Gordo, the wizard of id, reviews:

Rough Wrestling International

03 June 06 @ Eastdale High School, Welland Ontario

Tickets: $15 at the door. Attendance: 200+

Brodie Lee vs Rip Impact

John Bolen vs Chris Guelich

Sexxxy Eddie vs ‘Go Time’ Chris LaPlante

Rex Atkins vs Santine

Quinson Valentino & ‘The Sniper’ Randy Vahn vs Blackjack Phoenix & Thorn

RWI Heavyweight Title Match:

The Quebec Mauler (C) vs ‘The Asian Nightmare’ Kwan Chang

The Venue: RWI’s ring was set up in the middle of Eastdale High’s gymnasium with floor seating on all 4 sides and one set of bleachers facing the curtained stage. A large video screen was set up in front of the stage and entrance videos and live action played on it throughout the card. The event was announced as being filmed for television broadcast. RWI uses metal barricades to separate fans from the action and give wrestlers plenty of room for out of the ring shenanigans. Portable light standards were set up beside each corner to illuminate the ring. The ring itself was a 16 footer and the top rope appeared to have a lot of slack in it. The bottom two had most of the tension. Talking with people after the show I learned that it wasn’t set up square in the limited amount of time they had to get the show ready which is why the ropes were not up to standard. A couple of wrestlers did mention that it affected things but that’s life on the Indy circuit. Merchandise tables did a brisk business along one wall by the entrance. The crowd was between 200-250 and predominantly families. It appeared that many were hardcore RWI faithful.

Pre Show: Mrs Id and I arrived just before bell time as it was a last minute decision to attend the show. I received an email from woman wrestler Ashleigh Vayda that afternoon telling me about the show and that she and others would be there. As I had been looking to meeting her in person for some time, and plans for a long road trip the following day had fallen through due to the Ring Wars show being cancelled, I decided to surprise Mrs Id with a run to Welland when she got off work. We broke a few speed limits getting there but the show was certainly worth it. (Sadly, Ashleigh didn’t actually wrestle but I’ll get to that later.) Faced with the prospect of finding seats in the already packed gym, Mrs Id and I elected to extend the front row on one side by moving two seats which, while putting us close to the action, put a ringpost and light pole directly between us and the ring so… no pictures. The Ring Announcer: Greg. The Referees: The beautiful Synndy Synne and the anything but beautiful Vito Scarfone. Before the show officially got underway the Canadian National Anthem was played which was a nice touch but I’ve got to admit I’ve never heard that particular interpretation before.

Brodie Lee vs Rip Impact – Brodie is a big guy and received a polite round of applause when he made his way to the ring but it was local Indy standout Rip Impact who was clearly the crowd favorite. At the bell they locked up in basic collar/elbow stances with Brodie’s obvious power advantage tossing Rip to the mat each time. Brodie began grandstanding and flaunting his strength which rapidly changed whatever cheers he had at the start to boos. Rip utilized his speed to toss the larger man around with armdrags and landed a nice flying kick which excited the fans. Brodie responded with a solid knee to the gut, kicks and a clothesline for a quick near fall. A big bodyslam and two huge standing elbow drops had Rip once again kicking out at 2. Impact attempted to work the big man over with punches to the mid-section but Brodie stopped him with a poke to the eye then hit a wicked European uppercut that flattened impact. When Rip kicked out of the following pin, Brodie tossed him against the ropes and started clubbing away at him. Impact came off a whip into the ropes with a sunset flip for a 2 count and when Brodie looked in disbelief at the official, Vito Scarfone, Rip quickly rolled him over for another near fall. This seemed to infuriate Brodie and he absolutely pasted Impact with a big boot before taunting him as he lay prone on the mat. Dragging Impact to his feet, Brodie unleashed another big uppercut. The fans were solidly behind Impact but a Russian leg sweep and another 2 count by Brodie silenced many of them. Brodie then tossed Rip around the ring like a rag doll before settling into a chinlock against his knee. The fans once again rallied behind Rip as he fought to his feet and leveled Brodie with an enzeguri. Rip mounted the corner ropes and met a charging Brodie with a big boot to the face. A picture perfect dropkick dropped Brodie for a 2 but he reversed Impact’s attempted whip into the corner and it was Rip who smashed into the buckles. One big piledriver later and ref Vito was raising his arm in victory. As Vito helped Rip to the back, Brodie waved disdainfully at the jeering fans. Thoughts: A classic match-up of a big powerful man against a smaller, speedier opponent. Had the match gone longer, fatigue might have been a factor in Rip’s favor but Brodie’s high impact offense was just too much for him in the short term. Impact did make the potential upset win seem likely with his late match rally and the fans, although disappointed at his loss, gave him a huge round of applause for his efforts. Considering Brodie’s cocky attitude that grew as the match progressed, it’s unlikely that he will be receiving any cheers the next time he’s in Welland. Like any good opener, this match got the fans right into the show.

