Saturday June 20 – 12:30 P.M. (CT)

It was a treat to watch Jerry Lynn and Sean Waltman working their first match together in Minnesota for the first time in over a decade. For those who don't know the history, these two came up together and tore up the Midwest indy scene with great matches before moving on to bigger and better things.

I had a chance to speak to Lynn and Waltman before the match and they didn't even try to hide their enthusiasm about working together again. It was a like a homecoming event for the two wrestlers (both had family members at the show) and longtime fans of the local indy scene.

There were plenty of familiar faces in attendance including classy veteran announcer Mick Karch and former manager and all around great guy Mortimer Plumtree. I was told that the duo recorded interviews with Waltman and Lynn which will be part of a two-disc DVD that will also feature the full show.

The live crowd sat through a really fun event that led up to the main event. They were given a little bit of everything on the undercard. There was a bloodbath hardcore match with 10,000 tacks, a really fun six-man tag match that was billed as the final match of local wrestler Cody O'Neill, and a wild brawl between the crowd-pleasing Daffney and Ann Brookstone that went all over the building (even into the men's room).

The show was running longer than anticipated when Lynn and Waltman finally made their way to the ring a little before midnight. However, the live crowd showed no signs of fatigue, and greeted the duo with a loud "This is awesome" chant before the opening bell even sounded.

Earlier in the evening, I noticed the booking sheet that was taped to the wall had finishes for every match other than the main event. Rather, there was simply a blank line before "pinfall," meaning it was up to the two veterans to decide who goes over. Clearly, promoter Arik Cannon was showing the vets respect by letting them work it out amongst themselves.

I joked with Jerry that I expected to see an argument between he and Sean - not because both men would want to go over, but because they'd both be adamant that the other person should go over. Lynn smiled and said that he'd hold Waltman on top of him and force him to take the win if he had to.

Sure enough, Waltman ended up scoring the pin to the win an extremely satisfying main event match that seemed to exceed everyone's high expectations. They worked in all their signature spots and the live crowd loved every minute of the match. I joked with an out of breath Waltman a short time after he walked backstage that I wanted to see a best-of-seven series. "I don't think I could handle it," he said with a smile.

With Waltman working mostly in Mexico these days, it was a rare chance for his son and daughter to see him wrestle in person. Seventeen year-old son Jesse, whose band had just played the smaller part of the historic venue earlier this month, said he was amazed that his father can still work like he does after all the years in the ring and the various neck problems he's had over the years.

As much as this event was about the long awaited Waltman vs. Lynn homecoming, the overall show was a blast. It may have run longer than planned, but there were no dull moments and it was a well-paced, fun night of wrestling (that opened with a Mitsuharu Misawa graphic on the screen, which drew an "RIP" chant from the fans).

I don't know when or if we'll see another Lynn vs. Waltman match (although Waltman did promise the crowd he'd come back), but I highly recommend the F1rst Wrestling product to local fans. First Avenue is a great venue for wrestling, and the fans got their money's worth before Lynn and Waltman even walked through the curtain.

I'm anxiously awaiting the DVD of this show and the sitdown interviews with Lynn and Waltman. I'll pass along all the details of the DVD once I hear more about the release date of the show.

A full recap of Friday's F1rst Wrestling event is available in the Misc. Live Events section.

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