SCWA Battle Of Champions 4/30/17 Review

SCWA held their first show of the year at the Clela Arena Titled “Battle Of Champions”. This show had multiple championship bouts held: for the women’s championship, the cruiserweight championship, and also the Heavyweight Championship. This was one of the warmer days this week, so we had a hot arena, a hot crowd, and some heavy action at the facility.

Koto Hiro vs. Lucas Riley

Koto and Lucas started off the match with some technical wrestling and also some quick pin attempts. This looked like a showcase of lucha and some strong style mixed in. After coming to a stalemate early in the match (both guys are pretty evenly skilled) Lucas broke it up with a lucha arm drag off the top rope and then a springboard lucha arm drag for good measure. Koto hit a head scissor and they started trading holds and throws again. Koto hit another hurricanrana but then is caught on the third attempt into a front falling slam by Lucas. Lucas then started throwing european uppercuts until Koto was off his feet near the ropes. A sunset flip attempt was countered by a basement dropkick. Riley then got Koto into a suplex attempt but it was reversed by an inverted rolling cutter by Koto. A few invisible sword attacks by Koto were followed by a rolling brainbuster. Koto then hit Lucas with several kicks, then tried to swing Lucas into the ropes, but this got countered by a heavy strike by Lucas. A forward locking choke attempt was countered by Koto into a deadlift Michinoku Driver.

Koto Hiro Won by Pinfall.

Ruben Iglesias vs. ?

I’m not going to put much in here except that Ruben wrestled a guy in his boxers. Ruben ended up getting pinned but then the match was restarted and Ruben won. The guy in boxers cut a promo stating that he dedicated this match to someone who recently passed away. Ruben’s a good wrestler, but there wasn’t a ton to see here, considering his opponent hasn’t been in a ring in 15 years. This was his retirement match, so we probably won’t see him again.

Jake Atlas vs. Alonzo Alvarez vs. Amazing Jr

This match started off innocently enough, with Jr wanting to shake hands with both competitors, but then slapping the hell out of Alonzo. This happened more than once, as it seemed like Alonzo’s face was primed to be smacked. Jake also seemed to enjoy this, probably because he wasn’t getting slapped himself. A test of strength with all three guys started, with Jr getting the worst because he’s the smallest of the three. This got split up, Alonzo got smacked again, and then a double team dropkick knocked him out of the ring. Jake and Jr went at it for a while and the action really picked up there, with flips and two head scissor take downs by Jr. Alonzo then pulled Jr to the outside, and Jake and Alonzo started grappling. Jake hit a sky high springboard lucha arm drag. Another impressive spot by Jake was him doing the full splits to dodge Alonzo’s punches ala JCVD and striking him in the gut. Jake then transitioned that into a handspring headscissor takedown. Jr got back in and both wrestlers started beating on Alonzo. Alonzo finally fought back and got both Jake and Jr in a Jumping neckbreaker/DDT combo. Alonzo then beat on Jake for a bit, and then started working on Jr. Jake broke this up with a dropkick. Alonzo then started working on Jr again and got him up for a superplex that was countered by Jake into a powerbomb/suplex combo on both guys. Jake and Alonzo then traded shots for a while, and the action broke to the outside. Jake hit one of the more painful looking leaps off the apron DDT to the floor I’ve seen. Jr then took Alonzo inside and nailed him with a springboard moonsault off the middle rope. Jake got involved and hit Jr with an over the top standing blockbuster. Jake went to the top in an attempt to finish the man off, but Alonzo then leaped up to get him into a super arm drag off the top rope. He then nailed Jake with a nice looking northern lights suplex. Alonzo then went to the top. Jr. grabed him and then gave him a spanish fly from the turnbuckle for two. Jr then hit Jake with a sunset flip powerbomb for the three count.

Jr wins by pinfall on Jake Atlas.

SCWA Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match
Shotzi Blackheart vs.  Thunder Rosa vs. Buggy Nova

