Home ▸ Indies ▸ Empire State Wrestling: Meltdown

Empire State Wrestling returned home to the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, NY this past Saturday Night, and yours truly was in attendance.  As usual, those ESW guys put on one hell of a show.  Recap after the jump!

A cool thing about ESW is the fact that they show promo videos at the start of the shows, something that a lot of the indies don’t do.  This show kicked off backstage with Jordan Olivencia interviewing Cade Cassidy, the former Coverboy.  Cassidy’s new gimmick is that he’s got OCD.  In the promo, he was trying to figure out if there were an even or odd number of chain links in the fence behind him.  He said that his match with former partner Tommy Caliber couldn’t happen.  He’d left Caliber in his past, and bringing his past into his present or future would screw up the space-time continuum.  Good stuff, loving the new gimmick.

Next, Jordan interviewed Barry and Brian Hardy.  The Caesar interrupted, then was punched in the face following Barry Hardy’s “magic trick.”  Caesar then challenged the father-son team to find a partner for a six man against himself, Tommy Mandrake, and Superbeast.  Barry said he had somebody in mind.  Brian said he had the tights ready.

The show proper started off with the usual announcements from ring announcer Olivencia, who is, as usual, interrupted by ESW Champion Chris Cooper.  Cooper brags about his victory at WrestleBash in a cage match against Jonny Puma.  The song “Celebration” starts to play, and Cooper’s former tag team partner, Mastiff Will Calrissian, came to the ring, sporting a wig after having his mullet cut by Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake at the last show.  Mastiff says that it’s time to celebrate.  We’re not celebrating the fact that it’s Jordan Olivencia’s last show.  We’re not celebrating the fact that it’s Pepper Parks and Kevin Grace’s birthdays.  No, we’re celebrating accomplishments.  First, we’re celebrating the fact that Cooper is still the ESW Champion.  Second, we’re celebrating the fact that Mastiff’s mullet has “grown back.”  Third, Mastiff has a surprise for Cooper.  The ESW Tag Team Championships have been returned to them (Brandon Thurston, one half of the now former Tag Team Champions, is on duty in Iraq.  Come home safe, Brandon!).

Kevin Grace interrupts the festivities, but when he tries to touch Mastiff’s “mullet,” the Tag Team Champions start to attack.  Pepper Parks hits the ring to chase them off, say happy birthday to a few of the fans at ringside, and welcome us to the show!

Danny Danger def. Josh Thor

Thor is a newcomer here in ESW.  He held his own in this match with Danny Danger, but Danger’s high flying offense proved too much for him, as he hit the Danger Zone for the victory.  Following the match, Thor proclaimed that he’s “never coming back to this stinkin’ town.”

Caesar’s Legion made their way to the ring for their six-man tag against the Hardys, accompanied by Purple.  The Hardys hit the ring, and Caesar demanded to know who their partner would be.  Enter the Western New York Icon, Jonny Puma!

Barry Hardy, Brian Hardy, and Jonny Puma def. Caesar’s Legion

A vintage tag team match here (did I just say “vintage?”  I really need to mute RAW on Mondays).  The Legion kept Brian Hardy away from his corner, but when he finally got the tag to Puma, it wasn’t long before he found himself alone in the ring with Caesar.  Puma nailed the Jonny-on-the-Spot for the victory as the Hardys held off Mandrake and Superbeast (with Mean Mike taking care of Purple).

Following the match, Puma gave Caesar a wedgie, embarrassing him.

Party Guy Brett Mednik def. Jordan Casey

Mednik unveiled a new gimmick for this one – that of a big fat party animal, complete with Hawaiian shirt and beer dispensing football helmet.  He spent the early part of the match drinking a beer while wrestling, until Casey knocked it out of his hand.  Mednik got more aggressive, knocking Casey out of the ring before chugging another beer.  Mednik picked up the win with a powerbomb.

Newly crowned Interstate Champion “Inferno” Johnny Adams issued an open challenge for his title before the show.  The challenge was answered by Chase Taylor, whom my girlfriend has dubbed “The Sort-of Big Show” based on his look.

“Inferno” Johnny Adams def. Chase Taylor to retain the ESW Interstate Championship

Taylor controlled a lot of this match, until Adams managed to nail a Brain Kick and turn the tide.  He hit his finisher to pick up the win and retain his title.

The Bonecrushers def. The Kovacs

Matt and Michael Kovac made a huge mistake – they tried to attack the Bonecrushers before the match.  The twins from Puerto Rico picked up an easy win in this one.

