If you'd been following this blogspot for quite some time now then you'd probably figured out that we are indeed: big wrestling fans.
So when we first heard of Pinoy Wrestling, we were less than enthusiastic about it. NATURALLY, since our earliest memories of Pinoy Wrestling were limited to random episodes that aired on ye olde RJTV.
Each episodes were shot at a dimly lit AliMall arena, most wrestlers resembling stuntmen
or longshoremen (kargador) and overly realistic promos that were way too over the top and too ahead of it's time. And the list goes on and on....
But our doubts and hesitations were then quickly replaced with fun and enjoyment.
Enter:
The new face of Pinoy Wrestling.
Held regularly at the Makati Cinema Square.
Our earliest photo from the said wrestling promotion were from:
From one of the longest and best match of the night.
Even better than the main event!
Imagine that?
This was our most shared/retweeted photo ever. So yeah!
Worth mentioning was this would also happen to be our very first attendance of a live wrestling event and we have Mr Benj of Happy Lockjaw to thank for this wonderful experience. Now we've actually snapped more than a single photo
but we were unable to backup our folders in time for the untimely reformatting of our PC. Hence this would be the best we could offer as of the moment.
Personal regrets aside, the next event was entitled:
Ohhh, NXT-ish! And obviously we were a bit more prepared this time around.
Arriving earlier than usual, we were able to witness the first match of the night.
Between Mayhem Branningan and Classical Bryan Leo.
Mayhem might have lost the match but his spirit remains to be undeterred.
On to the second match between Ralph Imbayashi and the Royal Flush's very own John Sebastian.
Ohhhh, Hogan-Andre moment!
The action were TOO fast paced for our itsy bitsy Nikon camera.
We actually do have more photos but most of which were blurry as hell.
Out of respect for the two competitors, here's a crowd reaction shot instead!
Third match: Apocalypse
vs Main Maxx.
The entire match was billed a slobber knocker.
With both wrestlers trading blows left and right and in ring/out of the ring action.
The fights were up close and personal and fan participation (in moderation, of course) was more than encouraged.
The bout took a more violent turn with the inclusion of foreign objects such as Singaporean Canes,
folding chairs,
& Orocans.
YES, OROCANS!!!!
Much to the approval of Main Maxx's stable members which were all monitoring the chaos from a safe distance.
And probably due to fatigue wearing down on both combatants, latter attacks took on a more comical or slapstick approach with the inclusion of cooking trays and Jimmy Santos-ishworthy antics. The clear winner of the night was indeed the no-nonsense guy, Apocalypse.
After which, we were then treated to a 15 minute break.
Just in time to empty one's bladder and the usual pa-raffle courtesy of dem sponsors.
Toys and shirts are always a crowd favorite, so yeah!
And as the Beastie Boys music kicks in, we might as well hashtag THAT!
It's the Social Media Sinister: Ken Warren
going against the leader of the Panzer Army and the Pambansang Papa: Chris Panzer.
A very technical match from start to finish. Complete with ankle locks
and high risk maneuvers.
Now on to the 3 on 3 match of the night, with the obvious crowd favorites: Mark D. Manalo
and Kanto Terror.
vs.
the Dual Shock Players consisting of Sandata and Peter Versoza (No entrance image available).
And the Fighters 4 Hire consisting of Joey Bax (Rusev) and Miguel Rosales (Brock Lesnar) (AGAIN,No entrance image available).
The underdogs were obviously Mark D. and Kanto Terror.
As soon as Mark D. entered the ring, he was obviously at the receiving end of Rosales' relentless fury.
With cleanly executed hits and suplexes, it was clear early on as to why Rosales is getting the crowd's respect accompanied by a jokingly unified 'Lesnar' chants.
After seeing the carnage that had just happened,
nobody seemed interested at saving D. Manalo.
An call for pity that went falling on deaf ears but much to the amusement of the crowd.
They won the match and the hearts of the crowd but most especially with Mark D.'s mock Triple H moment while unwittingly screaming "STRAIGHT EDGE AKO".
