WrestleCon Supershow 2023: I’m Going To Get Some Of This Wrong

WrestleCon Supershow 2023
Date: March 30, 2023
Location: Globe Theater, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Veda Scott

With some independent shows from promotions I don’t know much about out of the way, we now have one of the bigger independent shows of the year. This is one of the best collections of independent talents you’ll see and that should be the case again here. The card is stacked as usual so let’s get to it.

We meet our announce team and here is Mick Foley to welcome us to the show. Foley was backstage earlier and Aja Kong asked for a picture with him so things are going well. He started off as a super fan just like the man this show is named after, Mark Hitchcock. We see a video on Hitchcock’s career (I believe the same one as last year) and Foley wishes us a nice day.

Blake Christian vs. Michael Oku

Christian offers a handshake to start and Oku reluctantly accepts it, with everything being fine. Oku wastes no time in taking him down and going for the leg but it’s too early for the half crab. They both try dropkicks and it’s an early standoff. Christian offers a left handed handshake and this time he tries a cheap shot, only to get dropkicked down.

Oku gets knocked hard to the floor but there isn’t enough room for a dive, meaning Christian has to ram him into the apron instead. A standing flip splash gives Christian two but Oku kicks his way to freedom. Oku’s frog splash crossbody hits Christian but the ribs are too banged up to cover. There’s the Penalty Kick to Christian, who kicks the leg out and hits a 619 between the bottom and middle rope.

A Saito suplex gives Christian two but Oku knocks him to the floor this time. Somehow Oku manages a Fosbury Flop, only to have Christian pop up and hit one of his own. They pull themselves to the apron and slug it out, with Christian grabbing a half and half suplex. For some reason they get back in even faster than after the dives so Christian hits another half and half on another apron. Back in and Christian misses a 450, allowing Oku to grab a half crab. The rope is quickly grabbed so Oku heads up, with Christian following with a belly to back superplex. Now the springboard 450 can connect for the pin at 14:08.

Rating: B. This was the kind of independent match that you would expect from a show like this with these people involved. Oku is someone who has grown on me over the years as he is rather smooth in the ring most of the time. Then you have Christian, who is one of the hotter names outside of the major promotions right now and is getting some shots in Ring Of Honor as well. Good opener, with a rather indy style.

Respect is shown post match.

Bryan Keith/Kenta vs. Tom Lawlor/Christopher Daniels

Daniels is a mystery partner and I think he’ll do. He even has his own Lawlor style cutoff jean shorts over his singlet. We also have a special guest enforcer for this match and it’s…..KEN SHAMROCK! That’s quite the surprise. Daniels shoulders Keith down to start and stomps away in the corner, only to get big booted down. Lawlor comes in and takes Keith into the corner to stomp away as well as Scott says yes, that is in fact Ken Shamrock.

It’s off to Kenta, who conducts the fans chanting his name. Daniels gets struck down and Keith is in for a double back elbow. Back up and Daniels manages to send him into the corner for the tag off to Lawlor. An Angle Slam looks to set up a cross armbreaker before Lawlor takes off his jean shorts to reveal….smaller ones! Daniels suplexes Keith into Lawlor’s Penalty Kick for two as commentary talks about the shorts.

Lawlor accidentally forearms Daniels though and Keith gets in a kick, allowing the tag off to Kenta. A top rope clothesline gives Kenta two but it’s back to Keith, who gets dropped with a double clothesline. Lawlor comes in to slug it out with Kenta until Lawlor gets caught with a hanging DDT.

The running basement dropkick in the corner rocks Lawlor again and there’s the double stomp for two. Daniels breaks up the GTS and Lawlor gets in a few shots for two. Lawlor stares down at Shamrock as he puts on the ankle lock, only to have it reversed into a crossface. Daniels decks the referee though, meaning Lawlor tapping means nothing.

A low blow cuts Keith down so Shamrock comes in….but won’t count. Daniels yells at Shamrock and gets dropped with a right hand, meaning it’s time for the showdown with Lawlor. The distraction lets Kenta roll Lawlor up for the pin (as counted by Shamrock) for the pin at 18:04.

Rating: C. The Shamrock/Lawlor stuff was good but this was more long than anything else. It never quite got to the next level and it followed a pattern: Kenta beat the other two up and then Keith would lose control. That was repeated multiple times and it doesn’t exactly make for the most exciting match. It wasn’t bad, but just kind of there until the end.

Post match Lawlor goes after Shamrock, who suplexes and ankle locks him. Kenta and Keith get to leave in peace.

Negro Casas vs. Ultimo Dragon

Commentary says these two have had 100+ documented matches against or with each other, which is probably closer to 250-300. Before the match, we get a video from Chris Jericho (ok then), who praises both guys and talks about the influence they had on his career. Jericho wants some cheering for these two because we’re in for a treat. Casas backs him into the corner to start and works on the arm until Dragon gets a rollup.

