IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #68
Date: July 27, 2019
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jim Cornette

We’re getting closer to the end of the summer and that means things are getting a little better around here. Things have been that much more interesting over the last few months and the shows have been getting better as a result. This week’s main event is Contra vs. the Von Erichs in an unsanctioned match, which could go several different ways. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here’s Salina de la Renta to rant about Mance Warner being annoying, though he did get rid of Sami Callihan for her. Tonight though she has someone from the firey pits to deal with Warner.

Bestia 666 vs. Mance Warner

Death match. Bestia isn’t waiting around and suicide dives onto Mance to get things going before the bell. Warner pelts a chair at him and rips at Bestia’s face before fishooking his mouth with a turnbuckle. As in the hook from a buckle, which just happened to be at ringside. Bestia is back with a whip into a barricade and grabs the kendo stick to blast Warner over the back.

Warner headbutts his way out again and tries a chop, which hits the post at full force to make me cringe again. The hand is fine enough for a DDT onto the apron, which is the closest they’ve gotten to being in the ring. Warner pulls out some weapons, including some chairs, a board and of course thumb tacks. The tacks go onto the chair but Bestia sends Warner face first into them instead. They FINALLY get in the ring with Bestia putting a trashcan over Warner and blasting him with a chair. A trashcan to the head gets two with Cornette saying it shouldn’t count because it’s under a rope. Dude, come on now.

Warner is back with a spear through the board in the corner for two and it’s time to slap it out. A pop up headbutt rocks Bestia and it’s a piece of board to the head for a delayed two. Warner’s running knee gets two but Salina slips Bestia a red bag. Bestia gets tied into a chair but Warner spends too much time yelling at Salina, allowing Bestia to throw powder into his face. A MuscleBuster through a chair finish Warner at about 10:00 (I didn’t hear an opening bell).

Rating: C. This is one where your individual taste is going to vary as I’m not big on hardcore for the sake of hardcore. It didn’t go too far that it’s ridiculous, but Warner losing again isn’t the best idea if he’s going to be the one to go after Salina and company. I know it’s his signature thing, but they do these brawls a little too often and I’m getting numb to them.

Salina has the Golden Ticket back.

Opening sequence.

We see Georgia Hart and Alexander Hammerstone seeming to get rather close in an elevator. Oh dear.

The Dynasty dodges questions about Georgia and brags about how awesome they are.

MLW is going to have a working relationship with Pro Wrestling Noah. Fine enough.

Contra doesn’t want the fans throwing things at them again or they’ll hurt the Von Erichs even more.

Ricky Martinez vs. Low Ki

Salina is here with Ricky and has changed her clothes in the five minutes she has been gone. Konnan is on commentary. Martinez throws a jacket in Ki’s face and dropkicks his knee out to start things off in a hurry. An elbow in the corner keeps Martinez in control as Konnan talks about what he’s found in Salina’s phone.

Ki hits a palm strike for a breather and the Liger Kick knocks Martinez out of the air for a cool visual. Martinez manages to send him into the buckle and a middle rope Codebreaker gets two. Hold on though as Salina goes after her phone with the distraction letting Ki grab the dragon sleeper for the knockout win at 4:13.

Rating: C-. This was very hard hitting while it lasted but I’m having some trouble caring about Konnan vs. Salina as it has been going on for months now. The phone deal is at least something fresh instead of having the same stuff over and over again. Ki has surprised me as well as he has gone from someone I never cared for to someone solid in his role.

Post match Salina seems to offer Ki a spot back on the team but he walks away.

The Von Erichs are ready to bring Contra to justice, Texas style. Oh good grief.

Kotto Brazil is tired of all the interference around here, just like Myron Reed and Jordan Oliver. They say JUSTICE over and over.

Tom Lawlor’s life has been a nightmare lately but he loves the fighting. He wants his World Title back though and is getting his rematch at Never Say Never. That’s not enough though as he and the Von Erichs are coming for Contra in the War Chamber (seems to be WarGames).

We recap the Georgia Smith/Alexander Hammerstone deal.

The Hart Foundation sees the video for the first time and aren’t happy.

Contra Unit vs. Von Erichs

It’s Samael and Gotch for Contra here. The Von Erichs waste no time and go straight for the Claws but get thrown off in a hurry. Gotch dragon screw leg whips Ross as Marshall sends Samael into the barricade. Ross’ knee is fine enough to be sent into the ropes so Gotch can knee him in the ribs. What looks like a crossface chickenwing keeps Ross in trouble and it’s Samael and Marshall getting back inside.

Ross fights back to save his brother from the double teaming but gets sent outside again. That means Marshall gets to make the Texas comeback this time and it’s a double dropkick to Gotch. Marshall hits a moonsault for two with Gotch making a save. Samael and Marshall clothesline each other as Ross has a chair. As luck would have it, Samael busts out the fireball but Ross uses the chair to block it. A chair to the head gives Marshall the pin on Samael at 6:24.

Rating: C+. The action was better here and the wild brawl felt more appropriate here, mainly because it was different from the way the opener went. The Von Erichs are a nice addition to the roster and while they have a long way to go, they’re getting the ring time that they need here. Nice match too.

Post match Contra goes after the Von Erichs again and the riot squad comes out to break things up. The Von Erichs want to keep fighting and we cut to the back where Jacob Fatu is beating up the squad. Tom Lawlor comes in for the fight for a hot ending to the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show got better after the main event but it wasn’t their best effort overall. The problem here was having too much brawling on one show, which tends to be a problem around here. What did work though was the storytelling, as they’re coming up with some creative enough ways to keep things moving without feeling tired. That helps so much and it did so here. Just keep it up and give us the big payoffs, which they tend to do well enough. This wasn’t their best show, but it’s still an easy hour to watch.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #67
Date: July 20, 2019
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jim Cornette

Things are changing in a hurry around here with the titles going from one set of hands to another. Last week saw the Dynasty take the Tag Team Titles from the Hart Foundation in a pretty good ladder match but the feud isn’t over yet. This week we have Alexander Hammerstone defending the Openweight Title against Davey Boy Smith Jr. in what should be a heck of a match. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Salina de la Renta, in a skeleton suit, talks about Mance Warner getting on her nerves. We see a clip of Warner going through Promociones Dorado before Salina speaks what I’m assuming is Latin and uses wine to write on a white sheet. She has summoned the demon known as Bestia to deal with him.

Opening sequence.

The announcers talk about last week’s title change and Mance Warner stealing the Golden Ticket from LA Park.

Earlier today, Davey Boy Smith Jr.’s sister interviewed the Dynasty, who isn’t worried about Hammerstone’s defense. Richard Holliday thinks Smith couldn’t sell an Oreo to a glass of milk and Hammerstone says explaining his dominance to Smith is like explaining color to a blind person. The interview ends and Smith’s sister doesn’t have anything kind to say to any of them.

National Openweight Title: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Alexander Hammerstone

Hammerstone is defending with the Dynasty out here and Smith all on his own. Before the match, Holliday says the consumers should be happy to be here because they’re breathing rarefied air. Maxwell Jacob Friedman says he smells poor people and explains the Hart Family being raised near a nuclear power plant. That’s why Teddy Hart wears so many weird outfits: he’s hiding his gills. Hammerstone says enough of the insults because it’s time to fight.

We get a rather aggressive lockup to start and Cornette yells about Friedman yelling at fans and taking focus off the match. Hammerstone’s headlock doesn’t get him very far and a shoulder exchange goes to a standoff. Smith skins the cat (because he can do that) and kicks Hammerstone in the face, meaning it’s time for a breather. That doesn’t last long as Smith goes outside and kicks away but a Dynasty distraction lets Hammerstone get in a shot to the throat.

Back in and Hammerstone manages a missile dropkick and Smith is in big trouble in a hurry. The chinlock goes on and Friedman uses the change to yell at more fans. That doesn’t last long and Hammerstone hits a crazy impressive dropkick for his size. Hammerstone hits a running powerslam for one on Smith and you know that’s firing him up.

Hammerstone hits one of his own, only to have Smith pop up with some rolling German suplexes. A bridging belly to back gives Smith two and it’s a top rope headbutt, which looked like a splash. There’s no cover though, allowing MJF to spit on the Canadian flag. That’s enough for Smith, who grabs the flag and beats up the Dynasty for the DQ at 9:30.

Rating: B. I could watch two monsters like this beat each other up for days. They went with the right ending by not having either of them job and the feud can continue. This thing has been going on for a long time now but hasn’t lost any steam, so at least they’re doing things the right way so far. Just don’t overstay the welcome and everything will be fine.

Video on the Von Erichs wanting to stop Contra. You can tell they’re serious because they’re cowboys.

Just in case it didn’t click the first time, we look at Warner tormenting Salina and company last week.

Konnan has Salina’s phone and tells her to be nice to him or a lot of secrets are coming out.

Video on Contra, who has taken over now that they have the World Title. Now they want contracts and they’re open to the highest bidder.

Next week: Contra vs. Von Erichs.

Mance Warner has made a list of things to do, which is the word KILL over and over. Salina can send the devil after him and he’ll be waiting with a chain around his fist. He rubs blood on his face and says he’s going headhunting.

Los Parks vs. Los Wagners

Salina is out with the Parks. That would be LA Park/Hijo de LA Park vs. Dr. Wagner Jr./Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. To clarify, I’ll be calling them Park, Hijo de Park, Wagner and Hijo de Wagner respectively and hoping for the best. The two fathers start things off with Wagner cleaning house early on. Everything breaks down and the Parks are sent outside for the double suicide dives.

Back in and Hijo de Park gets knocked down again, allowing both Wagners to beat up Park in the corner. Hijo de Wagner gets two off a Cannonball in the corner and Wagner hits a basement dropkick to Hijo de Park. Hijo de Wagner goes up top but gets caught in a springboard Spanish Fly from Hijo de Park, leaving Park to powerslam Wagner for stereo twos. Hijo de Park hits a Code Red on his dad to drive them into Hijo de Wagner for two as the air horns are strong here.

The Parks hit their own (and harder) stereo suicide dives to the floor and it’s time for a quick breather. Back in and the fathers slug it out until Park pulls Wagner’s mask off (he lost it in 2017 so it’s not the biggest deal). Wagner doesn’t seem to mind and pulls Park off the middle rope with a super cutter for two. Park headbutts the heck out of him as Cornette talks about seeing Mil Mascaras without his mask and not being able to believe it. Wagner’s DDT gets two on Park and we settle down into something resembling a tag match about eight minutes in.

The sons slug it out in the middle with Hijo de Wagner hitting a scoop spinning Angle Slam for two as the dads are now on the apron. A leg lariat takes Hijo de Wagner down for two and a Codebreaker out of the corner gives Hijo de Park the same. Hijo de Wagner is back up with a bunch of strikes for a double knockdown, which brings in the dads for a cover each. Must be a lucha thing.

The dads stay in (fair enough) with Wagner taking him down and stopping for some pushups. Park crotches him on top (breaking the turnbuckle pad in the process) but a top rope splash hits raised boots. Wagner hits a running flip dive off the apron, with his feet crashing into the announcers’ table on the landing. That leaves Hijo de Park to hit a Code Red for two on Hijo de Wagner, who is right back with a jumping enziguri on the apron.

