By Stephen Dafoe
Morinville – Saturday night’s wrestling event at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre proved two things: the new $12 million venue can successfully hold entertainment some would consider less than cultural, and Force Pro Wrestling is a force to be reckoned with. While some may still hold up their nose at the idea of wrestling in a facility designed for more refined concerts, Force Pro can hold their heads high for coming out of the gate with an inaugural show that was not only a truly engaging performance but one that seemed larger than life. For two-and-a-half hours, Morinvillians were treated to six professional wrestling bouts that kept the cheers and cat calls escalating from the opening match through to the headline bout.
William Saint Vs. Nightmare No. 2
The evening’s opening match pitted William Saint against Nightmare No. 2, the latter an instant fan favourite who in his full black and neon bodysuit earned the respect and support of the crowd. Although the two wrestlers gave as good as they got, in the end it was Saint who found himself looking at the ceiling with a black-clad Nightmare directly above him.
Miss Danyah Vs. the Ref?
A scheduling problem created an interesting situation in the second match of the evening. Female wrestler Danyah had originally been scheduled to fight KC Spinelli; however, the absence of the latter prompted Miss Danyah to make her way across the stage berating Morinville as not being able to draw anyone tough enough to fight her. Amid the jeers from proud Morinvillians, Danyah made her way to the ring demanding referee Kevin Sane raise her hand and proclaim her victor by default.
While the situation seemed a reasonable request for the young referee, he soon found it to be a mistake. No sooner had he raised her hand than Danyah cold coked the kid knocking him backside over tea kettle to the matt. On his rise, Sane found his referee jersey up over his head in a scene reminiscent of any respectable Morinville Jets game. After being chucked shirtless out of the ring to the cultural Centre’s hard floor, Sane decided lady or no lady, he was going to hit the ring and give Danyah the opponent she sought, a situation that resulted in sane being pinned in a three count after receiving a red-sequined pummelling.
Chucky Blaze Vs. Mr. Fantastic
Next to enter the ring was Chucky Blaze and Mr. Fantastic, the former, a long-haired good guy, the latter a masked villain. The match seemed to be fought more outside the ring as the two combatants took turns pitching each other through or over the ropes and down into the crowd. But in the end, Blaze extinguished his opponent, proving that in Morinville at least there was little fantastic in Mr. Fantastic.
With the opening half of the show setting the bar that anything could happen in a force Pro show, part two returned with an ever-escalating roster of matches.
C-Block Vs. Strife
First up was C-Block, consisting of a pair of prisoners and their guard Officer Gordon, the latter who seemed more likely to lay the cattle prod or his helmet to the prisoner’s opponent than keep the pair of wild men in check. The handicap match pitted the convict confreres take on a single opponent, Strife. Outnumber by his opponents who were assisted by the gormless but sneaky Officer Gordon, Strife was whittled down to the point of defeat.
Sergeant Hazard Vs. Matt Richards
The show’s biggest disappointment was Morinville’s own Sergeant Hazaard, a former military man and volunteer fire fighter who had the whole crowd rooting for the home town hero. Hazard was up against Livewire Matt Richards, a talented but dishonest wrestler whose tactics cost Hazard the match by disqualification.
After giving one another a good thrashing in the ring, the referee was knocked out. Taking advantage of the absence of the man in charge of the rules, Livewire proceeded to bring a chair into the ring, a tool he used to summersault off of into Hazards guts, a blow that knocked the wrestler to the mat and took the wind out of his sails. When Hazard rose to get rid of the potentially deadly weapon from the ring, the referee came to, disqualifying Hazard for having brought a chair into the ring.
Although the crowd was clearly disappointed by being delivered a raw deal along with Hazard, the wrestler took it like a man, showing he had far more class than his opponent.
Hot Shot Johnny Devine Vs. Andy Anderson
Another wrestler who showed he had great class was Cam!!kaze. Although the wrestler blue out a knee in a recent match, he still came out to the show to tell his opponent Hot Shot Johnny Devine why he would not be taking him on in the feature card event as promised. But hobbling on a blown out knee was no excuse to Devine, nor was it any reason for the big name wrestler to lay down a beating on him. Cheered on by Miss Danyah, Devine kicked at Cam!!kaze’s injured knee.
But Devine got his comeuppance when he turned from kicking his victim out of the ring only to find Andy Anderson towering above him ready to rumble, a situation that caused Devine to drop to his knees begging for a reprieve. But no mercy was to be found as the substitute opponent tossed the former WWE and TNA wrestler around the ring for the remainder of the bout, ultimately pinning him for the three count. Anderson was joined by a hobbling Cam!!kaze in the ring to receive the applause of the crowd in a well-deserved victory.
A Show of Force was brought to Morinville by Art of Conversation, Monday Morning News and MorinvilleNews.com
Photo Gallery
Click on thumbnail to see full image, then use mouse wheel or arrow key to navigate gallery.
It may not have been cultural but it certainly without a doubt was entertaining. The Pro Force Wrestling provided an opportunity for some 120 people to experience the Community Cultural Centre in a different sense. It brought back memories of Stampede Wrestling and Mr. Ed Whalen in the early 70’s when I attended a few of those events in Calgary….Kinisky, Whipper Billy Watson, Haystack, Abdullah the Butcher, and Killer Kowalski (uncle to our MLA).
Good job Ron, Paul, Stephen and company.