It was another exciting evening on Alberta Avenue on Saturday night as Monster Pro Wrestling returned to Edmonton following their successful Lloydminster debut just over a week ago. With a number of championships set to be defended and a new Number One Contender to the Provincial Championship set to be crowned, it was bound to be another banner night for the MPW roster.

The show started with a series of major announcements; however, the biggest piece of news was the announcement of a second Monster Pro Wrestling show each month, starting with June 14 at the Blue Quill Community League with subsequent shows to be announced. It’s a massive step forward for the promotion and given their recent success should be cause for celebration.

However, that’s then, and this is now. It’s your first-ever Monster Pro Wrestling recap on the WCSN!

MPW RIPPER CHALLENGE TITLE MATCH: “The Cheetahbear” Jude Dawkins© vs. Tattoo Terminators (Massive Damage/Wrath)
Annihilation opens the show on June 1st | June 01, 2020 Mike Malowany | wincolumnsports.ca

The action opened with the entirety of Annihilation entering the ring. Flanked by Wrath, Raunchy Ronni and MPW Heavyweight Champion “Headline” Shaun MartensMassive Damage immediately set about calling out MPW Ripper Challenge Champion “the Cheetahbear” Jude Dawkins. The challenge was immediately answered by an irate Dawkins, who despite the obvious numbers advantage held by Annihilation entered the ring alone. Credit where credit is due to Massive Damage, who was able to convince Dawkins to not only defend his title to open the show but defend it in a handicap match against both he and Wrath, the duo known as the Tattoo Terminators.

While the Terminators had their fellow Annihilation members at ringside, it looked as though Dawkins would be able to overcome the obstacles put in his way, taking the offence to Damage and Wrath early. However, as expected, it wasn’t long before Martens and Ronni got involved in the match, turning what was designed to be a 2-on-1 handicap into a four-person disadvantage. With no disqualifications allowed in the match, it was only a matter of time before all looked hopeless for the Cheetahbear. His resilience throughout the match was impressive; frankly, it’s a testament to Dawkins physical fortitude that he was able to withstand his opposition as long as he did.

However, at the end of the day, it was simply too much for Dawkins to take. While he looked to have a victory after a cannonball to both his opponents, a distracted referee courtesy of Raunchy Ronni led to a low blow by Massive Damage on Dawkins, immediately followed by a Snuff Piledriver. As Damage celebrated, Wrath pinned the prone Cheetahbear and a three-count later, Massive Damage had become the new MPW Ripper Challenge Championship.

WINNER- TATTOO TERMINATORS (NEW CHAMP MASSIVE DAMAGE)
Propayne (w/Ajax) vs. Rick Jules
Rick Jules looks to submit Pro Payne on June 1 | June 01, 2020 Mike Malowany | wincolumnsports.ca

The second match of the evening saw Pro Payne taking on Rick Jules of the Dad Bod Squad. As expected, Pro Payne made his entrance with the monstrous Ajax; however, as would become a theme throughout the evening, Jules found himself without his partner, with James Crowder nowhere to be seen through the duration of the match. It left Jules at a massive disadvantage, with both Pro Payne and Ajax utilizing the numbers game to their advantage multiple times throughout the evening.

That’s not to say Jules didn’t give his opponent a hell of a fight; in fact, Jules was downright impressive despite the obstacles placed in his way. While Ajax made his presence known multiples times at ringside, the Dad Bod Squad member was able to effectively counter the numbers disadvantage at hand, targeting his opponents left leg for the majority of the tilt. Of course, while Jules was effective, it’s impossible to escape a match like this without any sort of physical toll, and for a good stretch of the match, Pro Payne was able to assert his dominance over his opponent - admittedly with a little outside interference from Ajax.

However, when all seemed hopeless, Jules was able to turn the tides in his favour with a huge pendulum kick followed by a massive DDT. Mere moments later, the match was over courtesy of a death lock from Jules to Pro Payne.