They fight over an apron superplex until Hijo de Wagner settles for a regular version for two with Park making the save. Wagner is back in with a suicide dive onto Park, followed by a much harder one from Hijo de Park. Hijo de Wagner hits one of his own (Rich: “Oh no not again.”) as the announcers are rethinking their careers. Back in and Park spears Hijo de Wagner for the pin at 16:29.

Rating: B-. I’m not the biggest lucha fan in the world and there were some issues with the match, but what mattered here was this match felt big. These guys are clearly stars if not legends in lucha libre and that came across here. Park just hitting the spear for the win isn’t the best finish and they do it too often, but it came after a long and action packed match. I liked it and the aura was there so well done.

Overall Rating: A-. Sweet goodness the hour long wrestling shows have been strong across the board this week. This was another awesome night from MLW with the title stuff to start and then the big fight feel for the lucha main event. I didn’t think they could make that kind of a hybrid work and I’ve been proven very wrong. This company feels like it’s just clicking on all levels so far and I hope the business side backs it up. Awesome show here and worth seeing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: CRAB Wrestling

Vice Effect
Date: June 8, 2019
Location: Old Ox Brewery, Ashburn, Virginia
Commentator: Jason Heat

Odds are you haven’t heard of this one but a colleague of mine works for the company and asked me to take a look at it. Since I have an issue saying no to anyone (I really need to work on that.), here we are. This is from CRAB Wrestling (Championship Rassling And Beyond) and they might want to change the name. Let’s get to it.

This show is available at Independentwrestling.TV, which is an indy wrestling streaming service. It costs to watch, but if you use the code UNCHARTED you can get 20 days free.

As usual, I have no idea what any of this is going to be or who these people/stories are.

We go straight to the graphic for the opening match with no intro video.

There is a crowd there. Not a big one, but there are people in the building and that’s what matters.

Jason Heat is on commentary with a host of different commentators moving in and out of the booth all night.

Capital Vices vs. Ugly Ducklings

That would be Sin/Money vs. Rob Killjoy/Lance Lude, with Coach Mikey. Sin and Money high five fans, which you don’t quite expect from people named SIN and Money. They’re wearing what seem to be bloody aprons so some violence would be expected here. Mikey is holding a sign that says QUACK and the Ducklings quack quite loudly. The Ducklings lead the fans in a QUACK chant with all the fans putting their hands in, though they wait for a kid in a duck mask for a nice touch. Hold on though as we have an issue with a lack of tag ropes.

Rob works on Money’s wrist to start as we hear about Lude and Sin being a former team. More wristlocking sets up an armbar and Money gets tripped to the mat. Missed dropkicks give us a stalemate and the fans seem to applaud. Lude comes in off a blind tag for a double Regal Cutter on Money but it’s off to Sin for the reunion showdown. Lude kicks him in the ribs and the fans don’t like that for some reason.

A leapfrog is blocked with a failed powerbomb attempt and Lude grabs a Black Widow. The Ducklings get smart and double team Sin down, setting up a series of splashes called Duck Duck Goose (I chuckled) for no count as the referee wants Lude out of the ring. That doesn’t happen though as Lude throws Killjoy at Money for a Stunner (Knuckleduck) into a standing shooting star. Money isn’t legal though so Sin throws the Ducks together for the eternally dumb DDT your partner spot.

The Vices pick Lude up from the mat and throw him onto Mikey and Killjoy in a big crash. Back in and Sin’s splash gets two on Lude but something like a Stundog Millionaire allows the tag off to Killjoy. A springboard middle rope dropkick puts Sin on the floor and a springboard moonsault takes him down again. The back to back dives take the Vices down but they’re right back in with a Downward Spiral/guillotine legdrop combination.

Lude makes the save so he gets crushed with an assisted running Liger Bomb out of the corner. Killjoy gets smacked in the face but comes right back with discus forearms to the front and back of Sin’s head. A monkey flip into a cannonball (Launchpad McQuack. I was expecting Duck Hunt.) crushes Money for the pin at 12:09.

Rating: C. The idea worked well here, though it went on a bit too long with the back and forth stuff in the second half going on a minute or so longer than it needed to. The other issue I had was with the names. I’m not sure what was so sinful or money focused about the Vices and the Ducklings don’t do anything that makes them seem or look ugly. Maybe those things are explained better in promos but I didn’t get the idea as well here.

That being said, the match was a good example of power vs. speed and the stuff from the announcers about Lude and Sin’s history together helped a lot. The Ducklings are a rather nice opening act match and could be some solid underdog challengers later. That crowd cheer at the beginning was a cool deal and works well in a small setting. It’s a good opener and the wrestling was completely acceptable, which is far from a guarantee in the indies.

Post match the Vices call them back into the ring because this isn’t over. The Ducklings get back in the ring as Sin talks about how great they are (I think, as it’s a little hard to understand). We get some handshakes and everyone poses until the Ducklings and Mikey are left in the ring to get some cheers.

Breaux Keller vs. Dame

Keller’s Prime Time Pro Wrestling Title isn’t on the line (so they probably shouldn’t announce him as the “reigning, DEFENDING champion”). Dame seems rather divaish and enjoys getting his picture taken. Actually hang on again because he needs to do his own intro. He’s here to steal your boyfriends, girlfriends and the show. Ring announcer: “Yeah what he said.” Keller is rather high energy and has some size to him. An early waistlock takedown gets on Dame’s nerves and Keller rips off the skirt to annoy him even more.

A bulldog onto the ropes sets up a running knee to Dame’s face and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and Keller nails some Stinger Splashes in the corner, with the fans wanting one more. Since Dame is smart enough to listen to the chants, he rolls away so Keller can crash. A dropkick to the leg sends Keller face first into the buckle and a kick to the arm gives Dame two. The arm is fine enough that Keller can come back with chops in the corner so Dame cuts him off with a neckbreaker.

Dame’s chinlock lasts as long as a chinlock is going to last so he switches to a triangle choke over the ropes. That gets the fans worried in a hurry but Keller superkicks him out of the air. Dame dropkicks him outside but stops to pose for his personal photographer. Keller slaps the photographer in the back of the head to tick Dame off. A dropkick takes Dame down and a running X Factor gets two.

Back up and Dame’s springboard is countered into a Michinoku Driver for two more. Dame manages to sneak in a low blow though and a springboard Rear View knocks Keller silly (Apparently it’s rather hard. I don’t think I needed to know that.). The triangle choke goes on until Keller gets a foot on the rope. Dame goes up top so Keller pulls him back down with a super hurricanrana. The Gutter Butter (fireman’s carry gutbuster) finishes Dame at 11:34.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure on this one. The characters were good and I bought their mannerisms and such, but it felt like they were shifting from character mode to wrestling mode several times throughout the match. There were moments that felt like the characters were just gone and it was a match between any two wrestlers. It also felt like they were just trading spots at times instead of building towards something. It’s not like it was a disaster or anything, but it felt like a match that needed some more focus.

UPDATE!

Dame quotes Bohemian Rhapsody and says he is real life and a fantasy. At the end of the day, he is still a star so nothing matters to him.

Lady Frost vs. Genesis

Frost has Victor Benjamin in her corner and Genesis is in a mask. We hear about Lady Frost’s thermodynamic powers, which I guess make her the reverse Kane. They trade rollups to start to no avail until Frost hits a clothesline. Some knees to the ribs have Genesis in trouble and a kick to the face makes it worse.

A PerfectPlex gets two as the jokes are strong on commentary (Jason: “Genesis not ready to make an exodus just yet.”). Frost hits a chop to the stomach before getting a rather dainty two. Hold on though as it’s time to smile at Benjamin, allowing Genesis to have a breather on the floor. Benjamin adds a trip to Genesis (Fans: “SHE TRIPPED!”), allowing Frost to choke on the ropes.

A front flip into a Cannonball connects, drawing snowballs from the crowd. Genesis wins a forearm off though and hits a running crotch to the face (commentary called it knees but I saw no knees making contact). Holy Death, which appears to be a hammerlock spinebuster, is countered with a stomp to the foot and a running flip neckbreaker (Icebreaker) finishes Genesis at 7:16.

Rating: C-. I was surprised by how well this went as commentary mentioned that both women only had about a year of training. It was smart to keep this one short but the women certainly didn’t embarrass themselves. Genesis has some size to her and they played into that a bit along with Benjamin on the floor, though neither played into the finish.

Dezmon King sounds nervous about facing Bobby Shields but insists he’s ready.

Dezmon King vs. Bobby Shields

Shields is called the Body and billed as “coming straight from the gym”. King on the other hand is from Space Station 27 (they have great pulled pork). Commentary talks about King being trained here before being sent on excursion to Tattooine after a trip to Krypton didn’t go well. Shields stalls for a long time to start and we get our first significant contact, a chop to Shields, about two minutes in. That means more stalling but this time King follows him out and chops away on the floor.

Back in and Shields goes head first into the buckle, setting up the cartwheel into a basement dropkick, ala Jay Lethal. Shields gets ticked off but gets dropkicked in the side of the head to cool him back down. A quick reversal lets Shields throw him outside and you can see the annoyance on Shields’ face. Back in and some jumping knee drops get two on King as the aggression is starting to pay off.

The chinlock lasts all of a few seconds so Shields pulls him down by the head. Shields’ jumping knee to the face and a hard clothesline get two. Another running crotch shot to the face in the corner (the knees were more together this time) gets two on King and a backdrop sends him outside in a nasty crash. Shields isn’t done as he slams King on the floor and throws a bunch of chairs on top of him.

That’s good for a nine and King is back with a space (spine) buster (Jason: “It’s out of this world!”) for a breather. A delayed gutwrench powerbomb gives King two but Shields is right back up with a boot to the head. That and a Lionsault get two more but this time it’s King right back with a spinning Rock Bottom. The referee gets bumped and grabs her ankle though, allowing Shields to hit a superkick. The Gory Bomb finishes King at 15:06.

Rating: C. Not bad at all here as Shields looked like a fairly seasoned veteran and King looked like someone with a lot of natural talent. Commentators suggested that he hadn’t wrestled long so some more experience will help him out a good bit. I liked the alien idea but King didn’t really do anything that would make it seem to apply to him. For the top positive, the match flew by and certainly didn’t feel fifteen minutes.

Team Prime Time Wrestling is ready to face Team CRAB. The manager (Mr. Gator) promises to end the war that CRAB started and one of the wrestlers talks about attacking CRAB from within.

Team CRAB vs. Team Prime Time

CRAB: Mack Buckler, Mikey Banker, Christian James, Ivan Ali

Prime Time: Derron The Artiste, Eel O’Neal, John Kermon, O’Shay Edwards

I’ve seen Edwards before as he had some nice performances over Wrestlemania weekend. Buckler and Banker are the CRAB Tag Team Champions. Edwards and Banker start things off with Banker running his mouth a lot. They take turns taking each other down and Banker hits the gyrations. A missed charge lets Edwards hit an Oklahoma Stampede to take over though and since Banker is done, Edwards drags him over to the corner.

