By The No-Holds Bard
As the intense Newhall crowd began to nestle into the American Legion Hall this evening for a night of binging and brawling, they were greeted with White Zombie’s classic, Astro-Creep: 2000, and soaked it up with great anticipation to see their hometown hero, “Brawlin’” Bo Cooper, beat the tar out of Disco Machine as part of a double main event, also shared with a Title vs. Mask stipulation match featuring Infernal and his mask against Lil’ Cholo and his BiG Pro Lucha Libre Title. The tiny room swelled with people from pillar to post—standing room only—causing a “Sold Out” sign to be posted at the table by the front door. Even other wrestlers such as Human Tornado and Bobby Jo Marshall showed up for this event. Yes, the usual drinkers were there, as well as many of the Hispanic locals coming to see lucha libre wrestling at its finest; and I can’t forget all the kids who have fun getting wrapped up in the whole heel/face scenarios. The night began with “The Role Model” Preston Scott vs. “Marvelous” Markus Riot. New referee Tony Cutlip was introduced first, followed by Preston Scott, the erstwhile BiG Pro referee that got into it with Riot back in June. So Preston was introduced with his own personal bodyguard, Ray “Boom-Boom” Murillo (who was actually just the security for most of the shows, except this one). That was funny. And so was Preston’s shirt that said “Role Model” on the front and “You Make Jesus Drink” on the back. The match began with Riot delivering a hurricanrana into an attempted pin. He took Preston to the corner and mounted him for a ten-count punch combo. I enjoy when wrestlers try to show each other up by exchanging the same hold, move, or blow, and these guys were exchanging back kicks with the other sitting on the ground; pretty brutal. Scott produced a back body drop but Riot went for a roll-up while Preston taunted the crowd. Scott kicked out, which led Riot to deliver a dropkick from the top rope. He went for the pin but Preston’s bodyguard, “Boom-Boom,” placed his foot on the rope to break the count. Seemed “Boom-Boom” would be interfering quite a bit in this match. He tripped Riot at one point as Riot came off the ropes, causing Scott to take control and administer a rear naked choke. But Riot would wind up coming back with a flurry, beginning with an attempted roll-up, an attempted backslide pin, a disturbingly painful-looking enzeguiri, a clothesline, elbow, leg lariat, suplex, and then another pin, yet again interrupted. One of the highest (literally) spots during this match was when Scott had Riot sitting up on the top turnbuckle. Scott mounted to get him in a hold but Riot knocked him off, causing him to fall backwards while holding the top ropes. Riot then desolated him with a double stomp while Scott was still hanging there. He delivered nicely a Swanton bomb and went for the pin but Scott kicked out. Amidst the mess with “Boom-Boom” constantly distracting the ref, Scott was able to maneuver a devastating Rock Bottom type of slam that caused Riot to bounce off the mat and turn over on his stomach. It looked sick. He put a modified Texas Clover Leaf on Riot with one foot on the back of Riot’s neck. This also looked pretty sick. Riot neared the rope to break the count but “Boom-Boom” distracted referee Tony Cutlip enough for Scott to blatantly and poignantly kicking Riot in the nuts. He then applied the Clover Leaf again and Riot had no choice but to tap.
Winner: “The Role Model” Preston Scott over “Marvelous” Markus Riot via submission.
