Ross Report - 11/26/21

Difficult as it is to imagine that another year has passed us by so quickly, this weekend sees the return of the King of the Ring tournament! Last year's epic event culminated with Santos Escobar taking the crown, not only parlaying that into a SuperBrawl Captain's spot but also a guaranteed title opportunity at the first Pay-Per-View event of 2021! The question now is, who will succeed "The Emperor of Lucha Libre" and be crowned the 20th EWA King of the Ring, reaping all the rewards that come with it?


With that in mind, we found out last week that there are eight viable candidates ready to step up to the plate and stake their claim to the throne! Some have experienced King of the Ring before...one has even won the entire tournament...but for others, this will be their first taste at putting their names in the history books, and that means anything can happen! Our first quarter final match sees last year's beaten finalist Santino Marella take on THE Brian Kendrick, making their third and fourth KoTR appearances respectively. Not only are both well-versed in tournament situations and EWA success, but in a bizarre twist of fate, these are two superstars who both have similar Hollywood dreams as well. Or, at least, Santino is dreaming of making it big in the movies while Kendrick has seemingly dreamed up an entire movie career on the level of a Tom Hanks or George Clooney! Still, hopefully those aspirations won't act as a distraction for either man as they seek to go all the way to the finals!

In another quarter final match, Finn Bálor looks to become the first superstar in EWA history to be crowned a two-time King of the Ring! And if anyone knows the ins and outs of this tournament over the years, it's Bálor! This will be his fifth time fighting for the crown, having appeared in the 2013 and 2014 events (then known as Prince Devitt), as well as his victory in 2016 and a qualifier in 2017. Of course, it's worth noting that Finn hasn't had much of a regular presence in the EWA since the last time he was known as King, and that stop-start momentum could potentially work against him here. Particularly against a man like Danhausen, who has quietly put together an impressive résumé since he debuted shortly before last year's tournament. There he crashed out against Santino in the quarter finals, but "The Dancing Devil" has been undefeated since that loss, culminating in his recent Television Title victory over Tyler Breeze and first successful defense against Nattie Neidhart! It remains to be seen whether Danhausen chooses to put his championship on the line during Sunday's proceedings, but historically speaking, that hasn't exactly worked out well for the defending champions in this scenario. Still, this could be his big chance to establish himself even further, and potentially even complete a double whammy for the CarnivaLUTHER this weekend, as I'll discuss a little later.

Our next quarter final sees Vladimir Kozlov versus Dak Draper, two big hosses who'll no doubt throw down like nobody's business! Kozlov is a relatively new arrival to the EWA, having been drafted under the auspices of Scott D'Amore, a man who's weaseled his way back into the company after seven long years on the outside looking in! I've heard rumblings that the two of them aren't necessarily on the same page behind the scenes with some minor issues that could even grow into much more of a major rift down the line, but "The Moscow Mauler" has certainly looked the part in his early appearances thus far. Speaking of looking the part though, what a year Dak Draper has had! After being drafted in as the tag team partner of J Fowler, he helped turn around the fortunes of "The Buns of Steel" as the duo twice managed to capture Tag Team Championship gold! On top of that though, "The Mile High Magnum" has proven to be a tough cookie to crack inside the squared circle, with nobody having found a way to put Draper down for the count or force him to submit! That's the perfect kind of momentum to bring into a tournament like this, and no doubt a big confidence boost for the Denver native, who'll rightly believe he can knock back any challenge in his path. Still, as good as Draper is, that might be easier said than done against a bruiser like Kozlov!

And in our last quarter final, we've got two superstars I'm very excited about for very different reasons. Mil Muertes has crafted one hell of a reputation for himself in his native Mexico, striking fear into the hearts of all those he faces. "The Man Of A Thousand Deaths" is as intense as his moniker suggests, and with Dario Cueto's "Temple" looking to make a bold statement, it wouldn't come much bigger or bolder than being crowned King of the Ring, especially with SuperBrawl right on the horizon as well! Still, he's against arguably the biggest "x-factor" in the entire tournament in the shape of Rex Steiner! I've been blown away by how good this purebred stud is already, despite being barely a year into his professional career. Obviously Rex comes from good wrestling stock with his father and uncle being the infamous Steiner Brothers, and "The Dog-Faced Destroyer" seems to have been blessed with all the best attributes of his relatives in one explosive package. The only thing that works against Rex Steiner, however, is his comparative lack of experience compared to everyone else involved in this year's King of the Ring, especially when stacked up against a competitor like Mil Muertes...but what he lacks in that department, Rex more than makes up for in youthful exuberance, and that could end up being his greatest weapon going forward!

No doubt about it then, all eight participants have the potential to be worthy winners of this year's crown and it will be interesting to see just just how things shake out by the end of the night! But as I'm sure you're all aware, that's not our only tournament of the evening as we'll also witness the crowning of the third ever Queen of the Ring! I know some fans have questioned why we're having our second Queen of the Ring of 2021, but given the tournament at the start of the year was more of a holdover from 2020, it shouldn't be too much of a shock to the system. And besides which, it presents an exciting opportunity for the four women involved as the division continues to grow and evolve!


