Napier Overcomes The Odds, Wins Joe Abby Tournament, Hunt, Romano Added To Hall



March 28, 2011
by Trapper Tom, Ring Announcer/Wrestling Journalist

Just like that, Mitch Napier—often regarded as the best wrestler in the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance to never win a championship—finds himself in the cat bird's seat. In addition to that, two veterans of Studio Wrestling are inducted into the prestigious KSWA Hall of Fame. That makes March 26, 2011 one of the most revered nights in the history of the organization.

The evening begin before a packed house at the Home of Professional Wrestling in Pittsburgh, the KSWA Arena, with an eight-Megastar tag team match featuring many of the younger athletes who will make one day reign supreme in the KSWA.

Jester, Douglas, Belanger & Goulet v. Flash, Johnson, Kash & Starr

First, The Jester, “The King” Del Douglas, “The Cold-Blooded Canadian” Drew Belanger and “The Flawless One” J.P. Goulet hit the ring. Then, Jay Flash, the Jr. Heavyweight Champion, “The Ice Man” Tony Johnson, Kris Kash and Shane Starr burst onto the scene. Flash, Johnson, Kash and Starr clean the ring from the get-go and it takes a few seconds before referee Justin Smith can gain enough order to start the match. Before the match could even get underway, Flash and Kash fling themselves over the top rope and onto two of their opponents a piece. Johnson and Starr, who recently battled in a fair, friendly way for the Jr. Heavyweight strap a few months ago, worked together inside the ring.

Once things were controlled, Flash took command of The Jester. Flash landed a sideways splash on The Jester and nearly got a pinfall, which would have ended things before they got started; however, The Jester wasn't ready to be pinned. Johnson was tagged in and he went after Jester's arm. Tagging quickly, Starr was tapped and he continued to work on the limb. Then it was Kash's turn to drape the Jester's arm over the top rope. Kash followed it up with a tilt-a-whirl drop kick in the corner that had the Krazies a buzz!

Kash missed with a clothesline and The Jester followed up with a flying clothesline of his own. Jester chokes at Kash as the referee tries to break the hold. After the hold is broken at four, Douglas is tagged in. Douglas works over Kash with knees to the midsection. Kash is on the mat as Douglas climbs the ropes in the corner, then connects on his “banned in 49 out of 50 states” flying fist. Douglas then drapes Kash's throat over the middle rope.

The “Flawless” Goulet is then tagged in and he goes to work on Kash. After a few moments of successful offense, Belanger is tagged in for his own round of punishment. He goes for a pin on Kash, getting a two-count. He slaps on a submission move but Kash won't give in. Belanger soon goes for a pin but that's broken up by Johnson. Belanger hits a snap suplex on Kash. Goulet is tagged back in. He hits two splashes on a prone Kash in the corner, the second assisted by Belanger. There's a two count. Kash will not stay down.

In fact, Kash flips out of the corner, onto Goulet. Both men are slow to get up. Goulet tags The Jester while Kash tags Flash. Flash lands a drop kick, a fall away slam, then a spin kick. All four men are in the ring. After a few seconds, only The Jester and Flash are still in the ring.

Flash misses a splash on The Jester, but the Jester connects on Flash. At 2 ½ Flash is up. Flash hits a DDT on The Jester and records the 3-count. Flash, Johnson, Kash and Starr all get back into the ring to celebrate.

Abby Semi-Finals: Blanchard v. Sane

Shawn Blanchard is seconded to the ring by the Advisor of the VIPs, KSWA Hall of Famer Frank Durso. Justin Sane races to the ring wearing aviator goggles and a straight jacket. The KSWA Krazies are firmly behind him.

Justin gets into the ring and asks Blanchard to be his tag team partner in his opportunity for the KSWA tag team gold. Blanchard, who is one-half of the current and reigning tag team champions, in no uncertain terms tells Sane that he's nuts. Blanchard kicks Justin and goes to work on him. Blanchard whips him into the ropes and Sane jettisons off with a Thez press and clobbers Blanchard. The five time, former KSWA champ bails to the outside.

Justin says his patented “Hello” to all four corners of the ring. The Krazies shout hello back. Blanchard takes the opportunity to climb back in and he tosses Sane over the top rope.

It's evident that although the two have met countless times over the 11 year existence of the KSWA, this is different as Sane has come completely unhinged.

