Several of the talents who were to appear at the subsequent shows on April 4 and May 2 (namely Jaxson James and John Skyler) have announced they are available for bookings on those dates and the CWLFMB Facebook page has been taken offline. There has been no official word on whether or not the promotion is finished (and with it the likelihood of a physical Hall of Heroes museum), but based on these facts it could be assumed that the group is, in fact, dead.]
Professional wrestling has been a staple in my neck of the woods for generations, and for all that time there have been cities that were particularly kind to the sport of kings. Charlotte, Columbia, Greensboro, Spartanburg - all have played host to events that have earned legendary status thanks to the men and women who made up the rosters of the promotions for which they happened to have been working at the time.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a legendary town in its own right albeit for very different reasons than those I mentioned previously. "The Redneck Riviera", as it is sometimes referred to (I prefer "Dirty Myrtle", personally), is one of the most popular vacation destinations on the East coast of the United States as it attracts millions of tourists each and every year. While there is some history to Myrtle Beach as it pertains to pro wrestling's past (truth be told, I once sat through a thunderstorm at what is now the Hollywood Wax Museum location in Myrtle Beach to wait and see whether or not a scheduled UWF-TNA house show was going to happen), but its heritage is not nearly as rich as other cities in the Carolinas. Be that as it may, a new promotion has emerged onto the Carolinas' independent professional wrestling scene, setting up shop not too far away from the bright lights of the Grand Strand.
As you might expect, there was a fair amount of hype within the local wrestling community surrounding the reveal of a new promotion, and it was enough for me to label their debut as a can't-miss event. Even though Myrtle Beach isn't exactly a stone's throw away from my base of operations, it was important enough in my mind (especially being the pseudo-documentarian that I am) that it warranted the effort. All that having been said, I'm pleased to say that I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the first show promoted by Championship Wrestling: Live From Myrtle Beach which was held on Saturday, March 7, 2015.
CWLFMB is the brainchild of Greg Price, the man behind the tremendously successful Mid-Atlantic Legends Fan Festivals, and its existence was brought to light in December of 2014. CWLFMB's Spring Showdown Series - three events set to take place across a three month span beginning March 7, extending to April 4, and concluding May 2 - was announced not long after initial word of the intention to bring wrestling back to Myrtle Beach was made known. Talent featured on CWLFMB's events would be a mixture of athletes pulled from the region (such as Kameron Kade, Jaxson James, and others) as well as a few drawn names such as "The Crown Jewel" Chase Owens, Los Ben Dejos (Rios & Cruz), the Bravado Brothers (Harlem & Lancelot), and former WWE Diva/current Impact Wrestling ring announcer Christy Hemme was brought in as a special attraction for fans as well.
Before I go much further I'd like to point out a few things about the venue itself as part of describing the fan experience of having attended this show. The CWLFMB events are being promoted as taking place at the Myrtle Beach Sportatorium. Sportatoriums have become the rage here lately as there will soon be three venues - the CWF Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium (Gibsonville, NC), the Union Fairgrounds Sportatorium (Union, SC), and now this one in Myrtle Beach - operating under that moniker. What makes a sportatorium a sportatorium? Quite frankly I have no idea, but I'll admit it sounds cool.
In reality the venue is actually the X Gym Sports Mall which is located just off highway 501 in the area of Medieval Times and other attractions. The X Gym is an interesting place as it's a gigantic warehouse that's been subdivided into smaller subsections that are either themed towards specific sports (basketball, gymnastics, archery, etc.) or leased out to entities (such as Teazer's Pole Fitness - yes, you read that correctly). If you know your promotions from around the Carolinas you'll know that the X Gym is also the home of C4W Explosive Wrestling. I have no way of confirming this but I'm operating off the assumption that CWLFMB events are more or less using C4W's setup in something of a time share agreement. It's convenient for CWLFMB, however it makes you wonder what C4W is getting out of the deal.
I arrived at the venue around 5 PM with the expectation that doors would be opening in the area of 6 PM. Having been to a C4W event in the past I thought I knew where I was going after I entered the X Gym. However, it's been several years since I went one of their shows and as it turns out they've moved to a different part of the X Gym (located directly beside Teazer's Pole Fitness - yes, you read that correctly). A quick consult with the staff at the front desk had me going in the right direction.
There were three ticketing options for this event: Front row ($20), ringside ($15), and general admission ($10). (I selected general admission because I'm cheap, to be perfectly honest.) When it came time for the doors to open, fans were lined up by what ticket they had purchased with front row going in first, ringside second, and general admission last. Each group had the opportunity to meet Christy Hemme for autographs and pictures as it was part of the admission fee, and I believe most of the roster were available for fans to interact with in the area of their own merchandise tables before the show.
