Boy, what a difference a month makes, and yet some things stay the same – like the Clandestine Wrestling Society remaining on top. Larry Woods is still your Grand Champion, just to name one thing that isn’t different. And yet, big changes have happened, like the demise of Se7en. Once the hottest faction in LPW, the unstoppable force has seemingly hit a massive bump in the road, which has resulted in Marz The Specialist cashing in his Championship of Salvation for the opportunity to beat both Jack Pride – his former Stablemate – and the Champion Lumberjack Larry Wood. But more on that massive triple threat later on.
Marz cashing in leaves a big hole on the Thursday night Clandestine Wrestling Society show. What better way to crown a new champion than a one-night tournament featuring all of your LPW favorites?
Round one will consist of:
- Former two-time Grand Champion and Current Challenge Champion Micheal Ricard Blais vs. his stablemate, a former Challenge Champion and current Tag Champion in her own right, Taryn From Accounting.
- The highly decorated Zoe Sager looks to add more singles gold to her resume as she takes on her insurance policy The Thicknesses Reid Matthews, who looks for his first title in either CWS or LPW.
- The Zoo World Order will be facing off, as Tag partners and fan favorite Wolfboy Will Mantla looks to establish his place on the food chain and put the Canadian Goose (HONK HONK HONK) Kyle Shaw in his place.
- To finish out the bracket, we have the wily veteran Jared Rogers looking to make a name for himself and catapult himself into the title scene. If Rogers wants to make that dream a reality, he will have to do it at the expense of former Champion of Salvation Steven Crowe.
Whoever comes out on top of this loaded lineup will have the opportunity to cash in the title at any point to receive a title show. So there’s a ton at stake and you won’t want to miss out on the action!
So now down to the Friday night card! This is yet again another big-time card. In classic Pluggo fashion, let’s attempt to break this all down and not get yelled at too much for my sure-to-be-wrong predictions:
Kylie Rae vs Zoe Sager
Talk about a dream match. Kylie Rae makes her much-anticipated LPW debut against one of LPW’s top stars. Rae is a household name throughout the independent wrestling scene who will be looking to put her stamp on a new promotion. Rae and Zoe have styles that will complement each other well in the ring, which should lead to a stellar matchup. Sager, who has had a bit of a rough go the last few months, will be looking to stop Kylie from making her debut a successful one on her back.
All in all, I’m super excited for this matchup. Kylie Rae being one of my favorites and Zoe Sager simply being just fantastic in the ring, we are in for something special here. I’m vamping a bit because making a pick in this one is hard, but if I must, give me Kylie Rae with a big win in her debut.
Michael Ricard Blais(c) vs Judas Icarus
MRB, coming off a big win over TNA star Alan Angels at LPW 27, gets no rest time as the newly-signed Judas Icarus is coming for that LPW Challenge Championship. Icarus came up short in his last few attempts to win LPW gold, once against Zoe Sager for the Grand Championship and most recently against Ride or Die for tag gold with his partner Travis Williams. You know his focus is on not going 0-3 in title opportunities in a promotion where everyone is chomping at the bit to get these chances.
What can I say about MRB that hasn’t already been said? The most decorated man in LPW has been an unstoppable force since his decision to save all of us. You may question MRB’s methods but you can’t question the results.
Icarus and MRB have some history, and Judas knows all too well what MRB has up his sleeve. Back at WrestleCore, MRB beat Judas with help from the Clandestine Wrestling Society, so I’d expect much of the same. The Society never travels alone and if I’m Judas, I’d make a friend or two backstage Friday night to help even the odds.
Calling it now AND NEW Challenge Champion, Judas Icarus. Sorry MRB – don’t destroy me too bad!
Ride or Die (c) vs Dean Rictor & El Asesino
There’s always a point in every championship reign where you go, “Ok this has to be the moment the lose, right?” What I mean by that is if you hold gold for as long as Ride or Die has and racked up the massive wins Ride or Die has, it becomes more about when they will drop the belts not if. Is that fair to them? Maybe not. Should we sit back and just enjoy the historical run unfold? Probably. All I know is this reign has been special and the craziest part is they asked for it. They wanted the best LPW could offer and they got it.
