Post by Mr. Robert Jackson on Jul 13, 2014 21:35:10 GMT -8
by
Mr. Robert Jackson
February 15th, 2010...a new wrestling promotion by the name of Elite Xtreme Wrestling debuted right outside of Chandler, Arizona at the Rawhide Pavillion with the likes of Tommy Dreamer, Derrick Neikirk, Tyson Tyler, & Shane Stratmore competing in front of close to a thousand wrestling fans. Fast forward to February, 2014 and the landscape of that promotion has changed, as well as it's name. Under the banner of Championship Wrestling from Arizona, this thriving promotion boosted the likes of Joe Graves, Khamora, Tommy Drake, & Team Badd Company, to name a few. And on a night to celebrate 4 years of CWfA, a movement in the locker room would not only change the landscape of Arizona wrestling, but the ownership of CWfA.
CWfA was now no more & Honor Pro was born, picking up where CWfA left off. Only now, the top championship was no longer the Heavyweight Champion, held by Tommy Drake. The top championship was held by one Pete "the Heat" Petroselli, who held the former CWfA Honor Championship after overcoming the odds to win the belt in the Road to Honor Match by defeating Alexander Hammerstone. Hammerstone recently reminisced of that night, "It was a major let down. That was the first time in my career where I felt that I had finally climbed the ladder and was going to reap the benefits. And to be cost tthe title from outside interference sucked."
Fast forward to the first Honor Pro event where the main event would be Hammerstone finally getting his rematch against Petroselli in a one on one match as the main event. This match saw both Petroselli & Hammerstone give it their all in the ring for the fans. And Hammerstone would achieve his dream since debuting with CWfA a year & a half earlier by winning his first major championship. "It was a great feeling. But I think everyone felt it was happening. That night was the culmination of long nights training in the ring and in the gym, and hours away from family. It felt great to prove what I was doing paid off," is how Hammerstone reflected on that night.
Petroselli, on the other hand, was none to please regarding his loss. Since debuting with CWfA back in the days of being called Future Stars of Wrestling: Arizona in May, 2012, Petroselli was a man on a mission. Starting out as a cameraman for the promotion's tv show prior to May, Petroselli wanted to prove to everybody he could hang with the big boys of wrestling. And just that he did. In a short time, the fans embraced Petroselli with cheers & admiration...but, that didn't last long. Petroselli eventually turned on the fans &, literally, got involved in a heated rivalry with Arizona legend & General Manager of CWfA, Lawrence Tyler. This rivalry ended with Petroselli on the receiving end of a loss in a Flaming Tables Match.
Petroselli entered himself in the Road to Honor Championship Match & outlasted 15 officially entered superstars, on top of a few unoffically entered superstars who took it upon themselves to get in the ring. 13 eliminations later, it was down to Hammerstone & Petroselli. And after 3 superkicks, as well as a visit to Hammerstone from Tyson Tyler, Petroselli got his first Honor Championship. Petroselli remembered that night, "The thing that ran through the Heats head when I won the Honor Championship was... I'm the best thing going and most honorable man in this landfill of a state!"
Petroselli would go to have another rivalry with an Arizona wrestling Legend by the name of Hawaiian Lion that saw Lion score a pinfall in an unsanctioned match. This would cause the newly appointed General Manager of Pierre Eval to return the Honor Championship to Petroselli, seeing as how the win was not a sanctioned CWfA match. A month later at the debut event of Honor Pro, the new owner of Honor Pro, Lawrence Tyler, would try to start the things over with a fresh leaf by stripping Petroselli of the Honor Championship. This is when Petroselli jumped into action, bringing his lawyers, Jacen Reid & Renny Dyce (aka The Firm) with him & issuing a statement that Petroselli was still Honor Champion or a pending lawsuit would be in effect. These actions brought Petroselli to decide, from here on out, that The Firm would be in his corner for all matches. "I always keep my lawyers by my side because everyone is out to get The Heat. They are jealous of The Heat. For example, guys who have power like Lawrence Tyler always get off to screwing over The Heat!" stated Petroselli on that decision.
And that night is when Hammerstone would gain his first championship victory. Petroselli had some words regarding that night as he looks back, "What ran through the heat's head when I lost was... It was a fluke!"
Unfortunatly, due to a scheduling conflict, Hammerstone was unable to attend Honor Pro's second show with a prior out of state arrangement. This lead GM Eval to decide the best move was to declare Petroselli the Interim Honor Championship & re-award him the title, but never actually stripping Hammerstone of the Honor Championship...thus, giving Honor Pro 2 Honor Champions. Hammerstone was unaware of these actions until he received a phone call from Eval on the decision, "I didnt even know it happened till after the fact. It has always been important to me to not be a 'big fish in a small pond'. I want to travel the world and hang with the very best. I wanted to represent Honor Pro as à national superstar... so to be punished for this, rather than rewarded was a huge slap in the face."
This brings both Hammerstone & Petroselli to Saturday, July 19th in Glendale, Arizona. Faced with a match that has, obviously, never happened before in Honor Pro, nor has it happened in it's previous history since starting as EXW: a Loser Leaves Town Match to unify the two Honor Championships. "I was forced into it. Apparently, The Firm made the stipulation claiming I wasn't fit to represent the company due to missing a show. But, apparently they messed up because they didn't specify that only I would have to leave... just that the loser would. But before they could change it, the match was alwady finalized.: stated Hammerstone.
Looking back at the history of both Hammerstone & Petroselli, there's one fall a piece to both men....meaning, both have had their shoulders pinned to the mat once by each other. That, alone, makes this match even more crucial to the fans. And, as Hammerstone stated, he's not the only one who could lose this match & his job. Which makes one wonder why Petroselli would agree to this match? "The Heat never loses and when he does, his opponent cheated. I'm confident enough even with My Attorneys by my side," responded Petroselli.
Both Hammerstone & Petroselli have a lot to gain going into this match. But, they also have a lot to lose! Both came into wrestling to achieve a dream & by losing their match this Saturday, that dream could be shattered. Hammerstone looks ahead at his match Saturday & had this to say, "Pete is very unpredictable and easily underestimated. He's knocked me out with a super kick in the middle of the ring. He's found ways out of my manuevers that no one else has. There is a very good possibility this will be my sendoff match. That being the case I plan to bring my best, leave it all in the ring, and give the fans a match they will remember."
Petroselli, on the otherhand, looks at Saturday in a much different aspect, "I'm walking out of there with double the gold and a job! Hammerstone is a phenomenal competitor but he is no match for The Heat! Baby!!!!"
Either way, come Saturday by 6pm Arizona time, there will not only be one Honor Champion in Honor Pro...there will be one less man on the roster. And leading up to that time, both men will not only be in for the fight of their life...but, for the match of their career in Glendale, Arizona.