Not being one to particularly obsess over merch (I'm not an autograph hound and no one ever has t-shirts in my size), I instead made my way inside the "Myrtle Beach Sportatorium" to get a seat and settle in before someone else in the crowd could beat me to an ideal spot. I was able to get a great vantage point on the top row of a set of bleachers - bleachers which seemed to have been freshly built seeing as how the wood was still wet and lightly covered with sawdust. It was at this point that I became particularly pleased with my ticketing selection as the difference between a $20 seat and a $10 seat was revealed to be a matter of inches.
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| The distance between my seat ($10) and front row ($20) |
It seemed odd and somewhat precarious to me that there's only one way in or out of the Myrtle Beach Sportatorium (which requires you to walk directly past the concession stand, by the way). Unless you were to jump the guard rail - and I would never recommend anyone do so unless you absolutely want to get your rear end handed to you by a couple wrestlers, a referee, a ring announcer, and maybe a time keeper, too - there's no other way to get out than to walk around the entire perimeter of the venue. The confines are just that, confining, meaning if you should have to get up for any reason during the show you'll be saying "excuse me" or "pardon me" to a whole bunch of folks, depending on how deep your seat is inside the venue. I don't know what the law states about this kind of thing but even with this arena being a subdivision of a larger building you would think there would have to be more than one exit for safety's sake.
The layout isn't the only questionable thing about this venue. The guard rails at ringside are made from wood and there are plenty of sharp, un-padded, un-sanded edges from which little hands and fingers could get splinters. I say "little hands and fingers" but the truth of it is that big hands and fingers could get them too, and not just fans. This same surface is exposed to the wrestlers, and it goes without saying that the lack of padding makes anything outside the ring a risky venture at best.
Speaking of the ring, I believe this particular squared circle has the potential to injure someone significantly. I am not a wrestler, true, and every wrestling ring has inherent risks but an educated eye can see that this particular ring has almost no give to it whatsoever, not even in the areas that are generally considered to be the "softest" part of a wrestling ring (as soft as something made out of tubular steel and 2" x 12" planks of wood can be, that is). There are ways of having a match without the competitors having to take too many bumps, however I would contend that any bump in a ring like this one could lead to injuries. It does make me feel better, though, to know that they've secured a set of pool noodles to the ring posts with what is almost certainly several hundred feet of electrical tape so as to cover the bolts that connect the turnbuckles to the ring.
That's enough about the venue and the arena - lets talk about the matches, shall we?
1) "The Southern Savior" John Skyler def. "The Thoroughbred" Jaxson James via springboard tornado DDT
This was every bit the match you would expect from two of the best young talents to have come out of the Carolinas independent pro wrestling scene in recent history. Both of them have traveled far & wide to appear in promotions all over the map and both of them have made in-ring appearances with WWE working as good, old fashioned "enhancement talent". I would like to say that both of them have legitimate chances of working at that next level as fully contracted members of WWE's roster but I don't know that Skyler has the size to get there and I genuinely resent having that feeling because if he had the stature of someone like Jaxson James he'd probably already have a contract. It's a sickening aspect of this business, that a look can overshadow talent, however aesthetics and presentation are a big part of it.
Sadly the crowd seemed to be somewhat out of it through portions of this match as there were times where it seemed as though you could hear a pin drop. It was like we had been transported to Japan where fans sit in near silence while watching wrestling out of respect for what's happening in front of them. The audience did get with it somewhat as the match went on but at least initially they clearly had no idea who to boo and who to cheer.
2) "#REAL" Joshua Cutshall def. Kameron Kade via brogue kick
Much like the first match, here you had a contest with the dynamic being a larger opponent (Cutshall) facing a smaller one (Kade) and the classic conundrum of speed versus size. Kade tends to be a villain rather than a good guy, or at least he has been in the matches I've seen him, so to have him here as the hero was a departure for me. He did fine in the role, though, and showed some fantastic ability to connect with a crowd. This was my first exposure to seeing Cutshall compete in person; he's one of several talents I'd hoped to be able to scout this year so I'm glad to have had the chance to see him live. His entrance music is a heavy metal version of the theme music from THE WALKING DEAD, so he's alright in my book.
- Ring announcer Corky Franks was out for an in-ring interview segment with Christy Hemme at this point. Hemme took the time to put over Myrtle Beach as a vacation destination and showed appreciation to the fans for making professional wrestling what it is.
3) "The Southern Savior" John Skyler def. "Cauliflower" Chase Brown via low blow/roll up
Needless to say, it surprised me to see Skyler out for another match on the card, making this his second bout of the evening which was contested less than 20 minutes after his first match concluded. That's a lot to ask of anyone, even athletes like him. This was a different style of match, though, one that at least at first was more geared towards Chase Brown's catch-as-catch-can style of wrestling that involves a variety of holds and other maneuvers. Brown has gotten something of a loveable loser groundswell of support from fans and he's taken advantage of a few recent booking decisions by other promotions. I'm fans of his and Skyler but this match didn't seem to have the same consistency as other matches I've seen where these two faced one another.
