The Prairie Wrestling Alliance made its way to Calgary over the weekend for P.W.A. Evolution, headlined by a six-man tag match pitting Kenny Stryker, Gabriel and Aiden Adams against the newly-formed alliance of the Western Lions and Sheik Shabaz. While unable to make the event live, don’t forget you can check out each and every PWA event, as well as past events on their excellent Twitch channel!
A Quick Recap:
Chris Steele vs. Reid Matthews
I guess I simply shouldn’t be surprised by anything Chris Steele does. While I was throughly impressed with his showing in the Resolution Rumble, I didn’t expect him to come out ahead in this match when it was first announced. While the Man of Steele is a legend in P.W.A., Matthews has been impressive during his run as P.W.A. Tag Team Champion along with Colton Kelly. Especially when the Millennial Rebels are involved, I don’t hold out much hope of a match without interference. However, Steele did as Steele does and defeated Matthews clean. Post-match, it was announced that Team Hall of Fame was next in line for a shot at the championships!
Tonight at PWA Evolution, Chris Steele defeated Reid Matthews, putting Team Hall of Fame in line for a PWA Tag Team title shot!
— PWA Wrestling (@PWAwrestlingca) February 4, 2021
MARC defeated Brayden Parsons
I was thoroughly impressed with Michael Allen Richard Clark at the Resolution Rumble; while he didn’t win the match, he was the Rumble’s Iron Man, going from the #1 position all the way to the final four, before the dastardly commissioner Andy Anderson joined forces with Sheik Shabaz to eliminate him. While he faced the debuting Brayden Parsons, he was able to dispatch of him in a relatively short match. I think big things are on the way for MARC; we’ll just have to wait and see!
Kat Von Heez & Bobby Sharp vs Tiger Ali Saif & Davey O’Doyle
Originally scheduled to face each other, Saif and O’Doyle ended up joining forces against Kat Von Heez and Bobby Sharp in a losing effort in Calgary.
The Titan vs Nightmare #2.
While I personally haven’t had a chance to watch this match, I can’t imagine that anything good happened to Nightmare #2. That’s nothing against the Nightmare as a wrestler, however; simply put, the Titan may be the most imposing physical presence in P.W.A. that there’s been in a while. The guy is a monster; honestly, I know it’s a ways away in all likelihood, but I can’t wait for the inevitable Titan/Shabaz showdown. I’ll hold off judgement until I see it on P.W.A.’s official Twitch channel, but I can confirm for now that the Titan was victorious.
Kenneth Anthony vs. Mo Jabari
Since turning heel against Ritchie Rage, Kenneth Anthony has likely been one of my favourite characters in PWA, and while I was skeptical of him early in his career, has become one of the most-improved wrestlers on the roster. However, he was unable to defend the title last time he was in Calgary, with Mo Jabari capturing the PWA Commonwealth Championship and carrying it through the Resolution Rumble. While both are terrific wrestlers, Jabari is on top of his game lately, and it would take something massive for Anthony to reclaim his title. Thankfully, massive happened - both figuratively and literally.
Late in the match, the recently-debuted Titan appeared, and interfered on Anthony’s behalf; a simple three-count later, and Anthony was a champion once again. Even more shockingly, it appears as though the Titan has aligned with Anthony and the Millennial Rebels. It’s a huge coup for the faction; while Kelly, Matthews and Anthony were imposing enough as-is, adding the Titan will be monstrous.
The Western Lions and Sheik Shabaz vs. Kenny Stryker, Gabriel & Aiden Adams
In a huge main event, the newly-aligned Sheik Shabaz and the Western Lions battled the team of Stryker, Gabriel and Adams in six man tag-team action. By all accounts, it was a fantastic match; something I have no doubt about considering the quality of the six men involved. However, controversy erupted late in the match; with Blais stuck in the Omen’s torture rack, he appeared to tap out. Due to a distracted referee, however, the submission was not counted and the match was allowed to continue. Amongst chants of “You Tapped Out!” directed at God’s Gift to Wrestling and with Gabriel dazed, Sheik Shabaz leaped off the top rope to pin Gabriel and win the match.
In the end, it led to a championship match being made for March 3rd: Michael Richard Blais will defend the PWA Championship against “The Omen” Gabriel in a No Disqualification Match! Post-match, Resolution Rumble winner Shabaz had this to say:
If the ref didn’t see it then @GodsGiftMRB didn’t tap out. @SoRockinOne is abusing his power forcing MRB to defend his title against Gabriel. I won that match for my team fair and square. This is not how you treat a champion or Royalty. @PWAwrestlingca
— Nizar Watfa (@TheSheikAkbar) February 4, 2021
Overall, I couldn’t be more excited for February 24th’s Fruition event in Edmonton. I’m incredibly excited for the developments between the Millennial Rebels and the Titan; I think the four could become a dominant faction in P.W.A. Could a showdown with the Western Lions be in the cards? I certainly hope so!
