Opportunities About For Megastars, Cardille "Legacy" Winner To Be Honored, More As KSWA Turns 20

by Trapper Tom, Editor, KSWA Digest


It’s been a twenty-year labor of love for professional wrestling when the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance (KSWA) opens its doors this Saturday night at the Home of Professional Wrestling in Pittsburgh.


The KSWA’s 283^rd event takes place at Spirit Hall and is highlighted by Heavyweight Champion Anthony Alexander’s title defense against the returning Edric Everhart. Opportunity has always been the calling card of the KSWA and it’s never been more important. Everhart, a former KSWA tag team champion and for a brief time he was a hand-picked member of the VIPs—returns for the first time since March, 28, 2015 and gets a chance to win the most coveted title in the Commonwealth.


The Golden Triangle Championship will be defended by Shane Starr when he takes on the challenge of J-Ru. J-Ru was in the first match of the inaugural KSWA card on February 18, 2000 at Peabody High School. Shane Starr has won a number of championships since he debuted at 18 years of age in 2005. Starr recently tagged with Alexander to take on Bubba the Bulldog and Dennis Gregory, and now the Golden Triangle Champion will face a formidable foe looking to cement his legacy in Pittsburgh’s professional wrestling scene. Both men are eager to have a good showing in front of the Krazies this Saturday.


One-time former tag team champions Bubba the Bulldog and Dennis Gregory team once again to face the hard-hitting team of T-Rantula and “Big Country” Matt McGraw. The match will be interesting as Bubba and Dennis have not tagged with each other often in recent months. They both held singles gold for significant amounts of time, while T-Rantula and McGraw have become an established team over the past year. However, as their appearance in Brackenridge proves, the Mayor Mystery-led “Team Don’t Care” still has the chops to be an effective duo.  


The battle of the biggest takes place Saturday night as The Beastman faces off against the 7-foot-tall Jack Massacre. Between the two Megastars, there will be nearly 800 pounds of humanity in the ring. This hard-hitting contest will be a challenge to both wrestlers. Rarely do they face off against with someone who is of equal size and strength. Both Massacre and Beastman will have to ratchet up the physical context of their showdown.


One of the KSWA’s longest-tenured veterans, Justin Sane, is set to team up with the Pittsburgh Luchadore, Yinza to face Five-Star Champion Harley T. Morris and his partner “King” Del Douglas. Morris fought off Sane in Brackenridge, but their long-time rivalry isn’t over. Add Morris’ taunting of Yinza recently on social media and this feud can only this should be a heated matchup.


Many of the KSWA’s favorite “and not so favorite” Megastars will also be in action.


The KSWA will honor Lawrenceville United as its “Chilly” Bill Cardille “Legacy Award” winner. Lawrenceville United is an “inclusive, resident-driven, non-profit” organization that works to improve the quality of life for all Lawrenceville residents. The organization has long been a supporter of the KSWA, and they will be honored Saturday. In addition, the annual KSWA “Fan of the Year” will be revealed at the event.


The KSWA 20th Anniversary event takes place this Saturday, February 22 at Spirit Hall, 242 51st Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of the city of Pittsburgh. Front row seats are sold out, but General Admission tickets remain for $12. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the bell time is 7:00 p.m. All who purchase a ticket will receive a commemorative cup recognizing the 20th anniversary. Call 412-726-1762 for more information. Card is subject to change.

THUNDER ROSA — TIME TO MAKE HER THE HALF-PAINTED FACE OF THE NWA REBOOT

Thunder Rosa from her Facebook page.

by Trapper Tom Leturgey

The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) has a star in the making in its Women’s Division that will need to come to the forefront if the entire group is to shine anywhere near to the degree of the Men’s Division.


That athlete is Thunder Rosa.

[This article originally was posted on 1wrestling.com on January 6, 2020.


So far under-used and mis-cast, Melissa Cervantes is the female wrestler that the NWA—and Women’s Professional Wrestling in general--needs to let shine. Originally presented as a dark, spooky character with zombie-esque qualities, the (half) face-painted Tijuana, Baja California-born Thunder Rosa is the babyface that the NWA desperately needs to lead that part of its weekly Powerrr broadcast and beyond.


