Ross Report - 9/9/19

With all the fallout from Summer Stampede, it's been another eventful week here in the EWA, so let's not waste any time and dive right in!

The show opened with Marty Scurll, our now former World Heavyweight Champion, heading down to ringside along with "The Reaper." It's fair to say that "The Villain" wasn't in the best of moods and understandably so, although I feel the need to point out his claims that he won that epic World Title encounter last week are disputable at best. Especially since Dunne's foot being on the bottom rope negates any three count the official made, much as it did for Scurll himself earlier in the match. Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story, eh folks? Still, with the leader of "The Horde" defiant in the face of defeat, he vowed to prove that his group were still the single most dominant force in the EWA by throwing out an open challenge for later in the show, one that would soon be answered by young upstart Darby Allin. "The Invisible Man" had unfinished business with Marty after their previous match ended with Scurll dragging Allin's wife into harm's way just to pick up the victory, and he wanted another shot at the ex-champion with the hope it might lead to a title opportunity of his own.

Alas, as we'd find out during our main event, things didn't exactly go smoothly for the 26 year old daredevil. On the contrary, Scurll attacked him during that match like a man possessed, clearly eager to make an example out his opponent. This wasn't the close battle we witnessed a few weeks ago but more akin to a massacre, as Scurll put Darby Allin away with ease before engaging in a sickening post-match assault, delivering four piledrivers in a row in an effort to break Allin's neck! With the damage done and Allin's career seemingly over, "The Villain" would then call out Pete Dunne to demand his rematch, with "The Bruiserweight" obliging by heading out onto the stage. However, the new World Heavyweight Champion threw a proverbial monkey in the wrench when instead of accepting Scurll's challenge, he laid out one of his own for "The Reaper," the same man he defeated by disqualification to earn his Summer Stampede title shot in the first place! Needless to say, this wasn't the announcement Scurll was expecting, with his fellow "Horde" member being granted the title shot instead! As for "The Reaper" though, this is an offer almost too good to be true, even if it does run the risk of unsettling the balance between himself and Scurll. And while Marty has previously claimed that a win for any member of "The Horde" is one for every member of the group, it remains to be seen if he still feels the same way should "The Reaper" be successful against Dunne! Then again, that's no mean feat in of itself, especially with the roll "The Bruiserweight" is on right now! No doubt about it, the situation surrounding the biggest prize in sports entertainment looks extremely interesting right now!

Elsewhere, newcomer Viktor made his debut by taking on Bobby Salsa. With keen Manchester United fan Nigel Rabid directing traffic from ringside, "The Destroyer" made quick work of the veteran Salsa, perhaps a sign of things to come! Indeed, given Viktor's proclivity for hurting opponents in the worst way imaginable, he could soon be a force to be reckoned with here in the E-Wrestling Alliance! That said though, he may also find himself drawing the ire of Samoa Joe should he continue to borrow Joe's nickname as well!

While we didn't get much of an idea of Buh Buh Ray Dudley's future plans after recapturing the National Championship last week, it's great to see him more like his usual self again. The man from Dudleyville has felt the weight of the world on his shoulders over the last month or so, but defeating "The Reaper" and taking back the gold seems to have reinvigorated Bubbs once again!

I can't say I'm too surprised that Matt Morgan had a bone to pick with Samoa Joe given the shocking return Joe made during that "Open Contract" match between Morgan and Brian Pillman Jr at Summer Stampede. "The Blueprint" might be on the side of the angels these days but that doesn't mean he's not still got a temper on him! As such, Morgan looked to vent his frustrations, only to have "The Samoan Submission Machine" interrupt proceedings, albeit choosing that moment to send a message to his old rival Pete Dunne rather than show any respect to the former National Champion standing in the ring! When he finally did deign to comment on Summer Stampede though, Matt Morgan quickly cut him off, making it clear that any time Joe wants to go, "The DNA of EWA" isn't difficult to find! I think I speak for most people when I say that's one match I would very much like to see, especially in more of a straight-up scenario than what we witnessed last weekend with Joe appearing from under the ring after Morgan and Pillman Jr had already beaten the tar out of one another! Here's hoping we see a clash between Joe and Morgan sooner rather than later!

After Charlotte Flair came within a whisker of recapturing the Women's Championship at Summer Stampede, "The Queen" was back in action this week, teaming with Lacey Evans to take on the odd couple pairing of Tamina Snuka and Layla! "The Dominion" really lived up their name in this one, taking control early on and utilizing some some great teamwork to wear down their opponents. After disposing of Layla, Flair was able to lock in the Figure Eight to force the submission from Tamina, before demanding a microphone post-match to call out our current Women's Champion (and Charlotte's chief rival all summer) JoJo! Instead, "The Dominion" were surprised to see Rhea Ripley show up, looking to create her own opportunities! After some choice words from "The Full Metal Maniac," Flair refused to rise to the bait, exiting the ring and blowing off Ripley. However, when Rhea threw down the challenge for a match next week, Charlotte "mistakenly" assumed she was talking to "The Classy Lady" instead, effectively using her friend/partner as a human shield! It might not have been what Rhea had meant, but the "Singularity" member had no problem making that match official, while setting her sights on Charlotte further down the line!

Intrepid reporter Todd Grisham tried to get some words with new World Heavyweight Champion Pete Dunne, but found himself talking to Dunne's fellow "British Strong Style" members instead. Tyler Bate and Trent Seven revealed that their recent visa issues have finally been resolved, meaning they can finally return to active competition again...and no sooner was that announcement made than they came face-to-face with "Monster Mafia!" Bad blood has been brewing between these two teams for weeks now, ever since the EWA's marketing department accidentally attributed Page and Alexander's "MM" t-shirt to "Mustache Mountain," meaning the Brits took home all the royalties! Well, after clearly feeling disrespected, the two Canadian grapplers revealed that it was them who took out Bate and Seven two weeks ago on SLAM!, thus allowing Scurll to get the jump on Pete Dunne! With that revelation also came a challenge as well, as "Monster Mafia" look to get back to winning ways, eager to do so at the expense of "Mustache Mountain!" That match will take place next week, and if their last encounter is anything to go by, I can't wait to see how this one shakes out!

