Ross Report - 11/28/20

Over the last 18 years, the King of the Ring has become one of the most coveted prizes in the E-Wrestling Alliance. We've seen superstars such as Shane Helms, Randy Orton, Stevie Richards, The Rock and Kurt Angle all go on to have Hall of Fame worthy careers...but will the same thing happen for the 2020 King of the Ring, whoever that might be?

We'll get into the nitty-gritty of the tournament in due course, but let's start this month's Ross Report looking at the rivalry that's developed between Aliyah and Shotzi Blackheart. It's not exactly a secret that "The Boujee Bratz" has a high opinion of herself, and why wouldn't she? After winning the second-ever Women's Civil War Match and holding onto the Women's Championship for the longest reign in over two years, Aliyah's credentials are there for all to see. It's no surprise then that she wanted to get back into the title picture in an attempt to reclaim her former glory. At the same time though, Shotzi Blackheart has turned a lot of heads since her arrival in the EWA, and not just because of her unique look! "The Ballsy Bad Ass" spent much of her formative months in the company helping Bayley free Daizee Haze from the influence of "The Coven," but now that that war is seemingly settled, Shotzi is eager to advance her own career. Well, this led to both competitors throwing their name into the hat as far as Sasha Banks' next challenger went, along with Daizee Haze herself, setting up a triple threat number one contenders match on last week's SLAM! Before that could happen though, Blackheart was viciously assaulted backstage by Deonna Purrazzo, a relative newcomer to the EWA who has spent the last month or so flirting with "The Boujee Brand." I'll leave you to form your own opinions whether or not that attack was done at the behest of Aliyah, but either way, Shotzi seemingly wasn't cleared to compete by the EWA's crack medical team in time for the number one contenders match. That meant Aliyah and Daizee had what was essentially a hard-hitting singles contest, at least until Shotzi shocked us all by riding out on her trademark tank! That quickly caused "The Boujee Bratz" to hightail it over the barricade and into the crowd to get away, costing her the chance to challenge for the Women's Title once again...although there's more of that story to tell, which we'll get to a little later on! Still, the important takeaway as far as this particular rivalry goes is that Shotzi clearly believed Aliyah had a part to play in her injury at "The Virtuosa's" hands and evened the score somewhat by making sure Aliyah didn't walk out the number one contender! Of course, it's yet to be seen if "The Ballsy Bad Ass'" shoulder has completely healed in time for this one, painting a target that Aliyah will no doubt look to exploit. One thing's for sure though...this is certain to be a spirited battle between two of the women's division's finest!


Moving on and we come to this Sunday's National Championship match! As most of you will know, Eddie Kingston walked out of All Hallows' Evil with the gold around his waist for a third time when he out-lasted three opponents in that wild gauntlet match! "The Last of a Dying Breed" had zero interest in resting on his laurels though, soon offering up an open challenge to anyone who wanted to come after his championship. Sure enough, "The Blade" stepped up to the plate, setting up a match on last week's SLAM!...yet it was one that never actually took place, due to Miro jumping Kingston in the backstage area, laying waste to the Yonkers native! This seems like as good a time as any to rewind a moment and talk about "The Bulgarian Brute" and the month he's had. First, Miro found himself disqualified during that action-packed gauntlet match at All Hallows' Evil, with his frustrations getting the better of him during his battle with Keith Lee. Then Miro was afforded an opportunity to rebound after landing a spot in this year's King of the Ring tournament against "Hangman" Adam Page, only for that match to go to a time limit draw. Before EWA officials had a chance to determine what that meant for both superstars and their royal ambitions, Miro snapped once again, this time committing the cardinal sin of putting his hands on an EWA Referee! As such, he was justifiably booted out of the tournament and handed a one-week suspension...although not that it stopped him from targeting Kingston, of course! This clearly put EWA management in a tough position, not wanting to look as if they were rewarding Miro for his heinous actions or giving the impression that they were soft on anyone who over-steps the mark. Still, from what I understand, it was Eddie Kingston himself who finally convinced Harry Smith to sign off on this match, eager to get his hands on Miro and seek a measure of revenge. Knowing what kind of man Eddie is and the code he lives his life by, I can't say I'm too surprised that he demanded this match take place. Still, if you're expecting a catch-as-catch-can classic between these two, I think you might need to think again, because this one's got slobberknocker written all over it!

