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Stackhouse Fights Back Against Bully Tactics

Posted: Jan 21st 2010 By: CMBurnham

Few people personify the ?Gentle Giant? in Oklahoma wrestling better than Sam Stackhouse. As a newcomer, Sam is working hard to hone his craft. He?s a big guy, with remarkable agility given his build. But he?s friendly, the fans like him and he?s working slowly but surely to make a name for himself.

In the brief time that Sam has been on the scene, he?s strung together a series of wins, including some decisive victories over Richie Adams. And for the most part, he?s done it all himself, although he did make an alliance with Tyson Jaymes.

He?s asked for nothing except the chance to work and try to get better.

That work has paid off, as Sam has gained the respect of the ComPro fans. But the same can?t be said for some of the locker room. Two weeks ago, Sam had his first encounter with the self-proclaimed ?Hardcore Icon?, J. P. Steele. It was a simple 1-on-1 match, no titles on the line, no grudges to be resolved. Steele seemed flustered quickly by the speed and dexterity of his opponent and obviously was upset because none of his tactics seemed to be working. This led Steele to go outside the ring, grab a steel chair, bring it back into the ring and pound Sam repeatedly, earning a DQ for his efforts.

Sam probably thought that that was a one-time issue, but that certainly wasn?t the case. As a reward for his win-loss record, Sam earned the opportunity to challenge new ComPro Showtime Champion Ignition for that title. It was a big deal for Sam, his first title shot, and he wanted to make the most of it. But he was at an immediate disadvantage as Ignition was accompanied by the ComPro Tag Team Champions Reckless & Michael York. This made for a 3-on-1 situation, but Sam wasn?t intimidated. He just resolved to work harder and come through with his first title.

The match went mostly in Sam?s favour, although the evil threesome used their numbers advantage to their benefit on a few occasions. But thinking has never been the strong point for any of the three and several of the things they tried backfired on them. Sam rocked Ignition with a flying knee to the head, an amazing feat for someone close to 400 lbs, then put Ignition in the bearhug. York and Reckless quickly distracted the referee, so he couldn?t see Ignition tapping out to the pain. But as that was going on, J. P. Steele again made his presence known. He came out to ringside, grabbed another steel chair, and hit Sam with it, allowing Ignition to get the pin and retain his belt.

Obviously there was now a personal issue between Steele and Stackhouse and it would escalate very quickly, well before Steele was prepared for it. Steele faced another newcomer, Evan Newcastle, later in the show. Once again, Steele became frustrated because he couldn?t figure out a way to outwrestle the rookie and went to grab a chair, but Sam arrived and snatched it away, allowing Newcastle to hoist Steele up for the TKO and earn the pin. After Newcastle had been counted down, Sam entered the ring, grabbed the microphone and told Steele, ?No, sir!? to the idea that J. P. was going to take Sam out. J. P. quickly rolled to outside and Sam, in retaliation for the chair shot in the earlier match, threw the chair threw the ring ropes, making it nearly collide with J. P?s head.

Steele has to have several issues on his mind. He still wants to get a hold of the Showtime title, a title he has tried repeatedly to gain, but keeps coming up short for. He also has the returned Shadow of Death on the horizon, as SOD addressed him during a prematch promo, saying that J. P. wasn?t the Hardcore Icon and he was.

Most people will tell you that the best way to handle a bully is to stand up to them. And that seems to be what Sam Stackhouse has done. He met the ?Hardcore Icon? man-to-man and showed that he would not be intimidated. Now, he can return to what makes him happy, preparing for matches, getting in the ring and learning what it takes to be a great pro wrestler.

Tags: Sam Stackhouse, Richie Adams, ComPro, J. P. Steele, Ignition, Reckless, Michael York, Evan Newcastle, Shadow of Death