So as you’ve probably heard, the latest hot show on Netflix is GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling), a dramatized story about the backstage workings of the comedy wrestling show of the same name from back in the 80s. The original was actually a hot show in syndication, though it was one of the dumbest things you’ll find related to wrestling. I checked out the new series though and it’s actually quite good.
The show is a drama built around how the show is put together and how the girls were brought in. It’s certainly entertaining and goes by very fast (ten episodes, the longest of which doesn’t even break forty minutes, meaning you can knock out the season in just a day), which helps fix a major flaw in a lot of these online originals: episodes basically being short movies instead of TV shows.
There are a bunch of wrestling cameos, with John Morrison, Brodus Clay, Carlito, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian as the most notable. That’s the best wrestling stuff on the show though, as GLOW certainly wasn’t known for its in-ring product. They do a pretty entertaining job of showing how the training portion works though and that’s always cool to see from an outsider’s perspective.
Check the show out if you have the chance, but keep in mind that it is NOT PG. There’s a bit of nudity, a lot of swearing and some rather adult plotlines. It’s going to be around for at least another season and that’s a good sign as it’s one of the best depictions of wrestling I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s worth seeing and given how fast you can go through the season, it’s an easy watch.
On the other front, I recently received a rather nice Amazon gift card and spent a good chunk of it on a pile of wrestling books. The first one I finished off was Tim Hornbaker’s Capitol Revolution, the story of the New York territory which of course became the WWE of today. This is a good choice if you want a look at the older days (it goes back to the 1920s and carries forward), which is a period that isn’t often covered.
The book is rather detailed to start and covers a lot of the backstage nature of the territory. There are a lot of names that you might be familiar with (Toots Mondt, Strangler Lewis, Jess McMahon) and several you won’t (who I won’t list because, you know, they won’t mean much to you). You get a good look at how the structure worked back then, which goes to show you how things tend to stay the same over the years. It’s a very interesting look back at how the system used to work, which isn’t something you get to see very often.
Now the problem is how fast the pace picks up. The book is less than 300 pages and the first two thirds or so cover the origins up until the rise of Bruno Sammartino. Then the speeds picks WAY up and we’re suddenly at the Rock N Wrestling Connection era, which is where things wrap up. It feels like they hit a deadline and had to wrap things up instead of letting it build like they wanted it to. The majority of the book is very entertaining though and worth checking out, though I could have gone for a much longer edition. Still though, check it out if you like the historical aspect of wrestling.
New Japan G1 Special in USA Night One: Welcome To Our Turf
New Japan G1 Special in USA Night One Date: July 1, 2017 Location: Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, Long Beach, California Commentators: Jim Ross, Josh Barnett
This has the potential to be either a major moment in history or something that won’t be remembered in a few years. New Japan has been the favorite promotion of a lot of wrestling fans in recent years and now they’ve come to America on their own instead of co-promoting with someone like Ring of Honor. This is the first of a two night event, the latter of which will air six days from now. Let’s get to it.
The opening video looks back at the history of the company (not exactly in depth) and the build tot he show. This includes a variety of big matches over both nights and how important it is for the competitors in a tournament for the inaugural IWGP United States Title.
Here are the tournament brackets:
Michael Elgin
Kenny Omega
Jay Lethal
Hangman Page
Juice Robinson
Zack Sabre Jr.
Tomohiro Ishii
Tetsuya Naito
We look at the tale of the tape for the World Title match between Kazuchika Okada and Cody Rhodes.
We get some pre-show ceremonies with the announcers talking over both the Japanese announcements and the English translations. This goes on for several minutes with the announcers talking about the tournament and making some predictions. If nothing else it’s VERY weird to hear the term “belt” so many times.
Roppongi Vice/Will Ospreay/Briscoe Brothers vs. Young Bucks/Marty Scurll/Yujiro Takahashi/Bad Luck Fale
Chaos vs. Bullet Club, again. Ospreay and Scurll start things off because…..well who else was going to? Scurll flips away from him a few times and does the bird wings thing a few times. Ospreay sends him outside and apparently we’re under lucha rules (never mentioned by commentary) so it’s off to the Briscoes to dropkick Fale down. Takahashi gets caught in between the Brothers, who JR has confused.
