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MANILA, Philippines – What is a champion? A simple way to identify one is by the gold-plated leather straps they carry around their waists, but a championship is only as important as it is to those who covet it.
At Philippine Wrestling Revolution’s “Renaissance” this Saturday, September 26, the company will raise the stakes for both the PWR championship and its newly introduced Philippine Hybrid X (PHX) title. All competitors involved in title scenarios will enter Makati Cinema Square with odds lower than 50-50 of leaving with a belt.
The main event will feature PWR champion “Classical” Bryan Leo defending his championship in a Triple Threat match – the company’s first ever 3-way dance – against “The Senyorito” Jake De Leon and The Apocalypse, a crowbar-swinging masked monster who inserted himself into the main event picture when he appeared after the rematch between De Leon and Leo, nailing both with his Death Bell finishing maneuver.
“I don’t have to lose to lose the title. It’s unfair to say the least, but that’s life,” says Leo, who hit a distracted “JDL” with a low blow before choking him out with his “Royal Prison Lock 2” submission to retain his title last month at PWR Live.
Despite his own reputation for villainy, Bryan Leo had no kind words for The Apocalypse or his actions.
“There’s no justice, what’s the point of security? I don’t feel safe, and I’d want to press charges if he was a human being. I don’t even know, he looks like a failed abortion,” said Bryan Leo, a wrestler who mockingly greets his fans by saying he is from a “First World Country” that has yet to be specified (among other things).
Jake De Leon – a husky, yet agile workhorse from Bacolod City whose physique and common man appeal are reminiscent of the late Dusty Rhodes – was the company’s first champion. His reign lasted just minutes after Bryan Leo cashed in an impromptu title opportunity on an exhausted JDL at PWR: Wrevolution X in May.
PWR Commissioner Mr. Sy made the authoritative decision to throw them all together in the same ring with the title on the line.
“The Apocalypse wanted an opportunity to challenge for the PWR championship so he got an opportunity. He made that clear at the end of PWR Live. Jake De Leon did not have a fair conclusion to his match with ‘Classical’ Bryan Leo so it just makes sense to put them all in a 3-way dance. That’s how you put an end to this,” said Sy.
PHX title and ‘The Last Real Warrior’
The tournament to crown the first PHX champion is down to its final four, with Mayhem Brannigan facing Chris Panzer in one semifinal match, and “The Social Media Sinister” Ken Warren matching up against Filipino-Japanese wrestler Ralph Imabayashi in the other. The winners of both matches will meet each other later that night for the title.
“It’s really overwhelming, it’s an awesome experience,” says Brannigan, a hardcore risk taker whose Hannibal Lecter mask and Misfits t-shirt accurately reflect his style of wrestling. “It’ll be an even more awesome experience when I win it. Note that I said when I win it, not if.”
(WATCH: PWR Live full matches)
Another performer appearing on the show is SANDATA, a masked Filipino warrior and one half of the tag team Dual Shock (alongside Peter Versoza). Dual Shock will meet Fighters 4 Hire (Joey Bax and Miguel Rosales) in a grudge match from PWR Live.
SANDATA, who only speaks Filipino, says he wears a mask not to hide his face, but to empower himself further.
“SANDATA is the last real warrior in the country. I am out here to prove to the entire world – not just to PWR or the entire country – that I am the realest, most fearsome warrior,” said SANDATA, master of the Pagbasag (The Shattering), a head scissors takedown facebuster.
The grudge is more practical than personal for SANDATA: “Dual Shock have not come away with a win since coming to PWR and we really want to change that. We feel this is our best chance to finally get the W.”
Also on the card will be John Sebastian of The Royal Flush vs Bombay Suarez in a no-holds-barred rematch.
Tickets for the show, the company’s sixth in the past year, are on sale at the door for P300. The show will also be livestreamed by GPNLive.com. – Rappler.com
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