Gold Wrestling Association makes big debut in Lagos
Nigeria’s newest pro wrestling organization successfully held their first event this past weekend on Saturday, July 30th from the Meals and Events Centre in Lagos.
Gold Wrestling Association held their inaugural event, Explosive Power Tussle, in front of a good crowd from a covered, yet open air, venue in Nigeria’s largest city.
The debut event featured four bouts. There is some video available from the event that is out there on Facebook along with a couple clips that have been sent our way but WrestleMap is also in the process of attempting to acquire more professional footage of the event and hopefully we’ll be able to make that happen. More details on that will be available later if they become available. For now, we’ll share the video that’s been sent our way.
Flying Danko hits Power Vic with a foreign object outside of the ring during their three way free-for-all match
The first match of the night featured Flying Danko, Power Vic and Mighty Progress meeting up in a three way, no disqualification free-for-all match. This match had all sorts of action in and outside of the ring, on the top rope and on the mat. Mighty Progress showed some great athleticism with a springboard off the top rope at one point. Power Vic used his power and some good brawling skills while Flying Danko mixed some hardcore brawling with his usual high flying tactics. Danko was able to pick up the win after hitting his signature flying shoulder tackle on Mighty Progress.
Fan footage from the opening bout of the night! Footage comes courtesy of Olusesan Olukoya and Flying Danko.
From top: Flying Danko; Mighty Progress; Power Vic; Power Vic prepares to throw Mighty Progress with a snap mare takeover; Flying Danko launches Power Vic off the ropes; Power Vic works over the lower body of Flying Danko; Flying Danko locks Power Vic into a headlock; Flying Danko and Power Vic team up to launch Mighty Progress off the ropes; Mighty Progress springboards off the top rope onto a waiting Flying Danko
The second match of Explosive Power Tussle was a singles match between Zion Lion and Mr. Sharpman. A full live stream of the match is available on Olusesan Olukoya of WrestleMap’s Facebook page but to get access to it, you’ll have to have to send a friend request. This match was the technical masterpiece of the night. Both Mr. Sharpman and Zion Lion are veterans and know their way around a wrestling ring with their eyes closed. They put on a very entertaining match that ended when Mr. Sharpman caught Zion Lion in a tight cradle for the three count.
From top: Mr. Sharpman; Zion Lion; Mr. Sharpman catches Zion Lion with a back elbow; Zion Lion lands a drop kick on Mr. Sharpman; Mr. Sharpman begins to overpower Zion Lion out of a collar and elbow tie-up
The third bout of the night was a two on one women’s match. The duo of Iron Lady Becky and Alexandra De Queen teamed up to take on the big and powerful Stylish J. This match was a bit chaotic with bodies flying everywhere. Becky and Alexandra didn’t seem to be on the same page throughout the match either and at times would punish each other with offense and strikes. There’s bad blood between all three of these wrestlers due to their past meetings in the ring and that’s a likely explanation for why Becky and Alexandra had a hard time cooperating. Due to the miscommunications, the team of Alexandra and Becky still couldn’t find a way to beat Stylish J and J’s veteran power and prowess was able to keep her from getting pinned. This match ended in a time limit draw and a livestream of the match is also posted to Olusesan Olukoya’s Facebook page.
From top: Iron Lady Becky; Stylish J; Alexandra De Queen; Stylish J lifts Iron Lady Becky up off the mat; Iron Lady Becky drags Stylish J to the middle of the ring where Alexandra De Queen waits to launch herself from the top rope; Iron Lady Becky breaks up a pinfall attempt by Stylish J
The fourth and final match of the night featured a bout between two heavyweights as Strong Bone Erujeje and Great Mosendo met in the ring. Mosendo debuted a new look in this match, sporting a black jumpsuit and an orange ski mask and looked intimidating. Strong Bone made his way out to the ring wearing his glittery silver outfit that we’ve seen in the past and was completely fired up, yelling to the crowd and shaking the ring ropes Ultimate Warrior style. The two big men brawled all throughout the ring and then throughout the crowd. While brawling outside, Strong Bone connected on a shot that was enough to make Mosendo flee the ring area. Strong Bone made his way back to the ring and Mosendo was counted out, giving Strong Bone Erujeje the win in the main event. There’s a stream of some of this match available on Olusesan Olukoya’s Facebook page as well, but due to some technical issues, the entire match didn’t broadcast during the stream.
From top: Great Mosendo; Strong Bone Erujeje; Great Mosendo lands an elbow on the back of Strong Bone’s neck; Strong Bone Erujeje has some choice words for Great Mosendo after knocking him to the canvas
Overall, this was a fun and memorable debut for Gold Wrestling Association who are out to change the landscape of pro wrestling in Nigeria and Africa. It will be exciting to see what the GWA has up their sleeves moving forward! To keep up with the GWA, be sure to give a follow to their Facebook page.
WrestleMap was also well represented at the maiden GWA event. From top: Mr. Sharpman, Jimmy “The African Dream” Palm, Kapoorman Nasamu, Elephando Bassey, Power Vic and Zion Lion seated in front of Olusesan Olukoya’s new WrestleMap banner; Kapoorman Nasamu solo shot; Mighty Progress poses in front of the WrestleMap banner.
All images courtesy of Flying Danko, Gold Wrestling Association and Olusesan Olukoya.
