The Prairie Wrestling Alliance hosted their final show in Edmonton prior to their 17th anniversary show next month, as Fruition took place live last night at the Northgate Lions Recreation Centre. The event was headlined by a tag-team tournament, in which the winners would receive a shot at the P.W.A Tag-Team Championships at the 17th anniversary show. In other action, Kenneth Anthony of the Millennial Rebels defended his P.W.A Commonwealth Championship, Reid Matthews challenged for the Mayhem Championship, and Jeff Tyler battled “The Omen” Gabriel to determine the #1 contender for the P.W.A. Championship.
#1 Contender’s Tournament: Round One - Team Hall of Fame vs. Team Flex Appeal
I wish I could write more on this match, but it was quick, simple and to the point; Team Hall of Fame wasn’t kidding around last night, defeating Team Flex Appeal in a matter of seconds to move on to the finals of the Tag Team Tournament.
Colton Kelly vs. Tiger Ali Saif
Both factions that P.W.A has recently established are fantastic, but I think I’m most impressed with the Millennial Rebels. I was quite confused when the faction first got together; I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed Colton Kelly, but I wasn’t a huge Reid Matthews fan at the time, and I honestly hadn’t watched much of Kenneth Anthony since he broke up the team of Rage & Fury a few years ago. However, they’ve become one of the most intriguing parts of a P.W.A show for me in the last little bit. Especially since joining forces with the Titan - more on that later - the Rebels look, well, unstoppable. That was apparent tonight.
To be quite honest with you, I’m not all that familiar with Tiger Ali Saif, but I was impressed with what I saw of him last evening. He was fluid in the ring, and I’m excited for his next match that I get to watch. Unfortunately, the numbers game caught up with him and after a distraction, Kelly picked up the win after a huge piledriver.
#1 Contender’s Tournament: Round One - Western Lions vs. Aiden Adams & Kenny Stryker
What a fantastic match.
I’ve spouted their praises before, but I can’t say enough about the four individuals that wrestled in this match. There may not be a babyface in P.W.A as good as Kenny Stryker; there were a couple moments in this match that I was genuinely concerned he was hurt, and I think that’s about the highest compliment I can give someone. It’s especially convincing to think someone’s hurt when they’re facing someone like BVD. The guy is a genuine hoss; every time he hit one of Adams or Stryker, the impact reverberated around the room. He hits hard, hits often, and (scarily enough) seems to enjoy delivering pain. Both BVD and Adams were in for the majority of the match, and their chemistry was obvious from the get-go. While Adams and Stryker controlled the match early, Van Danielson managed to power through Adams. Adams was worked over by the larger Van Danielson for a while; however, he was able to tag Stryker into the match and give the team some momentum. Van Danielson was also able to tag his partner, Michael Richard Blais into the match, and both he and girlfriend/manager Connie Blais were huge factors into the end of the match.
Adams and Stryker looked poised to win, setting Blais up for their finisher; however, the Lions’ manager gave a low-blow to Adams, preventing them from finishing the match. Blais was able to pin Stryker in the chaos, and advance the Western Lions to face Team Hall of Fame in the tag tournament finals.
PWA Mayhem Championship Match - Brice “The Slammer” Sova vs. Reid “The Thickness” Matthews
Sometimes, wrestling just needs to be fun. This match was exactly that. “The Slammer” is very likely my favourite overall character in the P.W.A.; while I may have wrestlers I like more in the promotion, I always light up when the Slammer appears. You can simply tell that he enjoys what he does, and the same can be said about his opponent Reid “the Thickness” Matthews. The tag-team champion was challenging for the Mayhem Championship on Friday night with an “I Quit” stipulation attached to the match.
The match was centred around Sova’s inability to get to Matthews to perform his patented powerslam; with the assistance of the Rebels, Matthews was able to gain control of not only the match, but of the chairs around the ring. The faction brutalized the Slammer while distracting the referee; they also teased a Titan/Slammer matchup that I didn’t know I needed until now. However, you can’t keep the Slammer down for long, and after gaining control and slamming the Rebels into submission, the Thickness quit prior to taking a powerslam onto a chair. Once again, good triumphs!