John Bolen vs Calvin Guelich – Ring announcer Greg said that this match was the RWI debut of both Bolen & Guelich. Bolen, a TNA Gut Check Challenge participant is a muscular powerhouse out of Pittsburg and was immediately pegged as the ‘bad guy’ by the RWI faithful. (Maybe it was his bright red chin hair.) Guelich, another tanned package of muscles, hails from Cleveland and he was greeted with wild cheering. Their initial lock-up ended in a stand-off so they moved to a test of strength which again, ended in a stand-off. Bolen elected to initiate a posedown but the fans overwhelmingly chose Guelich as the winner of that. During Guelich’s last pose Bolen attacked with kicks and punches but planted himself teeth first into the top buckle when Guelich dodged his attempted corner splash. Guelich nailed a nice spinning heel kick which got a big pop and further excited the crowd by winning the struggle to hit a suplex. Bolen regained the advantage with an eye gouge and began stomping and clubbing his opponent; concentrating on the neck. Guelich tried to rally as Bolen was taunting fans but an eye gouge, standing choke and bodyslam dropped him for a 2. Guelich did manage a brief flurry after that and pounded Bolen’s head into the buckles but Bolen caught him running off the ropes with a tilt-a-whirl slam for 2 more near falls. A cocky Bolen began working his opponent in the ropes but missed a running kick and crotched himself on the stiff second rope. With both guys down on the mat the fans cheered wildly for Guelich to recover first and he didn’t disappoint, first shrugging off Bolen’s weak punches with some haymakers of his own then nailing two big corner splashes; followed by a bodyslam and flip bodypress for a very close near fall. Guelich nailed a fall-away slam and fans were amazed that Bolen kicked out after that. Guelich hoisted Bolen up looking to hit a powerbomb but a desperation rake to the eyes freed the Pittsburg native. He quickly scooped Guelich up and dropped him on his neck for the winning pin. After a victorious Bolen had left the ring, ref Vito raised Guelich’s arm but the fans needed little prompting to show their appreciation for his efforts. Thoughts: Because both these guys are very muscular I was expecting some high impact and they certainly delivered that. What I wasn’t expecting was the speed and fluidity of motion they both exhibited. They both looked a bit fatigued at the end so I doubt they’ll be in any lengthy encounters but give them 10 or 12 minutes and look out. Very impressive stuff.  Before the next match, RWI booker Bobby Bass got on the mic and announced that it was some faithful RWI fan’s birthday and tried to get the crowd to sing Happy Birthday. What followed was a cacophony of voices that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My dog’s farts sound like sweet gospel in comparison.

