Empire Wrestling Federation has announced the full lineup for their twenty-second anniversary show on May 4, 2018 in Covina. All three of the promotion’s titles will be defended on the show with Fidel Bravo defending the EWF Heavyweight title against “Uptown” Andy Brown in a Roman Gladiator Death Match in the main event.
Fidel Bravo has held the EWF Heavyweight title since winning it from Andy Brown in a four-way match on July 14, 2017. On May 4 he will have held the title for 295 days, which is the fourth longest title reign in the promotions 22 year history. Andy Brown previously held the EWF Heavyweight title for 434 days (the second longest single reign behind Ryan Taylor’s 567 days) after winning it at EWF’s twentieth anniversary show on May 6, 2016. Brown earned a spot in the main event after winning a number one contender’s ladder match on April 6 in Covina. This will be Andy Brown’s third straight year headlining the promotion’s anniversary show, which is traditionally its biggest show of the year.
Bravo and Brown will be facing each other in a Roman Gladiator Death Match. The Roman Gladiator Death Match was created by Scott Walton during the Los Angeles territory era at the Olympic Auditorium. The rules for the match are there will be five judges at ringside, no time limit, no disqualification, no referee in the ring, no holds barred, no pinfalls, no referee stoppage, no submissions, no referee in the ring, and the loser is dragged around the ring while the winner touches all four corners.
On the undercard, Dicky Mayer will defend the EWF American title against Adrian Quest. Mayer has held the title since October 13, 2017 when he defeated Andy Brown in Covina. Adrian Quest has never held a single title in EWF.
The other championship match on the show will see the EWF Tag-Team champions Dr. Kruger and Calder McColl, with their manager Capt. Jack Fancy, defend against the 2017 Southern California Tag-Team of the Year, True Grit (Jesse James and Hoss Hogg). This will be the first title defense for Kruger and McColl.
The event will also feature the 13th annual Great Goliath Over The Top Rope Rumble. Empire Wrestling Federation has held a version of the rumblel annually, named in honor of the Southern California Pro-Wrestling Hall of Famer, and the trainer of EWF promoter Jesse Hernandez, since their tenth anniversary show. Cincinnati Red won the inaugural battle royal in 2006. The first names announced for this year’s edition are Super Beetle, Brandon Gatson, Rico Dynamite, Matt Vandagriff, and The Decapitator.
Also on the show will be a match between Vipress, formerly known as Maritza Janett, and Zaida; and Rico Dynamite versus Matt Vandagriff.
The promotion will also be inducting Rick Knox and Los Chivos (Kayam and Enigma de Oro) into the EWF Hall of Fame at the event. Rick Knox, arguably the second most well known referee in Southern California history (behind Johnny “Red Shoes” Dugan), started his career at EWF’s School of Hard Knocks. He has since refereed for every major promotion in Southern California over the last 15 years. Los Chivos have been a major part of the region’s lucha libre scene for the past two decades, and have held the EWF Tag-Team titles on four separate occasions.
Empire Wrestling Federation’s 22nd Anniversary Extravaganza is scheduled to take place on May 4 at 8:00 p.m. The show will take place at the EWF Arena in Covina.
