While you would expect a promotion named St. Louis Anarchy to be based out of St. Louis, Missouri, it’s actually run out of Alton, Illinois (about 15 miles north of St. Louis), but it’s so far removed from the heavy Chicago indie scene that it fits in much closer to the Missouri and southern end of the Midwest indie scene than it does Chicago. Formed in 2010 out of the ashes of Lethal Wrestling Alliance (LWA), St. Louis Anarchy remains a vital promotion in the American Midwest, building up and coming stars as well as providing a gateway promotion for national stars to ply their trade. This Friday, St. Louis Anarchy returns with Gateway to Anarchy, which is streaming live on IndependentWrestling.tv (formerly Powerbomb.tv).
Logan James vs. Chip Day
Logan James makes his St. Louis Anarchy return on Friday night, where the 3-year pro based mostly out of Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and IWA Mid South continues to make a name for himself. A former IWA Mid South Heavyweight Champion, 2x IWA Mid South Junior Heavyweight Champion and 3x OVW Television Champion, James is in for a fight against a 17-year veteran from Georgia, Chip Day. A mainstay with Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment (AWE) and other Mid Atlantic and Southern promotions like Premier Wrestling Xperience (PWX), Pro Wrestling Freedom (PWF) and Carolina Wrestling Federation (CWF) Mid Atlantic, Day is not one to let a young rising star take his spot easily.
Jake Dirden vs. Hoodie Hewlett
A 6-year veteran of the Missouri indie scene, where he’s a former 3x Dynamo Pro Heavyweight Champion, the 6’7″ Jake Dirden is back to make a monstrous impact in St. Louis Anarchy this Friday night. He takes on Hoodlum “Hoodie” Howlett, one-half of the Left Coast Guerrillas in what’s sure to be a war.
JoJo Bravo vs. Everett Connors
Texas indie wrestler JoJo Bravo is an 11-year veteran who spent the bulk of his career with Texas’ Anarchy Championship Wrestling (ACW), where he’s a former ACW Heavyweight Champion. Everett Connors is a rising star on the Midwest indie scene, having worked Glory Pro, CHIKARA, Freelance Wrestling and others, in only five years in the business.
The Hooligans (Devin & Mason Cutter) vs. Roscoe Eat Lisa (Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers)
Since 2006, the tag team combination of the Cutters – better known as The Hooligans – have been one of the premier tag teams on the US indie circuit, capturing tag team gold in Full Impact Pro (FIP), Rockstar Pro, PWF, All American Wrestling (AAW), and many more. Tough as nails and hard to knock down, The Hooligans are back in St. Louis Anarchy with a vengeance. Roscoe Eat Lisa have only been together since 2012, but the Missouri tandem are former St. Louis Anarchy tag team champions and Cape Championship Wrestling (CCW) Tag Team champs, and will be looking to make a statement against the veteran Hooligans.
Gary Jay vs. Craig Mitchell
One of the faces of St. Louis Anarchy and one of the Midwest’s best-kept secrets, Gary Jay has been a force on the US indie scene since 2003. A well travelled veteran of IWA Mid South, PWF, Southern Underground Pro (SUP), Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) and Texas’ ACW, Jay is a technician that can take on anyone. On Friday night he faces one of the hearts of Chicago’s Freelance Wrestling in Craig Mitchell, another Midwest veteran who never backs down from a challenge. This match could be the dark horse for match of the night.
Besties in the World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. The Riegel Twins (Logan & Sterling Riegel)
The Besties in the World have been one of the top tag teams in the US indie scene for years now, ever since pairing together in 2011 (as the Sex Bob-ombs). Since then, they’ve become 2x AAW Tag Team Champions, 2x Wrestling Revolver Tag Team Champions, and currently hold the United Glory (Glory Pro) tag belts. They face a rising tandem of brothers in Logan & Sterling Riegel (The Riegel Twins), who are looking to break out of the Midwest indie scene. They had a solid 2018, debuting with St. Louis Anarchy, Black Label Pro and Glory Pro, and look to start 2019 off with a bang defeating indie vets in Davey Vega and Mat Fitchett.
Independent Wrestling Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. “Mad King” Eddie Kingston
Orange Cassidy recently ended “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams‘ 310-day reign as the Independent Wrestling Champion at Beyond Wrestling‘s Heavy Lies The Crown last week, and the longtime CHIKARA and Beyond star is heading into his first title defense this Friday. His challenger is one of the indies’ toughest men and CHIKARA’s first ever Grand Champion, Eddie Kingston (who held the belt an astounding 924 days). Kingston is as mean as they get – he’s also a former 2x AAW Heavyweight Champion, Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) World Heavyweight Champion, and IWA Mid South Heavyweight Champion and he won’t have the time for Cassidy’s shenanigans. The Clown Prince of Lethargy will have his work cut out for him when he faces The Mad King.
Gateway Heritage Championship: Jeremy Wyatt (c) vs. “Warhorse” Jake Parnell
St. Louis Anarchy’s Gateway Heritage Champion Jeremy Wyatt is still relatively new to holding the title, but he’s been making it one of the Midwest’s most prestigious titles wrestling under “Pure” Wrestling rules. According to Wikipedia, Pure Wrestling rules are that:
- Each wrestler has three rope breaks to stop submission holds and pinfalls during the match. After a wrestler exhausts his rope breaks, submission and pin attempts under the ropes by the opponent are considered legal.
- There are no closed-fist punches to the face allowed in a Pure match, only open-handed slaps or chops to the face are allowed. Punches to other parts of the body (save for low blows) are permitted. The first use of a closed fist would get a warning, and the second would cause the wrestler to be penalized a rope break. If he is already out of rope breaks, he would be disqualified.
- A wrestler is subject to a twenty count by the referee if the wrestler goes to the floor.
The 15-year veteran from Kansas City, Missouri is a veteran of such promotions as Metro Pro Wrestling (MPW) out of Kansas, Black Label Pro, 3XWrestling, and more, and on Friday he puts the belt on the line against one of the fastest rising stars out of the Midwest in “Warhorse” Jake Parnell. Originally known for his tag team work in the Viking War Party, Parnell has emerged as a budding singles star, having earned a name for himself with Black Label Pro, Glory Pro, Beyond Wrestling, IWA Mid South, NOVA Pro and more. If Wyatt takes the fight lightly, we could see the rise of a new era in St. Louis Anarchy.