Sexxxy Eddy vs ‘Go Time’ Chris LaPlante – A couple of firsts for me in this match… first time I saw ref Synndy Synne and the first time I saw Chris LaPlante wrestle. Turns out this was Synndy’s first ever appearance as a ref but you’d never have guessed that. I missed LaPlante’s name during the ring introductions but the woman sitting next to me seemed to be a big fan of his so I asked her. Turns out she is his biggest fan; his Mom, and she was more than happy to make sure I got his name spelled correctly. Such a nice woman too, it’s a shame I’m going to bury her son in a minute. (I’m kidding! Besides, if I do, the chances are good that the people of Welland will lynch me – this guy is over!) Sexxxy Eddy came out to the ring preceded by his groin and sporting his usual cocky demeanor. Grabbing the stick (and by stick I mean the mic.) he cut a scathing promo on the people of Welland. Failing to find any women in the crowd worthy enough to receive the honor of removing his pants, Eddy briefly entertained the notion that ref Synndy should do it before exclaiming that she too failed to make the cut. As he worked his usual strip routine and removed his own pants, I’m sure many men in the crowd were thinking that Synndy and pants removal would figure prominently later during their slumber hours. The fans cheered wildly for LaPlante as soon as he appeared and didn’t let up for the duration of the match. He controlled the early action working various arm holds and headlocks with Eddy seeking the ropes rather than trying to counter. When LaPlante hit a hiptoss, bodyslam, dropkick sequence the sexxxy one bailed to the outside. Eddy dragged the hometown hero from the ring and punched him silly before returning him to the ring. After that there was an extended beatdown on the popular LaPlante as Eddy’s knee strikes led from one punishing hold to another. When a camel clutch failed to draw a submission, Eddy began using dirtier tactics along with continued knee strikes. He choked LaPlante on the mat and in the ropes and even spent a while biting at his head. It wasn’t until Eddy and Synndy started arguing that LaPlante found breathing room to recover and mount a comeback. He whipped Eddy off the ropes and met him with a spear that left them both prone on the mat. They traded punches on their knees and LaPlante gained the edge before nailing Eddy with a suplex for a 2 count. LaPlante started working a hammerlock type submission but Eddy eventually made the ropes for the break and tried to rally. Welland’s favorite son was on a role however and pounded Eddy in all 4 corners before dropping him for another near fall. Eddy kicked off a figure-4 attempt and when LaPlante stumbled back into the corner Eddy nailed him with a beautiful dropkick. His following top rope moonsault only earned a 2 and moments later LaPlante clotheslined the Quebec Native over the top rope. LaPlante exited the ring under his own power and the two brawled at ringside eventually causing ref Synndy to count them both out and call for the bell. That didn’t stop the fight as they battled through the seats, using garbage cans and other objects as weapons before finally fighting their way to the back. Thoughts: This could have been a pretty generic heel beats on hero, hero mounts comeback type of match but Eddy, LaPlante and the crowd combined forces to elevate it to something more. The double countout finish surprised me as I thought local boy LaPlante would snag the win but maybe it sets things up for later down the road. The RWI fans contributed heavily to the success of this match with their active vocal participation throughout. That, coupled with the hometown hero going up against visiting Indy superstar Sexxxy Eddy in a rollicking little brawl made this the match of the night.

Intermission: At the start of the break, a group of young kids were called into the ring by Announcer Greg for some type of wrestling “exhibition” so I bailed to the outside as those types of things hold no interest for me. Fans were buzzing about the show so far and many told me to keep coming back because “RWI RULES!” I spent some time talking with Dario Marandola, agent for Sexxxy Eddy, The Quebec Mauler and Santine. Dario seems like a nice guy and the Mrs and I may just take him up on his offer to visit Montreal later this summer. Back inside the arena I finally met women’s wrestling star Ashleigh Vayda and she is as delightful and charming in person as her emails always suggested she would be. (She also has a very cute baby boy.) The lights dimmed and RWI Promoter Chuck Simpson entered the ring and gave a little speech about the dedicated individuals who had long helped RWI put on shows. He called bellringer Stan Rusin into the ring and awarded him a plaque and announced Stan had been officially “adopted” into the RWI family. After Stan had safely made his way back to his position at ringside, RWI President Matt Ayers entered the ring. He kicked Announcer Greg out and ragged on the fans before calling Stan an “old drunk.” Simpson grabbed Ayers but Quinson Valentino and Randy Vahn rushed the ring and began stomping the RWI promoter. Vahn grabbed him in a Boston crab while Valentino pounded on his head. The two then held him while Matt Ayers pulled out a pair of scissors and began cutting Simpson’s hair. Help soon arrived in the form of Calvin Guelich and Chris LaPlante so the heels all bailed from the ring. C & C helped Simpson from the ring and in a delicious moment of wrestling irony, RWI booker Bobby Bass showed up asking “What happened?” because he, apparently, was the only one in the building who didn’t know. Naturally, ref Vito Scarfone wasted no time spilling his guts and ratted out Ayers and his cohorts in crime.

