Starr Girls Returns to Adrian, MI With Wild Night of Wrestling!

May 12 was the date, and Adrian's LA Cafe was the place for the all women's promotion "Starr Girls" second live card.  And it did not disappoint!  Although  a snafu with the ring's arrival caused a short delay. Jamie P. of VIP Pro Wrestling, and a crew of helpers, got the replacement ring up in record time.

Legendary manager Percival A. Friend, was the announcer for the evening, and did an excellent job, both announcing, and confronting Starr Girl's general manager (and certified life coach) Buddy D. Wolfe for his "shenanigans."

First up was a tag match featuring Amanda Ruffen and Little Naughty taking on the team of Sybil Starr, and Ruby Nesque.  This was won by Ruffen and Little Naughty, who successfully kept the veteran, Sybil Starr, out of the ring so they could pick apart newcomer Ruby N... Afterwards Little Naughty taunted Sybil.

Sybil demanded a one-on one match with Little Naughty.  Naughty was quick to agree, vowing to punish Starr.

Second match saw Betty Battles take on Amanda Ruffen.  In a mild upset the rookie pinned the more experienced Ruffen.

Next up was a battle royal to determine a challenger for Sin-D's Starr Girls championship. Buddy D. Wolfe came out with the contingent of  Amanda Ruffen, Little Naughty, and making her Starr Girls' debut, the legendary, Lady Victoria. Buddy insisted that announcer Friend introduce him as "Mr. Buddy D. Wolfe, General Manager of Starr Girls, and certified Life Coach."

Also in the contest were Sybil Starr, Betty Battles, and Ruby Nesque. The order of elimination was: Amanda, then Little Naughty, followed by Sybil Starr. This left Betty B. alone in the ring with the fearsome Lady Victoria. After a spirited encounter that included, according to some fans, Buddy whacking Betty with his "Book Of Wisdom," Betty seemed to have scored a major upset when Lady V. accidentally put herself over the ropes!

However, a furious Buddy D. demanded that Lady Victoria be declared the winner as Betty was not under contract!  An equally furious Percival A. Friend told Wolfe that he was going to call the commission to have Buddy's ruling overturned.  While these two worthies seemed on the point of combustion.  It was time for an intermission.  During the intermission the wrestlers mingled with the fans and posed for photos.

After the break, it was announced that Percival Friend had reached commissioner Kaye Fabian who had ruled, over Buddy's strong objection, that Lady Victoria and Betty Battles, would meet in a one-on-one match to determine who would challenge Sin-D for the SG title.

The veteran Lady Victoria proved too strong for her rookie foe, and despite Betty's best efforts, Ms. Battles was soon eliminated. This cleared the way for the title match.

But first, there was the matter of the grudge match between Sybil Starr, and Little Naughty.  Once again experience won out as Ms. Naughty submitted to one of Ms. Starr's favorite holds--the dragon choke.

Now it was time for the main event of the evening, with the coveted Starr Girls title on the line. First out was Lady Victoria, accompanied by Buddy D.  Wolfe. Percival Friend was so furious he could barely get their names out. Now it was time for the lovely, and determined Sin-D to enter the ring to thunderous applause.  the steely glint in her eyes showed she had no intention of losing her title.

It was the kind of war you would expect from these two warriors.  They exchanged holds, and counter holds at a rapid pace.  The contest seemed to go one way, and then the other. Buddy took advantage of every opportunity to interfere on his client's behalf, ignoring the referee's threat of disqualification!

In the end though it was a thunderous two handed choke slam by Lady Victoria, that ended Sin-D 's year long title reign.  As Buddy and Lady Victoria celebrated, announcer Percival Friend fumed, and could barely bring himself to announce the title change.

The real winners were the fans who, hoarse from cheering their favorites, and booing the heels, streamed out into the Michigan night.

The Starr Girls will return to the same venue on July 12th to advance their mission of "empowering girls and women by encouraging their participation in all the martial arts."

CIW Tears Down The House At Springfield High!

A very excited crowd of 200 (including a small army of youngsters wearing Lucha masks) saw an exciting night of wrestling at Springfield High School, in Holland, Ohio, on November 12.

