PWR: Renaissance – 5 Awesome Things from PWR’s Pinoy Pro Wrestling Revival
When in Manila and you remember the names Joe Pogi and Sultan Bato, then congratulations…you know your Pinoy Wrestling history. Sadly, our local version of professional wrestling was short-lived in the 1980s. It has been decades since there was a Filipino pro wrestling company that existed in the world.
The Royal Flush and Mayhem Brannigan in the ring
But if you think local pro-wrestling is still dead, think again. There’s a new professional wrestling promotion in town by the name of Philippine Wrestling Revolution and they recently showcased some high octane pro-wrestling action in their first event PWR: Renaissance! Wheninmanila.com was at hand to witness Philippine pro-wrestling history. It was a night of bodyslams, high-impact offense, a bit of comedy and even a proposal. We’re here to list down the five awesome things we saw from PWR: Renaissance.
1. Great Opening Segments
PWR Renaissance started off with a couple of great opening segments. First it was of Bryan Leo and his cohorts from the Royal Flush. Leo’s mic skills are great and he had tremendous crowd reaction throughout the evening. The second opening segment was the initial match between Mayhem Brannigan and Robin Sane, and it totally set the pace for the night’s card. The match had some fast paced action, great wrestling holds and even a high spot that involved Robin climbing up the top rope to try and land on Mayhem. However, the ‘Jack of all Trades’ could not overcome Mayhem’s rampage and succumb to a knock out. The opening segments established a few things: a) PWR has made a credible heel stable with ‘The Royal Flush’ (comprised of Bryan Leo, Scarlett, and Robin Sane); and b) When you mess with Mayhem, you’d probably be sent out of the ring via a stretcher.
Ken Warren vs Chris Panzer
2. Young and Exciting Talent
PWR: Renaissance showcased a lot of young talent. Most particularly, it was the Ken Warren vs Chris Panzer match that featured two future ‘main eventers’ for PWR. These young bucks put on an amazing match for the audience. Ken Warren , who excelled at playing the cocky young upstart, had the mat skills that backed up his charisma and attitude. Panzer, on the other hand, has the look of the good guy that the fans would totally rally behind in a wrestling match. He was no white meat baby face, however, as he had an arsenal that went blow for blow against Warren. In the end, it was Ken Warren who won the match with a hard kick on the back of Chris Panzer’s head (a.k.a. Wifi). This writer hopes that these two men will tangle once again in the near future.
Kanto Terror nursing a hang over
3. Entertaining Characters
The world of pro wrestling has its cast of insane and outlandish characters. PWR: Renaissance was in good supply of very interesting characters such as Apocalypse, Mayhem, JDL, etc. In each of their own, they were a combination of intriguing and entertaining. It was in the famous Kanto Kaos Klassic wherein the audience saw the entertainment and semi-comedic part of the PWR roster. The ballin’ Nelson Borman Jr. was rather entertaining as he ran into ringside with a basketball and DUNKED over the ring official. Epitaph looked like a regular wrestler too…until you noticed he had his pants on too high. The comedic value of the match heightened as the man of the hour was dragged into ringside, the one and only…KANTO TERROR! I had a kick out of watching this entertaining match up , especially when the entire crowd started the ‘DE-FENSE’ chants. My favorite part came in the end as Mr. Kanto Terror went into the ring (after downing a can of red horse) and beating his foes for the 3 count. Truly, this was one highlight of the night.
Main Maxx looks menacingly at Mike Vargas
Apocalypse vs Bombay Suarez
4. Hard Hitters and HARDCORE action
PWR: Renaissance also went ‘old school’ on us in the smash mouth brawl matches of Mike Varges and Main Maxx. These two had a slower pace compared to the rest of the night, but they made up for the hard hitting offense they brought in the squared circle. One ‘mug shot’ later and Mike Vargas got the victory. While Mike and Maxx brought the heavy offense, it was the No Holds Barred Match between Bombay Suarez and Apocalypse that brought the hardcore aspect of pro wrestling. Both Bombay and the enigmatic Apocalypse sacrificed their bodies around ringside just to get the upper hand in the match. The brutality of this no holds barred match up was evident when Bombay was powerbombed through a stack of chairs by the masked man. Bombay, however, persevered and won the brutal match after he delivered a poison mist to the face his opponent and took him down with the KOTD (enzugiri kick).
Leo and Scarlett
“The Senyorito” Jake De Leon extends a hand
5. The Classical Main Event
PWR: Renaissance’s main event involved “Senyorito” Jake De Leon (JDL) taking on “Classical” Bryan Leo. While we saw how big of a bad guy Leo was, JDL was the polar opposite. The man from Hacienda De Leon made his way to the ring and shook hands with almost EVERYONE in the crowd, reinforcing that he is the man of the masses. The main event was one for the books. Bryan Leo took the advantage of the match as he kept working on JDL’s hurt leg. The Senyorito rallied back in the end to deliver a flurry of offense to the arrogant foreigner. The back and forth match ended when JDL pinned Leo with the Alipin Drop. But if you thought the night ended there…I’m afraid you’re wrong.
JDL reaches for the ropes
Bryan Leo exits the ring after doing damage to JDL
Minutes after the ‘end’ of PWR: Renaissance, Bryan Leo came back to the ring and challenged JDL to a rematch. It was a rather quick rematch as Bryan Leo kicked JDL’s injured leg before finishing things off with the ‘Royal Flush Down’ (imagine Cesaro’s finisher).
The Voice of PWR
It was a pretty wonderful feeling watching the event with fellow pro wrestling fans. They were into it as I was (hell, maybe even more) with their chants and their energy throughout the event. You can bet it was a one of a kind experience for me watching PWR: Renaissance. I can’t wait to watch their next event this December 6th.
Bombay Suarez posing with a fan (I heard his name was Stan 😉 )
When in Manila, there’s no doubt that Pro-Wrestling in the Philippines is BACK! There are still doubters out there thinking this small promotion won’t make it…but PWR: Renaissance might have proven them otherwise. There is STILL hope for local professional wrestling in the Philippines and it’s to these men and women who put their bodies on the line and gave one hell of a show. Thank you to Philippine Wrestling Revolution for inviting our site AND for reviving professional wrestling in the Philippines. I’m damn sure that the event this coming December will equally be as special as this one. And for those out there who may want to be a part of this merry band of wrestlers, they will have a PWR bootcamp this October so contact them on their FB page for more details.
PWR: Renaissance Results
Mayhem def. Robin Sane
Ken Warren def. Chris Panzer
Mike Vargas def. Main Maxx
Bombay Suarez def. Apocalypse in a No-Holds Barred Match
Kanto Terror def. THE Nelson Jr. and Epitaph in a Kanto Kaos Klassic Open Challenge Match
“Senyorito” Jake De Leon def. Classical Bryan Leo
Post event match: Classical Bryan Leo def. “Senyorito” Jake De Leon
