EWF 6/25/04 Review
By Stan aka SoCal Strong Style
Attendance: Approximately 160
Before I even start with the review of this show, I will start out by saying a couple of things. EWF is not your typical SoCal fed. Trying to compare it to what is done in other feds is next to impossible. EWF is based on old school style wrestling and geared towards entertaining the family as opposed to churning out 5 star matches. I admit my organization at the show was a bit lacking, thus the lack of move and pin fall info. I’ll have a better plan going in on my next review.Match 1: Cyrus vs. Bonzai
The opener was a match up of a future star and a guy who has obviously seen his better days fall by the wayside. While Bonzai was the crowd favorite in this match, there was no question the talent in this match up was Cyrus. Cyrus did what he could to keep this match somewhat respectable. It soon became obvious that he was working with a guy who wasn’t at his level. This match went a bit too long and dragged quite a bit due to Bonzai’s lack of speed and flow. The crowd for some reason loves Bonzai. He was very over. Cyrus wins by pin fall.
Match 2: Hurricane Havana vs. Sexy Starlit (Women’s Match)
This was not a very good match. Havana is a bleach blonde who has a decent look but not much else. Starlit has a more natural look and seemed to pull off her heel role fairly well. Not a lot to mention wrestling wise in this match except that there were an ungodly amounts of hair pulls and hair snap mares. Seemed like that’s all they did the first few minutes or so. Havana was the winner by disqualification after MC Mcyntire did a run-in. The run-in prompted a save by ring announcer Johnny Starr and set up an inter-gender tag match for the next Covina show. Starlit & MC Mcyntire vs. Johhny Starr & Hurricane Havana
At this point in the show, Bo Cooper’s manager Rick Richter comes out and does a promo on the match stipulations of Bo’s upcoming main event match up. Jesse Hernandez comes to the ring and tells Richter that if Bo loses his match, that his manager must wear a dress for 60 days (Mexicans love men in dresses).
Match 3: JC Castro & Black Pearl vs. Dick Danger & Alex Pinchek
This match was the Match of the Night, in my opinion. With the possible exception of Dick Danger, these are 3 of the best workers EWF has to offer. This was a classic heel versus face tag match which saw Alex Pinchek taking a beating for a good portion of the match from Castro and Black Pearl, which was a good thing since the partner Pinchek had didn’t have a lot going for him other than a name that started numerous “We love Dick” chants. Once Danger made the “hot tag”, the “Dick” chants really started flying throughout the building. A good match in my opinion that flowed very well for an EWF style match. Match ended with Black Pearl pinning Danger, if I remember correctly. Immediately following the match, Tonga Kid came to the ring and chastised his nephew Black Pearl for taking the heel road in the match.
Tonga Kid then spent about the next ten minutes doing a one-minute promo (lots of repeating). It centered around him turning his life around and giving his life to God. He also discussed how he spends his time counseling and motivating “at-risk” kids, prisoners, etc. This prompted what may have been either one of the coolest or most disturbing chants I’ve ever heard. The whole building erupted in a “Jesus” chant. I’m still trying to decide if it was very wrong or cool that so many kids were chanting the Son of God’s name. Tonga then announced that Rikishi was also in the house and brought him out for a short promo that led to the intermission autograph signing.
Match 4: Los Chivos vs. Bino Gambino & Rudy Luna for the EWF Tag Team Titles
This match, while not much of a wrestling clinic, was very fun. The Chivos had the EWF crowd eating from the palm of their hands. The Chivos were very over! Typical Chivos match with the Chivos dominating most of the action. Bino spent most of the match taking a beatdown from Los Chivos. He lost his lucky beanie during the match which is supposed to make him lose his wrestling ability. However, I didn’t see him sell that aspect of his gimmick. Did he forget to sell it? Gambino and Luna win by by disqualification when Los Chivos hit the referee with the tag team belt. After the match, Los Chivos got on the mic and announced that at the next show, it will be Los Chivos vs. Bino Gambino & Rudy Luna in a lumberjack match, TAG TITLES VERSUS MASKS!
Match 5: Ragin Dawg vs. Kenny King vs. Ghetto Psycho for the EWF American Title
This again was a pretty fun match. The stiffest match of the night. While there wasn’t anything innovative in this contest, it had decent flow and had the crowd very involved. Ragin Dawg and Kenny King were the strong points of this match. Match ended with a run in by JC Castro hitting Ragin Dawg with a sick chair shot. This led to Ghetto Psycho getting the pin fall to become the new EWF American title holder.
Match 6: Bo Cooper vs. Vizzion for the EWF Heavyweight Title
Match Stipulations: If Cooper loses the match, his manager Rick Richter must wear a dress for 60 days (2 EWF shows)
This match was a good main event that kept the crowd very involved. Alot of this had to do with the possibility of seeing Rick Richter wearing a dress. Vizzion looks like Kurt Rambis and has vision problems if he loses his “Kareem” like goggles during the match. This wasn’t an issue Friday however. He was able to get a pin fall victory over Bo after he hit his finisher, the top rope elbow drop. Post match, they had Richter walking around the ring in a dress. The crowd marked out big for this. Once again, Mexicans love men in dresses.
While EWF is not a fed that has hard hitting 5 star matches, it is a great alternative and break from the rest of the work rate-based feds we have an abundance of here in SoCal. EWF is especially a good place to bring the kids. I’ve never seen a fed that is so geared towards pleasing the kids. I’ve been to 2 EWF shows so far and had a great time at both. If you are looking for “Ring of Honor”, work-rate, scientific, “wrestling as a sport” type wrestling, then EWF is not for you. If you’re just looking to mark out and have some fun, then you should give EWF a look.
