Once again, my intro from a few days ago:
“This year, I’m trying something different on my blog – I’m going through my local professional Wrestling coverage and doing a countdown of the ten (well 11 actually) Kansas City area professional wrestling feuds that I felt deserved some recognition. Since late last year, I have attended nearly THIRTY wrestling shows with my son, and have been blessed to have been there for some of the best professional wrestling I’ve seen in my entire life. As a passionate fan of professional wrestling, delving into the vastly underrated well of local talent and feuds has been a great experience.”
The Countdown so far:
- HM – The Tonys Vs Storm Dior (TSW)
- 10. Bert Candy VS Private Practice (NBW)
- 9. Luke Langley’s Revenge Tour (CSW)
- 8. Shooter Shylynn VS Aminah Belmont (Trailblazer)
- 7. Max Sterling VS Trailblazer Locker Room
- 6. Roscoe Leech VS The Premier
- 5. Bobby Joe Black VS Salum Gust
Make sure to drop me some comments on either social media or this very post about anything I may have missed, because….well this sums it up better than I can explain here:
Please don’t be offended if I have seemingly ignored something from a show I have never been to. I sadly don’t get to attend KCXW much at all, for example, so I can’t speak on any shows from them, but that’s something I hope to change. The same goes for a lot of companies in Central Kansas that occasionally come over here (HCW comes to mind). As companies get more of a digital footprint, perhaps this will change as I can keep up with their product online at my leisure. I mostly follow three companies because I don’t really have time to go to every show that comes through; occasionally, I’ll dabble in something like World League Wrestling, but it’s very rare. With that in mind, hopefully everyone enjoys this, and maybe I can see other lists like this from other fans!
In today’s entry we are looking at one of the few more sportsmanlike feuds of all of the feuds on this list, which in no ways makes it any less awesome.
Note: Some of this may be lifted from a previous review, I give myself permission to plagiarize myself. All photos are mine.
4. Franco Varga VS The Iceman
One of the more interesting ongoing feuds in the area started way back in August in the small town of Breckenridge, MO. This was a clash between two champions, but it never descended into any sort of ill-will, with both men keeping sportsmanship and respect at the forefront of their bouts. There was a little glimpse of that understanding going out the window back in December, but they kept it all above board. I am of course talking about the feud between “The Biggest Wrestler Ever” Franco Varga, and The Iceman in Tri States Wrestling.
I was there at Sliced Bread Slam when The Iceman did the unthinkable – having clawed the TSW Heavyweight Championship from the hands of the nefarious Luke Langley. Langley tried his best to avoid the confrontation when things weren’t going his way (it was technically four matches after restarts!), but thankfully, The Iceman, fueled by the energy of his hometown Chillicothe, MO fans, was able to secure that win. TSW Management was hard at work searching for a formidable foe to challenge the former World Dancing Championship Trophy recipient, and found it with a man that spends most of his time wrestling on every inch of this gigantic globe.
Breckenridge was my first time seeing Franco Varga, and I can definitely understand why he is so sought after on a worldwide scale. The guy is impressive and makes every match feel big no matter what. Coming straight off one of his numerous international tours, Franco Varga was back in Missouri for one reason and one reason alone – to accept the Ice Man’s open challenge for his TSW World Heavyweight Championship. Varga acknowledged how much he knew the fans loved the Iceman, and discussed how much he respected him going into this match. But he wasn’t there to be starstruck, he wanted that belt!
The Iceman held the belt, at that point, since early May and was doing an expert job at defending it against all challengers up to that point. Unfortunately for this near hometown hero, “The Biggest Wrestler Ever” was too much of a challenge and secured the win. The match ended with a handshake and The Iceman leaving by his own power, with many in attendance thinking the overt show of respect and sportsmanship between the two men was refreshing considering what had transpired in previous matches.
During the Second Annual Midwest Tour, the two men never crossed paths, but their shadows definitely loomed over each other’s matches. Varga had to know that The Iceman was going to want to go for his belt again, and even though he ended up winning the US Highway Championship from Simon Gotch on night 4, Chillicothe’s own hometown hero was likely gunning for “the big belt” in the future. Nobody knew for sure when that would be, until an announcement was made that was going to change TSW moving forward. The TSW Championship and US Highway Championship were both going to be on the line as Franco Varga and The Iceman felt the world wasn’t big enough for both holding title belts.
The unification was done through a four man unification tournament in conjunction with the titular Rumble for the Rescue Dogs. Both belts were defended on December 15th, with Franco Varga facing off against Calvin Aldridge and the winner of the Rumble going on to face The Iceman. There was always a possibility both men could have ended up losing their belts long before the unification even started, which made it very exciting! finally, the championship was decided by a Christmas Street Fight on December 16th. The winner of the rumble ended up being “The Hypothetical Specialist” Dr. Isin, who lost to The Iceman later in the night. Franco Varga managed to defeat Calvin Aldridge as well, securing the rematch fans wanted so much.
The Iceman VS Franco Varga had been a feud that never really crossed the line into being malicious, but somehow was one of the better feuds of the entire year in Kansas City Professional wrestling. While a battle built on mutual respect, fans started to see a few cracks in that wholesome veneer at the end of night one of Rumble for the Rescue Dogs. The Iceman, obviously wanting his belt back, interrupted Franco Varga after his win, seemingly upsetting him a LOT. Driving home that night, I wondered what side of The Iceman fans were going to get at night two?
The concept of “the Christmas Street Fight” between Varga and The Iceman was that there were a number of wrapped “presents” around the ring, all containing all manner of weapons. Combined with all of the Christmas decorations that were in the venue, nothing was off-limits and the brutality was limited only by the wrestlers’ imaginations. Fans got to see a Christmas tree, huge candy canes, boxes of candy, cookie sheets, Christmas lights, and even a table used during the match. There were some impressive and very creative spots in the match, and the crowd was white-hot throughout. People seemed pretty evenly spread as to who they were cheering for, with many basically cheering for both Franco Varga and The Iceman depending on who had the upper hand.
Despite taking a brutal self-inflicted table dive, Franco Varga was able to hit the Falcon Arrow and pin The Iceman, becoming the first unified Tri-States Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. It was a great moment that earned a standing ovation from the crowd. People had started to get their coats and consider “hitting that dusty trail,” only to see the unthinkable happen…
“The Hypothetical Specialist,” Dr. Isin, clutching his guaranteed title shot (which was the prize for winning a match earlier in the night), entered the ring and challenged Franco Varga for the belt right then and there. This came as a shock to many because Dr. Isin had apparently been floating the idea of challenging for the belt in April, according to murmurs backstage and posts on social media. This was all a smokescreen for his actual plans, and apparently he was playing 5D chess when everyone else was playing Tic-Tac-Toe. His challenge got off to a rocky start, initially nearly losing from a fast-paced attack from Varga, but the numerous Christmas weapon-related bumps and bruises got to him, resulting in a loss to Dr. isin. Amid chants of “You Deserve it!”, Isin stood tall, the reigning unified Tri-States Wrestling Heavyweight Champion.
Hopefully that isn’t the end for this rivalry, as both men did a hell of a job and kept me entertained throughout the fall. If Bobby Joe Black and Salum Gust exemplified my summer in indy wrestling, this feud was definitely the banner for the fall and winter. I can’t wait to see who tries to get revenge on Dr. Isin first!
That’s it for this entry in this series, check back soon for more! To keep up with this series, click HERE.
For more pro wrestling content, Click HERE.
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!
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