Rex Atkins vs Santine – Atkins was first out to the ring and displayed a very arrogant attitude which did nothing to endear him to the RWI faithful. Although heavyset he is by no means overly muscular so his poses and flexing was quite humorous to watch. His opponent, Santine was announced as 156 lbs so it appeared we’d be treated to another big man small man type match. As expected, Atkins power gave him the early advantage but when Santine started to turn things around with speed and holds, Atkins matched him with counters and moves of his own rather than a power assault which led into a very nice sequence of maneuvers. When Santine turned it up a notch and began building speed off the ropes Atkins elected to go outside and stall. He rolled in to break the count a few times and finally Santine fell for the bait and went out to chase him. Atkins quickly rolled inside and met Santine at the ropes when he entered; clubbing him down and working a surfboard on the mat. Santine struggled to his feet as the crowd urged him on and when Atkins tried to roll him up for a pin, Santine reversed it and earned a 2 count of his own. The two traded punches until Santine surprised Atkins with a jumping ‘rana that dumped him hard to the canvas. Santine went up top but Atkins knocked him to the mat and worked him over in the corner. As the audience rained boos down on the ring, Atkins launched the smaller man toward the lights with a big back drop. It appeared the end was near for Santine but he grabbed Atkins in a small package and stole the victory. Atkins was pissed and stormed to the back but the crowd and Santine had much to cheer about. Thoughts: A very short match with an ending that caught most fans totally off guard; they popped huge when they realized Santine had snatched the win. That and the opening sequence of counters and holds after teasing the power vs speed scenario made this a very enjoyable match for me to watch. It was short, tight and not at all what I expected.

Quinson Valentino & ‘The Sniper’ Randy Vahn w/Matt Ayers vs Blackjack Phoenix & Thorn – Thorn is apparently ½ of the AWA World Tag Team Champions and this match was originally scheduled to be a title match. Thorn’s regular partner was unable to attend so Blackjack Phoenix was in his place. Because of this, Bobby Bass came to ringside and announced that the match was a non-title affair. Vahn and Valentino initiated a pose down to draw cheers and the fans booed them soundly. Thorn and Blackjack received a much more positive response but V & V attacked them during their pose. The good guys battled back strongly and the heels bailed from the ring to regroup. Phoenix and Thorn followed them out and a wild brawl ensued. When the action finally settled down to a traditional tag match, Phoenix handled the bulk of the action for his team as Vahn and Valentino made quick tags. The big cowboy got in a few licks but was kept on the defensive for most of it. When Thorn entered the action he gained the advantage over Valentino by working the arm and quickly tagged Phoenix back in. Blackjack landed a knee to Quinson’s head for a 2 count then dropped a big elbow for another pin attempt that Vahn was quick to come in and break up. Phoenix started clubbing Valentino with forearm blows but a low blow dropped him to the mat. Quinson delivered a vicious looking double stomp before tagging in Vahn who continued to work the big cowboy over. Vahn attempted a lazy standing pin that Phoenix shrugged off. Vahn began jawing at ref Synndy about a slow count and she slapped him in the face, spinning him around to face Phoenix who also slapped him. The crowd popped huge as Synndy and Phoenix delivered a few more slaps to the ‘Sniper.’ Thorn tagged into the match, leveling Vahn with a clothesline for a quick 2. Almost as quickly, he tagged Phoenix back in. Thanks to their sharing the workload with quick tags, V & V were fresher than Blackjack and swiftly overwhelmed him in their corner. Valentino started working chokes and eye rakes on the ropes while Vahn took every opportunity to lay in cheap shots. Thorn meanwhile, stood on the apron trying to rally the crowd in support of his partner, which was unnecessary as they were already into the match and rooting the big cowboy on. Phoenix fought his way out of Quinson’s chinlock and moments later they collided and went down heavily. Simultaneous tags brought Vahn and an energized Thorn into the match. Thorn worked on both heels but his pin attempt on Vahn was quickly broken up by Valentino. This brought Phoenix charging back into the ring to pound on Valentino in the corner while Thorn worked over the Sniper. Vahn got nailed by a top rope splash from Thorn and Valentino dumped Phoenix to the outside, just barely making the save. Thorn got into Quinson’s face but that proved costly as Vahn dropkicked him in the head and they tossed him through the ropes. V & V then caught Phoenix up on the corner turnbuckles and after struggling to maintain any kind of secure footing on the loose top rope, they superplexed the cowboy to the mat for the winning pinfall. After the match Bobby Bass came to ringside and announced that Ayers, Valentino and Vahn were fined a thousand dollars each for their earlier attack on promoter Chuck Simpson. He further stated that if they didn’t pay it, they’d never work for RWI again and began urging the crowd to sing the ‘Goodbye Song.’ Bass worked the mic like some kind of demented lounge singer and even had fans croak the “Na Na Na’s over the sound system too. It was all quite excruciating to endure and I relate it to you now only so you can share my pain. Thoughts: The fans thoroughly enjoyed this match and were hot from start to finish. I thought it suffered a bit because of the ring’s relatively small size. With four guys in there, maneuverability was limited and that caused a couple of scary miscues and collisions. The finish suffered because of the lack of tension in the top rope and thankfully they were able to successfully pull it off. I think Randy Vahn has an uncanny physical resemblance to Steve Austin and Thorn kind of looks like a mini John Studd. (Not that those observations have any relevance to anything.) It should be noted that Phoenix and Thorn were very good with all the kids that swarmed them after they left the ring and that was cool to see.

