Power Pro Wrestling
Date: February 7, 1987
Location: Cowtown Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Michael Hayes

Someone wanted me to look at some Universal Wrestling Federation shows so here we go. This is the evolved form of Mid-South, though things are not exactly looking great by this point. I’m not sure how well this is going to go, but it is a promotion I haven’t looked at very much before. Let’s get to it.

Bill Watts (boss) is in his office to announce a one night tournament for the vacant Tag Team Titles. We hear four of the eight teams but don’t see any brackets. Not that it matters as the tournament is taking place at an event later tonight.

JR and Hayes run down the card and Hayes is excited about winning the Tag Team Titles.

Mike Reed vs. Angel of Death

Angel (very bald and with Sunshine in his corner) was a candidate for the Black Scorpion in WCW a few years later. A slam puts Reed down and a splash gives Angel two. Reed gets tossed around and there’s a running clothesline to drop him again. A suplex sets up a Samoan drop to finish Reed at 2:02. Rather effective squash.

Chavo Guerrero and Missing Link are ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

We look at the end of last week’s Badstreet Match (street fight) with the Freebirds beating up Steve Williams and Ted DiBiase. Devastation Inc. came in to help the Freebirds until a bunch of wrestlers came out to chase them off.

Hayes rants about how the Freebirds always keep things even.

Eli and Wild Bill Irwin are ready for Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams in the tournament. A young Bruce Prichard is the interviewer here.

Buddy Roberts thinks someone beat the Missing Link over the head with an ugly stick. Sunshine tells Dark Journey to stay out of the way tonight.

Ted DiBiase is ready to take out One Man Gang to become UWF Champion, just like he beat him before. It is so bizarre to hear DiBiase as a face.

Super Ninja vs. Bobby Walker

Both of them are debuting, that isn’t Hard Work Bobby Walker of (very minor) WCW fame and Bruce Prichard takes Hayes’ place on commentary. Ninja headlocks him down and then kicks him in the face, followed by a toss to the floor. Back in and Ninja stomps away with a gutwrench suplex taking Walker down again. A superkick finishes Walker at 4:24.

Rating: D+. Pretty dull squash here as Ninja wasn’t doing anything more than the bare basics. Walker was as lame of a jobber as you could get, so I can’t say I’m overly surprised. Ninja wrestled in the AWA as Mr. Go. I remember seeing him challenge the Midnight Rockers for the Tag Team Titles with a partner named…..the Super Ninja. That’s 80s wrestling for you.

Ninja drops Walker again post match, which has JR talking about his “sadistic Oriental side.”

Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams are ready to win the Tag Team Titles because they’ve been champions before.

Jeff Gaylord vs. Ted DiBiase

Gaylord is a good sized guy who was one of the Knights at Survivor Series 1993. This is face vs. face so they go technical to start with a fight over a top wristlock. DiBiase’s armbar sends Gaylord to the rope so he grabs a headlock takeover instead. Back up and another headlock takeover has Gaylord down as we hear about how he has no chance here. It works so well that DiBiase does it for a third time, which works yet again.

They get up for a third time and seem to mistime something, as DiBiase swings a wild elbow to knock him down. Gaylord pops back up and DiBiase misses a similar elbow and gets slammed for two this time. A backslide doesn’t work for DiBiase so he grabs a small package for the pin at 5:07 instead.

Rating: C-. I can see why the WWF went after DiBiase so hard as he looked great, could talk and had the technical skills. The problem is that he doesn’t seem to have much of a character, so throwing in one of the best ideas ever helped quite a bit. Gaylord was big for a technical guy and did fine, but there is a limit to how far you can go against someone as smooth as DiBiase.

Respect is shown post match.

Missing Link vs. Buddy Jack Roberts

Roberts has the rest of the Freebird Family, meaning Michael Hayes, Angel of Death, Terry Gordy and Sunshine. Link just has Dark Journey so this isn’t quite the balanced fight. And never mind as the Family jump him before the bell and the big beatdown is on. Ted DiBiase, Chavo Guerrero (Link’s partner in the tournament) and Steve Williams make the save. Link was busted open in the process.

Post break, we get a shortened version of the “fifteen minutes of action” during the break, with Guerrero/DiBiase/Williams saying they are sick and tired of the Freebirds. The challenge is on but matchmaker Grizzly Smith comes out to say no. DiBiase and company aren’t leaving though so Smith goes to the back to figure something out. We’re clipped to the Freebird Family slowly coming out and Sunshine trying to place peacekeeper. Granted that involves calling Chavo a chihuahua so it might not be so effective. DiBiase promises to keep the numbers even and that’s about it.

Eli vs. Chavo Guerrero

Eli has Wild Bill Irwin with him and was a territory guy in the 80s with a little time in Japan. Chavo hammers away so fast to start that I almost miss DiBiase there too. Granted DiBiase and Irwin getting into the ring to brawl at the same time makes it a little more obvious. Chavo and Eli fight to the floor as DiBiase grabs the whip to clear the ring. Another referee comes out and disqualifies Eli, though the bell never actually rang.

The Freebird Family talks about having the best odds to win the Tag Team Titles, mainly because they have two teams included. Hayes: “If it comes down to us, which it probably will, you take one belt and we’ll take one.”

Dark Journey says Chavo Guerrero and Missing Link are ready for Sting and Rick Steiner. Chavo starts in English and switches to Spanish while promising to win the belts.

JR and Bruce Prichard give their tournament picks (one of the Freebird teams/DiBiase and Williams). The matches begin on TV next week.

We get a music video of general highlights to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: C. I can see why the show is so well received, though at the same time you can see that things have fallen a very long way by this point. The energy wasn’t there, even though a lot of the talent was. The company would be sold to Jim Crockett in about two months so it isn’t like there was much left to see from these guys. This wasn’t bad, but the company has done better stuff before. In case you were wondering: Terry Taylor and Chris Adams, who weren’t even on the show, won the titles.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Acid Cup 2021 Part 2
Date: April 9, 2021
Location: Cuban Club, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Gill, Emil J.

We’re back with the second half of the single elimination tournament and the first round could have been a lot worse. Granted we have a bunch of matches yesterday with no brackets for the second round, but then again there is a chance that those don’t exist just yet. Let’s get to it.

Here is Part 1 if you need a recap.

No opening video or anything, but the ring announcer does welcome us to the show.

Second Round: Calvin Tankman vs. Dragon Bane

Tankman is a monster and Bane comes out to Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz. Commentary: “He’s happy!” First words of Clint Eastwood: “I ain’t happy!” I’m going to assume that was a misquote and move on, though now with a catchy song in my head (as opposed to in my knee). Tankman shoves him around to start so Bane is back up with a running hurricanrana. Another one is countered into a heck of a powerbomb for two as commentary compares Bane to a grilled sandwich.

Tankman grabs a reverse chinlock with a knee in the back, followed by a belly to back suplex for two. Trash talk ensues as we see what looks to be some wrestlers arriving in their car on the road opposite the cameras. Bane’s chops just earn him an angry slam and it’s time to chop it out.

Bane is back with a hurricanrana into a spinning headscissors to put Tankman on the floor, setting up the big flip dive. Back in and Bane grabs a hurricanrana for two, followed by a Canadian Destroyer. The shooting star press gets two on Tankman but he’s right back with a spinebuster. The elbow to the back of the head sets up the Tankman Driver for the pin at 6:41.

Rating: C. Bane is a pretty nice high flier but Tankman has been one of the biggest stars of the weekend so far. Giving him a nice run in the tournament makes a lot of sense and going out in the second round isn’t much of a push. This was a nice enough opener, though the lack of noise and energy is rather jarring.

Second Round: AJ Gray vs. Lee Moriarty

These have been two of the most prominent names of the weekend so this feels big. Gray grabs a front facelock to start as commentary clarifies that he is having Coke Classic, not the other kind of coke (you have to stay away from that Zero stuff). Moriarty reverses into a kneebar but gets reversed into a quickly broken leglock. Gray takes him down and goes after Moriarty’s taped ribs because Gray seems to be rather smart.

That’s broken up and they chop it out with Gray getting smart (again) by going to the ribs. The seated abdominal stretch stays on the ribs but Moriarty slips out and hits a running double stomp to a seated Gray. A bridging German suplex gives Moriarty two but Gray kicks him in the ribs. Gray’s hard clothesline gets two but a Gory Bomb is countered into a sunset flip to send Moriarty on at 5:43.

Rating: C+. Moriarty is someone I’ve seen multiple times here and he isn’t getting boring or repetitive at all. Commentary was calling him a wrestling scientist here and that is a pretty appropriate name. You can see him picking people apart and figuring out the right path to beat almost anyone. This was a fun match with two talented guys. Not much time, but it told a story and that’s hard to do in just a few minutes.

Second Round: Arez vs. Cole Radrick

After a slight delay in the bell ringing process, Radrick takes him down by the legs to start and then does it again for a bonus. Arez slips out and goes for the arm as the mat grappling continues, this time with Radrick spinning into a headlock takeover to keep Arez down. Arez kicks him down and they trade insults in differing languages. An enziguri sends Radrick outside for a moonsault from the apron, followed by more kicks back inside.

Radrick hits a heck of a clothesline for two and it’s time to take the straps down (nothing could go wrong here). They slap it out from their knees until Arez is back up with a Lumbar Check for two, complete with pushups on Radrick’s chest for the near fall. Arez wraps him up in something like a Black Widow crossed with an abdominal stretch for a freaky combination.

Then he ties up all of Radrick’s limbs at once but since that can’t last very long due to intense pain, Radrick is back with a kick of his own to stagger Arez. An Air Raid Crash is bridged back into a suplex for two on Arez but he’s back up with a bottom rope dropkick to get creative. There’s a middle rope double stomp to a standing Radrick’s back for two more and they’re both a bit winded. Radrick is back up with a butterfly suplex rolled into kind of a Blue Thunder Bomb for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: C. It’s hard to get annoyed at an indy match that is designed to have two people get their cool stuff in. That’s all they did here and Radrick continues his Cinderella run while Arez builds his stock up at the same time. Good enough match here, though Arez tore the house down yesterday and that’s what’s going to get the attention.

Second Round: Jordan Oliver vs. Laredo Kid

Well in theory at least, but Kid isn’t here and for some reason, Oliver gets to pick his opponent.

Second Round: Jordan Oliver vs. Brayden Lee

Kid beat Lee to get to the second round so this is what makes the most sense. Well as much sense as an indy tournament is going to make. We do get a handshake before the match starts and we are ready to go. They fight over a test of strength and go into some monkey flips to little avail, as Oliver is taken up against the ropes. The pinfall reversal sequence gets some near falls each and the fans applaud politely.

Lee grabs a headlock takeover so Oliver hiptosses him into the ropes, only to have Lee hold on and armdrag him down. A dropkick puts Oliver down again and there’s a suicide dive to send him into the chairs (and allowing Lee to take a picture with a fan). Oliver superkicks his way to freedom but Lee gets in his own shot to the face, as commentary says Oliver is a future Hall of Famer. Exactly which Hall of Fame are we talking about here?

Neither can hit a suplex on the floor so Lee drops him onto the apron instead. Lee’s suicide dive is countered with a ram into the apron and Oliver comes back with a slingshot twisting Stunner. Oliver hits a nice dropkick and, after a pose, grabs a headscissors choke. That’s broken up with an electric chair but Oliver hits an enziguri. They go up top with Lee reversing a belly to back superplex into a crossbody to put them both down again. Back up and Lee chops away until Oliver cuts off a kick to the chest.

Lee scores with a springboard clothesline for two so he goes up again, earning himself an enziguri. Oliver pulls him back down with a super Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Lee catches him on top this time. A super poisonrana (with Oliver slipping out and nearly landing on his head) sets up a sitout powerbomb for two on Lee. Commentary can’t believe it, summing it up with “Well f*** me I suck but the match continues.” Lee has to bail out of a shooting star press and Oliver kicks him in the face at 13:50.

Rating: C. This took some time to get going and there were some sloppy sections in there, but some of the spots looked good. Oliver winning isn’t surprising (again: he’s wearing pants inspired by the tournament namesake) and he continues to show some potential after a few adjustments. Lee has a good look but it was only a bunch of spots here, meaning you can’t get very much out of this one.

El Hijo de Canis Lupus vs. Gabriel Sky

Non-tournament match. I’ve heard of Sky before and he comes out to the theme from Charmed so he can only be so bad. They start fast and trade some headscissors in some early luchaing. The covers don’t get any counts and it’s a standoff to some applause. Sky hits a dropkick to put Lupus down and a bouncing springboard hurricanrana sends Lupus to the floor. There’s the big flip dive before they head back inside, with Lupus blasting him with a clothesline for two.

Lupus unloads with the chops in the corner and the chinlock goes on. A boot choke in the corner has Sky in more trouble as this has settled down a lot more than I would have expected. Back up and Sky kicks him in the head, setting up a half and half suplex. Lupus hits a pop up knee to the ribs into a German suplex for two. Sky grabs a front facelock and flips him forward into a DDT, setting up a Falcon Arrow (meaning the “he did the deal” lines make their return) for two.

Back up and Lupus sends him hard into the corner for two but Sky is right back with a poisonrana out of the corner. There’s a top rope double stomp for two on Lupus so Sky goes back up, only to get caught in a super Spanish Fly. Lupus is right back up with a GTS into a powerbomb into a knee to the head (Commentator: “F***! F***! F***!”) for the pin at 7:21 (those were all one after the other to really end Sky).

Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this one as they were kind of sloppy and just trading spots, which wasn’t the most interesting stuff. It was far from bad, but it was the kind of match that feels like you could see from any two indy wrestlers. The ending wasn’t exactly great either, as the moves didn’t look great or crisp. I’ve seen far worse, but this wasn’t the most thrilling.

Semifinals: Calvin Tankman vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty misses a running kick to start and gets plowed over by the much bigger Tankman. Some hard shots in the corner have Moriarty in more trouble and Tankman slams him down without much trouble. We hit the bodyscissors to stay on the ribs as you can already see a pretty basic formula here. That’s switched into a chinlock so Moriarty fights up, only to be sent outside in a heap.

Back in and Tankman knees away at the ribs as the pace stays very slow so far. Some jawbreakers give Moriarty a breather and a kick to the head out of the corner staggers Tankman again. Moriarty gets caught with a shot to the face on top (Tankman: “YOU F***** UP!) and Tankman drops him ribs first onto the top. That puts Moriarty on the floor but he dives back in to beat the count at nine.

Moriarty tries to fire up, earning himself a forearm to the face. That actually seems to fire Moriarty up so he strikes away, setting up a double stomp to keep Tankman down. It’s Moriarty back up first and kicking away at Tankman’s rather large chest. Tankman headbutts him in the ribs though and a gutbuster puts Moriarty down for two more. The Tankman Driver is countered into a choke, which manages to survive a ram into the corner. Tankman falls forward and Moriarty elbows him in the head over and over until it’s a stoppage at 9:26.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that is going to make Moriarty look like a star, as he hung in there against a monster and then held on until he could steal the win. I was surprised that they went with a stoppage instead of a submission. Good stuff here, and Tankman looked like a heck of a monster throughout the tournament. Moriarty is a more interesting pick though, as he has been great at what he has been doing for days now.

Semifinals: Jordan Oliver vs. Cole Radrick

Radrick is favoring his ribs on the way in. They go straight at it with an exchange of kicks to the head and a double clothesline gives us a double knockdown less than thirty seconds in. It’s already time to forearm it out from their knees and pull themselves up to strike away even more. Radrick counters a running big boot with a kick to the face and a splash to the back gets two.

Some hard kicks keep Oliver in trouble but he Rock Bottoms Radrick out of the corner, setting up a spinning middle rope Swanton. Oliver kicks him down and it’s time for another double breather. A German suplex drops Radrick but he blocks a second, only to get caught by an enziguri. They go up top with Radrick headbutting his way out of a belly to back superplex attempt.

