From Jeff Richards: PWX Returns with Good, Long Show in Balmy Armory HICKORY (NC) -- We all can learn lessons from our past mistakes....
PWX Returns with Good, Long Show in Balmy Armory
HICKORY (NC) -- We all can learn lessons from our past mistakes. Pro wrestling promoters and bookers often throw things at walls just to see what will stick. It is a creative way to build loyal audiences and reach those fans who have been turned off by other staging companies.
In the case of Premiere Wrestling Xperience (PWX), CEO/CFO Brian Kanabroski came in on the coattails of Tyshion Williams, who had booked PWX into a corner. Bringing in top flight talent at the expense cost to the corporation, Kanabroski decided earlier this year it was time to drop back and punt.
There were no naysayers or critics who chimed in. "I told you so." It was one man's dream or vision to simply step back, take a breath, and get his groove back on. Last Saturday night (August 16th) in Hickory, NC, that is exactly what PWX did with a vengeance.
Its hardcore audience is impassioned and loves to switch back & forth between underdogs and protagonists. The Cedric Alexander "haters" were in force, but by the end of this evening, everyone was on the same page...the PWX page.
Running a pro wrestling exhibition in August in an armory which charges extra for air conditioning is insane. Thank goodness Kanabroski finally listened to reason and cracked the back armory doors open. The not-so-industrial fans were not cooling the audience down because the action kept everyone boiling.
PWX was making its debut in this cheap building as opposed to the Hickory Metro Convention Center which kept going up, up, up on pricing. Staging shows nowadays is difficult for any promoter whose last name has nothing to do with McMahon or Carter. It did not help that PWX had electrical issues which kept fans outside waiting, and then the show started 36 minutes late.
Once the actual in-ring product was delivered, this was a top notch-experience with two matches rated 3 stars or higher. Hats off to the backstage hands who work furiously to keep Kanabroski apprised of what is happening when and why. Results from "Dawn of a New Day" are as follows....
(1) Anthony Henry, the Five Star King, pinned Joe Black in 7:58 of a 2.5 star opener. Nevermind that this was not a main event, these two regional performers meshed well and set great show expectations. With clueless valet Amber hanging out at ringside, Henry was showered with two streamers pre-match. The technical wrestling could have gone on much longer, as a barrage of brawling kicked in at the 3:00 mark. Black was on the ropes after this succession: a powerlam, missile dropkick and "Death Valley Driver"...all for a two count. The fans saluted Black with a standing "O" for kicking out of that. Black snuck in a corner codebreaker and got his two count back. Henry's finisher was not enough on this night to down Black. Henry missed his mark on a five-star frogsplash that was probably, yeah, 2.5. The two young stars belted each other with running forearms until Henry cradled & bridged his way to victory. In his promo afterward, Henry announced his chief rival John Skyler wsa not there. Look for more matches between those two because they could wrestle for months with no boredom setting in.
Marcellus "The Mid-Atlantic" King called out PWX Heavyweight Champion Alexander on his birthday and had a "coming home" gift to reveal. It was a gawdy t-shirt which Alexander had the proper forethought to throw back in his future opponent's face. Keep in mind that King was victorious just two months ago over TNA World Champion Bobby Lashley in Greensboro, NC. WIth both PWX and Fire Star Pro wrestling part of the bigger Pro Wrestling International (PWI), this match-up made sense. The promo helped set the tone for saturday Night"'s main event.
(2) Moose (Quinn Ojinnaka) ran over "Mr. Elite" Drew Myers in 9:50 of a competitive 1 1/4 star squash. Myers works his gimmick well and set out to school the former NFL competitor. Wearing A.J. Styles-type gloves, Moose wins over fans with his likeable charm and green potential. Myers would take Mr. Moose down, ride him, and then open-hand slap his face. After a body block and hard headbutt, Myers' offense was pretty much over. Myers gave up his game plan and started cheating. "Mr. Elite." possibly the purest pro wrestler on this roster, sold well or the former Atlanta Falcon. Moose already has invaded Ring of Honor and should be groomed for greatness with Michael Elgin. Myers' fascinating facials kept the fans entertained in what could have been a quickie match. Moose flapjacked Myers for a two count. Ojinnaka punched his way out the first time from Myers' Olympic slam attempt. Later, he got a chance to kick out of it. Moose's gore cut Myers in half, and the pin was next.