For months now, "The Butcher" and "The Blade" have been running roughshod on virtually every team they've faced, at least until they ran into "The New Freebirds" at All Hallows' Evil! It was on that night that "Jungle" Jack Perry and Shawn Spears finally managed to get one over on their enemies after suffering various beatdowns and humiliations at their hands. And yet, as far as the Tag Team Champions were concerned, they weren't done with "The Butcher" and "The Blade" just yet, eager to settle their beef once and for all. This resulted in "Jungle Boy" showing up on the following SLAM! seemingly by his lonesome, only to lure "The Bunny's" bruisers into a three-on-two trap that saw the champs lay their rivals out. Not only that, but "The New Freebirds" also gave them a taste of their own medicine as well, claiming "The Blade's" mask and "The Butcher's" monocle, much the same way as they had claimed trophies from "The Freebirds" the month prior! Alas, while the champs might have believed that drew a line under this blood feud, it would soon turn out not to be the case. In fact, "The Butcher" and "The Blade" would strike back with a sickening blow, beating down and bloodying Michael "P.S." Hayes, the long-time associate of Janela, Spears and "Jungle Boy," before demanding a "New Mexico Blood Bath Match" at this Sunday's King of the Ring! What does that mean, you might ask yourselves? Well, to put it quite simply, the only way you can score a pinfall or submission over an opponent is if you've made them bleed first! And considering how heated this rivalry has become over the past two months, it's safe to say that neither one of these teams will hold anything back when the gold is on the line!


Correct me if I'm wrong, but has there ever been a more chaotic and unpredictable month in the women's division than what we've witnessed over the last four weeks? From Sasha Banks finally recapturing the title she never technically lost, to "La Hiedra" seemingly feeling underappreciated by "The Boss" and heading back to her native Mexico, to that aforementioned scenario with Daizee Haze, Aliyah and Shotzi Blackheart all laying claim to a title opportunity, we've barely had a chance to breath! If you'll recall, I've already eluded to what happened to Shotzi as a result of that last one, so let's pick up on that thread once again. To remind you, Blackheart was a late arrival to that number one contenders match due to injury, driving down to ringside in her trademark tank and scaring Aliyah off! However, in a sign of just how seriously Daizee is focused on the Women's Championship, the EWA's resident "Iron Woman" would catch Shotzi unawares, ramming her bad shoulder into the steel stairs before rolling her back into the ring to capitalize before Aliyah could return to ringside and stop her. I've got to say, despite some being critical of that ruthlessness, I like that kind of attitude from Daizee. While friendships are obviously important, at the end of the day this is still a sport, and she took her shot to ensure her first one-on-one title opportunity! Speaking of "friendships" and "taking your shot," that then brings us to Bayley! "The Huggable One" has been a peripheral figure in the title picture over the last month, something that's cleared played into Bayley's recent change in attitude. As happy as she might be to have her "Hug 'N' Haze" partner back and operating under her own steam again, that's not stopped Bayley from voicing her frustrations about being the forgotten woman of the division. Rather than wait for an opportunity though, Bayley looked to create one of her own, interrupting Sasha Banks on last week's SLAM! as she looked to address her new number one contender, before goading "The Boss" into putting the title on the line right then and there! An impromptu Women's Championship match ensued, with Daizee Haze having a vested interest as she watched on from the announce table. But then, when Bayley was caught in the Bank Statement and looked to be in trouble, "The Haze" left the desk to cheer her best friend on, inspiring Bayley to make it to the ropes. Sasha wasn't too happy about that, taking her eye off the ball as she told Daizee to stay out of it...yet that opened the door for one of the biggest shocks of the year as Bayley rolled her up and secured both the three count and the gold! It's incredible to think that Sasha spent so long and so hard fighting to reclaim the championship, only to suddenly find herself with no title and no King of the Ring match...while at the same time, Bayley's ego has seemingly swelled beyond measure, even going so far as to burst into Harry Smith's office and run down the General Manager for the lack of celebrations prepared for her spur-of-the-moment victory! Still, that doesn't change the fact that Bayley must now defend her newly won title against her best friend this Sunday! And with so much at stake, one has to wonder if that friendship will still be in tact by the end of the evening!

