Synergy Pro Wrestling Comes To FITE TV
Rhino battles Brandon Kirk with Bill Alfonso as special guest referee.
The four most important matches in the two-year history of Synergy Pro Wrestling, according to owner Colin West, are Matt Tremont vs. KTB to crown the inaugural champion, Jazz vs. Maria Manic for the NWA Women’s Championship, Anthony Greene vs. Homicide in the finals of the inaugural Garden State Invitational and what’s about to go down this Friday.
Former ECW World Champion and current Impact Wrestling star Rhino comes to Hillsborough, New Jersey, to face Brandon Kirk for the first time. Plus, fellow ECW alumnus Bill Alfonso will be the special guest referee. It’s undoubtedly the biggest match in Kirk’s career, and could be the biggest draw in Synergy history. For the first time, the New Jersey-based promotion will be streaming live on FITE TV.
“I gave everybody in the locker room at our first show a list of things I wanted to get done and this was the last one on the list,” West says. “I feel I’ve fully kept my word to those people, especially to guys who have been around since day one, like Matt Macintosh, Mike Del and Aaron Bradley. It feels good to be able to do that for people who’ve worked really hard for me.”
New Jersey-based production company Go Pro Wrestling facilitated the deal with FITE TV, which also includes live streaming of Synergy’s final event of the year – Black Friday – on November 29. Instead of a $19.99 or $14.99 price tag, West says he chose $9.99 so it was more affordable for first-time viewers. “We may raise it if we have to in the future, but I wanted to come in low to prove ourselves,” he says.
Initially the creative director, West took over the independent promotion from Dan and Heather Funkenstein in May. Since then, he has raised the company’s profile by bringing in well-known names, organizing a successful tournament, engaging with both national and international members of the wrestling media and throwing pre-show parties that foster camaraderie between performers and fans. For example, at “Synergy Turns 2” this Friday, the party will be ‘90s-themed with scrunchies, MMMbop and slices of cake. In January of 2020, Synergy will launch a cruiserweight division, featuring both men and women under 200 pounds, with its own title structure and roster.
“The only smart thing that I’ve ever done in this business was listen to people smarter than me and surround myself with people better than me,” West says. “I want to work with the best wrestlers. I hired Nicholas Kaye as my creative director because he has big ideas and I like that. I hired Chris Huffman to do my graphics because he’s great at it.”
Speaking of the best wrestlers, “Bad Apple” Matt Macintosh will defend the Synergy Championship against Logan Black and Terra Calaway in a triple threat. At the GSI in July, Black became the number-one contender by winning a battle royal, last eliminating Calaway. Of course, his Apostles of Chaos helped him out, even though the “Queen of the Dinosaurs” had already disposed of them. Therefore, Calaway (who holds a victory over Black in the first intergender match in Synergy history) will also get a title shot.
After the championship match main event, there will be an unsanctioned fight between rivals Aaron Bradley and TJ Crawford. Unlike when WWE does unsanctioned matches, West says, there won’t be a referee and grand entrances. There won’t be commentary and a bell ringing either. “We’ve signed a hold harmless agreement that both men would show up and we wouldn’t be responsible criminally or civilly for what happens,” West says. “They will fight until one guy can’t walk away. Other than the footage we’re putting on FITE TV for posterity and what the people in attendance see, this never happened.”
As Synergy begins a new chapter, there will be several new faces entering the Polis Falcon’s Nest on Friday night. CZW Tag Team Champions The Rep (Nate Carter and Dave McCall) will collide with Chris Benne and Jason Sinclair of the Apostles of Chaos. Preacher Finneus James, former CZW staple and current head trainer at H20 Wrestling, will clash with Eric Corvis and Ring of Honor’s LSG.
Fresh off their debut victory in Pro Wrestling Explosion, Alessandro and Pedro Pablo will go one on one in their Synergy debut. West says the standouts from Campeonato Nacional de Lucha Libre (CNL), the number-one promotion in Chile, saved up money to live in Philadelphia for a couple months to work in as many promotions as they can in the area. “I always want to give opportunities to new people and I always want to make sure our roster is on their toes,” West says. “If we’re going to keep up a standard of excellence, I have to make sure we’re going with people who are bringing it.”
Also this Friday, there will be a six-way elimination match to crown a number-one contender to the Synergy Championship. The participants include the debuting Rory Gulak, MLW’s Jordan Oliver, former CZW and JAPW Heavyweight Champion BLK Jeez, MV Young, Mike Del and former Synergy Champion Frightmare. The most stunning reaction at the GSI in July was how the crowd embraced Frightmare, who had been one of the company’s most despised villains for a year. After winning the Synergy Championship from Matt Tremont in January, he had to relinquish the title after breaking his elbow during a tour of the United Kingdom. He finally had a chance to win the title back in July, but he and Macintosh fought to a double count out. Perhaps this six-way will be his golden ticket back to the top.
And finally, the debuting Bobby Orlando and Jeff Cannonball will eat cake together…and nothing could possibly go wrong.
Synergy Turns 2 takes place Friday, September 20, at the Polish Falcon’s Nest in Hillsborough, NJ.
For tickets and more information, visit www.synergywrestling.com.
Watch Synergy Turns 2 at 8 p.m.EST on FITE TV.
You can watch all of Synergy’s past events on independentwrestling.tv. If you don’t have a subscription, you use the promo code “SYNERGY” and the first 20 days are free.
Follow Synergy on Facebook and Twitter. For more information, visit www.synergywrestling.com.
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