Wrestling Review // Blitzkrieg! Pro "PMA" 2/26/22 @ Tower Square / White Lion Brewery, Springfield, MA

https://blitzkriegpro.net/

While Quentin and I were at Disney, Jess went to the last Blitzkrieg! show in Springfield, at this sort of mall looking place and I must admit that if she had not been here before we probably would've spent about a half hour trying to figure out where to park and then how to get to where the wrestling was.  On the plus side, we also arrived around the same time as other people who were clearly fans so we also could've just followed them.  Oddly enough, this show was set for doors at 6pm and we got there around 5:55 and people were already being let in!

For this show I feel like I was as excited to see the wrestlers in a meet and greet way as I was to see the in ring action.  Mr. Bob Backlund was announced earlier in the day and so I was able to grab my WWE Elite action figure of him and bring it with us to get signed.   Quentin had previously met Mr. Backlund twice- once when he signed his book for us and another time when we got a poster signed by him, at the Meriden Library and Retro World Expo respectively.  

Back when I used to watch WWE more and Quentin was younger he really enjoyed seeing Lince Dorado because he always referred to him as the "Lucha Kitty".   This was really an exciting meet and greet for both Quentin and I for that reason so big thanks to Best Batch Promotions and I hope to see Lince Dorado back sooner than later because he spoke with us for a bit and was extremely nice.  At one point, Mr. Bob Backlund came out from behind the table and started yelling at a fan and we all kind of looked behind us to see what was going on.

One aspect of going to wrestling shows and meeting wrestlers is that, with Quentin, it can be hit or miss.  There are days where I ask him "Do you want to take a photo with ____?" and he just says no.  This show was one I could tell he was really excited about because as we saw Evil Uno come out I asked Quentin if he wanted to go meet Evil Uno and without hesitation Quentin said yes.   This was fun because Quentin got to put up the hand gesture for Dark Order as well and now when we find that Evil Uno action figure in stores Quentin will likely be even more excited.  Evil Uno is also just a complete class act.

"PMA" was live on IWTV and so as it got closer to start time, Quentin and I had to go take our seats with Jess.   We got a tie from CPA and were basically just talking with ABBS until it felt like we needed to go sit down.    It's funny because I have no financial stakes in any wrestling promotion and so the success or otherwise of them doesn't mean more money in my pocket, but Blitzkrieg! Pro is just *that* promotion where I feel like if the promotion succeeds then the wrestlers in the ring succeed and in that way we all succeed.  I just feel like I take that point of pride in the sense of someone who might have money invested in the company even though I'm just a fan.

So I really take it to a personal level where you want to be wild as a fan to kind of give that impression to those who might be watching on IWTV, that idea of "Wow, I wish I was there" and "I want to go to a Blitzkrieg! show one day".  For my money as a fan, between creating their own stars and bringing in talent from AEW, WWE, Impact, etc I really feel like Blitzkrieg! Pro is setting the standard for 2022 and "PMA" is just proof of that.

The show began with a four way tag team match to crown new Tag Team Champions and really this could have gone to just about any of the four teams.  I don't want to feel like I'm typing about this too much but one of the tropes I dislike in wrestling is when you have matches and there are opponents who just feel like they have no chance of winning especially in title matches.  This happens a lot and though sometimes it can make for great matches it still feels somewhat insulting to fans.   But between the CDC (despite them being heels), A Message To You, Miracle Generation and MSP, all of these teams went out and just showed why they could've won this match and the Titles.

Personally, I feel like maybe A Message To You had the biggest case for being Tag Team Champions as they've been putting together some impressive wins lately.  But you cannot deny the talent of MSP, who should really be holding gold everywhere.  Miracle Generation is just such a complete tag team that it would have come as a very well deserved victory for them.  And, again, as much as the CDC are booed they are both still very talented and Devantes is just such a once in a lifetime wrestler and I just wish more people knew it.

This took us into only the second match and one which is a big main event in a number of other promotions: Max Caster vs O'Shay Edwards.  In this battle of AEW vs ROH it was interesting because I feel like O'Shay Edwards just hits you like a Mack truck but Max Caster is heavily cheered in B!P so he had the fans on his side.   Again, this is one of those matches where I can't imagine it happening anywhere other than Blitzkrieg! Pro and it was just oh so good.