Before the next match, it was announced that an ESW fan had passed away between the time of the last show and this one.  A moment of silence was observed.

Mastiff insisted on an in-ring introduction, which Jordan Olivencia reluctantly read.  Pepper Parks was introduced, and we’re ready for action.

Pepper Parks def. Mastiff

Two extremely capable wrestlers, both of whom were in the PWI 500 for 2009, Mastiff and Parks put on a well executed comedy match.  They started things off seriously enough, but after knocking Parks down, Mastiff yelled out to the crowd “Watch this, I saw this on TV!”  He drops to the canvas and starts pounding the mat a la Randy Orton, but when he goes for the RKO, Parks shoves him off, then nails an Attitude Adjustment.  Parks sets up for Sweet Chin Music, but Mastiff grabs the microphone and says he saw that move on TV, so he’s not getting up.  When he does, he locks up with Parks, who whips him to the ropes and then nails the superkick anyway.  Mastiff kicked out of the subsequent cover, knocked Parks down again, spat water, then went for a Pedigree.  Parks reversed it into a backdrop.  Mastiff started acting like the Ultimate Warrior, and the pair re-enacted the Hogan/Warrior match from WrestleMania VI.  In the end, Cooper came out to help Mastiff, but Kevin Grace rushed the ring with a birthday cake.  The cake was smashed into Mastiff’s face, and Parks scored the pinfall victory.  Awesome match!

Time for intermission while they clean up the ring.  I grabbed a slice of pizza and took a minute to say hello to Barry and Brian Hardy, who both remembered me from last time.  Those guys, along with Pepper Parks, are guys who truly appreciate what the fans mean to this business.  Speaking of Pepper, I made it a point to call him “Jesse Guyver” after his SmackDown match under that name.  I spoke briefly with Jordan Olivencia, who confirmed that this was indeed his last show, though he didn’t want it to be.

Back from intermission, Jonny Puma and several other ESW wrestlers came to ringside to present Olivencia with a gift – a special tribute video to thank him for his time with the company.  As most of the wrestlers made their way to the back, Puma insisted that Olivencia introduce him one last time.  Before he could finish the introduction, however, Ryot appeared behind him and shoved him to the canvas.  Puma tried to attack, but Ryot overpowered him, locking him in a Claw hold.  Caesar took the microphone and said that Puma is going to pay for what he did to him earlier in the night.  He says that the fans worship Puma as a God, but that even Gods can die.  With Puma unconscious at this point, Ryot held him up for Caesar, who painted Puma’s face to look like his own.  Caesar and Ryot left the ring, with Caesar bowing to Puma on his way out.  He stopped to tell a nearby cameraman that “the joke… is over.”  Very cool stuff with The Caesar.  It’s cool for him to go from the jovial, fun loving, happy-crazy character to the dark, demented, cold and calculating character.  I like it.

Tommy Caliber def. Cade Cassidy by Disqualification

Cassidy’s new OCD germophobe gimmick is awesome.  He wears a surgical mask to the ring and sprays sanitizer on everything.  He held his own with Caliber early in the match, but faked passing out when Caliber removed his surgical mask.  When Cassidy’s rollup attempt failed, the match got physical, even resulting in Cassidy bleeding from the mouth.  Cassidy continually attempted to choke Caliber through the match, which ultimately wound up getting him disqualified and costing Caliber his shot at revenge, despite a victory.

Curtis Lee Walker def. James Santel

Santel is another newcomer to ESW, but didn’t really stand a chance against veteran Curtis Lee Walker, who made short work of the rookie.

Chris Cooper def. Kevin Grace to retain the ESW Championship

Mastiff accompanied Cooper for this one, and continually interfered.  For some reason, the referee didn’t bother ejecting him from ringside.  The end came when Grace tried to suplex Cooper back in the ring, but Mastiff pulled his legs out from under him, holding them down so he couldn’t kick out of the pin attempt.

Mastiff and Cooper assaulted Grace after the match, but Pepper Parks once again made the save.  He then told the Tag Team Champions he had an idea (to which Kevin Grace said “I usually like your ideas!”).  At the next show, September 11th, Parks and Grace will challenge Famous for the ESW Tag Team Championships!

I had a great time at this show, and I’m disappointed that the next one is three months away.  These guys always put on a good show.  WWE calls themselves the greatest value in entertainment, but they’re not – this is a much better value.  For $13 at the door I got in to a fantastic show, and for just two bucks more I had a slice of pizza and a Pepsi.  WWE can’t beat that!

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