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Two Cents Worth: MWA is on its way!!

Posted: Sep 7th 2008 By: mikeiles

Well, it took me until late Saturday afternoon to recover from the amount of fun that I had at the first MWA show, but I'll tell you what, J-Dub (as a good friend of mine in the hip-hop world calls me) is certainly glad to have been there. The card was one of the longer ones that I've attended in quite some time, but with an inaugural show that was jam-packed with talent...one should have expect no less. With that, I'd like to cover the event.

The show kicked off with Bernard Funk v. "Mr. Saturday Night" Michael Barry. Funk, the crafty veteran, could not have wrestled a better match against the younger, bigger, and stronger Michael Barry...until the end, when one mistake allowed Barry to land the Saturday Night Special. Lights out. Barry advances to the second round.

Tim Rockwell barely escaped the first round against a very determined El Super Colibri. I've mentioned before about the bad blood between these two stemming from Compound, plus it's been covered on the Oklafan website. This feud may be on the back burner after Friday night, but it's far from over. Though Rockwell got the "W" to move on to the second round. El Super Colibri has Tim's number and trust me, he's going to dial it in next time.

The Canadian Red Devil had little time to prepare for his opponent, Keystone. Keystone replaced an injured Kenny Campbell and had a chance to make history by becoming the first MWA champion. However, the very popular CRD was able to perservere and go on to the second round of the tournament.

Blake Albright, who may have been several people's pick to win the tournament, had the tough task of starting against "Handsome" Jack Legacy. The question here is: what is Michael Barry's problem with Blake Albright? Was he simply softening him up for the second round, or is there more to this than we know? Nevertheless, Albright moved on in the last match of the opening round, only to be pummeled for his effort.

In round two of the tournament, Tim Rockwell proved a couple of things...first, he was on top of his game Friday night and wanted the title bad...second, don't wear a mask when wrestling Rockwell, or you may not like the end result. Just ask the Canadian Red Devil, who exited the tournament against his will, as Tim Rockwell went 2-0 for the evening against guys under a mask and advanced to the finals of the tournament.

Michael Barry was oozing with confidence as he came into the semi-finals, especially when his opponent, Blake Albright, came through the curtain with taped ribs...an apparent injury from Barry's attack earlier that evening. If I may quote one fan, "[it was] Friday night!" and for a guy like Mr. "Saturday Night," that can't bode well. Albright was able to surprise everyone, including Michael Barry, when he got the hard-earned victory to face Tim Rockwell in the finals.

The Gentlemen Thugs may have sealed their own fate earlier in the night, when, in an interview with Mike Iles, they berated the legendary Danny Hodge. The Thugs, wearing the tag belts they had stolen from the Old School Express, came to the ring expecting to walk out with the Southern States tag straps, this time earning them. The Old School Express had other plans for the evening, and after Danny Hodge turned Cast-Iron Cothern's hand into applesauce with one good squeeze, the OSE got the victory. Then, they celebrated, Old School style, with a true legend of the ring...Mr. Danny Hodge. By the way, Mr. Hodge isn't too bad of a dancer as he proved in the post-match celebration.

Finally, the finals of the tournament arrived. Two men, Tim Rockwell and Blake Albright, had survived a star-studded tournament, but only one of them was going to walk out the winner. Albright, still had one very noticeable bull's eye...the taped ribs. Of course, when it comes to targeting a weak spot, Tim Rockwell is quite the marksman. Though Blake Albright fought with a tremendous amount of heart, Michael Barry proved to be a thorn in his side once again, costing him the chance to be the first MWA heavyweight champion. Of course, while Rockwell was celebrating, he revealed the motive behind Barry's actions...a little bit of payola from the new MWA heavyweight champion, "Terrific" Tim Rockwell.

Congratulations to the Maximum Wrestling Alliance on a job well done. It seems like it may be another great product in Oklahoma Professional Wrestling.

Until I can scratch up another two cents,
J-Dub McG

Tags: MWA, Bernard Funk, Michael Barry, Tim Rockwell, El Super Colibri, Canadian Red Devil, Kenny Campbell, Blake Albright, Jack Legacy, Gentlemen Thugs, Mike Iles, Danny Hodge, Old School Express