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The Rising Focus On Ascending To The Top Once Again

Posted: May 30th 2017 By: Michael Hunt

In 2015, a tag team ascended to the top of the pile in SRPW. And really, in the entire state of Oklahoma. The Rising, Current UWE Champion Riker and Matt Durden (then known as Abel) were simply the best that the state had to offer. 2-time SRPW Tag Team Champions. UWE Tag Team Champions. In a very short span they proved that they were one of the measuring sticks for tag team wrestling by being voted Oklafan.com Tag Team of the Year in 2015.

The drive that pushed them to be the best as a tag was almost certainly one of the factors that pushed them apart. Riker and Abel may have entered 2016 together but by the end of the year, they were far apart from each other. In FACT, Abel was far apart from pro wrestling, disappearing from everywhere except UWE, where he parted company with Riker and won the UWE Tag Team Titles with Clint Cassidy. But while Abel was away, a new creature was being born in his place. That would end up being “Maniacal” Matt Durden, the leader of the Pandemonium Side Show. And his arrrival signaled a major departure from the comradely that existed with Riker as he immediately targeted his former partner in WFC events, waging a brutal and psychotic war that involved kidnapping Riker’s sharks, amongst other things.

That war culminated in one of the most vicious matches WFC has seen as Riker and Durden battled in a Street Fight in Bristow. The match saw the destruction of tables, ladders and the appearance of weird screaming ghouls. It also saw Riker victorious and fans assumed that this would be the final chapter in the intersecting paths of Riker and Durden.

As is often the case in pro wrestling, the fans were wrong.

Two weeks ago, a tag team who, in several ways, are in a similar position to The Rising, found themselves in a bit of a dilemma. Team Dean Machine are 2-time BPPW Oklahoma Tag Team Champions. They have defeated every established tag team in BPPW. They have proven themselves the measuring stick for tag team competition in that company. But as young, hungry competitors, that isn’t enough or them. They want more. They want to continue to show how much tag team action means to them. So at that show, they came to the ring and issued and open challenge to any wrestlers in the back.

And to everyone’s surprise, the Rising stepped forward to answer the call.

No one will probably be able to explain why they chose to reunite except for Riker and Durden themselves and they currently have chosen not to expound on their actions. Suffice it to say that they showed up ready to fight and the Deans opened the gates for them. And the Deans showed that they were fighting Champions because they never took a step back from the assault that came their way. Overpowered and outsized, Christopher and Jerry did what they have done their entire careers as a tag team: they stuck together. They never gave up. They fed of the energy of the crowd. And all that seriously frustrated the Rising because it seemed like no matter what was thrown at the Deans, it was not enough. Seeing that they could not get the job done by abiding by the rules, Riker and Durden decided to step outside the rules and discard the importance of winning the match. Riker grabbed the kendo stick he had brought to the ring and Durden got ahold of his custimomised walking stick. And the two upped the intensity and brutality by commencing a beating on the champions that was only stopped when all the officials in the locker room came to force the Rising the back.

This past Friday, Christopher Dean, seemingly healed from any injuries he suffered, took on Colt Killbane. Killbane was hoping to make a big impact on the board of directors of BPPW with a decisive win over one of the tag team champions, but instead, Christopher proved that he could be just as effective in singles competition as he is in tag team competition. But when the match was finished, Riker arrived, kendo stick still in his hands, and continued the beating he had begun the previous week. This brought BPPW Co-Commissioner C. M. Burnham out and he immediately got in Riker’s face, saying that since Riker wanted to stick his nose where it didn’t belong, he could make that easier for him. He then ordered a match between Riker and Jerry Dean to happen later that evening. Riker tried to simply leave the arena, but Burnham made it clear that if Riker did that, he could keep on walking because he would never be booked at BPPW again!

Forced to compete without Durden at his side, Riker’s mood was very foul when it came time for his match. Jerry also had to compete solo as Riker had reinjured Christopher and he was being tended to in the back. Again, size and experience were a big factor here, but so was heart and determination. And while his solo experience is not as vast as big big brother’s, Jerry was able to hold his own and found himself on the verge of polishing off Riker. But then, the lights darkened and the video screen lit up and there was Durden. He addressed Jerry directly and diverted his attention away just long enough that Riker was able to recover and put Jerry down for a 3-count. Again, the lights dimmed and Durden joined Riker in the post-match celebration, albeit on video.

Clearly, The Rising want to once again be looked at as the best tag team in the state. The only team left that they have no solidly handled are in BPPW. With Team Dean Machine and the newly expanded Legion in their sights, Riker and Durden hope to end 2017 as they did 2014: Together. With Championship belts in thier possession. And recognised as the pinnacle of competition in Oklahoma.