Getting things started were Doug Basham, formerly 1/2 of the WWE tag champs, taking on Rocky (local favorite D-Ray 3,000, in a new guise-including a tail!). Basham did a good job of establishing himself as the heel, by insulting everyone, and everything, in sight. The audience returned the "love," cheering wildly as Rocky picked up the win with a roll-up.

Next up it was the "Girls Friends" taking on the Amish Assassin, and Chuck Wagoner in a tag battle. This had a number of comedy spots, including one member of the heel "friends" team unwittingly applying an illegal hold to his own partner. In the end, the bad guys cheated their way to victory. Amish assassin, and his partner, gained some measure of revenge by taking trns applying the dreaded "stink face " to the referee, who got no sympathy from the fans.

local favorite, "New Age Patriot" Brian Castle, who continues to improve with every outing, took the measure of the generically named Chuck Davis with a Samoan Drop, and press.

A six man tag match brought an end to the first half of the show, WWE legend Paul Bearer led one team, and T.K. Parker led the heel team, which included CIW champion Akuma. Bearer's team got the win and stayed in the ring during the 40 minute intermission for photo ops with the fans.

After the break Dick Foley took on U. S. Champ, Dave Dupont, who was accused by CIW's Director of Operations, Percival Friend, a legend in his own right, of stealing the title from Foley in a prior bout. Dupont's manager took exception to this. In the end, not even "Mr. Socko" could save Foley as Dupont eliminated all doubt by getting the win with a Cobra Clutch.

Next up Benjamin Boone and Nate Mattson "The Michigan Brothers" (you can guess how that went over in a crowd where a large number of fans were wearing Ohio State jackets!) took on WWE alums, Doink The Clown and Rosie. The match also featured an "enforcer," a teacher--a very tall teacher who forced Boone and Mattson back into the ring as they attempted to flee!

Rosie won for his team with a samoan Drop and pin.

Time for the main event pitting Abyss, and Crimson, guided by manager Truth Martini, against Rhino, who was clearly at a disadvantage in what was supposed to be a three-way match! The action spilled out of the ring as the three battled all over the field house, and up into the bleachers.

In the end, much to the crowds delight, Rhino picked up the well earned win, and Abyss, and Crimson turned on Martini! this ended the evening, and all the delighted little "luchadores," and their parents went home happy.

Shimmer Women Athletes Taping Exceeds Expectations

October 1st, in Berwyn, Illinois, the Shimmer Women Athletes staged one of the greatest pro wrestling shows, this writer has ever seen! In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that circumstances prevented me, and my companions from staying for the full taping, so I will only describe the matches I saw. I will review the DVD when it becomes available. Now on to the show.

A crowd of 200 knowledgeable, and wildly enthusiastic fans (from many different states, and several foreign countries) packed the old Eagles Club, and they would not be disappointed!

First official match saw Kelly Skater take on Nicky Ross in a good match won by Ross with a roll-up.

Next up, Davita Rose vs Mercedes Martinez. This was a very competitive, hard hitting affair, with plenty of offense by both women. Martinez took the win with a fearsome looking cradle piledriver.

Third match saw Cincinnati, Ohio native Hailey Hatred take on Kalamity. Again fans were treated to fast, hard hitting action! Hatred won with a ferocious powerbomb. In a display of sportsmanship Hatred helped her foe to her feet, and both raised their arms to loud cheers from the fans. At this point, Michigan's Mena Libra, and Melanie Cruise, did a run-in to break up the display of good will (and set up a future confrontation?).

Next up, Sara Del Ray took on Yubi Oka. Words simply fail me: this was simply one of the three best matches I have ever seen! And I have been watching wrestling for more than 50 years. The two women went all out, with spectacular, hard hitting action that told a story, and had fans on their feet and cheering wildly!

After a series of believable near falls, Sara finally gained the victory with a missile drop kick. If she is not the best woman wrestler in the world, who is? Stay tuned.

Next up was an interview segment that saw Impact Wrestling's Madison Rayne, (Ashley Lane in Shimmer) confront former partner Nevaeh. This ended in a pull apart brawl.

