In what may have arguably been the indie wrestling event of the Year, Chad Minnes and Co. were able to unite the likes of Stand Alone Wrestling, TCW, Goddesses of War, Synergy Wrestling, LTW and many more promotions for our friend Val and the Falzarano famiy to help with medical expenses for a great kid who truly loves wrestling. The show, dubbed Val’s Pals Go to War saw Val would be presented with gifts, hugs, and “Val” chants throughout the night. The event was all heart as thousands of dollars were raised for the family, while the action in the ring truly raised the bar.
Our opening contest at Val’s Pals Go to War saw two of my absolute faves, Kasey Catal and Goddess Champion The Notorious Mimi compete for the belt of the Goddesses of War brand. This was a great kickoff to the show. Catal with the experience, grit, and familiarity with the hardcore wrestling world, whereas #Mimi3belts has been riding her current wave of momentum becoming the champion of many independent brands in the northeast and beyond. Regardless of who you would pick in this match up, both ladies dealt more strikes than Mariano Rivera.
Mimi who naturally wore pink in honor of October 3rd would get Catal on the ropes and even connect with a vicious kick to the face. Catal was not happy about that as she began to rally. Unfortunately the match would be cut short due to outside interference from three people dressed in dark clothing. (Insert Retribution joke here). Super bummed to see this one end the way it did, but if anything is for sure Catal will certainly be wearing gold around her waist in the very near future, and maybe even be sporting a certain crown.
Speaking of Synergy, Colin West was gracious enough to put the coveted Synergy Pro Wrestling Championship on the line as his (not by choice) Champion Brandon Kirk would take on the mouthpiece of Stand Alone Wrestling Jay Curcio. If Curcio were to win this match he would be able to work his way into the already stellar triple threat match featuring Kirk, War Horse, and Jordan Oliver at Synergy’s next event. Both men really tore the house down (granted we were outside) and really took the fight to the next level. The match again though would ultimately end in a DQ as the concealed figures would return. This time to reveal themselves as DILF Boy Daltano, Kurt Bale, and Lance aligning themselves with Curcio as,”The Foundation of Wrestling.” Very intrigued to see how this plays out for our pals “The Kirks” moving forward.
Two of the best tag teams you will ever see on the indies (and hopefully on your television sets very soon) are of course The Stand Alone Wrestling Tag Team Champs, The Rep and Bear Country. This match got a lot of time and deservedly so. So many tandem maneuvers here I couldn’t even describe all of them, but the chemistry among all four competitors was phenomenal. This was tag team wrestling at it’s finest. Nunzio and The FBI (Full-Blooded Italnaisn) however, would cause a distraction to Bear Country allowing The Rep to take advantage and retain. That being said, somebody sign The Rep like yesterday!
Before the first Ever Val’s Rumble event Val would make his entrance to the front of the ring to another huge ovation and deafening “Val” chants. To see all this support from the wrestling community was truly a sight to behold and honestly overwhelming at times. The Rumble was a lot of fun and featured appearances by the likes of TCW’s Titan Killer, fan fave Violence, WWF’s The Patriot, A Hot Dog, the legend Magic, Nikos Rikos, and many more.
Pop of the night at Val’s Pals Go to War hands down went to Kid Carter and surprise entrant KC Navarro as they made their way to the ring for some Rumble stopping moments. The dream team would work together as Kid Carter would low blow his opponents and even hit a hurricanrana on the near 7 foot Meadowlands Monster for the elimination as Navarro would pull down the top rope. The “KID CARTER” chants were insane, as the 10-year-old hit a dive from the top turnbuckle onto several wrestlers on the outside. What a spot! This kid has got the business in his blood, and with a mentor like Navarro he is going very far.
Navarro also went very far in the Val’s Rumble match as he made it to the final six before being eliminated. None other than Vinny Cenzo, the number one entrant, who was beaten down earlier in the night by death match wrestler Satu Jinn would go all the way to win and receive the first ever Val’s Trophy. Post-match Cenzo would make the most heartwarming, genuine speech one might ever hear at such an event.
