Before getting into the recap, if you like what you read make sure to check out this episode for yourself on February 6th at the School of Roc’s Youtube channel.
Welcome to the first episode of Class Wars, where alumni of Billy Roc’s School of Roc are brought back to begin a twelve-week quest to determine who is the most dominant alumnus. The episode begins with Billy Roc being interviewed. He talks about some of the wrestlers that he’s been able to compete against throughout his career. Roc is tired of seeing crappy wrestling in Indiana and wants to add integrity to independent professional wrestling in Indiana.
A video is shown, giving us an idea of who will be participating in Class Wars. The talent list includes Remi Wilkins, James Reeves, Trash, Big Sue Jackson, Nate Stone, Logan Williams, Dale Patricks, Reed Bentley, and Tripp Cassidy.
Billy Roc is shown in the ring giving a speech to the competitors. He wants to settle the question of who is the best wrestler to come out of the School of Roc. Class Wars will be structured as follows:
-The first five weeks will consist of preliminary matches.
-There will then be an eight-man tournament seeded from the preliminary matches.
-It’s important to note that there are only eight spots in the tournament. Not everyone will be seeded.
Roc informs Dale Patricks and Tripp Cassidy that they will be competing in the first match of Class Wars. After Roc’s speech, Remi Wilkins and Tripp Cassidy stare each other down. Roc explains in a separate interview that Cassidy may be envious of Wilkins’ recent success and improvement.
Speaking of Tripp Cassidy, there is a video package shown, highlighting his journey through the School of Roc. He was able to defeat Billy Roc himself after a half-hour war at a School of Roc showcase event. Dale Patricks receives a video package as well. He talks about the death of his father and his inspiration for becoming a professional wrestler. Patricks says that Cassidy is one of his best friends but admits that Cassidy sometimes goes a bit overboard. In a separate interview, Cassidy actually comments that Patricks doesn’t have the heart to become a professional wrestler. Interesting…
Tripp Cassidy vs. Dale Patricks
Patricks takes Cassidy over with a hip toss and connects with a dropkick. Patricks cartwheels out of a leap frog but gets caught by an atomic drop. Cassidy hits a neckbreaker followed by a chinbreaker. He can’t hit an early Knee-KO. Cassidy yells “don’t be a hero” at Patricks and connects with a hesitation dropkick. Patricks responds with a tornado DDT for a nearfall. He lands a flying crossbody and follows with a bicycle kick. Cassidy gives up on another Knee-KO attempt and settles for a flying knee strike. He blocks an rollup attempt by Patricks and connects with a hard right hand. Cassidy adds the Knee-KO for the win at 5:21. I really appreciated how the background information we received on these two before the match actually played into the match. Cassidy accused Patricks of lacking heart and Patricks tried to prove him wrong by attempting to overwhelm him with his offense. After many Knee-KO attempts, Cassidy finally caught Patricks with a stiff punch and was finally able to hit his finishing maneuver. I thought this was an effective showcase that furthered the viewers’ ability to connect with the wrestlers.
Cassidy arrogantly dedicates his victory to Remi Wilkins, who was watching at ringside. Big Sue Jackson will be in action next week!
Overall Thoughts: The first episode of Class Wars was used to explain the show’s concept as well as to introduce two of the competitors that will be followed for the next twelve weeks. I think the biggest compliment that I can give Class Wars is that in the span of only twenty minutes, I was able to get a good feel for the goals and attitudes of Tripp Cassidy and Dale Patricks. The interviews before their match provided the necessary background information and the match itself effectively followed up on them. There definitely seems to be an incentive to follow this twelve-week journey. If the first episode of Class Wars was any indication, you will become invested in this tournament and want to see who the eventual winner will be.
To learn more about the School of Roc and Class Wars check them out on Youtube (where this episode will be available to watch on February 6th), Twitter, and Facebook.