Hello, everybody!
It’s been a while since my last blog update. This one is about my time at Revenge Pro’s latest event that went down in May called Revenge Takes Off! After this event, my life was consumed with family obligations and doing behind-the-scenes work for Empire State Wrestling. I do apologize for taking as long as it did for this one. Nonetheless, less jump in and take off!
It was about a year ago since I last appeared with Revenge at its old home, the Avalon Hotel. This event took place at the Erie Sports Center, a multisport complex on the outskirts of the city which is set to be Revenge’s new main venue. Erie Sports is one of the nicest venues I worked at a wrestling event at. The setup was on a pair of basketball courts, with several others serving as a giant locker room. It was large enough to hold a massive crowd that eclipsed the 700 attendance mark.
Revenge Takes Off
The refs for the night were myself and Referee George Ross. Referee Jason Sensation was out with a heel injury and worked on the production end that night. It was great to see both of them again. Ross is following through on some big aspirations in his wrestling career, and hope he succeeds.
My first match was between the Rip City Shooters and the Philly Marino Experience. This was my first time working with Rip City and my third time with PME. This match was a lot of fun and was well done. Joshua Bishop of Rip City is heavily influenced by Sid Justice so this might be the closest I get to saying I worked with Sid. Rip City picked up the win with a double choke slam.
After that, Ross and I did a six-way Contract in the Case Ladder match. This was a brutal match that saw its share of big bumps. The crowd hated Joe Keys when he hit Katie Arquette with a chair and needed assistance to return to the back. Likewise, they popped huge when she returned and came close to capturing the case.
It looked like Aaron Draven was going to win it, but his old friend Vance Desmond ran out and attacked him. Colby Redd capitalized on this to secure the case and a title opportunity of his choosing.
My next assignment was Anthony Gaines against Jason Gory. It was nice to ref Gaines again after his return to wrestling earlier this year. The last time I worked one of his matches was in 2021 at ESW’s return from the COVID pause. This was my first time refereeing Gory, a mainstay of the Pittsburgh wrestling scene. Overall, this was a solid match in which Gaines picked up the win.
My last match was the main event between Revenge Pro Heavyweight Champion John McChesney and Colin Delaney. This match was an excellent battle between two long-time friends. The match started out respectfully until Delaney faked a leg injury to try and get a quick pin on McChesney.
The action got out of control and spilled out of the ring. When they brawled back into the squared circle, I accidentally got clocked by Delaney’s feet when he was up on McChesney’s shoulders. Delaney eventually checked on me and helped me up, and I finished the match. The audience was electric when McChesney scored the win and enjoyed the ensuing beer bash with a large amount of the roster to cap off the night.
After getting changed and helping with the ring crew, I ventured home. I stopped at Country Fair for a bite to eat, thanks to a tip from McChesney. I needed a pick-me-up and hit the Angola Rest Stop after crossing back over into New York. Shout out to the woman working the convenience store who let me have the hot tea for free.
I felt really good about myself after this card. There was a lot of positivity overall on the show, and I felt I performed well with that I was asked for that night. Over the last year, I saw my confidence wane for the first time in my career, and this show gave me the self-esteem boost I needed for myself. I might no longer be aiming to jump to the next level in wrestling, but I can still be an effective referee in the places I work on a consistent basis.
That concludes my time at Revenge Takes Off! My next blog will be on my time at ESW’s Friday Night Heat.
As always, thanks for reading!
