CWA Holds Inaugural Showcase; Thomas Wins in Overtime
Murrysville, Pa.- Demetrius Thomas’ (Pittsburgh Skywalkers) overtime go behind to secure a victory over Jordan Wood (Lehigh Valley Hellbenders) by a score of 8-6 left the fans at the Murrysville Sportzone on their feet with a lasting impression of the Championship Wrestling Association. “It was hard, there was no doubt about that. Thank God for the ability, but Jordan is a great competitor,” said Thomas as he was crouched over on one knee during his post match interview. “It was a long, long match.”
Thomas secured the the victory just 14 seconds into the two minute overtime period after taking a half shot and coming out from under a sprawling Wood to go behind the Hellbender and secure the victory.
The night kicked off with NCAA Champion, Nahshon Garrett (Lehigh Valley Hellbenders) coming out on top of Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh Skywalkers) in a barn burner of a match, 19-15. Phillippi nabbed a pair of takedowns early before Garrett answered back with two of his own. A late turn in the third period proved to be pivotal for Nahshon as he build his lead to 19-12. Micky, however, came storming back with an escape and a late throw attempt that ended up with Phillippi scrambling behind to secure a late takedown and lock the final score in at 19-15.
In Match 2 of the evening, Mitch Finesilver (New York City Response) narrowly defeated Evan Henderson (Lehigh Valley Hellbenders) 9-7. It was Henderson who started the scoring early, securing two first period takedowns to make the score at the end of the first period 4-2. Finesilver flipped the script in the final six minutes of the bout, scoring a pair of takedowns of his own in each of the final two periods. Finesilver also rode out Henderson to receive a 3rd period riding time point and hang on for the two point victory. “In the beginning he caught me sleeping a little bit,” said Mitch during his post match interview, “you keep wrestling through and you get your opportunities so you take advantage of them. I knew I wanted to take bottom in the second because as the match wore on we would get more tired and I would probably need to put a hard ride on him in the third.”
In a battle for NCAA Finalists, Match 3 proved to be the only bonus point bout of the night as Joey Lavallee (Lehigh Valley Hellbenders) came away with a 16-5 major decision over Ethan Lizak (Philadelphia Founders). Lavallee came out and scored an early takedown 30 seconds into the bout. Lizak reciprocated the scoring with a reversal off a Lavallee tilt attempt. In a scramble out of bounds off of the reversal Lizak seemed to come up favoring his knee and took injury time at 1:29 of the first period. Coming off of the stoppage, Lavallee continued to build his lead with a pair of takedowns and a 1st period riding time point. Lizak aka “Backpack” chose top to start the 2nd period to try an slow down Lavallee’s onslaught on their feet, but the Hellbender was able to come out to his feet and get right to his 4th takedown of the bout at the 2:10 mark of the 2nd period. Lavallee took a 12-3 lead into the 3rd period and took neutral to start the period. A pair of takedowns in the final three minutes got them to their final score of 16-5.
Coming off the intermission, Mike Evans (Central PA Whitetails) came out the 5-3 victor over Ricky Durso (Philadelphia Founders). A late takedown and 3rd period riding time point for the Whitetail to secure the win. Early in the match, Durso got to Evans legs and was able to limp arm out to take a 2-0 lead. Evans scored a quick escape, but was unable to finish his single leg at the end of the first period. Multiple times throughout the match Evans was on a single leg, but the flexibility of Durso allowed him to defend each of Evans’ attacks. Eventually, Evans was able to adjust and secure a takedown utilizing a high crotch with 1:18 remaining in the 3rd period. “Not the best I’ve ever wrestled, but it was good to get out there in my own head,” said Evans of his two point victory. “I kept getting to the single leg and he’s splittin’ and doin’ the limp knee, so I changed it up and hit him with the high crotch and actually finish. So it’s good to feel like I can do that.”
In Match 5, Trent Hidlay (Central PA Whitetails) came away with a 10-4 victory over Matt Finesilver (New Jersey Mob). Hidlay utilized his signature underhook series to get to four takedowns and overwhelm Finesilver throughout the match. “Keep wrestling simple. Get to the positions you’re good at before the get to the positions they’re good at,” said Hidlay of his performance.
“We had 30 some points in the first match and we end with an overtime match,” said CWA Commissioner, Derek Caldwell, of the inaugural event. “Six great matches and everyone showed out. Every guy came to wrestle and that’s what we’re trying to do with the CWA. We want to create opportunity not just for these guys to compete, but they can let it all out and throw the kitchen sink at one another and let the cards fall where they may.” When asked about the future of the league, Commissioner Caldwell stated that the plan is to “continue to build”. “We want to get this out into all these markets. You saw six teams here tonight, and we want to get this out to all of those fans in those markets and we’re going to continue to build and build and build.”
To see the full event, click here to be redirected to the Championship Wrestling Association’s YouTube Channel.
Demetrius Thomas (PIT) celebrates after securing a takedown :14 into overtime.
Mike Evans (CPA) shuts down a granby attempt from Rick Durso (PHI) in the third period of their match. Evans won the bout 5-3.
Trent Hidlay (CPA) looks to get to Matt Finesilver's (NJ) legs in the first period of their match.