Tier 1 Wrestling Presents: ‘Rise Or Die Trying’ (2015)
Written by: J. Johnson
It’s been building for weeks as ‘Tier 1 Wrestling’ has been making an impact along the east coast. By participating in the Full Impact Pro’s Fallout 2015 tournament only one win shy of taking it all, but they’re back to resume the takeover that they have established. With shows like, ‘A New Hope’ and ‘Rumble in the Concrete’ Jungle’ in this year alone being huge successes for the new promotion you can safely say that ‘Rise Or Die Trying’ will be a historical event for the promotion’s history. Especially with the names on the rise on the independent circuit.
“Rise Or Die Trying” will feature 8 different matches on the card. Many who want nothing, but to prove that the independents are not just a circuit of pro wrestlers who want success, but display their passion for the industry in which they want to leave their mark. Pro wrestlers, VSK, Ethan Page, Mike Verna, Blake Morris, Sonny Kiss, Alex Mason, JGeorge, Jessie Brooks, Darius Carter, Space Monkey, The Bravado Brothers, Ace Romero, Shane Sabre, Travis Gordon, Steve Scott, Jeremy Leary all want to put their legacy on the line to rise or die trying.
Friday night’s double main event features four men ready to define their legacies while protecting the pride they’ve worked for. Some have climbed the mountain of success only wanting to stay there. Others have shown through the light of adversity to seize the opportunity of success that awaits them. Veteran and respected wrestler “The Southern Stomper” Luke Hawx defends the Tier 1 Championship against rising star who’s become a huge fan favorite, “The Prince of Shaolin” RudeBoy Riley in the main event. The other main event will feature the presence of Full Impact Pro showcasing two bona fide veterans of the independent circuit, the FIP Heavyweight Champion “The Obsession” Caleb Konley vs. former “The Warrior” Gran Akuma. These twos are no strangers to each other as they faced each other before in the ‘Rumble In the Concrete Jungle’ event in October.
We could simply write out the results to the show, but to be honest, it’s time for a different approach as we went to a show with optimism and we left with the same optimism that we came into with. Fans became hopeful for the future of professional wrestling and others came out as wrestling fans from this day forward. To quote an amazing wrestler:
“If you didn’t care about Luke Hawx or you didn’t care about RudeBoy Riley (overall the wrestler performer) why would you buy a ticket to the show or why would yo buy a ticket to watch us perform.”
—Luke Hawx (@ Tier 1 Wrestling ‘Rise Or Die Trying’ 12/4/16)
That’s the joy of being a wrestling fan whether you agree with it or not. The magic these individuals create each and every night whilst putting their safety at risk is phenomenally respectable. Nobody wants to see some cause hurt to others, but for the sake of morally mutual respect for each other and understanding it’s all in good fun.
On Friday night, the Sparx team along with many fans of wrestling came together in unison to enjoy Tier 1 Wrestling in their third event; ‘Rise Or Die Trying’.
The bravado oozes out as Harlem has Sonny in a headlock; T1W ‘Rise Or Die Trying’ (2015) | Credit: Andrew Kao
The opening match featured Alex Mason & Sonny Kiss vs. The Bravado Brothers after the pre-segment saw Alex & Sonny get jumped by The brash-cocky Bravado Brothers. Alex wouldn’t be allowed to come in the match for the most part. He would try to come in the ring but only met with an elbow or a kick to the face each time trying to tag in. Sonny finally gained the tag to Alex allowing him to gain the momentum back on their side. Luke Hawx & his opponent RudeBoy Riley were at ringside, but the referee would eject the challenger for the Tier 1 Championship to the back for “trying to get involved”. In the end, the name of the brothers proved too much for Sonny Kiss & Alex Mason as The Bravado Brothers took the victory.
