Ross Report - 6/4/21

Civil War changed the landscape of the EWA and that's been extremely evident over the last few weeks heading into Fight Night! And what a card we've got in store this weekend with five highly-anticipated grudge matches!

Before we get to that though, I just wanted to draw attention to an announcement made on the EWA's official Twitter account last week. It's with great excitement we can confirm that from Fight Night onwards, each and every new broadcast will be made available on the EWA Network within days of airing, meaning you no longer have to be a member of these boards to view them! In short, the Network is set to become your go-to hub for the past ten years of EWA action, with more classic content due to be regularly added in the coming weeks and months! And on top of all that, we'll eventually be looking to make even more improvements to the Network itself, such as offering a search function, cleaning up existing shows with missing content, and adding a drop-down option so you can see match listings for each event! In short then, make sure to keep an eye on the EWA Network as it becomes even bigger and better than ever before!


Changing gears back to Fight Night, and it was announced last week that a special "Carlito's Cabana" has been scheduled for Sunday's Pay-Per-View! Not only that, but "The Cool One" himself has invited EWA legend Steve Corino to be his guest! As you may have noticed, "The King of Old School" has found himself the victim of multiple insults and put-downs by Carlito over the past few months, seemingly stemming back to their old Ring of Honor days way where Corino successfully defended his RoH World Championship against Mr. Caribbean Cool within the confines of a War Games Match! It's obviously been a while since Corino was last on EWA television, but despite not leaving the company on the best of terms the last we saw of him, I think it's safe to say he'll be welcomed back with open arms by the EWA Universe...though perhaps not Carlito, who clearly still has an axe to grind! Maybe Carlito ought to be more worried about Santino Marella though, considering those two have had their run-ins in recent weeks...

Moving onto the actual card, and we kick things off with a rivalry that has been intensifying plenty over the last couple of months. After coming up just short in his quest to dethrone Chris Jericho as National Champion, Matt Taven has seen a real change of attitude that hasn't necessarily been very popular. In fact, he no longer wants to be known by his birthname, but has instead demanded we refer to him as "King" Taven, having even brought in the burly duo of Bear Bronson and Bear Boulder to act as his proverbial "King's Guard." Taven's transformation soon drew the attention of Sammy Guevara, with "The Spanish God" seemingly eager to get noticed after having found himself on the outside looking in as far as "Black Thought LLC" go. That plan quickly backfired however thanks to a vicious backstage beating suffered at the hands of "The Kingdom." In fact, that's seemingly been a running theme here, as Taven has had plenty of back-up to support him during their clashes, while Sammy's largely gone it alone thanks to his associates Pete Dunne and Kazuchika Okada being more focused on their Tag Title reign. Still, Sammy used his smarts to get one over on "King" Taven when the latter guested on the debut edition of Carlito's Cabana, using the threat of Dunne and Okada as a distraction to take Taven out with a superkick. After avoiding one another during the Civil War Match, Sammy soon issued a challenge to his enemy, setting up an incredible encounter on SLAM! a few weeks ago which saw these two finally go at it in an official setting, only for the presence of Taven's "King's Guard" to rob Sammy of the victory! Well, Guevara would make his case to Harry Smith and the General Manager agreed that another match was needed to try and settle this rivalry once and for all, setting up this Sunday's clash between these two up-and-comers! If their previous encounter is anything to go by, I'm expecting a fantastic contest between them...just so long as "Bear Country" don't stick their paws in once again!

As for the rest of "Black Thought LLC," the duo of Pete Dunne and Kazuchika Okada have really cemented themselves as a formidable team over the last several months. After defeating Al Snow and Kevin Owens to capture the Tag Titles, they've since defended against the makeshift tandem of Evan Bourne and Vampiro, as well as "The New Day," but coming out of Civil War, they've found themselves with an entirely different proposition altogether! It all started when Dak Draper and J Fowler made their return to the EWA for the first time since defeating "The Honky Tonk Man" and my old pal Jerry "The King" Lawler a couple of months ago, with Draper squaring off against "The Rainmaker" in singles competition on SLAM! It was a match where many would have expected the dominant Japanese superstar to continue his winning ways, yet thanks in large part to the antics of J Fowler at ringside, particularly in the way he repeatedly mocked Paul Heyman, Okada's eyes were taken off the ball for just a split-second. However, that was all "The Mile High Magnum" needed to roll Okada up and hand him his first EWA loss outside of SuperBrawl XX! And, it's worth pointing out, continue Dak Draper's own streak of not being pinned or submitted so far this year! Well, Pete Dunne didn't take too kindly to his partner being embarrassed, violently attacking both Draper and Fowler the following week on SLAM! before issuing a challenge to either one of them to face him in a match. It looked very much as if Dak Draper would be the man to answer his call, yet just as he made his entrance, Okada jumped "The Mile High Magnum" in search of revenge! With Draper in no fit state to compete following that assault, J Fowler reluctantly took his place in the match with Dunne, the very same man who beat "The Buns of Steel" in his EWA debut last summer! It's to Fowler's credit though that he hung with "The Bruiserweight" all the way, only for Okada to head down to ringside during the closing stages of the battle. That then drew out a resurgent Dak Draper to stagger into the thick of things as well, resulting in the match ending with a disqualification and kicking off a wild brawl that went all throughout the world famous Cow Palace! Security understandably struggled to break the fight up, which eventually reached the concourse area where Harry Smith finally managed to lay down the law by booking this championship bout for Sunday's Pay-Per-View extravaganza! And indeed, while Draper and Fowler might look like they're out-matched on the surface, this duo have proven they aren't to be underestimated! From their win over former Tag Team Champions "Honky" and "The King" to their debut victory in non-title competition against "Snowens", not to mention Draper defeating Okada in singles competition, these two are more than capable of punching above their weight! And while "Black Thought LLC" might be the overwhelming favorites heading into this one, the champions could find themselves in their toughest title defense yet!


