Not even a limited roster can slow them down! SCWPro "Season's Beatings" in review!

One of the things I love about SCWPro is that they schedule their events well in advance. For someone working at a retail company with schedules a month in advance, it's very handy to be able to put in for nights off well ahead of time. It also creates issues though when another company in the area comes out and schedules on the same night. AAW's final show in LaSalle, Last Call, also landed on December 8th, which meant a lot of the company's talents were gone for the night. Connor Braxton, Joeasa, Deonn Rusman, Sensei Bock, Dante Leon, Sage Cainan and current tag champion Steve Manders were all in LaSalle, most of them working in a battle royal. But despite a third of their regular talent away for the night, Season's Beatings turned out to be a solid end of the year event.

The night opened with JT Energy and Jah-C, Vicious and Delicious, the now former tag team champions. It came as no surprise they weren't happy with the fans or the loss of their belts. They were ready to take it out on anyone they could. Their opponents came in the form of two long time SCW talents: King Steven Youngblood and Latin Thunder. The King of Scott County and the luchador did some of the best work I've seen from either man in a fairly brief opener, but Vicious and Delicious were just far too wily to lose to a makeshift team on this night.

The second match opened with Johnny Wisdom stalking to the ring, angry as ever. His opponent was a newcomer to the company, Derek Wolf. A student of Josh Raymond, a long time veteran who made his SCW return later in the night, Wolf tried hard to fire up the crowd fast. But despite his size, Wolf never really got going. Watching him, I'd guess he's a guy that is used to working as a heel in his young career, as he didn't quite have the visuals down to play the good guy. Wisdom brought the match to a merciful finish, but Wolf swore he'd be back for a rematch. I wouldn't mind seeing the kid get another chance at the promotion, just as I'd like to see more from his mentor as well.

Robin Steele came to the ring for his match without his compatriots Asa and Rusman. But his opponent Jimmy Thomas also didn't have his Sensei Bock in his corner. Instead the two men went it alone. Thomas works his student gimmick really well and he sold the vicious beating he took from Mason Beck days before just as well. He put on a valiant effort against Steele, who despite the fact that I'm anything but a fan of his gear, seems to be coming along well as a young competitor. He seems to be settling down and didn't let his desire to be a fast moving high flyer derail his fundamentals here, which seems like the routine problem of a lot of the Black and Brave students.

I've been a bit down on QC Cup holder Bradon McBride in a few of my reviews. But he showed me why the company entrusted him with the title in his defense against Shain Bender. McBride and Bender set out to steal the show. The two worked a fast paced match with a ton of big hits and big moves, but despite their speed, both men did everything in their power to keep it from turning sloppy as such matches, especially with young talents, can do. They put on an incredibly strong undercard match that I expected was going to lead to intermission after McBride used his valet Miss Olivia to secure the win yet again.

Mason paused with a
cold stare the entire time
while the kid got this
picture of him. 

Instead it lead into one of the two big matches announced ahead of time: a brutal battle between the young Travis Titan and Mason Beck. Beck is a Midwest indie stalwart, a long time talent who much like fellow SCW star Shane Hollister deserved a ton more recognition than he got in his career. Beck comes out cold and angry and never turns off for a second. Even when he's interacting with the crowd, it's often to taunt them at how much damage he's done to their favorite.

Last month, Beck decimated Titan but lost to a surprise roll up during the beat down. This month he wasn't able to destroy Titan and the two men fought a fairly even contest. Titan has sworn to make Beck tap to his Titan's Cross finisher and his focus on that move ultimately cost him the victory as he kept going for it instead of trying for more pinfalls after his big moves. He took two brutal Beck bombs and his Not-Samoan spike before Mason picked up the win.

Coming out if intermission, SCW likes to bring a fun match so it was no surprise that JP Finger and Jared Thumb made their way to ringside to battle angry Frenchman Val Eden and his new partner Timothy Legrand, a poor man that feels like he might have just been roped into Val's angry Frenchman gimmick as I didn't hear him say a word, in French or otherwise. Eden and Legrand got more offense than Eden did last time around, but this was mostly a showing for Thumb and Finger to have some fun. I remain impressed by the fundamentals beneath the comedy, as so often young stars working comedy styles are covering up a lot of inefficiencies in talent. I see none of that here and honestly hope a few indies might give them a chance to shine against the likes of Colt Cabana, Jake Manning or Kikutaro.