At this time ring announcer Ben Tomas introduced Commissioner Jason Bennett and The Awesome Plague. Plague came out to the Star Wars theme for the Dark Side, entered the ring over the top rope and slipped on his back, trying to make the best of it by laying out over the bottom rope with his arms spread, like “I’m the greatest, but I’m lying on my back.” Before the match between Plague and Foob Dogg began Bennett announced that there would be a tag team tournament to determine the first ever BiG Pro Tag Team Champions, and that it would consist of four teams with the first match at the next show on September 9th. So far it includes Midnight Dynamite (Charles Mercury and Johnny Paradise) and The Young Bucks (Slick Nick and Mr. Instant Replay), who happened to both be absent this show after their brutal double strap match back in June. Bennett then began dishing out the badmouthing on Foob Dogg, claiming that Plague will hand Foob his ass, and if (or rather “when”) Foob loses he will be gone from BiG Pro for good. Back in June The Commish told Plague to dismantle Foob, who, that day, was a paying audience member. Plague kicked Foob right out of the building, and then later they brawled inside the building during intermission. This time Bennett made it official and so the stipulation was on. Then the match finally started. The Awesome Plague vs. Foob Dogg:
The match began as Foob charged Plague and got him in a rollup, which was kicked out of and followed by a nasty head-butt to Plague. They took it outside for a bit as Foob worked on Plague’s arm, bringing his arm lock back into the ring. Bennett tried cheering on Plague, but to no avail as Foob delivered a snap suplex on the big guy. Plague, however, got right back to his feet when Foob wasn’t looking and delivered a mighty clothesline to the back of Foob Dogg’s neck. Ouch. Plague followed up with a choke and a double axe handle to his back, followed by a flying shoulder block. Plague dropped an elbow and went for the cocky pin with his finger up in the air, but to no avail. As if all that punishment wasn’t enough, Plague body pressed Foob over his head but couldn’t hold him for long and just dropped him to the mat in front of him. A leg drop and then a growl at the audience and Plague seemed on a roll. He set up Foob in the corner and, starting at the other corner, delivered a somersault splash right into the turnbuckle as Foob ducked out of the way. Foob administered a side Russian leg sweep and put an arm lock on Plague. Commissioner Bennett mounted the apron and, upset with this, Foob dismantled his hold to deal with Bennett, only Plague was able to take control with Foob’s back turned, but not before Foob Dogg knocked Bennett off the apron and onto his ass. Foob, however, couldn’t celebrate for long, as soon he was atop Plague’s shoulders as he discharged a mighty running powerslam and took the victory as he pinned Foob 1-2-3.
Winner: The Awesome Plague over Foob Dogg via pinfall.
After the match, Bennett became quite disgruntled at the fact that Foob Dogg actually placed his hands on him, so he told Foob that he wasn’t going to be kicked out forever after all, but that instead, at the next show on September 9th Foob will take on an opponent yet to be determined by Jason Bennett. He exclaimed with certainty in his mystery man that if Foob won this match next month that he’d get a contract for life. Undiscouraged, Foob arose to tell Bennett that if he wins next month he wants to have Bennett in the ring to himself for five minutes. Bennett coyly shook his head and Foob mocked him, starting a “Chick-en Ben-nett!” chant. Bennett was so upset at this that he agreed to the stipulation for next month’s match.
The next bout featured Hook Bomberry vs. Mikey Nicholls. Hook is always a good worker and back in June the Australian Nicholls was involved with a match against fellow Aussie, Bobby Jo Marshall (who was in attendance this evening), that tore the place up as the match of the night. This was set to be a surefire romper stomper. Hook, however, came out to little fanfare. It was pretty sad, considering Hook is a great performer. Nicholls came out to that Men At Work song, “Down Under.” It was pretty funny, since he’s Australian and all. Anyway, they met with a handshake in the ring and then it was off, exchanging reversals of back holds, Nicholls delivering a takedown on Hook, Hook getting in a wristlock, reversing Nicholls’ chinlock… the match was so fast-paced that it was difficult to take notes, because once I’d look down at my pad of paper I’d hear a body slam on the mat and miss the moves. At one point Nicholls would have control, working on Hook’s back, choking him over the middle rope, dishing out European uppercuts, but Hook would always come back, returning the uppercuts, and finally rolling out of the ring for a breath as I tried to recall the last ten moves that just happened within a minute to jot it down real quick. Nicholls delivered some chops to Hook outside, and then Hook took him around the opposite side of the ring outside to deliver some chops of his own and some nasty elbows to the face. It was all back and forth, back and forth… no room to breathe, no time to recover; forcing the audience to keep their eyes on each of them for fear that they may miss something cool, which happened to me too much. Nicholls often used the five-count towards his advantage quite a bit with chokes, holds, and a biting that he applied to Hook in the corners or on the ropes. They began to exchange chops and then Hook dispensed an enzeguiri and called for a Michinoku driver, which he hit, but was kicked out of. Hook took the offense, sending Nicholls into an Irish whip, but was reversed and met with a chop to the chest. Nicholls planted Hook with a flapjack and called for a brainbuster. Hook reversed it, delivered the Michinoku driver again and went for the pin to win.
