An upcoming live professional Wrestling event – October 21, 2023

I also posted a preview of this event HERE.

Many independent professional wrestling shows offer elements that are often overlooked by most people outside of the fanbase. I’m sure some folks think back to the 90’s when, while being at the zenith of its popularity with the general public, most professional wrestling shows were controversial in ways that drove people way. The truth is, that most of these shows not only provide family-friendly entertainment, but also serve as a means to bring a sense of community to areas with limited entertainment options. Additionally, a significant number of these companies actively engage in charity events for the benefit of their local communities.

This endeavor comes with its own set of challenges. While striving to create a memorable experience for their fans, these independent wrestling companies must also balance financial sustainability, visibility, and provide performers with opportunities to gain valuable experience. These wrestlers put their livelihoods on the line to entertain their fans. Though there are instances where some promotions employ intense, blood-soaked spectacles and extreme violence, at the core of it all, even the most hardcore independent wrestling companies share a community-oriented ethos.

This sense of community extends beyond the ring and includes the fans, both in-person and on social media platforms. These shows often attract a diverse and passionate audience, and over time, regular attendees form connections and get to know one another. This is my experience with companies like Trailblazer Championship Wrestling, a company that is always trying to, above all else, put smiles on the faces of the children in the audience and give them a new era of heroes, particularly local heroes, to look up to.

I brought this up because I was really impressed with TCW’s Halloween-themed spooktacular, dubbed Monster’s Brawl II, and how it not only provided fun for people of any age, but it also went the extra mile for all the kids in the audience. I was not counting, but I would estimate that there were upwards of 25-30 kids, all under fifteen years of age, in the crowd dressed up for Halloween and all excited for their entry in the second annual TCW Halloween contest. The company provided gift bags for all that participated and devoted a decent amount of time allowing for the kids to do things like get in the ring and actually be part of the show. My son was one of those participants, and he had an absolute blast.

I never thought that going to a wrestling show could become part of my Halloween Month traditions, but as long as Trailblazer Championship Wrestling is around doing shows like this, I plan to go and have a great alternative-Halloween experience that I feel many are missing out on. As normal, I will go over the matches that happened at the show and talk about any feuds that appear to be brewing to keep everyone up to date. It’s been a momentous year for this little company, and some of my favorite wrestling moments of the year have happened here. Between Trailblazer Championship Wrestling, Tri States Wrestling, and Central States Wrestling, I have really grow to adore these “local” indy shows, and I think I honestly prefer them to the big corporate brands!

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. Don’t forget to also check them out on Cagematch, HERE. If you are a fan, make sure to drop likes, and reviews, or join their social media pages!

The Card:

• Jared Thumb Defeated “Miracle” Mike James
• Van “Bam” Winkle Defeated Bobby Joe Black (w/ Johnnie Jo Black)
• “Rapid Delivery” Rory Fox Defeated Robin Steele by DQ after Rory was attacked by “Miracle” Mike James
• Rocco The Barbarian (w/ Dekin Cane) Defeated “The Yoga Monster” Mike Sydall
• Curt Gannon Defeated Johnnie Jo Black (Bobby Joe Black) – Curt Gannon Issued an open challenge  
• “Rapid Delivery” Rory Fox and Jared Thumb Defeated Robin Steele and “Miracle” Mike James, special guest referee was SBC

The following are the match cards that were announced – as always card is subject to change!

Disclaimer:

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 Thoughts:

He did it again! Jared Thumb has been a part of (as far as I know) every single show that Trailblazer Championship Wrestling has put on, and has gone completely undefeated ever since. This has put a huge target on his back, as most of the less, I’ll say…principled, wrestlers have decided that taking down somebody on a Floyd Mayweather winning streak will make them look very good, and perhaps propel them to the top of the card at future shows. “Miracle” Mike James is one such opportunist out to make a name for himself in TCW. James got a taste of the main event at Emerald City Showdown, even being blessed with a standing ovation despite his losing effort against Curt Gannon, and you better believe he wants to keep the spotlight on himself. I’m not sure starting a beef with a seemingly invincible man that is fueled by beer and patriotism is honestly the way to go about it though!

This was an interesting match pitting the more technical brawling style of Thumb and the high-flying style of James against each other, with Thumb ultimately winning out. Perhaps upset by his shortcomings, or simply angry that Thumb just keeps on winning, “Miracle” Mike James didn’t handle his loss well, attacking Thumb for all his trouble. Luckily, none other than fellow-Iowan “Rapid Delivery” Rory Fox was on standby, helping to clear the ring out. The team of Fox and Thumb has proved quite formidable, and you better believe that isn’t the last we’ve seen of them tonight….

After FINALLY laying the terrifying monster that is Salum Gust down to rest (at Emerald City Showdown in a grueling Lumberjack Match!), it was time for Bobby Joe Black to set his sights on new opponents and get on with his career. Unfortunately for him, his first opponent just happened to be one of the slimiest, most despicable, cheaters in all the game. Vam “Bam” Winkle strutted into the ring with his typical arrogant nonsense and made sure to take the time to yell at the crowd and throw his trademark rose all over the lovely MC for the evening “Riki Flair”. This obviously made the crowd very upset, and crossed a line with Bobby Joe Black, who laid into VBW with quite a fury.

Cheered on by his brother, Johnnie Jo Black, Bobby came very close to taking down VBW, but fell into one of his many traps – taking advantage of the inexperienced referee. With his pants flying at half-mast (much to the terror of everyone in the front row!), Mr. Winkle sloppily rolled up Bobby Joe and grabbed the ring ropes for leverage, stealing yet another win. Van beat The Iceman via a low blow, and now this? Somebody must do something about Vam “Bam” Winkle’s ill-gotten winning streak, and hopefully Bobby Joe Black is the man to do it! Really, a rematch with any of his past opponents would be great, as long as he gets beaten down until it humbles him a bit.