If you haven't seen SCW,
you haven't experienced
Krotch. There's no one
quite like him in wrestling.

As I mentioned Josh Raymond made his return to SCW and my memories at Season's Beatings. He hasn't wrestled too regularly to my knowledge since mounting injuries ended his run as one half of the House of Truth tag team in ROH, where he and the late Christin Able mostly served as silent killers for Truth Martini. As he emerged from the back to take on Krotch, he made it clear he would be anything but silent here. Instead he worked a fun little gimmick where he declared the ring his safe space and demanded fans cheer for him whenever he was in said safe space. It got him over as a heel fast with the Walcott crowd and I honestly love the idea of a wrestler triggered by booing as a gimmick. Krotch picked up the clean win, but I really do hope we get more than a one off appearance by Raymond here to fill the card. He worked a fun gimmick and I wouldn't mind seeing him take on some of the younger SCW talent. Heck, I suspect the aforementioned Thumb & Finger could have some fun with him.

Valentina Loca paid a visit to the ring to declare herself once again without competition in an SCW ring. But this time it wasn't so much her pleading for the company to bring in more female talent, but with a level of pride that she rid herself of her former partner Rahne Victoria. Val's a great talent on the mic, but I'm itching to see her actually wrestle a full match at Walcott.

With all the previous matches out of the way it was time for the main event as Shane Hollister once again defended the SCW title against Xander Killen. The two men have traded barbs on Twitter over the last few weeks as the straight edge Killen has called Hollister a drunk and a deadbeat dad. In a taped segment from before the show, Killen berated Hollister's stepdaughter and her friend about her Dad's future fate, so it goes without saying that this feud is heated.

The two men put on a match just as brutal and heavy-hitting as the one last month at Insurgency. But I realized I would have a front row seat to some of the storytelling with Hollister's daughter just a few seats away. Killen derided them more than once, but often to his own detriment as it gave Hollister time to recover from the damage Xander did.

The brutality continued for what I'm fairly certain was one of the longer main events I remember seeing at an SCW show. Ultimately it proved too much for both men as they both fell to a ten count for a no contest. Shane Hollister demanded a Last Man Standing bout with Killen in response, a match immediately made by Marek Brave for the next show in January.

Here's where I'll throw in my one tiny booking gripe, as a Last Man Standing match would have ended in the exact same way if both men couldn't answer the ten count. It might have served their purpose to set up just a typical Street Fight instead, but they brought one of those to Walcott at just the last event, so I can understand the reason they avoided it here.

But beyond that tiny gripe, Season's Beatings was a well-booked clean-flowing great way to spend ten dollars. From top to bottom, everyone seemed to know this was their chance to shine on a card with far less talents than the usual SCW show. And with a large crowd out on a perfect December night, here's hoping everyone that did make the show got to home with a few more dollars in their pockets!

SCW has a month off before they return with their next Walcott event on January 18th, their annual 20 man Prestige Rumble. With that match and the continuance of the Hollister / Killen feud, it looks to be a barnburner. For more on the promotion, check out their official website.

A wrestling 'Insurgency' in Walcott!

It was Survivor Series weekend, but I didn't sit down to watch either WWE event this weekend live. With a day job and a side gig writing for this site, a half dozen other places and a new novel in the works something has to give. But I wasn't going to miss out on an event from the fine folks of SCW if I could help it. So while many were glued to their televisions, I rebelled from the World Wrestling Entertainment machine and traveled to scenic Walcott, Iowa for Insurgency.

For my troubles, I got to watch one of the best events I've ever seen from the company.

The night opened with a banger though. A six man tag match pitted the QC Cup holder Braden McBride and the tag team champions JAH-C and JT Energy (better known as Vicious & Delicious) battled ex-Iowa Hawkeye, "The 1" Steve Manders and the veterans Krotch and Latin Thunder. Their next event features a big tag match between Vicious & Delicious, Manders and another former Iowa football star making his wrestling debut, former Indianapolis Colt Pat Angerer. So it was no surprise that while everyone got a chance to hit a big move or two, this was mostly about Vicious & Delicious and Manders. That didn't stop Vicious & Delicious (quickly doing their best to be SCW's "Best Bout Machines, with all apologies to Kenny Omega) from showing why I'm far from the only one high on this pair of excellent young talents. Manders ultimately managed a double pin on both tag champions, an easy set up for Marek Brave to make the tag match coming up for the titles.