I'd wager there's no bigger Chris Jericho fan than "Le Champion" himself, yet when it's come to defending the National Title, the Winnipeg native has been somewhat apprehensive to say the least. Jericho likes to stack the odds in his favor any which way he can, and it's clearly served him well since taking the gold from Eddie Kingston in an impromptu match earlier this year. As for Kevin Owens though, some say he was unlucky not to walk into SuperBrawl XX as National Champion after defeating Kingston by countout, or walking out of the "Showcase of the Immortals" with the gold when he eliminated "The Mad King" from the match, albeit after Eddie had scored an elimination to successfully defend his title! At least "KO" emerged from SuperBrawl with some gold though, putting together a fun Tag Team Title run with Al Snow at the start of 2021 before taking a few weeks off to reprioritize after that came to an end. When next we saw him, Jericho tried drafting "Mr. Wrestling" to become his "Jericholic Security" in a handicap match against Matt Taven that was designed to deny Taven another title shot. Instead, Owens turned on his teammates and soon made his own title intentions clear, only for Jericho to refuse the challenge, no doubt feeling betrayed. Not to be deterred though, Kevin would rack up several wins to try and prove his credentials, before then really staking his claim by eliminating BOTH Jericho and "Soul Train Jones" (formerly known as Virgil but now known as "Soul Train Jones" for legal reasons) within moments of entering this year's Civil War match! Alas, Owens would soon find himself assaulted by Chris Jericho in the middle of an interview with Renee Young, with "The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla" still refusing to give his fellow Canadian the match he wanted! Indeed, Jericho seemed more concerned with his schoolboy crush on Maki Itoh, having fallen head over heels for the self-styled "Cutest In The World"...though it would appear the feelings aren't exactly mutual! Regardless, it was partially because of his desire to woo Itoh that Vampiro was able to goad Jericho into putting the gold on the line during their scheduled non-title match on SLAM!, though "Le Champion" still pulled the win out of the bag thanks in part to an assist from his sidekick. The celebrations were soon cut short though when Owens sent Jericho running for the hills, clearly spooking the National Champion enough to draft in some added protection in the form of Omos, a giant of a man who seems to speak more with his actions than his words! Neither Omos or "Soul Train" were much help though when Jericho appeared on "The Love Shack" last week, as Kevin Owens got his hands on him once again before issuing yet another challenge for a title match, finally forcing Jericho to agree to face him at Fight Night! This opportunity has been a long-time coming for "KO," but you can see how hungry he is to make the most of it! Trouble is, Jericho has proven himself time and time again to be one of the craftiest individuals in all of professional wrestling, and if there's a way past Owens to keep the gold around his waist, you can bet your bottom dollar that "Le Champion" will do his damnedest to exploit it!

