Ross Report - 7/31/20

Good ol' JR here, back with another Ross Report, this month taking an in-depth look at this Sunday's card for 8 Miles To Graceland! And even with multiple big names missing like "MJF," Pete Dunne, Daizee Haze and Sasha Banks, what a show we've got lined up as the EWA rolls into the "Birthplace of Rock N' Roll" itself, Memphis, Tennessee!

Let's kick things off by talking about the first match on the card, as Kelly Klein looks set to face Lacey Von Erich in her Pay-Per-View debut! It's obviously been a while since we've seen "The Final Girl" in action, what with her taking a break from competition after her friendship with Momo Watanabe imploded through no fault of her own, other than putting her trust in "Dark Peach." In the meantime, Lacey Von Erich has been looking to get a new lease on life after a messy divorce freed her up to return to the squared circle, where she's already notched a couple of impressive wins and proven that the apple hasn't fallen far from the proverbial tree! Well, with Kelly on the lookout for a new friend, she made an attempt to enter Lacey's exclusive private party after the third generation superstar's latest victory, only to get denied by an over-eager doorman. And with Klein understandably still in a fragile emotional state after the betrayal she suffered by Momo, this caused the visibly upset "KK" to throw down the challenge for this Sunday, in what I'm sure will be an excellent showcase match for the women's division!


Is it just me or does it feel like "The Shining Colons" and "Best Friends" have been intertwined ever since both teams arrived in the EWA back in mid-March? Not just through their multiple appearances on "The Ellen Show" either, but also in terms of facing off against one another in the ring, being forced to team up at one point, as well as in their respective pursuits of the Tag Team Championships. Indeed, it's like these two teams can't get away from one another, with tensions certainly escalating to a whole new level in the past couple of weeks! Admittedly, it's been a fairly small escalation mostly centering around leftover Chinese food, but that was still enough to put Chuck Taylor and "Trent?" on a collision course with the Puerto Rican cousins this Sunday, with the leftovers seemingly on the line! One thing I have to question though is what's going on with Orange Cassidy during all of this? "OC" seems to be "MIA," with a couple of Viking-looking replacements showing up instead. Could that potentially play a factor in this one, I wonder? Or could we even see another appearance by Ellen herself? At this stage of the game, who knows where this rivalry goes from here!

While he's not always been on the winning side of things, Keith Lee has certainly made a big impression over the last month. From taking Pete Dunne to the limit, to dominating in that fatal fourway to determine a National Title number one contender, the Wichita Falls native has quickly established himself as a hot prospect in the EWA. However, that attention has come with a price, with the man formerly known as "Killer" Kross making a shocking return by jumping "The Limitless One" right after his contest with Dunne! Now using his chosen name of Karrion Kross, "The Devil of Sin City" delivered two devastating Doomsday Saito's on the worn-down Lee before choking him out with the Kross Jacket! And then, on last week's SLAM!, Kross would look to jump Keith Lee a second time, only for the big man to be ready for him on this occasion! Thankfully, security were on hand to break that fight up before it went too far, but that hopefully won't be the case come 8 Miles To Graceland as these two look to settle their grudge once and for all! We're still none the wiser why Kross decided to direct all of his ire towards Keith Lee, but my best guess would be that he believes he can use "The Limitless One" as an example to showcase just how deadly Kross can be. And yet, something tells me that Keith Lee will fight to his last breath to get some all-important payback against his attacker!