After a rollicking start, "The Cajun Kid" Sage Cainan made his return to the company looking much improved from the previous times I've seen him in action. He went up against the veteran Johnny Wisdom, one of the last few old guard members of the roster left. Wisdom plays a classic heel so well that he pulls down heat whenever he enters. His style is also based on a lot of strikes and suplexes with a handful of submissions mixed in, basically the moveset of every create a wrestler in every wrestling video game I've ever played. Wisdom is a joy to watch. I've never heard his name outside an SCW ring, but if you ever have the chance make sure to go check him out for just a really great old school beat them down guy. A bit surprisingly, Wisdom did pick up the win, hopefully setting up a bit of a push for him going forward.

Val Eden made his SCW debut next. His tights declared him as a Parisian, and he clearly came with a cocky French men gimmick right in place, not speaking a word of English. This brought out his opponent King Steven Youngblood, one of the earliest SCW wrestlers, and still a regular with the company. He's spent months as a villain (nicknamed "Burger King" by the fans) but has since turned babyface. He took offense that Eden didn't speak the King's English and proceeded to squash the young star in short order. An ignominious debut for Eden, but he'll probably get more chances to shine in the future.

I mentioned a few weeks ago in my review of a CEW event that Deonn Rusman really impressed me as a young developing talent that looks like a million bucks and moves far faster than his power wrestler look hints. I'm not nearly as high on his regular SCW partner Robin Steele. I mean I inherently take Robin as a heel because of his need to sport attire from some of the weakest anime out there, but he still feels a bit sloppy in the ring. The pair took on a more makeshift unit of Steele's former partner Shain Bender and the favorite of every teenage girl in Walcott, Dante Leon. Leon gives me hopes for Steele as I remember his first few matches where he was just as sloppy. While Leon works a super fast style flying around the ring, he's really tightened up a lot since those days. He's earned some higher spots on the cards as well, and picked up the win for his team here as the clear veteran even with only a couple years under his belt. He wasn't the one to hit the most impressive move of the match however as Rusman and Steele landed a Doomsday Destroyer on Bender that was perhaps the most picture perfect finishing move I could imagine.

❄️🔥❄️ Hottest Blizzard Going❄️🔥❄️ @TheRobinSteele @SCWPro #whataman pic.twitter.com/QTCCciCz2M

— Deonn (@Rusman907) November 19, 2018

The last match before intermission brought out SCW champion Shane Hollister to make an open challenge. His opponent from just a few weeks earlier, Xander Killen, made his way to the ring to take it. After seeing him as an inexplicable face at CEW, the boos seemed right for the young star. He cut a blistering promo on Hollister, the kind of twisted truth promo that can just cement a young heel. The two men proceeded to put on an exposition of fantastic wrestling. I watched Killen debut in the building just a few years before. He's grown by amazing leaps since that day. Much like Energy and Rusman, I see great potential in him. The match ultimately ended with two referees counting for both men and a double pinfall. Hollister kept his title but we have a clear set up for a rematch between the two, though whether that comes at the next Hawkamania or at their final event of the year Season's Beatings, I have yet to find out.

Sensei Bock has been working the same cowardly heel "teacher" hiding behind his student pretty much since he first debuted. It works well as though I don't know how old Bock actually is, he looks about fifteen years older than the Black & Brave class he arrived in. He's been working a regular storyline with another talent, Jimmy Thomas, where he's trying to teach Thomas the ways of Bock Kwan Do. This basically amounts to a lot of tag matches where Thomas does all the work. That was the case here as they faced the fun loving duo of JP Finger and Jared Thumb (a.k.a. Thumb & Finger.) Thumb and Finger have become the solid comedy act of every SCW show, though their basics are rock solid behind their fun loving. They picked up the win over Bock (a bit of a surprise as I expected Thomas to eat every pin for his team) and perhaps are working their way towards a shot at Vicious & Delicious.