It seems a lifetime ago that "ODB" showed up on EWA television and almost immediately made an enemy of "The Boujee Brand" after harmlessly flirting with Robert Stone. Sure, she was just being friendly as she introduced herself, yet Aliyah and co clearly took great offense to their repeated encounters with the Minneapolis native! They'd eventually meet in a first round match during February's Queen of the Ring, where Deonna Purrazzo would get involved to cost "ODB" the opportunity to advance in the tournament and compete for the crown in front of her hometown fans. The following week saw Aliyah challenge Sasha Banks for the Women's Championship in a classic encounter, yet both champion and challenger found their attention drawn to the SER-Tron as we saw "ODB" gain a measure of revenge on "The Virtuosa" by assaulting her backstage! Sasha was able to capitalize on that distraction the fastest to retain her title, and as such, "The Boujee Bratz's" vindictive vendetta against "ODB" went up to a whole new level as she instructed her baba's lawyers to press charges! For the next month, "ODB" was left to rot in jail while Aliyah's career went from strength to strength, soon winning the Queen of the Ring and then converting that victory into her second Women's Championship reign at MonAnarchy! During that time, the EWA's HR department tirelessly worked hand-in-hand with "ODB's" attorneys to secure her release, although it would come with the caveat of a restraining order to keep the Minnesota native away from "The Boujee Brand." Thankfully though, a temporary reprieve of the restraining order would be negotiated for Civil War where "ODB" would team with EWA legend Carmella to battle Aliyah and Deonna Purrazzo in tag team competition! It was a war which saw "ODB" gain a measure of payback as she finally pinned "The Boujee Bratz" 1-2-3 right in the middle of the ring, and to really put the cherry on the cake, "ODB's" attorneys finally managed to get the restraining order fully lifted as well! With a win over Aliyah in her back pocket, "ODB" relished in informing her long-time enemy that Harry Smith and the EWA championship committee had decided that "ODB" deserved a shot at the Women's Title this Sunday at Fight Night! And that means we're in for a real barnburner of a match as Aliyah has no choice but to put the gold on the line against the woman that's been arguably the biggest thorn in her side...though given everything that's happened between them over the past several months, I'd wager this one will just as personal as it will be about the championship!


Since retaining the World Title against Jeremy Wyatt at MonAnarchy, Jamie Noble seems to have found himself with a baffling shortage of challengers. You'd think superstars would be clawing all over one another for a shot at the biggest prize in the game, but that relative quiet forced "The Redneck Messiah" to enter himself into this year's Civil War Match to try and drum up some competition himself! However, those attempts remind me of the old adage about waiting ages for a bus only for two to show up at the same time! Indeed, Noble's attempts to enter Civil War were thwarted thanks to his old rival "The Honky Tonk Man" breaking a guitar over Jamie's head, taking him out of the running altogether before even stepping foot in the ring! And since then, "Honky" has made his championship desires known by setting a trap for the World Champion with the aid of his tag partner, damn near finishing Noble once and for all if not for the timely arrival of "Hangman" Adam Page! Speaking of whom, let's give it up for Aaron Creek native, who pulled off a career-making victory four weeks ago when he became the 16th man to call himself a Civil War winner! And with that accolade comes the elusive "Anytime, Anyplace" World Championship opportunity which has clearly put Jamie Noble on edge, even though "Hangman" Page quickly vowed to cash it in up front rather than trying to strike when the champion is at a disadvantage. Nevertheless, there's some major issues brewing between the two, issues which "The Honky Tonk Man" has sought to exploit after the challenge was made for a tag team match pitting Noble and Page against "Honky" and "The King." In that situation, the experience edge evidently belonged to the two Memphis legends, who've worked closely together for many years and held Tag Team Championship gold together as well. Their tactics might not be very popular, but you've got to admire them to a certain degree as "The Honky Tonk Man" and Jerry Lawler managed to not only defeat the World Champion and Civil War winner, but create some dissension in the ranks when "Honky" avoided a Buckshot Lariat and made sure Jamie Noble took the brunt of it instead! As much as that may have been an accident, clearly Jamie Noble took it somewhat personally as those trust issues reared their ugly head once again. But it seems as if Noble will have to figure something out as Harry Smith took that opportunity to announce "The Redneck Messiah" would be defending the gold against "Honky" at Fight Night...and that "Hangman" Adam Page would act as special enforcer for the match! With all these combustible elements in the mix, one has to imagine that this contest has got the potential to be an out-and-out slobberknocker! And let's not forget either, "The Honky Tonk Man" proved multiple times last summer that he seemingly has Noble's number too! Granted, there was a lot of skulduggery involved with his various successes over the Hanover, West Virginia native in 2020, and I'm sure that Noble has learned some painful lessons from those losses too...but at the same time, I can't help but question if all this mounting pressure might be too much for Noble to handle? I guess that remains to be seen, but either way, Adam Page had better have his head on a swivel for this one too as there's no doubt that Jimmy Hart and Jerry Lawler will look to get involved if they see an opportunity. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if lightning strikes yet again though!

So there you have it! Another jam-packed show with plenty of championship implications, some juicy rivalries to sink your teeth into, and some guaranteed knock-down, drag-out FIGHTS! As I said before, the landscape of the EWA has really started shifting this month with the loss of some familiar faces while other new stars are being made, such as our brand new Television Champion Drew McIntyre. That's the beauty of this business, and the EWA in particular though...it never stops evolving! And I can't wait to see how we continue to evolve as we head into our 18th annual Red, White & Bruised next month! Until next time,

BOOMER SOONER!