The following had a very arrogant and pompous persona soak the selfishness out the room as Darius Carter’s ‘Brass Ring Invitational‘ came up next. He cuts a promo on the audience by making that morality even lower than it probably already is. You have to respect a guy that takes his work serious by embodying the persona he wants to convey to those watching. He got his challenge from the luchador Atticus Bolt, but he didn’t make out on top as Darius defeated him in under a minute. Afterward a moment of berating the audience in attendance Darius thought it was over, but he was met with another challenge, one who could probably give more than a minute’s try to defeat Darius.
One-half of the FSW Tag Team Champions‘ Nutrious X can be that man to defeat Darius at his own game. You could feel that X was willing and able to put on a great match and put an end to all the talk “The Debonair of Excellence” was spewing on the fans. This match showcased a lot of momentum changes as Nutrious X wasn’t going to be fooled by Darius’ underhanded tactics. Although the performance was top notch the exciting Tier 1 newcomer couldn’t topple Darius as he countered a 450 splash from X only to see Darius come as the winner in excellent fashion. Our hats off to X for an amazing try, but maybe next time.
After a Darius was finished bowing to the crowd it seemed the subtle show was being hijacked by a few wrestlers by the names of Logan Black and Conor Claxton that had an obvious issue being ousted by Tier 1. Nevertheless the wrestlers “invading” the show was cut off by security. Even though after all the threats to Tier 1 management, Mike Orlando & Joey Ace made their ways to the ring to make sure nothing didn’t ruin the night. Even at a show of this magnitude, chaos will ensue with the most unlikely wrestler. Something has to give for the chaos to end completely.
Mike Orlando & Joey Ace after the chaos; Tier 1 Wrestling | Credit: Andrew Kao
‘Six-Way Elimination Fray‘ what comes to mind when you hear that? If it’s pandemonium then, you’re correct, but in the way that all six wrestlers in this match came out and gave their all, but the brute had its day over brawn. We seen some very colorful wrestlers come out from monstrous to defying gravity leaving everything in the ring to win this match. It was told me early in the night that the six-ways are amazing ways to showcase wrestlers. Give them the time to showcase everything they want to show even in small doses on a larger scale. Shane Sabre was the first to be eliminated much to the dismay of a colleague of mine. Leary was the second after the slip of the banana by the tail-slapping-orbited Space Monkey.
Leary needed his comb badly as he shouted our way “Where’s my comb?!” Even after that elimination the 3 golden banana pounded Space Monkey & gravity-defying wrestler Travis “Flip” Gordon were left with the FEDERATED‘s monstrous big man Ace Romero. Space Monkey was eliminated by Flip with a standing corkscrew moonsault. Even with all the Tier 1 fans behind Flip to win the match that wasn’t the case as Ace overwhelming power was too much for Flip with Ace Romero becoming the winner, entering the final fray with partner VSK & RudeBoy Riley‘s partner Sonny Kiss. The odds may be stacked against the twerking superstar!
When you see “grudge match” your expectations is to see a drag out fight for the grudge they have for each other, but what if the grudge match features an intergender stipulation? That wasn’t the case with wrestlers JGeorge taking on Jesse Brooks. Before the match, JGeorge would glorify himself by talking down on Brooks. It was enough talk as Brooks made her way to the ring to shut “The Sensation” up for good. The match would get underway, but the aggressor was JGeorge for the majority of the match. He definitely was trying to humiliate her by tossing her around the ring definitely taking Brooks as a serious threat. Despite being beaten down, she would come back into the match with a flurry of suplexes. The crowd would chant “Suplex City” seeing the body of JGeorge hit the mat with tremendous force. Despite the fact that Brooks was ready to end the match JGeorge, would look under the ring and use a foreign object getting disqualified from the match. It turned out the object was an ‘Easy Bake Oven’, something I haven’t seen in a decade and a half. With that shot to the head, Brooks was still trying to rush over to JGeorge to continue fighting but was pulled away by the referees. JGeorge would stand tall proud of his “handy work”. WOW!
(Continue to page 2: FIP Heavyweight Championship, Big Announcement, Continued Chaos, Fatal 4-Way, & Tier 1 Championship)
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