A war between veteran Mason Beck and upstart Travis Titan has been brewing for months in SCW. It came to a head in the semi-main event. Titan started with an early flurry, but the match soon became just a vicious beat down by Beck. He excels in that atmosphere, ripping apart his opponent before stopping to jaw jack with the crowd. Ultimately, he sealed his own fate when he refused to get a pin to continue his beating on Titan. When he stopped for a bit too long to antagonize the crowd, Titan was able just enough to roll him into a small package for the surprise one two three. Beck proceeded to destroy Titan, both referees and the Black & Brave students on security before the locker room cleared out to pull him to the back.

The main event was a no disqualification street fight. I watched Connor Braxton end one long standing feud against Eddie Machete in such a match. This time he sought to end another long feud with Joeasa. Joeasa has developed immensely since his early days as Joe Acer. While I sometimes find ethnic gimmicks a bit tiresome, he's used it to cement himself as a strong heel. He's been working a lot of tags outside SCW with Deonn Rusman and both men were in a stable just a few months ago in SCW. But Joeasa knows how to handle himself as a singles star and got to show it as the smaller heel against Braxton. After an extended barn burner for that Braxton / Machete street fight, I expected more of the same here. Instead I got a surprisingly short match, but an eventful one. The two men flew around the arena. A copious number of chairs, cookie sheets and a kendo stick all came into play. But it was Connor Braxton that upped the ante with thumbtacks. Unfortunately for him, no one taught him the age old rule of thumbtacks in wrestling: if you bring them out, you're going to get them in your back.

That aforementioned connection between Rusman and Joeasa came into play as Rusman and Steele hit the ring to join him in beating down on Braxton. The three men hurled Braxton into the thumbtacks before Joeasa pinned him for the victory. As a company devoid of any factions for the first time in awhile, it seemed clear we might have a new power trio in Joeasa, Rusman and Steele.

Thus ended one of the strongest wrestling events I've attended live. I've stressed before how important it is to support independent wrestling. It's incredibly easy to do with a promotion as steady and solid as SCW. Though they don't bring in the big blockbuster stars groups like Revolver and AAW do, they manage to tell compelling stories month in and month out.

Their next event heads a bit closer to home for me with Hawkamania VII: Anger Rising in Iowa City on December 1st, followed a week later by their year ending Season's Beatings back at Walcott. Weather providing I plan to be back at both events as I continue my wrestling treks across Iowa. If you drop in to one of the events and see my ugly mug, feel free to stop over and say hello. For more on both events, check out @SCWPro on Twitter or the company's official website.

'13' was anything but unlucky for SCW

After a couple months away, I knew I couldn't skip 13, the SCW thirteenth anniversary event. With a longer list of announced matches than usual, it promised to be a solid endeavor for the Davenport area's only professional wrestling company.

Image credit: SCW.

The show kicked off with Matt Cage, an SCW veteran and well-known Midwest star, as he battled Alex Taylor. Taylor debuted just a few months ago and I have to be honest that I was hard on him in the last couple reviews. He's vastly approved since his last appearance and really showed some babyface fire against Cage. And unlike all the previous shows I've seen him at, Taylor picked up a huge upset win over Cage to kick off the show. It would be far from the only upset of the night.

Eddie Machete seems lost since his feud with Connor Braxton ended, though he continues to put on great matches. Things were no different as he took on House of Truth graduate Xavier Wallace in the second match. Xavier quickly got over with a few solid moves, but this match was pretty much all Machete as Eddie countered everything Wallace had. He hit a wicked curb stomp to take the pin over the SCW newcomer.

The battle royal that followed featured several stars I didn't know (including a couple new Black & Brave graduates), a few recent grads and a couple veterans in Steven Youngblood and Tank Roberts. Youngblood worked a comedy spot early on where his manservant kept his feet from touching the ground, but it really went no where. JT Energy really seemed to be the standout of the match, even if he didn't really seem to have a chance of winning. Ultimately Tank Roberts picked up the win and a future Quad Cities Cup title match.