- Tessa Blanchard then came to the ring and cut a promo for her match next month at the April event against "Crazy" Mary Dobson. After she entered the ring she immediately removed the high heels she'd been wearing, saying that she preferred her wrestling boots to them. She was sporting a brace on her right ankle and was noticeably limping as she got out of the ring; hopefully whatever injury she has is one she can work through without it affecting her long term.
4) "The Crown Jewel" Chase Owens def. "Country Jacked" Corey Hollis via package piledriver
Corey Hollis is one of the most athletic wrestlers you're ever likely to encounter. He's a classic cruiserweight who never seems to be in anything other than high gear, making him a real treat to watch against other, similar talents. Chase Owens is still fresh from having spent time in Japan working for New Japan Pro Wrestling where he feuded with the likes of Jushin "Thunder" Liger over the NWA World Junior Heavyweight title, a championship he's held three times. Despite the fact that he's as lauded as he is, Owens didn't seem to show much fire or ring presence here. It looked as though he was trying to play the role of heel tough guy but it came off as though he was phoning it in. The match was enjoyable nevertheless and Hollis proved to be a quick fan favorite with the people in attendance.
5) The Bravado Brothers (Harlem & Lancelot) def. Los Ben Dejos (Rios & Cruz) via Gentleman's Agreement
To make an analogy, up until this match the entire show had been very much a musical composition written without much variation. I won't say it had been a one-note song but it definitely needed something to break up the tone of serious competition that had been established. This is an example of a show where you'd love to have a Colt Cabana, Jake Manning, or Zane Riley pop up.
That said, the combination of these four men wound up being exactly what the card needed to liven up the overall experience. The Bravados and Los Ben Dejos have a lengthy rivalry and they continued it at this event. To say they had more fun with it than I've ever really encountered before when watching their matches would be an understatement. The match began with a lighthearted moment when Cruz snatched a piece of Little Caesar's Pizza from Tessa Blanchard (who was still at ringside for commentary); he needed a beverage to wash down the $5 pie and someone in the audience tossed him a bottle of Pepsi. The shaken bottle of soda did what a shaken bottle of soda typically does when you open it - it spewed everywhere, prompting the CWLFMB towel boy to spring into action. They played off this silly moment and transitioned it into what became a great main event.
With only five matches and a running time of barely 2 hours, the show did feel somewhat abbreviated compared to other indie events. I have a feeling that there were some issues in regard to securing talent for this event seeing as how Skyler competed twice and there were a number of competitors announced as being involved who either cancelled (the American Wolves, Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) or who were advertised and simply weren't there (Lince Dorado and Mickey Gambino). These could've been scheduling conflicts but they could've also been the result of licensing issues seeing as how the Athletic Commission in the state of South Carolina likes to make sure everyone plays by
Overall I would say that this was a good show and that it was worth the drive to see the debut of a new promotion. I don't know that I'll be back for another of the three initial offerings they have planned but I do hope that things work out for the best with CWLFMB. Greg Price has given several interviews where he's mentioned plans to expand the Myrtle Beach Sportatorium so that it can play host to other combat sports such as mixed-martial arts and boxing. In addition, Price is looking to have the Myrtle Beach Sportatorium serve as a home to a physical "hall of fame" wherein inductees to the Mid-Atlantic Hall of Heroes will be enshrined along with memorabilia and other mementos. It would be a real shame if these additions don't pan out as there's been a lot of talk building up the potential this project has for the future of professional wrestling in the region.
Of course it would have been remiss of me not to document my experience with CWLFMB via my YouTube series, RASSLIN' WITH REDBEARD, which you can check out via the link below!
As I mentioned earlier in this event report the next CWLFMB will take place on April 4, and so far the card includes three matches. Tessa Blanchard looks to earn another notch of credibility as she will lock up with "Crazy" Mary Dobson. "The Southern Savior" John Skyler will face "The Crown Jewel" Chase Owens with the winner of this match set to take on Cedric Alexander at the May 2 event. In what is sure to be a very entertaining match-up, the Bravado Brothers will be challenged by Worst Case Scenario (Ethan Case & Elijah Evans IV), and awaiting the winner of that bout on the May 2 card will be Country Jacked (Corey Hollis & Adam Page).
For more information on CWLFMB, visit them online at these locations:
- LiveFromMyrtleBeach.com
- Facebook.com/LiveFromMyrtleBeach
- Twitter.com/FromMyrtleBeach
- Facebook.com/MyrtleBeachSportatorium
- Twitter.com/MBSportatorium
