Ross Report - 5/1/21

It's that time of year once again, time for the 16th (mostly) annual Civil War! And just like last year's incredible event, not only do we have a traditional men's Civil War match to look forward to, but also the third-ever women's Civil War Match as well! With that in mind then, let's crack on with this month's Ross Report for all the details!

While both Civil War matches are obviously the big draw heading into this weekend's show, it's not all the EWA has on offer when we hit up the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida! On the contrary, we've got some intense women's action on the cards as well, with "The Boujee Brand" of Aliyah and Deonna Purrazzo squaring off against "ODB" and Carmella! As you'll no doubt recall, it was just a couple of months ago that "ODB" found herself having plenty of issues with Aliyah and co, as her attempts to introduce herself led to some misunderstandings that soon escalated into something far more personal. It all came to a head when "ODB" faced Aliyah in a first round Queen of the Ring Match, where the opportunity to advance in the tournament was stolen from her thanks to the interference of Deonna Purrazzo! Well, the next week on SLAM!, it would be Aliyah versus Sasha Banks in a Women's Championship match, where "ODB" would gain a measure of payback by whipping "The Virtuosa" like the proverbial government mule backstage, a beating which most would agree Deonna had earned. However, that then resulted in "The Boujee Brand's" lawyers filing criminal charges against "ODB," causing her to be locked up in a Minnesota detention facility for over a month while the EWA's HR executive Susan did her best to secure her release. In the meantime, Aliyah would go on to win three matches in one night to become our brand new Queen of the Ring, with the first-ever winner of that crown, Carmella, on hand to present the coronation. Only, Aliyah saw Carmella's presence as encroaching on her spotlight, causing her to shove the legendary "Princess of Staten Island right off the stage, injuring her in the process! "The Boujee Bratz" would then go on to establish her dominance over the women's division by defeating Sasha Banks for the Women's Championship in an incredible ladder match at last month's MonAnarcy Pay-Per-View...yet soon enough, her celebrations would be cut short by the return of "ODB," courtesy of all of Susan's efforts! After some intense negotiations, it was agreed that "The Boujee Brand" would temporarily drop their restraining order to face "ODB" and a partner of her choosing at Sunday's Civil War, with it soon being revealed that none other than Carmella had volunteered for that role! However, while the former Women's Champion would initially get one over on Aliyah and Deonna at the contract signing for that match, the following week saw "The Boujee Brand" viciously assault Carmella backstage, distracting "ODB" long enough to allow Su Yung to defeat her in her first match back! It's worth noting how little difference there is between "ODB's" backstage attack on Deonna and "The Boujee Brand's" jumping of Carmella, yet rather than press charges and give them a taste of their own medicine, Carmella and "ODB" have made it clear they intend to settle this issue once and for all in the middle of the ring! And it very well may be "once and for all" too, what with Carmella seemingly have no immediate plans of returning to full-time competition and Aliyah's restraining order against "ODB" resuming as soon as the match this Sunday is over! Still, with all this pent-up vitriol between these four women, this will undoubtedly be an incredible match, and one you simply can't afford to miss!

Moving on, and EWA World Heavyweight Champion Jamie Noble has promised that he'll also be in action this Sunday at Civil War, though in what form that might take, we still don't know! It's been a tough start to the year for "The Redneck Messiah," having defended his gold against the 2020 King of the Ring, Santos Escobar, before then finding himself in a brutal rivalry with Jeremy Wyatt that culminated at last month's MonAnarchy Pay-Per-View! However, with all eyes understandably on the Civil War matches, it seems as though Noble has found himself without any obvious challengers this month. Needless to say, Noble isn't the kind of superstar who wants to rest on his laurels and coast by as champion. Indeed, he wants to prove himself worthy of that title to the absolute best of his ability, and it's to his credit that Jamie has declared that one way or the other, he WILL be in action this Sunday. As for who his opponent might be, well, I wouldn't like to speculate. With most superstars seemingly involved in the Civil War matches, that might limit his options from the current EWA roster...but who's to say he couldn't face a returning EWA legend? Or perhaps even a brand new face making their debut? Or maybe even a talent currently signed to another promotion? Then again, who knows? Maybe Noble could even enter himself into the Civil War match itself to find the competition he so desperately craves? Whatever does happen, I think it's safe to say that Noble won't be skipping out on Sunday's show, and I can't wait to see what his involvement entails!