Thunder Rosa was prominently showcased in the Powerrr episode immediately after the Jim Cornette controversy that saw the commentator vanish from the pre-taped schedule. The episode followed Cervantes and coaches as she prepared for her November 8, 2019 MMA Combate San Antonio debut against Nadine Mandiau. The NWA sent a film crew and play-by-play announcer Joe Galli to chronical the Strawweight adventure. Thunder Rosa lost via three-round decision despite coming on strong in a bloodied third round. More importantly for the NWA, the episode revealed a complex backstory for the 33-year-old Cervantes.


During interview segments, Thunder Rosa commented that she wanted to do well in part for her son. For context, this made Cervantes’ athletic canon in similar to WWE’s Lacey Evans’ daughter being featured on television. Both women’s personal and family lives have been highlighted by social media posts. Just like Evans, Cervantes’ likeability has grown exponentially since fans got a sense of who the athlete really is outside of the squared circle.


The charismatic Evans has the billion-dollar network of the WWE documenting her admirable charitable events during the holidays; Thunder Rosa joyfully donned an elf costume, drove herself to a big box store near her San Antonio, Texas, home and collected money while holding a wrestling-themed Salvation Army kettle.


Both Evans and Cervantes are inspirational athletes. Evans is a Marine veteran; Cervantes is a Mexican immigrant who in 2019 proudly became a Naturalized United States Citizen. Both are married, have children (Cervantes may be the most prominent female athlete in the country to get emotional about her son) and in 2014 debuted in professional wrestling. In 2019, Evans ranked #23 in the PWI list of top women in wrestling, while Thunder Rosa came in at a ridiculously low #97.

Thunder Rosa spent her formative wrestling years in Lucha Underground as Kobra Moon, the leader of the Reptile Tribe. Cervantes was the runner-up for the 2015 Southern California Rookie of the Year Award, then upped that by winning the 2016 Southern California Women's Wrestler of the Year Award. She had a brief stop in Ring of Honor beginning on June 15, 2018, when she shared the ring with ROH stalwarts Kelly Klein, Sumie Sakai and Tenille Dashwood. She later wrestled against Britt Baker and Madison Rayne during other outings.


In 2018, Thunder Rosa worked Women of Wrestling (WOW) dates as her Kobra Moon, but then became a brand-new character, Serpentine. In September, 2018 Serpentine unsuccessfully challenged Tessa Blanchard for the WOW championship.


Throughout 2018 and 2019, Thunder Rosa wrestled for ROH, Shimmer and a litany of other promotions from Georgia to Japan (more on that below), Mexico, Texas and New York.

In late 2019, Thunder Rosa debuted in the NWA. In her first contest on Powerrr, she defeated the similar-sized Ashley Vox. Thunder Rosa soon became part of Melina Perez’s stable that also includes Marti Belle. The three are involved in a rivalry with the NWA Heavyweight Champion Allysin Kay, Vox, ODB and any of the other women wrestling for contracts.


Kay has defended the NWA Women’s championship periodically, but since winning that title in April, 2019, she works far more dates without the NWA strap on the line for promotions like SHINE and Evolve, among others.


Cervantes is arguably the NWA Women’s Division’s premier all-around athlete. Commentator Stu Bennett frequently champions her athleticism. And as the roster currently stands, the Mexican-American success story is Powerrr’s most marketable woman, a likeable Ronda Rousey of sorts.

Most recently, on Sunday, January 5, Thunder Rosa made history by beating Maki Ito for the Tokyo Joshi Pro International Princess Championship. Thunder Rosa became the first foreign competitor to win the promotion’s title.


“I can’t describe how happy I am about being the first non-Japanese champion in this company,” she commented on social media. “I did it because I believe and other people believe in my abilities as a wrestler and as a performer. I will never forget how when I first started coming to this country, they called me the ‘jobber,’ ‘talent enhancement’ and that I had will never become a star! Those words made me work harder to prove that I belong in this ring, that I deserve what I have achieved because of my talent, my in-ring skills, my hard work, and my charisma! All the years I worked not for the gold and the fame, I worked hard because I want to be RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE BEST, as a relentless force in this business, as a positive role model in wrestling. Ito felt the wrath and her big mouth got her in trouble. She felt the hammer and I made history.”


The time has never been better to flip the switch and make Thunder Rosa the face of the NWA’s future.