What I could find online of the other House of Truth graduate to join SCW on Saturday was so-so at best. But Dominique Fabiano definitely had credentials behind her. She put on a very solid match with Black & the Brave graduate Violet Parker. Parker picked up the win with a Widow's Peak (always a great move to watch). I would love to see Fabiano back, but I honestly think SCW needs to give in and let Violet just wrestle with the boys. She definitely needs to get more repetitions in and there's no reason to keep her benched when she's the same size as some of the young male wrestlers coming out of the Academy.

Looking back at SCW Revival 2016

This weekend offered a new night of Scott County Wrestling as the company presented their annual Revival event. Much like WWE's Payback, this show was about setting up a new era for the company. Marek Brave is taking a few months off after his storyline injury at last month's show and with a new heavyweight champion in the promotion, things are a-changing.

Mason Beck is really good at these crazed looks.
Image credit: @SCWPro on Twitter

One thing that didn't change was Violet Parker forced to sit on the sidelines again. Violet was to face Zahra Schreiber this month, but Zahra took a Detroit booking instead, moving her SCW debut to June. Without that big debut, the company had a bit of money open and they used it to bring in an SCW veteran.

Bucky Collins made his return in the opening match. Once an SCW regular, Bucky is now working mainly for Funky Munky Wrestling on the Illinois side of the Quad Cities. But he made his return to battle the always excellent Johnny Wisdom in the opener. Their battle for the Quad Cities Cup pushed both men to the limits in a technical showdown, but ultimately it was a foot on the ropes that helped Wisdom retain.

Four of the five new students that opened last week's show took part in a tag match next. Dante Leon and Gyasi D'Wayne took on J.T. Energy and Mike Heights. Leon and D'Wayne played the faces while Energy came off as a smarmy clubber forced to team with the angry-for-no-reason Heights. Dante Leon seemed to get the most ring time here, but it was D'Wayne and Energy that look like the standouts of this class to me. Ultimately, the face team picked up the win.

SCW head Sean Morrow came to the ring next to report Brave would be out for at least the summertime. This brought out SCW champion Mason Beck who called Brave the past and himself the present. Connor Braxton, fingers still bound up from his injury last month, came out to challenge Marek Brave in turn. Braxton called himself the future and said he deserved the next title shot. Shane Hollister arrived next, saying he was the past, present and future of SCW and saying he was deserving of the shot. Braxton and Hollister were put in a number one contender's match for the main event, while Beck was given an opponent for right now, a man he beat down months before: Ross "The Hoss" Reznik.

In a non-title match against the champion, the young Reznik seemed like the underdog in this, despite towering almost as high as Brave. The two men made this out to be a hoss fight, though Reznik still needs to perfect his lariat if he's going to use that nickname. Ultimately it was a Beck Bomb that put the young Mr. Reznik away.

A four way match seemed to be the "everyone else here" battle of the night as Tank Roberts, The Secret Ninja, Ript Studwell and Biff Malibu (wrestling for the first time in a few months despite being at every show) all battled it out. Studwell worked his scrawny strongman gimmick well, while Tank and Biff worked as the giants towering over the others. The Ninja biffed his one offensive move as he failed a springboard move and fell on his face. Tank Roberts picked up the win and put this one to bed in short order.

The final match before intermission was a tag title battle as Adrian Alexander and Bodie Van Zandt took on the full force of Zero Gravity, Brett Gakiya and CJ Esparza. Zero-G are a team to see wherever they travel, two super-small guys with high flying moves as far as the eye can see. This one was filled with false finishes, enough to make me think Zero Gravity would win back the SCW tag titles. But Alexander and Van Zandt's cheating came into play yet again as they took Gakiya down for the victory. (During intermission, I at least helped cheer them up by buying their new shirt.)

Image credit: ProWrestlingTees.com.

The second half kicked off with Chris Hayden and Alex Taylor. I'm still not sure what to make of either men, but Taylor continues to get better at his high flying style. The end of the match came quick, with Taylor winning, but it seemed like Hayden might have botched a kickout.

The company faces a quandary with Eddie Machete. After losing last month's main event, he needs to rebound, but all their titles are held by heels at the moment, keeping Eddie out of any title picture. They solved this for a month at least by putting him in a match against perennial fan favorite Krotch. The two men put on a clash of styles on the show, though nothing quite as strong as the battle between Krotch and Shane Hollister last month. Eddie Machete picked up the win with a shoutout to his co-trainer, hitting a curb stomp for the win.