The fifth match saw the great Japanese star, Kana, make her debut. That she would play the heel was established by video vignettes (shown earlier) showing her rebuffing efforts by Sara Del Ray, and others, to welcome her to Shimmer.

Her opponent was Mia Yem, and this was another spectacular match with ferocious action, and some spectacular spots. Kana won with a submission maneuver that had me fearing for Yem's safety.

Next up Pro Wrestling Illustrated presented a plaque to Madison Eagle,(Champion of Shimmer Wrestling) recognizing the Australian as the number one woman wrestler in the world. Serena Deeb (formerly part of CM Punk's " Straight Edge society" in WWE) came out to challenge Madison to a title match.

This was a very well done segment, both women were 100% believable in their statements and responses to each other. Selling the importance of the title, and what it meant to them, without brawling, or screaming at each other. This approach made their upcoming match seem like a major, competitive event.

Next Daizee Haze, and partner Tomoka Nakagawi, (Shimmer Tag Champs) came out in street clothes, declaring they didn't have anything to prove, and were" taking the night off." Of course, this idea was overruled, and they were forced to defend against the team of Ayumi Kunihari, and Ayako Hamada.

Again a great match, with a great story propelled by four talented women pushing themselves to the limit. The challengers finally won, when Kunihara, pinned Nakagawi after two brutal looking suplexes. The fans showed their appreciation of all four women's efforts with a "That was Awesome!" chant.

The seventh match saw Nevaeh defeat Asley Lane. My vision was obscured by some one standing in front of me, so I didn't see the winning maneuver.

Next was Cheerleader Melissa taking on Britani Knight. Melissa won with a version of a cradle piledriver. Saraya Knight came out to berate Britani, who fled for the safety of the dressing room!

Match number nine saw Portia Perez take on Jessie McCann. Although Perez was the heel in this contest, she had plenty of supporters! At the seven minute mark, competing chants broke out in support of both competitors. Perez, after faking out the referee, with an attempt to bring a chair into the ring, ko'd her opponent with a chain around her fist that she had smuggled into the ring. Winner: Portia Perez.

Tenth match saw Saraya Knight took the measure of Allison Danger, in a match competed under British rules.

It was at this point that we left. Now for some editorial comments. This spectacular show clearly demonstrated what women wrestlers are capable of delivering when given the time to perform in the ring, and on the microphone. The story telling was excellent, the give and take was top shelf. The athleticism was at an extremely high level.

Can't wait to see them again!

Universal All Pro Wrestling In Toledo: August Show

An enthusiastic crowd of 200 fans were treated to a night of professional wrestling action that featured both the best and the worst of wrestling in the current epoch. An enthusiastic, and talented roster could not entirely overcome shaky booking.

The evening got underway with a confrontation between commissioner Sebastion Maze, and Joe Rodriguez. Joe demanded to be included in the steel cage main event (for the UAPW championship). Maze pointed out that Joe hadn't paid the $5,000 fine levied due to his bad behavior at the last show.

Maze then ordered him to wrestle against Renzo Da Great. Joe secured an early advantage with a low mule kick. Renzo staged a come back, but fell victim to two DDT's. Rodriguez picks up the win.

Next up, newcomer Big Jake South, collided with Rampage. South is a large, powerful youngster, who could be a future main eventer. Rampage gave it his best shot, but after a spinning choke slam, could not beat the three count. Give the "w" to Big Jake!

Third match of the night saw saw Manitoba native, Scotty Fraytown, square off with Michael Zane. The pink clad (an homage to Bret Hart?) heeled it up with gusto. Zane was batterred from pillar to post, but still picked up the win with a well timed "small package," for the pin fall victory.

Last bout before intermission, was a tag battle featuring "The Untouchables," (Jake Frost, and Brent Daniels) accompanied by radio personality (WIOT) Grizzly Brown, taking on a high flying team composed of "The Wild Child," and his partner, Greg (didn't catch his last name).