Mark hits his running Blockbuster off the apron and it’s off to Roppongi Vice vs. the Bucks (And for once it’s not something that you would know if you were watching New Japan because this is actually New Japan!). Vice takes over without much effort but there are the superkicks. Marty adds one from the apron and busts out the umbrella, allowing the Bucks to dive onto the Briscoes.
Ospreay kicks Scurll to the floor and there’s the BIG springboard shooting star to take out the pile. Back in and Scurll breaks Mark’s finger but the wild dancing and shouting CHICKENWING somehow tips Mark off about what to expect. Now it’s Romero coming in to clean house….until a superkick cuts him off. In case that’s not enough for you, Jay gets in a little comeback and eats a superkick as well.
Ospreay grabs a C4 on Scurll and it’s back to Romero for the clotheslines in the corner. The clotheslines have no effect on Fale (duh) and he keeps walking forward despite Osprey hitting clothesline after clothesline for a cool visual. Fale shrugs it off and Razors Edges Romero onto the pile, though it knocks out some partners as well. The Briscoes drop Fale but it’s the Bucks coming right back in to take over. The Meltzer driver is broken up and Romero rolls Matt up for the pin at 9:25.
Rating: B. Not the highest quality match but it was entertaining and fast paced, making it the perfect choice for an opener. This also helps set up Vice vs. Bucks for the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles tomorrow night, which is almost always a good idea. I’m still not sure why Chaos and the Club are feuding but they’ve long since reached the point where they just are feuding so it’s kind of hard to really complain anymore.
Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Titan/Dragon Lee/Volador Jr./Jushin Thunder Liger
That would be Sanada/Bushi/Evil/Hiromu Takahashi, the first three of whom are the Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions. The first three of their opponents are all from CMLL. If nothing else it’s cool to hear Liger’s music on TV. Finally, Titan is pronounced Tee-Tan as something that is likely lost in translation. Volador headscissors Bushi to the floor to start and it’s off to Liger for a very nice reception.
Sanada comes in as well as we hear about JR seeing Liger facing Brian Pillman back in 1992. That’s when Liger had been around NINE YEARS already, meaning he’s now a thirty three year veteran. I really don’t know what to say to that but it’s rather impressive. Los Ingobernables sneak in from behind and clean house, knocking all of the villains to the floor. Sanada ties Titan up (ala Jack Gallagher) and hits a running dropkick, which isn’t treated like a comedy spot as it would be over here.
Liger gets in a palm strike and makes the tag to Lee for a BIG chop off with Takahashi. The CMLL team hits double flip dives, leaving Lee to kick Takahashi in the face. Titan hand walks away and spins into a headscissors, only making himself dizzy in the process. That’s some awful luck, or mal suerte to him. Titan gets triple dropkicked for two and Takahashi grabs the referee, allowing Evil to chair Titan down. The Time Bomb is good for the pin on Titan at 6:47.
Rating: D+. Nowhere near as good as the previous match here but the time didn’t help things. This is another good example of a match that was helped by commentary as they were explaining why these factions were feuding, which mainly took place in Mexico. I don’t need anything detailed as just telling me they’ve fought before and it was here or there helps quite a bit. The action was fun and while I didn’t know some of the guys, it was entertaining enough.
IWGP United States Title Tournament First Round: Jay Lethal vs. Hangman Page
The belt is big and rather ugly. Lethal has bad ribs coming in thanks to Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser. Page jumps him at the bell but Lethal is right back up with a suicide dive (not “drive” Josh). They head inside with Lethal missing a moonsault and getting kicked in the bad ribs. Well at least Page isn’t doing anything stupid. As I say that, he hits a shooting star shoulder off the apron in what is the best example of an unnecessary flip I’ve seen in a good while.