Say what you want about Jeremy Wyatt but the man gets results. Granted, those results usually come about due to some nefarious rule-breaking, as "One-Eye" Lorcan found out himself during his only EWA loss this year! He's certainly not the only victim though, with Wyatt pulling a fast one on Rhino by pretending to go down injured at Red, White & Bruised, allowing him to score a minor upset when he won the Television Championship! Since then, "The Monarch" has been squaring off against various hand-picked opponents who've not exactly proven challenging, yet that all changed on last week's SLAM! when he found himself in an impromptu TV Title Match against his old foe "One-Eye" Lorcan! "The 21st Century Pirate" is riding high with a hard-fought wins over Zack Sabre Jr and "UltraMantis Black" in the last month, and with a bone to pick after their last encounter, Lorcan had clearly seen enough of Wyatt treating the prestigious Television Title like a prop to boost his already-inflated ego! That led to "One-Eye" taking the place of Wyatt's original opponent, "Doink," giving us one hell of a spirited encounter on last week's SLAM! In fact, "The Monarch" looked like he was in serious danger as his swashbuckling challenger pulled out all the stops to try and claim the gold, causing Wyatt to even attempt to walk out on the match! Alas, Lorcan denied him the chance to do so, with the action soon returning to the ring, where "One-Eye" would eventually cinch in his dreaded Anchor-Lock! Just when it looked as if Wyatt might tap however, the 15 minute time limit expired, denying Lorcan the victory! However, one conversation with Harry Smith later and "One-Eye" Lorcan had his rematch made official for 8 Miles To Graceland, only this time it'll be without a time limit getting in the way! A fact which almost certainly means we'll have a decisive winner on this second go-around! And if their first contest was anything to go by, this is one match you can't afford to miss!

I sometimes get accused of bias by some members of the EWA Universe (and even members of our roster), something I would strenuously deny in most cases, yet there's no question Aliyah still being Women's Champion leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to admit that the Toronto native is one hell of a talent, even if she does have a tendency to rub folks the wrong way with her attitude. However, as far as I'm concerned, the way she and her new agent Robert Stone used lawyers to scrub the result of her match with Toni Storm from the record books was nothing short of disgusting. You never want to see a title change hands like that, and yet, not only did Aliyah's efforts reverse the decision of her Red, White & Bruised match, it also resulted in Storm being indefinitely suspended as well, a fact which "The Boujee Bratz" has taken immense pleasure rubbing in everyone's face ever since. Still, there was no pleasure to be had when Aliyah found herself in action for the first time since those events unfolded, stepping in the ring with the debuting "Million Dollar Alien" Kris Statlander! Having discovered her shortly after she crashed to earth, Ted DiBiase took "The Galaxy's Greatest Alien" under his wing with dollar signs in his eyes! It's already paying dividends as well, with Statlander picking up a surprise clean victory over Aliyah, instantly vaulting her to the front of the line as far as challengers go! Will lightning strike twice this Sunday for Statlander? Or could Aliyah have more tricks up her designer sleeves, just like she's used to keep retaining the gold so far? I guess we'll find out in the world famous Mid-South Coliseum!


Credit where it's due, "The Dogs of War" have been in phenomenal form for the past several months. And following their Tag Team Championship win during that wild ladder match at Red, White & Bruised, James Storm and Jax Dane haven't let up either, scoring another big victory over Roppongi 3Kzy a couple of weeks ago to keep that train rolling! At the same time though, "iRoyalty" have spent weeks on end making Curt Hawkins' life a misery, culminating in a handicap "Loser Leaves Town Match" on the first SLAM! post-Red, White & Bruised. Despite Hawkins' best efforts, his emotions got the better of him as he took a steel chair to both Jamie Senegal and Saint Synclair, sacrificing his own job to gain a measure of revenge! Still, that didn't stop "iRoyalty" from gloating about ridding the EWA of Hawkins and declaring their title intentions on last week's show, drawing the attention of the champs! And not being ones to back down from a fight, "The Dogs of War" would offer Senegal and Synclair a chance to show us what they're made of by announcing this title match for 8 Miles To Graceland! However, while Storm and Dane are deservedly full of confidence after their recent successes, there's certainly an unknown quantity to "iRoyalty" that they need to be wary of. Outside of that handicap match with Hawkins, we've not seen what this unorthodox duo are truly capable of in a tag team setting, opening up the possibility of "The Dogs" potentially biting off more than they can chew in their first official title defense!