Vinny stated that he is not Vinny Cenzo the wrestler right now as he sat down and spoke directly to Val. He talked about his bond with the family and the “Grit” they had each and every day. Whether it be the daily tasks, or the three A.M. hospital visits he knew all of the challenges that the Falzarano family had to face. He talked about how he and everyone else came together on this special night just for Val, as he dedicated this win to the man of the hour himself. Post match Val would receive his own trophy as well. Well done Vinny and well-deserved.
The powerhouse match of the night Val’s Pals Go to War went to “The Man of Steel” Mike Verna taking on the man who has really been getting his name out there, Wrecking Ball “Legursky.” I have to do it … but he came in like a wrecking ball as he used his size to often overpower Verna. Verna however was able to showcase his power by lifting the large Legursky into an a fireman’s carry slam. Think Cena slamming the Big Show. This was a great moment. However, Legursky was able to kick out of that maneuver and put Verna away after a hard fought match. This is typically not my preferred style of match, but man did I enjoy this one. I expect big things from both gentlemen moving forward.
Speaking of big things, the match for the highly regarded Pro Wrestling After Dark Chamionship was an Ocean Gate Street Fight featuring John Wayne Murdoch, Akira, and Satu Jinn. Now you may be familiar with some of these gentlemen from the death match world, but regardless you have to think about what a win here means. The last two PWAD Champions were AEW’s Serpentico and former NXT Champion Killer Kross. In other words, this belt has been somewhat of a jet pack statistically speaking. In any case the real winners here were the fans as the hardcore match spilled into the crowd with cookie sheets, doors, and even an unwilling assist from our good friend from Tiff, The Queen of the Indys as her list of husbands member Akira was thrown onto her during the match. Akira would rally and even get some vengeance on Jinn as he was able to use parts of a broken to door to “crotch” Jinn in the corner. Jinn would earlier be thrown through a door in a way that I have never seen before as the door literally imploded on impact. It was insane. Ultimately JWM would score the final pinfall here to become your new PWAD Champion. Big things for JWM coming soon, but don’t sleep on Akira either.
I’d be remiss not to mention the return of the DILF Boy Daltano inserting himself into this match and getting the crap knocked out of him yet again. He would earlier appear as “The Lifeguard” in the battle royal coming out to the Baywatch theme and again making the run in with his new faction.
The main event of Val’s Pals Go to War saw Stand Alone Heavyweight Champion Shawn Donavan retain in a hell of a triple threat match with FTW Champ, and Team Taz Member, “The Machine” Brian Cage, and the always impressive former X-Division Champion, Ace Austin. Austin was a site to behold live in person as he is the total package. His offense is almost completely original moves and he is innovative as anything. I absolutely love seeing his mid rope reverse springboard maneuvers, some of which I can’t even do justice describing. Cage on the other hand did a lot of the heavy lifting (pun very much intended) but he also showed a ton of agility.
I was also happy to see Cage get his Terminator fan clap going which was awesome. The experienced Donavan showed he is the champ for a reason as he was able to more than hold his own against his opponents. “The Messiah of Old School” was able to outwit Cage after The Machine would hit a massive slam on “The One True Ace” in what could have been the end of the match. Donavan quickly thew Cage out of the ring after the spot and made the cover to retain. till your Stand Alone Wrestling Champion, Shawn Donavan.
Bonus points for the steam coming off of the competitors as the night cooled down. It was a really epic sight to see.
In the words of Jersey’s Own Frankie Valli, “Oh What a Night.” Tons of action, tv talent, championship matches, cameos, surprises, and a lot of heart. If anything was certain that night, it is that Val truly does have a lot of pals. Hats off to the wrestling community on this one. This is what it is truly all about.
