787 Pro Wrestling at the Troy Boys & Girls Club, 2/17/13

The cold, blustery weather cut down the size of the crowd, but the energy was just about the same inside the Troy Boys & Girls Club earlier today for 787 Pro Wrestling's 2nd card, dubbed, "Acceleration".

The program opened with a pre-show match, what we would refer to as a "dark match" in the big leagues (WWE, TNA, Ring of Honor), as Ben Ortiz pinned Keegan Pitts in a short match with a variation on the GTS (Go To Sleep), CM Punk's pet finisher. In this case, Ortiz held his opponent as if to deliver another move, but then dropped down such that Pitts' face met Ortiz's knees. Thanks for coming.

The actual card began right on time at 2:30, with local fave Rob Coleman defeating Josh Jordan. Coleman was still selling the knee injury sustained last month vs. Vik Dalishus, so there is some continuity in this promotion, which is a good sign.

Another crowd favorite, Chris Envy, qualified for a gauntlet match for the first ever 787 Interstate title, to be awarded next month, beating Este Tipo with a flip powerbomb (think Melina Perez's LA Sunset from the latter stages of her WWE run). Good stuff, and the crowd was into Envy big time.

Next up were a two more newcomers. Kriptic Keegan took on Lenn Oddity, whose gimmick falls somewhere between recent-era Sting and any number of bizarre comic book characters. I'd not be surprised if I've actually seen Lenn out of makeup somewhere and not have known. Oddity took the fall despite having been on defense virtually the entire way.

What was billed as a 5-man scramble match was in fact a 1-fall affair that saw CJ Scott outlast Adam & Kyle Badger (not sure if these guys are in fact brothers), Coconut Jones, and Randy Walker. Luckless Randy ended up eating a package piledriver for the finish, making Scott a favorite for the Interstate title, as he advances.

During intermission, ROH star Bobby Fish was in attendance at a merchandise table. I actually got to talk to him for a bit and bought a picture of him taken in action last year in Japan. Bobby was also nice enough to sign for no extra charge. I just couldn't help but notice a 2012 Topps CM Punk card at the next table and see the slight resemblance between the former WWE & ROH champion and Fish, who challenges for the ROH tag titles March 2 in Chicago.

Back to the action, and William King was back, but with a worse look than last month. He brought along a Bobby Heenan wannabe manager in Marshall McNeil, and tag team partner Zachary Pierre Beaulieu. Collectively, Beaulieu & King are known as the Monarchy (King's supposedly from England, Beaulieu from Montreal, Canada), who needed help from McNeil to steal one from the Joint Task Force (Sgt. Fury & Corporal Saint), with King pinning Saint after an inverted DDT, aided by a foot stomp off the top from Beaulieu. Sorry, guys, but the clown makeup has to go! As for McNeil, well, he carries himself like vintage Heenan, circa the 80's, but he is nowhere near the "Brain"'s class.

Last month, Cloudy had to deal with the fans taunting him about his slight resemblance to singer Justin Bieber. Not as many chants this time, and Cloudy resorted to using an umbrella and putting his feet on the ropes to beat Kyle Brad. Lame finish, especially from an indy veteran who should be doing more. Billed as hailing from "Electric City, NY" (read: Schenectady), which sounds like he's another comics geek. Wynantskill's Bert Williams, now billed as hailing from Troy itself, made it 2-for-2 for the home team beating Nick Ando in a comedy match. Williams' "Buttery" gimmick, unfortunately, isn't going to get him far.

Williams & Cloudy join Scott & Envy in the Interstate gauntlet match, and right now, if I had to pick a winner, my money's on either Scott or Envy.

Earlier in the day, another former ROH star, Oman Tortuga, 1/2 of a team known as the Outcast Killaz, was being interviewed when his opponent du jour, Watervliet's Foxx Vinyer, confronted him, and they did a short brawl. The match itself was the semi-final, and the best on the show. Tortuga hit a backdrop driver to end Vinyer's bid for a win, and Vinyer again blew off an attempt at an interview post match.

Vik Dalishus' 1st title defense was against local DJ Dalton Castle. Vik had his fans in the back rows of the bleachers behind me, and he acknowledged them with a modest nod of the head before the match. Castle gave Dalishus all he could handle, but the champ retains with a wicked superkick that nearly knocked Castle all the way back to the radio station.

Next month's show, billed as "Chase For the Championship", will crown the Interstate champ, plus the first 787 tag champs (likely the Monarchy), and will take place on Palm Sunday, March 24, two weeks before Wrestlemania. Show time is the same as before, 2:30 pm (ET), and tickets are already on sale. Looks like 787PW's here to stay, folks.