Santino Bros. Wrestling Academy Showcase “Heavy is the Crown”
9/22/17, The Elks Lodge of Downey
The decision to hold such a big event at The Elks Lodge in Downey was a great idea for the Santino Bros. brass. Not only did they fill the hall to capacity, but some fans were able to go to the nearby bar inside the lodge, and get a good brew. As everyone streamed in, a bonus match was held.
P – Donnie Suarez, Chris Bey, & Dominic Kubrick v. Lucas Riley, Koto Hiro, & Vandergriff
A very good trios match, with just about every wrestler getting their fair share of the action. Lucas & Koto Hiro hit simultaneous Moonsaults on Chris & Donnie, while Vandergriff capped it with a Tope Splash to pin Dominic.
* The main part of the card began with Heather Monroe cutting a promo about “Girl Power”. She invited three female fans into the ring, but every time she let one of them answer a question, she cuts them off, and answers it herself. That drew Suede Thompson out, who slammed her for the way she did her promo, then Delilah Doom came out to give her opinion about what “girl power” is about. That led to the opener of the main card, while Suede went to the commentary table.
1 – Sabotage Women’s Championship: Delilah Doom (c) v. Heather Monroe
The match started out with some great back-and-forth action, as both women hit various spots. However, things began to go south when Heather went for what looked some kind of perfume spray. That drew Suede from the commentary table, to ringside, in an effort to stop Heather from spraying the contents onto Delilah’s face. In turn, that act caught the attention of Referee Jeremy Marcus, who believed he was interfering, and went on to eject him from ringside. And while all of that was happening, a big man, wearing a suit, suddenly went into the ring, and gave Delilah a powerbomb! At first, it looked like Jeremy was going to rule it a DQ or a No Contest, but Joey Kaos came out, grabbed a mic, and ordered a match restart, in the hope of a cleaner outcome. In the end, the damage was done, as Heather was able to fend off any fight left in Delilah, and hit a Michinoku Driver for the title-clinching pin, paying the man that powebombed Delilah as she was making her exit!!
Now as I mentioned on Twitter, there is only so much that wrestling referees can do in the heat of a match. They won’t be able to catch every interference that occurs. Furthermore, while Heel/Face Wrestling may disapprove of the outcome (Sabotage Commissioner Donovan Troi will definitely approve), this was a Santino Bros. event. The title match was booked well in advance, and Kaos desired a clean outcome, instead of the match ending in a DQ or No Contest. In the end…
WINNER & NEW SABOTAGE WOMEN’S CHAMPION, HEATHER MONROE
2 – Robbie Phoenix v. Jorel Nelson
This was a very good match, as the veteran did battle with one of the younger, rising stars. Robbie took advantage of the referee’s attempt to break the hold, striking Jorel in the nuts, then hit his Brainbuster for the pin.
3 – Alonzo Alvarez v. Bad Dude Tito
Tito cut a very good promo about the latest batch of students from the SBWA Dojo since his departure from the school, as well as his rise to the top since then, with the CWFH Heritage title, & AWS Heavyweight title in his hands (he would add the FCW Heavyweight title the following night at the Bumps & Brewses event). This turned out to be the most technical (regular) match on the card, with plenty of mat wrestling, strikes, and slams. Tito seemingly made Alonzo pass out to his Rear Naked Choke submission (I couldn’t tell if it was an actual pass out, because I didn’t see any indication of a tapout).
4 – Lucha Libre Rules: Los Luchas (Phoenix Star & Zokre) v. True Grit (Hoss Hogg & Jesse James)
This was a great battle between two contrasting styles, with Los Luchas trying to use their high-speed lucha style to cancel out True Grit’s power game (and vice versa). Both masked luchadors teamed up to pin Hoss Hogg, and a post-match brawl followed.
5 – Suede Thompson v. Jake Atlas
The match started out well, with a great exchange of strikes, slams, and high-flying moves. However, once Robbie Phoenix came out to bash Jake for not following his orders, it went south for Jake. In fact, it went so south for Jake, that he got into a heated argument with Robbie, and got counted out! Suede, however, wouldn’t get the pleasure of celebrating, as Heather snuck in, and floored him with a strike to the back of the head, with her newly won Sabotage Women’s title.
SM – “I Quit!” Match for the Submission Championship: Eli Everfly (c) v. Douglas James
This one was a great blend of strikes, slams, submission holds, and outside brawling. There were times when Referee Jeremy Marcus had to scramble to get a wired mic, to ask either wrestler if they quit, but did a great job officiating this match. Douglas rolled a Frog Splash into what looked like a Guillotine Choke to make Eli say, “I QUIT!”
WINNER & NEW SBWA SUBMISSION CHAMPION, DOUGLAS JAMES
M – Triple Threat Match for the Heavyweight Championship: Tyler Bateman (c) v. Brody King v. Ruby Raze
The fallout from last month’s “Don’t Trust Anyone” show led to this match, and all 3 wrestlers gave it everything they had in the ring. The intensity increased when a couple of steel chairs were brought into the ring. Bateman, remembering what happened last month, struck Raze with a chair, then sat on it for a moment. Just when it looked like he was going to finish her off with Death From Above, Brody stopped him, and gave him a Death Valley Driver onto the chair! Brody capped it with a Sit-Down Piledriver for the title-clinching pin!
WINNER & NEW SBWA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, BRODY KING
Despite the controversial finish to the Sabotage title match, this was a great card for the school’s first showcase at the Elks Lodge. Two rematches from this show will be held next month: Los Luchas & True Grit, and Eli & D.J., under Deathmatch rules for the “Night of the Human Deathmatch” card on Halloween Night. Also, Brody King is already advertised to make his first title defense against Willie Mack. Whether that one will be a Deathmatch or not, is yet TBD; although the initial wave of advertisements seems to hint that it will be a regular match. As for the controversy over the Sabotage Women’s title, it remains to be seen what the real fallout will be come the next show in Austin, TX on 10/13. Either way, it won’t be very good for Delilah, as Donovan is likely to slam her hard for the loss, among other things. To me, the fairest thing that could be done, is have Heather Monroe fly there, and defend the title in a Triple Threat Match against Delilah Doom & her originally scheduled opponent. Furthermore, to me, whoever is the said champion by year’s end, should defend it against Ruby Raze. If it’s still Heather, then she should defend it against Raze at an AWS, SBWA, F.I.S.T., or Bumps & Brewses event. That, of course, is just my opinion.
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