An upcoming live professional wrestling event –
My most anticipated professional wrestling show of the year has got to be, hands down, Trailblazer Gold Rush from Trailblazer Championship Wrestling. Taking place in Gardner, Kansas, this Saturday, May 18th, fans will finally see their first-ever Trailblazer Heavyweight Champion crowned. This comes after the surprise announcement of an eight-man tournament that started at the February Trails to the Gold show, which is now down to just four combatants.
For the first year of their existence, people would often ask on social media why Trailblazer didn’t have a championship belt, and I think we are currently seeing the reason. Trailblazer took the time to carefully build up their roster, acquainting fans with their characters before pulling the trigger on introducing belts. I feel that it’s far too easy to toss a belt on somebody at the first show you have, but did that person actually earn it? The eight athletes chosen to go for the Trailblazer Heavyweight Championship Tournament toiled for well over a year and cemented their spots in the pecking order, so when one finally ends up with the strap, it will be that much sweeter.
With a stacked card consisting of over twenty wrestlers and other personalities and at least eight matches, Trailblazer Gold Rush promises to be one of, if not THE biggest, Trailblazer shows to date, with tons of familiar faces as well as new blood to the company. Aside from the tournament “final four” and finals, Kansas City is about to get really acquainted with Tommy 2 Good, who is making waves over in southern and western Kansas, as well as Camaro Jackson, who dominates St. Louis. Fans will see the return of “The Phoenix Princess” Aminah Belmont, as well as Nixi XS making her Trailblazer in-ring debut against Tootie Lynn and a mystery opponent. Who could it be? After the Wranglers blew the absolute roof off of the Trailblazer Arena in their first big tag-team win in the company, they will face tough competition against two championship-caliber opponents in Rahim De La Suede and Moses the Deliverer. That’s just a small taste of what to expect, but there will be much more!
Finally, and don’t worry, I won’t ramble on about this, I have become a sponsor for this show by helping create a yearbook for the 2023 year’s worth of shows for Trailblazer Championship Wrestling. When I started wrestling blogging, I always had a small dream in the back of my mind that I would attempt to write something or help chronicle local professional wrestling because, let’s face it, Kansas City gets overlooked a LOT when it comes to the indie wrestling discourse you normally see. I’m not going to be arrogant and suggest that a 24-page fan program is going to change that, but the fact that I was able to put this together is a good first step that I, and hopefully many more content creators, will continue. The 2023 Trailblazer Yearbook is a full-color, professionally printed magazine containing a full roster for last year, win/loss records, info on top feuds, and gorgeous color photos provided, with permission, by Jamie Brown Studios. If this takes off, I plan to do a LOT more in the future.
Check out my questionably made commercial for more details:
Without any more of that ol’ jibber jabber, let’s take a look at what to expect this weekend!
Here is the ticketing information courtesy of the TCW Facebook page, they apparently have a discount if you sign up for a mailing list:
General Admission Only $20
Kids 12 and under Only $10
TrailblazerTix.com
For More about Trailblazer Championship Wrestling, check out their website HERE, Facebook Page HERE, their Twitter page HERE, or YouTube HERE. For a list of my Trailblazer coverage, click HERE, and HERE for all of my wrestling coverage, local and national. Don’t forget to also check them out on Cagematch, HERE. If you are a fan, make sure to drop likes, and reviews, or join their social media pages!
The Card (so far):
Things could change on here at any moment up to the show starting, so I will add/delete or update anything if I have time. Otherwise, I’m sure you all know the saying “card subject to change”, which could always happen.
For the first part of this, I’m going to be discussing the remainder of the Trailblazer Heavyweight Championship Tournament and the somewhat dark cloud that hangs over it. For a lot of people, I feel like “Astonishing” Austin Mulitalo was perhaps the odds-on pick to win it all. However, something happened at the end of a match between The Wranglers and The Top Guns at Trails to the Gold that flipped that entire scenario on its head. Jared Thumb, one of the other semi-finalists, accidentally rolled into the backs of Austin’s knees in a post-match fracas, putting his championship aspirations, if not his entire career, in question. This unfortunate incident has cast a shadow over what was otherwise a highly anticipated tournament.
