Xcite Wrestling presents One Will Fall. Hello, everyone! I am super “xcited” to blog about my latest stop in my referee journey at Xcite Wrestling this past weekend. This Binghamton, N.Y.-based promotion held its “One Will Fall” event at the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City, N.J., in what was a fun and memorable event.
Let’s jump into the details!
This is my first time working for Xcite in over five years. It was the only promotion I refereed for a few months after two others I worked for shut down and before I started back with Empire State Wrestling. The previous shows I did with Xcite were at an American Legion hall in Binghamton and featured several talents that I normally did not get to work with regularly in Western New York. The same thing applied for this past weekend’s show. In my opinion, working with wrestlers that are new to you helps bring you out of your comfort zone and thus helps you to continue to grow as a referee.
If you are unfamiliar with the layout of Upstate New York, Binghamton is located in the central part of the state near the New York-Pennsylvania state line. About halfway between Buffalo and New York City, Binghamton is known for being where IBM was founded, the home of Binghamton University, and for its Double-A baseball team, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
The Oakdale Mall is located in Johnson City, which is a suburb of Binghamton. Xcite runs out of a large storefront within the mall (a former Rue 21) that fits about 400 fans inside. The facility, now called “The X,” is also where Xcite runs its training center. Unlike a lot of indoor shopping centers around the United States, the Oakdale Mall did not seem like a dying entity. On the contrary, it was fairly busy with not just wrestling fans attending the sold-out show but regular shoppers in this wing of the mall.
Traveling with Brandon Thurston
I traveled to this show with “The Patron Saint of Pro Wrestling” Brandon Thurston. We used to drive regularly together to shows around Upstate New York – including Xcite. Unfortunately, one of our last Xcite drives was through a massive snowstorm that hit halfway through our trek and was a little frightening. But this time, the weather conditions were as good as you could ask for in New York during November.
This was my first event in which Go Professional Wrestling handled the production side of things. One of my wrestling mentors, Jonathan Ashe, works with them now and is part of a crew that is doing a lot of great work across the U.S.
One of my fellow referees on the show was Richard Head (stop laughing), who is also the senior official for ESW. Along with this show, he has been refereeing across the North East regularly as more states began to open up from the pandemic restrictions. It is good to see him get so many well-earned opportunities on the road.
Xcite Wrestling presents One Will Fall
My first assignment for this event was refereeing a battle royal. It featured many of Xcite’s students and those that attended an Anthony Greene seminar held prior to the show. One of Xcite’s longest-tenured wrestlers, Axel Lennox, pulled out the win.
My second match was a 6-man scramble match to determine the new Xcite Wrestling International Champion. Leon St. Giovanni was abdicating the belt due to injury. Originally, it was supposed to be a 7-man scramble, but one of the competitors could not make it. The wrestlers in it were All-Elite Wrestling’s “Smart” Mark Sterling, T.J. Epixx, Thurston, “Invincible” Vince Valor, Keenan Moore, and “Anarchy” Ash Aubrey.
Xcite Wrestling presents One Will Fall
I was a little concerned about this match with so many people involved. But the action was paced out just right, so that was never a worry for me. Epixx pulled out the victory and won the title. Afterward, LSG presented him with the belt and laid out the new champion with the gold strap. Look out for Epixx. He is a young talent that possesses a lot of potential, and if he stays on his current track, he will be capable of some big things in wrestling.
For some reason, I thought the intermission was between this match and my third bout. I was hungry, and my head hurt, so I went out into the mall and got my very first Cinnabon (just some sticks and dip). I really liked it, and after I munched it down, I headed back into the venue wondering why Matt Cardona was coming out already. Quickly, I got backstage and snuck out to the ring while Cardona was working the crowd during his entrance. That was a close one.
Cardona took on hometown hero “The Hybrid” Sean Carr. I refereed Carr several times in the past. I was happy to see him get an opportunity to face one of the top names on the independent scene. The match was a ton of fun. The crowd hated Cardona and ate up all his antagonizing. I felt Carr looked great wrestling Cardona – he is someone I could see wrestling on a bigger stage soon. I am not sure what happened with the finish. My back was turned, putting the Internet Championship back out of the ring where it belonged. But Cardona rolled up Carr for the win, either way.
My Final Duty
My final duty was during the steel cage main event of The Carnage Crew (H.C. Loc and Masada) versus The Awakening (Kaide Lothbrok and G-Raver). With all the students at the show, I did not need to help set up the cage or hold down the cage around ringside. However, after some of the action spilled into the crowd, I was sent toward the opposite side of the venue to pose as extra security in case anything else happened in the crowd. Luckily for me, everything else stayed in the ring, so my night ended on an easy note.
I talked to the promoter Jonny Moose after the show. He was down for having me return when I can. The shows are on the first Saturday of each month. I do not know as of yet when I will be able to come back, but it is good to know there is a spot open to me when I can.
Our post-show food was some Wegmans not too far from the mall. If you ever visit Upstate New York and come across a Wegmans in your travels, I highly recommend stopping in. It is probably the best supermarket chain in the country.
Xcite Wrestling presents One Will Fall
The drive from my home to the venue took about three hours. This was my longest commute to a wrestling show since my children were born. This was a lingering concern for me in the back of my mind. Thankfully, everything went well with my family, with me being gone the whole day. My days of doing road trips on short notice and working every weekend are long gone for the time being. But as long as I can get reasonable notice, I can still do out-of-town shows on a semi-regular basis.
That wraps up my time at Xcite’s One Will Fall event. My next blog will be all about my times at ESW’s Wrestlebash in Niagara Falls during Thanksgiving Weekend. Even with the past Buffalo RiverWorks shows, this end-of-the-year event is still shaping up to be one of ESW’s biggest events in some time. I cannot wait to tell you how it goes.
As always, thanks for reading!