Buckler tags himself in for a clothesline off with Buckler actually winning things. O’Neal comes in and commentary is right there to explain about Banker and Buckler beating him up in front of his girlfriend. That explanation took five seconds and tells you why he’s ticked off. Good job there. Ali comes in and gets headscissored, only to come right back with a heck of a clothesline for two.

We get a somewhat awkward exchange in the corner that looked to be mistimed, allowing Ali to knock all of the Prime Time guys off the apron. It takes a bit longer with Edwards but Ali charges into him by mistake. James and Kermon come in with the latter picking up the pace but hitting Edwards by mistake. Banker comes in and gets kicked in the back for two, allowing Derron to come in and strike away.

Derron’s charge hits Edwards AGAIN (third time in a row he’s been knocked down by his partners), allowing Banker to nail a Downward Spiral. Edwards is ticked off though and comes in for some rolling German suplexes to Banker. Buckler makes the save with a Sky High so Derron hits him with a heck of a clothesline. It’s back to O’Neal with the Baltimore crab as everything breaks down. Derron unloads on Banker in the corner but gets caught in a bad looking spinning full nelson slam.

Edwards is back up and decks O’Neal before walking away from Derron’s tag attempt. He flips Gator off and walks out (with Gator following him), making himself look like a star and leaving this as a handicap match. Derron is the only Prime Time guy left standing and the beatdown is on with O’Neal and Kermon watching from the floor. Kermon teases getting back in and is dropped with a single kick. Ali hits a belly to back faceplant and James steals the pin at 11:58.

Rating: C+. I liked this one better than most of the other matches on the show, which is rather surprising as the gimmicks were toned down here and it was a lot of guys in tights. However, they made the story clear and the commentary was right there to explain what was going on, making it a well told story. Edwards looked like the biggest star in the whole match and that seems to be by design. Good story here with a lot of little things adding up.

Post match the rest of the team isn’t happy at James but Banker grabs a rear naked choke on Derron. Buckler says they showed who they are tonight but James wants credit for the win. James didn’t stick to the plan but says he won by himself. He isn’t representing CRAB anymore because he’s now part of New South Pro Wrestling, which will be here to face CRAB on August 3. The brawl is on and they fight to the back.

Hang on though as here are Gator, O’Neal and Kermon. Gator will address Edwards at a later date, but for now he wants to talk about Derron. He just couldn’t get the job done so he is FIRED, which makes commentary happy because Derron jumped from CRAB to Prime Time. O’Neal and Kermon carry him out.

CRAB Title: Logan Easton LaRoux vs. Isaiah Frazier

Frazier is defending and comes out with two belts. Logan (best known as Race Jaxson in Chikara) seems to be a rich guy, who takes the mic from the announcer to do his own entrance. Feeling out process to start with Frazier flipping out of a wristlock, leaving Logan to flip the crowd off. The fans are split as Frazier takes him down into a front facelock and some rollups give Frazier two.

Logan chills in the corner and offers a handshake, but Frazier blocks a surprise cutter attempt. That’s enough for Logan to bail to the floor for a breather, but the distraction brings Frazier outside for a chase. Logan is fine enough to hit a dropkick and slingshot dive to the floor, meaning it’s time for some posing. Back in and a jumping enziguri cuts Frazier off and they slug it out on the floor as I want that woman’s Scooby Doo shirt.

Logan suplexes him onto the apron and it’s time for the chinlock. Frazier actually reverses into one of his own, which isn’t something you see too often. That’s broken up as well and Logan’s middle rope dropkick gets two. Choking in the corner ensues and the referee shoves Logan away off the break. A backsplash crushes Frazier as commentary argues about how Logan can have tricks up his sleeves when he has no sleeves. Frazier fights out of the corner until a double crossbody puts them both down.

It’s Frazier up first with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two and Logan bails to the floor to avoid a running knee. That’s fine with Frazier, who hits a big corkscrew dive. Logan manages to steal a beer but it gets spat out off a right hand to the face. They fight into the crowd where Frazier even lets a fan (I’m sure) get in a chop.

A kid gets to punch Logan in the chest but he’s right back with a jumping DDT as they go back inside. Isaiah slips off of Logan in a bit of a botch but Logan is right there with a brainbuster for two. Frazier smashes him with a running knee but one of Logan’s lackeys breaks up the cover. Commentator Josh Fuller runs in with a belt shot to give Logan the pin and the title at 16:36.

Rating: B-. This felt like a main event match with an angle at the end to set up the big title match. Logan felt like the rich guy he was supposed to be and came off as a snobbish heel. Frazier didn’t seem to have much of a character but he was easy to get behind and had some athleticism going for him. It was the best match of the night and both guys felt more important than the rest of the show, which should be the case for the title match.

Fuller says he and Logan don’t care about Frazier’s story because there is only one champion of the 1% to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I was rather pleasantly surprised by this show. There’s nothing great or must see, but you get two hours of completely watchable matches from a lot of people you’ve probably never seen before. Nothing is close to terrible or even bad really and that alone is going to keep it as a positive show.

The other thing I liked here was the amount of characters that this show had. I was worried about seeing a lot of guys in board shorts and t-shirt with the same generic/non-existent gimmick that you seem to see at dozens of indy shows. What we had here instead was one gimmick after another and they stood out from each other for the most part. The eight man tag didn’t have them, but that’s fine for one match out of six. It was a very nice surprise and made the show roughly 285% easier to watch.

Overall, this show wasn’t too long, had some perfectly watchable wrestling and felt like a fun night. It’s nothing that came off as great and there are things they need to fix, but all things considered, this was a very fun show and something I’d check out again in the future. Considering what messes you can get with indy companies trying to be WWE on a micro budget, it was cool to see a company just doing their own thing without being ridiculous or going too far. This was to the point and worked well, which is a lot better than going insane and making a mess of things. Rather good show here and worth checking out.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Again, not my thought but I haven’t done one of these in about a year so three in a row is making up for some missed time.Bill Watts ran the Mid-South territory, yet Jerry Lawler and Memphis ran the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee every week.

Ok so this is more an observation than a thought but it’s been a long night and Observation Of The Day doesn’t have the same ring to it.

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #66
Date: July 13, 2019
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jim Cornette

It’s the fallout show from Kings of Colosseum and the big story if Jacob Fatu of Contra winning the World Title in pretty decisive fashion. That means one of those “new era” shows, but that’s not all for tonight. We also have the Dynasty challenging the Hart Foundation for the Tag Team Titles in a ladder match which has a lot of potential. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a preview of the ladder match, with Cornette calling it the most dangerous match in MLW. Moreso than WarGames/War Chamber?

Opening sequence.

Ace Austin vs. Air Wolf

Rematch from a few weeks ago when Wolf won. They fight over a lockup to start and Austin goes straight for the mask like any heel against a luchador. A headlock takeover takes Austin over with a headlock and a crucifix gets two. The pinfall reversal sequence is on with neither being able to get very far and Wolf can’t hit a springboard Downward Spiral.

Austin misses a kick to the face as well so it’s a spinning headscissors instead. Wolf’s running kick to the chest gets two but Austin kicks him in the chest to send Wolf outside. A belly to back onto the barricade makes it even worse for Wolf and it’s time to grab the cane. That goes nowhere so Austin hits a sliding kick to the face and tugs at the mask again. Again you don’t do that so Wolf gets in a shot but seems to slip off the top when trying something.

Thankfully Austin’s hand was on his chest so they can call it a shove, which is better than nothing (good save by commentary too as they say Wolf’s ankle might have been hurt). Back in and Wolf runs the corner for a Pele before going up top. Austin throws a playing card at the referee though and pulls out the cane to knock Wolf out of the air. The Fold finishes Wolf at 7:18.

Rating: C+. This had some moments but I’m surprised they had Wolf get pinned so soon after giving him a big push. Austin winning is fine though as I’ve been a fan of his since he debuted. Setting up a rubber match is a cool idea and this is the kind of a company that could give them a chance to do it right.

We look back at Fatu winning the World Title last week.

Ricky Martinez is begging Salina de la Renta for one more shot at Low Ki when Jimmy Havoc calls. It’s Mance Warner though, who seems to have taken LA Park’s golden ticket. Martinez is sent to get it back.

We get a longer look at the World Title match.

Ariel Dominguez vs. Low Ki

This one could hurt. Low Ki knees him in the chest for the knockout at 17 seconds. Dominguez did better than I thought.

The Dynasty was at their holiday compound and Hammerstone was training in the sun while the other two decided they just needed to climb. MJF snaps that he is NOT afraid of heights but he needs to talk to them. See, Holliday deserves more so MJF is giving him the spot in the ladder match. MJF and Aria Blake go off to ahem, get some lunch.

Martinez calls Salina and is spying on Warner. Actually it’s a big box, which Martinez beats on but finds that it’s empty. Martinez goes away and Warner comes in to say one more down.

Post break Salina is freaking out about Warner when Konnan comes in to gloat. There are some more people coming to MLW to deal with her.

Post entrances for the main event, LA Park is locked behind a gate, leaving Warner to punch Hijo de LA Park with a chain. That leaves Salina to run away from a stalking Warner.

Tag Team Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Dynasty

The Foundation is defending in a ladder match and it’s Teddy Hart/Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Richard Holliday. Cornette is right there to explain the Freebird Rule, which is usually explained but not with the exact history behind the idea. The Harts hammer away to start and it’s already time for the chair shots to the ribs. A suplex onto the chair has Holliday in more trouble but he’s fine enough to post Hart right back.

Air Pillman drops MJF but Holliday is back in to jump Pillman from behind. Hart comes back in with Project Ciampa to Holliday, sending the Dynasty outside to grab a ladder. Said ladder is dropkicked into their faces, leaving Pillman to corkscrew dive onto both of them. Hart’s Asai moonsault hits all three of them and can someone take away the air horn from the squeeze happy fan? MJF shoves Hart off the ladder and into the ropes but can’t bring himself to climb very fast.

Aria Blake tries to go up instead but opts for a crossbody, which hits MJF by mistake. MJF gets sent into the ladder in the corner and then gets catapulted face first into the ladder for a bonus. Holliday is back in with a lifting swinging suplex to Pillman, followed by dropping Hart onto the ladder in the corner. A double suplex sends Hart into the ladder again but stop for some posing. The ladder is set up but the Dynasty stops to argue over who is going up.

Holliday shoves him away and goes up but MJF stops to smirk, allowing Hart to pull Holliday down for a big crash. Pillman hits a superkick and Death Valley Driver on MJF before pulling the ladder down for some reason. The Dynasty gets low bridged and Stunned on the top rope, leaving Hart to hit a hanging DDT/piledriver. A Canadian Destroyer hits MJF and it’s time to bridge a board between some chairs. That means a corkscrew moonsault through MJF through the wood, though Hart comes up injured as well.

Cue Hammerstone to pull Pillman off the ladder for a buckle bomb and everyone is down. Holliday suplexes Hart onto the steps and here’s Davey Boy Smith Jr. to powerslam Hammerstone onto (not through) the table. Holliday and Pillman climb at the same time but Blake climbs onto Pillman’s back. He elbows her down (without seeing who it was), allowing Holliday to chair Pillman down. That’s enough for the win and the titles at 17:26.