Back in and Lethal kicks him in the ribs but it’s WAY too early for the Lethal Injection. Instead it’s something like an Octopus Hold until Lethal escapes for some kicks to the head. Jay hits his top rope elbow but hurts the ribs again, allowing Page to get up at two. The front flip clothesline gives Page two but he gets caught in the Lethal Combination. The Lethal Injection almost completely misses though and both guys are down. I’m not sure why Page is but that’s not the biggest deal. Lethal kicks him in the head again and NOW the Injection connects full on for the pin at 8:24.
Rating: C-. This felt really off and almost like a highlight reel or clipped version of a much longer match. Lethal and Page are two of the ROH guys I like more than usual and you would expect better chemistry between them. Maybe it’s the injured ribs but I’m not sure if that’s enough to excuse the blown spots and general lack of flow to the match. They just weren’t on the same page and it felt like they were wrestling two very different matches.
IWGP United States Title Tournament First Round: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Juice Robinson
JR thinks Sabre is Ospreay. Eh I’ve gotten them confused before too. The fans are already singing for Sabre, making me think they’re all evil foreigners. Well maybe save for those chanting for Juice. After a brief feeling out process to start, Sabre wastes no time in going after the arm with a variety of holds that I can’t even begin to name.
Robinson escapes the third straight hold (all of which looked like they should have broken the arm), eventually getting Zack up in a fireman’s carry for a gutbuster. Zack rolls him up for two and it’s time to kick at the arm a few more times. Robinson tells him to bring it on so Zack kicks away.
Something like a triangle choke has Robinson in more trouble but he powerbombs his way to freedom (AMERICAN freedom that is). Back up and Robinson tries an Unprettier but gets reversed into an Octopus Hold with the arm being cranked at a CRAZY angle. The other arm is pulled back as well until it’s a full nelson with Zack’s leg between Robinson’s arms (I told you his holds were hard to call) for the tap at 10:06.
Rating: C+. Sabre is an interesting guy as he’s the best technician I’ve seen since Daniel Bryan (if not before) and that makes for some very fun matches. That being said, he’s also so dominant that it’s hard to imagine him losing, which makes things a bit worse. Now that being said, if there’s ever a time for him to lose, it’s in a tournament. Robinson continues to show WAY more upside than he did in NXT so maybe it just wasn’t a good fit down there. I’ve liked enough of what I’ve seen from him so far outside of Orlando so there seems to be potential there.
David Finlay/Jay White/Kushida/Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Sho Tanaka/Yohei Komatsu/Yoshi Hashi/Billy Gunn
Yes THAT Billy Gunn and yes he’s challenging THAT Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Intercontinental Title. Kushida gets quite the reception and it’s time for the eight way staredown to start. Yohei and Kushida start things off with Kushida easily taking him down and offering a SUCK IT to Gunn. Finlay comes in to dropkick Tanaka but the ring is quickly cleared, leaving Sho to dropkick Kushida in the back.
Sho grabs a bodyscissors before it’s off to Gunn for one of the louder reactions of the night. A quick crotch chop sets up a staredown with Tanahashi before it’s back to Sho to do the majority of the work. Kushida fights them off because the Tempura Boyz Tanaka and Komatsu don’t seem all that great. Tanahashi comes in off the hot tag and forearms Gunn down with his bad arm.
Gunn completely fails to catch him off a crossbody throws in a SUCK IT, and goes down off his half of a double clothesline. White comes in to grab a suplex on Tatsu but gets caught with a spinwheel kick. A suplex into the corner drops Tatsu and everything breaks down. Tanahashi hits the Sling Blade on Gunn and it’s White left in the ring for a Flatliner to put Tatsu away at 9:43.
Rating: D. This match has the one obvious question: why in the name of tree bark is Gunn getting the title shot? Star power? That’s not exactly something this show is lacking and I have a really hard time believing that New Japan would have issues getting someone better in the ring and with more star power than Gunn to challenge Tanahashi. Throw Gunn into the tournament and let one of the people from there (Page maybe) have the shot instead. It really doesn’t look good otherwise and the match could be a major mess, especially when you consider what Tanahashi is capable of.
A long celebration takes us to intermission, which features a look at the main event, a look at the Tag Team Title match and a recap of the night’s matches so far. This runs just under twenty minutes.
Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Guerillas of Destiny
War Machine is challenging in a rematch from Dominion where they lost the belts. JR says War Machine are SEVEN TIME ROH Tag Team Champions, which makes me think one of two things: JR is drunk or he looked at their Wikipedia page, saw that they had seven successful title defenses in their ONE reign with the titles, and didn’t bother checking what he was reading.
Before the match, Ray Rowe wants to make it a No DQ match and it’s immediately on. The four of them head outside without wasting a second with the champs getting more fired up every time they take a shot to the face. JR goes into a weird rambling speech about having nothing to say, followed by Barnett taking over with play by play. Did he drop his notes there or something? A trashcan shot stops Rowe’s suicide dive and the champs work him over in the ring.
Rowe takes a neckbreaker and splash for two but Hanson remembers that he’s in the match and makes the save. About fifteen straight running clotheslines in the corner crush the champs again, prompting JR to talk about…..Hanson’s beard? The Bronco Buster misses though and it’s time for the big slugout with War Machine throwing Tama around until Loa powerslams Hanson out of the air. A Swan Dive into a frog splash gets two on Rowe but Hanson is back in.
Fallout is loaded up but here’s fellow Bullet Club member Chase Owens to take out Hanson with a chair. JR sounds rather annoyed about the lack of disqualifications, which isn’t exactly like him. Rowe gets powerbombed through two chairs (Can Hanson just not take a big bump tonight?) but Hanson is here to save Rowe from going through a table. Fallout through the table ends Loa to give us new champions at 11:07.
Rating: B-. Sometimes you need four strong guys to beat the heck out of each other for a little over ten minutes. War Machine is a fun team and the Guerillas are the kind of team who can be right back due to pure charisma. A good power brawl is hard to come by and I had fun watching them beating on each other. Entertaining match and a nice change of pace to a lot of the other stuff on here.
IWGP United States Title Tournament First Round: Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Naito jumps him from behind during the entrances, setting up the charge into the pose on the mat for a VERY strong reaction. After we hit the stall button to start, Ishii hammers Naito like he stole something, including the loud chops. Naito thinks it’s a good idea to chop a guy named the Stone Pitbull (who I didn’t realize was shorter than Naito), earning himself another beating.
Back up and Naito tries again for the same result. Must be a Ric Flair fan. A hiptoss and running dropkick to the back of the head work a bit better and it’s time to pose. Ishii suplexes him down and blasts Naito with a suplex. A powerslam nearly drops Naito on his head for two but he pops right back up with a missile dropkick for a breather.
Ishii’s suplex is countered into a DDT (always liked that counter) and a top rope hurricanrana gets two. Naito walks around for a good while….and then spits at Ishii. I get that he’s confident but sweet goodness that seems unwise. One heck of a headbutt drops Naito and a powerbomb cuts him in half.
A hard clothesline gives Ishii two more but his brainbuster is countered, eventually into a tornado DDT. Destino is broken up so Naito kicks him in the head again, only to get caught by the sliding lariat. A dragon suplex gives Naito two but it’s a clothesline into the brainbuster to advance Ishii at 15:53.
Rating: B. They had a good story here with Naito being able to hang with Ishii on his own but getting too cocky and showing the lack of respect that a monster like Ishii deserved. It’s a good way to make Ishii a big deal as pinning a former World Champion always will be. I liked this a lot more than the other Ishii matches I’ve seen so it was a nice surprise, though I tend to like Naito matches.
IWGP United States Title Tournament First Round: Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega
Omega has the Bucks with him as usual and is playing the full on face here despite still being a heel (officially). They try to get the referee to do Too Sweet but he offers a crotch chop instead. Elgin powers him (Omega, not the referee) into the corner to start before some forearms and kicks earn Kenny a wave of the finger. Kenny still can’t do anything with the monster so Elgin chops him for a change.
The delayed vertical suplex has Kenny reeling but an Elite chant brings him back so he can do the Rise of the Terminator deal (still don’t get it and don’t really care to know). Back in and one heck of a top rope shoulder sends Omega flying across the ring and out to the floor. Omega hits a moonsault from the apron….and Elgin casually catches him because he can.