Radrick counters a tiger driver into a hurricanrana for two and Radrick is frustrated. Oliver counters an armbar into a tiger bomb for two but Radrick is back with a Shining Wizard for the same. Back up and Radrick takes the straps down to slug it out, only to run into the big boot for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: B. These guys beat each other up rather well, as Radrick’s Cinderella runs ends. Oliver is someone who has grown on me a lot, though I’m still trying to get my head around the Big Breakfast nickname. This felt like two guys who were beaten up and tired and gave everything that they had to make it to the finals. Good match here, and both of them are coming out of this tournament looking a lot better than they did coming in.

Respect is shown post match.

Ken Broadway vs. Marcus Mathers vs. Lucas Riley vs. Damien Drake vs. Matt Vandergriff vs. Facade

Scramble match (erg) with one fall to a finish. Broadway throws money around on the way to the ring, which doesn’t seem too bright. Vandergriff and Drake are the Future Stars of Wrestling Tag Team Champions and regular partner as the Unguided. Facade comes out to the Ninja Rap from Teenage Mutant Ninja II: Secret Of The Ooze (there better be a Super Shredder joke in this match), making him the most awesome part of this show.

It’s a brawl to start with Broadway chilling on the apron, which is probably about as long as I’m going to be able to keep track of this. Vandergriff hits a very springboard armdrag to Riley and we’re actually going to have tags here, which is one of the best things to see in this kind of a match. Riley spins around into a rollup for two and they both wind up in a corner, with Vandergriff snapping off a top rope hurricanrana. A springboard spinning cutter drops Vandergriff so it’s off to Drake for a dropkick.

Broadway stands back instead of tagging in, allowing the two of them to kick each other down. Mathers comes in and kicks away at Drake, setting up a Code Red for two. Now Broadway will come in and shrug off a Mathers chop and hit jumping back elbow to the face. A one footed Lionsault gets two on Mathers, who is then springboard enziguried out to the floor. Facade comes in to some cheering for the showdown with Broadway, who is pulled to the floor by Vandergriff and Drake.

Facade and Vandergriff hammer on each other until Facade kicks his way out of the corner. Drake comes back in and gets kicked down as well, followed by a kick to Mathers’ face. Facade hits a middle rope springboard cutter to Drake as commentary gets in some Don Jardine references. Drake and Vandergriff catch Facade on top but Drake’s superplex is broken up as well. The Tower of Doom is no sold (because indies) and a double suplex gives Drake two on Facade.

Broadway comes back in to beat up the Unguided with Mathers having to dive (a long way) in for a save. Mathers rolls Broadway up for two and a reverse DDT flipped forward into a cutter drops him again. Vandergriff kicks Mathers down and hits a 619 into a slow motion poisonrana. Riley is back in this time and hits a step up knee in the corner to rock Drake. A Rock Bottom drives Drake into Vandergriff for one with Mathers making the save. Broadway and Facade fight outside, leaving Mathers and Riley to fight on the apron.

Mathers hits a very slow Tombstone on the apron (to no response because there is no one here, making that a pretty needlessly dangerous spot). Drake moonsaults onto Broadway and it’s time for the parade of dives. Facade’s is broken up and Drake gets in his way but Broadway puts Drake onto his shoulders. That lets Facade hit a double springboard Blockbuster onto the pile to put everyone down. Broadway throws Facade through some chairs and hits a bridging German suplex to finish Drake at 13:18.

Rating: C. I cannot stand this kind of a match as there is no way for anyone to stand out other than one big spot here or there. Broadway doesn’t so much win as much as he gets the pin when everyone else is down, making this little more than a big showcase with no flow or story in the slightest. It makes sense to put it on a showcase show, but when you’ve seen a bunch of them in a few days, any of the charm falls away. Throw in that this was kind of sloppy and they took WAY too long between spots in places and it felt like something there because you need this kind of a match on this kind of a show.

And they didn’t even make a Shredder joke!

Acid Cup 3 Finals: Jordan Oliver vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty’s ribs are a bit banged up coming in while Oliver just looks tired. We get the Big Match Intros, complete with a list of everyone they defeated to get here. We get a handshake to start and they go to a test of strength. The bigger Oliver takes him down but can’t break the bridge. That’s fine with Oliver, who wisely hits him in the bad ribs but Moriarty easily slips out of a headlock.

Oliver can’t roll out of a hammerlock but he can elbow his way to freedom only to get sent outside in a hurry. They hit the stall button for a bit as commentary recaps how much these two have probably done this weekend. Oliver even gets smart by having a drink of water on the floor and pours it over his head, which seems to be a good idea. Back in and Moriarty runs him over but the ribs stay banged up.

Oliver is right back with a hiptoss, plus an elbow to the ribs on the cover as the member of the Young, DUMB and Broke stable is looking rather smart. A hard whip into the corner bangs up the ribs even more and Oliver is starting to look a bit cocky. Oliver’s snap suplex gets two and Moriarty is looking frustrated by the pain in his ribs. The rather smart waistlock goes on and Oliver adds a dragon sleeper with elbows to the ribs.

Somehow Moriarty survives that and grabs the arms, which are put into a full nelson (with bodyscissors). Moriarty cranks on the leg to escape in a smart move and they’re both back up. The slingshot cutter (Cleopatra) is countered and Moriarty sends him shoulder first into the post. Moriarty follows him outside and puts Jordan in a chair to crank on the arm. That’s broken up with Moriarty being sent face first into the post to put him down as well. Back in and Moriarty goes back to cranking on the arm, including snapping it over the shoulder.

They lock hands and slap it out before a double clothesline puts both of them down again. Back up and they strike it out again until Moriarty’s double arm trap German suplex gets two. Oliver nails his running big boot (which they finally call the Verdi (Acid’s real last name) Kick) for a close two, meaning it’s time for both of them to go outside. That goes nowhere so Moriarty puts him up top for a super Russian legsweep floated over into a Crossface. Oliver punches him in the ribs for the break and grabs the Boston crab to make Moriarty tap at 14:21.

Rating: B. This was one of the better matches of the tournament and above all else it felt like a match for a prize. They structured things well with the ribs vs. everything else on Oliver, who got to look great by making the technical wizard tap out. It was a very solid main event, though again the wasn’t much drama when Oliver was wearing Acid’s pants throughout the tournament. There is power in those pants.

Post match Oliver….leaves, as there is no trophy (as in, like, a cup). Commentary gives a tributes to Acid to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was another completely watchable two hours and eighteen minutes of wrestling and that’s all you can ask for from a show like this one. Outside of the scramble match, there was nothing in the way of gimmick matches or nonsense like that which makes things go by quickly. The two days of this thing were straight wrestling matches for a prize and that’s very nice to see, as the structure isn’t quite there with a lot of these shows. Good stuff here, and Oliver felt like a star.

ICW No Holds Barred Volume 11: Then And Now
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: 81Bay Brewing Company, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: The Struggles, Ron Niemi

This is another promotion where I don’t know anything about it coming in but this seems to be a more violent promotion, which is not likely to be in my wheelhouse. I’m not sure what to expect coming in and I’m not sure about who all is on the card. Hopefully it is going to be a bit better than what I’m picturing so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence, which advertises No DQ, No Submissions and No Rules. Oh geez please don’t be a deathmatch promotion. Why am I doing this to myself again?

The ring announcer welcomes us to the show….and the ropes are chains.

Tony Deppen vs. Daniel Garcia

They circle each other for a bit to start until Deppen goes for the leg. That means a trip to the mat with both of them trying to tie up the legs. Deppen gets the legs crossed and cranks on Garcia’s arms at the same time. With that broken up, Garcia sends him to the floor for a breather. Back in and they go to the mat for more grappling with Garcia getting in some elbows to the back of the head.

Deppen slips out of that and bites Garcia’s bare toes, which has Garcia bailing underneath the ropes in a smart move. It’s Deppen getting on top for a slap off on the mat until some heavy forearms rock Garcia. You don’t do that to him though as he grabs a German suplex and starts stomping away rather fiercely. Something like a Crossface goes on, followed by a bodyscissors over the chain to make it worse.

Back up and they slap it out until Deppen is thrown into the chains for two. What looks like a Gotch style piledriver is broken up though and Deppen stomps on the bare feet. Garcia doesn’t mind and stomps on Deppen’s head but Deppen kicks him low. A running knee to the head finishes Garcia at 8:33.

Rating: C. Not much to see here and it did feel a bit more like a fight instead of a match. Deppen has come a long way in the last year or so and that is a very good thing. At the same time, Garcia has popped up a few times over this weekend and I haven’t seen much about him to get my excited. Not awful here, but it was a fine way to start off the show.

Here’s a guy named Scoot Andrews, who is billed as the Black Nature Boy. Andrews lists off all of his credentials on the independent circuit and…..I think he is here to introduce Lee Moriarty. Or maybe to find someone to beat him. The audio isn’t exactly the best around here.

Lee Moriarty vs. Steve Madison

Moriarty’s IWTV Title isn’t on the line. Madison, the hometown boy, comes out to Hearts On Fire from Rocky IV so we have a favorite. They go to the grappling to start with Moriarty working on the arm but getting taken down into a headlock. That goes into an early standoff and it’s Madison taking him down by the arm again. Moriarty flips out again and they stop to stare at each other again. More mat grappling goes to Madison but Moriarty is back up with an armdrag into an armbar.

Madison gets smart by snapping Moriarty’s throat across the chain and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up and Moriarty slides over to hit a double stomp to the throat. Madison is right back up with a shot of his own and the Sharpshooter goes on. Moriarty turns that back around and grabs Madison’s fingers for a little snap. A Russian legsweep gives Moriarty two but Madison is right back with a backdrop driver. Moriarty enziguris him and hits a suplex into a Downward Spiral (that’s a new one but it worked) for the pin at 7:46.

Rating: C+. Moriarty continues to impress over the weekend and that has been very nice to see. This was another good wrestling match between two guys who were completely able technicians. Madison isn’t someone I’ve seen before (and commentary said he doesn’t wrestle often) but he seemed like a steady hand. Good match here, and that is becoming the norm for Moriarty.

Post match Andrews comes in to show respect….and then pulls Moriarty into a Fire Thunder Driver. Andrews drops the IWTV Title onto Moriarty’s chest, which commentary thinks means a seed has been planted.

So far so good at thirty minutes in.

We look at the history between Justin Kyle and Bruce Santee. They had some Super Fights, which seem to be them punching each other quite a bit. The first two fights were split so I think you know where this is going.

Justin Kyle vs. Bruce Santee

Good luck on telling them apart as they’re both big bald biker looking guys. Kyle starts swinging to drive him into the corner early but Bruce shoves him away, only to come up favoring his wrist. More rights and lefts have Bruce down on his knee but a Superman Punch is countered into something like a World’s Strongest Slam (not that this is a wrestling match in any way).

They fight on the mat for a bit before getting back up, where a right hand sends Santee outside. Santee beats up the chairs so Kyle hits a BIG dive to take him down. Chair shots to the back rock Santee again and Kyle is rather fired up. Back in and Santee hammers away but Kyle kicks him back, meaning it’s time for the big slugout in the middle. Kyle rocks him with a right hand so Santee says bring it so Kyle kicks him in the head for the knockout at 4:40.

Rating: B. I have no idea what to call this as a wrestling match but that isn’t what they were going for here. This was about two big bruisers beating each other down and that’s what we got here. I’ve never heard of either guy but it makes sense to have them do something like this. Good, fun brawl here and exactly as advertised.

Post match Santee grabs the mic and seems to show respect. Then he a drink.

The ring announcer tells the fans to stay away from the ring. I think.

Jon Davis vs. Dominic Garrini

Garrini has Kevin Ku with him. They go straight to the slugging it out in the middle with Garrini needing a second off some chops tot he bare chest. After about two minutes of chopping, Garrini kicks him in the chest instead so Davis does some of his own. Garrini finally starts a series of strikes to take over but Davis snaps off a suplex to send him flying

Some shots to the face and a few slams give Davis two but Garrini snaps off some strikes to the chest. A German suplex sends Davis flying and a running knee gets two. Back up and they trade elbows to the face until Davis STOs him down. The Shining Wizard gives Davis two and a powerbomb gives Garrini the same. Davis is right back with a heck of a lariat into a piledriver for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C. This took some time to get going and they spent a lot of time hitting each other rather hard, which is about as interesting as something like this is going to be. Both of these guys have been around quite a bit over the weekend and they have gotten a bit of an upgrade. I’ve only seen Garrini from MLW and mainly in a tag team, while Davis has not been around for a bit but is making a nice showing for himself as the grumpy power guy.

Brandon Kirk vs. Danny Demanto

There are a bunch of weapons around the ring so here we go. Brandon has Kasey Kirk with him and they do not seem to be popular. Demanto seems to be more of a hit with the fans, though he might be a bit loopy. He also has a rather energetic guy named Mittens in his corner, because of course he does.

Kasey handles Brandon’s (her husband) introduction and the fans REALLY do not like her. Granted I can barely understand her but that seems to be the right conclusion. Demanto on the other hand is the “Tom Brady Of Banging Your Lady”, which is about as clever of a nickname as I’ve heard in the last four minutes. Kirk jumps him before the bell for two but Demanto reverses a whip to send Kirk outside. A bunch of chair shots have Kirk staggering around the ring and Demanto puts him on a table.

That means a top rope elbow to drive him through and they’re both down at ringside. Demanto hits him in the ribs and back with a baseball bat (after not being able to break it over his knee) and there’s a hard whip through a bunch of chairs. Now it’s time to get extra violent as Demanto takes some kind of spiked plate and elbows it into Kirk’s head, where it gets stuck.

That opens up the head so let’s pour some hot sauce in there for a bonus. Back in and it’s time to pour in some salt and lemons to go with the hot sauce. Demanto picks up a kendo stick but has to stop and swing at Kasey, allowing Brandon to get in a thumb tack wiffle bat shot. Another spike plate goes into Demanto’s head for a change and Kirk puts a keg between his legs.

With Demanto stuck, Kirk crushes said keg with a baseball bat for two. Both of them escape fireman’s carries until Kirk sends him over the top and through a table with what looks to be a bunch of cut open cans stuck to the top. We now pause because THAT WAS REALLY STUPID and Demanto can’t get up. Kirk helps him as well so Demanto hits him in the face, with commentary praising Demanto for being a piece of garbage. Kirk is laid on a door and a powerbomb/piledriver sends Kasey through Kirk through the door.

Instead of covering, Demanto flips off the camera as Kirk pulls himself back in. Demanto picks up a baseball bad with an empty water cooler container on the end and here’s Mittens to hold Kirk. The big shot hits Mittens by mistake though and Kirk’s lariat gets two. They fight over a suplex until Kirk grabs a small package for two. It’s time to slap it out from their knees but Kasey hits Demanto with….something to give Kirk the pin at 14:24.

Rating: D. This started off fun with Demanto having a bunch of charisma but then went rather weird with Demanto almost having a heel turn in the middle. The Kirks seem like a pretty despicable team and the fans really didn’t like them, but it was still not much to see with all of the hardcore and violence. More hardcore nonsense, but you had to know something like that was coming around here.

Post match Demanto grabs the mic and says he lost everything two years ago. He knows that he can always press the restart button and burn this place to the ground. So he wants everyone here who has ever been told no or who has lost someone to put up a middle finger. We get the ICDUB chant and he seems happy about something. Upon further investigation, Demanto is the owner of the company. That makes….a bit more sense I guess.

The ring announcer says they don’t have any hot food here so if you’re hungry, you’ll have to Door Dash it. Ok then.