Rating: B. There were some spots where they went on a little long but what we had here was quite entertaining with everyone looking good and showcasing themselves well. The Hart Foundation had to lose some of their gold at some point so having the Dynasty win the titles made a lot of sense. It was an awesome match too and that’s what you go for with a spotfest like this.

Overall Rating: B+. Rather strong show here with all of the matches working well and a big title change at the end. What matters most here is keeping the momentum rolling after last week’s special, which tends to be one of the hardest things to pull off. Now keep doing it with some different talent and everything should be fine.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

You might not believe this, but this might be only the second or third full shoot interview I’ve ever seen.  They’re just not something I do that often but they can be rather fun.  If you’re interested in this, you can win the DVD with full details right here.

This interview, running about two hours and ten minutes, seems to have been filmed in 2001 as Hart mentions WCW going out of business, Hulk Hogan possibly going back to the WWF (yes F), possibly starting a wrestling project (which sounds a lot like the XWF but there aren’t many details) and a lack of any other competition in wrestling.  That brings us to the problem with something like this: how do you review a shoot interview?In short, you really can’t, as it’s a bunch of questions and answers with the interviewee telling stories.  A lot of the positives are going to come from how good of a subject the person is and in this case, it’s a great one.  Hart really comes off as one of the nicest people in wrestling and someone who is just happy to be in the business.  He seems to be someone willing to do whatever asked of him with a yes sir or yes ma’am because he wanted to do whatever he could.  You don’t get too many people like that and it’s very cool to see someone who has been around forever have that kind of an attitude.

The crux of the interview is Hart talking about his beginnings in the business and working with Jerry Lawler before moving on to something more of a “what did you think of this person/people” with Hart talking about them for a few minutes.  A lot of the people involved are people he has managed so it certainly makes sense, with Hulk Hogan getting a lot of attention due to he and Hart’s relationship.

This isn’t the kind of interview where Hart buries people as he only says a few negative things about a handful of people (including the Killer Bees of all people and someone who he was going to do some business with in Memphis).  It feels like Hart is just saying what he thinks about people and doesn’t have any major negative feelings about any of them.  That’s a very rare treat and something refreshing for a change.

I’ve gotten to meet Hart twice and he does seem to be that laid back and that nice of a guy.  There isn’t a ton of new information in here, but it’s always cool to hear someone who has been around the business for so long and worked with the major companies, though it would have been cool to see an updated version.

IMG Credit: Evolve Wrestling

Evolve 10^th Anniversary
Date: July 13, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Lenny Leonard

This one is interesting for a lot of reasons, starting with the fact that it is WWE’s first official head to head competition against AEW, which is running Fight For The Fallen at the same time. Evolve is an indy company that has become an unofficial feeding system for WWE, which has even sent some talent there for Evolve shows. This has been hyped up harder than most Takeovers so it could be interesting. Let’s get to it.

I don’t follow Evolve for the most part so I have no idea what the storylines are going on. I’m sorry in advance for anything I miss or get wrong.

The opening video looks at current WWE stars getting some of their best exposure in Evolve. Names including Cesaro, Tony Nese, Ricochet and Daniel Bryan (who came up with the name of the promotion) among many others.

For those of you who keep track of numbers, this is Evolve 131.

Some of the roster is in the ring with ring announcer Lenny Leonard talking about how these people have earned the right to be here. Josh Briggs grabs the mic and says he wants his match with Anthony Greene to start right now because this is his opportunity.

Josh Briggs vs. Anthony Greene

Briggs is introduced with the caveat that “odds are he doesn’t like you.” Greene on the other hand is described as retro and has a redheaded woman with him. The much bigger Briggs throws him around to start and nails a pair of backbreakers. The threat of what looked like a chokeslam sends Greene bailing to the floor, leaving the redhead (Brandi Lauren) to grab Briggs’ foot to little avail.

Greene knocks him to the floor but gets chokeslammed onto the apron for his efforts. Some right hands have Briggs in trouble and a rope walk spinning crossbody gets two. Greene stomps away in the corner and the fans aren’t pleased, including when Lauren gets in a forearm. Worry not though because she didn’t see anything. A neckbreaker gives Greene two and the fans think Retro sucks. Briggs comes back with a running boot in the corner and another backbreaker into a butterfly backbreaker for two.

There’s a big boot to Greene’s face, followed by a reverse Razor’s Edge flipped forward into a sitout powerslam for another near fall. Greene scores with an enziguri and does it again for good measure, setting up a half crab on Briggs’ long leg. A 450 misses Briggs but Greene rolls him into the corner for two of his own. Lauren gets caught interfering for an ejection but Greene gets two off a super victory roll anyway. Some low superkicks rock Briggs and Greene goes for the leg, only to get pulled into a pop up powerbomb for the pin at 11:49.

Rating: C. It took me a little while to get around the idea of the retro guy being the heel and the big guy (who probably doesn’t like you) being the face but once they got into a rhythm, this was a nice match with the power guy trying to catch the smaller one and finally powerbombing him into oblivion. They didn’t overstay its welcome and that’s what matters most in an opener.

Video on the Unwanted, who have replaced Isaiah Scott (Shane Strickland) with Sean Maluta. They’re not going to let AR Fox and his dojo buddy beat them on the Network because they’ve come too far to lose now. They seem to be a heel stable of outcasts who have banded together.

Sean Maluta vs. Curt Stallion vs. Stephen Wolf vs. Harlem Bravado

One fall to a finish. Wolf jumps Bravado as his shirt comes off and they fight to the floor. Maluta kicks Stallion in the head but Wolf comes back in. Wolf and Bravado head outside for back to back dives from Wolf and Maluta. Back in and Wolf suplexes Stallion for two but gets sent outside by Bravado. Maluta comes back with a forearm to knock Bravado off the ropes before superkicking Wolf out of the air for two. Wolf and Maluta hit crossbodies at the same time but Wolf is fine enough to enziguri Bravado.

It’s a big staredown between Wolf and Stallion with the fans split about their favorite. Wolf clotheslines Stallion into oblivious and everyone is down for a breather. Bravado is up with a Death Valley Driver on Wolf, who bails out to the floor. Maluta nails a Codebreaker on Bravado but there’s no one to cover. Wolf is back in with a release Blue Thunder Bomb on Maluta and Bravado adds Angel’s Wings (or Straight Cash Money Homey), only to get caught with a shooting star press from Wolf for the pin at 9:22.

Rating: C-. The match was almost all action but I had a bit of a hard time keeping up with what was going on and there was little explanation of who was who and their histories together. It was fine enough, but it also felt like it was the token multiman match that every indy show needs to include.

Video on Anthony Henry, who can do a little bit of everything and has MMA experience. In an indy wrestler? You don’t say. Though to be fair, I’ve heard good things about him.

Anthony Henry vs. Arturo Ruas

Ruas is better known as Adrian Jaoude in NXT and Henry is rather popular with the fans. The announcers hype this up as a grudge match as Ruas misses an early spinning kick to the head. Instead he goes for an armbar attempt to send Henry over to the ropes. Henry can’t get an armbreaker either so he hits Ruas in the back of the head and fails at another armbreaker attempt.

Henry’s nose is cut as Ruas drives in some knees in the corner. We get some more of the history between these two, as Ruas was a hot shot prospect but Henry gave him his first loss. Henry straights away some more and gets the armbreaker, only to have Ruas roll him up for two. Ruas tries to pick him up but gets caught in a sleeper. With that broken up, Henry hits one heck of a kick to the head.

Henry misses the ropes on a tornado DDT attempt so it’s a regular version, followed by a top rope double stomp (with Ruas having to roll over so it can hit). An ankle lock on Ruas’ bare foot is broken up and they wind up on the mat for a slap off. Henry hammers him down with right hands but Ruas catches him with a spinning kick to the head for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: B-. I’m usually not wild on having the wrestlers do an MMA style match but these two went with it the entire way and it was a lot of fun as a result. This felt different and the commentary did a much better job of telling me the story here. I’m surprised Henry lost after the video about him but it was a good match.

We recap Shotzi Blackheart vs. Brandi Lauren. They got in a big fight after a match at their last show and tonight it’s No DQ.

Brandi Lauren vs. Shotzi Blackheart

No DQ and they’re in something close to street clothes for a different kind of feel. The bell rings and a woman named Natalya Markova runs in to jump Shotzi after about two seconds. A running spinning X Factor plants Shotzi but she fights back out of the corner as Lauren watches from the floor. Shotzi manages a dive onto both of them and comes up sporting a bloody nose.

It’s time for some chairs but Shotzi takes too long, allowing Brandi to hit a dive into those chairs. The chairs are arranged again but Shotzi blocks a suplex onto them. Lauren’s apron bomb gets two (and a KEVIN OWENS chant), meaning it’s time to yell at the referee over his counting ability. Shotzi’s Cannonball (great band name) gets two but she can’t hit Sliced Bread #2 on the apron.

Rating: C+. The more I see of Shotzi the more I like her and Lauren was no slouch. The interference at the beginning just kind of came and went though I like the idea. The ending didn’t do much for me though as the match just felt like it ended as the guys fought to the back. What we got was rather entertaining though and, again, something different than the rest of the night, which is almost always a good idea.

House show ads.

Colby Corino vs. Babatunde

Colby is Unwanted and has Sean Maluta in his corner. Babatunde is a 7’ monster. Colby, who might weigh 130lbs soaking wet, says he doesn’t care how big Babatunde is and slaps him in the chest, meaning the beating is on in a hurry. A Maluta distraction doesn’t work and Babatunde hits a chop so hard that I thought it was a chair shot. Colby gets in a few more shots but gets tossed into the corner with ease. A great big elbow and a great big splash finish Corino at 3:10.

Rating: D. How in the world is Babatunde still stuck in NXT? He’s got a great look, moved quite well and wrestled like a giant. Unless he just can’t do anything else but squashes, I have no idea why he’s stuck there. Someone with his size alone should be worthy of at least a bodyguard spot.

Post match Eddie Kingston and the Unwanted (reigning Evolve Tag Team Champion) come out to say they have a problem with Baba Booey. They don’t like Babatunde being given everything because he’s a giant football player at a PC. They took out the Street Profits and they’ll take him out too, but here are AR Fox and Leon Ruff with the SKULK to interrupt.

And yes SKULK, not SKULL, which I was apparently dumb enough to think they said at a Wrestlemania weekend show. I was so dumb that one of them complained to me about it on Twitter, because I didn’t know enough about wrestling to see that a bunch of people who dance around with Fox are incredibly valuable and completely necessary (apparently they give him advice, dance and do dives too).

Or that I wasn’t smart enough to think that a show with two titles being defended (as in titles with a history) meant that it had some storyline significance. I was just dumb enough to think that it was supposed to be like WWE and not a bunch of people having fun on a show. But yes, it is completely necessary to have a five person entourage for a two man tag team. Fox and Ruff hit the ring to dive onto the Unwanted, meaning the title match is on. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SKULK??? THEY ARE SO IMPORTANT AND I MUST KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM!

