A live professional Wrestling event by TCW

Saturday June 24th, 2023 was a particularly hot day in Kansas & Missouri for a couple of reasons. Not only was it nearly 100 degrees outside, but both states were absolutely jam-packed full of professional wrestling shows for pretty much any type of fan. As I have been doing for a few months now, I made the drive over to Ottawa Kansas for Trailblazer Championship Wrestling – Star Spangled Slammer, a company that has become one of my favorite indy feds since I stumbled upon them by chance early in the spring. TCW is a great way to see some of the up-and-coming stars of the area build up their skillsets and deliver amazing matches every month.

Some big draws for this event included the continuation of the Bobby Jo Black / Salum Gust feud that has been ripping through the area ever since March, and a rare appearance on this side of the state by “The Legacy” Leland Race, a man who is usually busy tearing up the St. Louis area in World League Wrestling. This show was a night of firsts for me as well, as some “new wrestlers” I am unfamiliar with from Kansas and Texas were in attendance, and I love seeing people that are new to me.

NOTE: I did attempt to go to the elusive Memorabilia Museum again, and sadly it was closed, in my previous review I talked about going to all the local historical sites that I could, but alas I still have that one to check off my list. I did, however find a mini art district I have posted some pics of above.

Star Spangled Slammer was once again held at the Ottawa National Guard Armory, a venue that could have been rough on a hot summer day, but TCW management came through with some huge industrial fans that helped immensely with airflow and cooling everyone off. You never know what to expect temperature-wise with small venues like this, as I have been in some that are basically the same temperature as outside but maybe ten degrees colder!

Trailblazer Championship Wrestling prides itself in being an overall family-friendly product, so the kids will have an absolute blast every time you take them. That isn’t even mentioning the $15 dollar price tag for adults and $10 dollars for kids, a value so good you would be hard-pressed to find many activities as cheap in the area. It was another packed house full of fans screaming their heads off for their favorites, and everyone went home happy. Without further ado, let’s see what this show was all about!

For More about Trailblazer Championship Wrestling, check out their Facebook Page HERE, their Twitter page HERE, or YouTube HERE. For a list of my TCW coverage, click HERE, and HERE for all of my wrestling coverage, local and national. I was also able to recently get them added to Cagematch, HERE. If you are a fan, make sure to drop likes, and reviews, or join their social media pages!

If you want other wrestling shows, I would recommend Fite.TV. You can get some FITE credits (10 dollars I believe) with the following code: “6m6lyyn”. I’m sure there are other ways to watch some of these, but FITE has a solid interface and has been worth it so far.

The Card:

• Jared Thumb Defeated Alonzo Romero
• Rocco The Barbarian and “Miracle” Mike James (w/ Dekin Cane) Defeated “Flower child” Ali Summers and “Star Boy” Danny Orion
• Bobby Jo Black (With Johnnie Jo Black) Defeated “The Unnatural Disaster” Salum Gust in a Bodyslam Match – Winner had to deliver a bodyslam to their opponent to win.
• “Madman” Max Sterling (w/ Salum Gust) Defeated Shimbashi
• “The Legacy” Leland Race (w/ SBC, representing Canada) defeated Luke Anthony (w/ Jared Thumb, representing USA)

These are the match cards:

DISCLAIMER:

I’ve come up with this little disclaimer since I have some new readers:

READ MY FULL DISCLAIMER HERE

I usually go through a show and pull a half dozen or so things that I thought were significant or that I liked and concentrate on them, usually ignoring stuff I did not. You might think some of my choices are dumb, and that’s OK! We can all like different things, that’s what makes something like wrestling so great.

My pictures should be a tiny bit better this time because I have noticed that my standard phone camera app may be the issue I was having.

My Thoughts:

Solid Introduction to Alonzo Romero

I mentioned in my preview for this show that this was the first opportunity I had to see Alonzo Romero wrestle as this was only my third TCW show. Romero definitely had the match going in his favor for a little bit, but a few slip-ups and allowing Thumb to fire off some of his stronger signature techniques ultimately cost him the win. Thumb is one of those guys that thrives on the energy from the crowd, and you better believe that if he gets ramped up enough, he’s going to go for that Stunner. Hopefully Romero can regroup and have a stronger showing next time, because he was pretty entertaining in his own right.

Dekin Got Us Again

Going into this event, I think a lot of people were expecting Dekin Cane to step into the ring. That’s not to say that he needed any comeuppance from either “Flower child” Ali Summers or “Star Boy” Danny Orion, but I think a lot of fans were hoping to see Cane take a few licks in general, to atone for months of misdeeds. Who knows, maybe they would have been an amazing tag team?! Then it happened, Dekin got on the stick an announced that he was “still injured” after his altercation with “The Suplex Cyclone” Curt Gannon (rolling my eyes), and as such would not be wrestling at the show.

“Miracle” Mike James was brought in, James being a staple of XWE in Salina, Kansas, to take his place. Cane was up to his old tricks yet again, helping to ensure a brutal beatdown of the two Texas-based newcomers standing across the ring, once again showing that Rocco is not somebody to mess with. I specifically hope “Flower child” Ali Summers was okay after this match as he seemed to take some pretty heavy hits to his nose at a few points, a fact that should make anyone stay clear of the violent swings provided by Mike James in any future matches he has with TCW. This match was a solid showcase of three guys that were entirely new to me, and EVERYONE did a great job.

