Ross Report - 31/12/21

It's that time of year again for the EWA's annual Showcase of the Immortals! This week we're celebrating SuperBrawl XXI, an event steeped in history and featuring some of the best talent in the business today! And trust me, folks, this is one barnburner of a show you're not going to want to miss!

What a line-up we have in store as well, including what promises to be a hellacious Six Person Triple Dog Collar Match! To my knowledge, this may well be the first of its kind, but it's the kind of stipulation that the rivalry between Team Bliss and The Dungeon Dynasty has called for! Ever since Alexa Bliss arrived in the EWA, she's proven to be a thorn in the side of Nattie Neidhart and her students, especially so after bringing in "The Problem Solver" Tyson Tomko as well as her own personal documentarian, Alex Shelley! The constant attempts to one up "The Queen of Harts" has seen Nattie disappear from EWA television over the last month or so, with Julia Hart stepping up in her stead. To Julia's credit, she and Matt Hart (no relation) have helped turn the tide against "The Goddess" and her cronies, but there's still a whole lot of bad blood between the two groups, even after that brutal No DQ Match between Tomko and Matt a couple of weeks ago! As a result, Harry Smith stepped in to make this match official, meaning we'll see Julia Hart team with Matt Hart and Josh Briggs to take on Alexa, Tomko and Shelley, with each competitor chained to a member of the opposing team via a dog collar! Expect this one to get violent, folks!

Elsewhere and Su Yung puts both her Women's Championship and her undefeated streak on the line against the recently returned Aliyah! "The Undead Bride" has been a force to be reckoned with since the moment "Father" James Mitchell summoned her unholy presence, with no superstar in our incredible women's division able to pin or submit "The Spirit of Vengeance" in all of 2021! If anyone can find a way to put her down though, you've got to believe "The Boujee Bratz" could be the one! The only woman to win both the women's Civil War Match and the Queen of the Ring, Aliyah has arguably been the standard bearer for women's wrestling for the past two years. However, a loss to Ember Moon back at Red, White & Bruised saw Aliyah take a step back from the EWA, only returning at last month's King of the Ring Pay-Per-View when she crashed Taya Valkyrie's coronation! That led to a highly-anticipated number one contenders clash between the two Queens on SLAM! where "La Wera Loca's" efforts to cheat her way to victory were thwarted by Aliyah's ring savvy, earning the Toronto native the opportunity to become a three-time Women's Champion! The big question is though, can she defeat the seemingly undefeatable? One way or the other, we'll find out at SuperBrawl XIX!


And then we move on to the grand daddy of 'em all...the world famous SuperBrawl Match, which will see four teams of three clash for all the gold! All four teams are STACKED heading into this one, so let's take a look at each of them, starting with Team Jericho! "Le Champion" is clearly no stranger to SuperBrawl, having led winning teams in the very first two events, as well as being a part of the victorious Team Jacobs in 2008! On top of that though, Jericho has had a dominant year as both the National Champion and then the World Heavyweight Champion for a record-breaking sixth time! Needless to say, the self-styled "Demo God" has got to be considered a heavy favorite heading into this event, and he's used his experience to bring in a couple of strange bedfellows! The first of whom is Shannon Moore, who shockingly returned to the EWA in October to answer an open challenge for Jericho's World Championship, defeating his soon-to-be Captain via countout when Jericho took a powder! "The Prince of Punk" would then capture the National Title recently vacated by Kevin Owens (due to reasons we'll get to shortly) during the wild Chamber of Horrors Match back at All Hallow's Evil, and has since chalked up two big defenses, proving he's no flash in the pan! But can he follow in the footsteps of The Brian Kendrick, Teddy Hart and Eddie Kingston by retaining the gold during SuperBrawl? And as for the last member of Team Jericho, "Le Champion" may have surprised many pundits by picking relative newcomer to the EWA, Jimmy Havoc! On the surface, this seems like a risky move by Jericho, choosing a talent who is somewhat untested...and yet, "The King of Goths" has a hunger and desire to make a name for himself that could prove crucial in a match like SuperBrawl. We saw last year how Kazuchika Okada used the Showcase of the Immortals to announce himself to the EWA, and this could be a similar "coming out" party of sorts for Havoc as well should Team Jericho get the job done! Still, as has been well-documented, it has been incredibly difficult for World Champions to retain their titles in the SuperBrawl Match over the past 20 years with only Randy Orton and Samuel Shaw successfully achieving that feat. And yet, given all the records he's broken and success he's had, I wouldn't be surprised if Chris Jericho can also add his name to that list when it's all said and done!


Next up we have Team McIntyre, captained by "The True King of Scotland" himself, Drew McIntyre! It's fair to say that the former TV Champion has had a phenomenal year in 2021, joining the EWA in early March and then going on a run that saw him quickly establish himself as a major player! Whether being the runner-up in this year's Civil War or defeating Darby Allin to win his first singles title, Drew certainly hasn't disappointed! Even when he hit a formidable roadblock in the shape of Pete Dunne during their epic rivalry that spanned summer and fall, McIntyre was able to keep coming back strong, winning the Chamber of Horrors and then coming within a whisker of defeating Jericho for the World Championship at King of the Ring as well! And to help him finally claim the biggest prize in the business, Drew has drafted two of the biggest and strongest superstars in this year's SuperBrawl Match...that is, other than himself, of course! The first was Dak Draper, who also debuted this year after being brought in as J Fowler's tag team partner. Their success speaks for itself, as Draper & Fowler proceeded to win the Tag Titles on two separate occasions, while "The Mile High Magnum" himself managed to avoid being pinned or submitted for most of the year as well, only to suffer his first loss in the King of the Ring Finals. Meanwhile, Vladimir Kozlov came into the EWA like a wrecking ball, smashing through opposition left, right, and center! Under the guidance of Scott D'Amore, "The Moscow Mauler" also managed to make a big impression in the King of the Ring when he defeated TV Champion Danhausen, earning himself a title opportunity shortly thereafter. While Kozlov may not have gone all the way in the tournament or captured the gold, it was evidently enough to catch Drew McIntyre's attention and earn an invite onto the biggest showstopper of the year! Granted, size and strength isn't necessarily everything in a match that is built just as much on endurance like SuperBrawl, but I've got a feeling this team of purebred hosses are going to be damn tough to beat when it's all said and done!