Kenny slams him onto the apron for a nineteen count and we hit the chinlock to slow things down a bit. Elgin raises his knees to block a middle rope moonsault as JR calls the Bucks very annoying. That might be the understatement of the year. A powerslam pulls Kenny out of the air for a close two (ignore the spitting onto the mat during the cover). Elgin powers him up again but gets caught in a snap dragon suplex to send him outside.
That means a big flip dive followed by a jumping knee to Elgin’s face, only to have one heck of a clothesline take Omega’s head off. They fight to the apron for a hard German suplex to drop Elgin on his head for a scary looking crash. Back in and a super crucifix bomb gives Elgin two more, prompting JR to ask the obvious: if that doesn’t work, what will?
Well nothing more than likely, but you have to be used to some big (and arguably ridiculous) kickouts around here. Three straight jumping knees to the head knock Elgin silly and a package Tombstone gets two. There’s another running knee and the One Winged Angel sends Omega on at 22:36.
Rating: A-. I liked this a bit more than a lot of the Omega matches I’ve seen, mainly because it wasn’t far longer than it really needed to be (and it won’t be called 25% better than the best matches of all time). They had another good story here with Elgin using pure power while Omega was more well rounded and therefore capable of adapting to counter whatever Elgin threw at him. Omega is very good and it’s fun watching him, face/heel issues aside (which is more a company/stable thing than anything else).
Here are tomorrow’s final four:
Jay Lethal
Kenny Omega
Tomohiro Ishii
Zack Sabre Jr.
We recap Cody vs. Kazuchika Okada. It’s a short story with Cody challenging Okada for the title right after Okada’s draw against Omega at Dominion. Okada went with it because….well that’s what wrestlers do.
IWGP World Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Cody
Cody is challenging and comes out with a bunch of people in ex-President masks. Brandi Rhodes is with him (still absolutely stunning) in an American flag outfit and lights a cigar for him. After a kiss from Brandi (with his right shoulder taped up), we’re ready to go with a slow start, which means this is likely going long. Okada takes him to the mat and then to the ropes where he gives Cody a friendly pat on the chest.
That warrants a break for another kiss, followed by heading back inside for a standoff. They head outside to speed things up with Okada hitting a running dive over the barricade, only to have Cody go after the knee to take over. Cody chokes with his boot but Okada neckbreakers his way out.
Back up and a fast running elbow to the jaw followed by a DDT lets Okada nip up. The signature dropkick knocks Cody off the top and out to the floor in a heap. A DDT on the floor makes things even worse but Okada can’t follow up, meaning it’s a long count. Back in and Cody runs the corner for a super armdrag (looked like a C4 2000 at first) but the Disaster Kick is countered into a flapjack (cool).
There’s the top rope elbow, only to have Cody grab the Trailer Hitch to go back to the knee. The hold is broken and a slap fires Okada up all over again, prompting a mudhole stomping in the corner. The jumping Tombstone and a pair of Rainmakers drop Cody. Cue Omega with a towel like Cody was teasing at Dominion but Brandi says no.
This brings out the Bucks to ask what Omega is doing and Okada nails another dropkick. Naturally Cody hits a Rainmaker of his own for two, followed by Okada grabbing his own Cross Rhodes. So now that we’re back to even with the stolen finishers, Cody gets two more off an inverted DDT. To really mess with his boss, Cody loads up the One Winged Angel, which is quickly reversed into a German suplex. The jumping Tombstone (yes another one) sets up the Rainmaker to retain the title at 27:12.
Rating: B+. I liked the Omega match a bit more but Cody is a bit more of a generic style than Elgin being awesome with the power. Okada is still very smooth in the ring, though I do think he uses his big moves a bit too often. That being said, it was an excellent match with both guys hitting their big spots. Omega vs. Cody could be interesting, assuming it’s not just a swerve for later. Very good main event, even though I didn’t quite buy Cody as the biggest threat to the title.
