Weekend Wrap-Up: ¡OLÈ!

Winner of BOLA '11

- El Generico took home this year's Battle of Los Angeles tournament title. The Generic Luchador bested PWG World Champion and bitter rival Kevin Steen in the finals of the SoCal indie's big single elimination fray. Finlay as advertised made his appearance, losing to Steen in the first round. Willie Mack scored the upset of the tournament, besting Chris Hero in the first round. Also on the card, the the Dynasty of Joey Ryan and Scorpio Sky defeated the RockNES Monsters to earn a Tag Team Championship shot at the Young Bucks at a later date.

- AAW also ran a show Saturday night, and the highlight was a hard-hitting match between Arik Cannon and Steve Corino. Cannon won with his Glimmering Warlock (think the move that Alberto del Rio used to beat CM Punk for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam). Also on the card, Silas Young retained his AAW Championship over Gregory Iron, and MsChif made her return to wrestling, defeating Sassy Stephanie.

- ACW had a show last night, attended by With Leather's Brandon Stroud (who, hopefully, will be writing a detailed report, wink wink nudge nudge please write one PLEASE). It saw the ACW return of Jerry Lynn, who found some time to make it somewhere else besides Orlando and did something else besides costing RVD matches. He was defeated in the four-way main event for the Televised Championship by Shawn Vexx. Former Champion Rachel Summerlyn was eliminated first, oddly enough. Also on the card, Lillie Mae defeated Portia Perez, pouring a slop bucket on her head in the process. Ah, Texas.

- Finally, it's not Wednesday, but I'm linking you to some stories chronicling WWE being a soulless corporate entity. First up, Cageside Seats raises an awfully good point in how the fuck do you let a guy with torn ligaments wrestle two straight days and claim to have a "Wellness" Policy? Secondly, Harry Smith isn't exactly thrilled with his former employers after they treated personal effects that belonged to his father and his uncle Owen with very little regard for their integrity. Finally, Lisa Wright, a member of the Council of Unity, wrote a scathing letter to the Be A Star alliance, asking them to remove WWE from their site in response to the constant fat-shaming of a totally-not-fat Vickie Guerrero. In response, she got "intelligent feedback" from WWE fans and has rescinded that complaint, even though her complaint was completely valid. Hm, no, it was definitely the fans who pressured her and not corporate interests. Remember those stories the next time WWE asks you to stand up for it or some other pedantic bullshit request.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Good on You, Gregory Iron

A true inspiration
Photo Credit. Lyle C. Williams

I've been aware of Gregory Iron for almost a year now. He made his Chikara debut last year in the Young Lions Cup, and he's made two appearances since, splitting a pair of matches with Icarus. He's also been a standout in several big Midwest indies, including AIW, CLASH, PWO and of course, AAW. In that last fed is where he went from being a rising star on the Midwestern scene to becoming a household name with indie wrestling fans, thanks to one CM Punk.

Of course, the subject of that putting-over was something that was news to me. I should have known about it, since Iron blogged about it for the Chikara Pro site, but I guess I missed that one. Still, regardless of when I heard Iron had been competing in pro wrestling rings around the country despite having cerebral palsy? I was dumbfounded. Then I was inspired.

In a business where sleaze and heartbreak can be the rule of the day, it's very rare to find a true, feelgood story like Iron's. If he can overcome a physical handicap to be a pro wrestler, and from what I've heard a damn good one too, then what the hell is my excuse? I'm only fat, and that was my own doing. Why am I not running marathons or playing rec league sports or climbing mountains? I don't have any real limitations, at least ones that I can't overcome through a little hard work. Yet, Iron was born with a limiting disease, and he's excelling at a medium of entertainment that can be very demanding even for the completely able-bodied.

So yeah, he's inspiring me to do more with my own life. Maybe I won't be a pro wrestler or climb Everest, but maybe each week, I'll get a little more active and a little more active until I'm down to a goal weight and and happy with my body to the point where I'm not wasting what I have. Guys like Iron have less, and are making more with it than I have to this point.

That's why he should be lauded. That's why when Punk came out and put him over in Berwyn, it was something long overdue. Every wrestler who has ever heard of Iron should step forward and praise this guy, because his story is special.

Hopefully, he hits it bigger and comes by the East Coast more often. Until then, all I can do is offer my words and hope it's a good enough tribute to a guy who deserves all the tributes that can be offered.

