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| Photo by Omar Robinson |
Viral Pro Wrestling is alive and well in the CSRA, the rise of IWE not withstanding.
Last night's show provided a successful transition to VPW's return to home at the Sweetwater Gym for Infection V: The Homecoming - their 5th anniversary show on August 14.
The main event was a tantalizing glimpse at the payoff of Sean Legacy's quest to surmount all obstacles and take the VPW title from Darius Lockhart. Legacy will get his shot at Infection V after sowing massive seeds of dissension in Lockhart's Unknown.
The Dawson Brothers earned a spot in the tag title match at Infection V vs. All-Star Special.
Joe Black and Timmy Lou Retton stole the show with a match steeped in dramatic impact.
Attendance at the Sunset Auction House was 125, down from 175 for VPWs February show at the same venue. I much prefer the intimacy and vibe pf /Sunset to that of Sweetwater. However, VPW has not drawn as well at Sunset with higher tickets prices which will not be in effect at Sweetwater. Tickets were put on sale for Infection V and the first row is already sold out.
This show was a lot of fun and the crowd interaction had a lot to do with that. The fans were into every match and clearly knew all the characters and stories, which spoke well of the booking by James Caleb Kitchens.
As per usual, VPW put forth a highly professional presentation. The production values were superior to what I recall them being on my last visit to Sweetwater.
GWH"s Augusta area correspondent Charles Felder was in the house and will have a detailed report on the show. I'll hit the high points and sharing some impressions.
(1) Vary Morales defeated Jesse Barton in 12:38. The crowd took a strong dislike to young Barton and his dickish ways. Morales gave him a generous share of the match. Morales turned on the jets down the stretch and pinned Bartow with a package piledriver.
(2) Leila Gray defeated Dream Girl Ellie in 4:42. Not much to it. The fans like Ellie. She did a lot of business during the intermission. Gray has attitude and a mouth on her. Ellie was nursing an injury to her right forearm after the match. Gray pinned Ellie with a handful of tights.
VPW Owner Joshua Hancock came out with the Outbreak championship belt Hancock explained that the belt was a fake because it was the one VPW Champion Darius Lockhart gave to Owen Knight after he threw the real VPW title in the trash. Hancock reset all of the titles during the pandemic and stripped Knight. Hancock threw the fake belt in the trash and revealed a shiny new gold belt to be awarded to the winner of a 4 way ladder match at Infection V.
The reveal of VPW's return to Sweetwater for the anniversary show was made here and received a solid endorsement from the crowd.
Sean Legacy called for the VPW Champion to come out alone for their advertised confrontation. Lockhart appeared but the rest of the Unknown (Owen Knight, Montana Black and Kitchens) was right behind him. Lockhart said Legacy lost. How many more chances should he get? Legacy said he didn't give a rat's ass about Unknown. He wanted Lockhart who couldn't seem to do anything by himself. Legacy went with a divide and conquer strategy. He said Black could beat Lockhart easy and Knight should change his name from the "Working Team Captain" to the working soldier. The upshot was Legacy would find two partners and the main event would be a six man tag.
(3) Dawson Brothers (Zane & Dave) defeated Monster Squad (Billy Brash & Joshua Cutshall) in 11:05. These are four big dudes, the largest men on the show outside of Montana Black. The Dawsons did a great job of working the crowd, which was one of their strong points at the first NWA tapings in Atlanta. Good match. To me, it had too much comedy with a slot in a title match at stake. But who am I to say? The crowd liked it. Brash had Zane pinned after a top rope elbow drop. Senior official Chris Wiggins ruled Brash was pinning the wrong Dawson. Moments later, Wiggins allowed both Dawsons to pin Cutshall with their double powerbomb. Go figure. The fans were not happy with the outcome.
Brash turned on Cutshall after the match and left him laying with a Samoan Driver. That earned Brash some grief. as Monster Squad are former two-time tag team champions and have been a major force in VPW.
(4) Chip Day defeated Dustin Bozworth (subbing for Jon Davis) in 6:32. Not a bad match but I was psyched for Day vs. Davis so it was a let down. Day is over with this crowd. Bozworth came out eating a donut (he claims to have the great physique despite consuming a dozen donuts per day). Bozworth had his work shoes on compared to the matches I've seen him in at WrestleMerica. Day looked sharp and pinned Bozworth with a jumping knee to the base of the neck. The fans chanted for Day after the match.
(5) Joe Black defeated Timmy Lou Retton in 12:10. I loved this. The match was a different level of real than the rest of the show. Both men had something to prove. Black is coming back from a torn Achilles. After years of being mainly known as one half of the Gymnasty Boys, Retton dropped weight and is making waves as a singles competitor. It was war of attrition centered on brutal strikes. The fan support for Retton grew as the match progressed. Black was gettting the better of it but there was no quit in Retton. Retton appeared to be done after Black nailed him with a wicked blow to the brain. Referee Yoyo said Retton wanted to continue. Retton's strikes had nothing on them. Black asked the ref to stop the match and pleaded with Retton to stay down. Black finally ended it by decapitating Retton with a lariat.
Postmatch- Black said Retton didn't deserve to wear the warrior beaded necklace (same one Black wears). Black thought better of it and put the necklace on Retton.
James Storm was announced for Infection V.
(6) VPW Champion Darius Lockhart & Owen Knight & Montana Black (with James Caleb Kitchens) defeated Sean Legacy & Wade Adams & Blanco Loco in 18:32 when Knight had Loco beaten but Lockhart tagged in to make the pin. A totally solid man event that had tremendous heat. Legacy is the face of the company on the babyface side. The crowd went bananas when he introduced Adams as partner number one. Adams is a Viral phenomenon. They dig his Canada schtick and he does these moose antler spots on offense. Blanco good a response, nothing crazy like for Adams. There was goofy spot early where Adams had a Christmas card for Montana. Lockhart worked on Loco's leg and Blanco's arm, and avoided hooking up with Legacy. They're saving that for the anniversary show. Lockhart worked on Loco's leg and Blanco's arm. They built to the finish with a dizzying, rapid fire train of big moves. Knight hit Blanco with his finisher. Lockhart tagged in and made the cover.
After the match, Legacy pointed out that Knight had it in the bag and Lockhart couldn't do crap on his own. Legacy said he was cashing in on the title shot (he earned at Battle Lines) and would become the new VPW Champion at Infection V.
NOTES: Jonathan Feltner was the ring announcer...Notables in attendance included wrestlers Ian Maxwell, Yahya and Stacey Sykes and Dave Foster (GM of Palmetto Championship Wrestling) (Danny Danger (AWE announcer) and Joe Brown (Suplexes & Microphones podcast)..A marriage proposal took place in the ring during intermission...Davis was forced to cancel due coming down with conjunctivitus.
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