Calvin Tankman vs. Project M.O.N.I.X. rematch set
FREELANCE UNDERGROUND CHAMP RETAINS OVER JOE ALONZO
By Mike Pankow
October 29, 2022
Freelance Underground’s “Same Ol’ Situation marked several anniversaries within the suburban Chicago company.
Calvin Tankman punctuated one year as Freelance Underground Champion with a bruising victory over Joe Alonzo in the main event last Saturday (Oct. 22) at the Cantigny VFW in Joliet.
Freelance Underground Champion Calvin Tankman catches Joe Alonzo before delivering powerbomb during his successful title defense at “Same Ol’ Situation” in Joliet on Saturday, Oct. 22. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
Tankman’s victory set up a rematch with Project M.O.N.I.X. for FU’s next Joliet event on Dec. 17.
One year ago, M.O.N.I.X. and Tankman had a war in what appeared to be M.O.N.I.X.’s final professional wrestling match at “Final Phase” in Itasca. It was a night filled with memories, but it turned out to be “The Ultimate Swerve” as M.O.N.I.X. attacked “Marvelous” Matt Knicks and FU co-owner “2 Juice” Andy Long, dressed down the crowd while saying, “this is a mother***in’ return,” and left the building with then-buddy Chico Suave.
Now the story comes full circle as M.O.N.I.X. earned to right to fight Tankman for the FU Championship by winning a No. 1 contender’s five-man scramble match that featured Suave, Acid Jaz, Mojo McQueen and “Sabotage” Sean Logan.
Tankman’s championship match with Alonzo was set up back in July at FU’s last event in Joliet as “Heavyweight Hustle” survived a brawl with “Iron Demon” Shane Mercer” while Alonzo won a three-way bout against August Matthews and Gunner Brave before throwing out the challenge to Tankman.
The young, brash Alonzo, an Oak Lawn native, who recently has seen ring time in the NWA, entered confident that he could dethrone the dominant champion, more than 100 pounds bigger than him.
Alonzo tried nearly every trick in the book to counteract Tankman’s sheer mass, including using a chair on the 350-pound Indianapolis native, but Tankman simply brutalized Alonzo at every opportunity with nasty spinning back elbows and eye-opening power maneuvers. Tankman eventually finished Alonzo with his Tankman Driver sitout-style piledriver to get the 3-count.
As Tankman soaked in the fans’ adulation and the show appeared to be over, M.O.N.I.X. and his manager James Russo came out to ringside to confront the big man.
Russo credited Tankman for his full-year run as FU Champion, but warned him that M.O.N.I.X. was coming for that belt. M.O.N.I.X. came armed with his original Freelance Underground Championship belt that was bestowed upon him as a “parting gift” a year ago before using it as his own personal championship.
Project M.O.N.I.X., right, with James Russo, won a five-man scramble and will face Calvin Tankman on Freelance Underground’s next Joliet show on Dec. 17. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
The two men faced off in the ring with their belts held up high, much like a pre-fight press conference, to close the show.
M.O.N.I.X. took care of business in a manner that has befitted his attitude change over the last year, taking advantage of a situation to gain the victory in the five-man scramble. He used a brief alliance with Logan to help clear the ring of his other opponents.
When Suave hit the Chico Slam on the wily veteran Jaz, it appeared that Suave was going to win the match. However, Suave’s momentum didn’t allow him to get a good cover and M.O.N.I.X. flew in like an opportunistic vulture to pick the bones and score the pin on Jaz for the victory.
Speaking of anniversaries, Storm Grayson celebrated his one-year milestone of winning the Freelance Underground Independent Championship by successfully defending that title over a game Alfonso Gonzalez.
Gonzalez has been on an upward trajectory over the last year with his “Team Alfonso” character, including an extensive feud with Kylie Rae in Freelance Wrestling. The Sensei of Team Alfonso Dojo took it right to Grayson, including locking in a Boston Crab, but he couldn’t get the champion to tap out.
Grayson rallied, hit his some of his signatures including the Falcon Arrow and Blue Thunder Bomb, but the finish came where Grayson simply countered another attempt at a Boston Crab to roll up Gonzalez for the 3-count in a very competitive contest.
