A pair of live professional Wrestling events

Wrestling fans in Northern Missouri take note: we’re only a few months removed from the huge Tri States Wrestling Midwest Tour, and it’s already time for another multi-day extravaganza of family-friendly professional wrestling fun. This time, Tri States Wrestling is headed to Bethany, Missouri for Rumble for the Rescue Dogs, a “spiritual sequel” of sorts to last year’s Dog’s Day Christmas event that saw the crowning of the inaugural Tri States Wrestling Champion. This time around, TSW Champion Franco Varga and US Highway Champion The Iceman have decided to put everything on the line to unify their respective titles, leaving room for only one singles champion! This will be done through a four man unification tournament in conjunction with the titular Rumble for the Rescue Dogs.

As far as I can tell, both belts will be defended on December 15th. Franco Varga is facing off against Calvin Aldridge and the winner of the Rumble will go on to face The Iceman. Both men could end up losing their belts long before the unification even starts, which makes this whole thing very exciting! If that wasn’t crazy enough, the championship with be decided by a Christmas Street Fight on December 16th. I am a sucker for both rumble matches and gimmick street fights, so I have a feeling I am going to have an absolute blast.

If you are confused by the dog-branding or the dogs on the poster for this event, this show is a benefit for a couple of animal shelters – 1) The Albany Animal Shelter, located one town over from Bethany in Albany, MO and 2) The Against all Odds Animal Resq, a longtime partner with TSW. This is not a first for Tri States Wrestling as a large number of their shows are charity benefits, a fact that has always impressed me about them. While I have no idea about how many animals they have helped save, I know that the “featured” dogs at any given show are routinely adopted day of, or within a week, which is awesome.

Non-fans of professional wrestling sometimes get this weird assumption (usually based on the 1970’s or something) of wrestling shows being beer-swilled affairs in dingy warehouses or BINGO halls full of crazy people cursing at the ring, and you won’t find anything close to that in Tri States Wrestling. All shows are family friendly, and they go to benefit a good cause. You can hardly find a better cause than rehoming abandoned, neglected, and injured animals, so they definitely do some good stuff.

Join me now as we look at what to expect at Tri States Wrestling‘s next show in Bethany, Missouri, Rumble for the Rescue Dogs!

For More about Tri States Wrestling, check out their Facebook Page HERE, their Twitter (or I guess X) page HERE, or YouTube HERE. TSW is also on Cagematch, HERE. If you are a fan, make sure to drop likes, and reviews, or join their social media pages! For more pro wrestling content, Click HERE.

For more info on the Albany Animal Shelter, click HERE. The see their Facebook Page, click HERE.

For information on Against All Odds Animal ResQ, click HERE.

The Card / Attractions:

(if any of this changes, I will try my best to update it)

First and foremost, kids and adults alike can see Santa Claus at the show. THE SANTA CLAUS! You might know him from many of his previous gimmicks – St. Nicholas, Papa Noel, Father Christmas, Chris Kringle, Sinterklaas, and more. The man has been in the business for a long time, and he’s a master of his craft, and that’s putting smiles on the faces of children worldwide. I’m honestly impressed that TSW Management was able to swing travel expenses and booking fees for a man all the way from the North Pole, but this is HUGE. With this show happening a mere ten days until Christmas, you had better believe that this might be your last chance of getting off of that infamous “Naughty List” and into some real Christmas cheer. Photo ops with Santa are included in the price of admission.

The TSW Heavyweight Champion himself, “The Biggest Wrestler Ever”, Franco Varga is going to be in attendance and ready to risk it all for that sweet unified gold. Everyone should know by now the old disclaimer “card subject to change”, which holds very true for this show. Unfortunately, fans found out that Gary Jay was unable to make the show, putting pressure onto TSW Management to fill the vacancy, and fast. Luckily, they were able to secure the former KCXW champion, “The Realest” Calvin Aldridge for both shows!

Having a recent champion looking to add yet another trophy to his trophy case puts pressure on Varga, and guarantees an amazing match. I am rarely able to watch much KCXW, so having this opportunity will be awesome for me simply because I absolutely love seeing new people perform live. If Varga wins, he goes on to the finals to unify the belts, if he loses you could be looking at “The Realest” Calvin Aldridge starting out the new year ten pounds heavier.

Coming all the way from the frozen north that is Minnesota, Brauler is not somebody I am personally familiar with, but I’m excited to see what he can do. He will be teaming up with Cornelius J. Poppington (CJP) to square off against two BIG fan favorites in Bert Candy and Donnie Peppercricket. It’s been a while since fans have seen Peppercricket, and honestly he seemed to be in a bad mood the last time he was around here, so I hope that has cleared up! This match has all of the hallmarks of being a blast and could even steal the show! All I know is that CJP and Brauler better watch out for Bert Candy’s devastating “Steamroller” move, a finisher that has put many men down for the count.

Tobias Storm and Blaire Dior finally won the TSW Tag Team Championships after a grueling four-day battle against The Tonys during the Midwest Tour. It appears that their first real opponents since that event are none other than an interesting team-up between Wrex Amadeus and Warren Adams. Wrex Amadeus, if you recall, was at one time in contendership for the US Highway Championship, barely losing to “The Monarch” Jeremy Wyatt. He has proven that he can step up when he needs to as long as he has his head on straight. The real wild card here is Warren Adams.

While Adams was able to get a big win against CJP at Bulldog Brawl, he has proven to be a hot-head and drama king when things don’t go his way. I was in the firing line for an altercation he had with Bobby Joe Black in Chillicothe that ended up resulting in a tantrum complete with an exploding bottle of water. If Wrex can rein him in, they could be solid contenders for those belts, but Storm Dior might have words to say about that…

The Iceman is always up for a challenge. I mean, he held the International Dancing Championship for years in Metro Pro Wrestling, dominating against all comers. That is why I have a LOT of confidence he can challenge pretty much anyone that comes his way. This time, however, he will have absolutely no time to prepare for his match, as he will have to deal with a mystery opponent. This spot will be chosen by way of the signature event of this weekend, The Rumble for the Rescue Dogs. The TSW website describes the match as such:

“Two competitors will begin, and every 90 seconds another will join. Elimination occurs when thrown over the top rope and both feet touch the floor. The last competitor standing will receive a shot at The Iceman and his US Highway Championship that evening!”

I’d love to see The Iceman make a play to win back his former Championship, but he has perhaps the most adversity to overcome of anyone on the roster to get back to the top.

Rumble for the Rescue Dogs will feature debuts by Tony “Primetime” Ramos and Mike DeFo. With TSW being a hotbed of diverse wrestling styles, it will be awesome to see where these guys fit in.

For sale or for raffle will be real metal replica kids belts! The raffle will be on the 16th! Just $5 per entry!