St. Louis Anarchy presents The Gateway to Anarchy from January 8th, 2011 in Collinsville, IL.

St. Louis Anarchy is looking to become the premiere promotion in the St. Louis area, the promotion is an off shoot of Anarchy Championship Wrestling that is based in Austin, Texas. What STL Anarchy is looking to bring to the table is some new flavor to the pro wrestling scene especially in what used to be considered the heart of the pro wrestling world in St. Louis, MO.
From the first few shows that I have seen in person I am liking what I am seeing with this promotion. Grittier matches, but also a strong mix of actual talent and performances happening throughout. Of course you are saying what makes this promotion different than all the rest, and I can easily say that they have a mix of everything. If you want hardcore? They got it. You want strong female talent competing at a strong level? They got it. You want some descent wrestling in the ring? They got it. There is sure to be something there for everyone.
Now I am going to be bringing you a taste of what the event has to offer. Sort of a review, but more of a showcasing of the talent that hopefully makes you want to support this promotion down the road. With either attending the shows in the St. Louis area or going to the main promotion in Texas, and or buying the DVD’s. Either way it is up to you, but all I gotta say is support the Independent promotions out there.

(1) 6 Man Tag, The First in STL Anarchy History: Darin Childs, Adam Raw & Shorty Biggs vs. The Hooligans & “Gorgeous” Jordan Lacey
~ Childs, the owner of ACW, opens the match with saying that we are all apart of the Anarchy family and he gave us the lowdown that there are no rules and the only thing that matters is pinfalls and submissions happen in the center of the ring. This match really sort of showcased who is who in Anarchy with Raw being the power man in the match. Biggs as the hometown guy, though small, he shows a lot of fight. The Hooligans (Mason & Devin Cutter) being the well tooled tag team, and the big man Jordan Lacey as the muscle for their team. This matches had some good action and was a good opening contest to kick off the debut for Anarchy. With some big bumps thrown around and even a taste of something of everything.
(2) Six Man Scramble for the ACW U-30 Championship: Tony Kozina, Shane Hollister, ACH, JT LaMotta, Darin Corbin, and Billy McNeil
~ I’ll be honest that I was not too familiar with ACH before coming into this match, but that was soon going to change following the night being over with as he is putting his belt on the line against 5 other guys in a 6 Man contest. A couple of the names most of you should be familiar with are Kozina, Corbin, and LaMotta as they are well traveled throughout the USA Indy scene. Hollister and McNeil on the other hand may also be unknown to some, but he is probably more known in the AAW crowd and definitely has a lot of talent. McNeil is a high flyer and very acrobatic and is a 11 year veteran of the Indy scene in the St. Louis area. Before the match starts JT Lamotta puts his title on the line as well, the ACW TV/Youtube Championship, and both titles with be on the line in an all or nothing match.
There was some technical difficulties in the Hall during the entrances for the match, but that didn’t stop these guys as they kept the crowd alive and entertained. The lights eventually come back and in the end the match played out alright. We got to see a taste of 6 talent in the ring and we possibly found some favorites with ACH, Hollister, and possibly Lamotta. Personally I think this match could have been a little more solid, a few slips, but all in all it was pretty good. It definitely made me want to see more of these guys.
(3) The Hometown Hero Returns: DINGO vs. Mat Fitchett

~ The Hometown hero returns with DINGO who spent quite sometime away from the ring following, what was thought to have been, a career ending neck injury at the hands of Davey Vega. DINGO has traveled the world as a pro wrestler and has held numerous titles in the area and is a 10+ year veteran. He returns to the ring today and faces off against his own student in Mat Fitchett. Fitchett is a high flyer (or in other words does Flippy Shit in and out of the ring) and being a student of DINGO’s also has himself a good technical background. It probably doesn’t hurt that Fitchett also has a strong amateur past. This match played out solid, a lot of back and forth action, with the master vs. the student premise. Fitchett had a great showing and showed a lot of fire and took everything his teacher threw at him. DINGO seemed to be strong even though just returning back to the ring and showed that he has not lost his footing in the ring. Definitely a good match to see.
(4) The Battle of the Davey’s: Davey Richards vs. Davey Vega

~ Richards needs no introduction as he is world traveled and been practically everywhere. Vega on the other hand is looking to get his name out there. He has spent sometime traveling around the US and spent sometime in the Chikara wrestle factory. Some people have mixed reactions for him, while others see past that and see the real potential that he holds. This match with him verses Richards definitely should shut the naysayers up, hopefully… because there are always haters out there.
Though this match is definitely the match of the night so far. Vega took everything that Richards threw at him and the same can be said for vice-versa. This was a physical contest and a pretty good technical one at that. The fans in attendance definitely got behind the match and it made it all the better to be there in person. Vega could be up there one day if he continues to work hard and continues to grow, but Richards carries that monicker “best in the world” for a reason. Richards knows how to work and knows how to deliver and can normally get the best out of anyone he competes against.
(5) Gerald James vs. Akira Tozawa