Calvin Tankman vs. Dan Maff

These guys are rather large. They go nose to nose to start with Tankman talking trash. The chop off fires both of them up even more until Tankman knocks him outside. Tankman follows him out and gets sent through some chairs for the big crash. That’s fine with Tankman, who is right back to send Maff through some chairs as well. A chair to the back, as opposed to a back to the chair, keeps Maff in trouble, but another one just wakes him up.

Maff kicks him away and it’s time to set up a door. They hammer away at each other’s heads until they stagger around to opposite sides of the ring. Back in (for once) and they forearm it out with Tankman getting the better of things. A lariat is countered into a half and half suplex to drop Tankman though and a backsplash connects. Maff hits a lariat into a backbreaker but Tankman is back with a lariat of his own for a close two. It’s time to bring in a door and a couple of chairs to bridge it over, which can never go well.

A spinebuster puts Maff through the door for two more so Tankman needs some more chairs. Some fans throw one in, earning a warning from the ring announcer (“Please hand the chairs to the competitors.” That isn’t something you hear in your usual matches and that might be a good thing.). A bunch of chairs are stacked up and a powerslam onto said pile gets two on Maff.

With Maff out on the floor, Tankman hits a heck of a suicide dive to send him through another door for another two. Maff is back up and catches Tankman on top, only to get knocked back down. Tankman’s frog splash onto Maff onto the chairs…..gets two, as this has gone from beyond ridiculous to completely stupid. Maff slips out of a superplex attempt and hits something resembling a Cheeky Nandos kick. The Burning Hammer in the vicinity of the chairs finishes Tankman at 20:13.

Rating: D. Nope. This was a match that started off well as a good battle of the big men but then went WAY too far, to the point where it was so ridiculous. They had a bunch of big spots and the kickouts stopped being interesting and started being a joke about how the thing was never going to end. I was getting annoyed at this one and that should not be the case with a match that started off fun. They went about twice as long as they should have and it was a big miss as a result.

Post match they stare at each other and trade more chops as a show of respect. That might make up for a bit of the match. Tankman leaves and here’s Bruce Santee, in a “F*CK JOE BIDEN” shirt, to yell at Maff before their match in an upcoming one night tournament.

Weapons are loaded into the ring for the next match. Oh boy here we go.

The ring announcer requests that fans keep their masks up.

Jake Crist vs. Nolan Edward

This is Crist’s debut with the company and he kicks Nolan outside at the bell, setting up a suicide dive in the first seven seconds. They move some chairs around with Edward managing to kick him in the face and throw some chairs inside. Back in and Crist scores with a high crossbody and some kicks to the face get two. Edward is back with something like a McGillicutter into a Gory Stretch.

Crist is sent face first into one of the chains but kicks him in the ribs to break up a Bionic Elbow. A swinging belly to back fisherman’s suplex sends Crist through a door for two but he’s right back with a Death Valley Driver through another door for another two. Crist gets two off a spinning brainbuster so Nolan is back with a snapmare into some fast knee drops. A Stunner drops Nolan again and this time Crist pelts a chair at his face. Then he does it two more times for a bonus and Nolan is down again.

Crist puts him on top for a superplex onto a chair so it’s time to put a barbed wire board over a pair of chairs. Nolan gets caught on top and there’s a super cutter through the barbed wire board for two (and a very limited reaction). Another barbed wire board is loaded up over the chairs and, after pelting a chair at Nolan’s head, Crist….gets butterfly suplexed through the board instead, giving Nolan the pin at 12:03.

Rating: C-. This is one of the more frustrating shows in a long time as it’s the kind of thing that should make me mad but they’re keeping the violence at just a low enough level to keep the anger levels down with it. I’ve seen Nolan twice this weekend and haven’t been interested, though Crist is someone who can do some good things. He’s better with his brother, but his brother is kind of horrible outside of the ring and should have been dropped.

A lot of respect is shown post match.

After an ad break, Edward is still in the ring and has a seat while holding the microphone. Edward has been told that there is no such thing as a draw in wrestling anymore. That means a challenge to…..Sami Callihan. This would have been a bit better if the fans hadn’t chanted Edward’s nickname: No Flinch.

More weapons are loaded in for the main event, with the ring announcer again telling fans to get their masks up.

Neil Diamond Cutter/The Rejects vs. Carnage Crew/???

The Rejects (John Wayne Murdoch/Reed Bentley) and the Crew (DeVito/Loc) are….not important enough to individually name to start, meaning the video’s graphic has to help me out. The brawl is on at ringside without the Crew’s partner being out here yet. I also don’t think there was a bell but I can’t imagine it matters. Cutter hits Loc in the head and Murdoch bites him as commentary mentions the Crew’s partner (who I’ll save for a bit of a surprise). Cutter gets sent through a board in the corner and Loc hits a basement clothesline for two.

The brawling continues around ringside, including Loc stapling a dollar to Cutter’s tongue. Bentley puts DeVito through a door and we get a parade of weapons shows with no particular rhyme or reason. Loc takes Murdoch inside for a belly to back suplex and Bentley’s swinging Russian legsweep gets two on Cutter. Something like a Magic Killer gets two on Loc…..and we’ve got NEW JACK as the partner. The trashcan full of weapons goes into the ring, including the guitar over Cutter’s head to give DeVito the pin at 6:35.

Rating: D. As you might have guessed, this wasn’t about the wrestling or anything outside of the brawling as we waited on New Jack as the big special moment. Granted it might have been better had he been a mystery partner, but knowing who it is going to be and having then showing up in the end works as well. This was more of the hardcore match I was expecting but they kept it short so it’s hard to get overly annoyed. Totally not my thing, but you had to have a match like this from a promotion called NO HOLDS BARRED.

Celebrating ensues post match, with New Jack being about six inches taller than DeVito and Loc. The Rejects grab the mic and says this was about the violence as the Rejects faced the Carnage Crew for the first time ever. Bentley challenges them to a two on two match in the future but New Jack answers, saying he came here from North Carolina. I think he says he has been drinking all day, so you censored censored censoreds and various other censoring. The Crew accepts the challenge and New Jack throws a trashcan at the Rejects. New Jack’s theme music ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This show started off well enough and was even a nice surprise to get things going, but then it descended down into a lot more of what I was expecting. What surprised me here was that it never got all the way down into where some of these shows tend to go. There was even some good wrestling earlier in the show and that is always going to help things. The show certainly isn’t great and there isn’t much on it worth seeing, but I was expecting a deathmatch nightmare and got a fairly average show with some hardcore thrown in near the end. If that’s as bad as it gets, I can live with this.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Acid Cup 2021 Part 1
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: Cuban Club, Ybor City, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Gill, Various

This is another show from GCW’s the Collective and as you might have guessed, it is part of a tournament called the Acid Cup. While I’m not entirely sure, I would assume that it is held in honor of the late Trent Acid, which I’m sure will be confirmed during the show. Tournaments are about as easy of a concept as you can get in wrestling so hopefully this works out. Let’s get to it.

We’re outside today and it looks like this is in a parking lot for a unique visual. And yes, this is for Trent Acid.

First Round: Calvin Tankman vs. Colby Corino

Corino takes the much bigger Tankman down by the leg to start and works on a wristlock. A lot of bouncing gets Corino out of Tankman’s wristlock so Tankman chops him to little avail. Another one puts Corino down and he seems to be regretting the idea of sticking his chest out for Tankman. Back up and Corino hits an enziguri but his legs give out on an ill advised fireman’s carry attempt. Tankman pounds him down and chops away in the corner as this is staying rather slow to start.

Commentary tells a story about running into Corino in an airport in 2014 as Corino counters a powerbomb and hits a double stomp. A kick to the top of the head gets two on Tankman but he is right back with a clot and something like a Rock Bottom for two. Corino is back up with a spinning kick to the face and somehow manages a Samoan drop for an impressive visual. The middle rope 450 misses though and Tankman’s spinning backfist to the back of the head….only gets two. The Tankman Driver finishes Corino at 8:08.

Rating: C-. Tankman has been all over the weekend here and that is not a bad thing. He is a good sized guy who can do some impressively athletic things in the ring, which is always going to get some attention. Corino was doing what he could here but there is only so much that you can do when you are that small. To be fair though, that was a crazy impressive Samoan drop and I wouldn’t have believe Corino could pull it off.

We now pause for a cleaning of the ropes and a board sticking up in the ring. A bunch of people have to get in to stomp on the ring to try and fix things, complete with a camera shot of the people underneath the ring making repairs. To fill time, commentary makes up fake results of the Showcase of the Independents Family Reunion show. Now they have to lift up the mat and replace a board, which is even sadder given that there is not even a full front row around ringside. A quick Trent Acid discussion is cut off because everything is fine. This took about seven minutes so it could have been much worse.

First Round: Braden Lee vs. Laredo Kid

They start slowly until Kid flips out of an early wristlock. Lee takes him down with a headlock takeover and but Kid bounces back up and hits a running shoulder. Kid gets kicked out to the floor, followed by Lee hitting a heck of a gutbuster for two back inside. A springboard crossbody drops Lee though and it’s time to head outside, where Lee can’t hit a tornado DDT onto the concrete.

Instead, Lee takes it back inside for a good looking 450 for two. Kid is right back with a Michinoku Driver into back to back moonsaults for two of his own. Lee snaps off a running Spanish Fly but misses a shooting star, which would have missed by six feet anyway. Back up and Lee goes up top, only to get caught in….kind of a reverse super Spanish Fly, where Kid had him in a belly to back superplex then flipped backwards to land on Lee’s back as Lee landed on his face. That’s enough to finish Lee at 8:06.

Rating: C+. Total spot fest match here but Kid is someone who has been getting higher and higher profile matches as of late. It makes the tournament feel a little bit bigger because the star power helps it a lot. Pretty nice match here too, with Lee getting to showcase himself a bit before coming up short in the end.

First Round: Dragon Bane vs. KTB

I’m not sure who Bane is but he comes out to Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz so he can’t be too bad. KTB takes him down with ease to starts so the smaller Dragon goes with a handspring moonsault. Granted KTB just stands there and watches him so it doesn’t mean much. Dragon’s hurricanrana is easily countered into a sitout powerbomb and a running shoulder in the corner gives KTB two.

KTB plants him again for two but Dragon slips out of a powerbomb and strikes away. This goes very badly for Dragon and his chops are rather pitiful looking. A spinning kick to the head and a handspring elbow work a bit better though and KTB is knocked to the floor. Dragon hits a double springboard spinning moonsault to drop KTB again as commentary tries to figure out what he just did.

Back in and they trade Spanish Flies to give KTB two (Commentary: “Isn’t adrenaline crazy?”) but Dragon is back with a poisonrana for a rather delayed two. They chop it out from their knees, with commentary explaining which part of the hand offers the most pain. They trade pump kicks but KTB is back with something like a Dominator into a knee to the face for two more. Back up and Bane suplexes him into the corner, setting up another poisonrana. A shooting star press finishes KTB at 8:15.

Rating: C. I wouldn’t have bet on that so it is rather nice to have a surprise like this. This was a bit of a styles clash as it felt like Dragon was trying to get in all of his spots instead of having more of a flowing match, but that is kind of understandable given how a show like this is supposed to go. Not too bad and the surprise ending helped a good bit.

In a nice gesture, Dragon high fives all of the fans, though to be fair it doesn’t exactly take that long.

First Round: Jordan Oliver vs. Edith Surreal

Surreal is the unmasked version of Still Life With Apricots And Pears (who you might not know). Oliver is wearing Trent Acid inspired pants and it’s a feeling out process to start with Oliver taking him down by the leg and cranking away. That’s reversed into a full nelson with Surreal using her legs to work on the neck, followed by a missile dropkick for two. Surreal starts in on the arm and shrugs off the threat of a Boston crab.

Instead, Surreal gets him down and cranks on the face and leg at the same time, followed by an exchange of rollups for two. A headscissors on the mat keeps Surreal down as commentary talks about how this isn’t the kind of match you would expect from these two. Back up and Surreal gets dropkicked out to the floor so Oliver posts her hard. They head back inside with Surreal taking him down by the leg and cranking on the ankle as the very slow pace continues.

Surreal gets creative with a Figure Four stump puller, but since that is kind of hard to maintain, it’s off to a seated abdominal stretch instead. That’s reversed into a leglock from Oliver, which is reversed into a cradle for two. Back up and Surreal grabs a bulldog for two and it’s time for more rollups for two each. Oliver grabs a Stunner and kicks her in the face (Acid signature) for the pin at 9:52.

Rating: C-. This was a rather slow paced match and it didn’t exactly work. It felt like they were just going from one move/sequence to another with nothing bridging them together, which made for a fairly weak match. Both of them are capable of more so this was fairly disappointing and the lack of drama (Oliver was wearing Acid’s PANTS) didn’t help it either. Not awful, but not much to see here.

Ten minute intermission.

First Round: JJ Garrett vs. Lee Moriarty

Garrett is a substitution for Treehouse Lee and looks like he doing a Scott Steiner cosplay. He is introduced as what sounds like Dot Steiner so I have my early 90s WCW eyes working. They go with the grappling to start with Garrett taking him down but Moriarty sits out and it’s already a standoff. Moriarty picks the ankle and cranks away, sending Garrett to the ropes in a hurry.

Back up and Moriarty sweeps the leg and kicks the arm, followed by a dropkick to send Garrett outside. Garrett comes back in with a bit of a slower pace but this time manages to whip Moriarty into the corner to take over. After a quick discussion of Scott Steiner on Saved By The Bell, Garrett grabs a belly to back suplex for two. Moriarty is back with a running enziguri in the corner and a jumping double stomp to the back of a seated Garrett’s head. And then Garrett starts vomiting and the referee stops it at 5:42.

Rating: C. I’ve seen a lot from Moriarty this weekend and he really does come off as one of the better stars out of the series of shows. He has the technical and in-ring abilities to make it work with just enough charisma to make him more interesting. Throw in the fact that he looks pretty young and already seems fairly polished and he could be on to something. Garrett was just there for a short burst and you are only going to be able to get so much out of him in so little time, though he was fine enough.

We now pause to clean the ring and get some ads, including from a man named Toy Vomit, which might not be the best timing.

First Round: Aramis vs. Arez

Arez appears to be part goat. They fight over a top wristlock to start as one of the commentators can barely be heard. Aramis takes him down and starts tying up the leg but Arez ties him into a ball and puts on kind of a reverse full nelson with the legs, because these guys know some crazy complicated holds. That’s reversed but Arez reverses the reversal into something like Paige’s Scorpion Crosslock.

With that broken up as well, it’s off to a pinfall reversal sequence and the rather rapid fire tumbling into some near falls. They’re still not don so more grappling gives them two each until it’s another standoff for a pretty well deserved standing ovation. A springboard armdrag puts Aramis down but he wristdrags Arez over without much trouble. An exchange of anklescissors sets up a pair of superkicks from Aramis to send Arez outside. One heck of a suicide dive rocks Arez as commentary LOVES the fact that Aramis led with his head instead of just shoving him.

Back in and Aramis kicks him in the face, setting up a running shoulder in the corner as commentary is very pleased with the international flare here. Aramis grabs the arm and climbs the ropes to jump into a victory roll, followed by a heck of a springboard hurricanrana. Rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner gives Aramis two and they’re both down for a needed breather.

They slug it out until Arez grabs the arm and spins over to the apron to tie it around the ropes. Then he does it again with another arm and pulls on it for one of the most unique spots I can remember seeing in a long time. They fight out to the floor with Arez throwing water on him and then drinking some of it himself. Back in and Aramis is sent to the apron where they trade more kicks to the head. Arez kicks him in the chest but hurts his own leg in the process to put them both down again.

We pause for the injury and the referee gives Arez a ten count to get up. Back up and they strike it out rather hard until a double kick to the head (Commentary: “That looked like a d*** game of Karate Fighters!”) puts them both down again. Aramis pumphandles him onto the shoulder for a Dominator into a knee to the face and a torture rack spun into a powerbomb (with a lot of spinning) gets two. Arez has had it with this and comes back with a bridging northern lights suplex for the pin at 13:36.

