A Live Professional Wrestling show in Kansas City, MO

I haven’t had a chance to do any review for them yet, but today I’d like to discuss one of my favorite local wrestling promotions due to me recently attending a show of theirs. World League Wrestling has been one of the cornerstones of my wrestling fandom while living in Missouri, and although I don’t live near there current headquarters, I always try to make their shows when they are around. Formerly run by the late Harley Race, WLW has always been inexpensive family fun and a great way to meet new fans and wrestlers in the area. I recall my very first foray into attending their shows in being in 2007 when it was advertised that the TNA Wrestling Superstar Abyss would be in attendance at a show in Richmond, MO. One of my best friends and I travelled the hour or so there, got to meet Abyss and Harley Race, and had a hell of a time at the show and have been hooked ever since. Fifteen years on, I try to attend one of their shows at least once a year if I can depending on their tour schedule.

It’s been a while since I attended the show, and I didn’t immediately post this due to me wanting to be able to share a video component below. I had no idea it would be so long, so I doubt I will do that again.

For anyone wanting to watch this, It’s serialized on Youtube, and I have posted a link to one of the episodes featured below! For all other wrestling fun, I would recommend Fite.TV. you can get some FITE credits (10 dollars I believe) with the following code: “6m6lyyn”. I’m sure there are other ways to watch it, but FITE has a solid interface and has been worth it so far.

The Card:

• Karim Brigante defeated Austin Mulitalo
• Luke Anthony defeated Brandon Espinosa by DQ
• Rahim De La Suede defeated Kenny Alfonso
• Leland Race & Luke Anthony defeated Brandon Espinosa & Kyle Roberts
• WLW Heavyweight Title: Moses “The Deliverer” (c) defeated Derek Stone

My Thoughts:

As I’ve stated before, my methodology for this is to avoid giving arbitrary star ratings or anything resembling the typical ratings people give in wrestling reviews. I usually go through the show and pull a half-dozen or so things that I thought were significant or that I liked. You might think some of my choices are dumb and that’s okay – we all like different things!

It’s been crazy seeing Karim Change:

Karim Brigante has been a WLW staple for a number of years. I’d have to go back and look, but I have a feeling I saw some of his first matches in the past, and here we are like a decade later and the dude is polished and VERY solid. His character has gone through the change of an arrogant Italian “pretty boy” with an annoying (on purpose!) valet to a beast of a man. This new Karim seems to be a “good guy” in his own mind, but he doesn’t quite get why the crowd is booing. It’s an interesting character, and it definitely ramps up the intensity a LOT. Here’s hoping this new sense of purpose gets him in front of some new eyes, I’d love to see him pop up somewhere like NWA at the very least.

Rahim De La Suede is Great:

WLW usually has one person with the character that I would characterize as “flamboyant self-obsessed pretty boy” at any given times, and Rahim De La Suede is absolutely great in the role. While his character was far more over-the-top in the past, yelling about people touching his hair and wearing dum sunglasses, I feel like this new championship holding Rahim is “the sweet spot” for him. He’s recently made brief appearances in both WWE and AEW very recently, so fingers crossed he gets a call-up to the big leagues!

Derek Stone:

Nearly a THIRTY year veteran in the business, Derek Stone is a staple in Missouri, and has held numerous big championships in pretty much every company he’s worked for. This was actually the first time I have had the pleasure of seeing him live, mostly because the old “This Card is Subject to Change” saying always coming at me at full force in numerous shows. Flanked by his nefarious valet and pet chihuahua, I was amazed Moses “The Deliverer” was able to retain. I’m glad I finally got to see him!

The Main Reason I Love WLW:

This is a bad picture I took of my son high-fiving Luke Anthony before his match at the show. WLW always makes sure that they deliver a solid, family-friendly show and take great care to treat the kids in the audience right. Stuff like this and the fan interactions at the gimmick table are the sort of things that I hope sticks in his head when he gets older, because half of the reason I go to all these shows now is to see him have fun.

Conclusion:

This was a solid show, and one of the better shows I’ve seen from WLW in a long time. If they are doing a TV taping, the show usually has more diverse matches than if a fundraising show is going on, then again I’m not wholly sure they do those anymore. It was cool to see some of the longtime wrestlers in the company again and witness how they have changed. Kyle Roberts being a heel is quite a shock, as well as the new version of Karim Brigante. Overall, there is a LOT of wrestling in the KC area nowadays, but for a more old-school feel and a wholly kid-friendly attitude, World League Wrestling is definitely worth seeing when they come through.