The vacant championship was up for grabs on this one. It was apparent that Rosa and Buggy were going to team up to eliminate any chance of Shotzi to win. The team up lasted a few moments until Rosa got knocked outside. Shotzi put Buggy into a cloverleaf. Chucky was brought into the ring to distract Shotzi and then it turned back into double team offense, stereo elbow drops, a couple hair tosses between the two.  After a nice super twisting neckbreaker by Thunder Rosa, buggy does a hairlift with more double-teaming. Multiple rollup attempts were tried, until Shotzi pulled off a smooth springboard cross body on Buggy. Thunder Rosa then hit both of them with a cross body from the top rope, with a pin attempt for two on both of them. The Thunder Rosa / Buggy Nova alliance was then reformed and they started working Shotzi over again with some hard chops bringing several “whooo” chants from the crowd. Shotzi got nailed with a double team suplex. Another attempt at a double team suplex got reversed by Shotzi into a dual DDT. Shotzi fought off another double team.  Buggy had some stiff forearm shots in the corners. Shotzi then got Buggy with a leg scissor into the middle turnbuckle and then hit Thunder Rosa with a flying elbow in the corner and her signature cannonball in the corner for a two count, interrupted by Buggy. Thunder Rosa got tossed out and Buggy hit Shotzi with a super tilt a whirl side slam. Thunder Rosa got knocked out and Shotzi managed to sneak in a win with a roll up on a distracted Buggy.

Winner and New SCWA Women’s Champion Shotzi Blackheart.

Mariachi Loco vs. Biagio Crescenzo (C)  w/ Buggy Nova

Loco comes out first, Biagio makes his entry, but is interrupted by a suicide dive by Loco. The action started fast and early with Loco just taking it to Biagio early with some heavy chops and kicks. The action finally started inside and went back and forth with Loco getting the upper hand and taking it outside. More hard chops by Loco, three in a row. Biagio struck back with chops of his own. The action went back inside, Biagio hit a big boot and an Inziguiri and a basement dropkick for a two count. Biagio and Buggy got in a choking sequence on Loco, culminating in a slingshot into the ropes. This didn’t work, so a low blow was used by Biagio, followed by more choking by Buggy. Man, Bill sure missed a lot of action over there. He must get easily distracted. Stiff shoot kicks by Biagio, but Loco countered with a nice springboard missile drop kick, and also a tope over the top rope to the floor. Loco was fearless on that concrete. Nice Jumping cutter by Biagio when the action went back into the ring. Loco got a block of a superplex, but Buggy distracted him to set up Biagio with a rope-assisted step-up Inziguiri followed by a Super Flatliner from the top rope, a first for me live.  Loco got back in with a flurry of punches and a sweet superkick. Loco hit a spring board leg drop and Buggy pulled the ref out from the count.  Loco started chasing her around the ring and Biagio nailed him outside for a kick and chair party. They got Loco set up for a superkick but Amazing Jr showed up, speared Biagio and cleared the ring. This was a good match.

Mariachi Loco wins by DQ, but Biagio retains the title.

Othello & V-Pacalypse vs. The FeeLyons

So we had another large team against the FeeLyons. Othello is an extremely large man. It’s sort of a mystery on why he’s not booked in the area more. V-Pac did not give me a high five when coming in. Maybe it’s because I showed him nearly killing Ruben before in a previous match earlier this year. The FeeLyons got a loud pop pretty much wherever they wrestle, and they had one here.

The match started off with Senior Buttons and V-Pac. There’s a “meow” chant that V-Pac didn’t like and tried to quash. Buttons tried to shoulder tackle V-Pac, but failed twice. V-Pac then started tearing into Buttons with chops and kicks in the corner. Buttons got away and tagged in Osiris, but Osiris was having the same luck trying to take V-Pac down. He then got nailed with a vertical suplex by V-Pac. A few shoot kicks follow and V-Pac then hit Osiris with a basement lariat from a sitting position. Othello then got tagged in. They both hit Osiris with a backbreaker elbow drop combo. Othello then beat on Osiris in the corner for a while, and laid in some heavy chops and elbows, a very impressive fallaway slam and a kick up from the agile 7 footer, then another tag in to V-Pac. They hit him with another tandem move, and then V-Pac kept the pressure on Osiris until he hit him with an overhead belly to belly suplex. V-Pac then tried a game ending powerbomb, but Osiris reversed it into a DDT. Buttons finally got tagged in and went after V-Pac. Buttons hit V-Pac with some quick thrusting takedowns and got fired up to do a double team move with Osiris. But V-Pac took it outside. Buttons was trying to attack Othello and got owned with a shoulder tackle, Osiris was out on the floor. Othello then hit Buttons with an over the shoulder facebuster ala’ Big E to claim the victory.