Blanchard follows Sane to the outside and bodyslams him with incredible force on the concrete. Everyone in the KSWA Arena felt that one. Blanchard rolls Sane back in and follows with a knee drop on Sane's forehead. Blanchard whips Sane into the ropes and lands an impressive drop kick. At that point, Blanchard calls out Bobby “Hurricane” Hunt who is seated in the front row at ring side. Hunt smiles and nods, with one eye on Durso at ringside.

There's an open hand slap to Sane's mush. Incredibly, Sane recovers and tosses Blanchard into the corner. Sane climbs the middle rope and punches Blanchard in the head 10 times. Down goes Blanchard. Sane picks him up and batters his head into the turnbuckle 10 more times. Blanchard is groggy but he retaliates by kneeing Sane in the crotch. Sane goes down like he was shot. Blanchard lands a heart punch. Sane falls outside into the waiting clutches of Frank Durso. Meanwhile, Blanchard has Jimmy James distracted.

After a thorough Durso beating, Sane is rolled back into the ring. Blanchard hits a spinebuster. Sane kicks out at two.

Somehow, Sane comes back but the rally is short-lived. Blanchard inflicts a lethal sitdown power bomb. But the maneuver wastes Blanchard. Both men are down. Justin rallies enough to hit a leg drop on Blanchard. Sane climbs to the top rope for Shock Therapy. Blanchard gets his knees up. Blanchard recovers and slaps Sane into a modified sleeper hold.

Justin goes out. He cannot defend himself from Jimmy James calls for the bell. Shawn Blanchard advances to the finals. Now only if his tag team partner can do the same.

Post match: Justin rocks back and forth in the middle of the ring.

Abby Semi-Finals: Martin v. Napier

Lou Martin comes out, now more confident than ever that he will advance to the finals of the Joe Abby Memorial tournament and the VIPs plan to share the award (although Interim Kommissioner Joe Perri says that's not going to happen).

Mitch Napier hits the ring to a thunderous applause. Martin, the devious veteran, goes after Napier from the start of the bell. Soon both combatants are on the outside of the ring, where Martin plows Napier into the rings post not once but twice. Martin immediately goes after Napier's brow which is still tender from being slightly burned by Ali Kaida last month. Martin tosses Napier across the floor and Mitch goes, face first, into the concert with an incredible thud. Napier is rolled back in for a pin attempt and he kicks up at two.

Napier somehow recovers and takes the offense to Martin. Martin hits the mat and Napier gets a near fall. The technical whiz slaps Martin into a modified crab. Martin will not submit. Martin is able to get in a position to stand and strikes Napier with a modified stunner. That breaks the hold. Martin tosses Napier into the corner where Durso awaits with Lou Martin's signature baseball bat. Durso places the bat on Napier's throat and chokes. The referee is distracted.

After what must have been an eternity for Napier but mere seconds for those in attendance, Jimmy James catches Durso in the act and makes him release the hold.

Martin slams Napier and then follows that up with a side slam. That's the same move that Demolition Smash used on Martin to win the KSWA Tag Team belts. But this time, Napier kicks out of Martin's pin attempt at two.

Martin goes for a leg drop from the second rope but misses as Mitch gets out of the way at the last possible second. Napier springs to action and suplexes Martin and gets a two count. With Martin still down, Napier climbs to the top rope where he executes a near-perfect flying elbow. There's a two count. The Krazies thought the saw an upset.

Napier rolls Martin up for a two count. Then again.

There's a belly-to-back suplex on Martin. And another two count. Napier climbs to the middle rope and hits Martin with a flying head butt. Another two count.

Martin gets up and lands right into Mitch's arms where he picks up Dr. Devastation and connects on a Souix Falls Slam in the middle of the ring. James counts the one, two, three and Mitch Napier advances to the finals of the Joe Abby Memorial Tournament. The Krazies go berserk.

Martin is livid as Mitch celebrates.

Handicapped Match: Great Toyota and Biker Al v. The Blood Beast

Biker Al starts out against the Blood Beast because he screamed at Great Toyota to stay behind the ropes and on the apron. Biker Al and Blood Beast had worked together as a tag team but simply went their separate ways. Great Toyota has no vested interest in Biker Al and visa versa but the Championship Committee thought it might be a formidable pairing against the strongest member of the KSWA locker room, The Blood Beast.