When the mystery tag team match was announced with Bobby Orlando vs Kirby Wackerman and each of them choosing a partner I didn't know who Bobby Orlando would choose because Bryce Donovan is injured and Aaron Rourke was in Maine, but I did have it set in my mind that Kirby Wackerman would be bringing in Slade.  No one believed me and Bobby Orlando told me to stop saying it because it wasn't true but when Slade's music hit and he was announced it was that bit of justice I was so very happy for.  

The difference between Blitzkrieg! Pro and other promotions is that I can get ideas into my head and in other promotions they might not live up to the expectations but in Blitzkrieg! Pro they do.   Also, I was really happy to see Bobby Orlando bring in Austin Luke as his tag team partner as I think Austin Luke is my favorite H2O wrestler but more on that in a little bit.  During this match, Kirby Wackerman brought Bobby Orlando over to me and told me to hold him and so I did.  Then not only did Kirby Wackerman give him a chop but so did Slade and I must tell you, dear reader, that was one of the scariest moments of my life because I came that close to being murdered by Slade.

50 Cal and Sammy Diaz are two of the wrestlers who exist in New England (really the MA/CT area) but should be everywhere and by the end of the year I truly hope that more people are familiar with them and wrestling fans go out of their way to watch promotions like Blitzkrieg! Pro to see them.  The same can be said for the six person tag match which had Kennedi Copeland, Riley Shepard and Logan Black taking on Jeff Cannonball, Dr. Cube and Bam Sullivan.  During this match I got to tell Bam Sullivan that his mustache was pretentious and that was fun.  Dr. Cube is also one of my favorite wrestlers and should be absolutely everywhere.

Towards the end of this match, all three members of the Cannonball/Cube/Sully team went through doors and as the remains of the doors were pushed to the outside there was a decent sized piece that was kind of sitting on its own.  I made Quentin aware of it and when the coast was clear he ran over and picked it up as a souvenir.  And to play the role of spoiler after the match when I told Riley Shepard about it she offered to sign it and then so did Kennedi Copeland and Logan Black, as they were the winning trio.

During intermission I was looking for Dr. Cube to appear but he did not and I assumed it was because he just had his match.  We did, however, walk by the ring where Austin Luke had his merch set up and I told Jess that his shirts looked like the type of shirts that she would wear.  I also was staring at this shirt design he had and then eventually ended up buying the shirt because of how cool it was.  I spoke with him about how much I loved his match against Travis Huckabee and how I thought he'd be more of a deathmatch wrestler but seeing him in this technical/submission way is so cool.  He took a photo with Quentin and I really hope he is someone who keeps coming out not only to B!P but everywhere in the area because he's so good for being so young.

We had five matches before intermission so afterwards we went into four.  This started with fan favorites CPA and King Crab and then it went into the Bedlam Championship match where VSK defended against Travis Huckabee.  I put these two together because after CPA's win over King Crab he signaled for a title opportunity and I think that VSK vs CPA might be the next big money title fight and CPA might even be on his way to bringing home the gold.

There was a four way showcase featuring Sazzy Boatright, Ichiban, Mike Anthony and Jet Jagorhi.  All day I knew three of the wrestlers in the match but I kept forgetting about Jet.  Still, this match was a lot of fun with the crowd firmly behind Ichiban, Sazzy Boatright trying to out-crazy Mike Anthony and Mike Anthony also picking up the win.   All four and more should be on our radar but really just keep your eyes on B!P to see who is ready to get to that next level.

The main event was really everything that a main event should be.  On one hand, you have Lince Dorado who only recently was released from WWE and was just grossly underused there.  At the same time, you have Evil Uno who is making a name for himself in AEW.   With wrestlers being released from WWE it isn't impossible to have these types of WWE vs AEW matches but the fact that both of these wrestlers are just so loved by the fans and they both just went out there and killed it.   And Evil Uno almost literally killed Lince Dorado as well.

After the show I was able to buy the last Dr. Cube as well as have him sign his trading card.  During this time, Quentin was talking with Lince Dorado because he told me he wanted to say bye to him but they ended up having a pretty lengthy conversation and Lince Dorado just couldn't have been cooler about it.    But then again, nothing really could have been cooler about this show except for maybe a match with Dr Cool himself Jay Klang.  I'm not sure when the last time I said this was, but I really enjoyed seeing everyone on this show- and that goes for the refs and Ethan Scott too- and typically there can be one or two wrestlers on a show you don't care about either way or just flat out don't want to see, but Blitzkrieg! Pro, with "PMA", just hit 100% and truly set the standard for wrestling shows in 2022.