On Sunday, July 22nd, Glory Pro presents “Strike First” from Wild Country in Collinsville, Illinois. This is my first preview for a Glory Pro event. There are some really good looking matches on here, and the show should be great.
8 Way Scramble – Winner gets a future United Glory Tag Team Championship match with a partner of their choosing: Kobe Durst vs. Tootie vs. Barackus vs. Stephen Wolf vs. Brandon Aarons vs. Sage Cainan vs. Tyler Matrix vs. Clayton Gains
These scramble matches are a staple of Glory Pro, and they’re used to set up future title shots, or just get people on the card. Usually they don’t get a ton of time and are a complete mess, but they always bring some enjoyable moments. This could open the show, and just have Barackus throwing everyone around the ring. Notable names in here are Kobe Durst, Barackus, Stephen Wolf, and Tyler Matrix. It’s usually hard to predict these matches, but with the current storyline with Curt Stallion and crew, I woulnd’t be shocked with a Barackus win, however that’s not who I’m predciting. Glory Pro has been high on Tyler Matrix in the past, giving him big matches, including ACH and MJF on the latest shows. Matrix is my pick here, but I have no clue who his partner would be.
Prediction: Tyler Matrix
The Boys from Jollyville vs. Space Pirates
The Boys from Jollyville aren’t the greatest team in the world, but they have done some solid stuff in the past, most notably alligning with Curt Stallion, and planning to takeover Glory Pro. This seems to be on the card to give The Boys a win and gain momentum, which is totally acceptable. In my opinion, Stallion walks out with the Crown of Glory in the main event, and at the next show, The Boys take home Tag gold, leaving Stallion and crew with all the gold. However, don’s sleep on the Space Pirates. They’re a fun act, Space Monkey is always over with the crowd, and Shane Sabre is usually always enjoyable. It’s a fun pairing, but sadly they’re only here to take the loss. This has the potential to be good and enjoyable, but not much more.
Prediction: The Boys from Jollyville
Danny Adams vs. Aaron Solow
Seeing Aaron Solow on this card is absolutely awesome, and I’m calling it “The Dojo Pro effect”. Solow absolutely killed it in Dojo Pro, and I won’t spoil for those that haven’t seen it, but he always impressed. Along with KLD, Danny Adams runs Glory Pro. He puts in good performances, and his team with KLD (#NoNewFriends) is always entertaining. This has the potential to be a really good match, definitely a sleeper on the show. Solow is making his Glory Pro debut here, and it would make sense for him to pick up the win, but I expect Danny to use some dirty tactics (interference from KLD and/or Mike Outlaw) to steal the win.
Prediction: Danny Adams
The Riegel Twins vs. #NoNewFriends
I am not familiar with The Riegel Twins, and have never been able to see them inside the ring, so I can’t really give a ton of insight on the team. As for #NoNewFriends, Mike Outlaw recently debuted at the last Only the Strong Survive, and he’s been helping KLD and Danny ever since. On Resurgence shows, #NNF always have hidden tricks, and constatnly interfere in matches, distract the referee, and do anything in their power to win. The Riegel Twins should come in and pick up a shocking win, to change things up in the tag division.
Prediction: The Riegel Twins
Savanna Stone vs. Laynie Luck
Savanna Stone and Kylie Rae are the staples of Glory Pro’s womens divison, as it doesn’t seem like there’s any direction in the division. There’s no championship to fight for, or no matches with any meaning. The matches are usually always fine, but nothing great. I’m not familiar with Laynie Luck, but Glory Pro does a good job of introducing new women’s talent, and I’m sure it’ll be the same here. Savanna should pick up the win here, unless Luck gets lucky…
Prediction: Savanna Stone
Airwolf vs. Paco vs. Shane Strickland
Airwolf recently won the Gateway to Glory Tournament, and won the Resurgence Championship because of it. Paco is coming off an unsecessful attempt at winning the Crown of Glory Championship back at the One Year Anniversary show. The last time we saw Shane Strickland in Glory Pro was on the Something Wicked last October, where he defeated Hakim Zane. This has the potential to be an absolutely great three way, which could steal the show. Airwolf hasn’t impressed me a ton, but he’s never awful. Paco is always great, his feud with Danny Adams is still one of my favorite things in Glory Pro’s history, and the crowd absolutely loves him. As for Strickland, he’s guaranteed to be over, and you know he’s only coming to steal the show. A hard one to predict, but I have Paco pinning Airwolf, which gets him back into the title picture, and also could secure a shot at the Resurgence Championship.
