The Pride Championship Tournament
kicked off on Saturday with six first round matches. 12 grapplers
looked to get themselves one step closer to gaining the currently
vacant belt. But only six would advance.
In the first round, Tony Edison picked
up the upset victory over Alyssa Casteele. Many thought that the
current UWL Junior Heavyweight Champion would bounce back from her
loss at Final Frontier. But it was Edison who once again picked up a
victory over her. It was back at Final Frontier where Edison was
apart of the winning team in the “Mixed Bag” 8-Man Tag. And he
once again found himself with a “W” next to his name. Edison has
quietly racked up three wins thus far in his FGA career. Despite
being one of the veteran members of this roster, he continues to be
overlooked in favor of the more colorful and “in your face”
members of FGA. Edison is not only “The Man That Gravity Forgot,”
but he's also the dark horse to win this entire tournament. And if
people don't take notice, Edison could easily find himself in the
finals.
In the second match, Kevin Hardaway had
his first formal match as a member of the FGA roster as he took on
the odd Eddie. Despite some earlier attacks by Eddie, K-Hard was able
to overcome and get himself his first win ever on FGA soil. Hardaway
is by no means a stranger to big matches as he's won two straight
Match of the Year awards for Pro-Wrestling FRONTIER. And you can bet
that K-Hard will be bringing his brand of violence to his opponents
in the semifinals.
In the third match, Leon Corella took
on Dom Harter in what was arguably the match of the night. Corella
made his FGA debut at the beginning of Final Frontier in dramatic
fashion. The brash veteran had a lot to live up to after his scathing
comments back on December 28. But Corella was not only able to talk
the talk, but walk the walk as he defeated Harter in a hard fought
contest. While Corella still refers to himself as the Patriot
Champion, he may have a new championship to call his own if all goes
according to plan.
In the fourth match, Bob Pooler took on
Akrista O'Hare. Despite being fan favorites, these two showed no love
towards each other. Especially considering O'Hare's suspicion over
Pooler's true motives. But Pooler wasn't concerned with proving
himself to her. He was more concerned with advancing to the next
round, which he was able to do after delivering a perfectly-timed
counter.
In the fifth match, Pat Gordon, Jr.
took on Jake Winchester in another solid match. Despite Jake's
disappointment with Gordon's “lack of focus”, the two showed
mutual respect throughout the match. Each man is known for their
brawling style. And they didn't pull any punches in this one. At one
point, it looked as if Gordon was about to apply the Pat Lock. But
Winchester was able to free himself and eventually gain the win.
And in the sixth and final tournament
match of the night, Alistair Mangold took on Malcolm Drake. On paper,
it appeared as though Mangold had a huge advantage over Drake. “The
God Among Men” not only had more experience, but had a tremendous strength and weight advantage. But as the old saying goes, it's not
about the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in
the dog. Especially when that dog fights as dirty as the head crow of
The Murder. Drake immediately attacked the knee and never let up. It wasn't long after that Drake was able to gain the victory. But the
victory wasn't the only thing he gained. He also gained another notch
on his belt as he took out yet another FGA grappler. But more on that
tomorrow.
Check back to FGA Online tomorrow for
the latest news, including the latest edition of the Event Center.
