It was an electrically charged Sunday afternoon when Newlands residents came out in droves to support APWA wrestling. The event was held at the Danie van Zyl Recreation Centre and fans were treated to top quality entertainment.
As promised last month, the event kicked off with a Rumble Revolution for the APWA Heavyweight Championship. Renegade, Super X, Hortaru, The Great Masondo, Loudmouth, The Ultimate Nathan, Devon Shooter, The Rookie JX, Fani, Kyle Ripley, Xavier Riddle, TK and Sylvester all battled it out for the title. Renegade lasted more than 30 minutes in the match, having entered at number one, and made it all the way to the final three. But in the end, the match came down to a battle between Hortaru and Devon Shooter. Shooter showed precise kicks and amazing footwork, while Hortaru showed gravity-defying moves that had the crowd cheering with every leap. Ultimately, it was Hortaru who came out on top and claimed the coveted prize of the APWA title. APWA General Manager, John Axel, sympathised with Shooter and arranged for Hortaru to defend his newly won title against Shooter later in the evening.
Then it was time for local hero and former WWE superstar PJ Black/ Justin Gabriel to step into the ring. The wrestler was scheduled for a match against rival and close friend Ananzi. However, the match was not fated to be, as PJ Black told the crowd about the horrific accident that has left him unable to wrestle. PJ then called Ananzi into the ring, where the two shared some brotherly words while speaking to the crowd. PJ apologised for not being able to wrestle, but insisted that Ananzi should still wrestle, going so far as to talk Axel into putting Ananzi into the main event. Axel reluctantly agreed to do so, which made the main event a three-way match between Ananzi, Devon Shooter and Hortaru for the APWA Heavyweight Championship title.
In the second match of the evening, The Great Masondo took on Super X for the Junior Heavyweight Nigerian Title. The Great Masondo showed off the skills he’d learnt in Nigeria, while Super X showed that he would go to any lengths to win. The end came when Axel tried to interfere in the match by handing The Great Masondo the title belt when the referee was knocked down. This ultimately backfired when Super X managed to roll up The Great Masondo just as the referee came back with a three-count, awarding the victory to Super X.
The penultimate match of the night was for the APWA Women’s championship and was a triple threat match between Mia Von Doom, Black Widow and the reigning APWA Women’s Champion, Inyanga.
This match was extremely brutal. The returning Mia Von Doom showed why she is one of the most dominant forces in the women’s division. Inyanga proved that although she is small, she is not to be underestimated as she was often able to outsmart the other two competitors in the match. However, it was Black Widow who came out on top, surviving a beating from Mia Von Doom, showing great tenacity and weathering the storm to become the new APWA Women’s Champion.
The main event of the evening finally arrived, and with local hero PJ Black firmly behind Ananzi, Axel behind Devon Shooter and many, many fans behind Hortaru, this match belonged to anyone. Ananzi had a size advantage over both his opponents and took full advantage of this fact. He was able to muscle his way through both Hortaru and Devon Shooter, but unfortunately for Ananzi, Hortaru and Shooter had their wits about them. Much to the fans’ delight, Hortaru was once again flying around, jumping over the top rope, doing mood-saults and throwing all caution to the wind in order to retain his newly won championship. Shooter was trying just as hard, showing off some of his skills. The end of the match was bizarre, as Ananzi took control of the match, knocking out both of his opponents. He then picked up Hortaru, placed him on top of Shooter, the referee counted the three count and Hortaru retained his title.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