Side Note: Despite his evil demeanor, Rocco the Barbarian likes to accumulate wealth to buy things like fur cloaks and skull-shaped items, and as a result has easily some of the best merch I’ve seen on the indy scene. Dekin even has wrenches for sale. Kids always flock to his table for things like inflatable swords and axes, so be sure to see what he has!

The Training Paid Off!

First of all, to read my interview with Bobby Jo Black, click HERE

The rivalry between Bobby Joe Black and “The Unnatural Disaster” Salum Gust is one of my favorite things going on in Trailblazer Championship Wrestling right now (if not all of the local wrestling scene). Salum Gust is an absolute behemoth of a man – somebody that is equal parts terrifying and intimidating. When he gets into the ring, you just know that somebody is coming out in far worse shape than when the match started. At TCW Bunkhouse Brawl, waaaay back in the Spring, he was the odds on favorite to win the match, and single-handedly eliminated numerous competitors. Then something crazy happened – The young upstart Bobby Jo Black dug in deep and, with the aid of his brother, threw the “Unnatural Disaster” out onto the cold concrete floor.

Gust had to watch helplessly as Bobby Jo got all the prestige, accolades, and possibly some more money in his pocket that night. He was robbed, in his mind, and this was not something he was about to simply let go of. Gust has been waging war on Black ever since, and the two have been duking it out all over the area. One would have thought Gust had sufficiently achieved “revenge” at Tornado Alley after beating Black, but when a challenge was issued for a “Body Slam Match”, Gust was eager to rub salt in the wound.

Bobby Jo black has been training all month to ensure he would be able to hoist the massive heft of such a big man up (a sixty pound difference!), and it appears the hard work paid off. In one of the feel-good moments of the show, Black was able to prove his win at Bunkhouse Brawl was NOT a fluke, scooped Gust up, and dropped him back down. I have feeling this is far from over for many reasons. Not only did Gust attack the Black Brothers after the match, but there are clear battle lines being drawn in the locker room, making it seem like people are getting tired of Gust and his “associates” trying to run rough-shod over the rest of the roster. I am eagerly awaiting the next chapter in this ongoing battle.

Somebody Has Got to Stop Max Sterling!

I don’t think anyone will doubt “Madman” Max Sterling’s in-ring prowess, his conditioning, or even his ring-awareness, but good lord does this guy need some therapy, anger management classes, or hell, maybe just a hug! In this match with Shimbashi, a Texas-based wrestler making his TCW debut, Sterling came out flanked once again by Salum Gust, and was prepared to win by any means necessary. By saying that, you can guarantee I mean that he won by cheating, and you better believe that’s what happened. The last time these guys took liberties in a match, the match ended up as a DQ, but “Madman” was able to pull one over on referee Vito this time around. I’m used to this happening in wrestling, but it’s what came after the match that makes most people sick.

Rather than enjoy their ill-gotten gains, Max Sterling and Salum Gust went on the attack trying to basically end Shimbashi’s career. Luckily, the cavalry came to the rescue once again, but where does this end? I, for one, want to see TCW management get these guys in a match against some of the folks they have been terrorizing all these months, it would be cathartic to a degree, and potentially shift the scales of power in the company. With that said, you really can’t corner “The Madman”, and I’m sure he’d welcome a chance to inflict more pain no matter the odds.

USA! USA! USA!

With an event called Star Spangled Slammer being so close to Independence Day, you better believe that patriotism was on full-display in Ottawa Kansas. This was not only apparent with the red, white, and blue glow sticks, hats, and other things peppered around the crowd, but with the sheer volume as to which the crowd chanted “USA! USA! USA!” at the insufferable SBC during the main event. SBC was the “insurance policy” brought in by “The Legacy” Leland Race, and decided it would be a great day to rub the Canadian flag in everybody’s face. Leland is about as American as one can get, but SBC was trained by the legendary Lance Storm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and Race wanted the fans to respect him for that.

Race’s opponent was Luke Anthony, a wrestler that has immensely improved since about a year ago when I saw him last in Liberty, Missouri at a WLW show. You can tell the guy’s been working very hard and has really built up his offense. He was flanked by Jared Thumb, decked out in his best Uncle Sam garb and carrying an American flag. What followed was a wrestling clinic put on by Anthony and Race, and ultimately it was Race that came out on top. SBC was one of the main reasons for that, proving he is easily one of the best managers in TCW, no matter what he does to clench the win. The crowd was definitely bummed that “America” had ostensibly lost the match, but Thumb and Anthony got the last laugh, sending the fans home happy. Overall, a great match and a fitting end for the night’s festivities.

Conclusion:

Star Spangled Slammer was a great show as always from Trailblazer Championship Wrestling crew. This was always going to be an interesting show due to the fact that a lot of TCW mainstays like Curt Gannon, Mike Sydal, and Shylynn were absent due to prior obligations, but it allowed some new blood to come in and shine. I especially liked seeing the guys that came in from Texas, and hope to see them again sometime. TCW does a great job of getting guys from all around the country like Kansas and Missouri (obviously), Iowa, Minnesota and now Texas; a lot of companies somewhat sit on the same people each show, but that has not happened at all here.

As I always point out, TCW tickets are very reasonably priced, and even with a somewhat long drive for me, it’s still way cheaper than seeing a movie. If you are looking for a fun alternative family activity, you should keep an eye out for when an independent wrestling show is going on in your area. If you live anywhere close to me, keep an eye out on TCW’s socials and make a trip over to one of their upcoming shows.

Their next show is going to be in Ottawa on July 22nd for their One Year Anniversary Event! Hope to see you there!

For more of my professional wrestling content, click HERE