I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping we might get some answers from Bray Wyatt this past week, yet we're still no closer to the identity of whoever it is Wyatt claims "owes" him. Instead, "The Eater of Worlds" continues to make portentous threats towards the unnamed individual while demanding his restitution! At a certain point though, you've got to believe those threats will be followed up on and it won't be pretty for whoever's ignoring Wyatt's demands!

Meanwhile, JoJo was able to lend her friend Bradley a helping hand by removing the eye patches he'd been forced to wear as a result of Prince Nana's fireball attack several weeks ago, only for "The Mustachioed Megaman" to prefer to keep them on! One can only assume the rest of Bradley's senses have become heightened after temporarily losing his eyesight, giving him superhero-like powers. Still, the two of them soon found themselves joined by Sasha Banks, with "The Boss" currently riding high following her huge win over Ember Moon last weekend! After JoJo and Sasha congratulated one another on their recent respective successes, Banks would imply she had something to ask of JoJo, but rather than broach the subject now, she'd do so next week instead. Let the speculation commence as to what that might be about, but common sense dictates it may have something to do with the Women's Championship!

OK, I'll admit it. There's a chance I may have got caught up in the Toni Storm bubble over the last month or so. From all the hype surrounding Gold Coast native, to her obvious talent, to picking up win after win, I felt like she could easily become the new face of the EWA women's division for years to come. However, as proven this week against Kelly Klein, Toni isn't the second coming. On the contrary, she's just as human as the rest of us, with "The Final Girl" proving to be a major step-up in competition that Storm wasn't ready for. Indeed, their much-anticipated match turned out to be a much more one-sided affair than expected, with Klein putting her opponent down for the count and picking up a big time win in the process! Perhaps this will teach me (and others, it has to be said) not to let our expectations get ahead of us in future!

Chris Hero and Cesaro had a somewhat tense interaction at Summer Stampede that suggested these two long-time friends and tag team partners had hit a bit of a rough patch, and things were little different on this week's SLAM! Indeed, "The Knockout Artist" went searching for Cesaro, looking for an answer as to why "The Swiss Cyborg" abandoned "The Kings of Wrestling" to side with "UltraMantis Black." Alas, Cesaro didn't see it that way, instead accusing "The Kings" of abandoning him after everything went wrong for the group at Red, White & Bruised two months ago and he felt like the last man standing. They'd soon find themselves joined by Samoa Joe, leading to a heated conversation between the three of them that did little to resolve the grievances being aired. Rather, we've got more questions than answers right now as far as "The Kings of Wrestling" goes.

Talk about a wild match between Bobby Lashley and Tommaso Ciampa! Ever since his return, "The Dominator" has been struggling to find the run of form which led him to the National Championship last year, while "The Psycho Killer" has looked damn impressive since making his debut several weeks ago, picking up some impressive wins along the way. That made for a back-and-forth slobberknocker between the two gifted superstars that showcased why both are so highly regarded by EWA management. However, after Ciampa bowled through Lashley with a plancha and then rolled his opponent back inside the ring to follow up, his attention was caught by the arrival of one Dalton Castle! Ciampa and "The Party Peacock" have quickly developed plenty of problems with one another as of late, with that distraction allowing R-Truth to get in a cheap shot and then roll Tommaso back inside the ring, right into a Lashley Spear and the first loss of his EWA career! There's no doubt where Ciampa is going to aim the blame for that one as Castle disappeared to the back, leaving Bobby Lashley to celebrate his victory! And with his fellow "SCP" member R-Truth publicly throwing out a challenge to Ken Shamrock for next week, could this be the fresh start the "Santanic Clown Posse" have been searching for? I guess we'll soon find out!

Let's take a look at this week's top three movers and shakers, shall we?

1. Kelly Klein
2. Bobby Lashley
3. Viktor

While Toni Storm has been there or there abouts every time she's competed during the last month, the fact that Kelly Klein beat her so easily is enough to immediately shoot "The Final Girl" straight to the top spot. Coming in at number two, Bobby Lashley stops the rot by picking up a huge win over Tommaso Ciampa, courtesy of a Dalton Castle distraction and an assist from R-Truth! And last but by no means least, I was tempted to put Marty Scurll in at three due to his win and subsequent beatdown of Darby Allin, but the fact that Scurll's night ended in misery scuppered that idea. Instead, I've gone with Viktor, after the newcomer impressed during his debut. No doubt there's plenty more to expect from this dangerous individual in the coming weeks too!

It's fair to say that change is in the air right now, with Pete Dunne continuing to shake up the World Title scene (much to Marty Scurll's displeasure), a new National Champion in Buh Buh Ray Dudley looking to start fresh, and perhaps even some seeds being laid down for a championship battle between JoJo and Sasha Banks! And that's not even the half of it either, with Rhea Ripley looking to make a name for herself at Charlotte's expense, while Bobby Lashley and the "SCP" bounce back from recent disappointments, tensions continue to rise between the erstwhile "Kings of Wrestling," the fight for t-shirt royalties and respect heats up between "Mustache Mountain" and "Monster Mafia," and a whole lot more! Indeed, I dare say the EWA has got something for everyone right now, and with details expected to be announced soon regarding this year's King of the Ring tournament, we're only just getting started! Until next time,

BOOMER SOONER!