Winner: Hook Bomberry over Mikey Nicholls via pinfall.
After the match the competitors shook hands and hugged each other in a show of respect for each other’s talent and professionalism inside the squared circle. After the match I think the audience knew that they had good reason to cheer for Hook Bomberry next time, and even Nicholls for that matter.
“The Rock Superstar” Kaos was then introduced with his valet, Jezebel. He called out Bo Cooper, announcing his desire to strip him of the BiG Pro Heavyweight Title, and bitched about his plans being ruined last time by Messiah. Back in June Bo was supposed to defend his title against Messiah, but Messiah told Commissioner Bennett that he and Bo had a history and wasn’t going to do whatever Bennett wanted him to do. So Bennett, being the mastermind he is, told Messiah he had a backup already planned in case something like this happened, and that backup was Kaos. Kaos, however, lost the title match against Cooper with the help and interference of Messiah. Kaos then bashed Newhall (thanks, man… I’m glad someone finally agrees with me) and said he wanted to bring the title back to his home, Hollywood. Everyone booed, and then The Stepfather came out to begin the match, “The Rock Superstar” Kaos w/Jezebel vs. The Stepfather w/The Stepfamily.
The match began with the classic elbow-collar tie-up, an arm drag from Kaos, a clothesline and slam from Stepfather and Kaos getting thrown into the corner, flipping over the top rope onto the floor outside. Kaos re-entered the ring to take offense, but he tried to pick Stepfather up and failed as Stepfather fell on Kaos for an attempted pin. Kaos kicked out and delivered a jawbreaker, not dissimilar to the Stone Cold Stunner. Kaos went to the apron outside and delivered a leg drop over the top rope to Stepfather. Kaos then went to the top to attempt another leg drop but Stepfather escaped. Then he shouted to the audience, “Who wants pancakes!?” Then he did some move I must have missed. Then he asked, “Who wants sausages!?” and dropped his crotch on Kaos’ face. Yes, you read that right. Kaos was flat on his back, Stepfather standing at his head; fell to his knees with his crotch smacking Kaos in the face. His crotch wasn’t that close to his face, though. It seemed more like a knee drop, but we all got the joke. It made me wonder what his “pancake move” was—perhaps a flapjack. Kaos wound up coming back. Jezebel would interfere, Kaos would knock her off the apron accidentally, but would eventually get the best of Stepfather, perfecting The Blockbuster (yes, the Buff Bagwell finisher) and getting the pin.
Winner: “The Rock Superstar” Kaos over The Stepfather via pinfall.
The next match was a tag match, featuring King Faviano and Unholy vs. The Ballard Brothers (Shannon and Shane) w/”The New York Knockout” Nikki. Now, I had never seen a Ballard Brothers match before, and I had seen a picture of them once but didn’t realize that they were twins. So, when they got in the ring I thought to myself, “Well forget the idea of figuring out which one is which and taking notes on who did what. With that being said, there isn’t a whole lot to tell about this match. It was your average comedy match featuring Favi and Unholy doing what they do best. It started off with the Ballard Brothers taunting some girl in the audience. She had a look of confusion on her face and they just kept pointing at her. I couldn’t make out anything they said really, but Favi and Unholy were joining in at it. There was quite a bit of stalling in the beginning of the match due to this, not to mention Favi and his whistling routines. Favi and Unholy’s antics really caught the attention of all the little kids there, mostly Hispanic. I guess it was their brand of humor. I found a few things humorous, but it wasn’t like a Colt Cabana or Top Gun Talwar match for me anyway. There was talking and joking back and forth between Faviano and whichever Ballard brother was in the ring at the time. Favi made some humping jokes and then was suddenly double teamed by the Ballard Brothers. Nikki would distract the ref for this to happen and then all the fun would begin. A great spot that I thought was hilarious was the arm-pulling gag. One of the Ballard brothers stood on the apron outside, facing the audience. He had Favi, I believe, by the arm and pulled his arm over his own shoulder repeatedly. Then he got out of it, grabbed the other Ballard brother and shoved him into position for his arm to get pulled, unbeknownst to whichever Ballard was out on the apron. This happened also with Nikki, and Unholy and the other Ballard got out of the ring to stand in front of them to watch. Everyone cheered him on whenever he’d