This was, in my opinion, the best match of the night. The heel team, The Untouchables and the smaller face team performed the time honored tag formula, complete with missed (by the harried Referee) tags, punished heroes, and dramatic comebacks, hot tags, etc.). Wild Child, and his partner picked up the win. And then suffered a beat down by their foes. Undoubtedly setting up a future battle.

After the break, the first odd bit of booking, saw Ice Tre take on "The Homeless Avenger," Dick Nasty, with a third opponent involved. Was it a handicap match? a three-way? No clear declaration. After some intense, if at times confusing, action, Third guy won with a spinning DDT.

Next up: a "Homeless Street Fight," between "Mister Main Event," and Grady. This was a comedy match, complete with whip cream, skid-marked shorts, etc. (somewhere Lou Thesz is spinning in his grave!). I admit I am not a fan of comedy matches, but if you are going to have them. They need to be kept short (in my humble opinion). This one went on way too long, from one end of the large venue to the other. Eventually most of the crowd stopped caring, and the bout was called a draw.

Now it was time for the main event. A short break was needed to set up the steel cage, and UAPW took great pains to make sure it well secured. The combatants were Criss Chambers, and Carnage, Carnage attacked his opponent on the way to the ring and a lengthy brawl ensued, culminating in Criss being put through a table.

Once in the cage, the gladiators waged a brutal war. Both men were bloodied, Chambers was put through yet another table! As both battered and damaged combatants rolled on a mat covered with the detritus of their weapons allowed warfare, Joe Rodriguez entered the ring.

After laying chair shots down on everyone within reach, Joe pinned Carnage, and was awarded the title? Was this a "money-in the-bank" match? The ending was confusing, and distasteful. A word of caution to the booking committee: screw job finishes generate heat in the short term, but can be deadly in the long run. Look at how the Sheik killed the Detroit territory, for an example of this path's perils.

On the plus side the show was well paced, and well thought out. If UAPW can learn from its mistakes, this promotion has a bright future.

Universal All Pro Wrestling Warms Up The Ice House.

UAPW held its first card away from its training school, Glass City Wrestling Academy, on Saturday, June 18, and proved itself to be a "work in progress."

The evening opened with an on-air personality from WIOT, coming to the ring and calling out Dick Nasty (AKA, the "Homeless Avenger"). Allegedly, Nasty had been responsible for some serious injuries to the radio jock, a few years earlier and, in the spirit of letting bygones be bygones, the radio personality wanted to show there were no lingering negative feelings. Now if you have watched any wrestling in the past, you probably realize that this was likely to end badly!

And so it did. As a number of wrestlers joined in a beatdown of Mr. Nasty. Another group of wrestlers made the save before any serious damage was done.

The show officially began with a Battle Royal, featuring most of the roster. There were the usual number of shifting alliances, betrayals, etc. When the number of combatants was reduced to a manageable number, Falon Chase, a woman wrestler, entered the ring and cleaned house. She made quick work of the opposition to gain the victory.

Next up: Rampage vs. Ryan. This bout featured the "crooked ref" gimmick. The ref clearly favored Rampage, counting slowly when Rampage was pinned, and fast when Ryan was in a similar predicament. Of course this was all to no avail, as Ryan picked up the nod.

Third match was a three-way, as Scotty Fraytown took on Carnage and Trey Miguel. This was a hard fought affair that saw the aptly named Carnage pick up the win.

Last up before intermission was Dick Nasty taking on Donner ("party of one"). Lots of punching, and brawling ending up in a double count out.

After the break it was time for "Mr. Main Event" to take on Grady this was total comedy, including whipped cream filled pie plates, and, the old Harlem Globetrotter bit with the water buckets! After way too much comedy for my taste, Grady rolled up his foe for the victory.

Next on tap was "Ice Trey" taking on Criss Chambers . This was a good match, that told a story, and allowed both men a chance to look good. Chambers used a pile driver, and moonsault for the well earned win.

Now it was time for a nod to another era, as "Kamala Jr., looking like a clone of the original faced the challenge of Mr. Fitness. Words fail me as I struggle to describe Mr. Fitness's attire: if I say that it included a bikini top, and 'a too small singlet--well you get the general idea.

