By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Midwest All-Star Wrestling “Mayhem at the Mall”
March 15, 2025 in Maplewood, Minnesota at Maplewood Mall
Maplewood is a suburb northeast of St. Paul. This was a free show. They had just a few rows of chairs; me and a lot of the crowd were left standing. It is a two-story mall, so a lot of people stood on the second floor and watched from there. There were easily 600 or so people watching at any given time. The big selling point was Minnesota native Cal Bloom (f/k/a Von Wagner).
* I have barely seen any of the wrestlers on this show, so let’s see how this goes.
1. Nick Pride vs. Gavin Parker for the MAW Innovation Title. Two new guys to me. Nick is a flamboyant narcissist, bringing a small mirror to the ring, and he’s an evil Dalton Castle-type with a lot of glitter on his chest. Gavin is a scrawny kid with long, straight hair. Decent action; Pride is bigger. Parker hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press that popped the crowd and he scored the pin!
Gavin Parker defeated Nick Pride to win the MAW Innovation Title at 8:19.
* Heather Monroe came to the ring. I attended the show last week where she won an eight-woman tournament and she was given a trophy that notes she is now the No. 1 contender. Monroe announced she will face the winner of a six-woman gauntlet later, and she’s putting her No. 1 contender trophy on the line.
2. J Fowler vs. Rey Horus. This match was the reason I wanted to see the show. Horus is one of my favorite unsigned luchadores today. Fowler is short and his face reminds me of Pac; I’ve seen him on shows from Illinois-based Dreamwave Wrestling but it’s my first time seeing him live. He’s pretty good, and this match lived up to my expectations. Horus wore a blue and silver outfit and he wrestled with a vest on. Fowler tugged at the mask and got booed. Horus hit a Swerve-style Surprise Kick. Fowler hit a Jackhammer. Horus hit a top-rope Spanish Fly that popped the crowd. Fowler hit a Panama Sunrise (Canadian Destroyer off the ropes) and a Shining Wizard for the pin. Really sharp match.
J Fowler defeated Rey Horus at 11:28.
3. A six-woman gauntlet. Trans athlete Saraya Saber is six feet tall and towered over the competitors. I have seen Mackenzie Morgan two times recently on shows from Missouri and I’ve compared her to a young Jazz; she has good muscle definition but is fairly short. Nixi XS is a fashionista, concerned about her looks and fashion, and I’ve seen her on some Dreamwave shows from Illinois. I didn’t know the other three women at all. One woman was Gin Sevani and I only know that because her name was written on her butt. The MAW Twitter page lists the other two wrestlers as Rory Shield and Davina. This was a WWE-style gauntlet. The only notable thing was the crowd popping for the hard chops — I think a lot of people who haven’t attended a live show before (as I presume many here have not!) are surprised when women hit hard, loud chops to each other’s chest. Saraya beat Gin last by hitting a spinebuster and tying her in a crossface, and Gin tapped out. Most of these five mini-matches went just two to four minutes.
Saraya Saber defeated Gin Sevani, Nixi XS, Mackenzie Morgan, Rory Shield, and Davina in a gauntlet.
4. “The Brothers of Funstruction” Yabo the Clown and Ruffo the Clown vs. two wrestlers. I think one was named Nick Rude, and the other guy, who was a bit chubbier, had “Natus” written on his butt. One of the reasons I stopped watching the NWA a year ago was that I hated the Brothers of Funstruction. I just don’t find their humor to work for me. Instead of a bag of thumbtacks, they poured popcorn on the mat. They hit their opponents with their oversized tie and a rubber chicken. I did an eye-roll at all of it but the kids in the crowd enjoyed the humor. They popped a balloon in the face of one of the heels, rolled him up, and pinned him.
Yabo the Clown and Ruffo the Clown defeated two wrestlers at 9:54.
* Rylie Jackson hit the ring; he’s pretty talented. He’s a bald, white kid and he’s appeared on AEW TV. I attended a live show a couple years ago where he faced Silas Young in the only good match on the card (and it was really good!). Anyhow, Rylie said he hasn’t been in MAW for several years. He pretended to befriend the clowns, but then Rylie’s teammate, Levy Cruise, jumped in the ring and they beat up the clowns. They then beat up the opponents of the clowns.
5. Heather Monroe vs. Saraya Saber for the MAW No. 1 contender’s trophy. Saber is a full 6’0″ tall and towers over Heather. In a fun spot, when they brawled to the floor, Monroe had kids hold back Saber’s arms so Heather could chop Saraya; you’ve seen the spot a lot but these kids loved being part of the show. In the ring, Monroe hit a Lungblower and a Bubba Bomb for the pin.
Heather Monroe defeated Saraya Saber to retain the MAW No. 1 contender’s trophy at 8:54.
6. A Rumble match. This was announced as a 10-man Rumble, but the people kept coming and coming… somewhere between 15 and 20 total. None looked good, and I presume a lot were making their in-ring debut. A white guy with black pants and a maple leaf on the sides of the pants won. He said his name was Chad Poutine and is from Canada. He cut a heel promo. They played the Canadian National Anthem. This was a rough watch.
Chad Poutine won a Rumble match at 22:18.
7. Cal Bloom (w/Wayne Bloom) vs. Shay Diesel. Shay is bald and thick; he’s a big man but much, much shorter than Bloom. Again, Cal was NXT’s Von Wagner, and his dad Wayne was WWF’s Beau Beverly (he also worked under his own name in the Destruction Crew tag team). Cal’s Wiki page says he’s only 6’5″ but he sure seems taller than that… he sure passes “the airport test.” He looks like a star. Cal hit some bodyslams. Diesel slowed it down with a sleeper on the mat. Bloom hit a massive chokeslam for a nearfall, then he hit a spear. Diesel hit a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall. Bloom hit an F5 for the pin. Decent match.
Cal Bloom defeated Shay Diesel at 9:26.
Final Thoughts: Rey Horus-J Fowler was really good. Seeing Bloom was nice. The rest of the show was fine but skippable. This show started at 1 p.m. CST and it didn’t end until 3:30… which felt a bit long for a free show, as a lot of people got up and left after the clowns’ match. The Rumble was just terrible. Had they cut that entirely, I probably would have enjoyed the show more. While I didn’t know the women in the ring in the gauntlet, I did see some potential there. This show was recorded, but I don’t know if, when or where it would ever be available for streaming. You can check out the MAW Twitter page.
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