Robin Steele was making his Trailblazer Championship Wrestling debut at Monster’s Brawl II, and even though he seemed to be less than thrilled with the fans in attendance, he made a pretty impressive first impression. That’s why it was somewhat aggravating that he stooped to all sorts of lows and enlisted the aid of “Miracle” Mike James in his match against “Rapid Delivery” Rory Fox. Who knows, Steele could have beaten Fox fair and square, but when Mike James flies at your head at 70 miles an hour, all bets are off. The bell rang and that was that, leaving Jared Thumb to come in for the save, returning the favor from earlier in the day.

If “Rapid Delivery” Rory Fox looks familiar to you, many fans will recognize him from appearances on the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast, or MTV’s True Life: I’m a Pro Wrestler. Fans are blessed to have him as such a prominent fixture in the general Kansas City area right now, and he is really tearing it up in all his current incarnations. Fox and Thumb weren’t about to have their nights end in a total boondoggle, so a challenge was laid out – Fox and Thumb VS Steele and James – the main event for the evening. Would the heroes get their vindication, or would the villains get the last laugh?

This was a total blast! I won’t go on too long here, but this costume contest really made the night for all the kids in the audience. Only a few were able to win the big prizes, but everyone got a little bit of something, and the kids got to do things like jump around in the ring, many for the first time I would assume. Notable costumes included everyone from Optimus Prime to Spider-Man, and a few special treats including kids dressed as TCW’s own Dekin Cane, Wendy (the kids of Friend of the site Dynamo Dan!), and “The Hypothetical Specialist” Dr. Isin (I might be partial to that last one since I helped put the costume together!). Some of the winners included a cute little Wizard, Nacho Libre, and Super Mario! There was also an adult’s costume contest with special appearances from none other than AEW’s STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING and Rainbow Brite. Overall, a wonderful time, and given enough time to really be something special.

You know when they say “Card is subject to change” on the poster, one must assume a cancellation might be due to somebody being sick, a double-booking, or even a family emergency. Even travel issues are typical, but what isn’t typical is when the nefarious Dekin Cane is up in the ring talking about how great his wrench is as he dumps a handful of Corn Boi’s car parts all over the ring! Needless to say, everyone was livid for robbing the fans of such a great performer as Corn Boi Kevin Gutierrez, and hopefully he’s back up and running because whatever Cane did looked expensive!

Assuming they had bought a one-way ticket to a night off, Rocco The Barbarian and Dekin Cane hooped it up for a while until some oh so familiar music hit, and “The Yoga Monster” Mike Sydal came out to hopefully shut them up! It had been a few months since Sydal was in TCW, so he was a welcome surprise and the crowd was immediately behind him. Unfortunately, the combo of Rocco and Dekin know how to “get things done” in the ring, and even though Dekin was sent on a one-way ticket to the cold arena floor, Rocco was able to pull out an illegal rope-assisted pin and steal the victory. It was definitely a tough night for TCW referees as things like that seemed to happen far too frequently.

When “The Suplex Cyclone” Curt Gannon issued an open challenge leading into this event, nobody was really sure what to expect. Could his opponent be a familiar face, a returning talent, or even a huge surprise? Well, it didn’t take long for the answer as The Black Brothers walk-out music hit, confusing Gannon. Assuming Bobby Joe Black was challenging him, Curt shrugged the challenge off – Bobby had already wrestled and he wanted to give somebody else a chance – but it wasn’t Bobby that wanted to wrestle – Johnnie Jo Black was ready to catch a big break! Curt didn’t want to go through with it as Johnnie hasn’t fully trained and is still inexperienced, but a challenge is a challenge.

Well, I won’t mince words here, it was a short match. Curt Gannon is a beast and made short work of Johnnie Jo Black, but Johhnie did show incredible heart and bravery, which everyone seemed impressed with. While he’s still looking for that big win, Johnnie Jo Black has put TCW on notice and I, for one, can’t wait to see what he does next.

Three big letters loomed over this match – SBC or Sir Bradley Charles! Being Canadian and trained by Lance Storm apparently entitles SBC to revile American Patriotism whenever it creeps into Trailblazer Championship Wrestling, and that generally means he’s messing with Jared Thumb for seemingly no reason! SBC interjected himself into this match as a special guest referee and vowed to “call it down the middle”, which I think everyone knew was a huge lie. He made sure to talk a bunch of crap to Vito, the originally scheduled referee, and generally acted like a colossal jerk.

At least for a little while, it seemed SBC was calling things down the middle, but when he deliberately ignored a three count that would have resulted in a Thumb/Fox win, the cat was out of the bag. SBC got knocked down by his own goons in Steele and James, allowing for Vito to come back and save the day. 1-2-3 and “Rapid Delivery” Rory Fox and Jared Thumb got an incredibly unlikely win. Don’t get me wrong, Robin Steele and “Miracle” Mike James did a hell of a job, but the mutiple layers of these guys piling up on Jared Thumb and Rory Fox only to all come out losers is pretty funny. Better luck next time, but for now Jared Thumb is still undefeated!

In Closing:

Trailblazer Championship Wrestling: Monster’s Brawl II was a great show and a solid way to get my family hyped for Halloween. The show was packed with exciting matches and a fun Halloween event for the kiddos, which set it apart from other wrestling shows I’ve been to in the past. The new venue at the Johnson County fairgrounds is nice, which isn’t a dig at Ottawa by any means, but I low-key hope they have more shows there. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Trailblazer Championship Wrestling, and my fingers are crossed for at least one more sure before the end of the year. As long as the weather permits, which is sketchy because we’re supposed to have snow in October this weekend, I’ll be there yet again!

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