(3) Team Fearless (Lodi & Scotty Matthews) defeated the unlikely duo of Chase "Cauliflower" Brown & Jaxson James in 12:44 of a half star (1/2 *) contest. Lodi & Matthews were working so light they were missing moves left and right. A cross armbreaker by Brown had Matthews scrambling early to break. James holds a victory earlier this year over Lodi, a former Raven flock member. A double Russian leg sweep of James was nice. Brown's vertical suplex into a bridge on Lodi only garnered a one count. James broke up a lariat attempted by Matthews before the former "Malaki" could connect. Brown's double underhook suplex finally registered the match's first two count. James blocked a sunset flip by tagging out to Brown while on Matthews' knees. Brown's fisherman suplex of Matthews was broken up by Lodi. After Matthews suplexed his way out of troubled waters, Lodi finally tagged back in. James kicked out of Lodi's second "Rocker Dropper" because Jaxson badly botched the first one. Referee Jared Kanupp ($5 Wrestling's "Vindicator") was counting Lod's shoulders, even though James was not the legal man to be covering. James collided with his own partner, sending Brown out. Lodi, coming off the top rope, drove James hard to the mat for the "revenge" pin. The front row stood up and booed Lodi & Matthews "fearlessly."
"Country Jacked" (Adam Page & Corey Hollis) came out to cut its time-consuming promo. Page claimed that PWX Tag Team Champions "Dos" Ben Dejos had been deported. He added that they had "found" the tag team straps and were declaring themselves to be "champions." Phones were texting like crazy, but it was not because of another ten minute talk segment. The Tommy Thomas of ISES (Independent Sports Entertainment Society) arrived in the nick of time and introduced former champs "Worst Case Scenario" (WCS). Country Jacked made excuses as to why this match should not happen "tonight" but then jumped Ethan Case & Elijah Evans IV. When the going got contested, Country Jacked bailed, and WCS had turned itself into a babyface faction by promo's end.
(4) Lance Lude retained the PWX iTV Title by going to a 10 minute draw (actually 7:58) with "Son of the South" Billy Brash. Lude also wore his PWI International Ultra J-Crown Title belt to the ring. Brash jumped the TV champ at the opening bell, but Lude countered with a rana, tope, and other big arsenal moves. Lude was literally flattened out when Brash turned a bodyslam into a gut buster (no knees please). A sunset flip was Lude's comeback offensive move, but Brash rolled through and delivered a PK. Lude laid in some killer kicks, as the match's time limit started dwindling. Brash called for "Mason-Dixon Line" but missed his lariat. Lude snapped up and executed "Sliced Bread #1"; however, Brash powered out. Thirty seconds remained. Lude finally connected with a "West Coast Pop." The count went to two, and suddenly with no countdown everyone heard the bell ring. In another post-match promo, Brash brought up that by drawing the champion, he had just earned a rematch anytime anywhere. The repeating challenger kicked Lude, told referee Kanupp the match was on, and then waived it off after just 20 seconds. It made me wonder....why do referees not raise both combatants' arms anymore after broadways?
After a 26 minute intermission, Tessa Blanchard walked out to (a) sing the national anthem (b) serve as the replacement ring announcer or (c) cut another promo. Awww, you guessed it. It was the Tessa talk show, and Blanchard brought equally lovely "Rachel" into her ring. Rachel is training to be a wrestler, and Tessa showed her the ropes by kicking her when she was not down. This was not going to be a match, as there was no official until a stunned Mitch Blalock raced in. Blanchard slapped the PWX senior official and declared, "This is the era of Tessa." A well-groomed Derik Vanderford of Trans-South Wrestling fame made his only show appearance and escorted Ms. Blanchard to the back.