A three way tag team elimination match was the semi-main event of the night featuring the teams of Latin Thunder and Sentai, Steven Youngblood and Wilhelm, and Bobbi Dahl and Raveboy. This was the first time I saw Wilhelm in action, and he mostly worked as the base for a lot of moves. Thunder and Sentai were the first men eliminated, a bit too quickly for my taste. This allowed the rivalry between the other two units to continue. Ultimately Dahl and Raveboy picked up the win with a very cool wheelbarrow suplex and codebreaker combo on Youngblood.

Connor Braxton and Shane Hollister are two of SCW's brightest talents and they showed it in the main event. The two men threw everything at each other, with both men kicking out of the other's finishers. They kept things bouncing between each man in control, always a challenge when a much smaller heel takes on the bigger face. Ultimately the battle spilled to the floor. Even as I thought the match was heading towards a double count out, Connor quickly rolled in at the nine count to get the win.

The show came to an end with a staredown between Braxton and Beck. The company returns on June 10th with Unbroken, a card I will miss do to a pesky family vacation. Braxton versus Beck has been announced, though I suspect Zahra vs Violet will be announced soon. Dahl and Raveboy versus the tag champs seems likely as well. If you're anywhere near the Quad Cities area, I recommend you give SCW a shot. It's worth the trip each and every month.

An "Epic" night in Wallcott with SCW!

Last April I went to my first SCW show, the 2015 edition of Epic. One year later, I returned for the 2016 edition and it offered the best night of Iowa-based wrestling action I have seen. In front of a packed crowd of 224, the night was wild, crazy and well worth the price of admission from beginning to end.

Image credit: SCW.

The show kicked off with the fifth graduating class of The Black & Brave Academy in a battle royal. Gyasi D'Wayne, Ript Studwell, Dante Leon, JT Energy and Mike Heights were all making their in ring debut and I saw some good stuff here. But the battle royal format wasn't a good showcase for these five young men and probably never could have been. It is hard to even get the names of the young stars when they're all in the ring at once. In the future a short tag match might be a better idea, even if it means inserting a more established star to even the odds. Someone like Zicky Dice or Raveboy would fit in that slot well. Only D'Wayne really intrigued me in his thirty seconds of offense, but I hope all five men get more chances to shine.

A new team debuted in the second match of the night as Latin Thunder made his return to the promotion to team with the other masked superstar of SCW, Sentai. The lucha-resu team looked good in their first outing as a unit as they took on Jay Iglesias and Kourtesy. I was not particularly kind to the two young Black & Brave graduates last month, but the Pop Idols looked far more crisp tonight. Still the masked men took the win in what would have been a far stronger opener.

King Steven Youngblood came to the ring again, his squire in tow. The King of Scot County got booed from the arena, which made him a hot opponent for Bobbi Dahl. After former a makeshift tandem with Raveboy last month, Dahl seems to have taken the young star under his wing this month, as he served as his second. This was one of two battle of the big men on the show and was certainly the more entertaining of the two. The two units looked great and Raveboy seems to have picked up the comedic aspects of Dahl's gimmick. If SCW is wise, they will keep these two units working against each other for the next few months and build a feud here. I suspect itt will be great for the young stars working under the veterans here.

One thing SCW needs to work on with their undercard is a bit more intelligent booking. Johnny Wisdom defended the Quad City Cup in the next match, but against men that seemed to have no reason to be there. Chris Davies wasn't familiar to me at all, while Alex Taylor has taken two straight losses in his two matches. Either Tank Roberts or Shane Hollister would have made more sense here as challengers.

None the less, Wisdom defended against both men. Taylor looked so much better than he did in last month's botch fest that served to make me just feel bad for Tank Roberts. He still hasn't quite mastered the high flying style he's trying to use, but he's growing and that's important for a guy with only a few matches under his belt. Wisdom though was the real star of the show as he worked his gimmick ("No flips, just fists") with some powerful strikes and some crisp transitions as he helped carry the two youngsters to a solid match. Seriously, SCW is worth checking out just for the hidden gem that is Johnny Wisdom.

