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Smith Hopes To Fly To Great Heights Again After 2-out-of-3 Falls Match With Webber on June 24th

Posted: Jun 14th 2023 By: CMBurnham

Injuries suck. Especially for athletes. Most athletes understand that they have a limited timeframe to excel and reach the heights they hope to. They are competing against massive odds, trying to find ways to be noticed in a huge field where everyone hopes to be at the same level.

Injuries for pro wrestlers can often put them out for months at a time. They cost them time, money and opportunities.

That's what's been going through the mind of Connor Smith since the beginning of the year.

4 months.

4 months lost. Due to a freak accident.

Except in Smith's mind. It wasn't an accident. It was done on purpose by Dan Webber.

At the time of the accident, Smith was the WAH Spotlight Champion. He had overcome incredible adversity, including the death of his father during the fledgling beginnings of his career. That hard work led him to beating Romeo Reese for the Spotlight Tilte on June 11, 2022 and seemed to mark a turning point in his career. Now a champion, Smith hoped to continue the upward movement he felt he was making in the company. And those feelings seemed even more justified when he got a WAH Title opportunity against Dan Webber on August 13. But in that match, Smith suffered a broken collar bone, which would put him out of action for the remainder of 2022. It was one of those unfortunate situations that no one could predict. But in his time off, Smith let that fester and boil. He was forced to relinquish the Spotlight Title before he could prove his worth as a champion. And when he returned in January, he was a changed man. Once jokingly calling himself the "Weekend Warrior", a somewhat derogatory name used for independent pro wrestlers who only wrestle on the weekends, Smith now became "The Broken Wing", in reference to his injury. And Smith's return was not terribly impressive. He lost to Pyro in January and then fell short in his bid to recapture the Spotlight Title from Anthony Wild in February.

That's when the change in Smith really started to become apparent. On March 11, Smith faced off against newcomer El Valiente. And Smith's behaviour during that match was more aggressive than usual, even violating understood protocol in Lucha tradition by ripping off Valiente's mask. This brought out Dan Webber, who had been watching Smith since his return, in part out of a sense of guilt for what happened. Webber confronted Smith and an impromptu match was agreed to later that night which Webber won after Smith was disqualified for a low blow. That was when it became publicly understood that Smith blamed Webber for everything that had happened to him in August and the shortfalls that came afterwards.

Smith and Webber then began to interfere in each other's matches, with Smith costing Webber the opportunity to become a 3-time WAH Champion when he faced Rush Freeman for the vacant WAH Title on May 13th. That forced Webber's hand and he challenged Smith to a No Holds Barred match on May 27th. And Webber knew what to expect, bringing an entire shopping cart of things to the ring with him. Both men beat on each other with anything that was not nailed down and it appeared that Webber would gain his victory until Karnage, who had long been an associate of Smith's even before the accident, interfered and caused Webber to lose. Smith's sense of vindication was only surpassed by his sense of accomplishment as he was firmly convinced that he now stood above Webber and thus above the rest of the WAH roster.

But Webber wasn't done. And he made that point known during his match against Bobby Dylan on June 10th. As Smith seemed to have Dylan prepped for a pinfall, Webber appeared on the video screen and challenged Smith to a 2-out-of-3 Falls match. That was enough of a distraction to let Dylan recover and score a victory over the shocked and irate Smith.

So, on June 24th, Webber and Smith will meet for what both hope is the final time. Both men are focused. Both men want to prove something. If Smith can come out on top in this match, not only will it end this feud, but he believes it can set him back on the path to greatness he felt he was on before.

Because even someone with a broken wing can fly again.