By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
F1rst Wrestling “Friday Night Nitro”
July 31, 2026 in Bloomington, Minnesota at Mall of America
The Mall of America is a four-story mall. From the rotunda, fans on all four levels can watch the action. The paid crowd was a legit 650 or so (10+ rows of 15 seats per side on three sides means the floor had 450 fans. The second tier had a paid standing room area with another 200). Overall viewership was likely 1,200, including people watching from other areas. This is actually the first time I’ve seen wrestling here! (The last two years, they’ve held this show when I’ve been in Chicago for All Out.)
1. Devon Monroe vs. Shane Black. Devon is a flamboyant Black man and quite similar to Sonny Kiss in style. Black is a white kid with short blond hair, and he’s a lifeguard. He blared on his whistle, and he sprayed his body with tanning oil, and he had a hard floatie. Black sprayed the oil in Monroe’s face, and he dominated much of the match. Devon hit a flying clothesline for the pin. An entertaining opener; the crowd loves Devon.
Devon Monroe defeated Shane Black at 12:12.
2. Eddie Kingston vs. Cho Lee. I saw Eddie when he first competed in the MPW Arena in spring 2004 — he came to Minnesota with a bunch of Chikara guys, with ref Bryce Remsburg and Chris Hero. He got a really nice pop. Cho immediately made me think of Goldust, as he had a long blond wig that he removed before the bell. He’s bald and a bit chubby and wore a teal singlet. Kingston hit his series of rapid-fire chops, and that popped the crowd. He hit a spinning back fist and a DDT for the pin. I thought it was much longer than it was because I was pretty entertained.
Eddie Kingston defeated Cho Lee at 6:31.
3. Rudy Hell vs. Effy vs. Brandon Gore vs. Jinn in a four-way for the F1rst Uptown VFW Title. Effy got a nice pop. Gore’s looks are comparable to Brooks Jensen. He is a conspiracy theorist and wears a tinfoil hat. When he was in charge of the offense, the crowd chants “We believe!” Rudy Hell is a masked luchador in red gear — he wears a Psychosis-style mask that covers his face, but not his long hair. Jinn is a rocker with tinted blue hair. Effy hit his Earthquake-style buttdrops, and he hit a double Blockbuster. Rudy hit a Shining Wizard to pin Jinn and retain his title.
Rudy Hell defeated Effy, Brandon Gore, and Jinn in a four-way to retain the F1rst Uptown VFW Title at 9:57.
4. Matt Honey vs. Mr. Williams. Matt Honey wore a pink singlet, and he has short, dark curly hair. Mr. Williams looks like a math teacher, and he’s probably in his mid- to late-40s. This match was built around Honey stealing Mr. Williams’ clip-on tie. Williams finally put on an actual tie. Honey rolled him up for the pin. If it sounds entertaining, I’m explaining it wrong. This was around the same length as that Kingston match, but this felt like torture and never-ending.
Matt Honey defeated Mr. Williams at 6:15.
5. Allie Katch vs. Ryan Cruz for the F1rst Grand Title. Really good action between them. I first met a then-teenager Cruz when he was training, and he looked so much like Matt Hardy that he was dubbed “Version 2.” We’ve done some lengthy road trips to IWA Mid-South shows years ago. He’s now in his early 40s and bald. Cruz faked a knee injury but popped up and struck her. Every time he hit Allie, he got lots of boos. He made a lazy cover that she reversed and got a nearfall. They briefly fought to the floor. As they re-entered the ring, she hit a piledriver out of the ropes for the pin. By far better than anything else so far.
Allie Katch defeated Ryan Cruz to retain the F1rst Grand Title at 12:54.
6. A Royal Rumble. We started with hated redhead Darin Corbin (who joined me and Cruz on those road trips several times!) and Badger Briggs. The other participants were Big O. Possum (a full-body mascot), Damon Spriggle, Heavy Metal Lore, Izzy Izabella, Jordan, Paul Reed and Tori Fox. Suddenly, at the end, Sonny Onoo came out, with Jushin Liger! The crowd popped for Liger. (Was it really Liger? Who knows for sure? But he is in town for WrestleCon, and Sonny Onoo was with him!) Liger tossed Corbin last to win. Not all that good of action, but the crowd enjoyed it.
Jushin Liger won a Royal Rumble at 13:37.
7. Gringo Loco vs. Vengador vs. Amazing Red vs. El Clon in a four-way. Four super-talented luchadors. Red also wrestled in the MPW Arena back in 2004 or 2005, but I haven’t seen him live since then. Great lucha action between them. They took turns hitting dives to the floor (it’s nice to have three guys to catch you!) I’ve always said Vengador has the size of WCW-era La Parka. His moonsault to the floor was so impressive, particularly because of his bigger frame. In the end, Red hit a Code Red to pin Vengador.
Amazing Red defeated Gringo Loco, Vengador, and El Clon in a four-way at 16:41.
Final Thoughts: A thoroughly enjoyable show, and it clocked in at about two hours even. The lucha main event was every bit as good as you would expect. Sure, the crowd of spectators on the third and fourth level had dwindled a bit, but still — a crowd of 1,000 or so was really hot and loud for that awesome main event. Cruz-Katch was really good for second. While nothing else stood out, Kingston sure was over, and those chops resonated through the air.
Fun fact — yes, I missed the first-ever WCW Nitro. I know the date of it well: Sept. 4, 1995. Why? My birthday is Sept. 5, and my girlfriend in college wanted to celebrate on that Monday night, a day early. I never dared tell her I would rather go to wrestling that night! Thus, I missed that debut episode with the shocking Lex Luger return.
A really family-friendly atmosphere, too. Lots of kids watched and were into the action. This was a great way to start WrestleMania weekend. Which reminds me I need to wrap this up and head to Minneapolis for GCW’s Saturday afternoon show!
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