PWR Renaissance 2015 In Summary
It’s been a year since the Philippine Wrestling Revolution revived local pro wrestling at 2014’s PWR Renaissance, and it’s a great time to be a Philippine pro wrestling fan.
After a few words with PWR commentator Victor E. Manuel, Esq., What’s a Geek came into the Revolution’s anniversary show all hyped up–and it definitely didn’t disappoint.
Here’s What’s a Geek’s recap of the show that went down last September 26th, 2015.
PWR Pre-Show, Match 1: Vintendo vs. The Machine
Rising wrestler Vintendo had won the crowd over at last August’s PWR Live with his video game-themed moves and quotes (“Finish him!”). Last Saturday, he got the chance to face PWR Chairman Mr. Sy’s new hired muscle. What transpired was the proverbial ‘clash of the titans’ with two heavy wrestlers unleashing power moves.
The Machine’s sheer toughness won out in the end, even after Vintendo whipped out his specials: Not even a kamehameha brought The Machine down.
Match Result: The Machine wins by pinfall.
PWR Pre-Show, Match 2: Jimmy Orellana vs. Mark D. Manalo
After The Apocalypse had interrupted the previous month’s pre-show, Mark D. Manalo got to have his promised match with a talent fresh out of bootcamp.
D. Manalo’s experience defeated his tricky opponent, who’d resorted to using such improvised weapons as a shoe and some rope.
Match Result: Mark D. Manalo wins by submission.
2 out of 3 Falls Match: Dual Shock vs. Fighters 4 Hire
The main show hit the ground running with a tag team match right out the gate. This wasn’t the first time that the duos had gone at it in PWR history and despite Dual Shock’s efforts, the Fighters 4 Hire simply brute forced through them.
The true highlight of the match came after. Having had enough of their string of losses due to SANDATA getting pinned, Peter Versoza got on the mic to officially call off their partnership. Does the near future hold some solo flights for the former Dual Shock, or will we be seeing some altogether new tag team combinations?
Match Result: Fighters 4 Hire wins by pinfall, 2-1. Dual Shock disbands.
PHX Semifinals: Chris Panzer vs. Mayhem Brannigan
PWR veterans and childhood friends, Panzer and Brannigan came into their match with all of the intensity of two buddies goofing off.
Still, there was some competition to be had and both knew that only one of them would be qualifying for the PHX championship. The pace picked up bit by bit and after trading blows, the leader of the Brannigan Brigade defeated the head of the Panzer Army.
That’s when the Fighters 4 Hire took their shot.
What ensued was more a curbstomp than an actual fight; both PHX contenders were clearly gassed, and the Fighters 4 Hire put them down in a flurry of slams and steel chairs. By the end of it, PWR staff had to bring Brannigan out on a stretcher as Panzer limped after them.
Match Result: Mayhem Brannigan wins by pinfall.
No Holds Barred: Bombay Suarez vs. “Cutthroat” John Sebastian
Having lost to the Jack of All Trades at the last PWR Live, Bombay Suarez had a b*tch to kill. The stipulation for this match meant pretty much anything could happen but at the end of the day, the win condition was still scheduled for one fall.
Both men were clearly in it to win it, pulling out all the stops; aside from each wrestler’s respective moveset, the crowd was treated to far more than simple chairs and trays. The match would go beyond the ring to involve a kendo stick, some rope, an FHM magazine, monggo seeds and stringbeans. The true highlight, of course, being not one but two flaming slaps from Bombay.
Several thrown slippers and one dented tray later, the heart and soul of PWR was in for a surprise of a different sort.
Gettin’ tired, Mr. Suarez?
Last seen celebrating the Royal Flush’s victory at Wrevolution X with his arm in a sling, Main Maxx entered the arena and drove Bombay through the improvised table intended for John Sebastian. The Royal Flush enforcer proceeded to give his stablemate a win by simply picking the unconscious Sebastian up and placing him on top of his opponent. One fall, the stipulation said.
Match Result: John Sebastian wins by pinfall.
PHX Finals: Ken Warren vs. Ralph Imabayashi
The revelation of the match wasn’t PWR Chairman Mr. Sy’s announcement that it was going straight to the PHX finals (due to Mayhem Brannigan and Chris Panzer’s injuries). It was the fact that the Social Media Sinister came to the ring flanked by Joey Bax and Miguel Rosales; all but confirming that the Fighters 4 Hire are now on his payroll, and pretty much stating who was responsible for their earlier surprise attack.
