On a hazy, warm Saturday afternoon, the stars of LPW took their talents outdoors in Sherwood Park to entertain the fans outside of Randy Ross Arena. Just hours before the puck drop of the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders game, two LPW champions, “The Intangible” Zoë Sager and Son of Irish, put their titles on the line in front of a rowdy crowd of passionate pro wrestling fans.
Unsurprisingly, it has been a revolutionary week for LPW. Besides hosting LPW: FACE OFF 2, the Edmonton-based promotion just recently announced the Oil Rumble, a groundbreaking event set to take place at Rogers Place in January. During that evening’s Edmonton Oil Kings game, LPW will have matches throughout the night, with the main event in the second intermission. Historically, LPW will become the first independent wrestling show at the new downtown arena.
However, before we spend too much time discussing future events, here’s a recap of the action from the LPW FACE OFF 2, the promotion’s second-ever outdoor event.
Sager extends reign as Grand Champion with another gutsy win.
Since becoming Grand Champion on Jan. 27, 2023, Sagar remains a fighting champion, never backing down from a challenge and picking up a victory over Eli Surge in the event’s opening match. Despite coming to the ring without “The Thickness” Reid Matthews by her side, the champion spent the first few minutes of the match avoiding Surge’s attempts to get her to put on his aluminum foil hat.
After a slow start, the two exchanged near falls, with each competitor controlling the pace for extended periods, with the top moment of the match occurring when Sagar tossed Surge from the top rope with a Queen’s Bridge suplex. Although the move resulted in a two-and-a-half count, Sagar ended the match minutes later with her patented Z-Factor, successfully extending her championship reign to 233 days and counting.
Michael Richard Blais pins TY Jackson in a wildly entertaining bout.
Initially, Michael Richard Blais should have faced Berat Gorani, but as all wrestling promos go, “card subject to change,” and instead tangled with TY Jackson. As one of the top contenders for the Grand Championship, Jackson spent more time outside the ring than in it to begin the match.
As the crowd of spectators grew, including an entire section of kids cheering the competitors on, Jackson engaged more with them than Blais early on. Eventually, when the bell rang, these two starred in the best match of the evening with incredible back-and-forth action, feeding off the crowd’s energy. Despite keeping everything inside the ring for a while, the two ended up back outside, where Jackson took several chops from kids looking to get involved in the melee.
After the ringside shenanigans, Blais got his opponent back into the squared circle, where Jackson slowed everything down with several long sleeper holds. Although fans went extended periods between pinfall attempts, Jackson snuck in a low blow with referee Stewart Garvey pinned in the corner by the two grappling stars. However, it didn’t slow Blais down, as he nailed a superplex from the top rope, which Jackson kicked out of before tapping to the Sharpshooter.
Jack Pride defeats Lumberjack Larry Woods in a scrappy non-title match.
As the crowd of eager kids watched from ringside, banging on the apron, Se7en’s Jack Pride escaped a dogfight with Lumberjack Larry Woods, adding another feather to his cap while carrying the LPW Scramble Championship. After the opening bell, the two competitors exchanged near falls before the action really picked up. However, things never got too far out of hand despite Thaddeus Archer the Third interfering several times, trying to turn the tide in Pride’s favor.
Eventually, the bout took its toll on Woods, who had visible scrapes on his body, and after a tumble out of the ring, Pride appeared exhausted, but the two warriors continued battling. Shortly after returning to the ring, Pride narrowly escaped defeat by getting his foot on the rope to avoid a pinfall before taking Wood’s finisher, the Sawline, kicking out again before securing the victory by a rollup.
Challenge Champion, Son of Irish, continues his hot streak, pinning Marz the Specialist.
The Future of Wrestling is indeed upon us, with Son of Irish defending his Challenge Championship for the sixth straight month. Despite watching his opponent Marz control the match from the opening, he escaped several pinfall attempts while trying to find his footing in the contest. Of course, after Son of Irish started to build momentum, Marz faked an eye injury, hoping his manager, Thaddeus Archer the Third, would assist him with a sneak attack. However, the stunt backfired, resulting in Thaddeus getting banned from ringside.
As the fast-paced action continued without outside interference for the first time in the match, both stars went down for a six-count after a spectacular springboard cutter. Eventually, when the two competitors returned to their feet and reengaged, Son of Irish connected on yet another from the top rope minutes later, securing the pinfall and pushing his reign over 205 days.
Upcoming LPW Events
If anyone is new to LPW, the promotion’s next show is on September 28 & 29 at The Rec Room in South Edmonton Common. During their Thursday night event, stars from LPW will collaborate with the Clandestine Wrestling Society before a super card on Friday night.
The main event of the two-day show is shaping up to be a banger, with current IMPACT Wrestling star Speedball Mike Bailey set to take on God’s Gift to Wrestling Michael Richard Blais. Meanwhile, Sagar will defend her Grand Championship against Judas Icarus in what should be another entertaining title match.
As always, tickets are selling out fast, and limited seats are available, so if you are not sitting ringside already, you will miss out on Edmonton’s premiere professional wrestling show.
LPW x CWS 7 👉 https://bit.ly/3ReBvk7
LPW 19: Speedball Strikes First! 👉 https://bit.ly/3DWysVT
LPW x EOK: The Oil Rumble 👉 https://bit.ly/48b0nz5
