Date: September 2, 2023
Venue: First Presbyterian Church of Avenel
621 Woodbridge Avenue
Avenel, New Jersey 07001
Tickets: Front Row $30.00
Second Row $25.00
General Admission $20.00
Parking: Street Parking/Church lot
Promoter: Billy Fetzke
Snacks: Pizza $ 3.00
Soda/Water $ 1.00
Ring Announcer: David Adams
Merchandise: Stan Stylez Autographed Photo $10.00
Referees: Brandon Tennis
Andrew Morgan, Jr.
Leigh Togo
Social Media: titan-championshipwrestling.com
facebook.com/Titanchampionshipwrestling
twitter.com/TiTanChampions1
instagram.com/titanchampionshipwrestling
Stream: mobfitv.com/videos/titan-championship-wrestling
According to their website, “Titan Championship Wrestling Entertainment LLC is not your typical sports entertainment company. We bring you all the best professional wrestling talent from yesterday, today, and for tomorrow. The management of Titan Championship Wrestling has cut their teeth for the past few years in the tri-state area wrestling scene. We offer a great event from start to finish, that’s family friendly, and destined to make you a fan. The fan experience is very important to us. Whether it’s signing an autograph, high fiving a fan, or raffling off some special merchandise.”
The venue for this event was the First Presbyterian Church of Avenel, located in the eastern part of central New Jersey, which was erected in 1927. The church says they “are a diverse community of ordinary folks with a variety of gifts, talents, vocations and backgrounds, and we are here to help you grow in your relationship with God.”
The event took place in the education center for the church, which is across the street from the main church where worship services are held. There was street parking available around the education center, which was mostly full at the time I arrived. So, I parked in the church lot near the sign pictured below.
I arrived before the doors opened for the event and waited outside with a crowd of other fans who were champing at the bit to see some live wrestling. Once inside, I scanned my ticket in the entry way, then made my way into the large meeting room where the event would be held.
The ring was placed, essentially in the center of the room. There were numerous tables where performers could meet with fans and sell merchandise, including a booth operated by Balls Mahoney’s widow to raise money for their son’s college education. In addition, Wrestling N Wrecovery, who sponsored the event, had a table set up in the back of the room with information about assistance with recovery from addiction.
Before the event officially began, there was a ten bell salute for recently deceased wrestling icons Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt. Next, ring announcer David Adams and TCW Lightweight Champion, Daniel Alexander, got the kids involved in the show. Adams and Alexander assisted the children in holding the American Flag for the playing of the National Anthem to kickoff the event.
MATCH #1
COLE CALLAWAY vs. JOE CLEAN
Joe Clean made his way to the ring first, staying on brand with a mop in hand, to cheers from the crowd. There would be even more cheers for Joe Clean when Cole Callaway entered. When Joe noticed that Cole Callaway was offering the children at ringside candy and then taking it away, Clean stole the bag of candy and began tossing the sweet treats into the crowd.
Callaway protested on the outside of the ring until Joe Clean got impatient, joined Callaway at ringside, and chased him around the ring. Callaway rolled back in first and jumped on Joe Clean as he attempted to follow. Callaway dominated the middle stages of the match using nefarious tactics like choking Clean on the middle rope, as well as a bow and arrow submission in the center of the ring.
The tide would turn after Callaway hit a Bronco Buster in one corner and went for another. The second time, Clean got a boot up that landed in Callaway’s crotch, and followed with two clotheslines, a back elbow, and a side slam. Clean placed a cleaning scrub pad on the fallen Callaway’s mouth and hit a splash for a near fall, then hit a Dusty Elbow and another side slam for a second near fall.
With all the momentum on his side, Clean made a mistake. He went to the corner and retrieved his container of Windex. Before he could use it for some kind of attack on Cole Callaway, the referee noticed and took the cleaning solution from Joe Clean. As Clean argued with the referee and tried to plead his case, Cole Callaway snuck up behind and used an inside cradle to get the win. After the match, wrestling legend “Irish” Davey O’Hannon presented Callaway with the TCW Community Outreach Championship.
WINNER: COLE CALLAWAY
MATCH #2
JAY OUTKAST vs. FRANKIE PICKARD
These two big, powerful men, Jay Outkast and Frankie Pickard, spent the opening moments of the contest matching power for power with no one gaining a clear advantage. When Outkast hit a take down in the corner, Pickard escaped to ringside to regroup as Outkast demanded he get back in the ring and fight.
