Fire Pro Wrestling PROUDLY Presents:
2009 Banes PRIDE Tournament
401 W. 82nd Pl. Merrillville, IN. 46410
Saturday, March 21st
Doors Open At 6:15
Show Starts At 7
Pre-Sale Tix: $7 adults, $5 kids 10 and under
At The Door: $10 adults, $7 kids 10 and under
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On March 21st, 2009 Fire Pro Wrestling will present the 3rd annual Bane's PRIDE Tournament. This tournament was started in 2007 to honor the late Ward Doepping, a close friend of the Fire Pro Wrestling family and continues to be a staple of the Fire Pro schedule. To shake things up a little bit, the format has been modified slightly to create an ever greater sense of accomplishment for the men to that earn their way into the tournament. If you are unfamiliar with the PRIDE Tournament here is the basic rundown:
The tournament consists of 8 men and is a single-elimination tournament with the winner becoming the PRIDE title holder. The quarter and semi-final matchups are contested under regular professional wrestling rules, with the finals being contested under PRIDE title rules. What are the rules of the PRIDE division you ask?
1.) No rope-breaks
2.) No countouts
3.) No DQ's
4.) Contest can only end by pinfall, submission or K.O.
Now, the tournament usually consisted of 8 regular competitors of the Fire Pro roster but with high-profile of the tournament and the interest it was garnered from some of the most respected wrestlers from around the midwest, it has been decided that the 3rd annual PRIDE tournament will have 4 regular Fire Pro competitors and 4 "farmed-in" competitors. The entire 1st round will feature first time EVER matchups in Fire Pro history with each Fire Pro mainstay squaring-off with the invited competitor. The #1 spot in the tournament goes to the PRIDE title holder, which after successfully defeating the reigning PRIDE champion Hayden Kent at No Love Lost, ROACH earns the #1 spot in the 2009 Banes PRIDE tournament. At NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS, "Stonehands" Slater Wallace became the 2nd Fire Pro regular to earn his way into the tournament. Rounding out the Fire Pro side of things for the tournament are "Flawless" Dave Allen with a victory over P.T. Hustla and "The Product" Christopher Kent after his shocking win over OSYRIS.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The outsiders have been signed for the tournament and are:
-"Simply Spectacular" Dave Davidson
-Brandon Thomaselli
-Egotistico Fantastico
-Silas Young
These men are four of the best that the midwest has to offer and will compete in the 2009 Banes PRIDE tournament. We will have updates on all four outsiders in the PRIDE tournament to give the Fire Pro faithful a little taste of what they are in store for come March 21st.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, here is what the brackets for the tournament look like as-of right now:
ROACH
WINNER
Dave Davidson
WINNER
Stonehands
WINNER
Ego Fantastico
2009 PRIDE CHAMP
Christopher Kent
WINNER
Silas Young
WINNER
Dave Allen
WINNER
Brandon Thomaselli
Four of the best wrestlers that Fire Pro has to offer. Four of the top wrestlers in the midwest independent wrestling scene. Who will come out wearing the PRIDE championship?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
***ALSO SCHEDULED***
IMPACT TITLE DEFENSE
Tristin Hayze (c) vs. Gilbert Lewis
Fire Pro's resident nerd has been on the roll of his life. Holding victories over Christopher Kent, Prince Mustafa Ali and several other superstars, Gilbert Lewis looks to climb to the top of the Fire Pro mountain. Will the former tag champion have enough in him to win the richest prize in Fire Pro?
March 21st could be the night Tristin Hayze loses the IMPACT title, as he has showed several chinks in his armour. Hayze has not scored a singles pinfall victory in 2009 but the "Regulator" looks the rectify that on March 21st. Is it the beginning of the end for Hayze's title reign?
TAG TITLE REMATCH
The Uprising (Jeremy Hadley & Louis Rojas) (c) vs. Johnny Motley & Ritchie Rothchild
After a very exciting tag-title match at New Years Resolutions, The Uprising told Motley/Rothchild that if they wanted another crack at the tag titles, that they would have to win a mystery partner 6-man tag at No Love Lost. After scoring the upset win in the 6-man tag, Rothchild/Motley look to win their first ever championship in their short careers. Have the rookie duo learned enough in the previous two matches with the champs to score the win?
HARD TARGET TITLE DEFENSE
Kenny Courageous (c) vs. Jynx vs. Konvict vs. Kurt Rigsby
In what SHOULD be Jynx's first title defense since returning from a devestating knee injury, Lester Mitchell flexed his commisioner muscle by stripping Jynx of his Hard Target championship and returning it to former champion, Kenny Courageous. Jynx made a successful return at No Love Lost while wearing a mask and competing under the name Felino Negro. After seeing his chance to secure victory, Jynx removed the mask and hit Kenny Courageous with a devestating, jumping-face-crusher, scoring the 1-2-3 and the Hard Target title. Or so he thought. Lester Mitchell reversed the decision, due to Jynx not being truthful as-to his real identity and returned the Hard Target title to Kenny Courageous.
Now that it's well-known that Jynx is in-fact back in action in Fire Pro, he tries once again, to win back his title from Courageous. Lester Mitchell has secured the services of Konvict for his ever-growing stable of "constituants" and has promised that Konvict will do everything in his power to ensure that Courageous retains the Hard Target title. Kurt Rigsby finds himself smack-dab in the middle of the Courageous/Konvict/Jynx ordeal and could be the man to sneak in and score the win. With all the attention being on Jynx, Rigsby might find himself 10 lbs heavier after the match. Where will the Hard Target title go home to on March 21st?
HEAVYWEIGHT EXHIBITION
Tony Scarpone vs. "Roughneck" Jay Ryan
Two of the biggest and baddest men on the block go nose-to-nose March 21st. These two men are no strangers to one another and should deliver one of the hardest hitting matches of the night. The winner of the match would be catapulted up the Fire Pro rankings, so look for these two monsters to through everything they have at each other on March 21st!