Weekend Wrap-Up: Gregory Iron, Household Name

- On a weekend where arguably the best indie promotion not on television had its anniversary event with a big title change, the biggest news of the weekend came not from Southern California but from Berwyn, IL and AAW. As I noted on here, CM Punk came to their show Saturday and cut a promo putting over one Gregory Iron (not on WWE as was originally reported). Here's the video:

Iron, man!
Photo Credit: Lyle C. Williams

That is some classy, classy stuff right there. I had no idea that Iron suffered from cerebral palsy. That's awesome that he's wrestling at all given his condition. It's also awesome that Punk did that promo for Iron. As for the show, the big promo came after Iron and Colt Cabana lost a tag match to the Awesome Threesome. Also on the card, Michael Elgin took out Brent B, Arik Cannon defeated Jimmy Jacobs, and Silas Young regained the AAW Heavyweight Championship with a 2 falls to 1 win over Dan Lawrence.

- Speaking of new Champions, PWG has a new World Titleholder, and it's not Chris Hero either. Kevin Steen won the title, defeating Champ Claudio Castagnoli to regain the strap, this after having wrestled two other matches that evening. Talking about being an iron man. This is a great move, I think, as PWG has always struck when the iron is hot, this being yet another example of that. IT was also Claudio's second match of the evening, as he had defeated Hero one-on-one in the match before his loss. Steen defeated PAC in the opener and teamed with CIMA to defeat the Young Bucks in a grudge tag match. Also on the card saw Roderick Strong and Alex Shelley defeat Ricochet and El Generico, and the RockNES Monsters taking out Joey Ryan and Scorpio Sky.

- El Hijo del Bamboo is your Burger King of the Ring, crowned Saturday in Danbury at the latest Interspecies Wrestling Show. He defeated Frankie Arion in the final. The tournament also featured Pinkie Sanchez, Player Uno and a guy named Lloyd Cthulowitz. Oddly enough, Llody Cthulowitz is my new favorite name in all of wrestling. Also on the card, Twiggy defeated Eddie Kingston in a No DQ match.

- Finally, it seems the Osirian Portal cannot catch a break as Ophidian dropped a blog today stating that his jaw has been wired shut and he'll be out for a month or so. Damn, given Amasis' recent retirement, I guess that's a fleshwound comparatively speaking, but it still sucks. The Egyptian time travelers can't catch a break, can they? Someone wrap Hieracon in cellophane! In all seriousness, here's hoping for a speedy recovery for the Venomous and Vile Serpent from the Nile.

CM Punk Showed up at AAW Tonight

From WrestleChat.Net via Pinfall Magazine (linking both sites because Pinfall's getting a LOT of traffic right now)

Yeah, so AAW ran a show in Berwyn, IL tonight and guess who showed up? Yep, CM Punk. He cut a promo on WWE, but the picture specified that he didn't bring the belt with him.

As more comes out, I'll have it, although it'll probably come in the Weekend Wrap-Up.

Weekend Wrap-Up: There Was a Payoff to the Obama Dream Sequences

Jesus Christ, no
Photo Credit: WWE.com

- Capitol Punishment was last night, and it was actually a pretty eventful PPV. Both secondary titles changed hands (Ziggler and Zeke, your new US and IC Champions respectively!), CM Punk beat Rey Mysterio cleanly(-ish) and Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger had a PPV match. None of that was enough to make the consensus positive for the show though. Both John Cena and Randy Orton retained their titles, which for some reason shocked and appalled some of the more hardcore smarks on the web. For one, Cena winning should have been a foregone conclusion, and really, Truf shouldn't be Champ just yet (although when he does win, I expect theatrics and histrionics the level we haven't seen since... errr, King Joffrey's reign of terror in the last four episodes of Game of Thrones this season... seriously, go back and watch this before HBO takes it off On Demand... expect a review of the season for TWIOT).

Orton winning though? Well, I'm ambivalent to it anymore, mainly because I didn't watch the event. However, the way it played out sounded a bit cheap to me. That being said, I don't think Christian is really going anywhere, so settle your tea kettles₁. If you really want to get up in arms about something, do it over the Obama impersonator. That shit wasn't funny when it was Clinton, or for the millisecond that it was Bush. It's so cheap and cheesy. It's the kind of thing... hell, it's one of the ONLY things that makes me ashamed to be a wrestling fan. Ugh.

- Alex Riley got his DUI charges dismissed. Good news for him, I suppose, but hopefully, he doesn't see this as license to continue to drive intoxicated.

- There was an indie show this weekend, out in Berwyn, IL at the Eagles Club. AAW ran Day of Defiance. In the main event, Rhino defeated Silas Young. Also on the card, Jimmy Jacobs tapped Christian Hayme to win a multi-man scramble match that also included Sami Callihan, Samuray del Sol and Alex Colon, and the Awesome Threesome became new AAW Tag Champs by defeating Zero Gravity.

1 - Nattie Neidhart's greatest non-in-ring contribution to the wrestling tapestry.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!