Warrior Wrestling delivers Bret Hart, another stellar show

(thumbnail photo above by Mike Pankow)

By Mike Pankow

October 20, 2021

Warrior Wrestling’s Steve Tortorello and Eric Hamilton like to put their money where their mouths are and Sweet 16 was no exception.

Warrior brought legendary WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hitman” Hart as a special guest and followed up with another great, 10-match card of action.

Jonathan Gresham works over Warrior Wrestling Champion Trey Miguel during their title match at Warrior Wrestling: Sweet 16 in Chicago Heights on Saturday, Oct. 16. (Photo by Nick Consalvo/ @cameraguygimmick)

A much-anticipated Warrior Wrestling Championship between titleholder Trey Miguel of IMPACT Wrestling fame and Ring of Honor’s Jonathan Gresham was spoiled by the return of Frank The Clown, who claimed responsibility for a group of wrestlers jumping into the ring and attacking both combatants and referee Jeremy Tillema. Tillema had no choice but to call for the bell and a no-contest.

Miguel retains the title as his reign approaches 13 months since he won the title from AEW star Brian Pillman Jr. in a triple-threat match that also included Brian Cage.

Frank The Clown took the mic and roasted management for what happened back at Warrior’s “Stadium Series” show in July at Dave Mattio Field, Marian Catholic’s football stadium. Frank was dumped off the top of the bleachers by Lance Archer at the conclusion of match between Archer and Frank’s client Robert “Ego” Anthony.

Frank promised more havoc to come as he will return at Warrior’s next show on Sunday, Dec. 12 back in South suburban Chicago Heights.

Two other championship matches went off without a hitch, including the main event where Aramis retained his Warrior Lucha Libre Championship over Rey Horus and Chicago’s own Gringo Loco in a high-flying triple-threat match.

It appeared Gringo Loco was on the verge of winning the championship after hitting a moonsault on Aramis, but couldn’t secure a pin and got frustrated with referee Dan Perch. Aramis surprised Gringo with a roll up for the victory.

With Warrior Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa not appearing due to a scheduling conflict with AEW, Rok-C successfully defended the ROH Women’s Championship against Chicago independent star Laynie Luck.

Referee Dan Perch makes sure Ring of Honor Women’s Champion Rok-C, left, and challenger Laynie Luck adhere to the Code of Honor before their title match at Warrior Wrestling: Sweet 16. (Photo by Mike Pankow)

Luck has been one of the best talents in the Chicago area over the last few years, spending the past 22 months as Freelance Underground Independent Champion and recently losing the Zelo Pro Women’s Championship after a lengthy reign.

Rok-C, a couple of weeks shy of her 20th birthday and a protégé of WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, earned the victory with a submission after a competitive match between two women who were each making her Warrior debut.

International star and Warrior staple Sam Adonis defeated IMPACT star Moose in a battle of athletic big men. Both guys hit plenty of their signature spots, but it was Adonis, who secured a pinfall via a rollup. A longtime heel, Adonis has been receiving more respect from the Warrior fans and Adonis was soaking in the adulation.

An intriguing match on paper before the show and a potential show stealer was former WWE Superstar Buddy Matthews (fka Buddy Murphy) against emerging star Chandler Hopkins, who was making his third appearance at Warrior Wrestling.

Matthews pulled out a victory in match that did not disappoint. Matthews paid tribute to his former WWE associate and Quad Cities native Seth Rollins by hitting a bucklebomb and a curb stomp on Hopkins. Matthews finished off the rising Texan with his “Murphy’s Law” finisher.

Buddy Matthews (fka WWE’s Buddy Murphy) controls the arm of Chandler Hopkins during their match at Warrior Wrestling: Sweet 16. (Photo by Nick Consalvo/ @cameraguygimmick)

Beast Man and Warhorse defeated Dan The Dad and KLD in a tag team match, filled with fun, entertaining spots and some impressive big-man wrestling by both Beast Man (who showed off a suicide dive) and KLD, who compared favorably to WWE Superstar Keith “Bearcat” Lee with his power and agility. Warhorse hit his top-rope elbow on Dan The Dad, leading to Beast Man scoring the pin and the win for his team.

Josh Alexander picked up the victory over “Heavyweight Hustle” Calvin Tankman in a technical vs. power matchup. Alexander, who faces Christian Cage for the IMPACT World Championship at Saturday night’s “Bound For Glory” in Las Vegas, made Tankman tap out to an ankle lock.

In an intergender tag team match, Pretty Proper (Victor Benjamin and Lady Frost) defeated Jason Hotch and Janai Kai when Frost pinned Kai. Kai’s scheduled tag team partner Yoya was not cleared to compete, so Hotch was brought in as his replacement. A segment was filmed backstage perhaps teasing a future match for Pretty Proper when Luck and her fiancé GPA and had a chance meeting after that match.

In another high-level bout, Davey Richards continued his strong comeback with a victory over IMPACT Wrestling star Ace Austin. The gritty, technical Richards utilized a series of wear-down holds, strikes and joint manipulation on Austin, who tried countering with agility and high flying. Richards capped off the match with a maneuver similar to Bret Hart’s Sharpshooter to gain the submission.

KC Navarro, holder of the GMSI Contender’s Medallion, entered Sweet 16 with tremendous momentum, but veteran Alex Shelley halted Navarro’s rise. Shelley was the one who was “blessed” on this night, getting the duke in a closely contested affair. The silver lining for Navarro was that the medallion was not up for grabs, so he still maintains that future championship opportunity.

Before the show, Hart was part of a three-hour VIP Fan Fest, where signed pictures and memorabilia and posed for pictures with fans. While in line, fans were able to enjoy classic Hart matches on the big screen in Marian’s gym. Hart also started the main show with a short speech for the fans.

Trevor Outlaw walks outside the ring following his pre-show victory over Jordan Kross at Warrior Wrestling: Sweet 16. (Photo by Mike Pankow)

During the fan fest, four exclusive matches took place as Tootie Lynn knocked off Blair Onyx, Trevor Outlaw defeated Jordan Kross with the Derelict Driver, The Good Guys (Zak Hunter & Brent Noctus) defeated Eli Isom and Zeke Mercer in a tag team match and Will Allday of Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling beat “Golden Gun” Mark Wheeler, who has appeared on multiple Warrior shows in the past.

What does Warrior Wrestling do to follow up this strong show?

Tortorello announced New Japan Pro Wrestling star Will Osprey will return to the promotion for Warrior’s 17th installment on Sunday, Dec. 12. Osprey previously appeared nearly two years ago at Warrior 7 as part of a six-man tag team main event with Amazing Red and Rocky Romero as tag partners against The Rascalz (Trey Miguel and current NXT Tag Team Champions MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee, fka Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier, respectively).

Selected photos courtesy of Nick Consalvo. Check out Nick’s work at http://www.cameraguygimmick.com and follow him on social media @cameraguygimmick.

Also, check out a Warrior Wrestling recap as part of Episode 89 of Windy City Slam Podcast: https://apple.co/3B8j4lr.

Catch Windy City Slam editor Mike Pankow talking local and national pro wrestling every week with Chicago-area wrestling guests on Windy City Slam Podcast, part of the Broadcast Basement On-Demand Radio Network. Episodes drop early Tuesday morning wherever you download podcasts or at https://windycityslam.podbean.com/.

We are looking for guests to appear on future episodes of the Windy City Slam Podcast! Please contact Mike at mikepankow@windycityslam.com, message him on Facebook or DM him on Twitter.