(5) WCS defeated Country Jacked in 17:17. It was a 3 3/4 star match, the best "live" bout I have seen this year. Henry, take note: WCS was bombarded with streamers galore (it is part of their gimmick though). Thomas has found his niche as a baby manager. WCS' crispness at doubleteaming was refreshing. Case and Page squared off outside the ring, giving Hollis a chance to finally go on the offensive. Hollis even stole WCS' "Move of the Night." The former "Alabama Attitude" member throws a mean dropkick. Page surprisingly lifted Case for a "Torture Rack," but Ethan elbowed out. Before Case could escape Hollis' clutches and tag out, Page had pulled Evans off the ring apron. Case eventually made the hot tag to Evans by rolling out of a schoolboy. Evans almost captured the win earlier with a spinning spiderbomb. Page broke up WCS' (specifically Case's) Superman punch. Evans kicked out of Hollis' "Alabama Slam." Page was permitted to kick out of Case's next Superman punch and Evans' cover. Hollis pushed Evans into Case, who was possibly pinning Page after a modified double "G2S." Country Jacked retaliated with a "Rocket Launcher," but Case had to kick out before Evans ever got there. An Evans spinebuster rocked Page until Hollis interfered. When the vertical suplex into a cutter did not "finish" Hollis, Case immediately small-packaged him for the pinfall. If not for the surprise "let-down" pin, this would have been four stars easy. Country Jacked proved to be poor sports, as chairs were thrown into the ring. Thomas hung out at ringside too long, and Country Jacked trapped him. The heels politely removed his glasses and went to town on WCS' mouthpiece. WCS returned to ringside, and Evans even performed CPR on the fallen Thomas. A rematch in Thomasville, NC has been promised.
(6) The main event was announced at 10:30 pm. Alexander remained PWX Heavyweight titleholder by pinning King in a three star 19:29 attraction. "Kick to Kill" started sluggishly but woke up the heated crowd with a loud dropkick and nearfall. After a spinning headscissors, Cedric was feeling his oats and began showing true superstar form. King sat Alexander in a cleared out front row ringside seat for a leaping knee off the apron. King, along with his Psycho Circus stablemates, definitely had his crew of supporters in attendance as well. Mr. "Mid-Atlantic" went to work on Alexander's left ankle. He punished the defending & reigning champion with a Mutalock & Indian Deathlock before releasing both. Alexander sold his leg like he could not walk. However, a step-up enzuigiri had this audience clapping in unison. On a somersault plancha over the top rope to an awaiting King down below, Alexander's leg seemed fine. Alexander came off the top rope with a blow but sold his injured leg again. When he called for a brainbuster, the circus freaks at ringside counselled together. It was distracting enough that King had time to regroup and "buckle bomb" Alexander for a two count. Alexander missed his second enzuigiri, and King made him pay with a trio of German rolling suplexes. Shades of Styles, the champ hit what almost appeared to be a Pele kick. A discus lariat by King inverted Alexander but could not keep Cedric down long enough. King missed a moonsault by several feet, and Alexander bounced his former friend into the air with a leaping backstabber. After sealing the deal, Alexander was serenaded with "Happy Birthday" chants.
NOTES: PWX' normal ring announcer Corky Franks did not serve on this night and was replaced. Chris Short was on hand for play-by-play on the soon-to-be-released DVD. He was joined for color commentary by the "Hate Junkies"' Dany Only,. who holds a victory over TNA's Davey Richards in south Georgia....The bathrooms in Hickory's armory are opposite the dressing/conference room, so each wrestler would have to walk in front of the crowd....Attendance was 145 which was a super number considering the Hickory Crawdads had Kutlass performing in concert, and it was sold out! There were 11 front row seats empty at times, and that was $250 in lost revenue. Maybe lowering tickets to $12 from $15 could have sparked some interest in those seats sas Armory-goers are used to paying $6-$8....George South Sr. (and his traveling yard sale) has been at a lot of recent PWX shows. One of his wrestling rings was used for this event.... There were no Milestone or RODE "rasslers" buying tickets for "Dawn of a New Day." Milestone returns to the Hickory National Guard Armory this Saturday, August 23rd....Compared to the projection screens enjoyed at Winston-Salem's Ziggy's club, PWX' monitor came off a little bit wider than my tablet....Alexander ended the evening with an emotional speech and implored fans not to give up on PWX. With good talent and maybe even a booking change in the works, PWX is a viable candidate to keep things moving in the right direction.