Team Santino is up next, with "The Italian Stallion" having finally achieved his dream of winning the King of the Ring tournament to earn a Captains spot! One could argue it's been a relatively quiet year for Marella, having been more focused on Hollywood endeavors than EWA success for much of it, yet Santino's résumé speaks for itself. In fact, it's worth noting that he's no stranger to SuperBrawl success in the past, though this is the first time he's ever had the responsibility of being a Captain, which brings about a whole lot of brand new pressure that takes some getting used to! Yet Santino took to it like a duck to water, using his "Royal Decree" to get the first pick of the Draft and opting for someone he's very familiar with in "The Honky Tonk Man." On first look, you can't fault that choice. Whether winning the Tag Titles with my old pal Jerry "The King" Lawler on two separate occasions or becoming World Champion himself, "Honky" has been one of the most successful superstars we've seen in recent years! At the same time though, it was SuperBrawl two years ago that saw "Mr. Shake, Rattle And Roll" paired up as Tag Champions with Santino Marella in a relationship that could be described as fractious at best and downright contemptuous at worst! It remains to be seen whether "Honky" can accept Santino's leadership, or if he even wants to partake in what he and "The King" dubbed "ScamBrawl" two years ago, yet if Marella can somehow get "The Honky Tonk Man" onside, it could be just the ace up the sleeve he needs! And on top of that, the rules of the Draft meant that Santino and "Honky" would also be joined by TV Champion Danhausen! It sounds strange to say it, but to my mind at least, Danhausen might be the sleeper pick of the the entire Draft! After all, "The Dancing Devil" has only suffered one loss all year (the aforementioned defeat to Vladimir Kozlov) while also racking up a series of successful TV Title defenses! With that in mind, there's every chance the other Captains could end up regretting not picking Danhausen when they had the chance! Still, as is often the case with SuperBrawl, sometimes all previous form gets thrown out of the window when it comes to a big match like this, so nothing is guaranteed...yet on paper at least, "The Italian Stallion's" team will no doubt be one to watch out for!


And that then brings us to the final threesome in this year's SuperBrawl Match! For months now, the EWA has been plagued by a mysterious masked man, infrequently showing up to cause trouble! First he attacked Jamie Noble, then "Hangman" Adam Page, and then Kevin Owens, leaving the EWA Universe wondering just who was responsible for these heinous crimes! However, I don't think anyone was expecting the man behind the mask to be Al Snow! And yet, "The Snowman" has seemingly snapped, no longer the goofy and zany individual that has been such a mainstay in the EWA over the last 14 years, instead turning into a much more bitter and twisted version of himself. It's safe to say that Al isn't at all happy with the disrespect that he's been shown after being quietly shunted off while new stars have come in and seemingly taken his place or been handed opportunities that Al feels should have been his. And to be fair to the leader of the bWo, I can understand why that might cause him to lose his grip on reality. At the same time though, to blame EWA management for his never winning the big one seems a bit of a stretch, no matter how frustrated he may be. Still, Al now finds himself with the opportunity he's always craved, as he too Captains a SuperBrawl for the first time after having appeared on several other winning teams in previous years. And thanks to the rules of the Draft, he's ended up with the EWA Tag Team Champions on his team when no other Captain picked Johnny Swinger or Glenn Gilbertti in the first round! Much like with Danhausen on Team Santino though, this may well play to Al's advantage considering the fact that the "Swinger's Palace" duo have punched well above their weight since their arrival in the EWA! Whether Swinger winning a battle royal to earn a spot to compete for the World Title in the Chamber of Horrors or the tandem defeating "The Honky Tonk Man" and Jerry "The King" Lawler in their first official match together to win the Tag Titles, Swinger and Gilbertti aren't the jokers that they might seem to be. To underestimate them (much as I've often said to underestimate Al Snow) would be a big mistake, with this unlikely trio being the dark horses of this year's SuperBrawl Match. Can you imagine a world where Al Snow stands tall as EWA World Champion? Well, that might become a reality by the time it's all said and done!

So it is then that SuperBrawl XXI is shaping up to be our biggest and best SuperBrawl yet! Of course, with a moniker like "The Last Dance", there's been a lot of speculation over the past six weeks or so what the future holds for SuperBrawl, or indeed the EWA as a whole. One thing I can say for sure though is that the landscape of the E-Wrestling Alliance is surely going to change when we see out 2021 in spectacular fashion with this incredible event, so don't you dare miss out on any of the slobberknocker action! And while we're at it, why not go back and check out December's additions to the EWA Network, with 17 new shows covering Civil War 2010 right up until our Kessen event live from Budokan Hall, as we continue to add more and more new content monthly! Until next time though...if there indeed is a next time...this is good ol' JR saying,

BOOMER SOONER!