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The AWFUL Era Debuts In An Awesome Way

Posted: May 23rd 2009 By: CMBurnham

A new era in Oklahoma City wrestling commenced on May 17 as AWFUL wrestling crowned their first champion.

A rocky start for the federation had haunted the procedings. Originally scheduled to debut January 30, the Associated Wrestling For a United Legacy had the rug pulled out from under them literally an hour before their debut event. It took 4 months for them to recoup and find a venue to run their show, and there was no doubt that they wanted to put forward their best showing. Sadly, the audience turnout was relatively low, but the stars still put out their best efforts and two major happenings occurred: the first AWFUL Champion was crowned and the AWFUL Commissioner was finally revealed after months of speculation.

While everything ended up fine, it didn't seem like that was going to be the case when Mike Iles came out and addressed the crowd. He said that there seemed to have been some transportation problems for the commissioner and the AWFUL board of directors had appointed him as interim commissioner. He then introduced two of the six men entered in the tournament to crown the 1st AWFUL Champion, Jack Legacy and Damon Windsor. While both of these men were under his management, he told them that tonight, they were on their own because he had to call it down the middle. He then sent Windsor to the back as the first match in the tournament started.

Legacy's opponent in the first round was TAP Champion The Canadian Red Devil, managed by Sensei Bolo. The Devil put up a strong fight, but was unable to combat Legacy, especially when Iles' promise to remain uninvolved didn't hold true. With Legacy advancing, Iles was halfway towards creating the 2-on-1 situation he wanted in the finals.

The second match saw Shane Morbid face off against TAP Pure Xtreme Champion Brandon Groom. Groom displayed an aggressive streak that was unlike most of his recent demeanor. Given that Groom had been denied his chance to become ComPro Champion after chasing Draven Cross for several weeks, it's not surprising that another chance to add a title to his collection would find Groom using unsportsmanlike tactics. Morbid, who has not held singles gold since the beginning of 2007, showed no fear when placed up against the man calling himself "The Greek God." But both men's obsession with becoming champion led them to cast the rules to the side and ignore the referee. When the battle spilled outside the ring, neither man paid attention to the count and didn't make it back to the ring. Mike Iles, who had come to ringside to scout a prospective opponent in the finals, now found things going even better than he expected as he announced that both men were eliminated from the tournament. Neither man seemed to care as they continued to battle back up to the ring entrance.

The final first-round match Damon Windsor take on Kevin Morgan. Morgan, who many considered a strong favourite when the participants of this tournament were announced, had suffered some bad luck over the past couple of days. On Saturday at the ComPro event in Tulsa, Morgan competed against Ignition. And where Ignition is, his brother Reckless is always present. The twins continually switched in and out, working over Morgan's left knee and ultimately gaining a victory. The next afternoon, at the MSWA event in Midwest City, Morgan accepted the "Tyson Challenge" from Tyson Jaymes and again, that left knee was a target. This time, Morgan was able to gain a win, but the damage was done. Morgan bravely strode to the ring and pulled out everything he had, but things completely turned against him when Jack Legacy arrived. Morgan was distracted and Windsor was able to roll him up and advance in the tournament.

Iles could barely contain his enthusiasm when it came time for the finals. With both of his charges in the match and no Triple Threat stipulation to face, Iles knew that no matter what happened, his would control the AWFUL TItle. But Windsor and Legacy still had to compete to determine which one of them got the belt. The match that followed was a complete farce. It began with both men looking as if they would have a competitive event and it even seemed as if Iles showed some favouritism towards Legacy when he slipped him some brass knucks. But the referee caught that, prompting Windsor to appear to get angry. The knucks were returned to Iles, but a shoving match then occurred between Legacy and Windsor. Legacy then was "shoved down" and Windsor pinned him, becoming the first AWFUL Champion!

Or so it appeared, for at that moment, the AWFUL commissioner arrived. "Bad" Brad Michaels strode to the ring and immediately fired Mike Iles for abusing his position of power. He refuses to acknowledge the previous match, saying that the fans were promised a Triple Threat match and he wanted to deliver a Triple Threat Match. As Windsor and Legacy stared on and Iles protested, Michaels reentered Kevin Morgan into the main event and Morgan wasted no time in capitalising on events. The Triple Threat Match was contested under elimination rules and Legacy was the first to fall when a belt shot intended for Morgan missed and Windsor connected with Legacy. This brought things even and Morgan dug deep in his soul to put Windor down and become the first AWFUL Champion.

Morgan's road to the title may have been difficult, but it's likely he'll consider it easy, compared to the competition he'll face as champion. In two weeks, the AWFUL era takes its next step forward. And we'll get a chance to see just how awesome Kevin Morgan can be.

Tags: AWFUL, Mike Iles, Jack Legacy, Damon Windsor, Canadian Red Devil, Sensei Bolo, TAP, Brandon Groom, ComPro, Draven Cross, Shane Morbid, Damon Windsor, Kevin Morgan, Ignition, Reckless, MSWA, Tyson Jaymes, Brad Michaels