Ken Warren’s new lackeys wasted no time assisting their employer, giving him some encouragement to start off then spending the match trying to distract Imabayashi. This all culminated with Miguel Rosales outright stepping in and interrupting one of the later pin attempts on Ken Warren, getting both Fighters 4 Hire ejected from the ringside.
As Ralph Imabayashi went for what looked to be the match’s decisive pin, John Sebastian showed up: Still clearly woozy from his No Holds Barred beatdown, but not woozy enough to stop him from trashtalking the half-Japanese wrestler. Ken Warren took advantage of his opponent’s moment of distraction, down him and bagging the PHX title.
The Suplado Show:
PWR and Stanley Chi promised some hard-hitting controversy for the Suplado Show’s debut, and the ball got rolling with a surprise guest for the night: Kanto Terror himself. The conversation started out lighthearted enough, with discussions on ladies’ drinks and the difference between the, ahh, entertainment in Makati and Cubao.
It didn’t take long for the questions to start getting personal, with Stanley Chi asking about The Apocalypse’s attack and Kanto Terror’s ensuing eye injury. Clearly not comfortable discussing this, the latter opted to simply walk out.
Shortly after, Mark D. Manalo got into the ring.
First confronting the Suplado Show’s host about the sensitive nature of his questions, D. Manalo went on to call out Mr. Sy himself: He questioned The Apocalypse’s worthiness of his (its?) title shot and very clearly couldn’t keep himself in check, nearly attacking the PWR chairman. A timely response from event security got the very emotional Mark D. Manalo out of Mr. Sy’s face and away from the ringside.
PWR Championship: “Classical” Bryan Leo vs. Jake de Leon vs. The Apocalypse
The PWR’s crown title has been hotly contested since its inception; first with the King of the Royal Flush abruptly taking it out of The Senyorito’s hands during Wrevolution X, then the Apocalypse’s attacking both men at the very end of PWR Live. To finally put that dispute to rest, the PWR Championship match was scheduled as a three-way brawl.
Bryan Leo started by immediately attempting to convince first JDL then The Apocalypse to ally with him against the other opponent, being refused and then pummeled by both. The next part of the match involved Bryan Leo sneaking around outside the ring, hoping that his opponents would tire each other out, occasionally diving in to make pin attempts.
JDL and The Apocalypse immediately caught on and turned the match into a proper contest between three championship contenders. It was a straight-up fight between three varying styles of wrestling, with each of the three fighting for the advantage over his opponents.
The true turn came when the Royal Flush attempted to intervene, first with John Sebastian attempting to pull Bryan Leo out of harm’s way: The Apocalypse answered the Cutthroat with his Death Bell finisher. Royal Flush valet Scarlett decided to take things into her own hands, tossing shoes and bottle water at the masked menace.
After ringing the Death Bell for her too, The Apocalypse’s victory looked all but assured — until a hooded man in a SANDATA mask rushed in and brought him to the mat with a spear. The attacker promptly unmasked and revealed himself as Mark D. Manalo before quickly leaving the ringside; this was all the chance Bryan Leo needed to land a pin on JDL and retain his championship.
If we’d be asked to choose a lowest point that would have to be Panzer vs. Brannigan, which ran on their buddy dynamic for the first half before shifting into a proper competition that was interrupted by the Fighters 4 Hire. The highlight match goes to, without a doubt, Bombay Suarez and John Sebastian. It was amazing enough with the brawl in the crowd on the second floor and hardcore match staples like the chairs and bamboo stick. The fight went truly over the edge when the foodstuffs came in and went way over the top as Bombay set his arm on fire.
Most viewers came in thinking that the Suplado Show was simply filler or a time-waster, but it was great seeing that it was a plot point too. Appropriate buildup of Mark D. Manalo’s rage foreshadowed his appearance during the three-way for the championship. All in all PWR Renaissance had a surprise in store for practically every match, with interrupts and surprise appearances galore.
What’s a Geek is definitely looking forward to future PWR shows.
PWR has yet to announce the next show as of this article but as mentioned by their commentator Victor E. Manuel, Esq. they’re scheduling monthly shows: Alternating between ‘main events’ like PWR Renaissance, and PWR Live. Stay tuned to their social media outlets for announcements and PWR news.
PWR Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/PHWrestlingRevo
PWR Twitter & Instagram: @pwrofficial