Rating: B. This is going to be one of those matches where your individual tastes are really going to vary. Yes, this match felt like the most telegraphed match I’ve seen in a very long time but it was a blast as they beat each other up with one spot after another. They weren’t going for realistic here and the flips and holds and counters were crazy fun. Just great luchaing here and if you’re in for a performance instead of trying to make it feel like a competition, have fun with this one.

Money is thrown in and the wrestlers and referee split it.

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Tony Deppen

Hold on actually as Radrick says Deppen is stuck between Tampa and Orlando so the match isn’t happening. Therefore, let’s do that open challenge thing.

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Jimmy Lloyd

Lloyd is a hardcore guy and I really hope that isn’t what we’re getting here. Actually hang on again.

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Ellis Taylor

It wouldn’t be an indy show without a three way. Radrick is sent outside to start and there’s a dropkick to do it again. A superkick drops Taylor though and Lloyd is left alone in the ring. Radrick comes back in for a clothesline to the back of Lloyd’s head and then heads outside for a Gory Bomb onto the steps. Lloyd throws Radrick into a bunch of chairs at ringside but gets dropped as well.

That leaves Radrick and Taylor to slap it out at ringside before all three head back inside to miss some strikes to the face. Radrick dropkicks both of them down at the same time and it’s some running clotheslines in the corner. An Air Raid Crash gets two on Taylor with commentary comparing it to how Hulk Hogan covered Iron Sheik. Taylor is back up with a poisonrana on Lloyd, followed by a kick to Radrick’s head. Radrick is fine enough to hit a springboard Stunner on Lloyd, followed by something like an abdominal stretch lifted into a powerbomb to finish Taylor at 5:48.

Rating: C. This could have been a lot worse as Lloyd didn’t get to do his nonsense. Radrick is a smaller guy and looked fairly impressive here while he had the chance. They didn’t have time to do much here but the show is running out of time and they have one match left, which is the kind of thing that is going to happen. What we got was fine enough but the time hurt things a lot.

First Round: Nate Webb vs. AJ Gray

Webb is wearing a mask honoring the injured B-Boy. Webb grabs a wristlock to start but gets reversed into a rather hard headlock. A running shoulder drops Webb and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and we hit the headlock again, with Gray taking him down into a front facelock this time. Make that an armbar as we continue the barrage of first gear holds.

Webb gets back up and they talk trash, setting up the exchange of right hands to the face. Gray knocks him down again, with Webb being knocked to the floor this time. They chop it out again and Gray gets suplexed onto the concrete for a rather scary landing. Webb pelts a chair at him and then hits Gray in the back with it for a bonus. Gray gets in his own chair shot and then crushes Webb’s throat with it for a bonus (Commentary: “I don’t think these guys are friends anymore.”).

Some chairs are thrown in, with Gray setting them up and bridging a large door between them for a bonus. What looks like a superplex is broken up and Webb hits a middle rope double stomp to the back, because Gray is a little nuts. The door is moved into the corner and Webb spears Gray through it for the big crash. The running dropkick in the corner (another B-Boy tribute) gets two on Gray but he’s right back up with an enziguri to catch him on top. A top rope superplex plants Webb again for two and one heck of a clothesline gets the same. Emerald Flosion finishes Webb at 9:28.

Rating: C. Not too bad here again and I was rather relieved to see the chair and door stuff kept mostly to a minimum. Webb feels like someone who belongs more in a place like CZW but he was perfectly acceptable here in a mostly normal match so I’ll take being surprised. Gray is one of the more featured people over the course of the weekend and you can see the talent. I’m not sure if he is as good as he is hyped up to be, but he is perfectly acceptable with everything that he does, which is a lot more than you usually get on a show like this.

No brackets for the second round but you don’t really need them for something like this.

Overall Rating: C+. We’ll call this one a breath of air after some of the pretty bad stuff I’ve seen over the weekend. This had watchable to good action throughout and Arez vs. Aramis was a blast. Other than that, there is nothing worth going out of your way to see but if you want a nice sample platter of indy wrestling with no big messy scramble match or a bunch of hardcore/deathmatch nonsense, this is about as good as you are going to get from what I’ve seen over the weekend.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Violence X Suffering: Lucid Dreams
Date: April 9, 2021
Location: Cuban Club, Ybor City, Florida
Commentators: Various

We’re back with another midnight show from GCW’s the Collective and that could mean a lot of things. I don’t know anything about this promotion or anything about this show, so as usual I’m coming in blind. That is kind of the point of a show like this, but hopefully they aren’t on until almost 3am again. Let’s get to it.

So the show is delayed due to the prior event running long and did not start until 1am.

Opening sequence.

Nick Gage says this is Violence X Suffering motherf*****.

The ring announcer screams and swears a lot. Oh yeah this is going to be a really long night. This goes on for a good bit as he keeps wanting us to be louder.

Here’s Rich Swann, whose entrance takes a good while because he gets in a lot of dancing. Then a fan calls him a fake Kofi, earning him a “F*** THIS GUY” from Swann. Apparently Tony Deppen isn’t here tonight so Swann is substituting, meaning it’s open challenge time.

Rich Swann vs. KTB

The much larger KTB grabs a waistlock to start but Swann slips out, only to be taken to the mat in an Oklahoma roll. That makes Swann look up at KTB as commentary keeps making music reference. Swann is back up with a dropkick into a hurricanrana for two but KTB is back with a chop in the corner. A running shoulder into a falling headbutt to the ribs gets two on Swann.

Some strikes to the face have KTB rocked but Swann dives into a spinebuster for two. We hit the chinlock but Swann fights up and nails a quick dropkick. The middle rope 450 gets two on KTB but Swann has to pull himself up. KTB catches him off the top for two more so Swann busts out the Lethal Injection for two. The frog splash gets the same so KTB gets up and drops him again, setting up a Lionsault for two of his own. Swann has had it with this and enziguris him down, setting up the middle rope Phoenix splash for the pin at 11:30.

Rating: C+. This was about as they could have done under the circumstances. It wouldn’t surprise me if the promotion found out that Deppen couldn’t be there and they just found whomever they could to fill in. Swann is a talented enough name with enough star power to make something like this work so they did everything they could and the match wound up working.

Respect is shown post match and we pause to sanitize the ropes.

Someone named Masa Slamavich is at ringside and doesn’t seem to be on the schedule.

AJ Gray vs. Daniel Garcia

Pure Rules, meaning three rope breaks, only one closed fist to the face and a much more technical focus. Both of them have seconds as well. They go with the grappling to start with the bigger Gray taking him down without much trouble. Back up and Gray’s shoulder doesn’t do much good so Garcia takes him down into a leglock. Gray reverses that into some kind of a weird Figure Four variation to put Garcia in trouble.

Garcia uses a rope break so Gray is right back with a very big backsplash to crush him again. They get up again and Garcia goes for the leg again, meaning Gray needs his own rope this time around. Garcia slaps on a front facelock and switches into a bodyscissors, meaning Gray needs another rope break. The chinlock goes on but Gray isn’t having this and powers up for a heck of a Death Valley Driver to drop Garcia.

A pair of powerbombs plants Garcia twice in a row but somehow he is back up with a Shining Wizard. Garcia grabs a Crossface and Gray’s escape means he is out of rope breaks. Back up and Gray smashes him with a lariat so Robert Martyr, Garcia’s second, puts Garcia’s hand on the rope. With that broken up, Gray grabs an STF and Garcia is in trouble. Martyr gets creative by pulling the rope back so it smacks Gray in the face (not a DQ because reasons) to stun him fairly well. The Sharpshooter, with Garcia leaning all the way back and pulling on the leg, makes Gray tap at 13:09.

Rating: C. This was a much more technical match and it was only so interesting in the first place. I’ve seen a few Garcia matches this weekend and they aren’t the most thrilling things. He is rather skilled with the technical stuff but he isn’t exactly interesting. It’s another case of someone just kind of being there and that doesn’t keep much attention. Gray is a hard hitter who can grapple and has some good charisma, which is a nice combination.

Post match Garcia doesn’t let go so Gray’s second comes in, earning a Sharpshooter of his own as Garcia isn’t seeming that nice. Martyr yells at Garcia, earning himself a piledriver and a Sharpshooter of his own. Masa Slamavich comes in and tells Garcia to hit her so Garcia tries, only to have to bail from a quick piledriver attempt.

KC Navarro/Marcus Mathers/Andy Brown/Ninja Mack/MV Young vs. TJ Crawford/Gabriel Sky/Ken Broadway/Myron Reed/Dante Leon

Elimination rules. It’s a big brawl to start with Ninja Mack hitting a big corkscrew dive off the top and back to back big flip dives off the middle/top ropes. Leon is back up with a reverse Spanish Fly off the middle rope to plant Mack. Sky and Navarro fight off to the side as no one is in the ring. They start throwing stuff at each other and you can barely see what is going on. Sky climbs onto a wall and flip dives onto everyone.

People keep walking around in the dark and hey we bother going back to the ring where Young powerbombs Sky into a half crab. That’s broken up and Sky hits a running knee to the side of the head. Young spears him out of the air for two as you can hear a fan explaining who the wrestlers are. Sky hits a top rope double stomp to get rid of Young at 7:47. Brown comes in and gets caught with an enziguri but someone crotches Sky on top. An AA into a Backstabber gets rid of Sky at 8:52.

A package piledriver gets rid of Leon at 9:45 so here’s Broadway to strike away at Brown. Broadway muscles him up with a German suplex and a bridging German suplex finishes Brown at 10:39. Navarro comes in and small packages Broadway for the pin at 11:04. Crawford grabs a sitout powerbomb on Navarro and a distraction sets up a brainbuster to pin Navarro at 12:34.

Mathers and Mack come in to kick away at Crawford with Mathers being sent outside in a hurry. Crawford hits a running kick in the corner and backdrops Mack out to the floor. Back in and Mack kicks him in the head but the middle rope Phoenix splash hits raised knees to give Crawford the pin at 15:23. I believe we’re down to Mathers vs. Crawford/Reed so Crawford hits a double underhook faceplant (think a double underhook Dominator) to drop Matters.

They fight to the apron with Mathers hitting a piledriver and Crawford is right back up in about ten seconds. Mathers gives him a low superkick and a flip DDT gets rid of Crawford at 18:40 and we’re down to Mathers vs. Reed. They slug it out and Mathers hits another flip DDT for two. Reed is sent outside but catches a dive and hits his hanging F5 off the apron onto the concrete. Back in and an Air Raid Crash finishes Mathers at 20:59.

Rating: D. The action was fine but commentary was perhaps the worst that I have ever heard. It wasn’t even commentary as much as one guy (the second was fine) did nothing but shout over and over again, probably screaming EAT THAT about 30 times, including after every single big move. This already isn’t my style of wrestling and then everything else about it is driving me crazy. They had a 20+ minute spot fest with the first ten minutes being spent walking around in darkness. The match itself was acceptable but my goodness commentary was a nightmare.

Brian Cage vs. Chris Dickinson

Well the star power just went up. Dickinson looks like he can barely walk due to some kind of a leg injury but he slugs away anyway. Cage is right back with a powerbomb and Dickinson is in trouble early. We go intelligent with the Indian Deathlock to stay on the leg but Dickinson crawls to the floor.

Cage follows him outside and hammers away as he is getting to pick his spots here. Dickinson is busted open and commentary starts making fun of his mom’s accent. Back in and Cage works on the leg again but Dickinson fights up and strikes away. A belly to back suplex sends Cage flying and they fight outside again with Dickinson hitting him in the ribs with a door. Back in and Dickinson manages a missile dropkick into a nip up but Cage is right back with a sitout powerbomb.

Dickinson knocks him down again and hits a running kick to the chest, followed by a delayed vertical suplex for two. Cage is right back with a shot to the knee though and the Figure Four goes on. That’s turned over so Cage blasts him with a clothesline, only to get caught in a dragon screw legwhip. Dickinson grabs his own Figure Four but Cage powers out of that as well. Cage runs him over and grabs another Figure Four for the tap at 14:42.

Rating: C. Who would have bet on some psychology in something like this? Granted when you have Dickinson barely able to walk to start it isn’t that hard to figure out, but this wasn’t what I would have expected. Nice stuff here, though it went longer than it needed to, especially given the injury and this time of night.

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Eli Everfly

This is Lucha Rules meaning….well I guess we’ll find out. Scorpio laughs at the smaller Everfly and dances a bit at the bell. Everfly is driven into the corner but comes out with a wristlock, which sends Everfly down without much effort. The armbar has Everfly in more trouble but he’s back up with a chop and a very springboardy headscissors.

Scorpio isn’t having this and hits a quick wheelbarrow German suplex to send him flying. A big clothesline drops Everfly again but he gets up top. That doesn’t work for Scorpio, as his fall away slam sends Everfly sailing. The half crab goes on but Everfly eventually slips out as commentary continues its worship of Scorpio, now trying to get him on Wrestlemania. Back up and a wheelbarrow Stunner gets two on Scorpio and Everfly kicks him to the floor.

One heck of a top rope moonsault takes Scorpio down again, even if Everfly’s legs hit him in the head. Back in and Everfly hits a top rope cutter for two more and they’re both down again. A running clothesline drops Scorpio again and a sunset flip is good for the same. Scorpio hits something like a Pele into the Tumbleweed for the pin at 11:54.

Rating: C+. The ending was a bit flat but they did a nice job of telling the story of Scorpio not taking him seriously enough and almost getting caught. Everfly can do all of the flips and you are only going to be able to get so far at that size. The story and action were good though and I can always go for some more of Scorpio.

Jordan Oliver vs. Jimmy Lloyd

This is billed as Ace vs. Ace. Oliver slaps him in the face to start and they get into the brawl. Lloyd gets driven into the corner for the chops and a running spinwheel kick makes it worse. Another shot sends Oliver outside but his suicide dive is cut off by a chair to the head. That puts Lloyd down and egads there is a lot of broken glass under there. Egads that’s from Spring Break that I’m watching later isn’t it? Back in and Oliver hits him with some chair shots to the head for two but Lloyd, now bleeding, gets in a few shots of his own.

Oliver sends him face first into a chair in the corner as commentary goes onto a rant about how worthless referees are. The turnbuckle pad comes off but Oliver is sent into it instead, drawing more blood. Lloyd sends him into a chair but Oliver is back with a series of strikes to put both of them down. Commentary can’t remember Oliver’s name, even as they knock each other down again. Oliver hits a German suplex but Lloyd is back with a pumphandle driver for two as one person tries the THIS IS AWESOME chant.

It’s time to bring in a third chair so Oliver uses the distraction to grab a German suplex for two more. A clothesline gives Oliver another near fall and it’s time to adjust the chairs. They get on the chairs until Lloyd piledrives him through the chairs for two. Well of course that’s only two. Oliver is back with a double underhook piledriver for a near fall of his own. With nothing else working, Oliver goes up for his super cutter but Lloyd hits him low for the pin at 14:44.

Rating: D+. This was another one those matches where they do a spot, then sit around, then do a spot, then set up some kind of a weapon spot, then do a spot, then we finally get to the point. Throw in the commentary being able to do very little that swear a lot and say EAT THAT and it was quite the long sit. Oliver is getting better in the ring in MLW, but Lloyd felt like one of those not so great hardcore guys and that made for a messy match.

They brawl to the back.

JTG vs. Dr. Cube

No DQ. Cube is a guy with a cube for a head from Kaiju Big Battel. JTG dives onto Cube and his people to start, with Cube losing his cube (as in the box around his head) early on. A powerslam gives JTG two with one of Cube’s lackeys making the save. Cube slaps away and whips JTG into the corner, where the turnbuckle pad falls off. JTG gets sent outside so the goons can stomp on him so he powerbombs one onto the rest of them.