Winner by pinfall: Othello and V-Pacalypse

Fatal Four Way Match:
Chris Kadillak vs. Andy Brown vs. B-Boy vs. Eli Everfly

 The match started off with all four men in the ring. B-Boy and Andy take the initiative and attack the other two men. This set up for stop moment, and then stereo fists to the face by B-Boy and Andy. Andy then tried to convince B-Boy to take part in a test of strength, but B-Boy kicked Andy in the gut instead. They wrestled for a bit until Andy nailed B-Boy with a cartwheel-to-basement dropkick. A weaker chop illicit a thunderous one that knocks Andy off his feet. Kadillak got involved and pulled B-Boy to the floor. Ely then ran in and gave Andy a fishhook groin shot from behind, and then licked his hand? Eli then shoot kicked Andy and started choking him. Kadillak jumped back in and got involved with both wrestlers, then concentrated on Andy. Eli kicked B-Boy back out and then worked on Andy. Kadillak nailed a nice uranage to backbreaker combo on Andy. Eli then went to the top rope and hit a missile drop kick on Andy. Kadillak and Eli have the same manager, so it makes sense that they would concentrate on the other wrestlers before each other. Eli then started kicking Andy again while he’s down. Kadillak and Eli then do a double team move with a DDT into Eli’s raised knees from the lungblower position that looked painful. B-Boy came in and clotheslined them both, and then got all three members stuck into a tree of woe. He then does a basement dropkick into two guys, right into their faces. Kadillak kept trying to get out, but then had B-Boy stand on his groin and swivel his hips, which looked worse than the other wrestler’s fates. B-Boy did a shortened run around the ring with all three men, popping them in the eyes. This unfortunately ended with him eating a superkick from Andy. B-Boy and Andy are then hit by a springboard backflip off the ropes by Kadillak. All three men recover, and then Eli does a springboard flip onto all three of the men. Eli then got Kadillak in but misses off the top rope. Kadillak then got Eli off the ropes and leapfrogs but got caught by B-Boy who DDT’s Eli and facebusts Kadillak. B-Boy then hit a tiger bomb on Andy for two. B-Boy then grabbed Eli and started chopping him on the ropes until he got hit with a tilt-a-whirl DDT. Kadillak then rushed in and hit a side suplex and his cannonball. Andy then got hit while going up top and then nailed him with a super rising knee off the top turnbuckle. All four men are on the mat, Eli got up first, exposes his knee and got hit with a leg lariat by Andy. Kadillak and Andy and B-Boy end up trading shots in the middle of the ring. Eli then jumped off the turnbuckle and hit Kadillak, but also took a cutter from B-Boy at the same time. Andy then hit a cutter on B-Boy, but only got a two count. Kadillak came back in and Andy got thrown out along with Eli over the turnbuckles. B-Boy and Kadillak went at it and B-Boy went for a lariat but got cradled into a crucifix for the victory.

Winner is Kadillak by pinfall.

Triple Threat Match for the SCWA Heavyweight Championship
Jeff Cobb vs. Tyler Bateman vs. Eric Watts

 This match was heavy duty. Some true heavyweights and another person who hit like one. Eric Watts is a big, tall powerful man. Jeff Cobb is an athletic freak that is crazy strong with an Olympic background. Tyler Bateman has an truly unique, hard hitting offense and came into this match wearing Joker face paint, straight out of the Dark Knight. Bateman started off by kicking Cobb in the face and went after Watts, but it got reversed and he got carried into the corner for some shoulder tackles and an attempt of a splash that misses. Bateman started with his double palm strikes and a backhand strike. He then got caught by Cobb, who german suplexes him and then Cobb picked up Watts for a pump-handle suplex. Cobb then headbutted Bateman into the ropes. Cobb threw Bateman over the top who took Watts with him. Cobb got pulled to the floor and then thrown into Bateman. Watts got a chair and hit Cobb. Bateman then got Watts from behind and threw him into the opening doorway. The action then moved outside the building completely. I do not have tape of what happened outside, but I can attest that there was a large hole in the ramp leading up to the building that was broken by somebody getting thrown into it.

The action then spilled inside and Bateman attacked Cobb. Cobb then nailed Bateman with a whirling side slam. Bateman responded with a spinning elbow. Watts then tackled Bateman and basically hammered him into the ground. He waited for Bateman to get up, and attempted a chokeslam that got blocked. Bateman tried to attack but got hit with a second attempt at a chokeslam which was successful. Cobb snuck in for another belly to back suplex. Bateman hit Chelsea’s Smile and death from above, but can’t get a three count on Cobb.  Cobb missed a Tour of the Islands attempt, and Watts then got Cobb up into a fireman’s-carry slam but it got broken up by Bateman, who then traded shots with Cobb, along with an ill advised head-butt. Watts got Cobb up into the fireman’s carry and transitioned it into a spinebuster for the victory.

Eric Watts pins Jeff Cobb to become the NEW SCWA Heavyweight Champion.