Prediction: Paco
Mance Warner vs. Ethan Page
Originally this was supposed to be Hakim Zane vs. Ethan Page, but I’m assuming Zane had to pull out due to IMPACT being his first priority. That match was going to be great, but now in his place we get Mance Warner. I’m not very familiar with him, so it’ll be interesting to see how he does against Page. All Ego has appeared in Glory Pro on a few occasions in the past, and always delivers. Page seems to always end up on the losing end, so I think that’ll change here. Mance can take a loss, and maybe Page can get booked more regularly and get a shot at the Crown of Glory.
Prediction: Ethan Page
AJ Gray vs. ACH
AJ Gray was apart of the scramble match at the One Year Anniversary, but he hasn’t competed in Glory Pro since. Putting him against ACH is a very interesting choice, one that I question on paper. What has Gray done to earn this opportunity? I guess we’re going to find out, because no one has a bad match against ACH. ACH is always over, very enjoyable and fun to watch, along with the fact that he can be really great when he turns it up. This seems like another one of those matches that can go under the radar, due to the fact that no one really knows what Gray is capable of. I don’t expect this to be match of the night, but you never know.
#1 Contender’s Match: Warhorse vs. Myron Reed
This one should be ABSOLUTELY INSANE! Warhorse has become a fan favorite in Glory Pro, and his series of matches against Gary Jay has really improved him as a performer. Speaking of improved performers, look no further than Myron Reed. Reed was the second ever Crown of Glory Champion, and he held the title for 161 days, and made title defenses against the likes of Fenix and AR Fox. Reed stole the show in each of his title defenses, and he’s currently my favorite wrestler in Glory Pro, and keeps rising on my list of favorite wrestlers in general. Warhorse isn’t getting the bookings like Reed is in MLW, AAW, EVOLVE, etc. however he still is a great talent, and I think he picks up the win here. The story has been too good to drop now, and Reed will always be there to put on great matches, and he’ll forever in title contention.
Prediction: Warhorse
Crown of Glory Championship: Jake Something (c) vs. Curt Stallion
The build to this match has been phenomenal, and we’re finally getting a singles match. It all started when Curt Stallion turned on the crowd, and everyone in general to align with Barackus and the Boys from Jollyville. Jake Something defeated Myron Reed to win the Crown of Glory back in October of last year, and is closing in on 300 days as champion. In February, Stallion and Paco challenged for the Crown of Glory in a three way, but Stallion came up short. Back at Only the Strong survive, Curt Stallion pinned Jake Something at the end of the Ultimate Survival match, which places him here. No doubt in my mind, Curt Stallion should win the Crown of Glory. Stallion is getting more heat than ever, Something has had a pretty good reign, but it’s time to move on. Ever since the start, Stallion was facing guys like Sami Callihan, Kyle O’Reilly, Martin Stone, and Shingehiro Irie. I’m really hope they refrain from having a super overbooked finish, because I would love to see Stallion win the title clean, but I’m sure that won’t be the case. I shouldn’t be so sure of anything in the first place, because Something could always retain. Anyways, we have another match that could easily take Match of the Night. By the end of this show, Stallion should walk out with the Crown of Glory and have an intense staredown with Warhorse.
Prediction: Curt Stallion
Overall, to newcomers there’s talent like Shane Strickland, Ethan Page, and ACH on the card to draw you in. Plus, this event has a special Meet and Greet with Jake the Snake, so I’m sure he’ll appear somewhere on the show. There are quite a few matches that could steal the show, and that’s what makes Glory Pro so great. There’ll be a review posted after the show, to see how my predictions did, and what matches truly did steal the show.