Back in and Cube hits a top rope knee to the back of the head for two and commentary keeps swearing about how bad the referees are. Cube’s goons come in again and set up a bunch of tables and doors, with a double chokeslam putting JTG through one such door. One of the goons hits a twisting shooting star to give Cube two. Now the goons bring in the light tubes to break over JTG’s back and he is cut BADLY. My eyes jumped up at how much blood was on his back but he comes back to clean house.

A double light tube shot to the back hits Cube but it’s time for the goons to come back in and beat JTG down again. Cube grabs the mic and gets in a shouting match with commentary…..and it’s freaking Big Cass coming in for the save. Cass cleans house and leaves JTG with Cube, who pours out thumbtacks. JTG hits him low and powerbombs him into the tacks, followed by a second for a bonus. A running Razor’s Edge into a powerbomb (close enough) finishes Cube at 14:04.

Rating: F. Nope. As amazing as JTG’s transformation is, this is every stupid hardcore trope that gives indy wrestling a bad reputation (whether it is deserved or not). Throw in the same EAT THAT commentary guy and the other one who wouldn’t shut up about how much he hated everything and this was about as irritating as it could have been. Just get on with the show already, and stop with the horrible commentary, please.

And now, a Lio Rush music video. Or at least part of one.

Low Ki vs. Lio Rush

I’m not big on either of them, but at least we should be in for a heck of an upgrade after the previous match. Feeling out process to start but the pace picks up in a hurry with Rush doing his running dodges. A kick to the face puts Rush on the floor and he needs a breather. Back in and a test of strength goes to Ki, who kicks him into the corner and hammers away. Ki suplexes him down for two but Rush fights back up as commentary says this is the White Ranger (Rush) vs. a bus boy (not Rush).

Rush’s comeback is cut off and Ki grabs a chinlock to keep him down. Back up and Rush slides into the corner to counter a whip as commentary (apparently Joey Janela of all people) starts singing. A handspring elbow drops Ki and a hurricanrana gives Rush two. Rush loses his shirt and a Falcon Arrow gets two on Ki as Janela talks about liking veal.

They go up top with Rush snapping off a super hurricanrana but Ki rolls through into a double stomp. Commentary talks about eggplant as Rush fights out of the Ki Crusher. Rush hits a hard DDT for two but misses Rush Hour. Ki gets up top for the double stomp and the pin at 10:09.

Rating: C. Yeah this was fine. It was late and they were rushing around, but it’s not like it mattered at this point. Granted when commentary is ignoring the match to talk about anything else that comes to mind, there isn’t much that the wrestlers can do no matter what. Completely acceptable wrestling and that’s all it needed to be to be an upgrade.

Overall Rating: D+. There were good parts to this, but the bad outweigh the good so badly that it completely ruins anything positive that could come out of the show. Ignoring the extreme/hardcore nonsense and commentary completely ruining more than one match, it just wasn’t that good in several parts. You really can tell the difference in the talent levels though, as the bigger name wrestlers were on a different planet in almost every possible way. There are worse shows, but the bad stuff is some of the stuff I can’t stand the most on this kind of show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Have Fun Be Sad
Date: April 9, 2021
Location: 81Bay Brewing, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Various

This is from Action Wrestling and Southern Underground Pro Wrestling coming together for a show. I have no idea what that is going to mean as I don’t know anything about either promotion, but there is always the chance that they could pull off something good. It’s certainly a different kind of show title. Let’s get to it.

Someone from Southern Underground welcomes us to the show and wants us to be loud.

Bonestorm Title: AJ Gray vs. JD Drake

Gray is defending and this is from Southern Underground. They chop it out to start and trade shoulders to no avail. Gray’s powerslam has more avail and they fight to the floor for another slugout. This time Drake gets the better of things and takes it back inside for a quick Vader Bomb. They trade snapmares into kicks to the back, followed by Drake hitting a quick splash for two.

A dropkick knocks Gray backwards but he is right back with a flurry of strikes of his own to even things up. They strike it out again until Drake kicks him into the corner for the Cannonball. The middle rope moonsault misses though and Gray hits a lariat….for the pin at 8:31, even though the referee stopped counting after two, then counted three, then didn’t call for the bell immediately.

Rating: C. Seemingly confusing ending aside, this was a completely acceptable hoss fight with two guys beating each other up. That is something that is always going to work and it worked well here. Drake is someone who has been around forever and Gray has quite the reputation of his own. Good choice for an opener here and a nice match.

Good Hand vs. Cabana Man Dan/Bret Ison

Before the match, Suge D of Good Hand (with Kevin Ryan) says he’s good to die today but Dan and Ison are going to have to earn it. It’s a huge brawl to start as commentary explains that Good Hand has attacked/tortured both Dan and Ison, because they are competent at their jobs.

We settle down to Dan working on Ryan’s arm but Suge snaps Dan’s throat across the top and takes him to the floor for a ram into a chair. Back in and Dan gets caught in a Gory Special, setting up a Gory Special for two. Suge comes in to hammer away and then Death Valley Drivers Ryan onto Dan for two more. A Swanton gets the same but Dan is back with the Kevin Owens swinging superplex.

That’s enough for the hot tag off to Ison and the pace picks up. Everything breaks down as Ison wrecks everything in sight. Dan is knocked to the floor though and Good Hand strikes away at Ison but can’t put him down. With Dan coming back in to take care of Ryan, Suge’s springboard…well it mostly slips but he hits Ison anyway. Ryan is back up with a knee to the back to finish Dan at 11:08.

Rating: C. There was definitely a story here and it was nice to have commentary explain what was going on. I got the story they were telling, but it was nice to have someone there to give me a bit of a backstory. It wasn’t much in the way of a match but they played the formula and kept it simple with energy, so well enough done.

Post match Suge gets in some WE TOLD YOU’s but Ison grabs him and takes him to the back. Dan chases Ryan off as well.

Adrian Alanis vs. Rob Killjoy vs. Graham Bell vs. Jaden Newman vs. Damyan Tangra vs. Liam Gray vs. Bobby Flaco

From Southern Underground Pro and one fall to a finish. I know they need to get people on the show but GOOD GRIEF STOP HAVING ALL THESE PEOPLE IN ONE MATCH. Alanis and Gray and Flaco and Killjoy are regular tag teams. Bell has a bazooka which shoots a puff of fire. Newman talks a lot of trash to start and says he is here to beat every one of them, earning himself a superkick to the floor.

Killjoy and Tangra are left alone in the ring and trade rollups for two each until Tangra hits a running uppercut. Alanis comes in for a running elbow in the corner and he suplexes Flaco into Tangra in the corner. Bell comes in to strike away and clean house but Grey is in with a top rope flip dive. Newman gets his turn to beat up whomever is in the ring with him until Killjoy catches him with a pop up Codebreaker.

Flaco has to fight off Alanis and Newman on his own and manages to clear the ring despite being rather small. Gray comes back in and hits a huge dive over the top onto a bunch of people. Killjoy adds a springboard flip dive but Bell is up with his bazooka….which is out of ammo. That’s fine though as he sends Newman outside and hits a springboard flip dive to take out a bunch of people.

Back in and Tangra gets a hold on three people at once (just go with it) until Gray makes the save. The ring is cleared again and we get a quick Killjoy vs. Flaco fight. The tower of doom is loaded up but falls apart, leaving Flaco to hurricanrana Gray into everyone else. Killjoy tosses Flaco at Newman for a DDT and then gets two off a brainbuster. Flaco hits a poisonrana on Killjoy but gets caught in electric chair Backstabber for two from Bell. Gray and Alanis team up on Newman but Tangra elbows Alanis out of the air. A scary looking jumping Downward Spiral gives Tangra the pin on Alanis at 11:29.

Rating: C+. Yes it was entertaining and yes it was all energy but egads I can’t stand this kind of match. It’s just a collection of spots with no real flow or anything to it and that gets annoying in a hurry. I’m not going to remember anything out of this because it is so all over the place until someone wins. It isn’t bad, but it is the kind of thing that comes and goes and doesn’t stand out whatsoever, just because of the calamity involved.

AC Mack vs. Myron Reed

Mack handles his own intro, taking credit for the entire show taking place at all. Mack takes him to the mat for an early hammerlock but Reed is up with a wristlock of his own. That’s reversed into an ankle crank but Reed is in the rope in a hurry. Back up and Reed misses a charge into the corner, allowing Mack to hit a hard dropkick to the back of the head. Reed is back with a boot to the face to send Mack outside, setting up a heck of a suicide dive.

Back in and Mack gets dropped throat first across the top, setting up a neckbreaker for two. The sleeper doesn’t last long as Mack fights up, where he gets caught in a Stundog Millionaire. Mack kicks him in the head though and hits some clotheslines to set up a spinning DDT for another near fall. They slug it out until Mack nails a leg lariat for the double knockdown.

Mack powerbombs him for two but can’t follow up and they’re both down again. Another Stundog Millionaire rocks Mack and the running slingshot cutter to the floor (despite Mack’s face not getting close to the floor) sets up a 450 to give Reed two back inside. Back in and Reed can’t hit a powerbomb but Mack can hit the Mack 10 (Pedigree) for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: C+. Reed is someone who has gone from pretty much a goof in MLW to someone who looks sharp every time he is in there as his reputation continues to grow. That is rather cool to see and I could go for seeing more of him. The same is true of Mack, who I believe I remember seeing two years ago and liking then as well. Nice match between two talented people here.

One Called Manders vs. Logan Creed vs. Alex Kane vs. Derek Neal

Sure why not. Neal and Creed knock the other two outside at the bell, followed by the much bigger Creed chopping Neal outside. Kane comes back in to suplex Creed outside, followed by another belly to belly to Manders inside. A Warrior splash hits Manders’ raised knees though and a powerslam puts Kane on the floor. Creed comes back in to beat up Manders and Neal at the same time but a heck of a lariat puts him down.

Another double team puts Kane on the floor, leaving Manders and Neal to strike it out. Creed chokeslams Kane onto the apron but let’s get everyone in the corner for the Tower of Doom. You know, just for fun. Creed is back up for the huge no hands dive onto Manders and Neal but Kane is back up with a German suplex. Kane suplexes Manders down again for the fast pin at 6:29.

Rating: C. It was less hectic than the seven way match earlier and they were able to showcase themselves a little bit better, because, again, we didn’t have seven people in the match at once. Kane has been impressive in the two matches I’ve seen him in and it worked well here too. Creed it big and athletic but his left handed chops and chokeslams are a bit weird. Neal looked better in a singles match yesterday and Manders seemed more about his cowboy deal than anything in the ring.

Daniel Makabe vs. Arik Royal

Royal’s Action Title isn’t on the line. Apparently this has been teased for years now so it is kind of a big deal. Royal bails to the floor to start before heading back inside for the lockup. Neither can get anywhere with a grappling exchange so Makabe takes him to the mat to no avail. Royal gets a headscissors on the mat but Makabe bounces away to grab a headlock.

That’s reversed into a choke from Royal, who is right back up with a dropkick for two. Makabe tries a waistlock but gets hit in the head to cut him down again. They fight over a small package with neither being able to get the shoulders down so let’s get back up with Royal hitting a spinebuster instead.

Frustration is starting to set in and Makabe makes it worse by hitting his Big Unit right hand. Royal is back with a hard lariat to put them both down and we need a breather. A running dropkick staggers Royal again and Makabe snaps off a Saito suplex for two more. Royal pops up with a sitout powerbomb for a delayed two but Makabe is back with a German suplex for the same.

Makabe gets Cattle Mutilation so Royal has to get a foot over the rope for the break. That leaves Royal mostly done so Makabe goes up top and pulls the knee pads down. The exposed knees only hit mat though and Royal Pounces him (aiming at the knees) to knock him outside. That’s good for a nine and Makabe goes for the arm but Royal punches him in the knee. The claw STO finishes Makabe at 17:24.

Rating: B. This did feel like the kind of big match that they were hyping it up to be. Royal is someone who seemed like little more than a rather confident heel but he looked like someone worth seeing here. Makabe was rather good as well and they had a good match on a fairly big stage. The time helped as well, as you don’t get to see many matches get this kind of time on a show like this more often than not.

Adam Priest vs. Matt Makowski

Feeling out process to start with the smaller Priest not seeming scared to go after him. Makowski sends him into the corner and Priest has to bail to the rope to avoid an armbar attempt. More mat grappling has Priest in trouble as he can’t get away from someone as big as Makowski. A choke is broken up and Priest nails a clothesline, setting up a frog splash to the back. Priest steps on his head in the corner for a bit and hits an elbow to the face for two.

Something like a Scorpion Deathlock has Makowski in trouble but it starts breaking down so Priest ties up one of the arms for a bonus. Back up and Priest grabs the arm but Makowski snaps off a suplex. A hard collision puts both of them down and the referee starts the rather slow count. Makowski flips him into an attempt at a cross armbreaker but Priest stacks him up for two. That’s broken up as well so Priest stacks him up again for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C+. They were working hard here and it is nice to see Priest get a win given how much they had hyped him up over the last two days. I’m not sure how much of a difference this is going to make for either of them but at least they had a good back and forth match here. That alone should get them some attention, which is kind of the point of a weekend like this one.

O’Shay Edwards vs. Jon Davis

I’ve liked Edwards every time I’ve seen him. Davis isn’t wasting time here and kicks him in the face, setting up a German suplex. A Jackhammer gets two on Edwards and Davis can’t believe the kickout. Edwards gets knocked into the corner and Davis unloads on him with one heavy shot to the head after another.

Back to back slams make Edwards pop up so a sliding lariat gets two on Edwards instead. Edwards is back up with an Oklahoma Stampede for two, followed by some big forearms to the face. Davis grabs a Rock Bottom backbreaker into a Downward Spiral for another near fall but a quick spinebuster gives Edwards two more.

Back up and Davis hits a pop up powerbomb but Edwards counters a piledriver into an Air Raid Crash for two more. A torture rack powerbomb plants Davis for two more and they’re both banged up. Edwards flips him off so Davis kicks him in the chest, only to have Edwards tell him to bring it. Davis does just that but Edwards picks him up for a fire thunder driver and the pin at 10:06.

Rating: B-. Take two hosses and have them beat the fire out of each other for ten minutes. This is a formula that has worked for years and it always will. They knew exactly what they were doing with a match like this and it was fun to see how much both of them could take. Edwards continues to impress and hopefully someone notices that sooner rather than later.

We get the post match show of respect.

Nolan Edward vs. Angelus Lane

Unsanctioned. Nolan brings some friends with him and they have their weapons in hand. That would include barbed wire boards, chairs and let’s throw some thumbtacks in there before the bell too. They lock up to start and take turns rolling the other into the tacks. Back up and they trade forearms to the face until Edward suplexes her onto the tacks. Lane does the same to him and a Russian legsweep puts them both into the tacks.

They head outside to slug it out and let’s beat up security for a bonus. Lane gets in a posting and throws a chair at his head to bust him open. It’s time to go to the bar, where Lane pours water on his face for some waterboarding. With Lane off to find something else, Edward finds a chair to knock her silly again. Now Lane is busted open so Edwards goes after the cut and takes it inside.

Edward drags her through the tacks and slams her onto them for two, with commentary wondering why she would kick out. A door is set up on the bottom rope but Lane is back with a low blow. Something like a Stomp onto the tacks makes it worse for Edward and there is a suplex through the door. The barbed wire board is bridged over two chairs but Edward sends her into the tacks again.

That doesn’t do much good as Saito snaps off a Saito suplex onto the tacks. Lane picks up some wire and wraps it around her knee for a running knee to the head and a near fall. They fight up top but Edwards gets in a few shots to the face. One big one is enough to knock Lane through the barbed wire board and the pin at 11:28.

