This Sunday, Smash Wrestling in Toronto, Ontario is holding it’s biggest show of the year, Super Showdown VI, as grudges are settled, rivalries renewed and a new Champion crowned. Featuring some of the brightest emerging stars from Ontario and upstate New York, as well as international stars like Tessa Blanchard, Jeff Cobb, PCO, Joey Janela, and more, Super Showdown looks to be a hot card from bell to bell.
Grudge Match: “Hacker” Scotty O’Shea vs. Kevin Blackwood
One of Smash’s emerging young stars, Kevin Blackwood emerged as one of the Smash favorites until an unexpected heel turn last year, along with an alliance with the dastardly “Hacker’ Scotty O’Shea, soured him to the crowds. Together, the two formed the tandem Kill/Screen, as O’Shea continued to brainwash Blackwood. The team finally imploded and now Blackwood is seeking his revenge on his former mentor. O’Shea has been a veteran of the Canadian indie scene for 15 years now, while Blackwood is a highly touted prospect who not only stars with Smash but is a product of Buffalo, New York’s Empire State Wrestling (ESW).
.@HackerScotty has been manipulating @blaxkwood666 into following his every command – all because O'Shea knew about Blackwood abandoning his friend @Anthony__Gaines in a very dire time of need…
On August 26th, these two collide in what's sure to be an emotional rollercoaster! pic.twitter.com/5l4h6bN3TO
— Smash Wrestling (@smashwrestling) August 9, 2018
Last Man Standing Match: Sebastian Suave vs. TARIK
TARIK has had his problems with Sebastian Suave for months now, going all the way back to last year, when a small feud lead to an uneasy alliance between the two as tag partners in this February’s Smash F8ful Eight Tag Team tournament. While they made it to the finals (ultimately losing in the Fatal Four Way Final to Super Smash Bros.), the duo exploded and TARIK has made it his mission to destroy his former partner. In April, Suave defeated TARIK in a qualifying match in this year’s The Northern tournament, thanks to interference from Suave’s long time manager, Anthony Kingdom James. This resulted in TARIK facing – and defeating – James at The Northern, but that wasn’t enough. Now after nearly a year later, the tensions explode in a Last Man Standing Match.
Fatal 4-Way: Daniel Garcia vs. Brent Banks vs. Kevin Bennett vs. John Greed
A Fatal Four Way that will have title implications down the line, as four of Smash’s top local stars face off in a great diversity of styles. Like Kevin Blackwood, Daniel Garcia and Kevin Bennett are also regulars with ESW in Buffalo – Garcia recently appeared on 205 Live in a match against Drew Gulak, while Bennett has had multiple WWE appearances in the past year (as well as being arguably Smash’s biggest villain). The two are joined by two of Ontario’s best right now, in the raw power of big John Greed and the untapped athleticism of Brent Banks. Banks was a Canadian participant in last year’s WCPW (now Defiant Wrestling) Pro Wrestling World Cup, where he had a show stealer match with “Speedball” Mike Bailey in the Canadian Qualifiers.
Tessa Blanchard vs. Vanessa Kraven
Former tag team partners collide in a women’s match that could main event anywhere. For nearly an entire year, the tandem known as Mount Tessa – Tessa Blanchard and Vanessa Kraven – dominated SHIMMER as the SHIMMER Tag Team Champions. But since they lost their titles several months ago, Tessa Blanchard has moved on to IMPACT Wrestling, while Vanessa Kraven competed in this year’s WWE Mae Young Classic. But Kraven is also the enforcer in Malice and for all of 2018, Smash Wrestling has been Malice’s playground. This will be a hard hitting affair as two former friends battle it out to prove which was the strongest member of Mount Tessa.
Triple Threat: Jeff Cobb vs. PCO vs. Brody King
With this many monsters in one match, it’s surprising that Godzilla hasn’t risen from the harbour to fight them all. A triple threat match up that will feature inhuman feats of strength, brutal acts of savagery, and unbelievable athleticism, this match features three of the most popular names on the indie scene today. Jeff Cobb has exploded as one of the indie scene’s biggest stars since he gained national exposure as “The Monster” Matanza Cueto on Lucha Underground. The Suplex machine is facing off against Destro‘s “Not Human” monster, PCO, the former 3x WWF World Tag Team Champion who is having the year of his career in an inspired and superhuman comeback story. The final cog in this trio of fighters is one of the new monsters on the block, Brody King. King has been a beast of late, taking on the likes of Sami Callihan, Jimmy Havoc, Pete Dunne, AR Fox and others, not to mention challenging WALTER for the PWG World Championship last month. An absolute dream match of three of the most powerful beasts on the indie circuit today.
Smash Tag Team Championship, Tables Ladders & Boxes Match: Well Oiled Machines (Pepper Parks & Psycho Mike) (c) vs. Super Smash Bros. (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson)
Speaking of Malice, their pillars of pain, The Super Smash Bros. (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) will be looking to take the Smash Tag Team titles into the family by beating Well Oiled Machine‘s Pepper Parks (formerly Braxton Sutter in IMPACT) and “Psycho” Mike Rollins in the first ever Tables, Ladders…and Boxes Match? The boxes will apparently be filled with random items that can be used in the match, making for an interesting twist. The Well Oiled Machines have held the titles over 200 days now and Malice is not a very good mood – after all, they lost their leader, Franky TM, not too long ago and will be looking to re-energize the stable.
Smash Championship Match (for vacant title): Tyson Dux vs. Joey Janela
With the departure of Malice’s leader Franky TM from Smash Wrestling, his Smash Championship was declared vacant. This lead to Tyson Dux – the man whose 435 day reign as Smash Champion was ended by Franky TM this January – earning his spot in this match up to crown the new Smash Champion, with Malice having the opportunity to name Dux’s opponent. They’ve recruited the “Bad Boy”, Joey Janela, to represent Malice in the Smash Championship match on Sunday, in hopes of taking the gold back to Malice. Janela has been wrestling a lot of legends leading into this match, such as Ultimo Dragon, Jinsei Shinzaki and The Great Sasake, but he’s facing “The Wrestling Machine” Tyson Dux, one of Canada’s top veterans of the past two decades, on home turf. Janela is not stranger to violence but he’ll be facing a man determined to become Smash’s first ever 2x Smash Champion.
You can catch episodes of Smash Wrestling on TV on the Fight Network in Canada (directly following IMPACT Wrestling on Thursdays), their on-demand service or on Powerslam Wrestling Network. You can download Powerslam TV for Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Google Play.