As each new week passes, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan's mask seems to slip that much more. While he came in full of patriotic bluster, it's become increasingly clear that the extent of Duggan's racist and misogynistic views don't exactly jive with most of the EWA Universe. In fact, this whole episode has got me questioning if we ever really knew the true "Hacksaw" at all over these last 40 years. Still, as unhinged as the veteran appears at times to be, there's little doubt he's as sharp as ever in the ring, as proven by his capturing the National Title from Sammy Guevara at Red, White & Bruised! And with Duggan in need of a first challenger, EWA Producer Dean Malenko took it upon himself to set up a number one contenders match between Keith Lee, Santino Marella, Eita and Kenny Omega on last week's SLAM! I've already talked about the impact Lee has made recently, while Santino's record obviously speaks for itself. As for Eita and Omega though? Well, these two have been going at it for about a month now, with "The Millennial God" seemingly jealous of Omega's comeback story and the spotlight it's brought him. That's led to numerous battles between the two of them, with "The Cleaner" recently coming out the better by surprising Eita in a fantastic tag team match also featuring John Cena and Kzy, while also seeing the Winnipeg native score the pin over his rival in that fatal fourway to earn his shot at the gold! In fact, Omega is undoubtedly on the best run of his career right now, meaning he has a ton of momentum behind him heading into this barnburner of a title match! And yet, as "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan has proven on multiple occasions already this year, you can't count out the veteran! This one promises to be a huge clash of styles, but one which I can't wait to see unfold!


And then we come to our blockbuster main event! The rise of Jamie Noble has been one of the feel-good stories of the year, with "The Redneck Messiah" coming from out of nowhere to win Civil War before suffering all the slings and arrows thrown at him by "MJF" and his cronies, only to claim the ultimate vindication by becoming our 60th EWA World Heavyweight Champion at Red, White & Bruised! However, as I've stated numerous times before, winning a championship isn't the end of a journey...it's only the beginning! And soon enough, Noble would find himself face-to-face with Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart, who provided just enough of a distraction for "The Honky Tonk Man" to smash a guitar over Jamie's cranium before declaring himself the number one contender! And, loathe though I am to admit it, "Honky's" record certainly backs up that claim, what with being the only champion to retain their title at SuperBrawl XIX while also yet to be pinned or submitted in 2020, even when he and Santino eventually lost the Tag Titles. Well, Noble didn't take too kindly to the way "Mr. Shake, Rattle And Roll" issued his challenge, looking to throw fists with the Memphis legend on last week's SLAM!...yet that would result in another attempted guitar attack by "Honky," only for Noble to try fighting him off on this occasion! However, just as the World Champion looked set to deliver his patented Tiger Driver, my old pal Jerry "The King" Lawler would show up to swing the tide back in "Honky's" favor! And just like the previous week, "The Honky Tonk Man" would introduce Noble to another of his "smash hits" when he broke a second guitar across his head! Needless to say then, "The Peckerwood Jesus" finds himself with his back well and truly against the wall this Sunday! Not only has "Honky" left his opponent laying twice in as many weeks, not only does he have "The King" and Jimmy Hart in his corner, but he'll also have the hometown advantage against the defending champion as well, with the Pay-Per-View taking place virtually in the backyard of "Honkyland USA!" There's a strong possibility right now that Jamie Noble's Red, White & Bruised career high victory is about to turn into the lowest of the lows, yet if there's one thing we know about "The Redneck Messiah," it's that quit isn't in his vocabulary, no matter how much the odds might be stacked against him! And I'm certain that no matter what "The Honky Tonk Man" throws at him this Sunday, Noble will continue fighting right to the bitter end to walk out with the gold still within his possession!

Well, that about does it for this month's Ross Report recap, but I'm sure you'll agree that 8 Miles To Graceland has all the makings for a stone cold slobberknocker! Make sure to sign up to the EWA Network today so you don't miss a single second of the action, and I'll see you back here in about a month's time as we prepare for the ninth annual Summer Stampede! Until then,

BOOMER SOONER!