Thoughts and notes:

This was card that was full of Championship matches and some other action filled bouts.  The crowd was into the matches (except for the match that should not be named). The action with Koto Hiro and Lucas Riley set the tone for the night, as it was a hotly contested affair. The triple threat with Alonzo Alvarez, Amazing Jr and Jake Atlas was entertaining and high impact. The womens match had some of the best chants of the night, and had three great women battling it out. Mariachi Loco and Biagio was an unexpectedly good match. Both guys really told a story in the ring and had some great moves. The FeeLyons match was mostly a squash match, but was entertaining in spots. The four-way had great action with all four competitors mixing it up well. Kadillak looks like he is back from his injuries and looks to be in great shape. The heavyweight championship match was a brutal affair as well, and Watts hit a tope over the top rope on both guys at some point in the match that had to be seen to be believed. Overall it was a good show, and worth the price of admission.

SCWA is holding their next show August 19th at the Clela Arena, a card has yet to be announced. There are some new champions though, so we can expect them to defend their titles at least.

4 Comments on "SCWA Battle Of Champions 4/30/17 Review"

  1. Mary Ellen Richardson | 05/06/2017 at 6:43 PM |

    Nice writing JR, again you give us a sense of being there when we read your review of each match. I have never looked forward to reading a review or preview so much until I started reading your articles JR. Thank you SoCal Uncensored for the addition of JR to your team… looking forward to the next article! Would love to see some of JR’s interviews!

  2. David Crane | 05/08/2017 at 1:05 AM |

    The “???” wrestler in the second match was The Saturday Night Stud whom was managed by Johnny P. Gossip. To us long time indy socal fans he is better known as former Ultimate Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champion Troubled Youth. In UPW trained with John Cena, Christopher Daniels, and Samoa Joe among others and worked several matches with The Ballard Brothers and The Havana Pitbulls. He along with Funky Billy Kim (Tommy Williams) were the first to wrestle John Cena in his career debut match. He was always more of a great gimmicky showman wrestler then a great in ring talent. In fact he was the first UPW Womens champion and has wrestled in a dress before. The crowd seemed engaged in his act at this show, and I guess you’ll just have to watch the dvd to judge for yourself.

    JR I haven’t read your reviews before, but I think you did yourself a disservice here. There are a million terrible acts/matches/wrestlers that get reviewed by serious writers. I’m not sure why you refused to review this match or even mention the guys name. The reader is led to believe that it’s because he “wrestled in his boxers” I guess. Whatever the reason, you do yourself a professional disservice to snub the worker, and his match because you didn’t like it. Give a negative review, say it was the worst thing you’ve ever seen, and most importantly tell us why! Instead your review comes off as odd, and potentially petty for some unknown reason to the reader. Think about it, just offering some friendly advice. Otherwise keep writing, and sticking with this.

    -David Crane

  3. Steve Bryant | 05/08/2017 at 4:20 PM |

    First, what’s up Krane! I thought I saw you at PWG not too long ago, but wasn’t 100% sure and you (or the person who looked like you) was gone before I could say hi.

    In our results we had the wrestler as ?, which is probably where JR got it from. In all honesty, I’m probably the only one around on the site who would be able to identify Troubled Youth. Someone (not JR) texted me a picture saying “SCWA is using backyarders again” and from the picture I didn’t recognize the wrestler. As you are aware, SCWA hasn’t had the best history when it comes to throwing backyarders out there in the past, and as a general rule we don’t list backyarders in the results as we don’t want to help legitimize them.

    I’m sure it wasn’t a slight, but when a guy disappears for 15 years there wont be many people around who remember them.

    Shoot me an e-mail!

  4. JR Richardson | 05/08/2017 at 6:17 PM |

    Hi David,

    Thank you for your input. Steve nailed the head on most of responses to this. I did this mostly to save people from being embarrassed, but managed to anger someone else. That is something I’m going to learn from and get better at. It’s a valid point, and if we are watching Troll 2, I might as well give you my thoughts on how much of a shit show it is.

    Personally, I feel this match didn’t do anything for SCWA, or Ruben for that matter. It didn’t move forward any story lines, and we weren’t given any explanation for this match except he paid his way on, which I feel is bad for everyone involved, industry-wide. I have nothing against the performers involved, just the time, place and action that happened inside the ring. The next time the Saturday Night Stud wants to show up (at this rate it’ll be 2032) I’ll review it with aplomb.

    Here’s the Link to the match.

    https://youtu.be/za1AgwEVhh8

    JR

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