Mark D. Manalo tries his luck against The Apocalypse
Kanto Terror faces the wrath of The Apocalypse
Mark D. Manalo Bootcamp Invitational
The very popular tandem of Kanto Terror and Mark D. Manalo would return ringside for the Mark D. Manalo Bootcamp Invitational. Similar to Jake De Leon’s open invitational, he was looking for the next PWR star. A challenger from the bootcamp would appear at ringside, but plans changed as The Apocalypse appeared at ringside and laid waste to the bootcamper. He would enter the ring to ‘accept’ Mark D. Manalo’s challenge. The man from the promdi tried his best to exit the ring but was caught by the masked man. The Apocalypse would drag Manalo to the outside and continue his assault. Both men would return to the ring where Apocalypse would drive D. Manalo to the mat with his patented sidewalk slam. Mark D. Manalo got his shoulder up at 2 and would try to deliver a comeback. Mark D. Manalo had Apocalypse slightly dazed and attempted to deliver a stone cold stunner, but the big man foiled the attempt. Apocalypse lifted Manalo on his shoulders before slamming him to the mat for his finisher. Apocalypse stopped his own pinfall count and would continue to deliver his finisher on Manalo for 3-4 more time before the referee stopped the match.
Kanto Terror attempted to stop Apocalypse onslaught on his partner, but he too fell victim to the masked menace. After he downed Kanto Terror to the mat with his finisher, Apocalypse delivered a clawhold to the face of the man from Tinio street. The officials tried to pull Apocalypse away from Kanto Terror but to no avail. Eventually, Apocalypse let go of his hold, but the damage was already done to KT. Chris Panzer, Mayhem, and a slew of PWR officials assisted the EMTs who stretchered Kanto Terror out of the ring, giving the Mark D. Manalo Bootcamp Invitational a rather dark turn.
Ralph sets Peter up for a Samoan Drop
Peter Versoza with a BIG SWING
PHX Tournament Match: Ralph Imabayashi vs Peter Versoza
This match stole the show with both men putting it there all inside the squared circle. Ralph Imabayashi took control early on with his fast offense and kicks. He leveled Versoza with a dropkick for a two count. Versoza would soon show his brute force with some hard chest slaps on Ralph at the corner. Peter Versoza would follow this up with two successive suplexes on his smaller opponent. Versoza showed off his immense strength by delivering a gorilla press on Ralph before taking him down the mat with a powerslam for a near pinfall. Versoza would dominate the match, going outside to slam Ralph’s head on the announce table. He would roll the smaller man back to the ring for a BIG SWING, to the delight of the crowd. Ralph would fight back with some hard kicks to his opponent and a hard knee to the head for a two count. Peter Versoza catches Ralph with a sitdown powerbomb, but the latter kicks out at two. Peter Versoza attempted to deliver a Pedigree on Ralph, but he got a pele kick for his troubles.
With Versoza momentarily stunned, Imabayashi tried to deliver the sonic crusher but misses. Versoza would take advantage and deliver an Alabama Slam + rollup combination for the pin. Imabayashi would kick out and deliver a flurry of punches to his opponent. He would do a Tornado DDt into a suplex maneuver on Peter. Ralph wasn’t done yet as he followed up his move with a Samoan drop. Ralph Imabayashi goes airborne for a splash, but only gets a 2 count. Ralph would try to slow down his opponent with a sleeper hold. After a few moments, he would finally deliver his sonic crusher on the bigger opponent for the win. Both Peter Versoza and Ralph Imabayashi would shake hands after the match in a show of sportsmanship.
Joey Bax has Ken Warren trapped on the ropes
Ken Warren goes for an elbow drop
PHX Tournament Match: Ken Warren vs Joey Bax
“The Social Media Sinister” faced off with Joey Bax from Fighters 4 Hire and thought he’d have it in the bag. He toyed with the smaller competitor early in the match, before realizing that Bax won’t be put down that easily. Warren tried his best to ground Bax with a couple of shoulder tackles and a dropkick but it did not faze his opponent. Bax would catch Ken Warren mid-air and would slam him on the mat for a two count. Joey Bax bounced off the ropes for a leg drop and tried another pin, only for Warren to kick out at two. Ken Warren has seen enough and retreated to the outside for a moment. Ken Warren would try to escape once more from Bax’s grasp but the latter caught him on the ropes. Bax, with Ken Warren down on the mat, would try to imitate Warren’s patented elbow drop. Bax missed and Ken Warren made him pay with a combination of moves. Ken Warren would try to finish things off, but Joey Bax fought back. Bax delivered a handful of suplexes on Ken Warren before pinning him for the win. Ken Warren would kick out a two and would surprise Bax with a SUUUUPPPPEEERRRRRKKKKIIIICCCKKK~! (sorry, couldn’t help it). Ken Warren got the pinfall victory and will advance to the second round of the PHX tournament.
