It's been a good year so far for 麻豆社国产professional wrestler Cody "TKO" Smith.
He captured the All Star Wrestling (ASW) tag-team titles along with his partner Mr. India in his hometown on March 4 and the victories just seem to keep coming for the grappler.
Smith recently competed in a weekend full of action for ASW, wrestling in Maple Ridge on Friday (April 8) and in Pemberton on Saturday (April 9). In Maple Ridge, Smith and Mr. India put their tag-team titles on the line against Christopher Ryseck and The Ideal Protection and managed to walk away with a victory, but not without a few battle wounds.
"It was a tough defence for us in Maple Ridge," Smith said. "Ryseck and The Ideal Protection are two superstars but we managed to keep the belts."
Not even a split upper lip could stop Smith from letting go of the gold.
"I covered The Ideal Protection for a pin and then he clapped his knees to kick out and it crushed my face," he said. "I was bleeding all over the place like a leaky faucet and probably should have got at least two stitches, but a cut lip is not going to stop me."
Despite the injury, Smith made his way back to the Sea to Sky Corridor to wrestle at the Pemberton Community Centre on Saturday. Smith took on Ryseck in a singles bout earlier in the evening and then participated in an over-the-top-rope battle royal during the show's main event.
"It was a real honour and privilege to take on Ryseck," said Smith, who pointed out that Ryseck has wrestled all over the Pacific Northwest. "It was a good, hard-fought battle and we went back and forth, but he had his bodyguard there so it was almost a two-on-one situation."
The numbers game eventually cost Smith as the referee became incapacitated, which led Ryseck to attack Smith with a foreign object and then pin him after the official awoke. After the match, Ryseck and his bodyguard continued to beat down Smith before he was saved by Mr. India.
The pain of losing didn't linger for Smith as the final match of the evening saw him compete in a 12-man over-the-top-rope battle royal, with the winner getting a shot at the ASW Trans-Canada champion "Mr. Beefy Goodness" Vance Nevada.
The final four wrestlers came down to Smith, Mr. India, Ryseck and The Ideal Protection and Smith was left to fend for himself after Mr. India was tossed over the top rope. Smith managed to outsmart the other two wrestlers, with a little help from his tag-team partner and now has an opportunity at the world title in the near future.
"Vance has wrestled everywhere and just the opportunity to win the belt is beyond anything I could imagine," he said. "I was happy and content to win the tag-team titles, so winning the world title would be amazing. I said 2011 is a time for change and I think the change will happen and we will have a new heavyweight champ."
Smith said the title shot will be sometime in the coming months but added that he will travelling for the next several weeks. He will attend the Cauliflower Alley Club convention in Las Vegas, a group that honours wrestling's past, and also attend a friend's wedding in the city of sin. After that, he will head to Australia and compete in a few matches for Independent Championship Wrestling Down Under. Smith competed for the group a number of years ago and is eager to make his return.
For more information on Smith and ASW, visit www.aswcanada.com.