While Jules may have emerged victorious, it certainly wouldn’t have appeared that way to anyone who saw him after the match. An enraged Pro Payne delivered a hellacious beating to Jules, with Ajax driving Jules to the canvas with an explosive chokeslam, followed by a choke bomb by Pro Payne. The battle may have been lost by High Octane, but the war was arguably won.

WINNER – Rick Jules
Blake Kannon & Sexy Sam VS Rich King & Phoenix
Beautiful Blake Kannon looks on with shock after failing to pin Rich King | June 01, 2020 Mike Malowany | wincolumnsports.ca

What initially was set to be a Provincial Championship Match between Rich King and “Beautiful” Blake Kannon quickly turned into mixed tag action on Saturday night. With Sexy Sam accompanying Kannon to ringside, King made plans for backup in the form of MPW Women’s Champion Phoenix. Additionally, the match was made with Taryn from Accounting set to officiate as the special guest referee.

The battle was cacophony from the onset. The history between King and Kannon is well-versed in MPW lore, and the two immediately looked to tear each other apart to kick off the match. The two were ruthless in their assaults, with neither King nor the MPW Provincial Champion willing to give the other an inch. It wasn’t until Phoenix was tagged in that either team gained any sort of advantage. The women’s champ ran the gauntlet on her opponents, taking out Sam with a series of arm drags, a hurricarana and a massive dropkick. Phoenix quickly tagged King back in; however, a cheap shot by Sam on her way out of the ring gave Kannon an edge on his opponent.

While the subsequent beating that King received was merciless, his partner was more than able to make up for it once she was able to return to the ring. Phoenix absolutely decimated both her opponents upon tagging back into the match, running wild on both Sam and the MPW Provincial Champ. Upon tagging King back into the match, Phoenix finished up her evening with a massive splash to the outside to neutralize Sexy Sam. It was all King needed. Shortly after, a massive slam quickly followed up by his version of the Rings of Saturn submission had Kannon down and out.  Now that King has made the Provincial Champion tap out in the middle of the ring, the MPW Head Office may have no choice but to guarantee King a Provincial Title shot.

WINNER: Rich King & Phoenix
MPW RENEGADE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Mitch Clarke & Lumberjack Larry Woods© vs. The Cat’s Meow (“The Asian Adonais” Kato & “Nasty” Nate Nixon)

While the MPW Renegade Tag Team Championships were on the line on Saturday night, the match certainly didn’t go as expected for Mitch Clarke.

It was obvious from the onset of the Cat’s Meow’s entrance that something was up. Flanked by Psycho Sawyer, the team of Kato and “Nasty” Nate Nixon admonished the crowd on their way to the ring, clearly knowing something that the MPW audience did not. They smirked as Clarke made his way to the ring alone, with Lumberjack Larry nowhere in sight.

Unfortunately, the reason for that became all too clear, as Nate and Kato showed a video of a pre-show attack on the Lumberjack to explain his absence, with the pair locking Larry in the trunk of a car. With Larry ostensibly still in the back of the vehicle, it was up to Clarke to single-handedly defend the tag team titles against the Cat’s Meow.

While the odds were stacked against him, Clarke was impressive in his singles defence of the tag team championships. Despite the clear disadvantage, he was resilient, and while the team of Nixon and Kato were ruthless throughout the match, it was impossible to keep Clarke down.

Mitch Clarke applies a submission to both Nasty Nate Nixon and Kato during their match on June 1st | June 01, 2020 Mike Malowany | wincolumnsports.ca

At least, it was for a while.

Despite the obvious heart put into the match, Clarke was unable to overcome the teamwork of Kato and Nasty Nate. The two were able to seamlessly work together to wear down the former UFC fighter. For every strike or submission Clarke attempted, his opponents had an answer, though some of them may have involved a bit of distraction on the referee’s part.  As Clarke had both members of the Cats in a submission hold, with Kato in a Camel Clutch and Nate in a Boston Crab, Psycho Sawyer distracted the referee, not allowing Senior Referee Ben to see the tap outs.

It wasn’t long before the numbers advantage played out in the Cat’s Meow’s favour. With Clarke nearly down-and-out, a devastating set of knees from Kato combined with a Bucknasty from Nate finally kept Clarke down. For the second time of the evening, new champions were crowned.