That leads us nicely to a big time six man tag team match which has all the makings of a classic! It was just last month that Buff Bagwell defeated "The Honky Tonk Man" inside of a steel cage to win the EWA World Heavyweight Championship, yet when he and Judy went to address the EWA Universe for the first time, they were quickly interrupted by "Pastor" Bobby Roode. The leader of "The Glorious B's" would instead invite the Bagwells onto the following week's edition of "The Pulpit," but as it would soon turn out, things weren't quite as they seemed! Indeed, this quickly turned into a heinous ambush, as none other than Jeremy Wyatt showed up, joining forces with "The Glorious B's" to attack "Buff Daddy!" It soon transpired that Wyatt had sold his King of the Ring spot to Bobby Roode in return for a lot of money as well as "The B's" endorsement for him becoming the next EWA World Heavyweight Champion, creating an unholy alliance that seemingly threatened to take Buff out! However, before that could happen, Kevin Owens ran out to make the save, having debuted earlier in the night before encountering "Pastor" Bobby in a backstage run-in! "Mr. Wrestling" was able to even the odds on that occasion, yet the following week would see those odds now turned against him as he faced the leader of "The Glorious B's" in a first round King of the Ring match! Despite a valiant effort, Owens fell to Roode thanks to the combined involvement of Alexa Bliss, Baron Corbin and Brodie Lee. That wasn't all either, as Jeremy Wyatt would later head out to the ring to gloat about how great he is and the inevitability of him winning his third different singles title within the calendar year...only for Buff Bagwell and his momma bear to show up! It looked like Buff was about to head to the ring and get his hands on "The Monarch," but before that could happen, "Brother" Baron and "Bishop" Brodie ran out to turn this into a three-on-one situation! In that moment, it looked for sure like Bagwell was doomed...but out came Kevin Owens, this time joined by "Hangman" Adam Page, with both superstars seemingly sick and tired of the shenanigans! They were able to run the trio of Wyatt, Corbin and Lee, but in the process, that encouraged EWA management to put together this blockbuster of a match for tomorrow night! Will Buff and his partners put their opponents in their place? Or could Jeremy Wyatt lead "The Glorious B's" to victory and perhaps even earn himself a future shot at the biggest prize in the game? I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out!


And so we come to the King of the Ring tournament itself. This year's field of competitors has certainly been an eclectic bunch, while the first round itself saw plenty of twists and turns! Dalton Castle was the first superstar to qualify after a barnburner of a match with "Scotty 2 Hotty," while Santos Escobar soon followed with a win over Danhausen. The following week saw the aforementioned match between Bobby Roode and Kevin Owens, while Kevin Ku defeated Ace Austin in a fantastic double debut, and Bray Wyatt survived a curveball after "Vampiro" was subbed in as a late replacement for the injured Kenny Omega! Meanwhile, Television Champion Santino Marella had to fight through busted up ribs to defeat Jamie Noble, although "The Redneck Messiah" thought for sure he had that match won at one point, seemingly putting him on a collision course with EWA officials. And on top of that, Danhausen overcame his arch rival "Scotty 2 Hotty" as well as "Hangman" Adam Page in a "Second Chance" triple threat match to book his place in the next round, while Marc Mero returned to the ring for the first time in almost 10 years, surprising Bo Dallas in the process! That leaves us with four quarter final matches: Bobby Roode versus Marc Mero; Bray Wyatt versus Santos Escobar; Kevin Ku versus Dalton Castle; and last but not least, Danhausen versus Santino Marella! Of those eight superstars, Marella is the only one with prior King of the Ring experience, albeit not exactly of the best kind after he was knocked out in the first round of the 2017 tournament, losing his National Title at the same time. Perhaps wisely, "The Italian Stallion" has opted not to defend the TV Championship throughout this year's tournament, yet that doesn't make life any easier, I'm sure! Indeed, on one side of the bracket you've got Bobby Roode having invested a lot to pick his spot and eager to expand the reach of his church, you've got Marc Mero looking to practice what he preaches be being "the best you that you can be," you've got Santos Escobar determined to prove the superiority of Mexican competitors who he feels have been overlooked by American audiences, and how can you forget about the deranged Bray Wyatt, intent on ascending to the throne and establishing himself as the new face of fear! But that's not all, as on the other side of the tournament there's also the man they call Danhausen, whose motivations and goals I wouldn't even know where to begin speculating on, you've got one half of "Violence Is Forever" in Kevin Ku, seemingly more interested in making opponents feel a sliver of the pain he's endured throughout his lifetime than walking out with the crown, and then there's Dalton Castle! "The Party Peacock" knows only too well that winning King of the Ring would shoot him straight into the EWA stratosphere and immediately make audiences sit up and take notice, but therein lies the challenge! After all, whoever is going to walk out of Sunday's show as our 19th King of the Ring will have to win three matches in one night to do so, and it doesn't matter how determined or experienced or hungry you are, that's not going to be an easy ask! Still, I'm excited to see which superstar is able to rise to the occasion, with the winner earning the very first shot at whoever the World Champion might be in 2021...although considering what's coming up in December, I wouldn't like to speculate who that's going to be either!

With that in mind then, it's safe to say that King of the Ring is shaping up to be an all-time classic you simply cannot afford to miss! Most wrestling promotions would be content with a line-up of thrilling title matches and intense blood feuds...but when you factor in the King of the Ring tournament on top of that as well? Well, it just goes to show why the E-Wrestling Alliance is a cut above all the rest! And now, with SuperBrawl XX just one month away, there's a damn good chance that the EWA landscape won't ever look the same again! Until next month, this is good ol' JR saying...

BOOMER SOONER!