Independent wrestling triumphantly returned to the Maritimes last Wednesday night in the Kentville Arena. East Coast Pro Wrestling emerged from the ashes of R.A.W. and M.S.W. and presented their second annual Maritime Cup. Yes, I am aware that M.S.W. still exists, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck. Anyhoo, the last Maritime Cup was won by TNA’a Bobby Roode, who made his return to the Maritimes, to observe the second cup. 10 of the top wrestlers in the Maritimes have entered the tournament, but only one will emerge as the Maritime Cup Winner and the new ECPW Champion.
I had the opportunity to attend this event with my Superior brethren, and this would turn out to be the best Indy show I have ever attended. The crowd was hot all evening (noise wise, not looks, as most people there were pretty homely), with over 800 people jam packed into the Kentville Arena. Its funny, because many fans were disappointed that they didn’t have ringside seats, even thought they waited outside the arena for hours. Hey morons, next time buy advanced tickets with a ringside guarantee! They were available for weeks! Also very interesting was the fact that they reserved seats for a group calling themselves “Shirts and Ties”. You see, the Superiors came dressed in Shirts and Ties, but were in no way affiliated with this rag tag group. Just because you are wearing a tie doesn’t make up for the fact that your shirt isn’t tucked in, and toy are wearing a baseball cap and shorts. We borrowed their gimmick and put them to shame.
The show opened with a preview of the Wrestling with Reality show that will feature the stories of four wrestlers (Duke MacIsaac, Trash Canyon, Wildman Williams, and Kingman) on their way to the Maritime Cup. The reality show cameras were there to film the event as well, which is great because we were featured on camera multiple times, as we stood out, and were the rowdiest. The Wrestling with Reality show is expected to be finished for this upcoming Fall, and a number of networks are looking to pick it up.
The 10 contenders for the Maritime Cup were introduced. Sadly, “Kowboy” Mike Hughes was not one of them, as he was injured in Puerto Rico. The 10 combatants were Kingman, Trash Canyon, Duke MacIsaac, Wildman Williams, Paco Loco, Scott Savage, Tony Armstrong, Cinder, Lincoln Steen, and Vinny Glyde.
I should also mention that the set for the show was awesome. There was a curtain and smoke machine, video screen, and coolest of all, lazers! The lazers projected onto the wall, which I dubbed the Lazertron, the participants of the upcoming matches. This set further established the Maritime Cup as a huge event, and ECPW itself as a company to watch.
The Dice wrestled Zero to a no-contest
The two men fought for about five minutes before being interrupted by Kingman and his awesome entrance video. Kingman cleared the ring by chokeslamming both men, before cutting a promo. He predicted himself as the winner of the Maritime Cup, and announced the two newest members of the Kardinal Sinners. The first being his lovely valet, Marissa, and the second being none other than Wildman Williams! It seemed that Williams was tired of the fans and their lack of support. Before he could continue though, he was interrupted by former Sinner, Bobby Roode! Roode claimed that the Sinners were old news and that the group died when he left it, three years ago! He would be keeping an eye on them tonight!Opening Round Match – Scott Savage defeated Lincoln Steen
The second that Steen’s music stopped and all was quiet in the arena, Nick yelled “Steen Sucks” which could be heard by everyone. I think it caught Steen off guard, as he looked right at us, and told Nick to shut up. Funny Stuff. After the show Steen signed my program, and got revenge on Savage by writing “Loves Dudes” with an arrow pointing to Savage.
Opening Round Match – Trash Canyon with Sarah from Trailer Park Boys defeated Cinder
Trash came out to a huge reaction, as he was actually from Kentville. Why he would admit to this is beyond me. Anyway, he quickly lost his hometown hero appeal by cutting a huge promo about how much Kentville sucked. I think I like him better already.
Opening Round Match – Wildman Williams defeated Paco Loco
Wildman came out to huge heat, with a bunch of homey wannabe twelve year olds, getting in his face. Wildman stole the kid’s hat, and started posing with it, to which we laughed. The punkass kids didn’t realize that it is just a show, and starting throwing bottles whenever Wildman came out. Why security didn’t toss their asses, I don’t know. Friggin’ punks. Anyway, after he lost, Paco was slapping fan’s hands around ringside. When he came to Joey’s hand, Joey pulled back, and we all had a good laugh. Paco walked on, until suddenly lunging out of nowhere, his fist just stopping short of Joey’s face. It was great!