What an eclectic mix of talent involved as well! Nattie Neidhart is by far the most experienced competitor in the mix, having been in-and-out of the EWA since 2005. However, "The Queen of Harts" has undoubtedly struggled in her return to the ring this year, having yet to win a single match. Of course, she's hardly shied away from in-ring action during that time, even taking male opponents to the limit like Chris Jericho and Danhausen! And if ever there was a time to finally get some wins under her belt, this is most certainly it! The only trouble is, she's in there against the demonic Abadon! I mentioned earlier that the CarnivaLUTHER were looking for the double whammy this weekend, and someone as wild and unpredictable as Abadon could be key to making that happen! That is, if she's even interested in the crown at all...although my overwhelming impression thus far has been that this hellcat is more concerned with mangling and dismembering anyone who gets her way than wins and losses, which means Luther will have to put that new manager's license to the test and guide her from ringside! Either way though, this promises to be an interesting clash between Nattie's technical skill and Abadon's unique brand of chaotic anarchy!

In our other Queen of the Ring semi final, Alexa Bliss is looking to build on her impressive start to life in the EWA, and what better way to do so than for the "Goddess" to be crowned Queen! Of course, with Alexa's ego being as big as it already is, I'm not sure there'd be room on her head for that crown! Still, it's also worth noting she's got Tyson Tomko and Alex Shelley in her corner providing "support" as well, all of which could help make her one of the big favorites going into this tournament! Someone who might disagree with that sentiment though is Taya Valkyrie! We haven't seen a whole lot of "The Worldwide Underground" since their much vaunted signing, with the group seemingly choosing to get the lay of the landscape within the EWA before making any big moves, which is a smart decision in my estimation. And now that they're ready to move forward, "Le Were Loca" finds herself with a HUGE opportunity to quickly put them on the map if she can become Queen of the Ring in her first official night in the company! That would certainly put the cat among the proverbial pigeons, but as I've said more times than I can remember, ANYTHING can happen in the EWA! And we won't have to wait much longer to find out who will follow in the footsteps of Carmella and Aliyah as Queen of the EWA!


Elsewhere, and there are plenty of non-tournament matches to look forward to as well, including what promises to be one of the most bizarre matches of the night when Chris Sabin finds himself squaring off against the "The French-Canadian Frankenstein"! It's been a long time since we last saw Pierre Carl Ouellet in an EWA ring, but "PCO" has seemingly been resurrected once again, this time to do the bidding of "Father" James Mitchell and Su Yung! And what exactly is that bidding, you might ask? Well, Chris Sabin has recently found himself targeted by the EWA Women's Champion, only she's not necessarily looking to hurt "The Motor City Machine Gun" but make him her husband! That's right, the "Undead Bride" has found herself a groom, albeit one that doesn't appear to be particularly willing, especially given the lingering feelings Sabin has for Ruby Riott and the complexities of their past relationship. Still, Sabin hasn't been given much choice in the matter as he's been forced to face "PCO" this Sunday in a match where if he loses, he'll have to walk down the aisle and say "I do!" And when you consider who his juggernaut of an opponent is and the bad luck Sabin has had this year, unable to get the job done in big matches against the likes of Pete Dunne and Ricky Starks, one has to wonder if the Detroit native might be about to experience some "unholy" matrimony! For Sabin's sake, I hope that's not the case, but I guess we'll find out one way or another this weekend!

It's no secret that the National Title has been out of sight and out of mind for the past few months due to unforeseen circumstances keeping Kevin Owens from being the fighting champion he wanted to be. At last month's All Hallow's Evil, we then learned that "KO" had become the victim of the latest assault by the mysterious masked man who's been plaguing the EWA over the last several months, resulting in him having to relinquish the gold. However, Harry Smith soon found a solution to the vacant championship situation by throwing the National Title into the spookifying Chamber of Horrors, where Shannon Moore opened the lucky coffin to claim the prize as his own, finally putting his name in the history books alongside his close friends Shane Helms and the Hardys! The celebrations were soon cut short though, with Ted DiBiase Jr. showing up on SLAM! to host the debut edition of "The Sunday Service," using that opportunity to run down Shannon Moore for his well-documented past mistakes. Unsurprisingly, this brought out "The Reject" to own up to his history, refusing to be raked over hot coals for the man he used to be and instead offering DiBiase to challenge him like a man. The self-styled "Chosen One" seemingly backed down though, only to then jump an unsuspecting Shannon Moore from behind! It was a cowardly sneak attack, especially from someone who clearly likes to think of themselves as a better class of individual, not to mention so pious. Whatever happened to "he who throws the first stone," I wonder? Still, DiBiase Jr. now has the chance to step up in a fair fight, while Shannon Moore will no doubt be looking for a measure of payback, as well as an opportunity to prove just how deserving he is of that National Championship. And with all those combustible elements at play, this is sure to be one hell of a fight!

