Wrestling Review // Blood Sweat Tears Wrestling Road To Success November 18th, 2022 Bridgeport, CT

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When I first saw this show announced with the main event of Lucas Chase defending the BST Championship against JD Drake I thought that was a match worth going to the show to see.  As the card was announced more and more following that match though, this just became such a solid show in terms of who was on it that I wanted to see- not just the wrestlers but the matchups as well- and so this really just became a show that was can't miss.

I had mapped this location- to see what was around it- earlier in the week and it said it was about 30 minutes away.   By Friday that had jumped up to an hour and no matter which way we went it felt like we were hitting traffic.  It's kind of funny because we started out on 1, then the maps app said we'd save five minutes by going onto 95, so I did that because I like their rest areas better.  When we were on 95 at one point it told me to go around somehow and save one minute but that I would not do.

Also, don't know who else was coming from the north but you might have also seen near North Haven a single car pulled over near an exit with four police cars in front of it and at least six more behind it.   I don't know what that guy did but I've never seen that many cop cars pull over one car before.

Getting into Bridgeport took some time but we made it and then drove around the block of the YMCA looking for parking.   We ended up parking on the street- near other cars- and then just walked a little ways.  We were able to get in right away and then the show managed to start on time as well.  

The first match put the Brick City Boyz (as the challengers) against the BST Tag Team Champions The Armada.  I know very little about The Armada but they were introduced by Matt DaCorte as being from Texas.  There used to be a band in Texas (near Houston) called Thee Armada, so that's kind of funny to me.   The Brick City Boyz were working as the good guys here, which was strange because I'm so used to them being booed.  But The Armada were cheating and did so to win, so that made them heavily booed.

This took us into the second match which was one of my favorite matches on this show.  Big Juicy went one on one with Vita VonStarr and the way that they worked together was just so good.  You have to think of Big Juicy as this bright, colorful, bubbly character whereas Vita VonStarr comes out dressed in black to contrast, she's closer to gothic and just methodical in her movements where as Juicy has this fast power style.  

The match itself is worth going out of your way to see once it hits streaming, but the aftermath was fun too because these two wrestlers weren't finished with each other.   To have this as a rematch- for there to even be a stipulation involved with it- would be well worth going out of your way to see.   

We went into the second title match as Ichiban defended his title- the BST Territories Championship- against Mantequilla.  I've never seen Mantequilla live before so this was a treat.  And in many ways, these two masked wrestlers both felt like they shared that fast paced, high flying style and so this match worked in that way.  This was another one of those matches that when I saw it on the card made me excited for this show and it definitely delivered in every possible way.

Here's something interesting to note about the next match.   It was a tag team match and half of the people in it weren't part of the announced card and seemingly came in at the last minute.   So, The Battle Academy was supposed to be represented by two of them but they ended up just being Hunter Tarca coming out with Skylar Grey.   They then introduced Ken Powers as their tag team partner, which was a nice surprise.

Now, on the other side of the match we were supposed to have Troy Stevens teaming up with Marcos and I was confused as to who would be cheered in this match- I thought maybe Marcos would be cheered somehow- but as it turns out The Battle Academy is cheered in BST, which was a little bit easier to do with Ken Powers there.    But Marcos... umm... he wasn't on this show either.   Troy Stevens ended up teaming with J Heru, as they are both Italian.

A few months ago we were supposed to see Marcos and he didn't show up at that show either.   This is the second time in a row I've gone into a show expecting to see Marcos and we did not.   But I am not the biggest fan of Marcos so if this trend continues I am in no way going to complain.   

This tag team match was fun and J Heru was trying to get everyone to make his hand gesture while Powers + Tarca just made a good team as well.   Hunter Tarca really is growing on me, even if that means going to PAPW and having to boo him, but I like the technical wrestling aspects of Battle Academy.  Also, J Heru is a star he just needs the right promotion to recognize that and then the sky is the limit.   Troy Stevens was also a lot of fun teaming with J Heru.

We did not go to intermission and next up Evie De La Rosa defended the BST Monarch's Championship against Clara Cerreras.   This singular match- for all of the times that I've seen Evie De La Rosa and didn't want to- I was made a fan of Evie De La Rosa during this match.  What you have to understand as an outsider is that during this show, there were chairs, bleachers and standing room.   The guardrail was far from front row, so you couldn't high five wrestlers from your seats when they came out.

There were also somehow about ten times as many children at this show as there were adults.   So every time something was happening- whatever side of the ring it was on- it felt like the kids would all run to that side of the ring as well.  They were in front of me (in my way) quite a bit during the show and it just felt like something that BST didn't really need to step in about but rather whoever was there that drove them to the show.  

At one point during this title match, both wrestlers were in the corner on the side we were sitting and the kids were near us but not in front of us.  The kids were booing Evie De La Rosa because she's not the fan favorite for whatever reason.  Evie De La Rosa fires back to the kids "Boo your mother!" and the kids just lost it.  They got so heated and I tried my best, I really did, but I just burst out laughing and in that moment it all came together and I was like, "I like Evie De La Rosa now".

The next match was a big four on four match and things got out of control.  On one side we had Miracle Generation, which was Dustin Waller, Kylon King and The Haven and they were up against The Firm (Sammy Diaz & Elijah Six), Joseph Alexander and Patrick Saint.  There was so much talent in this ring it was crazy and before the match started Stevie Legend came out, wanting to be on one of the teams but he was forced out of the ring.

There was also a moment- to back track here- at the beginning of the show when Stevie Legend sat in the ring to protest not having a match before being forcefully removed.  So it's interesting to see where this is going and to see Stevie Legend as the heel here as well.

During this four on four match, at one point Joseph Alexander came and was halfway between the fan side and the ring side of the guardrail.   Somehow the kids saw this and took this as an opportunity to come over and start beating him up.    The rule at wrestling shows is always to not put your hands on the wrestlers and the way these children got a bit out of control with all of that just made me feel a little bit uncomfortable.  

The next match saw "The Guy" Jack Dalton take on Mark Alexander.  As soon as Mark Alexander came out he went right after Dalton, which was smart because that's what it felt like he had to do.  This was my first time seeing Jack Dalton in a singles match and he was really impressive.  He has the size behind him, but he also knows how to use it and just the power is there.  

At one point during this match, Jack Dalton came out of the ring and pointed at an empty chair next to me.  I immediately began folding the chair up to give it to him out of just habit of being polite.  But then I hear kids across the way screaming "Nooooo!" because they don't want me to do it and that just made me give Dalton the chair a little bit faster.  But regardless, Jack Dalton really should be on the radar of a lot more people.

The main event was as hard-hitting and just had everything you could've wanted out a match between two wrestlers such as Lucas Chase and JD Drake.   I'm interested in seeing what the future holds for Lucas Chase as Champion in BST- who the next defense will be against- but Lucas Chase is also aligned with The Armada.  So, they came out and left one of the Tag Team Titles on the steps.  JD Drake saw this and seemingly put an idea in his head.  Yes, if we get JD Drake back in BST going for the Tag Titles with Anthony Henry as the Work Horsemen I will be most excited.

Top to bottom this show was full of matches you shouldn't miss.  It also told stories to that extent of there being matches coming out in the future, for the next show.   Dan DeMan hit Ichiban with a cutter showing he'd be next up for a title shot.  Then you have everything between Big Juicy and Vita VonStarr still there.  Who will Evie De La Rosa defend against next? Will we see the Work Horsemen?  What's next for Stevie Legend but also Lucas Chase and the title?  It's all the more reason to be excited for the future as well!