pull someone’s arm. Then referee Tony Cutlip got caught in it and Unholy, Favi, Nikki, and the other Ballard were outside watching it. When the Ballard on the apron noticed this he turned around, disgusted that he had been wrenching the arm of the referee. I’m not too good at trying to retell funny events, but I hope you get the picture. Guess you just had to be there. He then ran around the ring screaming, “Why didn’t you tell me!? Why didn’t you guys tell me!?” With Favi outside, Unholy was double-teamed in the ring and took a nasty spike DDT. Both competitors made the tag and Favi took out both Ballard Brothers. He threw one Ballard into a corner, then when Nikki tried to interfere threw her into him, and then threw the other Ballard in to sandwich her. Then Favi splashed all three of them in the corner. In another funny spot, one Ballard fell on his back, then Nikki fell face-first into his crotch, and then the other Ballard fell to his knees in the mount position behind Nikki. I think it was Unholy who then kicked the mounted Ballard in the rear, causing him to hump forward behind Nikki. Got a pretty uproarious chuckle from the crowd. Around this time—I must have missed it—I think one of the Ballard Brothers hit the ref. I just remember hearing the crowd hiss and I looked up and Tony Cutlip was in the corner with a look of disdain on his face. The Ballard Brothers then went to double-suplex Favi, then Unholy got into the suplex position with them, and then Nikki came in to make it three suplexing two. But then a disgruntled ref Cutlip joined in and Cutlip, Favi, and Unholy triple-suplexed the Ballard Brothers and Nikki. I thought that was pretty clever and the crowd went nuts for it. Then Unholy walked across the three bodies lying there side by side. Then one of them dragged the ref across all three bodies as well. But of course the match had to end when a pissed-off Nikki got on the ring apron and slapped the taste out of Favi’s mouth, causing him to just keel over backwards and one of the Ballard Brothers got the pin.
Winner: The Ballard Brothers (Shannon and Shane) w/”The New York Knockout” Nikki over King Faviano and Unholy via pinfall.
During intermission I went to get a beer and hoped that the people at the counter wouldn’t take forever like they did last time because I was told that the triple threat match was next. At the last show the triple threat match featuring Alex Koslov, Joey Harder, and Hook Bomberry was taking place as I was still waiting in line for my goddamn beer. But luckily this time I got my beer and got back to my seat before the next match started. Also, during intermission BiG Pro was selling large copies of their flyer poster for $5 each (but only had 15 copies) and several of the wrestlers came out to sign them all. I thought that was pretty cool of them.
Anyway, the next match started, a triple threat: Brandon Nitro vs. Joey Harder vs. “Wholesome” J.T. Hyatt. Hyatt came out to Chris Hero’s song, “Holding Out For A Hero,” by Bonnie Tyler, from the Footloose Soundtrack and was received with a ridiculously obnoxious and boisterous ovation. He must have had his little buddies come out to his show. This happened the last time these three had a three-way—the same match where Nitro took a dive and got himself busted open on his left eyebrow while the Hyatt fans booed him as Tomas tried to ask them for their support for him after the match. Anyway, when Nitro came out last he charged to the ring and just began pounding the shit out of Joey Harder. Then he went on to Hyatt. A lot of this match consisted of two guys in the ring and one guy on the outside watching. First Hyatt fought back against Nitro’s fury as Harder took a breather outside. But when Nitro began to make his comeback, Harder came in to break it up, knocking Nitro to the outside and then going after Hyatt. Nitro came back to go after Hyatt with Harder on the outside. Nitro went for a pin but it was foiled by Harder. Having fun reading this yet? I’m just getting started. After Harder broke up Nitro’s pin, he knocked him outside and goes after Hyatt. So far, if you can’t seem to grasp what was going on in the ring, basically Hyatt was getting pounded by each Nitro and Harder separately. One guy would beat up Hyatt, then the other guy would come in from the outside, throw the guy out, and go after Hyatt himself. So Harder went for the pin, but Nitro interfered and broke it up. However, at this point, Hyatt made a comeback against Nitro with Harder on the outside. Okay, enough of this. It’s hard as it is to take notes on something as exciting as this. One of the first big spots in this match was when Nitro did a handspring off of Hyatt who was lying on the