Kat Von Ness vs. Davey O’Doyle
Man, Kat Von Ness is a monster. Admittedly, I had initially predicted a quick victory for Davey O’Doyle; the Irishman is technically sound as they come, and has the size to battle pretty well any opponent. Unfortunately, I was completely wrong in my prediction. For most of the match, Von Ness was in control; her brute strength countered anything O’Doyle tried, and her surprising quickness seemed to throw off her fellow competitor. She was clearly prepared for the challenge; in fact, perhaps too prepared. When O’Doyle finally began to counter Von Ness, an appearance from Bobby Sharp distracted the referee. While the ref was looking the other way, Von Ness landed a low-blow to the Irishman and finished him off with a piledriver. All in all, I’d be excited to watch another match from Von Ness; she could be a huge presence in the promotion.
#1 Contenders Match - Jeff Tyler vs. “The Omen” Gabriel
In another fantastic match, “The Omen” battled Jeff Tyler for the #1 contendership to the P.W.A Championship. I haven’t seen Tyler perform in a while, and I’d forgotten how good he really was. He lived up to his high-flyer building, making a number of risky maneuvers in his effort to secure a championship shot. Gabriel, too, had a fantastic match; while I’ve always been a fan of his wrestling, he gets better every time I see him. I really can’t say enough good about it; both men put their all into this match, and a number of near-falls seriously had me convinced that either man could earn their contendership.
Just when it seemed as though both men could give no more, the Western Lions entered the ring and beat down both men in brutal fashion. The faction’s leader MRB cut a promo post-beatdown stating that no one would have a championship shot as long as the Lions’ held the titles. It was honestly a terrific promo; I’m fans of all three faction members, and even I found myself booing God’s Gift to Wrestling by the end of it all.
To cap it all off, this one has my vote for Match of the Night.
Sheik Shabaz vs. Brayden Parsons
Brayden Parsons made his P.W.A Edmonton debut, and he was faced with the tall task of battling Resolution Rumble winner Sheik Shabaz. I was really impressed with Parsons in his Edmonton debut; he looked every bit the amateur champion he was advertised as. To me, the Sheik is nearly unbeatable, yet I was convinced a few times that Parsons had his number.
However, that wasn’t the case. Shabaz is simply too powerful, and thanks to both brute strength and some inconsistent refereeing, he was able to pick up the victory.
PWA Commonwealth Championship Match - Kenneth “The Fury” Anthony vs. Mo Jabari
The P.W.A. Commonwealth Championship scene has been great over the last few weeks; I was thrilled to see Mo Jabari win the championship from Anthony prior to the Resolution Rumble, and was devastated when he lost it at this month’s event in Calgary after the Titan interfered in their match. Since his debut at the Rumble, the Titan has loomed over the P.W.A as the Millennial Rebel’s enforcer - and he’s already paying dividends.
As far as the match goes, it was a fairly standard match - that is, until the end. From my view, Anthony appeared to have Jabari pinned, but the referee appeared to disagree. He called for a double pin, much to the crowds displeasure. P.W.A. owner Kurt Sorochan even made an appearance to aid the confusion. Finally, it was announced: the title would be vacated, and Mo Jabari would battle Kenneth Anthony at the 17th Anniversary Show…in a Ladder Match!
#1 Contender’s Tournament: The Finals - Team Hall of Fame vs. the Western Lions
After winning their respective matches earlier in the evening, Team Hall of Fame battled the Western Lions in the night’s main event. The story of the match was the Lion’s inability to put away Duke Durrango after targeting the knee. Despite their best shots, Durrango was able to hold on until tagging in Christopher Steele. Team Hall of Fame won the match clean as a whistle, with the Man of Steele pinning MRB for the victory and the #1 contendership!
The best was yet to come, however. In perhaps the most shocking moment of the night, it was announced that at the 17th anniversary show, the Western Lions & Sheik Shabaz will face off against Gabriel, Jeff Tyler and CHRISTOPHER DANIELS (!!!!!!) in a six man tag-team match.
To sum it all up, what a show. I couldn’t be more excited for the 17th anniversary show; not only are we getting Tenille Dashwood, but “The Fallen Angel” himself. Does it really get any better for local wrestling?
