In the opener – which somewhat surprisingly got under way just a few minutes late -Anchors Away defeated Mikey O’Shea (filling in for Sevelle “The Thrill” Alvarez, possibly still on his honeymoon) and Eli Everfly when Jones and Stone used a double team move on Everfly.
SoCal Crazy was pinned by newcomer (to So Cal…so he says) “Gentleman” Jervis Cottonbelly. Although played as a comedy match, it was still very technically sound. I was surprised as the Gentleman ended up getting SoCal to tap after picking apart his left leg. As to the identity of Mr Cottonbelly, he might as well be the Easter Bunny as he was wearing a mask. But no tail.
Next up was a clash between two wrestlers that, if they don’t know each other well by now, they never will. Archfoes from IWL, Johnny Saovi met Eric Cross who just had a birthday. Possibly still elated from that celebration(s), Mr Cross did indeed cross out Mr Saovi via pinfall. That would never work for me, possibly because I’ve had too many…uh, celebrations. This match was to have been a triple threat elimination match, but Tyler Bateman has been helping to nurse his manager, Ruby Raze, back to health. Godspeed to both of them.
Speaking of IWL, a matchup that I first saw there followed: Jaysin Strife vs former SCP regular Ryan Kidd. A Magnum Pro Showcase, I believe in both instances. But from the way they fought, it was obvious to me that they also knew each other very well. Both men flew around the ring like they were born there. Nor did they confine they’re flying to inside the ring. In the end, Mr Strife came out on top as he pinned Mr Kidd.
Wrapping things up tonight, Tim “The Wrestling Machine” Donst teamed with Markus Riot (aka Jacob “The Riot” Diaz) to take on the seasoned duo of Ric Ellis and Devin Sparks. As you might imagine (and you’ll have to – I can’t do a play by play here), mayhem ensued. I am not aware of any emnity between these wrestlers, but they seemed to hate each other just for the sake of hating each other. Bodies again were flying every which way during this match. In the end it was Ric Ellis pinning Markus Riot for the W. Or was it? Tim Donst got on the mike and said something to the effect of “You cheated, how can you live with yourselves taking a win like that? Let’s restart the match.” To which, surprisingly, Devin Sparks agreed. The bell rang, Messers Sparks and Ellis retreated out the door, the ref counted to ten, the bell rang again and…that was it?
So, while the ending was a bit muddy, the crowd got what they came for: great wrestling that told stories and showcased the skills of these workers. Truly, cliche though it sounds, they did leave it all in the ring.
There is one thing that seemed off about this evening. The bad guys one all the matches. Well, with two exceptions. The second match was more a good guy/good guy event. And the big winners were the crowd and the cancer charities the money will be going to. If you couldn’t make it out tonight, you can still help kill cancer and get a cool t-shirt out of it at http://www.prowrestlingtees.com/wres…g-of-hope.html. Or if you just want to throw money at it and hope it goes away, you can do that, too at http://www.gofundme.com/RingOfHope.
Hopefully the rest of this story will be that the big C has lost the loser leaves town match.
