of the match up. A memorable part of this match was where Pincheck somehow hit a shooting star press into a low blow on Macintosh. The conscientious Pincheck was able to focus and steal a victory much to the crowds delight, although Macintosh was in control for most of the match.
Match 5: Vizzion and Jason King over Brutal Ink (‘Brawlin’ Bo Cooper and ‘Time Bomb’ Tommy Angels)
A classic case of the likable baby faces against the pair of badass monsters. Bo Cooper and Tommy Angels definitely had the monster heel personas going tonight, and despite taunts from the crowd, worked excellently as a team. It was a traditional match with Brutal Ink using every trick in the book to keep command of the diligent Vizzion and Jason King. Every so often Vizzions arsenal of lariats and Jason Kings impressive huracan ranas kept their team afloat, but Brutal Ink was ready to keep them down with their imposing power. This had to be my match of the night as the crowd was nearly hanging on every move. ‘Brawlin’ Bo was on point as usual with his power moves, including a couple of face slam moves on Jason King that just looked nasty. Moreover, Tommy Angels is really coming around as he followed one of the best matches I’ve seen him have (at last months show in Covina) with an equally impressive performance. All four men put on a great piece, and I can see big things for ‘Brawlin’ Bo Cooper and ‘Time Bomb’ Tommy Angels. Vizzion and Jason King won following a simultaneous superfly splash and moonsault from both men to get the duke.
Match 6: Rudy Luna and Bino Gambino over JC Castro and Sirus to retain the EWF Tag Team Titles
Oh yes, the crowd was indeed ready for this one. Castro and Sirus had just barely entered the ring when Rudy and Bino rushed the ring and started things off with a flurry. It was almost like a Texas Tornado match, as there weren’t a lot of tags but more or less hectic brawling. The team of Rudy Luna and Bino Gambino is an unorthodox, yet effective one. Bino has, at least to some degree, earned Rudy Luna’s respect by taking ass kicking after ass kicking and still coming back. Tonight was no different. Castro and Sirus took advantage of double team efforts to keep Bino down, but couldn’t keep Rudy Luna from saving the day. A fracas erupted and things really got interested when a chair and other paraphernalia were involved. Castro brought the chair in but would be on the losing end, as he was DDT’d hard onto the steel object with the refs attention averted. Luna and Gambino kept the titles, to the fans joy.
All in all, a fun night of wrestling with a little bit of everything. The EWF most always comes through for an entertaining and fun show.
— Jeff Baker/ scione