Trailblazer management put together an amazing video outlining the whole situation. Please check it out:
It’s really anybody’s game here, we still aren’t 100% certain if Austin is going to be able to compete, and his opponent, Luke Anthony, is potentially one of the most gifted athletes in this entire area. Having to win, not one, but two matches in his condition seems impossible. That said, Mulitalo did release a video of his rehabilitation of his knee, so it could be better than expected. On the flipside, you have Jared Thumb facing off against “Madman” Max Sterling. Thumb has the honor of not only being on every single Trailblazer show since its inception, but he has a perfect untarnished winning streak. “Miracle” Mike James almost put an end to that in February, but as of this weekend, that record is still rolling along.
Sterling is the real wild card here. Sterling has everything he needs to be a stellar success in Trailblazer, however let’s his anger often get the best of him. Fans have seen him get himself disqualified on purpose to hurt somebody and he often has a squad of lackeys doing his dirty work. If he carries himself in a more controlled manner, like what he did against The Iceman at the last show, this could be all his for the taking. Any way one looks at this, these next three matches are going to be awesome!
To see Austin’s social media post click HERE
Oh lord, here we go…. At Trails to the Gold, SBC showed up and was unceremoniously tossed out the door by Marcus, this was largely due to the fact that he wasn’t there to wrestle, nor did he have any clients to manage. I can’t imagine he’s going to make that mistake a second time, and with “The Phoenix Princess” Aminah Belmont at least making an appearance, I’m sure he will have his hands full. It will be interesting to see what he does at this show for sure.
There might be an issue with Rocco the Barbarian as Trailblazer’s Facebook Page released a shocking video showing that Dekin Cane had lost contact with his brother/client in the aftermath of his loss to Austin Mulitalo back in February. Rocco is a man of the wilderness, but it doesn’t seem to be like him to be away from the one human he seems to have a good relationship with – here’s hoping everything is okay. Maybe with enough time in nature, reconnecting with his animalistic side, will help him come back in this weekend and reclaim the glory that sadly was pulled from his hands.
To see Dekin’s troubles, click HERE
“The Suplex Cyclone” Curt Gannon had other obligations back in February during the timeframe for the tournament, so one can imagine he will be ready and willing to do whatever it takes to get himself into title contention as soon as possible. The winner of the championship had better watch out because I can see a suplex coming their way in the future. Trailblazer Fans haven’t seen Curt since back in 2023, so a big “welcome back!” chant should be in order.
Both “Miracle Mike James” and “Yogamonster” Mike Sydal suffered big losses during the Trailblazer Championship Tournament so one could almost see this follow up as redemption match for somebody. With rankings and contenderships being arranged behind the scenes after this to get the first challenger ready, any win is going to be the goal to getting that place towards the top of the ladder. Mike James almost had a place in The Final Four, albeit through less than savory means, but was reprimanded by senior official Vito for his trouble. His match with Jared Thumb was restarted and that was that. I’m sure James is going to be looking for a win by any means necessary here, and if he was against just about anyone else, I’d be worried.
Sydal, as fans all know, has been a staple of Kansas City wrestling for well over fifteen years now, even landing insane accomplishments like being named Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Rookie of the Year in 2009. If anyone has the pedigree to challenge for the Trailblazer Heavyweight Championship, Sydal sure does. Sydal has the ring awareness and skill to be able to navigate the sort of “skills” James often possesses, seeing that he had big wins over the likes of “The Whole Thang” Rahim De La Suede, who is not usually the most sportsman-like of competitors. This could end up one of my most anticipated matches of the night.
