SCWPro Prestige Rumble 2023. When a venue and a wrestling promotion click, a strong bond is formed. It becomes the place they call home. A place where so many memorable and iconic moments have happened.
A place the promotion’s fans love returning to each and every time they have a show there. For SCWPro, that venue has been the Walcott Coliseum in Walcott, Iowa.
The fans of SCWPro have been coming to the Walcott Coliseum for over a decade, catching all the action the SCWPro stars bring to the ring. Walcott Coliseum has become part of the mythos within the company.
“The Coliseum was our home – our main base – for over a decade,” said SCWPro promoter Marek Brave. “So many great matches happened within its walls. We outlasted four different sets of owners, a global pandemic, various performers coming and going, yet we still put on over 100 events there. We’ll always remember our time there very fondly.”
This past Saturday (January 7th, 2023), the SCWPro wrestlers and fans walked through the doors of the Walcott Coliseum for one final event. It was a night everyone in attendance will remember forever. This was their annual January event, the Prestige Rumble, featuring their 20-man – this year 25-man – Royal Rumble style battle royal.
“We pulled out all the stops to make sure the Prestige Rumble would be a night to remember for the fans,” Brave said. “We wanted to make sure that the Coliseum was able to host one more large event, so we didn’t even entertain the idea of moving that event from the Walcott Coliseum. Feedback has been great so far, so we’re really happy that we accomplished our goal.”
Three championships changed hands, and the Rumble will be remembered as one of their best ever. Most importantly, the fans were sent home happy one last time.
SCWPro Prestige Rumble 2023
New Year, New Champions
For seven years, JT Energy has been a staple of SCWPro. He’s held every championship the promotion has to offer, every championship besides one, the SCWPro Championship.
In the opening match of Prestige Rumble, Energy’s journey to the top of the promotion he started in came to be as he defeated Connor Braxton in an exhilarating championship match. It was the culmination of the pursuit for the top prize in SCWPro that began in the fall of 2021.
“Winning the SCWPro Championship felt like earning my Master’s Degree from SCWPro,” Energy said. “I graduated from the Black X Brave Wrestling Academy, and someday if I’m lucky enough to become an SCW Pro Hall of Famer, that will be the ultimate culmination from where I started.”
Winning the championship was no easy task for Energy. Not only did he have to defeat one of SCWPro’s greatest champions in Connor Braxton, but Braxton’s business associates, Ript Studwell and “Prime Time” James Thomas, continuously interfered on Braxton’s behalf. However, on this night, nothing was going to stop Energy from achieving his dream.
After hitting his patented scissor kick, the three count was made, and SCWPro had a brand new champion. JT Energy winning the championship wasn’t the most shocking thing to happen.
No, the biggest surprise is that after seven years of terrorizing the SCWPro fans, JT Energy now has their full support. The eruption when referee Jon G’s hand hit the mat for the three count was one for the ages.
Something that would’ve never been imaginable a year ago when the fans still loathed Energy. The reactions from the fans, whether they boo or cheer him, is something the continues to drive JT Energy to be at his very best every time he steps in the ring.
“All I ever wanted to do was make the SCWPro fans feel something just like their favorite superstars on the higher levels they watch on TV,” Energy said. “I’m happy to see the smallest kid give me a hug and the hard-a** guy drinking a beer flip me off! If they love pro wrestling, then let’s make some magic.”
The SCWPro Championship wasn’t the only title that changed hands during Prestige Rumble. As mentioned earlier, two other championships have new owners.
“His Chosen Champion,” Eric Eznite, has been on a tear since breaking away on his own. Saturday night he laid out an open challenge for the QC Cup, but he was not expecting the man who answered the challenge.
“Money” Matt Cage made his return to SCWPro for the first time since EPIC Night 1 back in April 2022. Caught off guard, the ultra-confident Eznite lost the QC Cup in minutes. The loss, as expected, didn’t sit well with Eznite.
Later in the show, during the Prestige Rumble match, Eznite illegally entered the ring and, with the help from his disciple Garrote, eliminated Cage from the battle royal. This feud for the QC Cup has just begun.
The match for the Iowa Championship was the future of SCWPro Dustan Moseley taking on the spirit of SCWPro in Hall of Famer the Shug Shane Hollister. These two have crossed paths numerous times over the past year, and Saturday, they were determined to end their grudge in the final Walcott Street Fight.
They battered each other all across the Walcott Coliseum. Chairs were used, and doors were splintered before the Shug finally had his hand raised in victory.
Moseley may have lost this battle, but by the end of the night, he was the last man standing with his hand raised. More on that shortly.
Rumble Devil Dog Rumble
A Royal Rumble-style battle royal needs certain ingredients to go from good to great. The 2023 SCWPro Prestige Rumble had them all in spades.
Surprise Returns
A plethora of stars returned to SCWPro during the Prestige Rumble. From the Frontman Jah C entering and almost going the distance to Mason Beck’s wrecking shop like only he can, the returns were great.
But, of all the returns, one stood out as the biggest. That was the return of Joeasa.
For months, vignettes from a mysterious masked man calling himself the Godfather aired during SCWPro shows. The number two entrant in the 25-man battle royal turned out to be the Godfather, who removed his mask, revealing the returning Joeasa.
This wasn’t just a quick return for a pop either; Joeasa played the role of the iron man. Lasting from number two all the way to the end, where he was the final man eliminated.
Memorable Moments and Elimination Escapes
You have to have moments that the fans will still be talking about when they leave the show and this Rumble did just that. The Brewster brothers, Chuck and Buck, had a brief reunion after years apart.
Prime Time James Thomas welcomed his teacher Sensei Bock to the match with a bow and a hug. Knight Wagner once again had the quickest elimination of the night. Corn Boi hit a massive double chokeslam.
Jared Thumb’s trifecta of stunners on Johnny Wisdom received one of the loudest pops of the night. Shain Boucher did his best Kofi Kingston impression avoiding elimination via an impressive handstand.
Current SCWPro Tag Team Champions “Partners in Rhyme” Niko Kline and MFG made a dangerous enemy in Mason Beck. Kline, who had already been eliminated, assisted his teammate in eliminating the monster.
Valentina Loca eliminated herself after coming face to stomach with the massive Garrote. When it comes to great elimination escapes the biggest highlights were Jah C skinning the cat multiple times, just like Shawn Michaels.
Fantastic Final Four
Business always picks up when the final four entrants are left in the match, and the 2023 Prestige Rumble had a phenomenal final four. Four eras of SCWPro were represented with two former champions in Krotch and Johnny Wisdom, facing off with Joeasa and Dustan Moseley.
The Devil Dog inserted himself into this match with force by taking out Tigre Amore before he could enter. Krotch was the first eliminated of the four. Johnny Wisdom picked his opportunity perfectly as Krotch and Moseley fought on the apron.
Wisdom charged in at just the right moment and knocked the former champion to the floor. With Wisdom and Moseley seemingly in agreement to take out Joeasa, the Godfather dug deep and found a way to eliminate Wisdom.
From here, Moseley and Joeasa battled back and forth until the “Devil Dog” Dustan Moseley got the win after kicking Joeasa and forcing him to drop both feet onto the ground. The Prestige Rumble was over, and the Devil Dog now has his sights set on JT Energy and the SCWPro Championship.
