Report from Episode 4
The action was riveting on Sunday’s episode of Real Pro Wrestling, which showed quarterfinal and semifinal action in the 163-pound weight class. As expected, the top two seeds, Joe Williams of the Chicago Groove and Joe Heskett of the Iowa Stalkers, advanced to the Real Pro Wrestling finals, which will be shown on PAX TV on May 15th.
Williams, the number one seed, advanced to the finals by defeating eighth-seeded Tyrone Lewis of the Oklahoma Slam in the quarterfinals and fifth-seeded Donny Pritzlaff of the Pennsylvania Hammer in the semifinals.
In the quarterfinals, Williams and Lewis battled to a scoreless first period. Williams, however, picked up the pace in the second period and scored with the first ever six point high throw in RPW to take a commanding lead. He then scored a takedown to build an 8-0 lead. Lewis countered with a reversal, while also adding a late takedown. But it was too little, too late, as Williams held on for the 8-4 victory.
“Tyrone wrestled a great match,” said Williams after the victory. “Towards the end of the match, it got a little bit wet, a little bit slippery. He kept coming, trying to score, so I just really just tried to stay in position and look for openings.”
In the semifinals, Williams battled Pritzlaff, who was fresh off a dominating 18-2 victory over fourth-seeded T.C. Dantzler of the Minnesota Freeze. Williams struck first, scoring twice with his patented freight train double-leg, both with under forty-five seconds remaining in the first period, to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Pritzlaff battled back, scoring with a double-leg of his own to cut the lead to two. But Williams added an escape and claimed the 5-2 victory.
Heskett, who placed second at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, had to battle through seventh-seeded Sean Harrington of the Texas Shooters and third-seeded Ramico Blackmon of the New York Outrage to reach the finals.
In the quarterfinals, Heskett hardly broke a sweat, scoring with multiple leg attacks and turns, as he cruised to an easy 16-0 technical fall over Harrington.
“I felt really good,” said Heskett after the match. “I got a good warm up. I felt like I was strong out there. Leg attacks felt good, defense felt good, I felt on time.”
In the semifinals, Heskett had to dig deep to beat Blackmon, a freestyle veteran. The 32-year-old Blackmon jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead with a single-leg takedown, which followed up with an ankle lace. Blackmon scored with a push-out, before Heskett answered with a single-leg takedown as the first period came to a close to cut the lead to 5-2. In the second period, Heskett scored first with a push-out. With just under thirty seconds remaining in the match, Heskett tied the match with a snap down. Then with 10 seconds left, Heskett secured a trapped arm gut wrench and turned Blackmon for the go ahead points. Heskett then added another turn as the buzzer sounded to claim the 9-5 come from behind victory.
Heskett, who now serves as assistant coach for Cal-Poly, had high praise for his opponent after the match.
“Ramico, in my opinion, is one of the best wrestlers,” said Heskett. “I respect him such as a human being and a wrestler, more so than a lot of wrestlers out there. Ramico is a first-class act. We’ve battled for the last year or two. This was the sixth time we’ve wrestled, every one of them has been a grind. This was just another classic example of two guys who wanted to win real badly.”
Heskett will now face Williams in the RPW finals, which will be shown on PAX TV on May 15th. In 2004, Williams defeated Heskett in the finals of both the U.S. Nationals and the Olympic Team Trials.
In the team battle, the Iowa Stalkers, on the strength of three finalists, currently sit atop the standings with 54 points, followed by the Pennsylvania Hammer (43 points), and the New York Outrage (34 points).
Next week’s episode of Real Pro Wrestling will feature competition in the 185-pound weight class.
Sunday’s Results (163 Pounds):
Quarterfinals:
#1 Joe Williams (Chicago Groove) decision over #8 Tyrone Lewis (Oklahoma Slam), 8-4
#5 Donny Pritzlaff (Pennsylvania Hammer) technical fall over #4 T.C. Dantzler (Minnesota Freeze), 18-2
#3 Ramico Blackmon (New York Outrage) fall over #6 Darryl Christian (California Claw), 1:11
#2 Joe Heskett (Iowa Stalkers) technical fall over #7 Sean Harrington (Texas Shooters), 16-0
Semifinals:
Williams decision over Pritzlaff, 5-2
Heskett decision over Blackmon, 9-5
Finals (May 15th):
Williams vs. Heskett
Current Teams Standings:
1. Iowa Stalkers 54
2. Pennsylvania Hammer 43
3. New York Outrage 34
4. Chicago Groove 33
5. Oklahoma Slam 19
6. Texas Shooters 11
7. California Claw 2
8. Minnesota Freeze 0
Upcoming TV Schedule (check local listings for more information):
PAX TV: April 24; May 1, 8, 15.
Fox Sports Net: Wednesday; April 20, 27; May 4, 11, 18, 25.
Story By Staff Writer, RPW Home Office
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