LPW had a banner year in 2023 with sellout shows, jaw-dropping debuts, and countless “this is awesome” moments. Although bigger things are on tap for 2024, one show was left on the calendar, LPW 21: The Chain Wrestling, on November 24.
Historically, almost every wrestling promotion poster has a line in fine print that reads “card subject to change.” As fate would have it, that line summed up the events that transpired at LPW 21 with several unforeseen moments, leading to one of the promotion’s wildest cards.
Travis Williams Retains Challenge Championship in Opening Match
LPW 21 started with the newly crowned Challenge Champion Travis Williams putting his gold on the line against TY Jackson, who debuted a new entrance song. After a quick feeling-out process, Jackson connected on a somersault from the top rope with the evening’s first big spot. While perched on the top rope (again), Williams used the referee to knock Jackson down awkwardly before the two combatants continued their fight on the stage.
Williams had all the momentum as the match continued outside the squared circle, but after a double clothesline in the middle of the ring, the two fighters remained down for a lengthy six count. Eventually, the pair exchanged near falls before Jackson returned to the top rope. Unfortunately, while waiting to pounce, Jack Pride and Thaddeus Archer the Third interrupted, resulting in him missing his mark, leading to a Williams roll-up pin and his first successful championship defense.
Michael Allen Richard Clark Wins First-Ever LPW Grand Championship #1 Contender Gauntlet Match
Match 1: Steven Crowe v. “The Thickness” Reid Matthews
On Thursday night, Steven Crowe walked away as the Champion of Salvation at LPW x CWS 9 and now looked to continue his momentum with a chance at the LPW Grand Championship. Surprisingly, Crowe wasted no time attacking his opponent, which seemed to catch The Thickness off-guard. However, the onslaught was short-lived, with Matthews quickly turning the tide and acting cocky while gaining the upper hand. Ultimately, the two battled back and forth before Matthews attempted to execute his famous Blue Thunder Bomb, only for Crowe to reverse into a hurricanrana and a pinfall victory.
Match 2: Steven Crowe v. Zoë Sager
Interestingly, just one month removed from losing her LPW Grand Championship, Zoë Sager was back on the path to regaining the title by participating in the number one contender gauntlet match. While Crowe collected himself from a big win over Matthews, Sager came out and connected on a jump from the top rope to begin her quest.
Luckily, The Rhinestone Cowboy halted the former champion’s attack with a fury of moves of his own. Eventually, Sager managed to get a couple of near falls, which forced Crowe to tap into his energy reserves to keep the bout going. Ultimately, the two wrestlers began a series of pinfall attempts, each flipping their opponent over before Crowe managed to secure the last flip and the coveted one, two, three.
Match 3: Steven Crowe v. Michael Allen Richard Clark
As soon as Sager rolled out of the ring, Michael Allen Richard Clark’s music hit, and he became the last hurdle for an exhausted Crowe to defeat for a shot at the Grand Championship at Oil Rumble. Despite being in action for over 20 minutes, Crowe didn’t hold back on the offense as they battled it out in a slobber knocker. Unsurprisingly, Clark managed to get Crowe down in the center of the ring and fired up the crowd by performing a series of pushups. Of course, everyone erupted in a “this is awesome” chant as the two continued to get toe-to-toe with several near falls. Ultimately, Clark picked up the three-count to earn an opportunity at championship gold.
Taryn From Accounting Rewrites the Script
Unfortunately, Killer Kelly could not attend LPW 21, leaving Taryn From Accounting without a dance partner on the card. During her address to the crowd, the Se7en, led by Pride, Marz the Specialist, and TJ Cannon, came out to ringside to inject themselves into the conversation. Immediately following them were the LPW Tag Team Champions, Para Lira, who wanted to see what was happening too.
Interestingly, in front of a crowd chanting her name, Taryn announced that she indeed had a match, with the upcoming LPW Tag Team Championship match turning into a triple threat with Para Lira defending against the Se7en and Ride or Die.
Son of Irish and Jared Rogers Pick Up Victory Over Dean Richor and Riley Cruz
As mentioned earlier, this card changed a handful of times before the opening bell, with this tag team match also getting a new participant. Initially, Jared Rogers and Son of Irish were chopping at the bit to get their hands on El Asesino, but he couldn’t make it to the event, so Riley Cruz stepped in to team up with Dean Richtor. Although there wasn’t as much bad blood between these four, this matchup featured a lot of back-and-forth action.
Surprisingly, Richor and Cruz laid a beatdown on Rogers at the beginning before Son of Irish regained momentum for his team. Even though everyone had a chance to shine in the match, with each wrestler digging deep into their arsenal of moves, Rogers secured the pin on Cruz to end a fun and entertaining bout with some of the promotion’s brightest young stars.