Tag Team Titles: AR Fox/Leon Ruff vs. Unwanted

Eddie Kingston and Joe Gacy are defending for the Unwanted and Fox trained Ruff. This is also under Relaxed Rules, pretty much meaning Fox starts even faster and hits an imploding 450 to take the champs down. Back in and Ruff hits a rope walk hurricanrana on Gacy, setting up some kicks to the face and a low Stunner for two. Kingston comes back in to take over on the much smaller Ruff, followed by a Russian legsweep/STO combination on Fox.

The champs start the hard chops on Ruff in the corner and the cringing is strong. Kingston superplexes Ruff into a powerbomb from Gacy for two but Fox saves him from something else off the top. Ruff’s DDT out of the corner gets two on Kingston and Fox’s springboard Spanish Fly gets the same on Gacy.

Kingston sends Fox outside and puts Ruff on top, leaving Gacy to set up a table on the floor. Fox is back in with a big springboard dropkick and Ruff hits something like a crucifix bomb to bring Kingston back down. A running dive over the top sends Gacy through the table and a 450 to Kingston gives Fox the pin and the titles at 8:21.

Rating: B-. Well of course they won. How could you not with the SKULK out there? This was a nice wild brawl and fast paced enough to make it feel different than the previous brawl between the women. I had fun with this match again, and they still aren’t wasting time out there to make the matches feel long. Good stuff here.

Post match, a lot of dancing ensues.

We recap Drew Gulak vs. Matt Riddle. They both used to be in Evolve as part of the Catch Point (stable of amateur style wrestlers) and Gulak put out a challenge for this show. Riddle accepted and the match was on.

Drew Gulak vs. Matt Riddle

Non-title and both are well received. Riddle has Curt Stallion with him while Gulak is in a Catch Point robe and walks through a group of people in Catch Point hoodies. Oh yeah I’d say this is a big one. They start with the strikes until Riddle takes him down without much effort. That’s reversed into a quickly broken ankle lock as the fans sing something I can’t make out. They fight over arm control but Riddle has to break out of the Gulock.

With that not working, Gulak goes to the middle rope but dives int a jumping knee. The Bromission goes on for half a second until Gulak rolls over into a cover for two and that’s a standoff. Gulak’s suplex gets one and it’s back to the boxing as the fans are split here. Riddle nails a powerbomb but his knee to the face is countered into a powerbomb from Gulak. That’s switched into a half crab in an awesome transition, sending Riddle straight over to the ropes.

Back up and now the jumping knee to the face gets two on Gulak, who hits a hard shot to the face of his own and they’re both down. They slug it out from their knees with Riddle getting the better of it and hitting a penalty kick to the chest for two. Riddle grabs his own Gulock but Gulak escapes in a hurry, only to get caught in a triangle. That’s broken in a hurry as well so Riddle hits a fisherman’s buster for two.

Gulak bails to the apron so Riddle grabs a sleeper to pull him to the middle rope for a German superplex, dropping Gulak on his head. After Gulak assures the referee he’s ok, it’s the spinning Broton off the top, which is reversed into the Gulock. Riddle slips out of that in a hurry though and hits the Bro Derek for the pin at 13:38.

Rating: B+. I had a great time with this one and I can see why a stable like this would be a big deal in a company like this (or anywhere). Riddle is someone who looks so goofy on his way to the ring but everything he does in his matches is crisp and smooth, which isn’t something you get out of almost anyone. I had a blast with this and it’s the Riddle and Gulak I’ve heard so much about. Very good match.

Post match Gulak talks about the way Catch Point was formed and puts over Riddle as a great competitor. He tells Stallion to be ready for his match against Riddle tomorrow in a nice little speech.

We recap JD Drake vs. Austin Theory for the WWN/Evolve Titles respectively (for lack of a better explanation, WWN is the governing body and Evolve is a member). Drake is a good old boy from North Carolina while Theory is the next big thing and a star in Evolve. Then he can go main event Takeover instead of the farm boy who sits on the couch all day like Drake does. Drake talks about everything he’s given away to this business, including a wife, missing his kid’s first steps and going through suicidal thoughts. There’s nothing wrong with a culture clash feud.

Leonard introduces a special ring announcer for the next match: Brian Idol, who doesn’t seem to impress the fans. Then the lights go out and Paul Heyman is here instead to a BIG reaction. After a lot of praise and WELCOME BACK chants, Heyman says he isn’t usually up for something like this but he volunteered to come here so he could see the future in action. Nice treat for the fans here and a smart thing to say instead of talking about ECW again.

WWN Title/Evolve Title: JD Drake vs. Austin Theory

Title for title. We get the Big Match Intros (Heyman: “You guys got pyro! We don’t have pyro!”) and we’re ready to go. Drake is a bigger guy and prides himself on being blue collar. Theory hits an early left hand but neither can hit their finishers early on. A dropkick knocks Drake into the corner so Drake comes back with his own dropkick to send Theory outside. Drake follows him with a hard chop to the chest as the announcer explains the rather long history between the two of them (well done).

Back in and Theory hammers away with forearms to the back for two and it’s off to the chinlock (haven’t seen many of those on this show). With that broken up, Theory hits a standing moonsault for two and chokes on the ropes while telling Drake to tell everyone his sad story. Drake fights up and demands that Austin hit him, because it won’t be harder than life has. That means a slam from Drake but Theory is right back up with a running dropkick into the corner.

They head outside with Drake sending him into the ropes and catching Theory with a hard right hand. Drake plants him down back inside for two more and a middle rope Rough Ryder crushes Theory again. A Cannonball misses though and Theory hits a running Blockbuster for his own two. Drake comes back with right hands in the corner but Theory slips down and grabs a torture rack into a spinning powerbomb (really impressive given the size difference) for another near fall.

This time Theory is in shock and we get a MAMA MIA chant. Drake grabs a Stunner, sending Theory jumping higher into the air than anyone I’ve ever seen. Drill Bit (Drake’s double underhook swinging neckbreaker) gets two but Drake is smart enough to stay on him with a moonsault hitting for another near fall. The slug it out with Drake nailing a lariat but missing a second moonsault. Theory hits a series of superkicks and Ataxia (a lifting spinning Downward Spiral that didn’t look great) gives Theory the pin and the titles at 16:24.

Rating: B. Theory is someone with a lot of potential, though I’m not sure how much of a future there is on the main stage for Drake. They sold the heck out of the culture clash here with Drake wanting it because this is what means so much to him and Theory wanting it because he seems like a spoiled prodigy who things he deserves it. That’s a perfectly workable story and the match was very good at the same time.

Post match Theory throws down the WWN Title and steps on it, saying the Evolve Title is what people want to try for, but they have to go through him. There go the lights again (that’s always a problem in this building) and this time it’s….Josh Briggs with a chokeslam to not much of a reaction. That seems to be the end of the WWN Title, which is probably a good idea as the whole thing never seemed necessary.

Video on Briggs, who got into wrestling because it’s a legal way to fight someone.

NXT Title: Akira Tozawa vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending and this is a homecoming for both. They stare at each other for a long time and it’s an UNDISPUTED vs. TOZAWA chant off. Cole takes him into the corner to start and hits the signature pose. Tozawa takes it to the mat with a headlock and screaming ensues. Back up and Tozawa scores with an enziguri as we hear about Cole not being booked on the first Evolve event despite being in the building. Cole sweeps the leg to send Tozawa’s head into the buckle to take over for the first time.

Some knees to the back keep Tozawa down and we hit that chinlock. For reasons of general arrogance, Cole shouts that he is going to be NXT Champion FOREVER, meaning he has to elbow his way out of a fireman’s carry. Cole gets knocked outside for the suicide dive but is smart enough to move before a second can launch. That’s fine with Tozawa, who hits a big flip dive over the ropes instead. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Tozawa two but Cole scores with a kick of his head.

After the referee tells them both that they have 6:45 to go, they slug it out with with Cole hitting a superkick to put them both down again with Tozawa’s mouthpiece flying out. Fans: “YOWEY WOWEY!” That’s only good for two so Cole grabs the title, drawing out Johnny Gargano for a distraction so Tozawa can roll him up for two. Tozawa’s spinning kick to the head looks to set up the top rope backsplash but Cole gets the knees up. The Panama Sunrise sets up the Last Shot to retain the title at 13:17.

Rating: C+. This felt like any house show main event and there’s nothing wrong with that, though I’m not sure about it going on last. There seems to be a better option to run instead of this, such as the World Title changing hands, but maybe this was something WWE insisted upon doing. Or there’s some big moment for after the match.

Post match Gargano is ready to fight but Cole leaves. Instead Gargano helps Tozawa up and asks the fans to chant for him. Gargano talks about how awesome this is and about how he was in the first Evolve event in this very building. That tells him two things: he’s getting old and wrestling in 2019 is pretty cool. Back in the day, these shows used to close with a question to the fans. Tozawa remembers that question: did you enjoy the show?

The fans give the only chant they can for that and we pause for one fan who can scream for a very long time. The fans are the reason the wrestlers are here but tonight is about the locker room. It’s about the future instead of the past and Gargano wants us to support the company. Gargano says he loves us and it’s a bunch of bowing and shaking hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I had a very good time with this one and that tends to be the case when I watch Evolve. The most important thing was that this didn’t feel like a WWE show but rather an Evolve show featuring some WWE names. It felt like something that paid tribute to the company and that made it a very entertaining night. At the same time, it was a heck of a show with nothing truly bad and some very good stuff in there. Check this one out as it wins the night over AEW pretty easily.

Results

Josh Briggs b. Anthony Greene – Pop up powerbomb

Stephen Wolf b. Harlem Bravado, Curt Stallion and Sean Maluta – Shooting star press to Bravado

Arturo Ruas b. Anthony Henry – Spinning kick to the head

Brandi Lauren b. Shotzi Blackheart – Kendo stick shot

AR Fox/Leon Ruff b. Unwanted – 450 to Kingston

Matt Riddle b. Drew Gulak – Bro Derek

Austin Theory b. JD Drake – Ataxia

Adam Cole b. Akira Tozawa – Last Shot

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Fight For The Fallen
Date: July 13, 2019
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Alex Marvez, Jim Ross, Excalibur

The shows are starting to pick up the pace around here and that could be a good thing. What matters here is figuring out what works and what doesn’t work before the big TV launch in October, so hopefully they can get closer to that here. I’m not sure what to expect with what we’re getting but if the show is anything like the previous two, we should be good to go. Let’s get to it.

This is an outdoor show in an amphitheater, meaning it looks more like a play, albeit with some seats behind the ring as well. It’s a really cool setup actually.

Pre-Show: Peter Avalon vs. Sonny Kiss

Avalon is one of the Librarians and says that since this is a library….here’s Kiss to break it up. His entrance is a little more energetic, with some Jacksonville Jaguars cheerleaders and the Jaguars’ mascot for a lot of dancing. Kiss dances around a lot and headscissors Avalon down, meaning more dancing. A suplex gives Kiss two as the announcers talk about Avalon having some romantic interest in fellow librarian Leva Bates. That’s more of a backstory than we’ve gotten on them in two shows. Kiss gets sent outside with Bates slowly sending him back in. Excalibur: “That’s odd.”

Kiss gets in a kick to the head and an exploder suplex, followed by the twerksault (just go with it) for two. Hang on though as Bates offers a distraction so Avalon can roll him up for two. Fans: “READING SUCKS!” Just not the book that Cody put out this week right? Avalon misses a moonsault though and Kiss’s split legged crotch drop finishes Avalon at 5:08.