mat into an elbow smash on Harder who was leaning up in the corner. Another big spot was when Nitro did a cartwheel in the direction of Hyatt, who was in the corner, but Harder, from the other corner, came out of nowhere and dropkicked Nitro’s head at the exact moment that Nitro was upside down on his hands. It was beautiful and sickening at the same time. Looking at my notes though it seems really awkward that I have one guy doing a move and then being subjected to a move right afterwards. For instance, I have J.T. Hyatt delivering a sidewalk slam to someone, but then I have Joey Harder attempting a double splash from the top rope and missing right after this. Then I have both guys pounding on Harder, but Harder gives a low blow to someone. This match was nuts I tell you. All kinds of crazy shit going on and I couldn’t even take my eyes off the ring enough to write it all down. Towards the end of the match though, I did get down that Brandon Nitro delivered a sweet super-kick to Hyatt and then went for a 180 (or was it a 360?) splash on Hyatt for the pin, but it was amazingly kicked out of. All this time Joey Harder was on the outside. You could see him grabbing a small round table from one of the booths, took it by one of the ring posts and played possum, lying over it. Nitro sees him there and reaches over the top rope to grab him, but as the ref is attending to Hyatt, Harder lifts up the table and knocks Nitro in the head with it as he’s reaching out for him. Nitro falls flat on his back and Hyatt gets up and goes for the pin to win.
Winner: “Wholesome” J.T. Hyatt over Brandon Nitro and Joey Harder via pinfall on Brandon Nitro.
To everyone reading this review: In a match like this, I don’t think I want to even attempt to take notes on it anymore. I would enjoy it more if I just paid close attention all the time instead of back and forth between the ring and my notepad. And if you get sore that I won’t review these matches hold for hold then you need to get up off your ass and come to the show yourself because matches like these are not to be missed.
Anyway, after the match Joey Harder, who is technically still undefeated in BiG Pro, attacked Brandon Nitro. But Nitro got up and chased Harder out to the back. Ring announcer Ben Tomas came out to introduce the next match as being for the Battle Ground Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title. I was a bit surprised that this match was before the Lucha Libre Title match, considering it was billed as a double main event, but in any event, I was ready; Newhall’s own “Brawlin’” Bo Cooper (c) vs. Disco Machine. Disco came out first to several boos but enough cheers from a couple of the PWG fans that made it to the show. Shit, even I clapped. Then before Bo’s music even hit, there was a “Bo! Bo! Bo,” chant emanating from the intoxicated locals. Bo came out to another insane pop. SoCalFranchize said it best when he called Cooper a rockstar in Newhall. When Bo came around to where I was sitting (which was close to the door), all of a sudden I see Disco FLYING through the ropes with a suicide dive from out of nowhere, crashing through the table near the front door with all the flyers and a couple of drinks on it, and then Disco is on the ground pounding into Coop. Bo came back and returned with some chops. They got back in the ring only for Bo to discharge a powerbomb, then he threw Disco back out over the top rope, who landed right on the back of his head. Disco crawled around on the ground for a bit and then Bo came out, picked him up, and just tossed him like a rag doll into some tables and chairs and a booth. It was sick. As Disco lay there possibly dead, Bo just mocks him by doing a little disco dance. Then Bo came walking around my side and took the beer I had from my hand, faced his drunken friends, held the beer up to many cheers, downed my beer, handed the cup back to me, then re-entered the ring. I took the last two sips of my beer that was left. Ben Tomas came up in front of me with a towel to wipe up all the beer Bo spilled on the ground and said, “I blame you for this!” I said, “He took it from me!” Around this time Commissioner Bennett and Plague came out to watch the rest of the match. When Coop got back in the ring Disco somehow made it back to his feet and attacked him, working on his arm. Disco went for a body splash from the top rope but missed and got his ass kicked for it. Disco lay in the corner while Coop imparted a giant butt splash to Disco, not dissimilar to a bronco buster, only, he didn’t ride Disco; just a giant splash on him. Then Plague jumped up on the apron, but didn’t do much because Disco got caught in a Spicoli Driver and was pinned by the champ.