In steps the team of Dean Rictor and El Asesino, who are as mean and nasty as they come. You rarely find a team that has no regard or respect for the team across from them while simultaneously having no regard or respect for each other if push came to shove. They have one thing on their mind – hurt people. Winning some gold along the way? Well, that’s the cherry on top.
Ride or Die needs to make sure they are focused on the present, not resting on their historic past. Let me do that. I got Ride or Die winning a hard-fought yet close victory to retain their Tag Team Gold!
Riley Cruz & Jared Rogers vs Wolfboy Will Mantla & The Canadian Goose Kyle Shaw
Zoo World Order – as the LPW have been affectionately calling Wolfboy and Goose – are looking to establish themselves as viable contenders in the LPW Tag division, and the best way to do that is simply win.
Jared Rogers is looking for something magic with his new tag team partner Riley Cruz. Rodgers has had a few different partners over the last few months to various levels of success, but here’s hoping Cruz – who’s been nothing short of impressive in his few opportunities in LPW – can be the catalyst to get them to the top of this loaded division.
With questions surrounding chemistry and the Zoo World Order clicking lately, give me Goose and Wolfboy with a big win!
Reid Matthews vs Travis Williams
Coming off a heartbreaking loss to Lumberjack Larry Woods at LPW 27, Reid Matthews starts his climb back toward the top. If he wants to prove that Championship shot wasn’t a one-and-done deal, he will have to bring his very best against Travis Williams – one-half of Sinner and Saint, former Challenge Champion and Impact star.
Travis is back in LPW for the first time since he and Judas came up short in their Tag Team Championship Match against Ride or Die. Henry knows what a big win means in LPW and taking care of the Thickness could propel him back into contention for a title opportunity.
That said, and I’ve said it forever now, it’s the year of The Thickness, so I’ve got him taking care of business and getting back to his winning ways.
Marz The Specialist vs Jack Pride vs Lumberjack Larry Woods(c)
I said it for months, something wasn’t right with Se7en. They said I was crazy and just stirring the pot. Well here we are – Marz and Pride are “officially” done…stay tuned.
Marz has cashed in the Championship of Salvation to join this championship match, which has made Pride livid, and probably rightfully so. In Pride’s words, he did everything to elevate Marz to this level and it’s incredibly ungrateful of Marz to try and steal this opportunity away from him…again his thoughts not mine.
Poor Larry Woods is sitting here stuck in the middle of this spat, just keeping his head down and focused on the task at hand, which is staying Grand Champion and keeping it out of his biggest rival’s hands.
That’s no easy feat if you ask me, considering (OK, here it goes)…are we even sure this isn’t the plan all along? Se7en has always been known to be one or two steps ahead of their competitors. They play 4D chess while others play checkers. For what it is worth, Pride knows he has been far less successful without the help of Se7en. Why should this be any different? You convince Marz to cash in his chip to sway the odds in your favor. It’s not as crazy as it sounds, right?
Sure, Jack Pride, Thaddeus Archer, and Marz have all said the “right” things since the split, but when push comes to shove, will Marz return to his heel-ish ways and stick it to the Radz and Larry one more time? Something just hasn’t sat right with me since the breakup, and for a ruthless man like Pride, there’s always more to the man than he gives you. Plus, Thad’s deep pockets and his way of persuading people to do whatever he wants could equal a big-time swerve for Se7en and cement them back on top as the biggest group in LPW. The only question that remains is Marz. Are you strong enough to resist familiarity and comfortability to go out on your own and win that Grand Champion this time, blazing a new trail?
My pick is Jack Pride to become your new LPW Grand Champion!
There you have it, folks! It’s another LPW Show Preview, and dare I say, I’m “Feelin’ Hella Good” about this show from top to bottom! Make sure you tune into IWTV live at 9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Mountain time) to catch all the action! As always, see you next month for LPW 29 right here!!!