WINNER: The Cat’s Meow - New MPW Renegade Tag Team Champions
NUMBER 1 CONTENDERS MATCH: Kid Cyrus vs. Dalsano vs. TY Jackson
Dalsano, Kid Cyrus and TY Jackson nail a devastating Spanish Fly off the top rope | June 01, 2020 Mike Malowany | wincolumnsports.ca

The evening’s penultimate matchup saw Kid Cyrus face off with TY Jackson and the returning Dalsano in triple-threat action to determine the number one contender to Blake Kannon’s MPW Provincial Championship.

It was clear from the opening bell that all three men came into the match with something to prove. From the start, the trio dazzled with a wide array of aerial acrobatics. The talents of both Jackson and Cyrus are well-known to the MPW faithful, and the pair proved why they’re two of the top guys in the promotion with their performances on Saturday. While Dalsano’s absence from the promotion may have left him as the proverbial dark horse of the match, his skill was no less evident. The trio combined to put on an absolute barn-burner of a match, with it almost becoming a game of one-upmanship by the conclusion of the battle.

While each looked to have the match won throughout various points in the contest, it was Kid Cyrus who was able to finally come out on top following an absolutely insane Springboard Lariat in midair on TY Jackson. A short three-count later, and Cyrus was the new number one contender.

WINNER: Kid Cyrus
MPW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: “Headline” Shaun Martens© vs. King B
King B takes to the skies against Shaun Martens on June 1 | June 01, 2020 Mike Malowany | wincolumnsports.ca

Saturday’s main event saw “Headline” Shaun Martens defend his MPW Heavyweight Championship against Wrestling Royal-TY’s King B.

There’s a reason Martens is recognized as one of the top heels in the Albertan wrestling scene, and it was proven time and time again on Saturday. For the majority of the match, Martens showcased why he’s been the MPW Champion for over a year, routinely toying with King B and using his veteran savvy to keep his challenger at bay. Despite a number of attempts from the Wrestling Royal-TY member, it was difficult for him to gain any sort of advantage over Martens for the majority of the match.

That is, however, until it really counted.

While Martens had every right to be confident heading into the match - it’s hard not to be when you’ve been on top this long - it appeared as though he had underestimated his opponent in the latter stages of the tilt. Like a fine wine, King B got better with time and looked to have Martens on the ropes a number of times. A number of near falls took place late, with B getting tantalizingly close to capturing his first MPW Heavyweight Championship.

However, wherever Martens is, Annihilation is close behind.

Late in the match, the remaining trio of Annihilation made their way to the ring. While TY Jackson would usually be at hand to at least attempt to neutralize the numbers advantage, his gruelling previous match left King B to fend for himself. Unfortunately, well-timed piece of interference from Massive Damage - who ruthlessly pulled referee Ben out of the ring - allowed Martens to obtain his championship title and crack B over the skull as the referee was distracted. It wasn’t long before Martens hand was raised in victory to close out the show.  Following the match, Annihilation continued the beatdown on King B, including Martens hitting the Lafon-Plex, his Cobra Clutch Suplex Finisher on the worn out challenger.  As the Terminators were looking to finish off King B with a Snuff Piledriver onto the MPW Heavyweight Title, TY Jackson and two unknown partners come out to the ring to clean house and save their fallen partner.

WINNER: “Headline” Shaun Martens
News & Notes:
  • With his victory, Massive Damage becomes the new MPW Ripper Champion.  The MPW office ruled that since Massive made the challenge to Dawkins, Massive will be the sole owner of the title, regardless of who made the pinfall.
  • The Cat’s Meow are the new MPW Tag Team Champions following their victory. Lumberjack Larry Woods was absent from the match due to a pre-match attack.
  • Kid Cyrus is now the Number 1 contender to the MPW Provincial Championship
Last Five:
Monster Pro Wrestling Recap: Edmonton, June 1 2019

Spencer Love

Once stood in front of Cedric Alexander in line at a hotel. Slightly big deal.

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