Controversy abounded October 9th at South Broadway in the first match. Johnny Courageous was advertised and announced as defending his Jr. Heavyweight title against Brandon Espinosa.
However, halfway through the encounter, announcer Ben Simon got word from Commissioner Keith Smith that the proper sanctioning wasn’t obtained by the SBAC and the Missouri Office of Athletics. Simon then made the announcement public over the PA while the match was in progress.
Immediately, Espinosa and his manager, Travis Cook, became enraged and started arguing with Executive Producer Tim Miller and Smith (they fought back that it was an honest mistake).
Espinosa pinned Courageous for the match, not the championship.
Ever since this match had been signed last month, it had been authorized as a non-title contest. This gaffe wasn’t noticed until halfway through the match by Smith.
Espinosa retained his Battle Royal Championship later in the night against nine other men.
Cook screamed, “The brass here in the MMWA is trying to put us down, but they saw tonight what ‘Thee’ Brandon Espinosa did. He’s the real champion. Promoters Tony (Casta) and Herb (Simmons) just want to protect their boy (Courageous).”
The popular Johnny Courageous later countered, “I really do hope it was an honest mistake; I don’t need to be ‘protected’ ever. Unlike Cook’s guys, I can live with losing, just as long as my opponent defeats me fair and square.”
We at MMWA-SICW admit it: Travis Cook and “The Elitism” were screwed by mistake. But they’re big boys and they will rebound just fine… they always do.
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