Rating: D+. You can get the idea of the gimmicks a bit better here, but the match just wasn’t very good. Kiss’ dancing and stuff will get the fans energized to start things off so that’s fine, but the Librarians deal….I’m still not sure what that is supposed to be. Reading is now a heel action? Seriously? Not a good match either, but it got the fans going a bit more.

Pre-Show: Britt Baker/Riho vs. Bea Priestly/Shoko Nakajima

Riho and Priestly (Will Ospreay’s girlfriend) are the Tokyo Joshi Pro and Stardom champions respectively. Baker takes Shoko to the mat to start but gets flipped back into a quickly broken leg hold. Shoko’s crawl between the legs is cut off by the tail so it’s a not great looking running dropkick to take Baker down. Priestly comes in to quite the reaction but Baker rolls her up for a fast one.

We get some miscommunication with Britt trying to tag Shoko before going over to tag Riho instead. Priestly slams the much smaller Riho down and there’s a Shayna Baszler style arm stomp. The Fujiwara armbar sends sends Riho’s feet onto the ropes as the announcers talk about common languages and laugh about it far too much. The arm work continues for a bit until Riho finally slips over and brings in Baker.

That’s fine with Shoko, who hits a DDT and missile dropkick, sending her right back into the corner. Riho is already back in and picks up the pace, setting up a weird looking 619 from Shoko (the side of one foot hit Riho in the face). Riho tries her own 619 but Priestly kicks her in the face. Baker comes in to take Priestly down and gets faceplanted for her efforts. Shoko and Riho slug it out until Priestly and Baker break it up. They drag their partners to the corner for a pair of tags and the fans gasp at Priestly vs. Baker, which isn’t quite as epic as they seem to think it is.

Baker sends her into the corner but Priestly runs the corner for a springboard….knee to the face? I think it was supposed to be a clothesline but the placement wasn’t quite right. A butterfly suplex gives Baker two as Shoko gets back in to throw her outside. The double suicide dive connects and Shoko’s top rope backsplash gives Priestly two. Riho’s running knee to the back of Baker’s head gets two but Riho hits a running knee to Shoko’s face. The northern lights suplex gives Riho two but Shoko snaps off a hurricanrana for the pin at 15:37.

Rating: B-. This would have been better off as a four way instead of a tag match as it was much more like singles matches which were going on at the same time (as commentary said). I’m still not feeling the women’s division just yet as it’s been a bunch of random matches and pairings so far. The wrestling has been good, but these matches have been mostly interchangeable.

Post match Baker and Priestly get into it again with their partners breaking it up.

The opening video looks at most of the card and does a great job making the matches feel important. There’s no tie into the name or purpose of the show, but that’s a bit of a serious place to go so early on.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Sammy Guevara/Shawn Spears vs. Jimmy Havoc/Darby Allin/Joey Janela

Allin has bad ribs from the Cody match. Friedman was mad at Spears for the post match chair shot on Cody at Fyter Fest, which the announcers do bring up during the entrances. Friedman starts with Janela and says Spears is about to see greatness. That earns him a hiptoss, which pleases Spears very much. Havoc comes in and bites the finger but gets reversed into a wristlock, much to the fans’ annoyance.

Guevara comes in to ask who the man is before chopping Janela in the corner. A springboard crossbody misses with the fans VERY into Janela. It’s back to Havoc, with Allin not being happy with not getting the tag. Guevara gets in a jumping knee to the face so it’s off to Allin for the very high angle springboard wristdrag (Humberto Carrillo does that as well and it looks great from both of them). Janela comes back in and the announcers reference the fight with Enzo Amore, which they almost have to do.

Spears knocks Janela off the apron and starts stomping away before handing it back to Guevara. The chinlock doesn’t work and it’s almost time for Friedman and Spears to get into a fight. Friedman even gives him the ten pose but switches to a double middle finger. Janela uses the distraction to knock Spears down, allowing Friedman to call Spears an idiot. Everything breaks down with Havoc hitting a top rope superplex to Spears, complete with stepping on his partners’ backs.

Allin comes in with a flip over the back into a Stunner (cool) for two on Guevara, who is right back up to knock Havoc outside. Guevara backflips to the floor and superkicks Janela before going back inside for a standing Spanish Fly for two on Allin. Janela plants Guevara with a Death Valley Driver onto the apron, leaving Allin to hit a springboard spinning crossbody on Friedman. It bangs up the bad ribs though and Spears hits running Death Valley Driver to finish Allin at 13:15.

Rating: B. Yeah this was fun but not just for the action. The most interesting part here was having the partners who didn’t like each other, which made things a lot different than you might have guessed. That’s a nice twist and something you don’t see very often without it being hammered into your head. The match was almost all action but still managed to advance some stories. Well done indeed.

Private Party is sitting at ringside when Alex Jebailey pops in. Security gets rid of him though, because it’s a private party. Eh I chuckled. Just don’t have him wrestle again.

Video on Allie vs. Brandi Rhodes, both of whom seem to have confidence issues but keep going because they will never quit.

Brandi Rhodes vs. Allie

Hold on though as here’s Awesome Kong for a distraction but Allie ducks the cheap shot and takes over to start. Brandi gets sent outside but Allie stops to stare at Kong, allowing Brandi to take over with a shot from behind. A low superkick gets two on Allie and Kong grabs the leg to cut off any comeback attempt. Brandi hits a German suplex for two but Allie is right back with a neckbreaker for the double knockdown. A sliding forearm and a bulldog give Allie two and she puts Brandi on top.

That’s countered into the Wade Barrett swinging superplex into the suplex for two more and they’re both down. Allie is up first with a running Death Valley Driver (same spot from the previous match) with Kong putting Brandi’s foot on the ropes for the save. The distraction doesn’t quite work as Allie grabs a dragon sleeper, so Kong offers another distraction, meaning the referee doesn’t see the tap. Allie lets go and Brandi hits the Bionic Spear (with the announcers mentioning that it’s because she has a plate in her shoulder, thank goodness) for the pin at 10:16.

Rating: C-. Not terrible at all here with Brandi’s pre-match vignette making the Kong factor that much better. Brandi isn’t the most polished wrestler in the world but she isn’t embarrassing herself whatsoever, which is all you can ask for from someone in her position. This was the storyline part of the division and I’m glad they’re keeping that away from the wrestling part on the preshow.

Post match Kong goes after Allie and loads up the Implant Buster, drawing out Aja Kong for the save. Awesome Kong backs away from the staredown and Aja helps Allie up.

The announcers have a rather nice talk about the brothers vs. brothers match.

Dark Order vs. Angelico/Jack Evans vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus

The winners get a shot at a bye at All Out. The Dark Order have the Creepers (JR: “Jeepers!”) but they go to the back before the bell. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus have Marko Stunt with them and you can hear Jim Cornette losing it from here. Grayson drives Evans into the corner to start and snaps off a northern lights suplex to keep Evans in trouble. Angelico comes in and hammers at the jaw but gets dropkicked in the face for his efforts.

It’s Uno coming in to bite Angelico’s ear so Jungle Boy comes in for an Arabian armdrag. A neckbreaker gets Uno out of trouble but he stops to pose, allowing the tag to Luchasaurus for the monster staredown. Uno tags Angelico, who tags Evans from the apron. Evans fires himself up and is chopped right back down, followed by the big toss from Luchasaurus. A nasty wheelbarrow suplex sends Evans flying and Jungle Boy knees him into the Order’s corner.

Grayson comes in and shoves Jungle Boy into the ropes with Uno low bridging him to the floor. Back in and the Order stomp on Jungle Boy in the corner with JR wanting the referee to get involved. Jungle Boy fights back but Grayson is right there to pull Angelico and Evans off the apron. Uno’s top rope backsplash gets two but Jungle Boy is right there with a slingshot spear. The hot tag brings in Luchasaurus to kick away at the Order and chokeslam Evans over the top onto Angelico. Jungle Boy adds a shooting star onto the pile and the Tombstone Age (reverse powerbomb) gets two on Grayson.

Angelico and Evans get back in with a springboard double stomp/belly to back suplex combination for two on Jungle Boy. The assisted 450 gets the same and there’s a Razor’s Edge buckle bomb to make it even worse. Marko breaks up the 630 though and hits a super hurricanrana, with the referee ejecting Marko as a result.

Instead of leaving, Luchasaurus launches Marko onto Angelico in a huge crash. Grayson is flipped into a powerbomb from Jungle Boy (cool finisher) for two with Uno making the save. Jungle Boy gets suplexed into Luchasaurus in the corner and Fatality (Gory Bomb/Diamond Dust combination) gives Uno the pin at 15:13.

Rating: C+. This went a little longer than it needed to and Angelico and Evans could have been cut without losing much. Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy is an oddball team but the big man/small man combination has worked for years and it can work well for them too. If nothing else, the more Luchasaurus I see the happier I am, though the same isn’t the case with the Dark Order, who didn’t really stand out aside from an awesome finisher.

Video on Adam Page, who seems to be the chosen one.

Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian

Feeling out process to start with Page grabbing a headlock and hitting a hard shoulder to put Kip down. Some chops have Sabian in more trouble and a clothesline puts him on the floor. Page seems to have tweaked his leg or knee though, allowing Sabian to springboard enziguri him down to the floor. The dive is blocked with a forearm though and a tabletop suplex gives Page two.

Sabian knocks him outside and gets in an argument with a fan, though Page can’t make a comeback. The springboard missile dropkick gives Sabian two and it’s off to a half nelson. Page fights up and hits an overhead belly to belly with Sabian bouncing on his head. They’re both down until Sabian is back up with a middle rope DDT for two and a knee to the face. The slugout goes to Page though and a discus lariat turns Sabian inside out.

Back up and Sabian misses a stomp, allowing Page to belly to back suplex him onto the apron. Page hits a moonsault out to the floor but there goes the knee, with Page writhing in pain. The knee is fine enough for Page to hit a toss powerbomb to send Sabian over the top and onto the ramp for a heck of a crash.

Sabian slowly rolls back in to beat the count so Page takes him up top for a super swinging neckbreaker and another near fall. The Deadeye is broken up and Sabian bends the knee around the middle rope to put them both down as we have less than two minutes left. We hit the pinfall reversal sequence but Page reverses a sunset flip into the Deadeye for the pin at 19:04.

Rating: B-. Knee selling issues aside, Page looked like a star here as he came back from behind and won in the end with his finisher. Sabian looked great as well and that’s a very nice bonus in a match designed to make Page look like a star. It was good stuff and Page gets another win, so mission accomplished.

So Cal Uncensored vs. Lucha Bros

It’s Scorpio Sky/Kazarian for SCU here and we get their usual shtick before the match. Kazarian and Fenix start things off with the partners coming in early on for the big standoff. That means a double tag to Pentagon vs. Sky as the fans are split down the middle again. They stare each other down and pose a lot until Pentagon takes off the glove and throws it to the referee….who drops it. No worries though as she throws it back and tries again, this time for a catch.