~ James is another home talent that even though doesn’t have the looks of your average wrestler, you can rest assured that he is very skilled in the ring. Though during the debut show for STL Anarchy, this talent gets put through the clinic with Japanese rising star Akira Tozawa. Tozawa is one of the biggest up and comers for Dragon Gate in Japan and has spent the last while touring in the USA with growing and becoming and even more solid competitor. Both him and James have a very solid and physical match in my opinion. Tozawa brings his strength and his intensity while James brings his heart and skill. This made for a great match that can possibly go down as a can’t miss from this event.
(6) Kyle O’Reilly vs. Arik Cannon
~ O’Reilly is the top student of Davey Richards and Tony Kozina and has recently started becoming a name on the Independent scene and his opponent Cannon is yet another who does not need an intro and has already garnered a name for himself as a wrestler. These two had a solid encounter with O’Reilly showing much promise and Cannon showing why he is considered the much more well known name. Cannon laid it all out on the table against O’Reilly and it really showed in this contest. Definitely a match worth seeing if you a fan of either of the two.
(7) ACW Heavyweight Championship Match: [Champion] Robert Evans vs. Rachel Summerlyn

~ Anarchy Championship Wrestling prides themselves on having strong female pro wrestlers and Summerlyn can be considered one of the best female wrestlers in the promotion. Evans on the other hand is one of the most dead set in his own ways as you can get. He is the self proclaimed “Mr. PG aka the Moral of Authority” and he plays that character to a “T”. I give credit for Evans being almost flawless on the mic, he knows how to get under the fans in attendance and almost runs his completely opposite of what ACW normally is perceived. You may also recognize Evans as Archibald Peck in Chikara and now graces us with his presence in ROH in the Embassy.
You may look at Evans and not see the thickest wrestler, but he has height and makes it up for being pretty talented in the ring as well. I mean the last thing of thought of seeing this match is what kind of champion is Evans that he has to fight women, but in the end it showed how talented Summerlyn is and in the process also giving all of those who are unfamiliar with him something to remember him by for a while. Like I said he can play up the crowd very well, big plus for him in my book.
(8) STL Anarchy Championship Match: [Champion] Evan Gelistico vs. Dan Walsh

~ It is now main event time and we have two home town guys facing off for the STL Anarchy Championship, aka old LWA wrestling championship. Evan Gelistico is part of the Submission Squad and the reigning champion for the St. Louis branch of Anarchy. On a side note I have been following Gelistico since the old Gateway Championship Wrestling days when he was going by Evan Petrie and he it is cool to see a talent grow over the years. Walsh is a former marine and can be recognizable for being on MTV’s Road Rules in 2007. He gets a lot of slack for coming off of MTV and being a pro wrestler as there is a very much so recognizable talent on weekly tv that came from a reality show on MTV. Nonetheless, Walsh has been aiming to build himself up in his own way and aiming to one day make it to the big time.
These two brought a physicality and the fight from the ring and on the outside. There were some good setup spots and some big shots delivered throughout the match and in the end this turned out to be a descent match and was a descent close to for the event.
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I definitely recommend this event to anyone who is looking for another promotion to check out, or if you are fans of any of the talent that is listed for the event. I will say you will not be disappointed and who knows you may find yourself coming back for more. I will do my best to keep following and supporting St. Louis Anarchy as long as they keep having shows, which I do not see them stopping anytime soon, and you can expect me to lay down some thoughts and insight into the shows to come.

You can buy this event today at SmartMarkVideo.com by clicking on the pic below.
IVP Videos
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St. Louis Anarchy returns to O’Fallon, IL on May 21st (5/21/11) when they present Tigers Blood the Art of Winning.

Get your tickets now by calling 314-805-4920.
$10 in advance and $15 front row
BEER is $1
Doors are at 6:30 with the show starting at 7pm
Event will take place at the KOC hall in O’Fallon IL (402 E US HWY 50)

Already signed:
~ ACH defends the The U-30 Championship against Arik Cannon, Gerald James and Dragon Gate Sensation Akira Tozawa.
~ The SLA Championship will be on the line with the winner of title match on 5/15 of either Evan Gelistico or Pierre Abernathy taking on Shane Hollister.

For more information Follow STL Anarchy on their Facebook page and on twitter @stlanarchy

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I am the owner of Puroresu Spirit, and I do my best to bring you all the latest news and happenings from the Japanese Pro Wrestling scene. I have been doing this for the last year and a half and anything I follow I do my best to relay the information back to everyone who follows my network.

You can follow me on twitter @PuroresuSpirit
You can also follow my Youtube page for lot’s of new content and videos I put together in regards to Japanese Pro Wrestling.

If you have any comments, questions, or just want to talk wrestling my personal facebook page is open or you can shoot me an email @ PuroSpirit@gmail.com.

I hope you all check out STL Anarchy and or Anarchy Championship Wrestling, and remember… Support the Indies!

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