The Naperville native won the Independent Championship at “Final Phase” in a six-person scramble, unseating long-reigning champion Laynie to gain the belt.
“One Man Dynasty” Darius Latrell prepares to drop an elbow on Marino T. during Pick N’ Pop’s Freelance Underground Tag Team Championship match against The Philly-Marino Experience. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
Freelance Underground Tag Team Champions Pick N’ Pop successfully defended the titles in their first defense since dethroning The Brothers of Funstruction at Thornton Distilling Co. in August by holding off the challenge of the fun-loving Philly-Marino Experience, who were making their debut in Joliet after working previous FU shows in Itasca.
Koda Hernandez and “One Man Dynasty” Darius Latrell have really jelled as a team over the last year or so. They had a landmark victory over Jaz and Marshe Rockett a year ago in a Prison Rules match and gained serious momentum after that.
Latrell used his power and Hernandez utilized his cunning and guile to subdue Philly C. and Marino T. Hernandez pinned Marino T. following tandem blockbuster, though Pick N’ Pop showed brief dissention when Latrell tried to stop Hernandez from using a loaded sock earlier in the match.
Shazza McKenzie (Photo by Mike Pankow)
The women’s match between 17-year-old prodigy Billie Starkz and Australian sensation Shazza McKenzie was a highlight of the night. McKenzie was making her FU debut after working numerous matches in recent years at Freelance Wrestling.
The popular Starkz rallied from an early beatdown from the veteran McKenzie, who has experience in SHIMMER and AEW, to a Swanton Bomb to get the 3-count. Starkz continued her fast track to stardom as she remains the reigning 2econd Wrestling Champion just about a month shy of her 18th birthday.
Joliet native Brave picked up one of the biggest victories in his career as the Black and Brave graduate knocked off former FU Champion GPA in a terrific match. The veteran GPA gave Brave a severe test, but the man known as the “Best In The Midwest” earned the victory after an inverted DDT and a superkick.
This match was originally supposed to a battle of Joliet with Brave going against the veteran Egotistico Fantastico, but Fantastico tweeted out earlier in the day that he was suffering from flu symptoms. GPA was called upon as a last-minute replacement.
Brave is also the Rocket Pro Wrestling Outer Limits and recently defended the title against Storm Grayson at RPW just down the street at St. Joseph’s Park earlier this month.
Meanwhile, GPA has struggled in singles competition in Freelance Underground since losing the championship in about 30 seconds to Tankman in an open challenge at “Final Phase” last year.
Freelance Legacy Champion “The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith celebrates following his victory over Wes Barkley. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
Freelance Legacy Champion “The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith wrapped up his weekend in the Chicago area with a victory over “Mazerati” Wes Barkley, one night after defeating EFFY at Freelance.
Barkley has appeared several times in FU over the last couple of years with moderate success. Keith, a native of Greenspoint, Texas, kept up his strong run of matches under the Freelance brands by hitting the Soul Fire Bomb to put away Barkley.
The opening match was a red-hot affair as The Bang Bros (Matthews and Davey Bang) successfully defended the Wrestling For A Cure Tag Team Championships against Sky’s The Limit, the up-and-coming tandem of Sabin Gauge and Xavier Sky. After a high-flying, technical affair, Bang got the pin on Sky after a 450 splash.
Freelance Underground returns with a show at Thornton Distilling Co. in South Suburban Thornton on Saturday, Nov. 19 before coming back to Joliet’s Cantigny VFW on Dec. 17 to wrap up the year.
For a gallery of over 200 photos from the event: https://www.windycityslam.com/freelance-underground-same-ol-situation.
Freelance Underground Independent Champion Storm Grayson gave Windy City Slam an exclusive interview after Freelance Underground's "Same Ol' Situation." Grayson discusses his match with Alfonso Gonzalez from the Oct. 22, 2022, event in Joliet, Ill., and talks about his potential rematch with Freelance World Champion Robert "Ego" Anthony.
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/.
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