Opening Round Match – Duke MacIsaac defeated Vinny Glyde
Dating back to 2001, Duke has always been our favorite, as he was one of the first guys to come out after the show and talk to us. We were pleased to find that he remembered us from the old R.A.W. shows, which made us cheer even louder. Duke defeated the “Patron Saint of Style” with the Kilt-A-Whirl.
Opening Round Match – Kingman defeated “The Future” Tony Armstrong
My fellow SMU Husky, Tony Armstrong was squashed by Kingman in record time. Since Kingman defeated his opponent the fastest, he was granted a spot into the finals of the tournament. I smell King of the Ring 1995!
Second Round Match – Wildman Williams defeated Scott Savage
Wildman continued to get major heat from the crowd, and started posing like Hulk Hogan! It bugs me, cause he is one hell of a wrestler, and guys like Hardcore Holly still have a job in the big time.
Second Round Match – Duke MacIsaac defeated Trash Canyon with Sarah
After Trash lost, he shoved Sarah down, blaming her for the loss. Duke came back and pounded on Trash, and left with Sarah. He’s the man!
Semi-Final Match – Duke MacIsaac with Sarah defeated Wildman Williams via DQ
The match went back and forth, with the guys reversing each other’s finishers three or four time each. Wildman actually picked up the win, but had his feet on the second rope. This did not sit well with Bobby Roode, who had apparently been put in charge for the evening. He DQed Williams, and said that he would referee the finals between Duke and Kingman.
Maritime Cup Finals – Kingman defeated Duke MacIsaac with Sarah
Kingman was in control for the first portion of the match, but couldn’t keep Duke down. I think it had something to do with us cheering so hard. Anyway, Duke came back, and landed the Kilt-A-Whirl, but Referee Bobby Roode was “accidentally” poked in the eye, and couldn’t make the three count. Wildman Williams came out with a chair, and slid it over to Kingman. Bobby Roode grabbed it, stopping Kingman from using it, before using it on Duke himself in one of my favorite types of heel turns. To add insult to injury, Roode made a fast count on Duke, who wasn’t about to get up anyway, as it was a massive chair shot.
The ECPW Championship and the Maritime Cup were presented to Kingman, and the crowd was not pleased. Kingman then smashed the cup onto the ground and walked to the back with the Sinners. One hell of a show!
We purchased backstage passes and got autographs from the entire roster. They seemed really pleased with how the show came off, and I was really impressed by Trash Canyon, who really seemed to appreciate everybody coming out. I got to speak with Bobby Roode for a bit, as well as Wildman Williams, who remembered us from R.A.W. and appreciated our support. We also got to talk again with Duke, and had this picture taken.
You’ll notice that we have a gold cup in that picture as well. It seems that after the Sinners left, those damn bottle kids were tossing crap at them, the broken Maritime Cup among it. Noticing this, I pointed it out to the Superiors, and O’Brien grabbed it. That’s right, we have the Maritime Cup! Mind you, its been renamed The Superior Cup!
Overall, a 5 Kamala evening, that delivered on all levels. I was pleased to meet Sarah, and get a few pics taken with her. I absolutely love Trailer Park Boys, and Sarah was really nice to talk to.
The Maritime Cup blew away all other Indy shows that I’ve seen, and made for an entertaining evening. Hopefully, I can look forward to more shows in the future.
In conclusion, Nick, O’Brien and myself made a gentleman’s bet of $1 CDN on who we thought would win the tourney. Our picks of Duke, Wildman, and Kingman all made it far in the Cup, but it was Nick’ pick of Kingman that went all the way. As of this time, O’Brien still owes Nick $1CDN! Don’t think that he’ll forget.
Also, I’d like to offer congratulations to Duke MacIsaac, who picked up the ECPW Championship in Cape Breton. Yeah, Duke! Kilt or be Kilt!