Michael Allen Richard Clark Does Pushups for Charity
A fan in the LPW universe brought a sign that offered a sizeable donation to Stollery’s Children’s Hospital if Clark came out to the ring and did 80 pushups. After returning to the scene of his gauntlet match victory, Clark invited several kids to the ring to assist with his pushup challenge, agreeing to split the total 50-30.
Once the young kids completed their 30, Clark finished the challenge with 50 when Spencer Love announced that LPW would double the donation as the crowd applauded.
Ride or Die Shockingly Win LPW Tag Team Championships
Initially, Taryn From Accounting had a singles match, and Crowe had his hands full, almost going the distance in the gauntlet match. However, the iconic duo known as Ride or Die showed up for the LPW Tag Team Championship match and didn’t hold back on their opponents. After the opening bell, Taryn cleaned house, mopping the ring with anyone inside the ropes.
Although the Se7en were scrambling at the beginning, Marz landed an epic springboard over the ropes that leveled everyone in the first few rows, leading to the first “holy shit” moment of the night. Surprisingly, the tag champions didn’t want to be outdone on the night, so Berat Gorani executed a bulldog from the top rope into the crowd, leading to another “holy shit” chant.
As each team battled for superiority, TJ Cannon almost won the match with a pinfall attempt on Gorani. Still, he suffered for his efforts minutes later when Para Lira ended his night with a clothesline from the top rope. By this point, it was chaos in the ring, and after Berat tossed Marz onto Thaddeus, Taryn hit her finisher, Crunching Numbers, to secure the LPW Tag Team Championships.
Jack Pride Remains LPW’s Longest Reigning Scramble Champion
Of course, when any wrestling champion takes to defending their title, they usually enter the match with a target on their back. During Pride’s recent Scramble Championship defense, it was pretty obvious who everyone wanted to beat up, with Rich King, Tony Baroni, Tara Zep, and Evan Rivers all taking turns laying a beating on the champ to open this fatal five-way. After watching the tag team match tear down the house, both Baroni and Rivers upped their games and connected on a variety of aerial moves leading to the fans erupting for the fourth “holy shit” chant of the evening.
Unsurprisingly, while Pride didn’t find himself the star of the match, everyone else had moments to beat up on their opponents and assert dominance. Sadly, like most Se7en matches, Marz came out to run interference, causing Rivers to lose his near-fall attempt after an unprovoked attack. Furthermore, Thaddeus got involved by distracting the referee, allowing Pride to connect on a Curb Stomp on King, escaping with the title once again.
Michael Richard Blais Ushers in Era of Salvation
On the heels of one of LPW’s most crowd-pleasing moments, with Lumberjack Larry Woods winning the LPW Grand Championship at LPW 20, the newly minted champion was set to face off against Michael Richard Blais. Once the two combatants entered the square circle, the arena went dark, and a video played. Stunned at the turn of events, Woods stood there at a loss for words when Taryn knocked him out.
As the RADz (Jackson and King) rushed to the ring, the Clandestine Society laid everyone out, allowing Blais to cut a legendary promo announcing his turn to the dark side. Sporting new ring gear and a stylish new haircut, Blais took out a chain and continued to hammer away on the defenseless champion, who needed support from the turnbuckles to prop himself up.
Eventually, Blais demanded the match be started, and Woods agreed to defend his title, putting up a fight as best as possible. Ultimately, Blais dragged Woods through the crowd, laying down an epic beating on the champ, who kept the dream alive by kicking out of several pinfall attempts. Although Woods connected with his SeeSaw finisher, the match belonged to Blais, who landed a low blow and attempted to choke his opponent out with tape. Finally, Blais landed the Final Consecration and picked up the one, two, three, much to the despise of the crowd who turned on the one-time fan favorite.
Upcoming LPW Events
In October, fans left the Rec Room in South Edmonton Common in jubilance as the underdog Woods captured his first LPW Grand Championship. However, one month later, the sold-out audience was at a loss for words for what had transpired in the night’s main event. Now, as LPW enters the Era of Salvation, there is no telling what is in store for the roster as the Clandestine Society has turned into Judgment Day by holding most of the promotion’s titles, including the Grand Championship, Tag Team Championships, and the Champion of Salvation titles.
Even though there are no LPW events in December, all eyes will be on the Oil Rumble, the first-ever independent wrestling show at Rogers Place in January. Considering LPW 21 closed a few storylines, but after the show’s shocking conclusion, there will be many new angles to follow in the new year. Whether you are watching from home or want to witness the chaos in person, there will be plenty of opportunities to see what is in store for the future.
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