UWA Elite Breeds Monsters
Live report from Livin On The Edge.
While the wrestling world focused on Atlantic City on July 25, UWA Elite delivered for its loyal fans about 100 miles away at the South River VFW.
Seventy some-odd people brought their soccer mom chairs to Livin On The Edge, the New Jersey-based promotion’s summertime spectacular. Because production company Raze Lighting (run by teenager Xander Marin) was booked for GCW Homecoming, Dave Swan, owner of UWA Elite, wisely decided to start the three-hour event early at 5:30 p.m., so everything could wrap up by night fall.
Since discovering the hidden gem of the indies a few months ago, I’ve been banging the drum for more fans to join the UWA Elite Army. Even though the promotion has been around for 20 years, it’s easy to catch up on the storylines thanks to UWA Elite’s active social media presence. As a matter of fact, you’ll rarely see a match without a backstory or angle, separating the company from most indies which simply present one-off matches between well-known names.
In addition to its defined characters, dramatic conflicts, family-friendly atmosphere and thrilling action, UWA Elite does something better than just about every other wrestling company:
Monsters.
Whereas AEW allows its monster heels (Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Brodie Lee) to get slayed shortly after their arrival (not to mention WWE killing off Karrion Kross’ aura in his first match on Raw), UWA Elite cultivates its beasts. Take KTB, for example. A mainstay in the promotion, KTB issues open challenges, so confident in his ability that he need not prepare for his opponents. And he’s right – KTB mauls his competition, forcing them to submit and then pummeling their lifeless heaps afterward. That’s exactly what happened to “Sweet Cheeks” Joey Silver, who returned after three months on the sidelines only to almost end up back there.
BT Bull is another big man booked well in UWA Elite. Although lankier than KTB, Bull towers over the rest of the roster at 6’6. Donning a mask and suit while led by the arrogant Nicholas Kaye, Bull comes across as a killer, evoking American Psycho vibes. In his fourth month as iChampion, Bull successfully defended against Joey Adams, choking out his challenger and then declaring himself the first entrant in this year’s DynaMike Davis Memorial Tournament.
Both KTB and Bull have been established as unstoppable forces that you can’t wait to see dethroned. That doesn’t mean every leviathan is guaranteed to win on every show. “The Wretched” Bowes, a rare babyface monster, lost at both events I attended, but he was also protected. At Dangerous Uprisings, Bowes was struck by a Singapore cane by the interfering Sean “Damage” McNelis before eating UWA Elite Champion Vincent Valentine’s finisher. This past Saturday, after fending off the Tag Team Champions by himself for most of the match, Bowes lost his cool and got disqualified for hitting one of his opponents with a helmet. In both scenarios, Bowes maintained his aura while putting others over.
View this post on Instagram
UWA Elite also knows when to pull the trigger on vanquishing a monster, as evidenced by Saturday’s main event: a boot camp match between King Tek and Hedges. While not a giant, Hedges is certainly a behemoth, outweighing his opponents on average by at least 100 pounds. (Double, maybe triple that for Tek.) After months of hostility, these archrivals went to war, battering each other with plunder, including a shield and two tables. Ultimately, David defeated Goliath, as Tek hit a senton splash off the top rope (“Fire in the Hole!”) while Hedges was trapped in a trash can.
A victory over Hedges means something, especially one in such convincing fashion. You’d expect Tek to have earned a shot at the UWA Elite Championship, and you might consider him the favorite after overcoming such insurmountable odds. That’s the benefit of having a true monster on the roster – the credibility he lends his superior is very valuable. But you have to build that monster up through dominant wins, feats of strength and intimidation.
As we’ve learned, the journey matters more than the destination. I can’t wait to see where UWA Elite takes us next.
UWA Elite iWrestle takes place Sept. 11 at the South River VFW in South River, NJ.
For tickets and more information, visit https://www.uwaelite.
You can watch all of UWA Elite’s past events on the UWA Elite Network.
Follow UWA Elite on Facebook Twitter Insta
About Author