Post match Okada poses but Omega gets in too. He won’t take the night from Okada, even though he wanted to main event this show. They’ll meet again in the G1 and tonight is Okada’s. Gedo and Okada both say they’re awesome and Okada will make it rain strong style around the world.
At the post show press conference….I have no idea as I don’t speak Japanese.
A highlight reel ends the show.
Overall Rating: A-. This was a very good show and that’s the best thing that could have happened. It’s not a masterpiece or a classic but for what was basically a pay per view in front of a small crowd, it worked as well as it could have. They showcased most of their stars and the two major matches were both outstanding. Couple that with this airing at 8pm EST and on free TV, it’s hard to find anything major to complain about. Maybe a little bit could have been cut (as in like 10-15 minutes, or the Tanahashi eight man tag) but the time really wasn’t a problem.
The one thing that needs to be remembered though is this is one match. Based on this, New Japan isn’t going to overtake WWE or become the hottest thing in American wrestling. It’s a very good night but they need to do it again (as in beyond night two) for it to mean much. It’s a very good show though and they’re off to a great start in America. Now build on that and keep it at (or really near for that matter) this level and we’ll see where things go. Strong debut though.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Lucha Underground Date: June 28, 2017 Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
Another week, another four first round Cueto Cup matches. In other words, we might be getting one competitive match this week as the tournament hasn’t exactly been thrilling so far. The good thing though is it has been going by quickly, which is more than you can say for a lot of these things. Let’s get to it.
The opening video is a very quick tournament recap, plus looks at Killshot, Dante Fox and Jeremiah Crane.
Catrina tells Mil Muertes to destroy everyone, which he promises to do for her. They kiss and she demands the Cueto Cup. Jeremiah Crane watches from the shadows. You would think the supernatural powers would let them know he’s there.
Cueto Cup First Round: Mil Muertes vs. Veneno
That would be Cortez Castro under a mask as he’s still under cover (literally in this case). Muertes spears him down at the bell and it’s a heck of a stomping early on. The chokeslam and Flatliner send Muertes on at 1:10. Well that worked.
Catrina licks Veneno’s face (er, mask) after the match.
Cueto Cup First Round: Paul London vs. Vibora
London knocks him outside for some palm strikes to the chest but Vibora just stares him down. With that not working, London, I kid you not, holds Kobra Moon hostage with the carrot from his hat. Fans: “SAVE THE CARROT!” They get in for the first time with Vibora throwing London around but getting kicked in the face a few times. Vibora gets sent to the floor for a springboard trust fall but he does the Undertaker situp, only to have the rest of the Rabbit Tribe grab his feet for a countout at 3:54.
Rating: D+. There was a story here with the much younger monster being caught by the pesky and more experienced Rabbit Tribe. The carrot thing was entertaining enough (I have a soft spot for rabbits) and this keeps Vibora looking strong, which could be a good idea going forward.
Cueto Cup First Round: Taya vs. Joey Ryan
Joey does his lollipop schtick and gets kneed in the face for his efforts. Taya throws him back inside by the chest hair but gets superkicked off the apron. Back in and Joey takes too much time going up (with Striker saying this isn’t going to work) and gets slammed right back down. Taya misses a charge in the corner so Joey can give her a bit of a spank. That doesn’t go well as Joey gets suplexed and double stomped to give Taya the pin at 3:38.
Rating: D. Joey is rapidly losing the limited charm he had for me so far as the whole cop thing seems to have been forgotten at the moment. I’m sure they’ll get back to the point later on but for now, he’s just Joey Ryan doing the same stuff he does most of the time, just without the Ironman Heavymetalweight Title.
Jeremiah Crane beats up the suit clad Mil Muertes and seems to Pillmanize his neck because “she’s his”.
Wrestlers give their thoughts on John Morrison vs. Rey Mysterio. These videos have been VERY good ideas and it’s made the match feel like the biggest match the promotion has ever had.
Cueto Cup First Round: Jeremiah Crane vs. Killshot
Crane charges into a kick to the head to send him outside for a tumbling flip dive as they’re certainly starting fast. Killshot stays with it and hits a flip dive off the low balcony before hitting Crane in the face. That’s fine with Crane who whips him into the metal wall and grabs an exploder suplex on the floor.
