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Second Gen Superstar Wins First Title

Posted: Feb 15th 2013 By: CMBurnham

Second-generation wrestlers often have more than their share of pressure to live up to. There are expectations and constant comparisons to endure along with the regular pressure of trying to establish oneself as a wrestling star.

Cody Burns seems to have endured that pressure better that pressure better than most. And that says a lot for the son of the oldest active member of any Oklahoma federation, Bobby Burns. But nearly-unblemished record and a lot of natural talent have certainly helped Cody. And now, he can add one more accomplishment to his resume: his first championship.

Since the beginning of 2013, Burns had set his eyes on the SRPW United States Title held by SRPW Tag Team Champion Graham Bell. And it seemed that he was going to achieve that goal as quickly as he did so many others. At the first SRPW event of 2013, Burns faced Bell for the US title. It was hard-fought contest between the two, but it appeared Burns would come out victorious as he hoisted Bell up in the Torture Rack. Before the champion could submit, Luc Lapointe slid in the ring and superkicked Burns, earning Burns a DQ win, but preventing him from winning the title. Bobby Burns climbed in to help his son, but was the victim of a beating until Marion McGee came to even up the sides. Bobby Burns' frustration boiled over at this point and he took the microphone and directed his comments at Bell's manager, B-Arthur. Burns proposed a manager's match. If Cody won, he got another shot at the US Title. But if Arthur won, Bobby would retire from wrestling forever.

Even though Arthur agreed to the match, it never happened. Arthur refused to show up at the SRPW event on January 26th, so Bobby had to go to plan B. A 6-man tag team match was held instead, pitting the entire Burns Gang against the entire Golden Alliance. Again, the potential title match was on the line and that was plenty of motivation for Burns, Burns and McGee to come out victorious.

To compound the problem, The K. C. Wolves still had to defend their SRPW Tag Team Titles before Bell & Burns met for the US Title. And it wouldn't be an easy defence as they faced the most decorated active tag team in Oklahoma: The Syndicate. Scott Sanders and Shawn Sanders brought all their experience to this opportunity, but it just didn't pan out for them. After Shawn was thrown into a steel support beam, Scott became the victim of a Superkick/Backcracker combination and the K. C. Wolves retained their titles. After the match, Bell expressed a lot of derogatory comments about Cody and Bobby, which brought the Burns clan out. A brief scuffle ensued and it quickly became apparent that the Wolves were not prepared for the Bobby and Cody, as they chose a strategic retreat in order to prepare for the main event.

When it came time for the title match, a focused and prepared Cody Burns stepped in against a vicious Graham Bell. Both men gave everything they had and could not garner a pin. Then, it appeared that Fate would intercede as the referee was knocked out. Burns hoisted Bell up for the Torture Rack, but with no referee conscious, no decision could be made. Bell recovered and hit a neckbreaker, then went to the second rope, but was caught by a Burns in a powerslam, who then went for a cover. The recovered referee counted to 2, but then saw Bell's foot on the rope. Bell executed a top rope dropkick. Again, only good for 2. Desperate, Bell went outside and grabbed the title belt, but Bobby Burns knocked it away from Bell before it could be used. This left Bell to try and find a way to defeat Cody on his own and it was apparent that his game plan was shattered. Despite a couple more close calls, Bell could not find the chink in Burns' armour. Burns was able to capture Bell one more time in the Torture Rack, which he then turned into a pin for his first championship.

B-Arthur, who had remained out of the match came out to protest the loss and was met with a superkick for his troubles. Despite this, it's safe to assume that Arthur has some trick up his sleeve in regards to Bell regaining this title. As for Burns, he now has to handle one more bit of pressure as he discovers that defending a title is often more difficult than winning it.