Middle Kingdom Wrestling – June 29, 2016: Now I Understand The Opening
Middle Kingdom Wrestling
Date: June 29, 2016
Location: CWE Gym, Dongguan, China
Commentator: Cam Ferguson, Eddie Strong
This is a big show as it’s finally time to see the six man tag that has been in the opening video all season long. They’ve treated this as a major match with a story behind it and all that jazz so maybe it’s going to feel like a bigger deal than most of what they’ve done so far this season. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
We open with a recap of the six man tag which still isn’t really clear. I’m not even sure who all these people are and who they’re partnering with but hopefully we get a bit better explanation as we go.
The video ends with the teams listed together and their names next to their pictures. It really is that easy and that actually helps a lot.
Andruew Tang/Big Sam/Black Mamba vs. Ash Silva/Eurasian Dragon/Jason Wong
Jason is a mystery partner and a fairly big deal. It’s a brawl to start at the bell as the bad guys (I think? I honestly have almost no idea what’s going on here other than Sam, who works for Mamba, cost Silva a match in the title tournament last season) attack at the handshake, which is the first clip shown on every episode. Tang, the Singapore Champion, starts off with Ash and hits a nice dropkick. A headlock keeps Ash in trouble with Tang pulling the hair. Ok so they’re the heels.
Tang’s bulldog is countered into something resembling a belly to back suplex and it’s off to Dragon, who has apparently been feuding with Tang for years now. Tang screams about being in a wristlock and keeps screaming after Dragon lets go. So wait did the hold hurt or not? Now it’s off to a test of strength with Tong kicking him in the ribs like a villain should, only to have it turn into a chop off. A tornado DDT plants Dragon as it would be nice to see the other three people actually wrestling.
Tang loads up a suplex (Tong: “SUPLEX CITY!”) but Dragon is a bit too big to be pulled over. It’s off to Mamba who walks right into a hiptoss. Jason comes in for a bad looking Paisan Elbow as the announcers talk about Ash and Jason developing respect for each other, thereby explaining their partnership. That should have been mentioned earlier but it’s much better than not mentioning it at all.
Jason gets so sick of getting stomped that he takes off his headgear to make things serious. Sam comes in for the first time and drops Jason with a gorilla press. You can hear Ferguson drooling over Sam and the size difference really does show here. Ash escapes a powerbomb attempt and knocks Sam down with a palm strike, followed by a high cross body for two. Sam blasts him with a clothesline (needed more follow thru) before taking Ash into the corner for some double chops.
Sam’s running clothesline hits Mamba by mistake though but he makes up for it by launching Ash over the top. Unfortunately that means we have to hear about how amazing instant replay is again. Back in and a Tombstone plants Ash and it’s off to Jason for a spinning side slam on Mamba. Tang kicks Jason in the back though and the heels take over again. A suplex earns a ten (on paper even) from Sam, who then comes in and does a slightly less impressive one. A top rope Hart Attack plants Jason but he easily gets the tag off to Ash.
Everything breaks down and the Dragon scores with a pop up powerbomb on Mamba. Jason picks Sam up for an AA, only to get caught in a Shell Shock from Tang. A belt shot knocks Mamba down by mistake and Mamba gets in a superkick, meaning I have to hear SUPERKICK because the Bullet Club nonsense is in China now. Ash drops a top rope splash on Mamba and, after two replays, we actually get to see the pin.
Rating: B-. Again that’s on a very sliding scale but it was entertaining enough. They had the story working well enough and explained why I’m supposed to care about these people fighting. It also helps that the wrestling was decent by MKW standards and they kept things moving. I’d like to see Sam be more of a power guy instead of a wrestler who happens to be big.
Take the suplex spot for instance. Sam praised a guy for doing a suplex and then does basically the same move. That doesn’t really make Sam look any more dominant, but rather makes him just look taller than the first person to do a suplex. He’s the biggest standout based on looks along and Ferguson built him up very well but I didn’t quite see it in the ring.
Overall Rating: B-. I’m starting to have more fun watching this show and having a big match like this build up for several months until the payoff was a good sign. I could still go for seeing the stories be tighter though as this match has been built up for a good while but then really just popped back onto the radar in the last few weeks. At least the match was good though, which is the most important thing they can do. It’s still a fun little show and next time’s season finale continues the other story so all is well.
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Thanks for the review. Critiques have been noted.
That’s still one of the best thrills I get doing this job. Much appreciated.