The final match before intermission was a battle set up at last month's show, but strangely didn't get announced until a few days before the show. Shane Hollister and Krotch are both long time SCW competitors. Krotch took exception to Shane's new attitude last month, setting up a showdown this month. That showdown stole the show as the two men put on a hard hitting match with near fall after near fall. Hollister is one of the best American wrestlers working a puro-inspired style while Krotch is a man that has perfectly mastered his odd gimmick. He worked as an amazing babyface to the brutality of Shane, as both hit big moves in an attempt to take down the other. Shane whipped out a Rainmaker clothesline that would have done Okada proud and a rather nice shining wizard. Still keeping Krotch down proved a challenge. Ultimately, strike after strike proved too much. Even Krotch knew it, but he remained defiant to the end.

SCW spent eight months building to their main event at Epic. If they are smart, they make this match the first in a long running feud between both men. This could be a great story to anchor the company through the end of the year.

After intermission, things kicked off with Tank Roberts and a repackaged young star. The former T-Buck has dropped his party boy gimmick in favor of the new name Ross "The Hoss" Reznik. After intermission, it left fans flat. SCW really loved T-Buck and I think the company was ill advised to make the identity change without Reznik even giving a promo to explain his change after the brutal beating by Mason Beck two months ago. He looked solid in his victory over Tank, but this was a let down after the previous big man battle earlier in the night.

Also, one tip to Ross "The Hoss". If you're going to use that nickname, it is time you master a lariat, my friend.

The tag team titles were on the line next. Zero Gravity was supposed to be in to challenge Adrian Alexander and Bodie Van Zandt, but a medical emergency kept Brent Gakiya away. CJ Esparza brought in a different partner, the beloved Zicky Dice. Dice has an absolute charm in the ring and unlike several of the young recruits in SCW, wears proper wrestling gear. Tatted up and a bit crazy, he has everything he needs to get over if he can get more bookings. Anyone familiar with Zero-G knows what Esparza can do. The high flyer worked really well with Zicky in a crazed battle, but ultimately Alexander and Van Zandt's dirty tricks allowed them to get the victory in a match that opened their second year in the business.

The first of the double main event put the SCW title on the line as Marek Brave defended against Mason Beck. This match was built to be a fairly obvious title change, with Beck running roughshod over the roster over the last several months. But it was really about just how good Brave is at selling an injury. A bump early on aggravated his well known back problems and he hobbled through much of the match as referee Brett Hadley and commissioner Sean Morrow both checked on his health. But he refused to forfeit the title and kept fighting back against Beck's offense. But the selling all set up a great spot as Brave took a massive powerbomb off the top rope to lose the match and pass the title to Mason Beck.

That left one match: a Walcott Street Fight between the first two students of the Black and Brave Academy. Connor Braxton and Eddie Machete have evolved amazingly in just under a year and a half as wrestlers. They showed at Epic why they deserved their main event spot with a brutal battle.

That battle was almost derailed early on during a lightsaber style duel with a pair of chairs. One of the first strikes caught Braxton's hand. His hand was clearly bleeding after that and he didn't move them much at all after that. But Braxton showed why he has a future in the business as he continued to work the match even with clearly broken fingers.

He brought out a shopping cart filled with weapons and implements from a golf club to baking sheets to a bowling pin. And of course, the mighty kendo stick. All were involved in the rest of the match as both men brutally struck each other again and again. They both took brutal moves onto chairs and the baking sheets.

But ultimately this proved to be Braxton's moment as he finally got a clean 1-2-3 over his turncoat partner. But even in defeat, Machete looked amazing. Both men can be incredibly proud of themselves for an amazing main event.

Little was announced for next month's Revival outside of one big debut. The Black in the Black & Brave Academy is one Tyler Black, better known now as Seth Rollins. His (ex-?)girlfriend and former NXT talent Zahra Schreiber has been working a lot in the Midwest, but it looks like she will stay close to home as she makes her debut in SCW next month. She is certainly a controversial figure in wrestling as the reason for her release and her celebrity before that were not exactly golden moments. But she is committed to the building and I'm curious to see what she does in the promotion. She certainly should prove a foil for SCW's single sidelined female talent, Violet Parker.

Image credit: SCW.