That then brings us to yet another match made in hell, as Su Yung defends the Women's Championship once again! "The Undead Bride" has been damn near unstoppable all year long, even managing to beat Jade Cargill on two separate occasions, which is no mean feat let me tell you! But after moving on from "The Total Package", "Father" James Mitchell approached the "Riott Squad" on Su's behalf to offer a title opportunity to either Ruby Riott or Liv Morgan, leaving them to decide among themselves who gets. Of course, the "Riott Squad" knew better than to play Mitchell's games, recognizing him as the snake he is just trying to cause dissent between them. Instead, they came back with a challenge for Su Yung, daring her to face both Ruby and Liv in a triple threat match, yet a compromise was soon agreed upon when a tag team match was set-up for the following week. It would be Riott and Morgan teaming up to take on two mysterious creatures known only as Su Yung's "Undead Bridesmaids", where if the "Riott Squad" were victorious, they'd get their triple threat match at King of the Ring...but if they lost, the superstar who took the fall would then go one-on-one with "The Spirit of Vengeance" for the title! It seems as if Mitchell's attempts to create a rift between the two best friends was successful too, when Liv sacrificed herself to save Riott from a Su Yung blood mist only to get rolled up in the aftermath! That means it'll be Liv challenging the Women's Champion this Sunday while Ruby is left out in the cold, a fact that obviously hurt the feelings of the "Punk Rock Ragdoll" as she refused to help Morgan up after the match, instead storming from ringside to the back. One can only speculate what Liv Morgan's mindset must be heading into this match, knowing she's got an amazing opportunity but one which came at the expense of the one person she cares about more than anyone else. And then there's the small but glaring fact that nobody has managed to defeat Su Yung since she debuted in the EWA earlier this year, meaning that Morgan finds herself stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place! Can she find a way to achieve the unthinkable and walk out with the title? And even if she does, is it worth potentially causing even more of a fracture in her relationship with her best friend? I guess there's only one way to know for sure, and that's by tuning into the EWA Network this Sunday!


And then we come to the big one! Like him or loathe him, it's hard to deny that Chris Jericho has had a phenomenal year in 2021, turning back the clock to prove he's still got it! After his National Championship shenanigans at the start of the year, "Le Champion" has had a death grip on the World Heavyweight Championship ever since beating "Hangman" Adam Page for the gold back at SLAM! #500! Granted, you can chalk that up to a lot of luck on Jericho's part or his own efforts to stack the deck in his favor, but it doesn't change the fact that the Winnipeg native always seems to find a way to emerge with the gold no matter how much the odds are against him! At the same time though, Drew McIntyre has had one hell of a year himself, whether finishing as runner-up in Civil War or capturing the TV Title or even with his downright devastating battles with Pete Dunne. While that rivalry might not have ended the way that "The True King of Scotland" would have wanted though, it's to Drew's credit that he didn't let it slow him down at all, instead managing to secure the huge victory in last month's Chamber of Horrors Match! And while Jericho escaped by the skin of his teeth without losing the title, McIntyre's win did earn him this one-on-one shot with the so-called "Demo God" that has got a lot of folks--myself included--salivating at the prospect! It's no wonder that Jericho seems to be running a little scared right now judging by how he sent the gigantic Omos to try and soften McIntyre up on last week's SLAM!, leading to a match where it looked like Drew was finally starting to cut that redwood of a bodyguard down to size, only to have Jericho and "Soul Train" Jones jump him in a three-on-one assault, attempting to handcuff Drew so as to maximize the damage caused! Fortunately for the number one contender however, he was able to escape before disaster could strike, but with Jericho's flunkies no doubt joining him at ringside this Sunday, "The True King of Scotland" will need eyes in the back of his head for what promises to be the biggest match of his entire career! Indeed, these kinds of opportunities don't come around often, but given that Drew has a good head on his shoulders and is clearly motivated to make the most of this situation, there's no question he'll be looking to give it his all. Whether that's enough or not, we shall soon see, but one thing is for damn certain...this one's got slobberknocker written all over it!

So there we have it! The 2021 King of the Ring is STACKED from top to bottom in what I've been told is officially the largest Pay-Per-View card the EWA has EVER held with 13 amazing matches to look forward to! And while that number may be unlucky for some, at least two individuals will surely have lady luck on their side when they walk out of St. Louis as the new reigning King and Queens of the Ring respectively! As for who that'll be, I know I'm not alone in being eager to find out...but thankfully we don't have much longer to find out when all is revealed this Sunday!

In the meantime, the world famous EWA Network saw another update two weeks ago with a large chunk of content now available from the latter quarter of 2010, including the BIGGEST King of the Ring in history when 24 superstars battled it out across four weeks for the right to be crowned King! I can't recommend enough checking that out if you haven't already done so, and don't forget to check in for next month's update as well for even more classic shows from yesteryear! On top of that, it's obviously worth noting that we're getting awful close to SuperBrawl: The Last Dance, with many wondering just what that tagline means. Don't worry though, folks...all will be revealed soon enough, but let's just say there's plenty to look forward to when SuperBrawl XXI rolls around! For now though, all eyes are on King of the Ring, so make sure you sign up to the EWA Network today or order via your local Pay-Per-View provider to ensure you don't miss out on any of the action! Until next time,

BOOMER SOONER!