By Patrick Brandmeyer
It was another full house for SICW…that’s par for the course nowadays, but probably helped by the presence of “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase as a special guest. He was being inducted into the St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame along with posthumous inductions of Rip Hawk and Wilbur Snyder. A lot of people were in line for autographs before the show and during the first intermission. The estimated attendance was 325.
Unfortunately, two of my friends didn’t have the best experience with the autograph signing. None of us were too clear on the setup and pricing; Jim Cornette was particularly sociable last month and I think we were expecting the same setup. It sounded like DiBiase had a busy weekend and he seemed fairly subdued during the in-ring interview (I had trouble hearing him over the fan chatter), so maybe he was tired…I don’t know. My friends left before the official start of the show, sorry to say. I only briefly got to meet him and shake his hand late in the show, so I’m probably not the best judge on this matter.
Your ring announcer was Drew Abbenhaus; your referees were Keith Smith Jr. and Jay King.
Joker vs. Dark Secret: This wasn’t exactly a fast-paced opener, but obviously it wasn’t supposed to be. They kept it basic (there were some comedic moments) and it worked for what it was. Joker showed some rare technical acumen with a backslide pin in 5:28.
Outtkast vs. Ax (Allwardt): It was a surprise to see Outtkast make his SICW debut, though his tag partner Shorty Biggs has been a part of the roster for a while. Outtkast showed a bit more of his technical side in this match and looked good doing it. ‘Kast’s streak of hitting his corkscrew moonsault senton ended at one…after that, Ax got the win with the small package driver at 7:21.
“The Old School Warrior” Chaz Wesson vs. Frankie “The Thumper” Wyatt: Some of the top matches on the card seemed to have the vibe of old guard vs. new guard and this was one of those matches. This was one of a few matches on the show that was oddly short (i.e. under five minutes). Doing a sunset flip off the top rope seemed like a bad idea in theory on an opponent as large as Frank Wyatt…but it worked in this case and Chaz got the win in 3:26.
Promoter Herb Simmons interviewed Ted DiBiase in the ring prior to the first intermission; as I noted, I had trouble hearing him so hopefully the TV airing will be a bit more audible. He brought out the Million Dollar Belt for in-ring pictures during the first intermission.
“Dirdey” Jake Dirden vs. Mike Outlaw: this was Dynamo trainee Outlaw’s singles pro debut. He hit some good-looking token offense, but otherwise it was fairly one-sided in favor of Dirden. Dirden had some near-misses against Classic Champion Ken Kasa in recent months…perhaps he’ll go back after that belt in the near future. Outlaw escaped a chokeslam attempt but got caught in the Asiatic Spike for the submission in 2:01.
“The Don Mega” Shorty Biggs vs. “The Iceman” (Howard Moritz): This initially threatened to break down into a dance contest, but it turned into a more standard contest after that. Hadn’t seen much of Iceman until recently but he’s an entertaining man. Shorty won via Shortcut in 7:45.
“Night Train/Great One/Gorgeous” Gary Jackson vs. Bull Bronson(w/ Travis Cook): Due to multiple unprovoked (*snicker*) attacks on his person as of late, Travis has hired Bronson as a bodyguard of sorts. Gary had an uphill battle in this one; it was similar to the match he had with Barackus at MMWA in that regard. Wasn’t sure who would win this one…as it turned out, it ended in a DQ when Bronson threw Gary over the top rope in 4:31. This issue isn’t over yet…
Big Jim Hoffarth vs. Flash Flanagan: This stemmed from Hoffarth running off Flanagan during last month’s Ron Powers-Ricky Cruz match; Flanagan eliminated Hoffarth from the battle royal at the end of the night, then Hoffarth pulled Flash to the floor to eliminate HIM. It didn’t take long for this one to break down into a fight…it went out of the ring and back into the ring a few times. Finally they took it to the floor for good and they were both counted out at 3:32. This feud…MUST CONTINUE~!
Heath Hatton & “The Man of Tomorrow” Daniel Eads vs. Classic Champion “Ironman” Ken Kasa & “The King Of Chaos” Ricky Cruz (w/ Travis Cook): Hatton had a few previous run-ins with Kasa and he had a non-title bout with Ricky when they were both fan favorites. I think Eads faced Kasa at the Belleville show last year. This main event was a case of the young guns targeting the established guys in the promotion…it was a solid tag match and the fans were into it. Eads took out Ricky with a step-up Superman Punch outside the ring, then Hatton took Kasa down into the Crippler Crossface…with Cruz out of position to break up the hold, Kasa was forced to tap out in 16:23…Kasa is still the champion, but Hatton has put himself in line for a title shot at the July show.
Saint Louis Wrestling 