The chop means it’s time to head to the floor as everything breaks down again, with Christopher Daniels taking one of the loudest chops I can remember in recent memory. Sky gets one of his own and the cringing is real with this one. Fenix misses a dive onto Daniels and hits his brother by mistake, leaving Daniels to hit an Arabian moonsault onto the floor. Daniels gets ejected (thank you) and it’s Fenix being taken back inside for an assisted wheelbarrow bomb from SCU.

Kazarian’s legdrop gets two and it’s back to Sky as Fenix is in trouble off a front facelock. Fenix manages to fight up and hit a pair of kicks Kazarian’s face, allowing the hot tag off to Pentagon. Sling Blades abound as everything breaks down, including more kicks to SCU’s heads. Kazarian is sat in the corner as Sky is tied in the Tree of Woe, allowing Fenix to flip Pentagon into the two of them at once.

Fenix and Kazarian head outside as Pentagon gets two on Sky. Everyone gets back inside with a top rope double stomp/Unprettier combination getting two on Pentagon. Not to be outdone, an assisted super DDT gets two on Fenix. Back up and Fenix rope walks into a double stomp to Sky’s back, followed by the Canadian Destroyer to give Pentagon two more. The double stomp/Fear Factor finishes Sky at 15:00.

Rating: B. This is the wild kind of tag match that the company seems to focus on. There’s nothing wrong with that either as the tag division has been one of the highlights of the first three shows. The Lucha Bros are one of the best teams around too so giving them their first win makes a lot of sense. I’m sure So Cal Uncensored is going to be fine in short order.

Post match Daniels comes back out but the Bros pull out a ladder to clean house. Pentagon grabs the mic and says they’re the best team in the world. As for the ladder, how about a rematch with the Young Bucks in a ladder match at All Out?

Kenny Omega vs. Cima

Feeling out process to start with an early armbar attempt sending Omega to the ropes. Omega’s sunset flip is broken up and Cima nails a double stomp to keep Omega in trouble early on. Something like a reverse Rings of Saturn has Omega reaching for the ropes again and things reset again. Omega hits a hard chop and a belly to back suplex for two and a hurricanrana puts Cima on the floor.

Cima dives back in and kicks Omega in the face to break up a dive attempt and a Perfect Driver gets two. A knee to the face rocks Cima though and Omega takes him up top. The super Snap Dragon is broken up as Cima climbs into an electric chair but spins down into a super sunset bomb to send Omega crashing. Omega is back up and goes for the leg with a kick to the thigh before stomping on it in the corner. A Regal Roll looks to set up a middle rope moonsault but Cima gets the knees up.

The regular Snap Dragon connects though but the One Winged Angle is broken up. That means a Backstabber to Omega and they’re both down again. It’s Cima up first with a dropkick to put Omega on the floor, where he pulls Cima down by the leg again. Omega goes over to the timekeeper’s table but Cima rams him into it, setting up a Meteora off the balcony to crush Omega.

They get back in as the fans keep booing and cheering as the big screen goes in and out. Back in and a pair of springboard Meteoras give Cima two but his super Codebreaker is countered into a buckle bomb. The V Trigger connects for two and it’s a second V Trigger to set up another failed One Winged Angel attempt. Cima rolls out of a powerbomb into a DDT, followed by another Meteora (and I thought the V Trigger was bad).

They head to the apron with Cima planting him down hard, drawing a YOU KILLED KENNY chant. Yet another Meteora gets yet another two and they strike it out again. Omega hits another V Trigger into the Tiger Driver 98 for two of his own. There’s another V Trigger (JR: “I could have sworn that was a knee to the head.”) and the One Winged Angel finishes Cima at 22:35.

Rating: B. They hit a lot of V Triggers (“But that makes sense for Omega!”) and a lot of Meteoras (“But that makes sense for Cima!”) and it was a hard hitting match, though it felt longer than it needed to be, which is a trend tonight. Omega continues to be the really awesome junk food of wrestling: the matches might not be the best constructed or highest quality, but dang they’re fun to watch.

Here’s Chris Jericho for his open mic promo. Jericho talks about having Page’s blood on his hands and asks if we can see it. He’s still looking for a thank you, but not from the fans here in Jerksonville. Jericho knows that the thank yous from the people here don’t matter so he’s going to get it every night by beating up the fans’ heroes one at a time. All Elite Wrestling is taking place because of him, including the TV show on TNT in October. Jericho watched the battle royal at Double Or Nothing very carefully and counted down the entrants until only Hangman Page was left.

Ever since then, Jericho has been sitting up worrying about facing the Hangman, but he’ll beat him for sure. That’s just another victory for the greatest of all time, but if he loses….it’s the beginning of the end of AEW and of Jericho’s career. Therefore, he has to beat the Hangman. Cue Page for the brawl with referees breaking it up. Page’s eye looks very nasty from earlier.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. Cody/Dustin Rhodes with Tony Schiavone and Jake Roberts of all people talking about how important it is and how the fans want to see it. That’s quite the interesting pair.

Cody/Dustin Rhodes vs. Young Bucks

Cody and Nick start things off with Nick kicking his hand away. Everything teases breaking down before Cody goes with a headlock to bring Nick over to Dustin. Now everything breaks down with Matt being knocked outside off a double clothesline. Back in and the Bucks start their double teaming, including a headscissors to Cody to set up an enziguri. Stereo dives to the floor drop Cody and Dustin and we get a mock hug.

We settle down to Matt working on Dustin’s arm and Nick adding the slingshot X Factor. A boot scrape lets Matt come back in for some shoulders in the corner, followed by a double dropkick. Nick pulls Cody off of the apron and teases taking the tag from Goldust, who does in fact tag him with a shot to the jaw. The distraction lets Goldust go up top for a spinning crossbody to both Bucks and NOW we get the hot tag to Cody.

That means a top rope moonsault of his own to Nick and a dive onto the ramp to take Matt down as well. It’s time for the weightlifting belt to Matt’s back, followed by a missed charge to send Matt shoulder first into the post. Dustin starts in on the arm with an armbar and a whip into the corner as this is dragging a good bit. Another whip sends Matt into the post again and it’s time to go to the floor for a whip into the barricade.

Back in and the Fujiwara armbar goes on but Matt finally fights up and brings in Nick to clean house. The clothesline/bulldog combination takes Cody and Dustin down, followed by a Backstabber out of the corner to Cody. The Bucks go with double sunset flips into a double Sharpshooter, which is broken up for a double Figure Four. That’s broken up with some rope grabs and quadruple lariats give us a four way knockdown. Fans: “THIS IS WRESTLING!” No. This is long and needs to end so JR and Dustin can go to bed.

Dustin gets up for some powerslams and an assisted Cross Rhodes plants Nick. Matt dives in for the save and it’s time for a double slugout. Double powerslams take the Bucks down again and the ref gets bumped at the same time. Stereo Shattered Dreams take the Bucks down for two each with the Bucks rolling outside.

Cody’s springboard dive is superkicked out of the air, leaving Dustin to hit some Flip Flop and Fly. Another superkick drops Dustin but he’s right back up with a Code Red for two. Cody comes back in and it’s a double superkick to the back of the head for two more. More superkicks connect so Nick can hit Cross Rhodes for two on Cody. The Meltzer Driver hits Cody for the pin at 31:34.

Rating: C-. This was a match that is going to be praised for how long it went but that’s all it was. It wasn’t bad, but there were far too many moments where I was looking at the clock and sighing because this just wouldn’t end. You could have easily cut ten or so minutes out of it and still had the same match, including the long arm work in the middle. Dustin and Cody just losing is a bit anticlimactic, but you knew the Bucks were the heavy favorites coming into this one.

Cody doesn’t know if they’re still on the air but you can’t counter program what AEW is doing. You can counter program some of them but you can’t counter program the love in this company. Kenny talks about how cool it is to make this kind of a donation but there is a bit of a conundrum. His signature line doesn’t seem appropriate right now, partially because it ends with him poking a finger gun in the air. Instead it’s adieu, but since we’re off the air, we’ll change it from BANG to BOING. JR can be heard asking if they’re clear as Kenny thanks the fans for coming out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was good and the energy was high but this went WAY too long and it took away a lot of the positives about the show. That main event and the post match stuff were major hits to the evening and it didn’t do them any favors. It’s still an entertaining show, but for the first time I was thinking about how long it was and that’s not a good sign. These timing issues aren’t going to work on TNT and they need to fix them before we get there. Not a bad show by any means, but they have a lot of tightening up to do.

Results

Shawn Spears/Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Sammy Guevara b. Darby Allin/Jimmy Havoc/Joey Janela – Running Death Valley Driver to Allin

Brandi Rhodes b. Allie – Bionic Spear

Dark Order b. Luchasaurus/Jungle Boy and Angelico/Jack Evans – Fatality to Jungle Boy

Adam Page b. Kip Sabian – Deadeye

Lucha Bros b. So Cal Uncensored – Spike Fear Factor to Sky

Kenny Omega b. Cima – One Winged Angel

Young Bucks b. Cody/Dustin Rhodes – Meltzer Driver to Cody

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Kings Of Colosseum
Date: July 6, 2019
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jim Cornette

We’ve got another live show here and so far, the success rate for these has been pretty good. The shows tend to run a bit longer than a regular episode of Fusion, but that should probably be the case when the show is supposed to be bigger. The main event is MLW World Champion defending against Jacob Fatu in a match that could go either way. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a preview of tonight’s show, which doesn’t look bad.

The opening video looks at the major matches with no commentary.

National Openweight Title: Alexander Hammerstone vs. ???

This is Hammerstone’s Star Spangled Banner Challenge and the Dynasty is out in full force. Before anyone answers the challenge, Hammerstone says he represents a true American hero, unlike those dastardly Harts back there. That’s why he’s a fighting champion so he wants opponents from all corners of the world. He wants the cream of the crop, but he’s the creamiest of them all.

It’s Kotto Brazil answering the challenge and Cornette knows this one is going to hurt. Maxwell Jacob Friedman joins commentary and he rants about his microphone being off, meaning he throws the headset down and leaves in a huff as only he can. And now he’s back with the headset working, which Friedman blames on Court Bauer being scared of how great he is at commentary. Brazil starts fast with a middle rope spinning forearm as Friedman has Aria Blake sit on his lap so they can talk about whatever, ahem, pops up.

Kotto kicks at the ribs but gets shoved away and eats a bicycle kick. Hammerstone tosses him over his head with ease and a second toss cuts Brazil off again. The Nightmare Pendulum is broken up though and Brazil nails his tornado DDT. A missile dropkick puts Hammerstone down and a frog splash gets two. Richard Holliday offers a distraction though and a very delayed vertical superplex plants Brazil. The Nightmare Pendulum retains the title at 5:39.

Rating: C. Brazil has grown on me tremendously with a great version of fighting from underneath and making me believe that he could pull off the miracle. Hammerstone continues to be a monster who looks like he could be a big star no matter where he is and that’s an impressive deal for the future. Both guys looked good here, even in a short one.

Post match the Dynasty puts the American flag around Hammerstone and Friedman brags about him. Friedman isn’t done though and calls out the Hart Foundation for a Tag Team Title shot.

Cornette and Bocchini talk about the World Title match and how bad it would be if Fatu won.