Rating: D+. I think I’ve made my thoughts on the extreme/this kind of hardcore stuff known before and it is the same today. I’m not big on seeing people doing this kind of thing over and over and it gets old seeing such similar spots over and over. It wasn’t the worst thing and they did a few impressive things, but I really don’t like this kind of thing and it absolutely was not for me.

FinJuice vs. Violence Is Forever

Both are champions but this is non-title and the latter would be Dominic Garrini/Kevin Ku. Garrini and Finlay feel each other out to start so Finlay headlock takeovers him down. That’s reversed into a headlock and Garrini switches into a triangle choke, only to slide over to tag Ku with the hold still on. Robinson comes in and scores with a belly to back before glaring at Garrini. A headlock takeover puts Robinson down for a bit but it’s quickly back to Garrini vs. Finlay.

Garrini hiptosses him into a cross armbreaker attempt but Finlay blocks the full thing. Robinson comes back in and gets slammed onto Garrini for two. It’s time to start in on Garrini’s arm and a double bulldog gives Finlay two. Ku gets knocked off the apron and a double suplex gives Robinson two on Garrini. Back up and Garrini is sent into the corner for some clotheslines and a side slam gets two.

An attempt at a heel hook doesn’t work either as Robinson comes in off the tag and drops an elbow. Robinson’s snap jabs connect but Garrini nails an enziguri, setting up the hot tag to Ku. Everything breaks down as house is cleaned, including Ku hitting a jumping knee off the apron. Garrini comes back in a bit too early and gets caught in something like a Magic Killer for two. A hiptoss sends Robinson into Finlay in the corner and Total Elimination gives Ku two.

FinJuice is back up to send Garrini outside and it’s a PowerPlex for two on Ku. Garrini shoves Robinson off the top though and it’s a jumping knee into Chasing the Dragon for a close two on Finlay. The slugout it on with Garrini sending Finlay outside and kicking Robinson in the head. Garrini chops FinJuice but Robinson gives him the big left, setting up a Dudley Dog into a Stunner to give Finlay the pin at 17:40.

Rating: B-. The match was pretty good but I’ve never been a fan of either team and it came at the end of a fairly long show. Garrini and Ku were the faces here so it was kind of a surprising result, though I can get why you wouldn’t want the bigger names losing here. They beat each other up rather well, but it just didn’t feel like some kind of dream match like they seemed to hype it up as being.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The action was good for the most part and while I wasn’t big on the hardcore match, most of the show worked out rather well. It was an entertaining event, but a show like this probably shouldn’t be going on for ten matches over three hours. Above all else, this show felt long and that is not the kind of feeling you want with a show like this one. It’s good, but cut out a scramble and another match somewhere in there to make it work better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

For The Culture 2021
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: Cuban Club, Tampa, Florida
Commentator: Big Perc

We continue the Wrestlemania weekend run with our first offering from the Collective. This is from Game Changer Wrestling which has some rather unique options at times. They have a rather solid collection of talent from what I’ve seen so far, which could make for a pretty awesome show. Let’s get to it.

No intro video (as expected with an indy show) and we’re already on the ring.

AC Mack vs. Mysterious Q vs. D-Rogue vs. Rob Martyr vs. Alpha Zo vs. Troy Hollywood

Scramble match, meaning one fall to a finish. Mack isn’t happy with not getting to do his own entrance so he handles it himself and we starts in a hurry with only Mack being named. Mack gets knocked down to start and Q takes nails a running hurricanrana. We settle down to Mack not being able to hit his weird Pedigree on Martyr. Instead he elbows Martyr to the floor but Q is back in with a German suplex.

Zo comes in to suplex Q for a change as I keep trying to figure out who all is in this. Rogue starts to clean house with a bunch of slaps and the big dive takes everyone out on the floor. Commentary gets in the eternal debate over whether the apron or the post is the harder part of the ring (it’s the post) as Zo and Martyr get inside on their own. Martyr German suplexes Zo down but Rogue is in with a heck of a clothesline to take Martyr’s head off.

Rogue loads Martyr up in an electric chair but here is Q with a springboard cutter, which mostly makes contact. Hollywood is back in for the running knees in the corner, followed by a frog splash for two on Q with Mack and Zo making the save. Zo blasts Mack with a rolling forearm but Q is back up with a torture rack airplane spin before changing directions to powerbomb Zo for another near fall. Hollywood gives Q a fireman’s carry gutbuster for the pin at 8:22. Commentary is STUNNED at the result.

Rating: C. What are you supposed to say here? They had six people flying around all over the place and it isn’t like anyone really got to showcase themselves. To be fair though, it was not supposed to be anything more than a bunch of spots with one person after another getting to do their thing. It might not be the highest quality, but it was an entertaining match and that’s all it was supposed to be.

Thick N Juicy 2.0 vs. Fire N Flava

Fire N Flava’s Impact Knockouts Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line and this would be Willow Nightingale/Brooke Valentine vs. Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz. Before the match, Fire N Flava insult the other two, including Faye Jackson, who is injured and planning to retire. Actually they’ll even do us a favor and make this a title match.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Fire N Flava vs. Thick N Juicy 2.0

Fire N Flava is defending and jump Thick N Juicy before the bell. Some big boots put the champs down and Hogan is slammed onto Steelz for two. Nightingale grabs a front facelock on Steelz as we hear about how strong Nightingale is. Commentary: “The hood version of that: she will f*** anybody up.” A very delayed suplex gets two on Steelz but she is back up with some chops in the corner.

Nightingale kicks her in the face for two more and some running hip attacks in the corner crush Steelz again. Hogan comes in and rakes the eyes to take over and a neckbreaker gets two on Valentine. A running basement dropkick in the corner hits Valentine for two more and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up so Steelz tags herself back in, allowing Valentine to fall away slam Hogan into her. Steelz catches her and since Valentine is laying down on the mat, Hogan gets dropped onto her for a splash.

Valentine powers out of a camel clutch into an electric chair and the hot tag brings in Nightingale to clean house. A Pounce sends Steelz outside and gives us a record for Monty Brown references in a five second span. Valentine spears Steelz in half but Hogan is back with a kick to the head. A Death Valley Driver plants Hogan but Steelz is back with a cutter for two on Nightingale. Hogan superkicks Nightingale and the fisherman’s neckbreaker is enough to retain the titles at 10:00.

Rating: D+. This was pretty messy and that should not be such a problem with a team from Impact. It doesn’t help that Fire N Flava are only so good in the first place and were in there against two women who have never teamed before. The match wasn’t terrible but they really needed to cut out about two minutes to make it work a good bit better.

Fire N Flava dance A LOT to celebrate.

PB Smooth vs. Jon Davis

Smooth is about 6’9 and a playboy while Davis is a monster and formerly part of the Dark City Fight Club a LONG time ago. They shove each other around to start as commentary puts over a battle of the generations, which is a lot more than you would expect to get out of a one off indy show. Davis gets the better of things and stomps him down, setting up the big clubbing shots to the back.

Smooth manages to get in a heck of a big boot to drop Davis and some kind of slam gets two on Davis. Some big shots to the head rock Smooth and Davis grabs a heck of a spinebuster (with commentary quoting Batista’s theme song for a nice touch). Smooth can’t hit a chokeslam but he can hit a claw STO for two, followed by a sitout chokebomb for two. Back up and Davis slugs away, including a stomp to the head to break up a sunset flip. A piledriver finishes Smooth at 8:17.

Rating: C. It wasn’t meant to be anything more than a power brawl and that’s what we got. They even told a story with Smooth being too cocky to deal with the much more seasoned and serious Davis. The piledriver at the end was a bit scary as Davis didn’t have him incredibly secured, but it was a nice change of pace after everything else they have been doing for the rest of the show.

Calvin Tankman vs. Andy Brown vs. Myron Reed vs. Jah-C

Tankman and Reed are both from MLW. The rather large Tankman shoves people around to start but some triple teaming puts him down. Reed dropkicks Brown to the floor and Jah is back in with a dropkick to Brown. That gives us the staredown between Reed and Jah with Reed missing a double stomp but hitting something like a reverse Sling Blade. Tankman is back in to clear the ring in a hurry but Jah manages to superkick him down.

Two more superkicks have Tankman in trouble so he rolls to the floor for a breather. Brown is back in with a Superman forearm to Jah but Reed knocks him to the floor. Reed’s suicide dive drops Brown again and he brings Brown back in for an F5, with Brown’s feet (intentionally) getting caught on top to make it a hanging drop.

Brown is right back up with an AA into a backbreaker for two on Reed but Jah spears Brown to the floor. They head to the apron with Brown hitting a piledriver but Reed is back with a slingshot cutter. Back in and Reed misses the 450, leaving Tankman to spinebuster Brown, setting up the spinning backfist to the back of the head. The Tankman Driver (something like a Steiner Screwdriver) finishes Brown at 8:43.

Rating: C. I can see why Tankman would get this much of a push as the guy is a monster who can move and you will always see someone like that get pushed. Reed is going to get a job somewhere a lot bigger than MLW one day with the potential he has and that was on display here. Fun match, but again you’re only getting so much out of a four way like this.

Bryan Keith vs. Darius Lockhart

Keith misses a big right hand to start and Lockhart waves his finger no. Lockhart takes him down into an armbar and they go to an exchange of submission attempts on the mat. Back up and Keith blasts him with a kick to the chest to take over. A Rock Bottom backbreaker gives Keith two as we hear about the wrestlers these people have faced before.

More kicks have Lockhart in crumbling in the corner but he comes back with a chop. A heck of a clothesline drops Keith again and the comeback is on in a hurry. Back to back t-bone suplexes send Keith flying and a high crossbody gets two more. An enziguri sends Keith into the corner but he comes out with a DDT. Lockhart hits a running knee in the corner into a belly to back flipped into a faceplant for the pin at 11:28.

Rating: C+. Nice stuff here and probably the best match of the night so far. Lockhart is rather smooth in the ring and Keith looked rather good as well. It was nice to see a run of the mill and much more traditional match after all of the fast paced stuff so far and that is what we got here. I could go for a bit more of both of these guys and that is after seeing Keith twice today.

Post match, Keith won’t shake hands but he will give the black power salute, a Lockhart signature.

Tre LaMar vs. Eli Knight

LaMar starts in on the arm but gets knocked down, allowing Knight to load up a superkick. Said superkick doesn’t actually launch though as Knight pats him on the head instead. LaMar is ready for a dropkick so Knight enziguris him to the floor again. Back in and LaMar kicks him down, setting up a quick splash for two. A seated abdominal stretch has Knight in more trouble but he counters a crossbody into a gutbuster.

An exploder suplex puts LaMar down again but Knight is favoring his back. They strike it out until Knight hits a springboard moonsault press. LaMar sends him outside for a suicide dive but Knight is back in with a springboard dropkick from the bottom rope. That sends LaMar outside again and there’s the running flip dive. Back in and Knight hits a moonsault for two and he doesn’t seem sure what to do next.

LaMar nails a Pele kick for another double knockdown and they both seem a bit banged up. They go up top with Knight being backdropped down but sticking the landing, allowing him to hit a running enziguri. A super poisonrana doesn’t work as LaMar lands on his feet (mostly) and hits a running Mushroom Stomp. LaMar puts him in a torture rack into a backbreaker, setting up a Liontamer for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C+. These guys were working hard and putting in the effort, which worked out rather well for both of them. They are both rather young but they did their things well enough and the ending with a submission was kind of a surprise. It was nice to see them mix it up a bit, even if most of the match was your usual indy fair.

JTG vs. AJ Gray

You probably would not recognize JTG here as he is in regular gear and has put on all kinds of muscle. This is Gray’s show and he starts fast with a heck of a clothesline for two. JTG needs a breather on the floor because he does not seem to know what he got himself into. Back in and JTG takes him down to hammer away with right hands to the face. A hard whip into the corner drops Gray again and JTG drives in some shoulders to the ribs in the corner.

There’s the reverse Sling Blade for two and JTG starts hammering away. The chinlock doesn’t last long so JTG tries it again, only to have Gray jawbreak his way to freedom. Gray is back with a few right hands to set up a nice moonsault for two more. Back up and JTG hits a ripcord lariat for two of his own but Gray slips out of a Razor’s Edge. An enziguri sets up a leg lariat and Gray nails a superplex for two more. Another lariat blasts JTG for one so Gray hits another. That’s not enough for a cover as Gray grabs an Emerald Flosion for the pin at 13:55.

Rating: B-. I’m sorry what now? JTG could do this and looks like that? I’m not sure I can get my head around something like this and I’m rather confused by the idea that the only thing they could do with him is the Cryme Tyme stuff. His employment was a running joke for years and then he can pull off a match like this while looking like that? I really don’t get it and that’s a nice feeling to have.

Post match, one of the commentators named Billy gets in and chairs Gray down. They’re facing each other at another show this weekend so Billy yells about Gray disrespecting him by not being in some match. Billy rants about Gray not paying attention to the right talent and wants to prove that the Truth (Gray) is a lie. This was a fine way to set up a match, but it’s 2am and we have two matches left so can we pick up the pace a bit?

Lio Rush vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty is a heck of a technician. Feeling out process to start and they take their time to get going here. Moriarty grabs the hammerlock and Rush can’t spin his way to freedom. Rush makes the rope instead and heads outside for a breather. That makes Moriarty give chase and they change places, with Rush hitting a dive. Back in and Moriarty starts going after the arm but Rush starts doing his rather cool dodges.

Moriarty manages to get hold of the arm and ties his legs around it for some cranking. The cranking continues with Moriarty using his own arms for a change and then bending backwards to pull on the arm even more. Rush comes back with some shots to the face and a belly to back suplex puts Moriarty down again. An ax kick has Rush in trouble but Moriarty hits a sliding kick to the face to break up a handspring.

Rush uses a Tajiri style kick to send him to the floor though and a VERY fast suicide dive connects (which scaring the heck out of a fan on their phone). Back in and Rush’s springboard Stunner is countered into a rear naked choke, which is broken up again so Rush can hit a cutter. Back up and they slug it out, with Rush looking very frustrated that he can’t put Moriarty down.

Moriarty grabs the arm and pulls him into a mousetrap for…..well about seven or eight but the referee says no. You can hear the fans booing as Rush goes up top and kicks Moriarty down, setting up the Rush Hour frog splash for two. Moriarty is right back with a rather aggressive rollup for the pin at 16:50.

Rating: C+. This was a match where you could see both guys being at a higher level than most wrestlers on the show. Moriarty winning is a good idea as it isn’t like Rush is going to be hurt by losing a competitive match on a show like this. Rush is someone who has been a star on the big stage and will be fine in the future. On the other hand, Moriarty needs some attention and given how talented he is, odds are he will be getting it sooner than later.

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Rich Swann

The entrances involve a lot of dancing, as you might expect. Scorpio drives him up against the ropes and dances away a bit. They settle down again and Scorpio spins around into a cravate as commentary tries to figure out why Scorpio doesn’t have a coaching job somewhere (fair question).

Swann is sent outside and the hip swiveling begins from Scorpio, which has commentary rather excited. Back in and Scorpio works on a headlock to grind Swann down a bit. Swann sends him outside for a change and it’s time for some Alex Wright style dancing. Back in again and Swann grabs a DDT to take over, followed by the required armbarring.

Scorpio fights that off and nails some German suplexes to send Swann flying, followed by the two count. One heck of a clothesline drops Swann again and there’s a spinwheel kick to put Swann down again. The flipping legdrop sets up a middle rope Tumbleweed for two. Swann is back up and manages to knock Scorpio outside, setting up something like the Phoenix splash to the apron.

Back in and a frog splash gives Swann two more but Scorpio knocks him down again. The Tumbleweed, with Scorpio landing on Swann’s face, only gets two. Swann has had it and kicks him down, setting up a middle rope 450 for two. The Phoenix splash to the back finishes Scorpio at 17:45.

