Connor McGrath
After a one week absence for Labor Day Weekend, Wrestling On Fire is back with one of its biggest episodes of the year. On today’s show, Brian Fury will defend his Wrestling On Fire Championship against longtime rival, former NWA Tag Team Champ El Leon Apolo. While it seems like it’s been a year since Brian Fury’s defended his Wrestling On Fire Championship, it’s actually been…
Well, almost a year. I think Fury’s defended his title maybe once since I started reviewing the show way back in March. Fury certainly hasn’t been the most fightingest champ in the past year and has really with all of the upheaval in the company has really come across as an afterthought. He’s certainly capable of being a top heel for a company of this level (and has showed so in the past) but really hasn’t gotten the chance to in the past few months. Kayfabe-wise, I know he was suspended for slapping AJ Savoldi but does it make any sense why a company would suspend its champion for three months? At that point, shouldn’t they just strip him of the title?
I know I sound like a hypocrite and I might even be on record as saying if a fed can’t draw 100 people on a routine basis to its shows then its titles really don’t mean anything but…man, I’d like for them to pretend they mean something! I digress.
We start at the Wrestling On Fire Arena (AKA the Parsippany PAL Building) with Ken Reedy in the ring. He introduces Mario Savoldi Jr to talk about Wrestling On Fire ending its partnership with the National Wrestling Alliance. A side note, they have got to introduce less of these third generation Savoldis. After AJ, I just sort of lost track with them! Anyway, legally speaking, Savoldi and Reedy can’t shit talk NWA so they just say a few vague remarks about how they’re better off without them and let the fans carry them the rest of the way. A somewhat emaciated looking Fury comes down to ringside and menacingly stalks around ringside. Mario Jr recalls Fury’s injustices towards his family with the anger of someone looking for a pair of slippers. Savoldi tells Fury he’s never won anything. WAY TO PUT OVER YOUR CHAMP! Mario starts off on a lame, listless rant about how bad it is to cheat for the kids in attendance but Fury gets fed up and thwacks him in the dome with a steel chair. That was kind of awesome. Irascible old coot “Uncle” Tommy Savoldi makes his first appearance in a hot minute to make the save for his nephew (grand nephew? Again, I’m confused by the family tree!) and stand up to Fury. I got to say I kind of missed Tommy as his oddball color commentary made up for a huge part of the promotion’s charm for me. Fury says he’s bigger than the NWA and the Savoldis and threatens to beat up Uncle Tommy since he has no opponent tonight. Before the Wrestling On Fire Champ can pummel an octogenarian, Apolo runs in to make the save to set up our aforementioned main event.
Kai Katana Vs Buzz Bloodsaw
Both of these guys are products of Wrestling On Fire Showcase matches they have occasionally on this show. In case you’ve forgotten (which I sort of have), Kaitana has an evil Asian dude gimmick and Bloodsaw is crazy but lovably so. More Ultimate Warrior than Bruiser Brody. Bloodsaw does a comedy spot where he inspects the referee. I got to say the crowds at the Parsippany PAL aren’t huge (and have gotten smaller since they’ve started taping there regular) but they really, really love their Wrestling On Fire rasslin. The kids in the crowd react to Bloodsaw like he’s a combination of John Cena and Batman. Bloodsaw high fives the middle aged dudes in the front row who always chant things at the Parsippany shows and Reedy mentions one of them is Bloodsaw’s dad. Maybe that’s why he’s so over. This is a clash of two unorthodox wrestlers…which the announcers point out every three seconds. Katana goes over with a moonsault. Both guys are green as hell but definitely showed some flashes of potential and it definitely helps that the hometown crowd was willing to overlook any shortcomings (and the fact that the match was a touch too long. C
Wrestling On Fire Championship Match: Brian Fury (c) Vs El Leon Apolo
Before the match, Ken Reedy announces that this match has no time limit. I just noticed that there’s a Ken Reedy Show banner hanging in the Parsippany PAL which I find amusing for some reason. Also Fury’s title is a replica of the 1986/87 era WWF World title not the WCW World Television title as I previously stated. Back to your regularly scheduled programming. Fury stalls to start. Other completely random observation, instead of having regular ring mats around the ring, they have nine or ten of those small gymnastic mats that you used in elementary school phys ed scattered around the ring. They finally get in the ring and Apollo pummels Fury. They brawl around ringside. Back in, Fury tries to cheapshot Apollo but his offense has little effect. Fury finally takes over the match with a well timed low blow. Fury works over Apolo for a few minutes before Apolo launches the comeback. They trade big moves for two counts and then the ref gets knocked out because of course, the ref always gets knocked out in big matches like this! Fury whacks Apolo with the belt but no ref is to be found. The crowd underscores this by chanting “NO REF! NO REF! NO REF!” Mario Savoldi Jr suddenly revived throws a chair in the ring and Tommy stumbles down the aisle to distract Fury. Apolo thwacks Fury with the chair and Mario Jr forces the unconscious ref to count the three count by slamming the ref’s hand against the mat (What is this? SummerSlam ’88?) And after a twenty one month run with the belt (!!!), Brian Fury’s WOF Championship Reign is over. Or so we think. I get the gist of this match was to pay off the Fury Vs Savoldi storyline but it just sort of made the World Title seem like an afterthought to a story that’s basically there to serve the family of the company’s owners ego. I mean, WWE would certainly never do anything like tha—
Anyway, regardless, this match was a fine way to pay off a storyline and have the Savoldis enact *some* measure of revenge against Fury but not too much so Fury looks like a goof. But at the same time, this match was not a very good way to work a title change. Would have been better for Apollo to have just kicked Fury’s ass and win the World title and then had this match be the rematch. Match itself was fine. B-
Afterward, we get a BREAKING NEWS announcement from Wrestling On Fire owner Mario Savoldi. Mario Sr says that while he got some satisfaction out of Fury getting thwacked in the dome with a chair, he can’t consciously let Apolo be the Champion but at the same time, he won’t give the title to Fury due to Fury’s past actions. Mario Sr declares the WOF Championship to be vacant and that Fury and Apolo will have a chance to win the title—but so will every one else on the Wrestling On Fire and ECPW roster.
Anyway, they went about it in a silly way but it’s been very obvious for sometime that they wanted to just completely start over again with the WOF Championship scene and tonight went about doing that. It also managed to end (or at least, advance) the long dormant, unnecessarily long Savoldi Family/Brian Fury storyline. They might not have done it in the way I would have liked but it’s good that a company I often criticize for not having any real direction managed to show some on today’s show.
It’s too bad that an episode as important as this wasn’t shown here in Maine or in New York/New Jersey and most of the company’s fans had to watch it on YouTube but hey, it’s baby steps with this company.
Anyway, until next week, keep clear in the Culture Crossfire and remember not to feed your dogs chocolate. Also a belated Happy Grandparents Day!
