SNS SuperShow 2 offers glimpse of past, present and future
By Mike Pankow
May 30, 2019
Manager Sidney Bakabella, from left, Jordan Kross, Kal Herro and WWE Hall of Famer Bushwhacker Luke celebrate victory at Sunday’s SSW/SNS SuperShow 2 in Kenosha, Wis. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
SSW Entertainment, a promotion based in Southeastern Wisconsin, just wanted a piece of the wrestling pie on Memorial Day weekend, and it produced a fun show at the Brat Stop in Kenosha, Wis., on Sunday night.
With most of the wrestling world’s attention on All Elite Wrestling’s “Double or Nothing” show in Las Vegas, over 500 fans made their way into the Parkway Chateau at the Brat Stop for a performance that featured wrestlers ranging in age from 16 to 72.
The match that probably got the most buzz at Sports N Signings SuperShow 2 was the impromptu six-man tag team match in which Kal Herro and Jordan Kross, the Princes of the Universe, teamed up with WWE Hall of Famer Bushwhacker Luke for a victory over Midwestern independent veterans Ruff Crossing, Dave Rydell and Backwoods Brown.
Herro and Kross, second generation grapplers who are just breaking into the business and following their fathers’ footsteps, were booked for the show, but their opponents weren’t announced ahead of time. Sidney Bakabella came out to introduce the young team and started to hype them up when the trio of Crossing, Rydell and Brown came out to interrupt.
Crossing did most of the talking on behalf of his group and said he and his buddies wanted a piece of the Princes and Bakabella. Bakabella said he didn’t want to wrestle and brought out a suitable replacement in his “cousin,” Bushwhacker Luke, 72. Kal Herro, 16, is the son of Milwaukee-area wrestler/promoter David Herro, while Jordan Kross, 18, is the son of Ryan Kross, who later wrestled in the main event tag team match.
For having fewer than a dozen matches combined under the belts, the kids were all right, and Bushwhacker Luke did a masterful job of working with them. The heel trio made it an enjoyable match, which ended with Luke, Kross and Herro recording a triple pin after a few Bushwhacker “battering rams.”
Former WWE Superstars Gangrel, left, and Kevin Thorn, make their entrance for their tag team match against Ryan Kross and Dr. Jeff Luxon. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
In the main event, former WWE Superstars Gangrel and Kevin Thorn, nicknamed the Bite Club, teamed up against Midwestern standouts Ryan Kross and Dr. Jeff Luxon, collectively known as the East-West Express. Gangrel currently runs Gangrel’s Wrestling Asylum, a school in Dania Beach, Fla., while Thorn is a realtor based in the North suburbs of Indianapolis. Both still wrestle part time.
Bodybuilder and special guest David Baye, 2018 Mr. Wisconsin, came out before the start of the match and said he wanted to interview some “WWE stars.” Gangrel and Thorn entered the arena and eventually the Bite Club attacked Baye, leading to the arrival of Kross and Luxon.
The Bite Club controlled a good part of the match, which included some brawling outside the ring, before the local heroes made their comeback and Luxon scored the pin on Thorn after a double-team move to send the crowd home happy.
The six-match main card also featured three title switches, including the SSW Championship changing hands twice.
Reigning SSW Champion “Shogun” Chris Logan could not appear, so he was stripped of the title and championship was awarded to “High Priest” William Jacobs, who sought out an opponent to defend against.
Jacobs challenged referee Junior Jangles and after several minutes of toying around with Jangles, Jacobs’ backup John Fate grew tired of being bossed around. Fate stood up to Jacobs and took over the match from Jangles and ended up winning the championship to a nice pop.
The next match was a battle of veterans in Chicago-area heavyweight Jay Bradley, who formerly worked for WWE and IMPACT Wrestling, against current Ring of Honor star and Milwaukee native Beer City Bruiser. Bradley won the battle of the big men after hitting Bruiser with a Boomstick clothesline.
The six-man tag team match was the final match before an intermission, which led into a hard-hitting affair between Chicago’s “Ice Pick” Vic Capri and “Filth King” Brubaker, who was born in Central Illinois. The cocky Brubaker thought he picked up the victory after a cradle piledriver, but Capri was able to kick out. Capri recorded the win after hitting Sliced Bread.
New Midwest Heritage Champion “The Underwear Model” Eric Priest. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
The penultimate match pitted SSW Midwest Heritage Champion Marshe Rockett against “The Underwear Model” Eric Priest. Rockett, who has wrestled for several years for Chicago and Midwestern independents and briefly for IMPACT Wrestling, hit a mixture of high-flying and power moves, but it wasn’t enough to retain as Priest pulled off the victory to become the new champion.
The event also featured a meet and great with the stars of the show and an opportunity to rub elbows with Bushwhacker Luke, Gangrel, Thorn and Beer City Bruiser.
At the end of the show, Mr. Ricolo, who served as Master of Ceremonies, announced SNS SuperShow 3 will occur on a date to be determined with an appearance from WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi.
Preliminary matches: In two matches contested during the pre-show, Shane Foster defeated Christopher St. Michael and Backwoods Brown defeated Johnny Swashbuckle in a squash match.
For over 100 photos from this event, plus many more from other events Windy City Slam has covered, go to https://www.windycityslam.com/photos.
