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 In response, she got "intelligent feedback" from WWE fans and has rescinded that complaint, even though her complaint was completely valid.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

Kevin Steen Is Out for Blood

I don't think you'll like him when he's angry...

Via ROH World and his own website

Looks like WWE isn't the only fed right now looking to blur the lines. Kevin Steen, who was infamously tossed out of Best in the World after turning on his former mentor Steve Corino, has posted an open letter to ROH fans and management concerning his actions. I think it's really well-done and wrought with emotion and passion. Much in the same way as his promo and wrestling style was soaked in blood, this letter seems to have the vitriolic hatred behind it that made Mr. Wrestling a must-watch wrestler in 2010.

Steen focuses his rage on Jim Cornette for forcing him out of the company because he wanted to impress Sinclair and for dumping guys like Adam Pearce, Austin Aries, Necro Butcher, Jimmy Rave and Gabe Sapolsky (which elicited a couple of groan-inducing Tweets asking Steen not to use his name and then pandering for an EVOLVE booking... I like Gabe, but he should have DMed Steen and not used the opportunity to be so cheap). Obviously, he also raged against Corino for "castrating himself" after Steen left the company. He promised to take the whole company down as well, which should make for some entertaining television. Granted, I doubt he'll be able to spew blood, either his own or other guys', if this angle is made a focal point of television once it starts back up, but I don't think Steen needs blood to show his sadistic side.

Either way, this is an interesting turn in the story, and it's something that really has my attention, which I can't say for a lot of other angles in ROH right now.

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