I can make some predictions though. I suspect if Braxton is well enough to compete, he'll start a feud with Beck sooner than later. He cleary has been groomed for the SCW main event and he looked good last month against the new champion. Hopefully, the company is wise enough to keep a few feuds going in the form of Youngblood vs. Dahl and Krotch vs. Hollister. More with Latin Thunder and Sentai as a team seems smart as well, perhaps a tag title feud with the current champions. And of course, the company has up to five new stars to place up and down the card as well.

SCW "Luck is for Losers" in review

For the first time in way too long, I made it to a Scott County Wrestling show in nearby Walcott, Iowa. The tiny village of less than 1500 still seems a strange place to have a thriving little independent wrestling company, but SCW continues to put on great shows to the delight of just over 100 fans every month.

I have kept up with the basic couple of plot threads since my last SCW show. Mark Storm fell out of power with the company, though he still manages Johnny Wisdom and does color commentary. Shane Hollister turned on Marek Brave, but didn't get the title. Eddie Machete (the former Eli) turne don Connor Braxton after a payoff by Storm, costing them the titles and starting an ongoing war. Mason Beck returned to the company and ran roughshod in his quest to take on Brave for the SCW Heavyweight belt.

SCW makes big moves with "Supremacy" this Saturday

Last month at a show I sadly had to miss due to travel, Sean Morrow took control of SCW after his team won the best of five series against Mark Storm's Sindicate. With the face commissioner now in control of the company and Storm on the outs, SCW looks to be on a righteous path. But anyone that watched years of TNA know that face authority figures never last and even when they do, they tend to fade into the background.

SCW debuts Supremacy this Saturday night in Walcott, Iowa, and the main event is yet another rematch between two men that have faced off in the majority of SCW shows I've attended: Nevin Knoxville and Marek Brave. Unlike the previous encounters, this one comes with Marek as the new SCW champion, as he beat Knoxville at the last event. I don't suspect Marek will drop his title here, but I could see a heel turn in his future to match his personas in AAW and 3XW. Fans of the Dudley Boyz return in the last few weeks should be happy to here the battle will be a Tables Match, which should be wild in the Walcott Colosseum.

SCW Revival preview

This Friday night I will be heading back to the Walcott Coliseum to take in my second SCW show. Revival only has a few matches set, but it looks like it has quite a good card lined up with the announced matches.

The main event features midwest sensation Shane Hollister challenge Nevin Knoxville for the SCW title. Shane never lost the title, instead stepping down due to injury and this will be his chance to rest it away from Nevin and the forces of Mark Storm’s Fallen Angel Army. Knoxville is a big, imposing guy and hopefully Shane will pull a better match than we got with Knoxville’s petty victory over Marek Brave last show.

Speaking of the Fallen Angel Army and Marek Brave, Brave’s own students turned their back on Marek in their debut to align with Storm. With the betrayal of his second five graduates, Brave now faces the challenge of his next step against Storm and the turncoats. His previous students Connor Braxton and Eli Machete, the SCW tag champs, seem likely allies, but have yet to be announced for the show on Friday. Could they make an appearance to help their teacher for a three on five battle at Revival? Or will Brave face down his five new foes alone?

Krotch and Bucky Collins appear to also still be at odds with Mark Storm’s legion, as they face down two of their opponents from last month: Tank Roberts and Johnny Wisdom. This one will not only continue the blood feud, but may also have implications for tag team contendership in the future.

In lower card action, Mallaki Matthews will take on J.J. Garrett. I do not know either star outside their showings at last month’s show, but they both looked good in their matches. It should be interesting to see them against each other on Friday.

Also, in opening action, the QC Cup will be defended by Bobby Dahl as he defends against Tyler Priegel. I haven’t seen enough of these two to make an opinion known on them, but I look forward to seeing where this one goes.

Latin Thunder will also be in action as will (I assume) Bodie Van Zandt and the rest of the second Black & Brave class. No word on other talents in action, but Matt Cage and Christian Rose both make regular appearances (though may be on another card on this packed weekend) and I personally hope that Harvey Bower will be in action after his impressive showing last month.

If you are in the Eastern Iowa or Western Illinois (or even southern Wisconsin) area, I highly recommend making the drive out to what promises to be a great show. With admission at only $8, it promises to be another great night filled with some excellent wrestling action!