This man will be leaving on a plane. To fly to Afghanistan, were he will be proudly serving his country... And when you come back, if you decide you still want to wrestle, you will always have a home at Mach-1 Wrestling.
These words or words very close to these are what Mach-1 Promoter Jon Ian said to Bobby Quance, with all of the faces in the ring applauding the losing efforts of "The Shooting Star". This was a one time appearance by Bobby as Jon explained, as Bobby would soon be heading to live combat in Afghanistan. Regardless of your thoughts on war or politics, this Pat Tillman like gesture is of the most noble. I was happy to see Bobby Quance match at Mach-1 and I hope it wasn't his last.
The night started off with Josh Worthy and Jarek Matthews. Matthews' following seems to be growing. The match had a few hiccups, but I believe both guys really put out a good effort. Matthews win came off as an upset, which surprised me. I'm a lot more familiar with Matthews then I was Worthy.
The next match up was the newly reformed "Red Tornado" James Morgan taking on Kyle Webb with manager David Troy. Morgan is one of those vets who I think never gets the credit he deserves. He tells a pretty good story in the match, his moves are pretty crisp, and the crowd really seemed to be, behind the former Mach-1 Champion. Kyle Webb has improved a lot since I last saw him in a one on one match. And the story going into the match seems that Webb is being controlled by his manager. And even in victory, Morgan offered a hand shake that Troy did not want Webb accepting. And although Webb appeared to want to shake hands, Troy had the last word.
Next up was one half of the NWA Pro/Mach-1 Heritage Tag Team Champions, Johnny Yuma. And Yuma was flying solo against frequent nemesis "Pretty" Peter Avalon. The chemistry between Yuma and Avalon is pretty interesting. They seem to gel so well in the ring against each other that I'd wonder if they weren't on opposite sides of the ring, what they would look like as a tag team. The match really was back and forth and Avalon stepped up his game. Of course Avalon took whatever short cut he could find. The match ended when a distracted Chris Massie trying to get Yuma out of the corner afforded Avalon the opportunity to attack Yuma's most sensitive of areas, not unlike Ric Flair. And although Avalon stole one, you have to think these two will faces off again real soon.
Next the combination of Nick Madrid and Mikey Callahan took on Natural Selection. And regardless of some of the more snarky comments coming from the peanut gallery, I think Rickers has gotten pretty good on the microphone. After welcoming back his partner Cage, and lambasting the crowd, Natural Selection took to the ring. Really taking it to Madrid, Natural Selection really dominated the first half of the match. When Madrid did make the hot tag, Callahan was red hot. Like a One Man Wrecking Crew, Callahan was destroying Selection. It wouldn't be long before Selection would regain control and finishing the match. Before the finish, Callahan received the same treatment as Johnny Yuma in that sensitive area. And as a wrestling fan, I just don't condone that.
Willie Mack returned the American Sports Center angry. And the thing about Mack is that he has been good for some time. I've enjoyed his work for a while now. But it seems like Mack's feud with Watts has really taken him to the next level. Is this the evolution of Willie Mack? Mack wasted no time in thoroughly extinguishing Leo Blaze. Mack put the Blaze out with a thunderous powerbomb. How long before we hear the chants that "Mack is gonna kill you!"
The Main Event was the reason I got out to the show. Bobby Quance has always been one of my favorites when I first saw him in the early days of PWG. And TJ Perkins spent a lot of time working with Quance from back in their days at the Inoki Dojo. Perkins was the perfect opponent. Quance is a little bigger, little older, and neck was a little more sunburn then I'm used to seeing. But its had to believe that this was his first match back. He was very fluid in the ring. His signature moves still in tact. Complete with the Shooting Star to his feet, it seemed as if Bobby never left. The crowds in attendance seemed to be split, half cheering for TJ and the other half cheering for Bobby. And you can tell the match was really special when guys like Tommy Williams, Joey Ryan (in sling), Lil Cholo, and Kid Caramba all made there way to this event. The Shooting Star certainly gave it his all against TJ Perkins, but TJ won the match with a victory roll. You would have thought this match up would have headlined an EVOLVE or a Dragon Gate USA DVD. But the 100 or so fortunate fans at the American Sports Center were rewarded with this match. And not even the sounds of a fire alarm would get the fans to leave their seats during this match.
After the finish, the faces of Mach-1 emptied the locker room and filled the ring, congratulating Bobby with hand shakes and hugs. Jon Ian gave a very touching speech about Bobby's efforts to join the military when he was at the top of his game. Quance was then hoisted on the shoulders of Mack and Morgan as the crowd chanted "Thank You Bobby" and "USA."
If you want to see more photos from the event, please check out the Alliance-Wrestling Facebook Page.
NWA Pro: Mach-1 “Wrath of Con III” returns to the exhibit floor of the Long Beach Comic-Con, Saturday, October 29th, 5:00 p.m. bell time.
