Analysis: The Wildest Ending Of Battle Bowl Ever Leaves Pittsburgh's Best Still Looking To Be Number One Contender


January 11, 2019
By Trapper Tom, Editor, KSWA Digest

No one is quite sure what happened. About one week later, not one person can confidently say whether Mitch Napier or "The Gavel" David Lawless' boots hit the concrete floor of Spirit Hall last.

Two of the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance (KSWA)'s most successful Megastars battled on the ring apron long after the 33-man Battle Bowl Over-The-Top-Rope tradition began. Each went for a move to dislodge the other from the canvas. They both fell and crumpled onto the floor in front of a packed, excited house.

Then the confusion began. Western Pennsylvania's senior referee and KSWA Class of 2018 Hall of Famer Shawn Patrick raised Lawless' hand to a healthy mix of cheers, but more boos. About 10-feet away, Jimmy James, one of the region's most veteran referees in his own right, raised Napier's hand to a chorus of cheers. Neither referee would falter on their decision.

The mood in the KSWA Arena was palpable. Who had won Battle Bowl Eleven? KSWA Owner Bobby O recently had his gall bladder removed, but he was undaunted. "I have to be there," he said of Battle Bowl. And luckily he was. He asked the referees who passionately stood by their decisions (as they certainly should in these the major leagues of professional wrestling), and he asked KSWA's Hall of Fame photographer Howard Kernats for his opinion. His photo heads this analysis. The fall to the concrete is inconclusive.

The only thing Bobby O could do for the integrity of Battle Bowl, Napier and Lawless, the referees, the Krazies and the Most Important Championship in the Commonwealth was call for a brand-new match to determine the Number One Contender for the KSWA Heavyweight Championship.

Napier was the third Megastar entered into the fray. Napier was fresh as he hadn't wrestled earlier in the night; meanwhile, Lawless unsuccessfully battled current KSWA Champion Dennis Gregory in a hard-fought FanFest rematch. Lawless was the final contestant in the East Coast's premier Battle Royal. By the time it was down to Napier, Lawless, Bubba the Bulldog and Lou Martin, both Napier and Lawless had to have diminished tanks. Martin and Bubba were then dumped, leaving two of the most recently former KSWA Champions.

The two Megastars are accustomed to one another so that brawl was epic. When the fortunes of the two former champions went over the top rope and onto the apron, it had the attention of all eyes. Then they attempted to eliminate each other. For the first time in 11 years, there was no clear cut winner in Battle Bowl.

In recent years, the ultimate winner of Battle Bowl immediately became the Number One Contender for the Commonwealth's richest prize. So, either Napier or Lawless will get that opportunity for the KSWA Heavyweight Championship, now held by Gregory. The next chapter in that tale is at Spirit Hall in the Lawrenceville neighborhood within the city of Pittsburgh. There, Gregory faces one of the hottest young talents in Pittsburgh, the fan favorite BROhemoth.





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