I mentioned that “The Phoenix Princess” Aminah Belmont was scheduled to appear, but fell short of mentioning this match in my section about SBC because Aminah, herself, seems to not be committed to it! After Nixi XS made it very clear in a social media post that she was not too thrilled about being in a tag team with somebody she didn’t like, Aminah followed up with the assertion that she was going to be at the show simply to get an apology from management regarding her last match, in which Trailblazer Official Allaney “put her hands on Aminah“, then leave. I’m not sure how SBC feels about this (assuming she’s still hiring him as a manager), and wonder what will be come of this mysterious match.
Tootie Lynn, However, is pumped up no matter the odds, stating that it could be “1 on 1, 2 on 1, or whatever”, but the question persists – who was the mystery partner she chose for this? Is it somebody returning from the past, or has she recruited a new face to Trailblazer Championship Wrestling? All of the mysteries involved here make this easily one of the most exciting matches of the night.
To see the social media posts click HERE, HERE, and HERE!
After a rather embarrassing loss to Luke Anthony in the Trailblazer Championship Tournament Wild Card Match (not to mention an RKO from Marcus!) Van “Bam” Winkle has got to be absolutely fuming. When painted into a corner he gets very serious and has a tendency to pull out crazy wins, just ask The Iceman what happened after beating Van in a dance off last year! We have no idea who he’s facing as of yet, but whomever it is better watch out. As long as Mr. Winkle lays off trying to woo Miss Wendy yet again, he might be able to pull off a big upset!
One of the most talked about matches of Trails to the Gold was the showdown between The Wranglers (Bobby Joe Black and Johnnie Jo Black) and The Top Guns (Brandon Barretta & Joe Vinetti w/ Nixi XS). Not only did The Black Brothers get that elusive first tag team win, but they scored what many saw as a major upset, blowing the roof off of Trailblazer Arena. Johnnie Jo Black was the main target of abuse, and he absorbed as much of it as he could take until he was able to crawl to his corner and let Bobby in. He showed a massive amount of heart and came out on the other side looking like a hero to many in the audience. Johnnie Joe Black often gets left by the wayside, and between that match and him challenging Curt Gannon back in October, he’s well on his way to being the ultimate underdog, and I’m here for it.
Heart, however, is not going to guarantee a win over the likes of Moses the Deliverer and “The Whole Thang” Rahim De La Suede, a couple of men that have both held championship gold and helped carry St. Louis wrestling to great heights within the past decade. Neither man have been strangers to Kansas or Trailblazer, but rarely have they worked together over here – the combination could prove to be very formidable indeed. Can The Wranglers do the unthinkable and pull off a winning streak?
“The Grand Regent” Camaro Jackson is an absolute force of nature. With quads the size of tree trunks, I’m sure he could kick a car in half, and what he can do to a person should be somewhat concerning. This will be his first time in Trailblazer Championship Wrestling, and for those that have not seen him, they are in for a massive treat. Camaro released his thoughts on the match-up this week and stated that he heard Tommy 2 Good had a great reputation but seemed to have something to prove. However, it was actually Camaro that had something to prove – he needs everyone to see that he can utterly destroy any opponent put in front of him – with words like that, I can’t help but feel a tad fearful for Tommy’s odds.
I won’t lie, this will be my first-time seeing Tommy wrestling, but I have heard absolutely wonderful things about his in-ring abilities. One of these days, I need to start keeping up with Heartland Championship Wrestling more, because they do have some extraordinary talent that has only recently been coming over here. This match is definitely my most-anticipated announced match to watch, and I bet it steals the show!
To see the social media post from Camaro, click HERE
More?
Normally a Trailblazer show has around 7-8 matches, but this has a much larger card than usual, so I’m sure this will be a longer show. I will keep everyone posted as to what happened after the show!
In Closing:
Trailblazer Championship Wrestling: Trailblazer Gold Rush seems like it will be an amazing show. I hope to see everyone there packing Trailblazer Arena to the rafters, and hopefully everyone enjoys those 2023 Trailblazer Yearbooks!
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