Almost 1 year to the day of Making a Statement, Pro Wrestling Freedom celebrated their first anniversary. Many of the PWF faithful came to the Corbin Civic Center in Corbin, KY, to sit in their usual seats, wearing their usual t-shirts, holding up signs they either made hours before or had brought to shows for months, to come cheer, jeer, & be entertained by the faces that many have come to claim as their favorites. Many knew it would be a great show, but no one expected to play out as they did. First, in a rarity, the pre-show featured a couple of locals.
Bob Murdoch vs. Corey Statik. Murdoch hasn’t been in PWF since May, while Statik has been absent since January. The two had a short time, & hit each other with everything they had. While the match could’ve been paced better, the fans seemed satisfied with what they got. Winner: Corey Statik.
Menace vs. Sean “Virus” Harddrive vs. Kaden Sade. Typical PWF opener, which means a contender for Match of the Night. Three men who can fly did just that. Kaden showed people that we haven’t seen what he can do yet, Virus demonstrated his daredevil nature which caused him to hit the concrete floor (but wasn’t injured), & Menace showing that even though he was added in after his much-anticipated rematch against Hy Zaya was cancelled, he blended with the 2 younger competitors seamlessly. In what was a definite classic, The Blackanese Assassin got his first victory in PWF since the first round of Primus. Winner: Menace.
Aiden Blackheart vs. Justin Storm. Very quick match that ended in a rollup. Winner: Justin Storm.
Jacob Black, Derek Neal, & Eddie Young (w/Father Fear & Billy the P) vs. Ryan Dookie & Team IOU. With the exception of Young, all these men are feuding with each other. While IOU & Dookie were hyping the crowd (getting the crowd to chant “I-O-DOOK!), Black showed Nick Iggy what happened to Buzz: he was in pieces. So, like any young boy, he thrashes into his bully after he had had enough. In a very physical matchup, with all parties going after each other, it was the boy, his dog, & the guy with the name that makes you snicker. Winner: Ryan Dookie & Team IOU. Post match had an already unstable Derek Neal attack everyone with a leather strap.
Kyle Matthews (C) vs. Lennox Norris- PWF Championship match. Since Matthews made his début last November, he has been defeated only 3 times & avenged 2 of them. In his first match he was defeated by Dustin Rayz; an event he avenged in the finals of The Primus. He was defeated by Shawn Shultz for his title after Matthews was rendered unconscious but won the title back in a 2 out of 3 fall match. This 3rd defeat? Was to Lennox Norris last January which put him out of commission until Primus. That night, he sought to redeem his performance against tonight’s foe 9 months earlier. In a very methodical mat contest, even when it looked like Norris was getting the upper hand, it was Matthews that made him tap. Winner: Kyle Matthews. Post match had Jordan Kage come out to cash in his title shot only to once again be beaten down by Flawless. With an incapacitated challenger laying in the ring, Cash Flo tells Matthews that all he has to do is pin him. A stunned & conflicted champion is left to ponder as the bell rings to start the match.
Jordan Kage vs. Kyle Matthews (C)- PWF Championship match. As Kage laid helpless, a champion torn between getting the win & not wanting to because of the lack of sportsmanship involved, Matthews covered him for the pin. At the count of 2, Kage kicked out. Afterward, every attempt Matthews made on the pin, Kage kicked out. It was obvious that even though he had been assaulted before the match, Jordan Kage wasn’t going to allow his second title shot to be wasted. As Kage slowly struggled to gain momentum, Matthews realized that he was going to have to actually defeat his opponent. In a hard-fought matchup, it took a Fuzzy 8×10 to crown a new champion. Winner & new PWF Champion: Jordan Kage. Post match featured Kage giving a heartfelt speech to the fans thanking those who believed in him & supported him, especially a 9-year-old girl named Kelsey. Even though he’s now the champion, his scheduled match against Cash Flo later that night will go on as scheduled & has become a bigger deal.
