Hello everybody, this is all about my return to Buffalo Championship Wrestling at its latest event, Thank You Veterans, at the Donovan Post in Cheektowaga, N.Y. Here is what went down!
Going into this show, we were juggling quite a few things at home. My son was sick during the week, so we monitored how he felt, and my daughter had soccer that Saturday morning, then a get-together with her Girl Scout Troop. Everything managed to work out in the end, and my family and parents made it.
Thank You Veterans
Presented Buffalo Championship Wrestling
The morning weather report indicated favorable conditions throughout the day, so the show was set up outside in the parking lot and with the larger ring. But as every Buffalonian knows, the weather in the City of Good Neighbors can change at any minute.
Some showers came through before bell time, and we broke out tarps to cover the ring. The chairs needed to be dried off. Those measures, plus some dry moping, proved effective, and the show began as normal.
I was assigned three of the six matches on the card. The other three were handled by two Buffalo Wrestling Academy students, Austin Spatorico and Kyle S. Edwards. I worked with them previously at the school and was happy to share the card with them.
My first match was the opener between Darren Crowe and The Witch Doctor. I received several of Crowe’s matches recently while this was the debut of The Witch Doctor. Crowe previously worked as a heel in BCW but turned face for this match as The Witch Doctor attempted to assert his wicked ways.
For his first-ever match, I think The Witch Doctor did well. His outfit alone is wild and was over, which made it weird at times when he tested the rules of the ring, and the people cheered for him. The more experienced Crowe escaped the match with the win, but I do not think we saw the last of The Witch Doctor.
My next match was right before intermission. Vince Valor took on Matt McCoy in a “teacher vs. student” match. It was a test to see if McCoy could keep up with Valor, his trainer. Also, Valor was also a heel tonight – a stark contrast of his ESW persona.
Valor came out to the ring with this super annoying megaphone that played this irritatingly loud siren. I scolded him to put it away before I could start the match. Valor threw a ton of offense at his protégé with McCoy bouncing back from it all.
Eventually, McCoy went outside the ring and jumped off the roof of the Donovan Post. However, Valor slyly pulled a security guard in McCoy’s way to take the brunt of his descent. Valor then rolled McCoy into the ring, hit a Death Valley Driver and scored the pin.
My last assignment was the main event between BCW WNY Heritage Champion Robby Vegas against Chris “Mad Dog” Jones. Dusk was approaching when the match began, but luckily the hall put on their outdoor lights and everything sailed smoothly the rest of the way.
Thank You Veterans
It was years since I last refereed a match with Jones – probably around the time he began training. He grew a lot in confidence since then. But that confidence translated into too much arrogance during this match, and Vegas retained with a small package.
Jones was not finished, though, after I rang the bell and laid into Vegas afterward. He even pushed me. I ran to the back to get more referees to help, but by the time we returned, he finished the assault. So we all helped the champ out of the ring as the event closed.
My daughter stayed with me during the tear-down after the show, and then I dropped her off at home. My wife and I then went to the afterparty at Vinny’s – a BCW staple – and enjoyed some great chicken wings. I must give props to the students who played chess at the end of the night. I think that is a first for a wrestling afterparty activity.
That wraps up my time at Thank You Veterans. My next blog will be one of Empire State Wrestling’s Turn It Up at Frontier Fire Hall in Niagara Falls on September 23. As always, thanks for reading!