Kamala was very powerful, but Mister Fitness had a respectable outing before falling victim to a "splash" from the second rope. This was a very enjoyable match. Kamala could quickly, with the right booking (lots of squashes) be built into a main eventer to build a program around.

Match number eight was a tag bout, featuring Dick Nasty, and Criss Chambers taking on a heel team whose names I missed in all the noise! This was a lengthy match won by Chambers and Nasty.

Time for the main event: a "Lumber Jack" match Pitting the popular Brandon Edwards against bad boy Joe Rodriguez. The two adversaries had a high flying battle. The "Lumberjacks," did what lumberjacks do in these situations: gang up on the good guy! At times; however, the lumberjacks seemed a little confused about what was expected of them. In the end Edwards gained the win over Rodriguez, sending the 150 to 200 fans home happy.

The positives of the show were an enthuisiastic crowd, and a spirited roster of performers.

The negatives: sound quality was poor, booking was loose: the 3 and 1/2 hour show could have been tightened to 2 and 3/4 hours, if the matches had been a little shorter, and tighter.

All -in-all, a successful show for a promotion worth watching!

Three Title Matches and Bloody Brawl At POG 7th Anniversary Showa

Price Of Glory, the" little promotion that could," held it's celebration at Michigan sports camp in Coldwater, Michigan on June 12. The opening tag bout set a high standard for the night, as "Pretty Nifty,"( Jack Verville and Mr. Nifty) took on Ryan Epic and Scott Young.

This was a hotly contested bout as Verville, and Nifty resorted to a number of questionable tactics to offset their high flying opponents. The issue was in doubt until Epic got nailed with a sick looking piledriver that had me wincing! Pretty Nifty established themselves as a team to be reckoned with, with this win.

Next up a three-way match: Uncle Funky vs NinJoe vs "Dynamite" Brian McFeters. This one was interrupted by a mysterious interloper who made quick work of all three. Result: No Contest I guess.

Third bout saw the rough and rugged Sue Jackson take on Bam (this was not an intergender match--Mr. Jackson was apparently the lad Johnny Cash wrote the song about!) In any event Bam scored the win.

The next bout was another tag team match: Mitch Johnson and Tony X taking on Mitchell Taylor and Zach Champ. I was unfamiliar with these two teams. Taylor and Champ were the heels.

Rounding out the first half of the show was a "street fight" match between Mike Musso and Roderick Street. The ring could not contain the enmity between these two men battled their way out of the ring and into the back. They brawled from one room to another, using every thing they could find to inflict damage on each other, including exercise equipment, a leather strap, and every wall or floor within reach!

Eventually they fought their way to the parking lot. Here the bed of a Dodge pick-up served as aring as the battle continued! By this time Street was bleeding profusely. The combatants fought their way back into the building and into a second ring! Here Street proved to be" bloody--but unbowed," as he ultimately rolled up Musso for a hard fought win.

After the intermission, the second half of the card began with a tag title bout between champions Jimmy "The Hype" Shalwin, and Max "Game Boy" Morrison taking on the "Wild Stallyins," Johnny Dynamo and C.J. Otis. The four men held a clinic on how to conduct a tag match. This was wild and wooly. The heelish champions made full use of their arsenal of devious tricks to seem on the verge of winning, but it was the challengers winning the titles as Otis forced Morrison to tap out.

Next up, a "Ladder Match" for the scheduled-to-be -retired POG Chaotic title. Noah Lott was the challenger, taking on his friend (and the Chaotic Champion) Dollar. These two know each other so well that at times we seemed to be watching a chess match as these two anticipated one another's tactics. In the end Lott eked out the win. He then place the retred title belt on Dan Severn's trophy shelf and shoo hands with Dollar.

Time for another tag match! First up, the team of Osiris and "The SI," began to walk to the ring when their foes, Idol Heinze and Magnum Conroy, attacked the much smaller SI with chairs. They targeted his knee, left him in a heap, and attacked Osiris in the ring! Eventually, SI made it to the ring and took a desperation tag from his partner.

SI was at least a hundred pounds smaller than both Heinze and Conroy, and was quickly forced to submit as they punished his already injured knee. Osiris demanded a rematch, thus setting up a story line for next season.