When Pickard finally returned, he laid in wait until Outkast charged, and countered with an ensiguri. The two men would exchange blows again in the corner until Pickard whipped Outkast into the opposite corner. Outkast exploded back out of the corner with a huge lariat that left both men down.
Pickard and Outkast rose to their knees simultaneously and started exchanging blows from that position. The battle continued as each man stood on their feet in the center of the ring until Pickard dropped Outkast with a hard forearm shot off the ropes. After a short reset, Outkast ducked a clothesline and hit a belly-to-belly suplex for a near fall.
As the match wound down, Frankie Pickard dodged a charging Outkast and hit an Exploder suplex into the turnbuckle for a near fall. Pickard began arguing with the referee about the slow count and got hit with a splash from Jay Outkast, then another. Outkast went for a third, but Pickard moved the referee into Outkast’s path.
Luckily, Outkast hit the brakes just in time to avoid hitting the referee. In the commotion, though, Pickard grabbed a foreign object to hit Outkast with. The referee noticed and took the object from Pickard. As the referee removed the object from the ring, Pickard hit a low blow kick to Outkast and rolled him in a small package for the pin. After the match, the two men showed respect for each other with a handshake, even as Outkast told Pickard “everyone knew I had your number,” and Pickard continued to insist that he “won fair and square.”
WINNER: FRANKIE PICKARD
MATCH #3
DIRTY OLD GRANDPAS vs. DIEGO EL TRABAJADOR, ABBS & COREY DILLINGER
SIX MAN TAG TEAM MATCH
This was the only (to my knowledge) unadvertised match of the evening and it was a short, but wild affair. As the opening bell rang, all six men began to brawl in the ring as they paired off to fight one-on-one. Although the Grandpas attacked first, it was their opponents who took control in the early stages, using quick tags to keep “The Icon” Magic from making the tag.
The Grandpas managed to right the ship in short order, however, and mostly controlled the remainder of the match. Crazy Ivan interfered with the Candy Man as he rebounded off the ropes, then climbed to the top rope for a splash. When Candy Man rolled out of the ring, the Dirty Old Grandpas triple teamed Abbs, with a splash from Magic earning them the victory.
WINNER: DIRTY OLD GRANDPAS
MATCH #4
KEN POWERS (c) vs. BLOCKZ
TCW AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Blockz went on the offensive early in this match, hitting several blows in one corner, until Powers powdered to confer with his Genesis teammates at ringside. Blockz followed Powers out, but the action quickly returned to the ring. Blockz climbed to the top rope, but got caught, mid-air, by Ken Powers who converted into a back breaker.
Powers maintained control effectively afterward and successfully thwarted comeback attempts from the challenger along the way. At one point, the match seemed to be ending when Powers locked Blockz in an old school bear hug. In a retro wrestling throwback, the referee checked Blockz hand three times with Blockz exhibiting a sudden surge of adrenaline just before his hand fell the third time.
Not surprisingly, coming back from the brink of annihilation helped Blockz hulk up. He landed blow after blow on Powers, accentuated by the fans chanting “Blockz!” with every strike. The challenger hit a lariat, then tripped Powers forward into the ropes, slid outside the ring with Powers still draped, and punched the champion in the face.
Now with the momentum, Blockz climbed back to the top rope. This time, he hit the flying cross body on Powers, but Powers escaped from the subsequent cutter attempt and shoved Blockz forward into TKO Kocenko on the apron. When Blockz rebounded, Powers rolled him up and pulled the rights for extra leverage.
WINNER: KEN POWERS
PROMO
DANIEL ALEXANDER
After intermission, David Adams introduced the TCW Lightweight Champion, “The Next Big Deal,” Daniel Alexander who cut a promo in the ring about talking about how he hates bullies, including his former friend and backyard wrestling compadre, Rocket. The two men have battled before and it sounds like they will continue to do so into the future.
Before the next match began, Alexander called all of the kids in the crowd to come into the ring and “Do the Dance.” The crowd filled with children in a really cool interactive moment for the families and kids in the audience. Parents came up to ringside en masse to take photos of their kids doing the dance with the champ.