The Blood Beast recently attacked Great Toyota as he prepared to work out for this match. Perhaps its a good thing that Biker Al started out because he was easily tossed into the corner. After some well-placed punches, Al tags in Toyota who is more than a touch wary.

Blood Beast is all over Toyota, hammering him from pillar to post. Blood Beast tosses Toyota back to Al but the Biker refuses to be tagged in. He hears it from the crowd. Blood Beast continues his assault on Toyota.

With Great Toyota down, Blood Beast steps on his sternum. That's nearly 300 lbs on the martial arts maven.

With referee Justin Smith distracted by Biker Al, Blood Beast punches and kicks Great Toyota without resolve. Toyota gets away and lunges at Biker Al, slapping him on the shoulder. The tag is made and Al is forced to come in. The result is more of the same. Blood Beast attacks Biker Al and hits a modified Bulldog. Blood Beast goes to spit blood in Al's face but he misses, catching the former tag team champ in the forehead. A startled and scared Biker Al tags in Great Toyota.

Toyota has some offense against the much larger Blood Beast. He goes for a reverse kick but it just glances off of the Beast. Blood Beast grabs Toyota and slams him to the mat. That's enough to get the pinfall. The winner is the Blood Beast. Biker Al high tails it out of there and Blood Beast mumbles something cryptic to the fallen Great Toyota..

Hall of Fame inductions

KSWA Owner Bobby O and Interim Kommissioner Joe Perri make their way to the ring to induct the newest members of the KSWA Hall of Fame. Bobby O first calls out Hall of Famer Frank Durso. Bobby O reads that 2011 is the 50th anniversary of the training class that unleashed Durso and Bobby “Hurricane” Hunt onto an unsuspecting wrestling world. Here, half a century later, Durso is still choking out enemies of the VIPs and Bobby Hunt is receiving recognition for his career.

Then Bobby chronicles the career of the late Ron Romano, a Studio Wrestling stalwart who passed away in 2002. Romano's son, daughter and widow made their way to the ring to accept the accolades. It was a touching moment for the Romano family and the Krazies responded in kind.

Next up was the Hurricane, Bobby Hunt who received a prolonged, wonderful ovation from the crowd. In a soft-spoken voice, Hunt thanked Bobby O, the KSWA and the legions of fans that have cheered for him throughout his entire career. He told a few industry stories and accepted the framed plaque with much aplomb.

For a long time before the event as well as after the awards ceremony during the intermission, Hunt was flooded with autograph seekers and fans from everywhere.

Joe Abby Tournament Finals: Napier v. Blanchard

From the outset of this match, Napier took the offensive. At one point a disoriented Blanchard wondered aloud what Napier was doing. He was told by the referee “wrestling.”

But it's all mind games with Blanchard. He went for the time-tested Test of Strength with Napier. Blanchard took early control before the Souix Falls, Iowa native rallied back. He powered Blanchard's hands to the mat where Napier stomped on them. Blanchard recoiled into the corner.

Blanchard takes the opportunity to go on the offensive. He reverse-edge-knife chops Napier several times and snap mares him over. Mitch gets to his feet and Blanchard goes after his left knee. This is enough for Blanchard to hook onto Napier and deliver three punishing belly to back suplexes. With Napier down and out, Blanchard celebrates. There's a back elbow and a knee drop.

Somehow Mitch rebounds and bodyslams Blanchard. He follows up with a technical submission move that targets Blanchard's neck. This development gets Durso up onto the apron. Napier targets Blanchard's arm with knee drops on the inside portion of the elbow. After several minutes of punishment, Napier whips Blanchard into the corner. Napier suplexes Blanchard and that allows him the chance to continue with the mat work. It's here where Napier excels more than any other KSWA Megastar.

Durso, seeing Blanchard's dominance teeter, walks up onto the apron. Napier whips Blanchard into the corner where he flips over top and onto the apron. Mitch hits him with a drop kick. Both men go outside the ring. Once back in, Napier connects with the flying head butt again. He goes for the pin but Blanchard gets his foot on the ropes. Napier rams Blanchard's head into the turnbuckle 10 times.

After some more offense, Mitch whips Shawn into the ropes where the veteran comes out and hits a flying clothesline. This is enough for Blanchard to hook on the same submission move that blacked out Justin Sane in the semi final. Mitch gets to the corner post, runs up it and manages to slip Blanchard onto his back.