With that broken up, Casas goes back to the arm until a standoff gives them a breather. Dragon reverses an armbar into the surfboard, which is broken up fast because these two are 119 years old combined. We get another standoff and the fans are pleased again. Casas kicks him into the corner but Dragon kicks him out to the floor. The Asai moonsault is broken up so Dragon settles for a superplex instead. The Dragon Sleeper finishes Casas (perhaps by knockout) at 12:00.

Rating: C+. This is one of those “you mean we get to see this???” matches and that is not a bad thing. The idea of this show is giving you matches you won’t get to see elsewhere and at this point in their careers, how likely was it to get to see this match again? It wasn’t even bad as they were both working hard and had a completely watchable match. Nice job, and a special treat for longtime fans.

Respect is shown post match.

Arez/Latigo/Laredo Kid vs. Rey Horus/Galeno Del Mal/Aramis

Why yes, this will be under lucha rules. Latigo offers a handshake to start and promises it’s ok. The ensuing rollup gives Aramis two and they have a stand off, with a middle finger included. Arez (who takes off his mask to reveal the face paint that inspired Finn Balor’s Demon look) comes in to face Horus for an exchange of quick covers. Horus seems to be annoyed so it’s off to the rather large Galeno, with Arez panicking.

Arez hands it off to the Kid, who isn’t pleased at all. Some triple teaming manages to take Galeno down and out to the floor. Kid hits a dive onto Galeno as his partners grab half crabs back inside. Some very loud chops have Aramis in trouble and the crowd wincing, followed by the running strikes in the corner. Galeno has to make a save so he gets triple teamed fight back down. Arez and company manages a triple gorilla press on Galeno for two in an impressive crash.

Horus and Aramis get back up and fight back though, allowing Galeno to go up top for the HUGE high crossbody to wipe out everyone. Galeno LAUNCHES Horus over the top into a dive onto the other three, followed by Galeno’s flip dive over the top (and he sticks the landing). Arez is back in to kick Galeno down but Aramis grabs an Air Raid Crash for two. Horus is back in as well with that very spinning DDT of his, setting up double dives from Horus and Aramis. That leaves Galeno to grab a swinging butterfly superplex to finish Latigo at 11:14.

Rating: B. You know what you’re getting in a match like this and that’s all they delivered on. This was six people going nuts and doing whatever they could squeeze in, with Galeno looking awesome throughout. It’s a lot of fun and you can always count on seeing something like this around this show. Good stuff here and as usual, the flips and dives were a lot of fun.

Post match respect is shown and money is thrown into the ring, as is tradition.

The Tokyo Joshi Pro ring announcer (apparently popular) handles the intros for the next match.

Hyper Misao/Shoko Nakajima/Yuki Kamafuku/Mizuki/Yuki Aino vs. Raku/Nao Kakuta/Miu Watanabe/Riku Tatsumi/Hikari Noa

I apologize in advance for getting the names wrong as there are no name graphics and I’m trying to figure out who is who. Hyper Misao grabs the mic and says since she is a superhero, she can win this on her own in seconds (not even minutes). Misao’s partners are sent to the floor and everyone gets in a running charge on Misao in the corner. Raku runs the ropes, puts her hands next to her head to signal sleep, and then sits on Misao for two. Scott: “She loves trains and she loves naps!”

Misao gets over for the tag to Aino, who hammers away a bit. Raku brings in Tatsumi to pick up the pace. The rather strong Watanabe comes in for a double slam and a double swing (egads) and it’s off to Mizuki (the top champion). A double stomp rocks Yuki and it’s Mizuki coming back in (they’re changing in and out VERY fast), only to get her legs wrapped around the post. Watanabe comes in and reverse Alabama Slams Tatsumi onto Mizuki.

Raku grabs comes in but can’t get a Russian legsweep and everything breaks down for a bit. The second legsweep attempt connects but Mizuki reverses into a Crossface. That’s broken up and Misao comes in with a high crossbody as everything breaks down. Raku Sling Blades Mizuki, who is back with a quick suplex for two. A top rope double stomp gives Mizuki the pin on Raku at 14:20.

Rating: B. It was a lot of fun and it was all fast paced, but the lack of telling us who these people are (Veda Scott shouting names that she is familiar with as us for 15 minutes doesn’t count) made it kind of insane. Now that being said, the athleticism was great and some of the power stuff was hard to believe. I could absolutely see this being a lot more interesting with less going on at once and that means as a showcase, this was a success. Just let us settle in to something (literally) foreign to a lot of us a little better next time.

Mike Bailey vs. Shigehiro Irie

The stream slips up a bit so we go from the end of Bailey’s entrance to Irie hitting a cannonball for two. Bailey fights back with the kicks until Irie blasts him with a clothesline. A powerbomb is cut off though and Bailey hits the standing moonsault knee drop. The tornado kick hits Irie in the corner but the Ultimate Weapon misses. The Beast Bomber lariat gives Irie two and it’s another cannonball into another Beast Bomber to knock Bailey. Some hard strikes to the side of Bailey’s head knock Bailey out for the stoppage at about 10:15.