Rating: C. This was a good main event in a battle of the generations but there is something to be said about matches that start before 2:30AM. You could tell that the crowd was completely done, even though they were seeing something special. I have been a fan of Scorpio for the better part of thirty years and it is always cool to see him, especially when he can still go pretty well in the ring. The match was longer than it needed to be though and that hurt things a good bit.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a better time than I was expecting with this show and there was some good stuff throughout. You had cool stuff like Scorpio to the downright bizarre like JTG looking like/having a good match and that’s a nice mixture for any show. Again though, starting it at midnight was a bit too much, as things didn’t wrap up until nearly 3AM and that’s a bit late to be having a match. Good show though, and I had some fun with the whole thing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

IWTV Family Reunion 2021 Part 2
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: 81Bay Brewing, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Various

Must like the first part all those hours ago, this is something of a sampler of the various promotions offered by Independent Wrestling.TV. That means we are going to get a nice mixture of stuff, hopefully with mainly different offering than part one. This could be quite the collection so let’s get to it.

I don’t follow these promotions so I am coming in blind to characters or storylines.

Ashton Starr/Jared Evans vs. Erica Leigh/Boar vs. Kings of the District vs. MV Young/AC Mack

The Kings are Eel (yes Eel) O’Neal/Jordan Blade and this is one fall to a finish. Boar and Leigh were on Part 1 so I’m not sure how fresh the lineups are going to be here. Good for them for getting a pair of bookings though. Leigh and O’Neal start things off with O’Neal taking her to the mat to pull on some limbs. That’s reversed into an armdrag into a backsplash and Leigh kicks him into the corner.

Blade comes in to hammer away and there’s a suplex to drop Leigh. Back up and a big boot drops Blade and a spinning kick to the face drops her again. Boar comes in to slam Blade so it’s off to Evans, who isn’t the biggest guy. Leigh comes in to make the sizes match a bit and a pumphandle powerslam plants Evans for…no cover, as Leigh poses a bit too much. It’s off to Starr to kick Leigh in the face but Blade tags herself in to choke on the ropes. Blade brings O’Neal back in for a double suplex and it’s back to Leigh’s arm.

We hit the neck crank on Leigh before driving her face first into the mat. Leigh bridges back for two and the break so it’s time to crank on Leigh’s arm. Blade comes back in for some strikes to the face and two off a suplex. Evans tags himself in and superkicks Blade (Commentary: “WHAT THE F***?”) but what looked to be Old School into a splash only hits mat. The hot tag brings in Boar and the ring is cleared in a hurry. Young comes in to get in some shots of his own but gets sent outside.

Boar launches Starr into Leigh’s X Factor for two with Blade making the save. They fight to the floor with Leigh being sent into a post (off camera), leaving Starr to hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker into a split legged moonsault on Mack. Young comes back in to take Starr down and spear Evans out of the air. A running knee to the back of the head connects….but Mack throws his partner throws his partner outside to steal the pin at 10:28.

Rating: C. This was your usual indy four way tag with all kinds of people flying around the ring at once, to the point where nothing really gets to stick out. The action was fine, but it was a very formula based match. They also telegraphed the ending, as Mack and Young did almost nothing for most of the match and then got active near the end. It was fine for an opener, but cutting out one of the teams would have helped a lot.

New Texas Pro Wrestling Title: Mysterious Q vs. Ryan Davidson

Q is defending and has some size to him. These two have wrestled in Booker T.’s promotion, though I don’t think he trained them. A fireman’s carry takeover puts Davidson down and it’s an early standoff. Back up and they trade shoulders with neither being able to get anywhere. Davidson shoulders him down but then Q does the same for another standoff. They strike it out until Q hits a missile dropkick to put Davidson down. Davidson knocks him into the corner again though and a swinging suplex gets two.

A fist drop rocks Q again and Davidson unloads with some chops. Q blocks a powerbomb attempt and hits a Sling Blade, followed by a German suplex. A Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Davidson but he’s right back with a pop up powerbomb for two of his own. Davidson misses a moonsault and Q grabs a cutter for two. A Falcon Arrow gives Davidson two more but Q gets in a shot to the face. Q gets to the apron for a rather twisty slingshot cutter to retain at 10:22.

Rating: C. Q is someone who seems like he could go somewhere one day but this felt like two people who needed a lot more seasoning. It felt pretty awkward at times, almost like they didn’t know what they were supposed to do next. Q looks great but that is only going to be able to get you so far. It was hardly a disaster, but this wasn’t much to see, at least at first.

Here’s Arik Royal, the Action Wrestling Champion, who isn’t happy with not being on the card. That means it’s open challenge time, because of course.

Action Wrestling Title: Marcus Mathers vs. Arik Royal

Mathers is challenging and starts fast with a series of strikes….so Royal breaks him in half with a backbreaker. Some knee drops keep Mathers in trouble and Royal sends him hard into the corner for two. Something like a Pounce to a kneeling Mathers has him rocked again and there’s a hard whip into the corner to turn Mathers upside down. A kick to the head staggers Royal and a cutter gets two. Some shots to the face give Mathers two but Royal punches him out of the air. A hard powerbomb sets up another hard powerbomb into a jumping….head slam I guess you would say, to retain the title at 5:25.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as much as it was little more than an extended squash for most of the time. Royal is someone who could be interesting with some promos and figuring out what he is about but Mathers was just kind of there. It was fine enough, but only Royal made any kind of an impression.

Bryan Keith vs. Alex Kane

Kane wrestles him down in a hurry to start and throws in a gator roll for a bonus. Back up and an exchange of shoulders goes nowhere so Keith tries a headlock. That earns him a heck of a belly to back suplex, followed by an overhead belly to belly for some more flying. Another belly to belly is blocked so Kane grabs a delayed vertical suplex for two instead. Keith gets smart by taking out the leg and they fight to the floor with Keith kicking at the legs some more.

Back in and another kick to the leg puts Kane down again, allowing Keith to slam the leg into the apron. Make that the post as well and another crank to the knee gives Keith two. Keith can’t quite get a half crab so Kane fights up with a German suplex. A release suplex gets two on Keith but he’s right back with a shinbreaker into a backdrop driver for two. Kane is back up with a grab of the arm into some kind of a suplex/toss for the pin at 8:21.

Rating: C+. Kane was rather impressive here and it wouldn’t surprise me to see someone giving him a shot later on. He had the technical aspect to go with the suplexes and the look, which is quite the mixture of talents. Keith made sense as well by going after the legs to take the power away. Good stuff here and maybe the match of the day so far.

Gary Jay vs. Billie Starkz

Starkz is a woman with blue hair who skips around a lot. Jay really doesn’t want to do this so Starkz snaps off a German suplex. That earns Starkz a forearm to the face and some chops in the corner, followed by a kick to the back of the head. The referee needs to check on Starkz, so Jay reminds us that this was her idea. Starkz gets in a kick to the head but Jay stomps on the feet to break up a German suplex. That’s fine with Starkz, who shoves him into the ropes for a snap German suplex to put them both down.

Some Kobashi chops in the corner have Jay in more trouble and a Swanton gives Starkz two. Back up and Jay kicks her in the arm, followed by a jumping kick to the back of the head. A Fujiwara armbar goes on but Starkz makes the rope and heads outside. The arm is fine enough for an AA onto the concrete and they’re both rocked. Back in and Jay wins a slugout but Starkz goes nuts with forearms to the face. A basement dropkick rocks Jay again….but he is right back with a heck of a clothesline for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C. There was a story here with Jay not wanting to fight but then realizing he was in for a fight and having to go. The harder stuff at the end was a good way to go, and Starkz got a lot out of what we saw here. She has a long way to go but you have to start somewhere, which is exactly what a show like this is for.

New South Heavyweight Title: Derrick Neal vs. Cabana Man Dan

Neal is defending and the belt is HUGE. The much bigger Neal drives him into the corner but Dan is back with a wristlock into an armbar. Neal misses a charge into the corner and gets hiptossed over into the armbar sequel. They head outside with Dan working on the arm again, only to have Neal blast him in the face back inside. A hard whip into the corner rocks Dan again and a knee drop gets two.

Dan chops his way out of the corner but Neal runs him over again. A running dropkick in the corner gets two on Dan but he avoids another dropkick for a breather. Dan strikes away and hits a running elbow to send Neal into the corner again and it’s time to head up. Neal catches him on top but Dan grabs a sunset bomb for a very close two. A running knee gives Neal two, followed by a brainbuster to retain at 10:34.

Rating: C+. I was getting way into this one near the end, which is rather surprising as Dan has been mainly a goofy comedy guy when I’ve seen him. It was nice to see a more serious side to him here and this worked out well. Neal is a big guy who can move and I could see him as a bodyguard or low level guy on a bigger stage in the future.

Post match Neal whips Dan with a belt but Adam Priest runs in for the save, which seems to be part of a big feud.

Limitless Wrestling Title/C4 Wrestling Title: Daniel Garcia vs. Kevin Ku

Garcia, with Kevin Blackwood (Maybe?) is defending both titles and Ku has Dominic Garrini in his corner. Garcia goes for the leg to start and they grapple around on the mat. Ku winds up on top as commentary talks about how the C4 Title is almost a guaranteed spot in a bigger company. More grappling goes to another standoff as neither has gotten any significant advantage so far. Garcia grabs a kneebar but they roll to the floor for the break.

Back in and Garcia cranks on the leg some more but Ku reverses into a failed choke attempt. They trade leapfrogs and shoulders with Ku getting the better of things so Garcia elbows him in the face. A backsplash gives Garcia two and he suplexes Ku into an armbar. Garcia hiptosses him for two and it’s time to crank on Ku’s arm a bit more. Ku finally fights back and unloads with shots to the face for a breather. Garcia hammers away with shots to the back, so Ku sits down to give him a free kick.

Back up and they trade clotheslines for a double knockdown and a needed breather. Ku wins a strike off and hits a snapdragon but Garcia dropkicks him into the corner and out to the floor. Back in and more grappling sets up Garcia’s piledriver for two. Garcia puts him on top but Ku reverses a belly to back superplex into a crossbody. A doctor bomb plants Garcia and we hit the half crab. That’s broken up as well and Garcia grabs a Sharpshooter to retain at 17:45.

Rating: B-. The extra time helped a lot here but they never hit a higher gear that it seemed they were shooting for. Neither really stood out all that much so while they beat the heck out of each other, it was still a good match and, in theory, a solid main event. Garcia looked slightly better than Ku, but they both did rather well in a match that got some extra time.

Post match Garcia says he’s the best and he just proved it again. Now he wants the Independent Wrestling TV Title.

A Very Good Professional Wrestling Team vs. Downey’s Drinking Team

Lucha rules and this would be Daniel Makabe/Tre LaMar/Wheeler Yuta/A Very Good Professional Wrestler vs. Dan Champion/Jigsaw/Lucky 13/Arik Cannon). They take their time getting ready and it’s Jigsaw, who has been out of wrestling for a bit, vs. Yuta to get things going. They trade armbars to start until Jigsaw puts on a rather nasty Gory Stretch. With that broken up, the rather large Champion comes in to shove Yuta around so Yuta gets in a few kicks to the ribs.

Champion muscles him up for a delayed vertical suplex so Yuta bails to the floor. That means Very Good can come in and escape Champion’s suplex, setting up some kind of freaky leglock. That’s broken up with a roll over so Cannon comes in to work on Very Good’s arm. Very Good reverses into an abdominal stretch and then a backslide for two, followed by a knee to the face.

Cannon connects with a neckbreaker to the floor, meaning Makabe can come in to go after some limbs. Makabe cranks on the leg but gets reversed into a hammerlock. That’s reversed into a nasty leglock with Makabe spinning around to twist the knee. A rope is grabbed so Makabe punches him out to the floor, allowing Lucky to come in and strike away. Lucky trips him down and kicks him in the face to send it outside. That means LaMar can come in and pick up the pace, including a kick to Lucky’s face.

Everything breaks down and it’s time for a bunch of people to get together and….not hit a triple suplex. Hold on though as Champion says it’s time for beers, which he has purchased at the bar. Drinking ensues so LaMar goes at them with a flip dive, which only kind of connects. Back in and Lucky has to avoid Makabe’s charge, allowing the rest of Lucky’s team to come in and crush Makabe in the corner.

Very Good is back in with a running sitout powerbomb for two on Lucky, who is right back with a suplex into the corner. Jigsaw comes back in to rapid fire kicks to LaMar for two of his own. Champion has to save Jigsaw from Makabe’s Cattle Mutilation and lays Makabe down with a TKO. Very Good tags himself in though and cradles Champion for the pin at 14:40.

Rating: C. Yeah they really should have swapped the last two matches because this wasn’t going to top the pretty good title match. It was another wild match with all kinds of stuff going on, which is only going to get you so far. It’s hard to stand out in something like this and no one really did for the most part. What we got was fun, but I was more confused by the fact that the show was continuing than anything else.

Very Good poses on his own to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I never know how to grade these things because there is so much going on and nothing really connecting the matches. There is enough here to keep you entertaining though and it clocked in at less than two hours and twenty minutes. There is nothing on here than you need to see, but for a very easy and light show without anything that goes too nuts, you will be fine watching this. You don’t need to watch both volumes as neither really surpasses the other, but this was good enough for a quick watch.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

IWTV Family Reunion 2021 Part 1
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: 81Bay Brewing, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Various

We’ll start the marathon wrestling weekend with this, part of the Showcase of the Independents. I watched the Family Reunion show two years ago and had a good enough time with it to try another version. IWTV is a wrestling streaming service with all kinds of indy promotions available and this is kind of a sampler of some of their bigger names and promotions. Let’s get to it.

I do not follow any of these promotions so I am coming into this completely blind on all angles and stories.

As you might have expected, the show doesn’t start on time, kicking off about ten minutes late.

The show is dedicated to Shannon Place, a member of the TV crew, who passed away yesterday.

A Very Good Professional Wrestling Team vs. Boomer Hatfield/Boar/Erica Leigh

This is from Camp Leapfrog (which is apparently some offshoot of Chikara) under lucha rules and the trio is Matt Makowski/Travis Huckabee/A Very Good Professional Wrestler. In a clever/annoying idea, the former team comes out to Foo Fighter’s Best Of You but it stays on THE BEST, which repeats on a loop. Hatfield and Very Good start things off and apparently are father and son, meaning Very Good would seem to be the unmasked Dasher Hatfield of Chikara fame.

Feeling out process to start with the expected technical exchange. Hatfield gets in an armdrag into an armbar, which doesn’t sit well with Very Good. The brawling begins so it’s off to Erica vs. Huckabee with Erica booting him out to the floor. Makowski and the rather large Boar come in with Makowski reversing a fireman’s carry into a cross armbreaker. Erica comes back in and gets knocked away from trying to whip Makowski in, allowing Huckabee to come back in and work on the arm.

A not great looking running knee in the corner hits Erica’s arm again and Makowski adds a slam for two. Makowski’s butterfly suplex can’t set up an armbar so Boomer goes up top, gets the tag from there, and comes in with a high crossbody. House is cleaned until Very Good is left to German suplex Hatfield. Another running knee in the corner gets two but Hatfield grabs a rather spinning armdrag to put Very Good down. Hatfield has to get out of a reverse chinlock and hits some running elbows in the corner.

Very Good catches one such charge and Gory Bombs him into the buckle for two. They both flip to their feet and Hatfield hits a Saito suplex, allowing the hot tag off to Boar. Everything breaks down and Boar tosses Huckabee onto the other two. Boar hits a rather impressive no hands dive over the top, leaving Erica to roll Very Good up for two.

Hatfield is back in with a tornado DDT on Very Good but Huckabee plants Hatfield with a swinging cutter. Total Elimination drops Boar for two but Hatfield is back in with a top rope Meteora on Huckabee. Very Good plants Hatfield but Boar tosses a few people at them for the save. Boar hits something like a Bitter End to finish Huckabee at 17:12.

