|
|
|
EWA Jr. Heavyweight Title Match: Jake Manning defeated Charlie Dreamer with an Indian deathlock to win the title and the gold belt. Tournament Match #1 (last remaining regional qualifying match - quarterfinals) In a final regional qualifying match, postponed from an earlier event, the Assassins defeated George South and Mr. Florida when Assassin #2 distracted the referee and Assassin #1 loaded his mask with a foreign object and knocked out Mr. Florida with a head-butt for the pinfall. With the victory, the Assassins advanced to the ABC Final Four. Tournament Match #2 (1st semi-final event) Reid Flair and George South Jr. advanced to the final round with a victory over Kaleb Konley and Cederick Alexander when South pinned Cederick following a frog splash from the top turn-buckle. Tournament Match #3 (2nd semi-final event) The Assassins withdrew from the tournament when special tournament official (and NWA Executive Director) Bob Trobich ruled that if the Assassins were to win the tournament, they would have to unmask to be recognized as tournament champions. In protest, they refused to do so and eliminated themselves from contention. This allowed Manning and Dreamer to reach the finals of the tournament with a bye. Tournament Match #4 (ABC4 tournament final) Reid Flair and George South Jr. defeated Jake Manning and Charlie Dreamer when Flair made Dreamer submit to the figure-four leglock. Flair and South were the tournament winners.
Family affair: The ABC4 featured two family connections. The father-and-son team of George South Sr. & Jr. were reigning Anderson Brothers Classic tournament champions from ABC3, but chose to take different partners for ABC4. In the history of the tournament, there have been three father and son combinations, the Souths (ABC2 and ABC3), Bobby and Dillon Eaton (ABC3), and Bob and Brad Armstrong (ABC1). But the most significant family connection was that of George South Jr.'s tournament partner Reid Flair - he is Anderson family. Reid Flair's father, legendary 16 time world champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, is a cousin of the Anderson Brothers. It is the second time a member of the Anderson family (albeit, extended family) has won the ABC trophy: Brad Anderson won with George South Sr. at ABC1, and now Brad's cousin Reid has won with George South Jr. at ABC4. Previous Champs: Only two ABC4 participants were former ABC champions: George South Sr. won with Brad Anderson at ABC1; South Sr. and Jr. won at ABC3. Title Time: This is the second time the EWA Jr. Heavyweight championship has changed hands at the Anderson Brothers Classic. Jake Manning defeated tournament partner Charlie Dreamer to win the gold this year at ABC4. At ABC2, "Asian Sensation" Mike Lee won the EWA Jr. Heavyweight title in a special battle royal. The EWA Heavyweight championship has only been defended at one tournament event, ABC2, where then EWA Champion Masked Superstar (Bill Eadie) defeated George South Jr. Tribute: The Masked Assassin used the "Anderson Slam" (hammerlock slam) on Cederick Alexander during the tournament, paying tribute to the Anderson Brothers who made the move famous. In another tribute, Jake Manning paid homage to one of Gene and Ole Anderson's fiercest rivals in the 1970s, Paul Jones, using the airplane spin and winning the EWA Jr. Heavyweight title with the Indian deathlock. Secret Identities: There were three masked wrestlers in the tournament - Mr. Florida, Assassin #1, and Assassin #2. The NWA ruling that a masked wrestler winning the tournament would have to unmask or forfeit the championship (known as the "Midnight Rider Rule" first enforced by NWA President Eddie Graham in the late 1970s) is expected to be challenged in court. Headed South? Mr. #1 George South has had a rough month. On 5/8 in Lexington NC, he lost the EWA Heavyweight title to Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and now less than one month later, the man who had held a share of the Anderson Brothers Classic championship on two previous occasions, failed to make it to the final four. On the other hand, South's son is on a roll, returning to the EWA to win a share of the Anderson Brothers Classic championship for the 2nd year in a row. Anderson: Edie Anderson (wife of the late Gene Anderson) made her second appearance at an ABC event, having also been a part of the inaugural event (ABC1) in Shelby NC in December 2004. Brad Anderson, Gene's son, made his third appearance, having won the tournament with George South at ABC1 and served as a special referee in the finals of ABC3. He served as a special official for Anderson memorabilia to kick off the festivities at ABC4. Dirty Laundry: This marked the fourth ABC tournament where George South wore his Anderson Brothers t-shirt that has not been washed since the shirt was presented to him before ABC1. This streak must end!
|
|
© 2010 Anderson Brothers Classic / Mid-Atlantic Gateway
|