The referee counts to three, with Mitch getting his shoulder up at the last second. The winner of the 4th Annual Joe Abby Memorial Trophy is Mitch Napier!

The Krazies go electric and the locker room empties with Napier's friends. Blanchard is in total shock at the development. He leaves and Napier is hoisted for all the Krazies to see.

Golden Triangle Fatal Four Way: Alexander v. Arcadian, Stone and Badfingers

Alex Arcadian was introduced and he waited for his arch-nemesis “Vicious” Vinnie Stone to come through the tent. Third challenger Bobby Badfingers has no feud with either of the other competitors but he did want a shot at the Golden Triangle Championship. Arcadian attacked Stone and they battled on the outside even when Alexander was introduced.

With Badfingers distracted by the brawl, Alexander almost hit the Prime Time Cancellation before the match was a minute old. Badfingers fought off that charge but got a boot in the grill nevertheless. Alexander had the early going on Badfingers and Stone had the early going on Arcadian. Stone made his way back into the ring to join the bedlam, with Arcadian out cold on the outside. Once inside, Alexander and Stone double teamed Badfingers. Around that time Arcadian came to and charged the ring. Once inside he cleared it out with clotheslines. Alexander floors Arcadian.

This match features four of the KSWA's toughest wrestlers. Stone hits Badfingers with a text book spear. He's out of the match. Alexander boots Stone. Arcadian returns and clotheslines Alexander out of the ring.

By now, Stone is tied up in the ropes and Arcadian chops him. Alexander sneaks in and plants Arcadian with a perfect Prime Time Cancellation for the very quick win.

Alexander and Badfingers leave ringside, leaving a prone Arcadian and seething, opportunist Stone. Stone goes after Arcadian as some fans chant for Ric Rumsky.

In fact, Rumsky's music hits but now Ric. This same tactic was used to confuse Stone at FanFest but this time, Stone orchestrates the rouse. The beat down continues. Then an unfamiliar theme hits the sound system and the lights go out.

When the lights go out, Ric Rumsky is in the ring. Stone turns around and is met with Rumsky's Super Kick. Lights out for Stone. Arcadian recovers and greets his friend and former tag team partner.

The crowd goes crazy and Rumsky poses.

Lawrenceville Street Fight: Non-Title Latin v. Kaida

The city of Pittsburgh long ago banned sanctioned Street Fights in Lawrenceville, so this showdown had to be a non-title matchup. A referee was involved to count shoulders down or record a submission. This was a no-holds-barred contest with a win happening anywhere in the Arena.

A visibly angry and upset Latin Assassin takes charge in the early going with punches and slaps, kicks and poking at Kaida. Latin, who is no stranger to this type of brawl, went directly after Ali Kaida's face and hair. Well, Kaida did attempt to blind Latin with a fire ball, only to connect with Mitch Napier's face instead.

The fight spills to the outside where Latin chops Ali Kaida. Kaida goes face first into a chair. Kaida is already slow to get up. Latin looks for weapons, namely folding chairs. Four are tossed into the ring. Kaida recovers and hits Latin from behind. He rolls Latin in and follows. Kaida wallops Latin with a chair and the two end up back on the outside. At this point, Kaida is in charge. Kaida sets up a chair in which he will suplex Latin into it. The Assassin blocks it and pushes Kaida into the chair, all to the approval of the fans. Latin follows with an elbow drop.

It continues to be a grinding mess on the outside. Both men take heavy shots and dish them out.

Latin is busted open inside the ring. Kaida goes after the wound with fury. Latin somehow rallies. He blocks a chair shot and hits Kaida with the chair. Latin wields the chair with good measure. Latin uses the chair in Kaida's throat. Kaida, like Latin, is now bleeding from the forehead.

This assault takes several minutes and both men are spent, crawling on their hands and knees when The Blood Beast suddenly arrives.

The Blood Beast enters the ring, it's all legal in this match, and choke slams his former Tag Team Championship partner in the middle of the ring. Ali Kaida covers Latin and records the victory in this non-title matchup.

At the conclusion of the evening, a video pops up of Mayor Mystery who was banned from the Arena by Interim Kommissioner Joe Perri. Mystery announces that Ali Kaida and The Blood Beast are anchors in his new “Crew.” He leaves the Krazies with a cryptic laugh.

That ends the 4th Annual Joe Abby Memorial Tournament and the KSWA event for the evening.




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