A run around the ring builds up enough momentum for a cannonball through Killshot through some chairs in a sick sounding crash. They change pace by going inside where Killshot kicks him in the face for two. Killshot flips up into a cutter for two but gets caught in a brainbuster for the same. They trade the very loud strikes until both guys are knocked silly on the mat.
For some reason Crane spits in his face, earning himself a DDT out of the corner. With nothing else working, Killshot hits a Death Valley Driver on the apron, immediately followed by the top rope double stomp…for two? Cue Dante Fox for a distraction though, allowing Crane to hit Cranial Contusion (a Jay Driller) for the pin at 13:04.
Rating: B. That’s the match of the tournament so far and the match the tournament needed. So far most of them have been either squash matches or rather boring but these two were beating the heck out of each other and putting in the effort. In other words, it was something very entertaining and that’s a good sign.
Post match Catrina comes out to look at Crane, who blows her a kiss.
Dario Cueto is in his office and freaking out over the brackets so far. There’s a match spot to face Son of Havoc but luckily Dario has someone here to take the match. That would be….Son of Madness, who looks EXACTLY like Son of Havoc and says he’s from the open road. Dario is cool with this because he’s kind of an out there guy.
Overall Rating: C. The main event helped this one a lot as Lucha Underground has gone a few weeks without an especially good match. Thankfully the first round of the tournament wraps up next week and we have something curious to end this week’s show. It’s not a great show by any means but it’s better than what we’ve been seeing lately.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
NJPW Dominion 6-11: John Cena Wishes He Could Spam Moves Like This
Dominion 6:11 Date: June 11, 2017 Location: Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka, Japan Attendance: 11,756 Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Don Callis
So I’ve been trying to mix things up a bit with my style and this has been a requested show. Somehow having something up ten days late is a good sign for me, though given that I hadn’t planned on watching the show until about a week after it aired, this might not be too bad. The main event here is Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada II in a rematch from their non-six star match at Wrestle Kingdom XI. Let’s get to it.
As usual, keep in mind that I only watch a little bit of New Japan every year so I’m not going to know all of the details coming in. This is much more of an outsider’s perspective, though I do keep up with the company to a certain degree.
Pre-Show: David Finlay/Shota Umino/Tomoyuki Oka vs. Hirai Kawato/Katsuya Kitamura/Tetsuhiro Yagi
These are Young Lions, meaning…..well I think you can tell by the name. Finlay (who isn’t a Young Lion) is the only name I recognize so this could be quite the mess. Yagi and Shota strike it out to start and WHY ARE THEY ALL WEARING BLACK TRUNKS??? Come on it’s already hard enough to keep track of who is who in the first place (yes I’m aware it’s probably something like they have to earn their individuality or something) and now this.
It’s off to Finlay (thank goodness for the red trunks) vs. Kawato with the latter hitting a missile dropkick for two. Oka comes in for a slam and we hit something like a choke. Oka and Kitamura, the big power guys trade shoulder blocks, with both guys reeling back in pain for a nice touch.
Kitamura gets in a spear and gutwrench suplex but a chop puts him down for two. The tag brings in Finlay to get beaten up by….I think Kawato? Would a name on the trunks really be that much to ask? Finlay gets triple teamed and caught in a Boston crab but everything breaks down on the save. An uppercut gives Finlay two on Kawato and a Stunner is enough to put him away at 7:41.
Rating: C-. Totally watchable match here, assuming you don’t mind the lack of characters or needing picture ID’s to tell everyone apart. Then again it’s just a pre-show match so I don’t think they’re going for anything mind blowing here. Worry not though as you can feel the main event being over rated from here so I think the mind blowing part is going to be well covered.
Before we wrap up the pre-show, Callis promises seven stars in the main event. Unless Trent Seven is involved, let it go already.
As is tradition, the opening video goes on for the better part of a Ken Burns documentary and shows all the people in the major matches without a word of English to be found. That’s not meant as a criticism as this is primarily for the Japanese audience and the English commentary is usually quite good at explaining the basics.