RWI Heavyweight Championship Match: Quebec Mauler (C) vs ‘The Asian Nightmare’ Kwan Chang – Quebec Mauler, for those of you unfamiliar, is a very big guy standing about 6’8” and weighing close to 300lbs. (He also smells like cinnamon, according to Mrs Id.) He is very popular with the RWI faithful and every move he makes brings resounding cheers. Kwan Chang on the other hand had no friends but his kendo stick when he entered the arena. At the start of the bout Mauler’s size and strength advantage had Chang on the defensive but a stiff knee to the gut doubled the Champ over so Kwan could lock on a headlock and begin firing punches. Mauler shrugged him off and tossed him around with ease; hitting a hip toss, bodyslam and huge underhook slam. The challenger quickly bailed to the outside and Mauler was right after him. Chang caught Mauler on the ropes but the big man powered his way into the ring and nailed a sidewalk slam for a 2 count. Chang begged off but Mauler pounded away on him in the corner before missing with a running knee strike. The Asian Nightmare quickly dropkicked the knee and rammed his head into Mauler’s groin and that slowed the big guy down in a hurry. Chang concentrated his attack on the leg for an extended time before Mauler was able to kick him off and over the top rope to the floor. The fans cheered wildly as a hobbled Mauler appeared to be rallying but Chang stretched his neck over the top rope and continued to focus on the leg, smashing it on the apron and against the post. A big yakuza kick to the Champ’s head gave Kwan his first 2 count of the bout. Some fans began to cheer Kwan as he continued his attack by working a submission attempt on Mauler’s abused limb. After Mauler reached the ropes to break the hold, Chang elected to change tactics by coming off the top rope with a back splash. It proved to be a mistake as Mauler rolled out of the way and Chang crashed to the mat. Mauler scooped him up for a slam but his leg gave way under him and they both crashed to the mat with Chang landing gut first on Mauler’s knee. Mauler draped an arm over for a pin but was easily brushed off. RWI President Matt Ayers came out to ringside and grabbed Chang’s kendo stick as the two grapplers traded punches in the ring. Mauler hit two clotheslines on Chang but the challenger stayed on his feet. The third attempt by the Champ saw Chang duck and ref Vito took the blow, crumpling to the canvas. Kwan nailed another dropkick to the knee and left the ring to get his kendo stick. It took awhile for him to realize Ayers had it but eventually the two bad guys got it together and made the exchange. Chang laid the beatdown on the champ striking him with the weapon in the back and leg before laying in some big kicks to the chest and head and dropping on him for the cover. Ref Vito was still in La La Land and Ayers was frantically trying to wake him. Chang finally went over to see what was going on and Mauler managed to haul himself upright. As Vito came back to his senses Mauler nailed Chang with an amazing enzeguri which flattened him. Mauler dragged the challenger to his feet, delivered a huge choke-slam and covered him for the victory. After the pinfall Chang punched ref Vito in the head before exiting the ring. The response from fans to Mauler’s win was deafening and many crowded ringside to have their pictures taken with the Champ. Thoughts: This was a very entertaining match even though it was entirely mat-based except for Chang’s misguided attempt at a splash from the top rope. I liked Chang’s strategy of grounding the bigger man with the concentrated assault on the leg and the whole story of the match played out well. Chang’s performance even had some fans switching allegiance during the bout, or at least feeling comfortable enough to let their feelings known, but it was Mauler’s crowd for sure.

Final thoughts: I owe Ashleigh Vayda big time for giving me the heads up on this card. RWI delivered a very entertaining set of matches and it was easy for a newbie to pick up the ongoing storylines. The crowd was as hot as any I’ve seen of late and certainly added to the show with their participation. Oh yea, I’ll return to witness RWI’s brand of Indy wrestling excitement again. No doubt about that. I’d like to extend a personal thanks to Mr Simpson for allowing myself and the Mrs to hang around after the show and also to Calvin, Matt, Chris, Quinson, Ashleigh, Brodie and John for sharing your time and thoughts. I do have one request to make of Bobby Bass though… Next time, please NO SINGING!

Contact the wizard of id at: zapflash@sympatico.ca