That then brings us to the Women's Civil War Match, one which feels ripe with potential. Last year saw the first women's Civil War since 2012, and it absolutely delivered in terms of exciting twists and turns! There was surprise entrants like Asuka, JoJo, Carmella, and the winner of the first women's Civil War, Awesome Kong! We saw Daizee Haze establish herself as the EWA's resident "Iron Woman" by lasting longer than anyone else! And, of course, we saw Aliyah last eliminate Toni Storm to not only walk out with the win, but with the Women's Championship that had been vacated by Sasha Banks due to injury! The Women's Title might not be on the line this time around, but the winner will still be walking out with that all-important "Anytime, Anyplace" championship opportunity in their back pocket! And speaking of Sasha Banks, she may have missed out on last year's event, but she'll get her chance to make up for that and potentially earn a rematch against Aliyah if she can go the distance on Sunday night! Likewise, Daizee Haze will surely be looking to put in another barnburning performance while no doubt hoping to go all the way this time around! And on top of that, we've got amazingly talented superstars such as Bayley, Shotzi Blackheart, AJ Lee, Ember Moon, Nidia, Maki Itoh, Eva Marie, Jade Cargill and Su Yung all vying for that golden opportunity as well! It's no secret that the EWA's women's division has been stronger than ever over the past couple of years, and with that strength and depth, it's almost impossible to predict who will walk out with that career-making victory tomorrow night. Still, it's bound to be one for the history books, no matter who comes out on top!


And last but by no means least, we come to our other Civil War match! 15 men have had the honor of calling themselves Civil War winners over the years, including EWA legends like Edge, Kurt Angle, William Regal, Steve Corino, Val Venis, Cody Rhodes, and of course, Brock Lesnar! Indeed, only the very best of the best have traditionally walked out the winner in this one-of-a-kind match, but the question is, who will add their names to that Hall of Fame worthy list? It would appear Santino Marella is the only former winner (that we know of) scheduled for the latest Civil War, though history dictates winning the event twice is a damn near impossibility. At least, unless you're Mr. Anderson! On top of "The Italian Stallion" though, we've got exciting newcomers to the company like "Carlito Caribbean Cool," Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens, veterans like Vampiro, The Honky Tonk Man, and my old pal, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and plenty of superstars looking to find their feet such as Joey Janela, Mark Henry, Marko Stunt, Braun Strowman and Sammy Guevara! Indeed, the field for this year's event looks very interesting indeed, though for my money, there's several potential standout candidates. We know Pete Dunne's credentials, being a former World Heavyweight Champion and one half of the current Tag Team Champions. At the same time, Adam Page is someone who's had a taste of success here in the EWA with a reign as Television Champion but is eager to move up to the next level and more primed to do so than ever before now that he's seemingly got his personal demons under control. As mentioned, Drew McIntyre might be relatively new to the company, but he's quickly put himself on a lot of people's radars with his drive and determination. And, of course, you can never count out a monster like Braun Strowman either, who's always been one to watch in the Civil War Match! Then again, don't forget the possibility of a surprise entrant coming in and pulling off the shock of the century! We've seen it in the past where the likes of Val Venis showed up in the number 30 spot in 2013, just one month after seemingly announcing his retirement! Or then there was Kurt Angle way back in 2005, entering the match after Randy Orton thought he'd eliminated all of his competition to win the top prize! The truth is, if there's one predictable thing about the Civil War match, it's that it's totally unpredictable! But tomorrow night, live from Tampa, we'll see how this event all shakes out and how it affects the EWA landscape moving forward!

Without any shadow of a doubt, Civil War has always been one of my favorite shows of the year. It's a night unlike any other on the EWA calendar, and this year promises to be no different! Who will set themselves apart from the rest of the pack? Who'll be the top eliminators and the superstars who last longer than anyone else? Who's going to walk out with those elusive "Anytime, Anyplace" championship opportunities? And who, I wonder, will immortalize themselves in the history books for the rest of time? It won't be long until we find out all that and more, so make sure you tune in on the EWA Network tomorrow evening to witness all the action for yourselves! Until next time,

BOOMER SOONER!