• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Devil Hopes For Turnaround After Bad 2010 Beginning

Posted: Mar 3rd 2010 By: CMBurnham

The Canadian Red Devil?s career really took off over the past couple of years and 2009 seemed to show that he was one of the top stars in the entire state. A ranking of #2 in the Oklafan Top 50, plus appearances in almost every federation that ran a show in Oklahoma indicated that the masked star was in demand and was successful. Now, that story seems to have reached a major turning point as the Devil has not had a very positive beginning to 2010.

The Devil began his year as ComPro Showtime Champion, a title that he held twice. He was proud to have been the inaugural champion and to have lived up to the demand of defending that belt on a weekly basis in Tulsa. But at the first ComPro show in 2010, he was upended by Ignition for the title. A rematch a week later saw the same result, as the outside presence of Boss Campbell and Michael York, combined with the use of one of the ComPro Tag Team Title belts, ended his championship aspirations.

The following week, the Devil found himself facing off against the Masked Martyr. Both men shared a problem with J. P. Steele, but there were no alliances in this match. The Devil was clearly superior in the match, so the Martyr used some ingenuity. While the Shadow of Death distracted the referee, Martyr took the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Title belt (at ringside because Sensei Bolo was guest ring announcer and the Canadian Luchadore was there to protect him) and entered the ring, then threw it to the Devil and ?Eddie Guerreroed? himself. When the referee turned around, he saw what appeared to be a flagrant violation of the rules and even though the Luchadore and Sensei protested the Devil?s innocence, it didn?t matter. The Martyr won by DQ

The Devil paired up with Dutch Hagen on January 23 to challenge ComPro Tag Team Champions Michael York & Reckless in a non-title match. The newly paired ?Handsome Devils? worked well together for a first-time teaming, but again, the ringside back-up for York & Reckless proved the difference as Ignition used the Showtime title and clobbered the Devil in the back, allowing Reckless to get the pin.

The Devil was able to regain a bit of his esteem by getting a win over the NWA-Panhandle Wrestling Federation Champion Chad Thomas at the MSWA show the next day. But by the end of that week, it was once again business as usual. The Devil faced Sam Stackhouse and Evan Newcastle in a Triple Threat Match. Perhaps he took the match a little less seriously than he should have, as at one point he went out and sat in the crowd on the front row and simply observed while his opponents battled each other. The Devil was not the one who ended up being pinned in the match, but it still didn?t lead to a win for him as Newcastle was able to connect with an RKO from the top rope on Stackhouse to gain the victory after shoving the Devil to the outside.

With January yielding only one win for him, the Devil hoped for things to improve a lot in February. The results were somewhat mixed. He began the month in a Triple Threat Match against Tim Rockwell and El Super Colibri to determine the #1 contender to the MWA MAX-Division Title. He even achieved the move of the night as he locked in the Camel Clutch on Rockwell at the same time that Colibri applied a Boston Crab. Although it was impressive to look at, it didn?t pay off. Colibri was able to connect with a flying crossbody and score the win, earning a title shot on March 5. Once again, title aspirations and championship gold was denied to the Devil. And it wouldn?t be the last time.

The Devil was owed a championship rematch by TAP Champion Reckless after losing that belt to him in June. That rematch finally took place on February 12. The Devil seemed prepared this time as he had made an agreement with Michael York to have him in his corner to counter the presence of Ignition in his brother?s corner. TAP Commissioner J. P. Steele made the match a No DQ match and the match began with all 4 men pairing off and battling each other, but eventually it boiled down to 1-on-1. But things once again went sour when the Devil locked Reckless in the Sharpshooter and York entered the ring with the title belt and hit the Devil in the head with it, allowing Reckless to retain. This was the Devil?s last championship opportunity and another loss in the growing list for 2010.

The numbers game again proved to be the turning point for the Devil the next night in his match against Chris Chaos. The Devil had Chaos in a Fujiwara armbar, but ComPro Oklahoma X Division Champion Bobby Star distracted the ref, preventing him from seeing Chaos tapping out. Another submission move was too close to the ropes, allowing Chaos to escape by grabbing them. Chaos seemed to be in tremendous pain after this, but it was just a ruse to allow Star to enter the ring and hit a Star Destroyer on the Devil so Chaos could get an ill-gotten win. This time, though, revenge would fester in the Devil?s mind and at a special show at McKinley elementary , the he would come to the aid of Mr. Haney as the diminutive former referee was being bullied by the Stars of Chaos. ComPro owner Mike Two decided to make a special main event for the show pitting Star and Chaos against Haney and the Devil. The Devil had to carry most of the match for his team as Haney was not a properly trained wrestler. He did well for himself, though, going for covers every time he was in the ring, then quickly tagging out to keep from being isolated. Haney even got the win with a schoolboy rollup on Star. This gave the Devil his first win in ComPro for the year. Unfortunately he wasn?t able to carry through the next night as a pair of brass knucks allowed Star to retain the Oklahoma X Division Title. An unexpected by product of that match was what seems to be a reunion of New Canada as the Luchadore and Sensei Bolo came to Devil?s aid, saving him from a 2-on-1 attack.

This past Saturday saw the Devil once again in Triple Threat competition, facing Sam Stackhouse and newcomer Dustin Harp. The crowd certainly hated Harp, but seemed evenly split between the Devil and Stackhouse. As the match went on, they even began to lean more towards Stackhouse, perhaps due to the Devil resorting to some underhanded tactics. An amazing feat of strength gained the Devil another precious win as Stackhouse had Harp in a bearhug and the Devil schoolboyed both men together and was able to pin both their shoulders to the mat for the win. The Devil took Harp?s headgear and mocked him after the match, but the crowd was still upset because Stackhouse had lost. Concerned for his safety, the Devil had to have one of the security members escort him to the back to ?protect? him from the crowd?s anger.

At this point, the Devil needs to string some wins together to gain some of the momentum he had at the end of the year. He?s cut back on his travel and is not competing in MSWA or SWCW these days. ComPro only has a two more regularly scheduled events before they stop putting on weekly shows. At that point, the Devil will either have to take some time off (which will only lead to his talents getting rusty) or look to other federations to continue to compete. Normally that wouldn?t have been a problem, but with his recent losing streak, he?ll have a hard time convincing the promoters that he is a valuable asset to their roster. Hopefully, the Devil can regain some confidence and make the most of these next few matches so he will continue to be one of the most sought-after competitors in the state.

Tags: Canadian Red Devil, ComPro, Boss Campbell, Michael York, Masked Martyr, Ignition, J. P. Steele, Shadow of Death, Sensei Bolo, Canadian Luchadore, Dutch Hagen, Sam Stackhouse, Evan Newcastle, Tim Rockwell, El Super Colibri, MWA, TAP, Chris Chaos, Bobby Sta