MATCH #5
cWo (c) vs. TAKE IT HOME BROTHERS
FUNHOUSE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Poor C.J. Ryan. Out of the four competitors in this match, none had a harder night than he did. As this match got underway, the slight Ryan had no luck trying to overpower either member of the much larger Take it Home Brothers. At one point, after coming off the ropes and running into a brick wall in Jeff Noyze, Ryan recoiled into the corner. Sensing his partner’s struggle, Stan Stylez gave Ryan his Shake Weight which Ryan used to refuel his energy somehow.
Unfortunately, this did not change much for Ryan, who was clearly the Ricky Morton of the match. At one point, Ryan started a rally, but made the mistake of climbing to the top rope for an aerial move. Ryan ended up being caught in mid-air and dropped with a fall away slam.
At this point, each of the Take it Home Brothers shushed the crowd so they could unload some of the loudest chops I have ever heard live. Jeff Noyze returned and hit an dropkick, then stood on Ryan’s neck in the corner. The challengers continued to tag in and out while inflicting massive amounts of punishment on C.J. Ryan.
Finally, Ryan got his chance. Jeff Noyze locked Ryan in a modified camel clutch, then jumped up and down, landing his entire body on Ryan’s back. Noyze went for a second, but Ryan got a leg up and dove for his corner to make the tag to Stylez. The leader of the cWo came in hot, pulling off his signature three pairs of break away pants and throwing them in Noyze’s face, then stood over him for ten punches as the fans counted along.
Ryan decided he was ready to get back into the match a little earlier than he probably should have. Within moments after he reached out to Stylez and tagged back in, the Take it Home Brothers eliminated Stylez and joined forces on a modified Hart Attack to get the win and the tag titles. Clearly frustrated at Ryan’s poor decision making, Stylez turned on Ryan after the match with a whipped cream stunner.
WINNERS AND NEW CHAMPIONS: TAKE IT HOME BOYS
MATCH #6
TOM MITCHELL vs. TREY FELIPE
Tom Mitchell was the only competitor of the evening to adhere to the Code of Honor before his match with Trey Felipe got underway. What did he get for his troubles? Trey Felipe flipped Mitchell off. Infuriated, Mitchell unloaded with a flurry of offense, capped off by a power slam for a near fall. After a reset, Felipe took control when he pulled Mitchell off of the second rope and hit a neck breaker for a near fall of his own.
From there, Felipe did whatever it took to keep Mitchell at bay, including running his face along the ropes and, later, choking Mitchell with them. When a spinning suplex garnered just a one count, Felipe slowed things down with a rear chin lock on the mat. Mitchell seemed poised to rally after escaping the hold and hitting a sunset flip, but Felipe put the kibosh on that idea with a kip up ensiguri.
Soon, though, Mitchell did mount a comeback. After being choked more by Trey Felipe, Mitchell landed multiple strikes, then a back elbow, shoulder tackle and back suplex. From there, Mitchell hit the apron, somersaulted back in and hit a hard strike to Felipe before stomping on the mat to get the fans behind him.
Those few precious seconds cost Tom as Felipe regrouped in time to evade a charging Mitchell and hit an ushi garoshi for a near fall. This time, it was Felipe who hit the apron and attempted to spring back in, but Mitchell caught him with a spear that would have ended the match if Felipe had not gotten one hand on the bottom rope.
Felipe got to his feet first and lifted Mitchell into a fireman’s carry. Mitchell escaped, but Felipe pushed him into the referee. When Mitchell turned back around, Felipe poked him in the eye, climbed up to the top rope, and hit him with a beautiful flying back elbow.
WINNER: TREY FELIPE
MATCH #7
P.J. SAVAGE vs. ELIJAH EDEN
Elijah Eden, who spent more time in the crowd hanging with the kids than anyone in the building before the show (except maybe Daniel Alexander), was clearly the crowd favorite after all of that pre-show networking. Unfortunately, Eden’s early offense proved to be not enough, as the powerful P.J. Savage took control with his strength fairly quickly.
When Eden withstood a nasty lariat from Savage, P.J. insisted that Eden “show me something.” In response, Eden hit a super kick, running knee and a face buster that forced Savage to flee to the outside. Still not finished, Eden hit a tope suicida on Savage that carried both men into the seats.