Winner: “Brawlin’” Bo Cooper over Disco Machine via pinfall to retain the Battle Ground Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title.
Bennett came around the other side of the ring and came up on the apron but was caught by Cooper, who flipped him into the ring. Bo picked him up into the Spicoli Driver but was attacked by Plague from behind, saving Bennett from an imminent doom. There was a Bo chant that upset Bennett, and Bennett made a major announcement for the next show. It would be a champion vs. champion match as Bo would take on the PWG World Heavyweight Champion, “The Technical Wizard” Joey Ryan, and only the BiG Pro Title would be on the line! Bo told Bennett that he has beaten every “fag” (I think was the word) that Bennett has put in front of him and next time wouldn’t be any different. But Bo said he’d get drunk with his buddies before September 9th and then kick Joey Ryan’s ass.
So the final match was the Title vs. Mask match—Lil’ Cholo’s Battle Ground Pro Lucha Libre Title against Infernal’s mask. If Cholo loses, he loses his belt, but if Infernal loses, his mask comes off. When Infernal came out he taunted the crowd so much. It was pretty funny. Some drunken Hispanic dude found a chair and placed it right next to me, and so Infernal kept arguing with this guy in Spanish. The match began with a standard show-off of Irish whips, hopping over the opponent, arm drags, and quick moves to showcase both competitors’ lucha styles. But after Cholo seemed to have showed up Infernal, Infernal got out of the ring, climbed up into the audience to sit in a seat in the back. Referee Rick Knox began with his 20 count as Infernal started arguing with the Hispanic guy next to me some more. Cholo tried telling the Hispanic dude to let him get back in the ring. I don’t know very much Spanish—muy poquito—but the Hispanic kids around were laughing pretty hard. The match continued though, with Infernal gaining control by delivering a monkey flip and administering an arm lock. Then, with Cholo lying on the ground near one of the corners, Infernal came outside, grabbed Cholo’s legs and pulled his crotch into the pole, much to the dismay and “oooh” sounds made by the audience. Knox came out of the ring to try to get Infernal back in, but Infernal wanted to get Knox involved in the crotch action. He made Knox grab Cholo’s ankles, then got behind Knox and helped him pull Cholo into the corner like it was a game of tug-o-rope. Back in the ring Infernal landed a Swanton bomb and went for the pin on Cholo, but Cholo kicked out. Infernal knocked Knox and when distracted was caught in a roll-up by Cholo but kicked out of it. Cholo went outside to the apron and flew over the top onto Infernal. Infernal came back, however, delivering a side Russian leg sweep into an STF submission. Cholo reached the ropes, so Infernal went for a pin, but turned it into a wristlock. Infernal hit a northern lights suplex pin, which was kicked out of. He became very discouraged and called for his finisher, which was reversed by Cholo, who then called for his finisher. That, too, was reversed, and Infernal delivered a pinning powerbomb; kick out; Death Valley Driver into pin; kick out; Cholo got Infernal into a crucifix pin; kick out; both men to the outside; Cholo attacks Infernal out in the audience, delivering some modified piledriver into the seats. Cholo got back in the ring, waiting for Knox to count Infernal out, but as Knox was facing Infernal on the outside, “The Role Model” Preston Scott comes into the ring from behind and attacks Lil’ Cholo. Scott dashes from the ring, Infernal gets up to answer the count, gets back in the ring, and pins the champ.
Winner: Infernal over Lil’ Cholo via pinfall to become the new Battle Ground Pro Lucha Libre Champion.
Everyone in the audience was so discouraged and upset that they just started to get up and leave very slowly, without even saying much. I figured something like this would happen though, seeing as I didn’t expect Infernal to lose his mask. Cholo was eventually helped out of the ring by some of the other wrestlers to a mild applause from whoever was left. What a bummer ending to the show.