The final match of the night was between Bombay Suarez
and Jake "Senyorito" De Leon (JDL).
The best thing about PWR is that the said promotion exercises proper and sportsman like behavior thru regular handshakes before and at times after main event matches.
In a sport that many considered to be uncivilized and barbaric, classy gestures like that sets a good example for the younger audience and refines and improves the sport's overall image.
The main event was indeed an exciting one.
Filled with quick and clean hits every now and then.
But the wrestling gods would favor the wrassl'n senyorito awarding him with his very own "Shawn Michaels-Wrestlemania moment".
But JDL's celebration would be short-lived after the reappearance of Classical Byran Leo cashing in on his "previously agreed upon verbal agreement" contract with the promotion's general manager, Mr Sy.
They rang the bell and we are instantly treated to a surprise match.
Sadly enough a GTS wasn't enough to help the poor Senyorito.
A package piledriver hits it's mark.
Then a three count fall was called and much to the dismay of the fans,
Bryan Leo was declared the winner.
The crowd erupted with unified BOOS and JEERS butmuch to the delight of the leader of the Royal Flush.
A royal flush roll call was made and after which the event ended.
Everyone went home happy and in eager anticipation of the next event.
And since this journal entry is a year behind schedule....
SURPRISE!!!!
The next event is here and now.
PWR LIVE
This said event would be the last PWR event to be held at Makati Cinema Square.
Where in we arrived super duper late but was still fortunate enough to catch the 2nd to the last bout of the night.
A match between Ralph Imbayashi
and Peter Versoza.
Complete with stretchy arms,
scythes,
ok, I LIED, holmes!
But there was slapping involved, that we're pretty sure of!
And more awesome wrestling action, of course!
As mentioned earlier and worth mentioning again, sportsmanship is indeed
very much alive at PWR. A small gesture that we can no longer see in today's
more mainstream wrestling promotions.
Next up would be a match between Ken Warren
and "less serious but still pretty intimidating" Joey Bax.
This was a different side of Joey, a more lighthearteder version so to speak.
Complete with Eugene-worthy finishers.
This version would instantly win the hearts of the crowd.
But not enough for him to pick up a victory against the Social Media Sinister.
After which , a stare down ensues....
We then get a glimpse of the coveted PHX championship belt!
And now it's time for the MAIN EVENT!
Between Classical Bryan Leo
True to his name, he was indeed a very "CLASSY" person with his tribute to fallen wrestlers. A tribute that was met with mixed reactions most especially to those uninitiated / unfamiliar with Dusty Rhode's in ring attire(which did consisted of black & polka dots). Despite his heel status, him being a class act is most definitely one of his finer qualities.
But enough talk, have at you...back to some wrassl'n action!
See this is when and how the match should've ended.
But instead, we were treated to Bryan Leo's sleeper hold
A rather weak and unconvincing victory via submission maneuver which was later identified to be as the "Royal Prison Lock 2".
The champ would later on gloat about his victory.
This went on while fellow Royal Flush member John Sebastian continues to dish out the swift kicks to a now defenseless JDL.
BUT WAIT,
all of a sudden a wild Apocalypse appears!
And he immediately made sure he was on neither combatant's side by beating the snot out of everyone that moves.
Yes, no one is safe from Apocalypse's wrath.
Not even Scarlett!
The event ended with Apocalypse standing tall and with the championship belt at hand.
You can't really blame the guy, for that is one nifty looking belt afterall.
One that could very well be part of his supernatural trophies on the next PWR event.
Will this ever happen,?
Yes?
No?
Probably?
Very well then, I guess you'd need to catch the next PWR event to find out yourselves.
There you have it folks.
All 3 (ok, 21/2) events in 1 journal.
And as mentioned earlier this would be the last time they would be staging their events at the said venue. For their next venue would be more "Academically" acceptable and is actually backed up by air-conditioning.
Were would that be, stay tuned to find out!
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