Now it was time for the main event as POG champion, Keith Creme, took on the challenge of Sean Tyler. Creme taunted both Tyler and the audience with his customary insults. The two men waged a heated battle. In the end Tyler won the match, and the title. The new champion celebrated with the audience as the beaten champion fled to the back with a bloody nose!

Price Of Glory will be idle during July, but returns on August 7th to begin season eight!

Clash Wrestling Scores Big with "Back To The Future"

It was a warm Saturday night in Taylor, Michigan. The action in, and around the ring was even hotter, as Clash Pro Wrestling scored big with an imaginative, and innovative night of wrestling.

The event was built around a time machine theme (complete with an unseen Delorean, ala the film, "Back To The Future) complete with a Mad Scientist Ring Announcer.

First bout of the night saw White Ranger draw an opponent from the the time machine, R2TD2. R2DT2 had a robot persona, which he maintained throughout the match, and all the way to the back. White Ranger gave it his best, but fell victim to an old fashioned kick to the face and was pinned.

Next up was Dave Manzo, his foe from the past was "Kamikaze" Keith Calhoun, who emerged in a 1986 edition complete with fanny pack! The crowd was really taunting Calhoun, calling him "Biff," which really incensed him. Manzo, and calhoun put on a solid bout with Manzo scoring the pin after what looked to be a variation of the "attitude adjustment" (slam from a fireman's carry position).

Next was a trip back into more distant eras, as "Caveman" Tyler Elkins (obviously from the dawn of time) saw Matt Cross emerge from the time machine (circa 490 BC) in Spartan warrior garb. Spartan skills proved no match for primitive power as the Caveman overpowered the Greek Warrior with a "Neanderclaw" applied to the mandible, for the victory.

Next up was a "Mosh Pit Battle Royal." With headbanger musical accompaniment by The family. This one was won by N8 Mattson, and included, among others, one of the "Bumpin' Uglies" tag team. It was loud, it was wild, it was a wonder no one got hurt!

Thefirst half of the show concluded with an interview segment featuring Jenny from VH1;s "Rock Of Love" show . Jenny's guest was Simon Dean, former WWE star. When Jenny attempted to ask a question, Dean called her a "dumb blonde," much to the crowd's displeasure. Then Dean called out Clash Champion, Gavin "GQ" Quinn, who credited Simon's system for his success After verbally jousting with the fans, the heels turned their attention to Jenny.

Things looked bad for the reality show star, until, like chivalrous knights of old, tag team partners "Too Sweet" came to the rescue of the damsel in distress! This set up the main event: Dean and Quinn against" Too Sweet." It also led into an intermission and more music from "The Family."

After the break, "H3RD," Tommy Treznick, and Ded Vaughn, took on the challenge of Danny Danger and Josh Thor. But not before mad scientist Treznick presented his "monster" of a partner, with a female monster as a gift! Treznick, et al, took home the win after Ded delivered a pile driver to one of their foes.

Next up was "Ace High" Cameron Skyy, taking on fast rising star, Mena Libra, in an intergender match. This was one of the few miscues of the night. Libra, came to the ring in a walking cast from a fractued foot suffered three weeks ago in Lakewood, Ohio. The "hook" was that Skyy did not really want to wrestle Mena, but she insisted and was eventually flattened! In my humble opinion, she had no business in a wrestling ring with her injury.

Yes, I know there is a long tradition of wrestlers "working hurt." But not all traditions are worth preserving. Working with broken bones can delay healing, and shorten a career! Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now because it is eime for the main event!

The main event was a classic. Simon Dean played "old school heel" to perfection. Gavin Quinn complemented Dean as his partner, as the duo took on the high flying, if smaller tam "Too Sweet."

This was an exciting and satisfying tag battle, as both teams played their roles to perfection, After a back and forth battle, "Too Sweet" gained a well earned win, and Dean and Quinn teased turning against each other, before harmony was restored.

The real winners of the night were the fans, who went home happy after an exciting night of professional wrestling! Kudos to Clash Pro Wrestling for a very successful show!