After the match, Ralph Imabayashi, Chris Panzer and Mayhem enter ringside. Mr. Sy and his new bodyguard would also step into ringside to announce the final four competitors of the PHX Tournament.
JDL with a rolling thunder on Bryan Leo
JDL with a SUUUUPPPEEERRRKKKKKIIIICCCKKK~!
PWR Championship Match: “Classical” Bryan Leo © vs “The Senyorito” Jake De Leon
“The Senyorito” Jake De Leon (JDL) came out first to the delight of the capacity crowd. The challenger went around the crowd and gave some high fives to the crowd. The PWR Champion came out with a yellow polka dot-themed outfit, a tribute to the late pro wrestling legend, Dusty Rhodes. Both men would exchanges punches to start the match. Bryan Leo would get the advantage after an eye rake, but JDL fights back. JDL delivered a perfectly timed hip-toss before following up with his signature splash for a two count. JDL would continue his beat down on the champ with a handful of shoulder charges on the ring corner and a hard slap across the chest. Jake De Leon hits a running senton on the corner and would go for a second attempt. He misses the second attempt and Bryan Leo would take control of the match. Bryan Leo delivered a spinning neckbreaker and attempted to pin JDL, only to get a 2 count. The leader of the Royal Flush locked in a painful STF hold on JDL.
Bryan Leo clamps in his submission move on a dazed JDL
Both men would go on to have an impressive exchange of armbar reversals at one point in the match. Bryan Leo succeeds in this round with a clothesline that sent JDL down the mat. Bryan Leo dropped JDL with a DDT but only got a 2 count. JDL fought back and delivered his trademark ‘latigo’, clubbing Bryan Leo to the mat. JDL attempted his patented Alipin Drop but Leo reversed it into a neckbreaker. Bryan Leo connected with a diving headbutt for a two count. Leo missed JDL on the corner as he was going for a double knee strike. The champ went down and it was apparent his knees were hurting. JDL, after a kick to the bad leg of Leo, delivered some Rolling Thunder for a near count. Jake De Leon drove Leo to the mat with a guerrero bomb but still just got a two count. Bryan Leo would try to wrest control of the match after JDL misses a splash from the top rope. Leo and JDL attempted to deliver their respective finishers on the other, but failed. JDL surprised Bryan Leo and locked the figure four in the middle of the ring. John Sebastian would distract the referee and would receive a superkick form JDL for his troubles. This gave Leo the opening to sneak in a low blow to his opponent. Bryan Leo locked JDL in with a cobra clutch like hold and it effectively sent the latter out cold. Bryan Leo secured his victory and will keep the PWR Championship for yet another night.
The Apocalypse stands tall
After the match, the Royal Flush was giving a royal beat down on the fallen JDL. Before they would do more damage, however, the Apocalypse arrived and laid out both Bryan Leo and John Sebastian. He would pick up the fallen JDL and would also lay him out with his finisher. The end of PWR Live was the image of the Apocalypse holding the PWR Championship, showing his intentions of gunning for the promotion’s top prize.
Quick Thoughts
Overall, PWR Live proved to be a success. It didn’t just add more ‘gold’ by having a second belt, but also a pre-show and other more things you’ll see in the future. Did we mention that PWR Live had an ANNOUNCE table? How about more cameras involved? You can feel that the promotion is slowly growing up into something big in the next couple of years.
I enjoyed the short pre-show which gave us a small glimpse of PWR’s up-and-coming talents and some Beer Promdi. You can never go wrong with a bit of Beer Promdi. The main show gave me 1-2 surprise matches that I marked out for. The first match, as stated, was the match between Peter Versoza and Ralph Imabayashi. Those two really took everyone by surprise that night at the Makati Cinema Square. The other match that enjoyed was the main event match between the Champ and JDL. Speaking of the champ, I would like to give him kudos for his two outfits that paid tribute to two pro wrestling legends that recently passed away (Dusty Rhodes and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper). If you missed out on watching PWR Live, don’t fret. I heard a local television station might put up the show online in a few days or so (oh wait, it’s on! Check it out on Sports5).
To end this post, I’d like to thank the men and women of PWR for pulling off another stellar show for PWR Live. I can’t wait to see what they will have in store for us in September for Renaissance.
WIM Pics by: Hub Pacheco and Martin Vicencio
