This Chaos Column is a recap of Empire Wrestling Federation at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Covina. EWF’s annual toy drive, combined w/ Joey Ryan’s final So Cal indie match before joining TNA full time, and an intriguing “Survivor Series” match led to what may’ve been the EWF’s biggest Covina crowd of the year.
1 – Brute Baretto p. Espiritu Infernal w/ a Spinebuster in what was essentially a squash.
* EWF (Co-)Deputy Commissioner Marty Elias comes out next, and pulled a Heel CM Punk on everyone, shooting about the lack of respect he’s gotten in the EWF, and called everyone in the crowd a mark.
2 – Flecha Fugaz made Chet Irving tapout to a Modified Figure 4 submission, emphasizing on the picked apart left knee in a slow & methodical match.
3 – Tommy Wilson made his return to the EWF, pinning his old SCP rival, Kid Caramba, w/ the sit-down powerbomb.
* The other EWF (Co-)Deputy Commissioner, Johnny Starr, came out, and summoned the EWF Tag Team Champions Bar Room Saints (Josh Dunbar & D.K. Murphy). In giving them the chance to prove how tough they were, he had them face off against 5 other teams in a Tag Team Title Gauntlet Match, which was next.
4 – The Gauntlet Match for the EWF Tag Team Championship. The Bar Room Saints started it off w/ Mike Maze & Andrew Hellman, but their title defense proved short-lived, when they were eliminated by “The Ironman” & Hellman. Maddix & Eddie Mattson were next, but Mike Maze & Andrew Hellman went on to eliminate that team w/ a submission win by Hellman. Raccid Najjar & a couple of his “pals from Lebanon” were next, and the trio teamed up to eliminate Maze & Hellman. That brought out The Von Dooms (Vintage Dragon & Cyanide, w/ Terra Callaway), and after a fierce battle, The Von Dooms got the win. That left the tag team titles down to The Von Dooms & the final pair, Anchors Away (David E. Jones & Ryan Stone). A fierce final battle ensued, w/ Cyanide managing a narrow save to prevent the current SCP Tag Team Champs from adding the EWF tag team titles to their shoulders when they hit their “Anchor Drop” on Vintage Dragon. VD eventually managed to keep Ryan Stone at bay, enough for Cyanide to get the rollup on David E. Jones for the final pin.
Gauntlet Winner & New EWF Tag Team Champions: The Von Dooms
SM – The 10-man “Survivor Series” Tag Team Elimination Match followed intermission:
Team Sinister–Rico Dynamite, Tito Escondido, Robbie Phoenix, Damien Arsenik, & Sugar Sweet (Mgr.: Matt Sinister)
Team Tacos–SoCal Crazy, Referee Justin Borden, Richie Slade, Andy Brown, & Valiant
* Valiant was first eliminated by Rico Dyanmite, w/ the “Rico Death Cinch”
* Andy Brown was eliminated 2nd, pinned by Robbie Phoenix w/ the Pump Handle Neckbreaker
* Richie Slade was eliminated 3rd, eating Sugar Sweet’s finisher for the pin
* Robbie Phoenix was eliminated 4th, tapping out to SoCal Crazy’s Crippler Crossface
* Tito Escondido was DQ’d & eliminated 5th, when Referee Justin Borden successfully sold a kick to the nuts, drawing Matt Sinister’s ire
* Justin Borden was DQ’d & eliminated 6th, w/ Damien Arsenik successfully selling a head shot by a shot from Justin w/ Matt Sinister’s cane
* Final Elimination: Sugar Sweet rolled up & pinned SoCal Crazy
Survivors for Team Sinister: Rico Dynamite, Damien Arsenik, & Sugar Sweet — and all of them should be in the hunt for the EWF American title in 2013
M – EWF Heavyweight Championship match between Joey Ryan & Brandon Gatson. Great back-and-forth action between the two, that saw Joey Ryan try to take advantage of Referee Christopher Lee being knocked down by low-blowing Gatson for what appeared to be a rollup pin to allow him to take the title to Orlando. But the other referee came out, and w/ the help of a photo shoot from Lance Kreamer, both referees ordered a restart. Both wrestlers exchanged signature moves, but it was Brandon Gatson who hit the last Stunner for the title-clinching pin. He didn’t have much to celebrate, though, as Marty Elias used his presence as a distraction to allow Brute Baretto to sneak in and hit his finisher on Gatson. Afterwards, Johnny Starr came out to help Gatson up & congratulate him on winning the title.
Shot of the Night – EWF – 12-08-12
So there’s plenty of intrigue in the EWF going into 2013, as there’s a good chance of a pair of feuds brewing between Gatson & Baretto, and between the two EWF Deputy Commissioners. Look for The Von Dooms & Anchors Away to go at it for the tag team titles on the 1/4/2013 show in Covina.
There will be 1 more Chaos Column recap this year, and–fates permitting that the Mayan Doomsday Prophecies doesn’t hold true–it will come from the IWL’s “Wreck the Halls 3: Wreck the World” show in Chino.