Rating: C+. From what I could see, this was another hard hitting slugfest, though it’s almost weird to see Bailey losing. Irie is a monster who impressed me before and it’s nice to see him getting a win over a prominent name. If he wants a contract somewhere, I’m sure multiple companies would be willing to sign him, though granted I said the same thing a few years back. Bailey can absorb a loss as I’m sure he’ll have 17 more matches this weekend to make up for things.

United Empire vs. Time Machine

That would be Jeff Cobb/Aussie Open vs. Kushida/Motor City Machine Guns. The fans are split between Aussie Open and the Machine Guns as Hiroshi Tanahashi joins commentary (allegedly, as he doesn’t say anything and isn’t seen, making me think I didn’t hear that right). Kushida takes Fletcher down with a headscissors to start before switching into a kind of surfboard. Shelley comes in to stay on the arm and it’s off to Davis, who gets kicked in the head.

It’s Sabin coming in to double kick Archer down, with Kushida coming in for the double submission and Dream Sequence. Cobb comes in and isn’t about to get sunset flipped. A backbreaker and World’s Strongest Slam have Sabin in trouble for a change but he fights out and brings Shelley back in. Everything breaks down and the Aussies pick the Guns up to ram them together.

Fletcher sends Shelley into the corner, allowing Cobb to come in and stand on the banged up back. Cobb holds the legs down so Davis can stand on Shelley’s hand for a change. A missed backsplash lets Shelley bring Kushida in to clean house as we’re having audio/visual issues. Kushida hits a running palm strike in the corner before rolling into a DDT on Davis. Time machine grabs triple submissions until Cobb escapes and makes some saves.

Shelley and Fletcher slug it out with the former getting the better of things to take over. The Aussies fight back up and clean house, with Kushida having to break up Coriolis. Time Machine takes over with a three man Dream Sequence to Fletcher and Sabin dives onto all three at once. Davis is back in to clean house until he gets Downward Spiraled into the buckle. Sabin tornado DDTs Cobb but the Aussies are back up with Coriolis to finish Sabin at 16:32.

Rating: B+. Yeah this worked again, as all six were rolling and you had an awesome match throughout. The Guns can still hang with anyone and the Aussies are getting better every time they’re in the ring. Kushida’s spot is long established and Cobb is the monster that can work anywhere. I had a really good time with this and it went just as a match like this would have been expected to go. It’s also nice to see the Aussies win a big match for a change as they don’t tend to do so.

AAA Mega Title: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander vs. Black Taurus

Vikingo is defending and I think this might work. Komander and Vikingo shake hands but Taurus is having none of that. Taurus manages a running crucifix bomb to both of them at once before launching Komander over the top and out onto Vikingo. Naturally he follows with a big twisting dive onto both of them as the fans approve. Back in and Taurus hits some running corner clotheslines until the other two get together and pull him outside.

Now it’s a double dive to drop Taurus, followed by stereo rope walk moonsaults to drop him again (awesome indeed). Back in and Vikingo hits his springboard 450 stomp, followed by Komander’s rope walk shooting star for two. That’s enough for Vikingo to go after Komander for daring to try for his title. A top rope hurricanrana takes Komander down but Vikingo has to deal with Taurus in the form of a top rope shooting star hurricanrana (geez).

Vikingo goes right back up top, then to the post, for a rope walk front flip….where he bounces off the top and backflips into an armdrag. Komander springboards a lot (I stopped counting at six) into a hurricanrana to Taurus before flipping Vikingo from his shoulders into a backbreaker. With Taurus on the floor, Komander rope walks into a dragon rana to plant him again, only to have Vikingo jump to the top for a corkscrew dive. Scott: “Taurus, every time he gets back on his feet, a human being keeps falling from the heavens to take him down!”

Back in and Vikingo’s shooting star hits raised knees and Komander spins him into two knees to the chest. Taurus comes back in for a backbreaker on Komander and a pop up Samoan drop makes it worse. Komander hits a springboard poisonrana on Taurus but gets dropped by Vikingo.

A crucifix driver plants Taurus, who pops back up with a spear to put Vikingo down for a three way breather. Taurus and Komander fight on the apron with Komander being dropped hard onto the ropes. Vikingo 630s onto the waiting challengers, followed by some running knees to Taurus in the corner. The 630 finishes Taurus to retain the title at 12:42.

Rating: A-. Much like the six man lucha libre match earlier, you knew what you were getting with this match and that is what they delivered. This was about going insane with one flip after another, plus Taurus doing well with his power stuff as an addition. It was a heck of a fight and I had a blast having my jaw drop over and over. Vikingo and Komander can blow your mind time after time. Great stuff here and nothing was following this one, making it the only choice for a main event.

Respect is shown and money is collected after the match. The three of them pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This show started a bit slow but once it got going, it was the kind of WrestleCon Supershow that you would have expected. It was a bunch of random matches with one different style after another, allowing all kinds of stars to get the chance to shine. I look forward to this show every year because you get so much out of it and that was the case again, as the show ends with an awesome one two punch. Throw in everything else that worked and this was great, with only one match not being rather good (mainly due to time issues more than quality). Check this out if you get the chance and have a lot of fun.

 

 

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