Dan Champion Bullies His Way To PWE Title
PWE presents Moonwalk at PhilaMOCA on Feb. 4.
“Big” Dan Champion wasn’t even advertised for Close Reencounter, Pro Wrestling Explosion’s first event since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Yet, he became the star of the show. Squashing “Delightful” Dan The God Damn Candy Man in under three minutes, the veteran powerhouse would then demolish Billy Avery and Hydra before answering PWE Champion Bobby Dempsey’s open challenge and dethroning him (with the help of a masked assailant and a fireball).
At 6’5 and 270 pounds, Dan Champion towers over the PWE roster. He’s already bullied his way to the top of the Philly-based promotion, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be toppled anytime soon. His first defense comes Feb. 4 at Moonwalk, where he’ll face a mystery challenger. History indicates it could be anyone – last time the PWE Champion defended against a mystery opponent, Matt Tremont showed up.
“I looked around in the PWE locker room and there was no one even close to my combination of strength, speed and experience,” Dan Champion told The Wrestling Estate. “That belt had my name on it the moment I walked in. February 4 will be no different. Every opponent can be a mystery opponent, that’s fine, but there will be no mystery as to who will walk out the champ. That’s ‘Big’ Dan.”
His first defense probably would’ve happened in November, but PWE owner Erik Viking canceled that event the day before due to staffing issues. It was a bitter pill to swallow considering the success of Close Reencounter, which sold out PhilaMOCA (85-90 people) after the company’s two-year hiatus. In six years of promoting independent wrestling, it was his first time pulling the plug on a show.
“I couldn’t get the proper video, commentary, photography, etc. to make the show happen,” Viking says. “When you’re running an indie show, but you don’t have the means, you try and try and try until the last second. If you interview any promoter, they’re fighters. I fought until the last second, but the show just wasn’t going to happen.”
Postponing to February and relocating from Superkrazee Skid Row Academy in Westville, NJ back to PhilaMOCA, Viking was hopeful that PWE would overcome this bump in the road. However, now there’s fear of another cancellation due to the rise in coronavirus cases fueled by Omicron, which hadn’t hit the United States when Moonwalk was booked. Philadelphia requires proof of full COVID-19 vaccination for admission to indoor restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues serving food or drinks. Thus, PhilaMOCA attendees have to be vaccinated, as well as masked, for PWE’s event.
“The worry is three days before the show if everyone tests positive, things have to change,” Viking says. “Of course, you also worry about their health and safety. I’m not going to send somebody out there that’s positive with COVID.”
If the show does indeed go on, fans are in for a treat. The feud between competitive eater MegaByte Ronnie and Hotdog Starkes is far from over, even though Ronnie overcame the “Bundertaker” in a hardcore match in October. Now, Starkes has introduced the concept of “pick your poison,” in which they’ll choose each other’s opponents at Moonwalk.
For some reason, Ronnie has chosen “Delightful” Dan the God Damn Candy Man to meet Starkes. In response, Starkes has chosen relative newcomer Abby Jane. Trained at The Wrestle Factory and the Worldwide Wrestling Dojo, the New Jersey native has competed in promotions such as Camp Leapfrog and Lehigh Valley Athletics Council (LVAC) in Bethlehem, PA.
“He’s disrespecting Ronnie so much that he’s chosen a young inexperienced wrestler,” Viking says. “I love the underdog story. Underdogs always have a chance in PWE.”
Meanwhile, Hydra and Avery have now joined forces as The Seamen, and they’ll take on the Hispanic Mechanics from WrestlePro. In more tag team action, Green Ant and Thief Ant will collide with Mach10 and Razorwing. Plus, Ring of Honor TV Champion Rhett Titus will also be on the show.
At PWE’s last event, the show opened with Alec Price defeating Andy Brown in a battle of East Coast vs. West Coast. Viking claimed it was going to be a classic back-and-forth battle that would set the tone, and you’d be hard-pressed to find disagreement. For Moonwalk, he’s following the same formula.
The opener will feature Robert Martyr, one of the fastest rising talents in the sport, against “The Rabid Honey Badger” Ryan Mooney of ROH.
Comparing Martyr to a “young Bryan Danielson,” Viking praises the 20-year-old grappler as a great overall wrestler “who can do everything.” At the same time, Mooney is an “untapped talent” who hasn’t been pushed as a star yet. “This is going to be a match you’ll want to watch back,” Viking says. “I’m expecting this match to hold up against any other knockdown, drag out, one-on-one battle on the indie scene.”
And then, of course, there’s Sly Stetson, neo conservative extremist and devout conspiracy theorist who works at the Pentagon (and bears a striking resemblance to Viking). At Close Reencounter, Stetson injected his alien Telepo-1 with Ivermectin horse paste to subdue him. However, Starman from Nintendo’s Pro Wrestling video game made the save.
Stetson is reportedly irate, so that saga is sure to continue at Moonwalk.
“In booking, I love swerves and surprises,” Viking says. “I grew up watching Nitro and Raw in the late ‘90s. Back then, it was shocking. That’s what’s missing in wrestling right now: the shock, the awe, the surprise and the swerve. People that come to PWE shows know they don’t even need to know what the card is.”
“They know we’re a space-themed, galaxy-themed, mystery show,” Viking says.
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