So, so far for the next show on September 9th, we will see Foob Dogg taking on some mystery opponent that Jason Bennett has handpicked. We will also see “Brawlin’” Bo Cooper defend his title against PWG Champion Joey Ryan. And I can’t forget to mention the beginning of a tag team tournament to determine the first ever Battle Ground Pro Tag Team Champions.
Overall I enjoyed the show very much. I’d say it was on par with the last show from back in June, which I had said was BiG Pro’s best show so far. As for the characters and matches I really like Preston Scott’s character. He sold me so well that I pretty much forgot he used to just referee. It was like he didn’t even have to try. I am not familiar with his wrestling before seeing him ref at the BiG Pro shows, but he and Riot had a fantastic match. Would love to see him again, especially if a feud begins between he and Cholo. I also dig Kaos, for the mere reason that he comes out to my boy, Marilyn Manson’s cover of the Doors, “Five to One” and wears those pink trunks with white stars, reminiscent of the old “Macho Man” Randy Savage. But the match just didn’t make sense. I know BiG Pro hasn’t been around that long, but the show after Kaos is in the main event he is suddenly facing Stepfather? Same with Disco Machine suddenly going from mid-card to main event is pretty awkward. The matches were pretty good, so I’m not complaining, but for maintaining storylines there is work that needs to be done in some places. Another awkward moment was when Nikki was in the corner of The Ballard Brothers, who seemed to act as the heels in the match. Before that, Nikki had taken on Candice LaRae (a Canadian like the Ballards) as the face and also took on Disco Machine as the face. So having her with the heel group seemed weird.
One guy that surprised me was Foob Dogg. I wasn’t really keen to his wrestling abilities at the last few shows, but the match he had with Plague wasn’t that bad at all. This was the best I’ve seen him. The comedy match between The Ballard Brothers and King Faviano and Unholy was pretty funny, but like I said before, it wasn’t like any Colt Cabana or Top Gun Talwar match for me. I know they aren’t catering to me only, and I have to keep that in mind, but for some reason I just didn’t think the Ballard Brothers mixed too well with them. I received the Ballards to be more of a technical wrestling team rather than a comedy team, but I could be wrong, as I said I had never seen them wrestle before. I’d like to see them back in BiG Pro though, doing other things. I’m pretty sure they’ll be in the tag team tournament coming up. I had a hard time determining which match I considered to be Match of the Night, so I just declare it a tie between the Hook Bomberry/Mikey Nicholls match and the triple threat Nitro/Harder/Hyatt match. So far this means that Mikey Nicholls has been involved in two Match of the Night picks in a row. I think this means he ought to be coming back to BiG Pro for a long time. I also see a feud brewing between Joey Harder and Brandon Nitro, which we’ll possibly see at the next show as well as Lil’ Cholo and Preston Scott. Or perhaps a Lil’ Cholo and Markus Riot vs. Preston Scott and Infernal match could take place. In fact, I think I might really like that one. And, as always, Bo Cooper tore the house down. His match with Disco was the best match I’ve seen him involved with. He’s a pretty big guy, so having matches like Mikey Nicholls or Brandon Nitro do isn’t really his thing and he doesn’t really do any exciting, high-flying stuff. But Disco is a fantastic wrestler, a fantastic worker, and took a lot of nasty hits in this match and it just made Cooper look spectacular. This was, by far, my favorite Bo Cooper match, right beside his match with Alex Koslov.
Also, BiG Pro would highly benefit from videotaping their shows. That is, essentially, how promotions get big. The draws are good enough. The product is good. The reviews pile in. People will want to see Battle Ground Pro Wrestling, but as long as there are no videos, there will be little attention among all of SoCal. Granted, this show was sold out, there were a lot of comps and people coming strictly to see Bo Cooper or J.T. Hyatt who may or may not even be wrestling fans, just friends of these performers. I don’t know that for sure, but all I’m saying is the buzz is there; just get your product out and you’ll see a greater audience, even if it’s in DVD sales and not necessarily ticket sales. I’d also like to add that everyone in BiG Pro works their asses off to deliver a great product and I applaud Bennett and Cooper and everyone else involved and can’t wait to see the next show.
For more information, visit: http://www.myspace.com/battlegroundpro