Rating: C. This went a bit longer than it should have but what we got was good enough, with everyone flying around and doing their thing as well as they could have. The idea here is a Showcase and that is exactly what we got, with six people who have done this for a bit getting to do their thing. Of course it was a bit messy, but what else are you expecting from a Boar fighting in a brewery?

Daniel Makabe vs. Jaden Newman

From Scenic City Invitational and Makabe won their most recent big tournament. They go technical to start (makes sense for Makabe, who is billed as the Wrestling Genius) with Newman grabbing a cravate to little effect. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Newman as he has to bail to the ropes to escape an STF. Makabe can’t get Cattle Mutilation so he settles for two off a German suplex instead.

Newman is right back with a powerslam into a chinlock, followed by a heck of a left hand to the ear. A northern lights suplex gives Newman two as Makabe is bleeding from the….somewhere. Newman hits a cravate driver for two and the cravate goes on again. Makabe is back up to lay him over the middle rope for some choking. That earns him a ram into the buckle though and Newman cravates him over the rope for a change.

That’s broken up and Makabe hits a running kick to the face, setting up a superplex for the double knockdown. It’s Makabe up first with a tiger driver for two but Newman pulls him into a hangman’s clutch (STF with a cravate) but Makabe slips out. Instead Newman elbows him in the head, only to get pulled into a rear naked choke. That’s broken up as well so Makabe snaps off a dragon screw legwhip. The Fujiwara armbar makes Newman tap at 9:53.

Rating: C+. This was a little bit more my speed as Makabe picked him apart with Newman focusing on the cravate a bit too much. Sometimes you need a good technical exchange and that’s what you got here. Both guys looked fairly good here and I could go for more of both of them, so well done throughout.

Will Wrestle vs. Judge Hugo Lexington Black

From Olde Wrestling, which is designed to be out of the 1800s or whatever other era you picture as being rather old. I’ve heard about this promotion before and it did sound a bit fun. Before the match, (Rickey Shane Page as a corrupt judge) says he doesn’t want to wrestle and hates all of the fans. He would rather sit on the beach and drink some sweet tea because….well that’s what a southern man does. Will is a panhandler who would do a headlock for a handout.

We get started with Will, who only has one shoe, being rather pleased with being given a dollar. Then Black takes it away so Will wrestles him around and gets it again. The bill is tucked away so Black grabs a spinning release slam to take over. A stomp to the socked foot has Will in trouble but he manages to get his dollar back.

Black suplexes him down and stomps on the foot again, which certainly does make sense. After a bite of the foot, we hit the spinning toehold but Will steals Page’s shoe to put it on the other foot. Will pops up with a tornado DDT and goes up but Black throws more money for a distraction. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Will, but he reaches into Black’s pocket to pull out a five dollar bill. The shock is enough to pin Black at 6:21.

Rating: C. I thought it was fun and I’ve been wanting to see a full show from this promotion for awhile now. That’s the point of a show like this so I’ll check one of their full things out later. Good little match here with a funny story throughout. They didn’t overstay their welcome and were entertaining as well, which is as good as you can get.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Adam Priest

The winner gets an Independent Wrestling TV Title shot. Yuta bails to the floor to start but comes back in to take Priest down with a waistlock. Priest slips out but Yuta gets two off a sunset flip. A right hand rocks Priest but seems to wake him up, meaning it’s a gutwrench suplex for two. They trade some loud chops with Priest getting the better of it and tying the leg up into the strange cousin of a Tequila Sunrise.

Priest can’t switch it into a Sharpshooter as Yuta grabs the ear for a break. A trip sends Yuta outside for a loud chop off until Yuta sends his shoulder into the post. Back in and Yuta hits a slam into a top rope splash for two, with Priest going into the corner to favor his shoulder. Yuta is smart enough to go after the arm, including the rather nasty stomp. The armbar goes on (makes sense) for a bit, followed by a German suplex for two on Priest.

Another German suplex gets two on Yuta and another German suplex gets another two on Yuta. Priest grabs a brainbuster for two more but he still can’t get a Sharpshooter. Yuta is back up with a backfist into a nasty looking middle rope DDT to the arm. The Fujiwara armbar has Priest in trouble but Yuta lets go and kicks the arm. Zack Sabre Jr.’s European Clutch pins Priest at 10:04.

Rating: C+. Another nice match with Yuta being the more polished of the two. Working on the arm is something that is always going to work and it went fine here. Priest looked like someone who could go somewhere in the future with some more seasoning and having matches with slightly bigger stars like Yuta is a good idea. Good stuff here and Yuta continues to grow.

Robert Martyr vs. Dominic Garrini

From Paradigm Pro Wrestling and under UWFI rules, with Garrini being billed as the UWFIcon. This match has a points system with both wrestlers starting with fifteen points. If you run out of points, it’s an automatic loss, though you can also lose by submission or knockout. Garrini goes for the arm to start and Martyr goes to the rope to lose a point. The attempted triangle choke sends him to the ropes again so it’s already 15-13 (assuming commentary knows what they’re talking about, as we aren’t getting any announcements). Garrini snaps off a German suplex, which seems to be another point off for Martyr.

Garrini’s Kimura attempt is blocked and Martyr fires off elbows to the head. Martyr has to slip out of a guillotine choke so Garrini grabs a cross armbreaker, meaning it’s another Martyr rope break. Back up and Garrini blasts him in the head but Martyr is back up with a crossface chickenwing, sending Garrini to the ropes for a change. A slap off goes to Garrini but Martyr suplexes him down, which apparently is points off too (we need a scoreboard or something). Garrini pulls him into a Crossface for the tap at 4:44.

Rating: C-. This is just not my style and the points system was more confusing than anything else. Garrini is someone I’ve seen a few times in MLW and he is fine enough for what he does, but I don’t usually care for this kind of stuff. Martyr was decent in a short match here, but this was all about Garrini and it showed.

Funny Bone/Nurse Ratchet/Super Beast vs. D-Rogue/James C/Willow Nightingale

This is from Hoodslam, meaning the wrestlers are going to be about as gimmicky as you can get. Beast brings Ratchet to the ring in a body bag for some extra flavor. Nightingale seems rather happy to be here, which seems to be the case with a lot of wrestlers these days. Beast offers Nightingale a spot in said body bag but she’ll pass for now. Ratchet, who staggers around like a zombie, starts with Nightingale, who is a bit terrified.

A test of strength is teased but Ratchet grabs her by the throat. Nightingale headbutts her way out but seems scared to follow up. There’s a slam to put Ratchet down but she does an Undertaker sit up. Another slam lets her do the Bray Wyatt spider walk, meaning it’s off to the much bigger C. Eat Defeat knocks Ratchet….almost off her feet but not quite. Ratchet goes up for Old School and walks around the corner before coming down on the arm.

Bone (in a skull mask) comes in to work on the arm, setting up an exchange of middle fingers. A cross between a neckbreaker/Backstabber puts Bone down and it’s off to Rogue. Bone blasts him with some jumping knees and Rogue goes into a rather slow motion fall. The rather muscular Beast comes in to send Rogue flying, setting up some running strikes in the corner.

Rogue manages to send him outside so Ratchet comes back in with a high crossbody. That’s pulled out of the air and countered into a slam, allowing Rogue to dive onto Beast and Bone. Back in and Nightingale Rock Bottoms Ratchet but misses a moonsault. James slips in with a pumphandle piledriver on Ratchet but Beast plants him with a powerslam. Bone adds a top rope elbow for the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C. Oh yeah this was heavy on the gimmicks, which worked out well enough. Hoodslam is not exactly my taste (though I do want to see Drugs Bunny) but you could get the idea of the weird trio here. They didn’t hide who was going to win here and that is ok for something like this. Again, it’s meant to be a showcase and I got a bit of an idea of what I would get out of these people, which is how it is supposed to go.

IWA-Mid South Title: Jake Crist vs. John Wayne Murdoch

Crist is defending and there are no rules (you knew they would get something like this in). The bell rings and Crist throws a door at Murdoch’s face. A high crossbody connects and Crist fires off the kicks to the head for two. They head outside with Crist being sent face first into the bar to put him in some trouble. It’s time to sit in some chairs and hit each other in the face, which is always a bit of an odd visual.

Back in and Murdoch chairs him between the shoulders, setting up a neckbreaker for two. We hit the chinlock early on but Crist is back up, only to get kneed in the ribs. Crist is back up with some chops into a Death Valley Driver for two of his own. A powerslam into a chair in the corner gets two on Murdoch so Crist bridges a door between two chairs.

They go up top and Crist hits a super cutter through the door, setting up a backslide for two. Murdoch is back with a Canadian Destroyer but Crist backslides him again for two more. A brainbuster gives Murdoch his own two and it’s time to bridge another door over the chairs. Murdoch hits a super Canadian Destroyer through the door for the pin and the title at 7:35.

Rating: D+. They flew through this and it felt like it was clipped a bit on time. Much like the UWFI stuff, this is totally not my style but at least they didn’t go into the full hardcore nonsense. I mean, yeah they were breaking doors and such but there is a big difference between that and the blood and such, which is just annoying instead of something with some value.

Independent Wrestling TV Title: Edith Surreal vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty is defending and Surreal is better known as Still Life With Apricots And Pears, meaning we have a bunch of paintings set up around the ring (if you’re not familiar, don’t bother trying to figure it out because this is one of the weirdest gimmicks you’ll see). They go technical to start with Moriarty working on the arm. A quick trip to the mat doesn’t go anywhere so it’s time for another exchange of arm control. Surreal switches over to the leg but Moriarty slips out in a hurry.

Back up and Surreal cranks on the arm, setting up a crucifix for two, with Moriarty bouncing out, which seems to hurt Surreal’s ribs. They run the ropes until Surreal snaps off a hurricanrana into an elbow to the face for two more. Moriarty gets in a shot to the ribs and puts on a bodyscissors, complete with an arm crank for a bonus. That’s broken up so Moriarty shouts at her a lot as frustration is setting in.

Some shoulders to the ribs in the corner and an arm snap have Surreal in more trouble, followed by an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and Surreal ties up the limbs into a rollup for two. They trade some rollups for two each until Surreal knocks him down again. A guillotine legdrop gets two on Moriarty and it’s time to go back to the rollups, with Moriarty trapping the legs and kicking the ribs to retain at 10:37.

Rating: C+. This was another rather entertaining, back and forth exchange with both of them getting to shine. Surreal is someone who is about as unique as you can get today and that is always worth a look. Then you have Moriarty, who is a lot more traditional of a star but is rather good at the technical stuff. You can never see enough of that and Moriarty got to stand out rather well here.

Post match they shake hands but a masked man comes in to chair them both down. It’s Wheeler Yuta of course and we’re off the air in a hurry.

Overall Rating: C+. You have to consider what they were going for here and that was a nice success. This was about looking at a little bit of all kinds of wrestling from different places while also setting up something for tomorrow. It was a completely watchable show and ran about two hours flat, which is hardly wasting time. If you haven’t seen that much indy stuff, you might want to check this out and see what they have to pick from, because there were a lot of choices here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Never Say Never 2021
Date: March 31, 2021
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ray Flores, Jared St. Laurent

This is pretty much it for me with MLW, as they have lost so much of what made them special now that they hare back after the pandemic hiatus. There is little here that interests me, including the main event of Jacob Fatu defending the World Title against newcomer Calvin Tankman. Let’s get to it.

Jacob Fatu says Calvin Tankman is going to be just another body on the count.

Calvin Tankman says he is different and you can’t play games with him.

Opening sequence.

Simon Gotch vs. Jordan Oliver

Gotch has beaten/beaten up Oliver a few times now. They go to the mat to start with Gotch working on the legs in a smart move. The chinlock goes on as commentary talks about how balanced Contra is between all of its members. Gotch takes him to the mat again with something like a reverse Koji Clutch. That’s broken up in a hurry with Jordan nailing some forearms to the floor but something like the Coffin Drop misses back inside.

With Oliver down, Gotch hammers away with the bandanna around his hand, followed by some choking for a bonus. A kick to the ribs gives Gotch two and an armbar sends Oliver over to the rope. Some knees to the back keep Oliver down as this has been one sided so far. Oliver manages to fight up with a DDT and a running forearm. A clothesline puts Gotch down and the top rope cutter is enough to give Oliver the pin at 9:14.

Rating: C. Just a match here as they are setting up the Injustice vs. Contra trilogy for the night. MLW seems to see quite a bit in Oliver though I’m not sure how far he is going to be able to do. Oliver can talk and is decent enough in the ring, but he looks like he is about fifteen years old and that is going to cause some issues.

Video on Calvin Tankman.

Josef Samael isn’t sweating Tankman or Injustice.

Dragon Gate is coming. Cool.

Daivari vs. Myron Reed

They slug it out to start and Reed throws him outside for a suicide dive. Daivari sends him into a wall and they fight up the stage. Reed backdrops his way out of a piledriver attempt and hits a quick dive to take over again. It’s time to go back inside where Daivari gets smart by going after the leg.

The Figure Four goes on so Reed grabs the rope and comes up with a jawbreaker. Reed goes to the apron and hits a quick Fameasser over the middle rope. Back in and Daivari snaps off a powerslam for two before stealing and putting on Reed’s chest protector. The frog splash misses so Reed hits a springboard cutter and takes the protector back, setting up a 450 to finish Daivari at 8:05.

Rating: C. Reed continues to be someone who seems like he could go somewhere as a face, though I’m not sure how likely that is after such a long reign as the Middleweight Champion. I like his charisma though and this felt like an important win over a somewhat more established name. Daivari and Contra will be fine, so they had the right winner here.

Alex Hammerstone is ready to face Mil Muertes in two weeks because he is ready to take his title back.

We get a split screen interview with Gino Medina and Richard Holliday, though Holliday gets in an argument with Alicia Atout first. Gino wants to kick Holliday in the head and Atout mentions how much cologne Holliday wears. Holliday does not like being compared to a Ken doll and they insult each other so much that Atout calls them petty. Atout also announces a Caribbean Title match between the two of them on April 14. Works for Medina.

Another Calvin Tankman video.

We see Tankman attacking Jacob Fatu to set up the title match.

We will get a medical update on Bu Ku Dao in two weeks.

MLW World Title: Jacob Fatu vs. Calvin Tankman

Fatu, with Daivari, is defending and Tankman might have had food poisoning earlier this week. They trade shoulders to start and Fatu is knocked hard out to the floor. That just makes Fatu mad so Tankman hammers away at him even more. Tankman kicks him into the corner but Fatu nails a headbutt.

A springboard clothesline (dang) and a superkick drop Tankman, followed by a Samoan drop for two. The unwrapped wrist tape goes around Tankman’s throat and the reverse Cannonball gives Tankman two more. We hit the nerve hold (of course), which doesn’t last long as Fatu lets go for a running headbutt instead. Tankman is right back up for a slugout and knocks Fatu outside again.

Back in and Fatu kicks him in the head, setting up a handspring moonsault for two more. Tankman is back with a spinning backfist and a hard clothesline gets another near fall. Daivari comes in for a distraction though and Fatu hits Tankman with the flat. The double jump moonsault retains the title at 10:44.

Rating: C+. The ending holds back what was otherwise a pretty good hoss fight, with Tankman giving Fatu everything he could but ultimately getting stopped by a flag pole. I would hope that they could come up with something a little bit better than that a distraction into a weapon shot. It’s just so basic and that is not the kind of feeling I want for a main event title match.

Overall Rating: C. Yeah I’m done. This was every problem with MLW rolled into one: more of the same stories which feel like they go on forever, what could have been some great matches reduced to just pretty good and nothing that I’m going to remember. MLW was a heck of a fun company at one point but they have lost that almost completely and now they have lost me watching their show, at least for the time being.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.