Alex Angel vs. Frank the Tank vs. Zodiak (w/Mistress Burgandi). By popular request, Frank the Tank returns to PWF after his début at the début show. In a matchup that almost went the 15 minute time limit, all you can say that there was a lot of mass in the ring, a lot of hard slams, & plenty of heavy hands. It took the masked man everything he had to pull it off. Winner: Zodiak.
Cash Flo (w/Bobby Blade) vs. Jordan Kage (C)- PWF Championship match vs. the existence of Flawless; No Disqualification. The match went from being a simple lucha con apuesta (title shot vs. existence of Flawless) to becoming the biggest match in the history of the promotion since the finals of The Primus. With what appeared to be a stacked deck, Kage showed great resilience against someone bent on his destruction. Even Blade got involved hitting Kage with the Blade Cutter, which still didn’t put away the founding & former member of Flawless. During the carnage the referee was knocked unconscious which led to the recently retired Brian Sizemore, who came in to serve as a substitute referee as well as his Blade with his move which had been christened the Sizemore Stunner as revenge for all the verbal abuse he had suffered at the hands of Blade & Co. Finally, Flawless was put to rest, & Kage had his first successful title defense by hitting Cash with a Fuzzy 8X10 on a hard case box for the win. Winner: Jordan Kage.
Mickie Knuckles vs. Dustin Rayz (w/Father Fear, Jacob Black, & Derek Neal). For those who think that an intergender contest is an unfair matchup, let me remind those who are unfamiliar with the Knuckles’ accomplishments & history: her career began in IWA Mid-South and was trained by both Chris Hero (I don’t know where he is–anyone know?) & Bull Pain. She has competed in the King of the Deathmatches tournament as well as their spin-off Queen of the Deathmatches multiple times & to date is the only woman who has been an active participant in CZW’s Tournament of Death. Along with that, she suffered many injuries including breaking her femur which made me nauseous to watch, & she’s given birth, which I didn’t see because I wasn’t in the delivery room. On top of that, she’s one of the people many women & men cringe when they find out they have to get in the ring with her. The point I’m trying to get across is: one of the toughest & most feared people in the wrestling business isn’t a man. As for Dustin Rayz, he is making his return since his defeat at Primus which led to either an imposed or self-imposed exile. Aside from the fact that both are parents & have suffered the same horrendous injury, they didn’t sit in the middle of the ring, look at pictures of their kids, & talk about how bad snapping the largest bone in the human body felt. They beat each other pretty thoroughly both inside & outside the ring. Eventually, Rayz had her in a hold & refused to let go of the hold after Mickie grabbed the rope. Winner: Mickie Knuckles. Post match had Rayz, Black, & Neal enter the ring & attack the winner, duct taped her to the ropes, wrapped her leg in a chair, & get another chair in an attempt to club her leg & possibly break it once again. During this time, Fear summons John Bullard to the ring, gives him a paper, tells him if he doesn’t sign over 51% of the company, Rayz will hit her leg with the chair. Obviously conflicted, along with her pleading for Bullard to not let them break her leg, he reluctantly signs, giving Father Fear majority ownership of Pro Wrestling Freedom. As Fear’s troops leave the ring, & Mickie once unrestrained, suddenly low blows her rescuer, and declaring her allegiance to Fear & voicing her disdain for the fans & members of the locker room. Then as the crew attacks & beats down Bullard, slowly members of the locker room come to aid the now minority owner but to no avail. Even the champion comes out only to be attacked & hit with the Affliction Driver. Even Clash Flo walked to ringside, only to turn around & walk back behind the curtain. The show, & the promotion as a whole, has been thrown into a state of chaos as indicative of the conclusion.
This has to be one of PWF’s best shows with some outstanding action & some twists & turns. The show was one of their best booked shows with how the matches were organized. Everyone involved with the production of the show deserve accolades with everything that has gone on. Everything that happened that night and the events of the following weeks has clouded what the future holds in some aspects of the promotion. But like a jigsaw puzzle, once all the pieces fall into place, everyone will see the picture. A corner piece will be on November 2. That review will follow shortly.
Now, go check out a local show.
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All images owned by Marked Out Photography. Mike Simpson photographer.