WPW Review - March 9th, 2003
By Benjamin Tomas

WPW
Anaheim Marketplace 3-9-03
Estimated attendance: 35

The marketplace may have had few in attendance, but the show went on anyway. Our opening feature had Pony Boy and Johnny Paradise vs. Gallinero 4 and Big E Biggs. Yes you read that right: Pony Boy. I cannot fathom having a list of possible names for a wrestler and end up thinking Pony Boy be the best of the barrel. I'd love to see what else he had on there, The Fearsome Penguin, perhaps? The angry stockbroker, maybe? Johnny Paradise moved like a turtle and allowed Biggs to look like a cheetah in the ring. The officiating by Junior was his typically inept performance. What saved this one were the antics of the chicken, which delighted the crowd with his dancing and clucking. The chicken hit a high spot on the Pony to send this one home.

Another brilliantly named wrestler, Steve Pain entered the ring in a shirt showing his support for the company who brought SoCal its first wrestler without a thumb. His opposition was the wildly popular Sexy Chino. The two took a while to get going, exchanging taunts and punches. Finally they started running move for move, and Pain got the pin when I was distracted and I have no clue as to the finish of this one.

At this point I have to mention the dude sitting next to me. He was at least 475 pounds, and was telling me stories of how big he was in Japan and how he works for EWF, Rev Pro, Martin, and down in Mexico. He told me how stiff he works, and how much the crowd loves him. He apparently had no idea who I was, as he was explaining to me what purpose gimmicks serve in wrestling. He explained all this as if I was a straight up non-smart mark. I go to more wrestling shows that 90% of the people who browse this site, and I think I'd have heard of him by now. He also said WPW was paying him to talk smack during the matches. Throughout the night he had such gems as, "You suck", "You're a punk", and, my personal favorite witty remark, "Your momma's a whore." Why anyone would pay for this is beyond me. He also challenged the Chivos to a fight. Lets just say my BS detector needs new batteries after all times it went off this afternoon. Were I a promoter looking for a witty fan to pay, I'd hire Travis Grey in a heartbeat. More on this jackass later. By jackass I mean the fan, not Grey.

Next up was an exciting 3-way dance featuring Preston Scott, Catastrophe, and Mace. Catastrophe has looked good since he lost the 200 pounds of wrestling inability that was previously holding him back. Mace, the pride of Philadelphia, was on his game as well. However, Scott was the one who stole the show with his cocky attitude and the running mouth of manager Jason Bennett, these two kept the crowds attention even when neither was in the ring. Bennett is definitely one of my two favorite SoCal managers. There were a lot of good sequences in this and although it wasn't innovative, it was solid and fun to watch. I'll take this over Lil' Nate vs. The Miz any day. Mace was the first to be eliminated, and Bennett began to interject himself into the match, by distracting the referee and interfering. He eventually sacrificed himself by taking a DDT, and after the DDT Catastrophe had his back to Scott, allowing a Pearl Harbor job by Scott, and he hit the roll of the dice for 3. Good Stuff. Throughout the match, Bennett had a war of wits with the guy next to me, but it was short, as he was unprepared for the battle.

Calibre Ventidos wrestled the dancing sensation Black Angel. As Angel was also in the main event, this one was kept short. This was a showcase of all that I dislike about Lucha. While I love Lucha Libre, at times things occur in the matches that make no sense to me, and the officials make calls I do not comprehend. This match had a lot of that, not even sure who won.

Chippy Sanchez came out to wrestle the pride of WPW, Lil' Cholo. Lil' Cholo was on his game despite having a knee injury. He did a great job of bring out the best in Sanchez, and Chippy has never looked better. Apparently Chippy had pissed off Junior, as every time he hit a big move, Junior would not make a count. Midway through the match, Cholo put Sanchez in the corner and hit the running dropkick to the face in the turnbuckles that B-Boy pops the crowd with every match. The ref not counting provided some bizarre psychology, but it was ok, given the great sequences Cholo and Chippy were running. I was very pleased with Cholo's performance, especially considering the leg injury. Cholo finally won the match, but it made Chippy look better than ever. Chippy might just be the next breakout star for WPW, if he keeps up the hard work and dedication. I'd recommend a gimmick change, though, as "Chippy" is almost as bad as Pony Boy, but not quite. Match of the day.

It was main event time, and here come the Chivos. I have always enjoyed their work, despite a lot of criticism many seem to have. They aren't perfect, but they get me to care about a match, so they are good in my book. They took on the mighty team of Black Angel and the dude with the greatest music of all, Chilango. The first fall was slow going, but they were just warming up. Chivos won the first fall. In the second fall, they really kicked it up a notch. Lots of great moves by all involved, especially a huge asai moonsault from the middle rope onto Kayam. After a quick sequence, Chilango hit a beautiful hurincarana on Enigma de Oro to take the second fall. This only served to aggravate the WPW tag team champion Chivos, and this was on top of the dude next to me begging to fight them. He tried to tell me he's in the main next week, but WPW brass seemed to know nothing of this after the show. Los Chivos finally got frustrated by all of this and Kayam kicked Black Angel in the balls. This drew the DQ from Junior, who had his eyes open for a change. After the match the Chivos beat up their opponents until Lil' Cholo made the save. This was followed by a lot of talk on the mic in Spanish, so I have no clue what they set up for next week. I'm guessing Chivos and a pal vs. Black Angel, Chilango, and Lil' Cholo, but we will wait and see.

After the show I was shocked to learn that the dude was not part of the show, as he was so convincing. No one really seemed to know why he was there, and they said he was a dude who always shows up talking a big game. They said he usually says big things are coming, then has a reason they didn't happen. Oh well, I guess I'll never know who the dude was. Anyway, I had a good time at the Marketplace, and hope I have a Sunday off soon to go again. I love the place, despite all the trash talking about it. To me the Marketplace is the home of SoCal Indys, the California equivalent of Viking Hall. Viva WPW, and good luck Martin.

Thanks for reading,
Benjamin Tomas.