Savage once again used his brute strength to over power Eden on the outside. By the time they both got back into the ring, Eden looked like he was done. Somehow, though, Eden kept insisting that Savage give him more and more. From there, Savage slowed things down and continued to pummel Eden, who refused to quit.
Eventually, Eden got his second wind and started really fighting back. Savage tried to stall Eden with a back elbow, but Eden returned fire with a hip toss and a hard head butt. Savage countered with one headbutt of his own, then another, then a charging head butt that left both men down on the mat exhausted.
The two men exchanged blows on their knees, then on their feet before Savage suddenly locked Eden in a full nelson. When that failed to get the submission, Savage came off the ropes, but got reversed with a Northern Lights suplex from Eden for a near fall, followed by a top rope splash for another.
The third time, Eden decided to attempt a Swanton Bomb, but missed and rolled into one corner. Savage signaled to the crowd that the end was near before unloading with a running knee strike to the face from across the ring.
WINNER: P.J. SAVAGE
MATCH #8
SMILEY (c) vs. TONY CHINI vs. STEVEN PERSON vs. JOEY ADAMS vs. ERIC CORVIS vs. JAMES GRAY vs. E-MONEY MILLI
FUNHOUSE LUCHADOR CHAMPIONSHIP CRAZY SEVEN MATCH
On my way home from this show, I was listening to Jim Ross on his podcast talking about how difficult it is for commentators to call multi-man matches like triple threats and fatal four ways, adding that the commentator essentially has to pick and choose what to cover with so many moving parts.
After covering this Crazy 7 match (essentially a fatal seven way), I audibly replied “Amen” to Mr. Ross, even though I was alone in the car. With seven men all in the ring and all vying for the Funhouse Luchador Championship, my attention was all over the place. So, in the spirit of Good Old J.R., here are some of my favorite spots from this insane main event.
When the match got underway, six of the seven competitors paired off and began fighting with Eric Corvis as the odd man out. Instead of laying low, Corvis drew attention to himself and the fact that he was being ignored. So, all six of the other competitors turned, and ganged up on him.
Smiley and Tony Chini tried to hit a double clothesline on James Gray, but Gray ducked and flew through the middle ropes to hit a tope suicida ono everyone else gathered at ringside. Not to be outdone, Tony Chini held the ropes open for Smiley to follow with a tope of his own. However, Chini double-crossed Smiley and kicked the luchador in the gut as he started to take off.
Later, Smiley stacked all of the other competitors in one corner and splashed them simultaneously. Eric Corvis was in the front of the line and fell to the mat immediately. Smiley continued to hit splash after splash in the corner, each time causing the person at the front of the line to fall forward and into Eric Corvis’ nether regions.
As the match wound down, it was , again, Smiley with the big move. Steven Person Person lifted James Gray onto his shoulders at the same time Tony Chini lifted E-Money Milli onto his. Smiley climbed to the top rope and hit a Double Doomsday Device that brought all four men crashing down to the mat. It was an amazing spot you have to see.
In the end, it was Corvis and Joey Adams working together to take out Steven Person and Tony Chini. Once that goal was accomplished, Corvis turned on Adams, went for the pin, and nearly won the match. As the referee counted the pin, Smiley came flying from the top rope with a splash onto both men, then covered Chini to win the match and retain the Luchador Championship.
WINNER: SMILEY
This was my first new promotion to visit in over four months and what a fun show at which to return. As a wrestling fan, I am happy to watch shows with more adult oriented content. As a father, and also as a wrestling fan, I know that family entertainment is what wrestling is really all about at its core. Titan Championship Wrestling gets it. This show had no blood, no real cursing or other mature themes and it was incredibly entertaining.
What the show did feature, is a bunch of passionate and skilled performers, clearly, who spent a lot of time making sure that the families and the kids in attendance were both entertained and interacted with while also putting together eight compelling, and fun, matches.
You go to a lot of shows and see kids making a lot of noise for their favorites. Every now and then one will get to come into the ring and do something special. This show had more kids getting involved and being made to feel part of the show than any other I have been to. It was fantastic.
Titan Championship Wrestling returns very soon with Blaze of Glory on September 16, 2023 from the Highline Arena in Aberdeen Township, New Jersey. Check Titan’s website and/or their Facebook page for more information and a link to purchase tickets in advance.
The Indy Wrestling Experience 