Simon Gotch talks about how Contra attacked Tom Lawlor the last time they were here. A clean shaven Lawlor jumps him from behind and asks if Fatu is ready.

We get a quick look at Frank Gotch vs. George Hackenschmidt in 1911.

MLW will be on pay per view on November 2, including four title matches.

Myron Reed vs. Rey Horus

Reed has Jordan Oliver in his corner. Hold on as Reed needs to bail to the floor again as he and Oliver don’t think much of the fans. Reed gets in a shot to the face to start but a leg lariat takes him down. Back up and some running from Horus sends Reed outside for another breather. Reed’s headlock doesn’t work very well as Horus snaps off a running hurricanrana.

Oliver grabs Horus’ leg though, allowing Reed to duck a clothesline and kick Horus in the head. That’s enough to send Horus outside for a stomping from Oliver, which the referee somehow misses. Even commentary is ranting about how blind he must be to let that happen. Horus is right back up with a rope walk armdrag to send Reed outside, followed by a backdrop to send an invading Oliver onto him. For some reason the referee won’t let Horus dive so he dives over the referee instead.

Back in and Reed hits a running dropkick in the corner but a middle rope legdrop to the back of the neck gives Horus two. Something like a Stundog Millionaire drops Horus and Reed nails a springboard 450 for two of his own. A quick Spanish Fly gives Horus two more as the back and forth continues. Oliver offers a distraction though and Reed nails a springboard uppercut (the Louisville Slugger) for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: B-. This was the usual rather entertaining cruiserweight match as the roster knows how to do a match like this in their sleep. What matters though is they’re bringing in a lot of the lesser known names (like Reed) to see what they can do and develop some new stars. Good, fun match here and a great showcase on a live show like this.

The Hart Foundation agrees to defend against the Dynasty, but it’s in a ladder match with Brian Pillman and Teddy Hart defending. Pillman can’t believe he’s getting the chance and promises to make his family proud. I don’t see this ending well.

Cornette is in the ring for a live Jim Cornette Experience with Salina de la Renta. We hear some of her accolades, including the Female Entrepreneur (which she can’t pronounce) of the Year in Puerto Rico. Cornette brings up LA Park’s upcoming World Title shot, but that information is confidential. With that out of the way, Cornette asks about Konnan coming back with some fresh talent to go after Salina and company.

Well since Konnan isn’t here and doesn’t have his superstars anymore, he isn’t very good at his job. And he can’t please a woman. Cue Konnan to offer to show how pleasing he can be right now before switching over to some Spanish. He has a new crop of luchadors coming after Salina, which she calls typical Konnan. Apparently she has a secret that can humiliate Konnan and end his career once and for all. If he wants it to come out, keep trying her. Salina leaves and Konnan hits the catchphrase.

We look at Lawlor attacking Gotch again.

Dr. Wagner Jr. is coming.

The Dynasty is down with Pillman being involved but aren’t sure about the ladder part.

The show is being extended and we’ll see the end of the World Title match no matter what.

We look back at Contra attacking Lawlor and nearly causing a riot in Chicago.

We run down the tale of the tape for the World Title match and look at all the former World Champions, including from the old days of the promotion.

MLW World Title: Tom Lawlor vs. Jacob Fatu

Fatu is challenging and there are no Von Erichs to back Lawlor up. There’s also no Gotch with Fatu but Josef Samael is here. In case that isn’t enough, Salina is watching from the front row. After the Big Match Intros, we’re finally ready to go. Lawlor’s shots to the face don’t do much as Fatu sends him to and knocks him off the apron for a big crash. A whip into the barricade has Lawlor in trouble and he gets choked with the camera cord to make it even worse.

Back in and Fatu knocks him down again and a slam keeps Lawlor in trouble. Fatu’s middle rope headbutt misses and Lawlor goes straight for the choke, which is tossed away with ease. The second and third attempts slow Fatu down but he’s fine enough to drive Lawlor back first into the corner. The double springboard moonsault misses and a Samael distraction backfires as Lawlor gets in a low blow. Fatu misses his seated senton as Cornette is trying to get over how the low blow didn’t even take Fatu down.

That lasts all of two seconds as Fatu pops up and says bring it on so Lawlor grabs a guillotine choke. That’s switched into a DDT attempt but Fatu handstands his way out of it and busts out a handspring moonsault because of course he can do that. A missed charge in the corner lets Lawlor hammer away but it’s a superkick into the pop up Samoan drop. The double springboard moonsault gives Fatu the pin and the title at 7:58.

Rating: C+. This felt like an old Vader match or for something more modern, a Brock Lesnar squash as Lawlor threw everything he had at Fatu and couldn’t make a dent in him. That’s the kind of dominant performance that you need as Lawlor was the unstoppable force and got destroyed here, with Fatu looking like the new king of the monsters. It’s a good move, as Contra needed to win something and they did that in a big way.

Salina grabs her phone and leaves.

Contra celebrates as commentary panics to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. They’re getting better at these big matches and Fatu winning is the best thing that they could do. That man is an absolute gem and it’s a matter of time before he gets signed to a big company. I don’t know how long MLW can keep him around but my goodness this was a great performance. The rest of the show worked very well too and I’m looking forward to seeing where things go. The other day I saw someone ask when MLW surpasses Ring of Honor. They’re not there yet, but how much further is it?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #64
Date: June 29, 2019
Location: Waukesha County Expo Center, Waukesha, Wisconsin
Commentators: Jim Cornette, Rich Bocchini

It’s another Contra show here and that means things could get interesting again. This time around it’s Josef Samael vs. World Champion Tom Lawlor as Lawlor gets ready for his showdown with Jacob Fatu for the World Title next week. Samael is the designated fall guy so you can probably guess what is coming tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a video from Contra, threatening to destroy Lawlor tonight.

Opening sequence.

Marshall and Ross Von Erich come to commentary to say they’ll have Lawlor’s back.

Adam Brooks vs. Austin Aries

The hometown boy Aries now has a thicker beard and is in the long tights this time. Aries catches a kick to the leg to start and takes Brooks to the mat as we go with some amateur stuff. Brooks gets a hammerlock but Aries reverses into a front facelock. A hard armdrag puts Brooks back down and it’s a basement dropkick to send him outside. Brooks sends him into the corner and hits a sliding dropkick of his own.

A springboard Stunner gives Brooks two and a low superkick keeps Aries down on the floor. Back in and Aries gets in a shinbreaker into a belly to back suplex to put Brooks in trouble. Some knees to the head keep Brooks down and Aries hits the middle rope elbow to Brooks’ seated back. The neckbreaker over the ropes sends Brooks to the floor but the suicide dive is blocked with a forearm.

Brooks gets in a slingshot DDT but can’t follow up. Aries is right back with the Horns of Aries (Last Chancery) until Brooks makes the rope. Brooks sends him to the apron but dives into a Death Valley Driver onto the apron, with Cornette going into a rant about how dangerous that is. He’s right you know. The 450 hits Brooks’ knees though but his Swanton hits Aries’ knees. A discus forearm sets up the brainbuster to give Aries the pin at 12:00.

Rating: C+. Aries may not have the best backstage attitude but he is one of the best in-ring performers around today. You’re all but guaranteed to get a watchable (at worst) match and he’s a good hand to have around here. He can do just about anything from carry the World Title to feud for the midcard or Middleweight Title. That’s a very valuable asset to have and Aries is someone who can do it.

Post match Aries is interviewed by says don’t interrupt the fans, who continue their AUSTIN ARIES chants. Aries talks about how he doesn’t put his life on social media but that doesn’t mean he’s been sitting at home. This is professional wrestling instead of sports entertainment or cosplay wrestling. He is the last real magician of professional wrestling because he can make everyone believe.

That’s why he’s here in MLW, which is the only place that follows the weight limits. He’s been the World Heavyweight Champion several times but he hasn’t been a heavyweight a day in his life. Aries is a middleweight, and that’s bad news for Teddy Hart. I’m more than down for that.

We look back at the Dynasty attacking Teddy Hart and stealing his Tag Team Title last week.

The Dynasty was in Martha’s Vineyard at a house Richard Holliday’s dad bought after he shut down an orphanage. Alex Hammerstone is going for a Hogan tan. Holliday: “87 or 91?” Oh and they’re the Tag Team Champions because possessions is nine tenths of the law. MJF and Aria Blake leave to go, ahem, fix her nails.

Samael is out for Lawlor’s blood before Jacob Fatu takes the title.

Savio Vega is coming.

We look back at last week’s wild six man tag and the wilder post match brawl.

Jacob Fatu vs. Ariel Dominguez/Sam Black

Fatu jumps them both while the music is still playing. An overhead belly to belly sends Dominguez flying and a superkick drops Black. A crazy high pop up Samoan drop plants Dominguez and it’s the double springboard moonsault (perfect) for the pin at 1:20. Fatu looked outstanding here.

Post match the beatdown is still on with the rest of Contra running in to take both jobbers out.

Salina de la Renta doesn’t want to talk about a goat f***** (uncensored) like Mance Warner. With her voice changing, she talks about how she knows how hard it is for men to see a 22 year old woman in control.

Kings of Colosseum rundown, with an open challenge from Hammerstone, Myron Reed vs. Rey Horus and a live Jim Cornette Experience with Salina.

Mance Warner is looking forward to the 4^th of July and promises to take care of Salina and Promociones Dorado. It’s time to start headhunting and the fireworks are starting when he comes after the team. The beer goes down and the hat goes around as Mance promises to have blood running down his hands. After he mows his lawn that is. Rather good promo from Mance here, who sounds like he is speaking as himself every time.

Tom Lawlor vs. Josef Samael

Non-title and Salina (in a completely different outfit and with her hair done differently) is watching in the back with Ricky Martinez. The fight starts fast with Lawlor knocking him down but getting chopped in the corner. That’s fine with Tom, who comes back with shots of his own with one big one knocking Samael outside. Lawlor sends him into the barricade and post and is even smart enough to block the low blow on the way back inside.

Samael manages to get in a whip to send Lawlor throat first into the ropes and the champ is in trouble. One heck of a clothesline blasts Lawlor and we hit the camel clutch. With that not going far enough, Samael pulls Lawlor’s head against the post. Lawlor comes back with a suplex and we cut to the back to see the Von Erichs fighting the rest of Contra. Back in the arena, Samael’s spike gets caught in the turnbuckle so Lawlor spinwheel kicks him down. Lawlor grabs the spike and shoves the referee down for the DQ at 7:50.

Rating: C. This was all it needed to be. They didn’t need to do anything more here other than keep Lawlor fighting and have Contra cause more chaos. It’s clear that Fatu is the real star of the team and that’s the reason why he’s getting the big title shot against Lawlor. I can’t imagine that match goes to a finish, but the ending could be interesting.

Post match the brawls are still on in the back and in the arena to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It says a lot when a minute long squash pushed the show that much further up the line but Fatu looked that impressive. What mattered here was getting things ready for the big title match at Kings of Colosseum. Couple that with the first steps towards Aries vs. Hart and things are looking up around here. This place has gotten rather good in a hurry and they’re getting ready to move up on the list of best promotions around at the moment. Not bad for a company that really relaunched fifteen months ago.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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