Tiger Mask/Tiger Mask W/Togi Makabe/Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tenzan/Jushin Thunder Liger/Manabu Nakanishi/Satoshi Kojima
At least they’re in different looking gear. Nagata and Nakanishi, the two ancient ones, start things off and I actually checked to make sure I wasn’t watching this at half speed. Nakanishi chops away and refuses to be whipped into the ropes but gets dropkicked in the leg. A spinwheel kick to the head drops Nakanishi and it’s off to Tiger Mask (non-W I believe, meaning the older one) for some kicks.
The younger version comes in to help but Nakanishi is right back with a running chop to the original’s throat. Liger comes in to one heck of a reaction and a tilt-a-whirl slam before it’s off to Kojima. The rapid chops in the corner don’t seem to have much effect but a cutter drops Tiger Mask…..yeah I’m pretty sure it’s the one without the W. A double takedown allows the tag to Nagata (again with no W), who is quickly chopped down by Tenzan.
Yuji grabs a suplex and it’s off to Nakanishi vs. Makabe for the big exchange of power clotheslines. Everything breaks down and it’s a parade of hard shots to the face until Makabe blasts Nakanishi with another clothesline. Makabe’s top rope knee drop (The King Kong knee drop, which should be quite the heel move as I’d bet on this being a GODZILLA crowd. Unless they dislike him destroying their cities all the time, in which case Makabe might be the top star in the company. I’m so confused.) for the pin at 7:04.
Rating: C. I actually liked the first match a bit better but this was still more than good enough. The opening part really was bad though as Nagata vs. Nakanishi really did seem like it was the slowest thing I’ve ever seen. At least you could tell who everyone was here and that’s a major upgrade over the pre-show match.
Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi/Evil/Sanada) are defending but it’s Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale/Yujiro Takahashi/Hangman Page) vs. Chaos (Yoshi-Hashi/Toru Yano/Tomohiro Ishii) to start. I’ve been watching New Japan for a few years now and these teams seem to have been feuding the entire time.
Yujiro has a parade of good looking women in various stages of limited clothing with him, making him one of the better parts of the show so far. As usual, Yano has merch to hand out/sell, which is a gimmick that gets a little old but still has enough charm. Page kicks Ishii in the face to start and we hit the forearms that have no effect but wrestlers still do them because of strong style or fighting spirit or whatever they call standing there and growling at the moment.
It’s off to Yujiro vs. Hashi with the former biting the hand. Hashi’s running Blockbuster takes over and the monster Fale runs over the rest of Chaos. Fale and Ishii brawl into the crowd (rare around here) with Bad Luck leaving Ishii down but not doing anything to keep him down because he’s not that bright. Page gets two off a bridging fall away slam (Doesn’t that make it just a fall slam?) and everything breaks down again.
A reverse 3D gets two on Hashi as Fale has gone back outside to beat on Ishii again. Yano gets the hot tag and immediately removes a turnbuckle pad as he starts making me think he’s the Japanese Santino Marella. That earns him a beatdown (Someone not liking a comedy guy? Really?) but his partners come in for the save, including Ishii clotheslining Fale to the floor. Yano is right back with a double low blow on Page and Takahashi for the pin on the latter at 6:01.
Suzuki-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr./Yoshinobu Kanemura/Taichi) are in third with Yano sending Zack into the exposed buckle for two. Kanemura grabs a bottle of whiskey but Yano tries another low blow. That just earns him a very British looking rollup from Sabre for the pin at 8:20 total. Taguchi Japan (Ricochet/Juice Robinson/Ryusuke Taguchi) are in fourth and it’s a triple hip attack to start. It’s funny for some reason you see.
Ricochet and Robinson charge into Sabre in the corner and it’s a baseball joke with Robinson’s cannonball acting as the pitch. I’m really hoping that’s something being lost in translation as it feels like a No Way Jose gag (not the worst thing in the world). Sabre’s partners remember they’re in the match and beat on Taguchi, including a soccer style kick as this is one of the weirdest serious matches I’ve ever seen.
Everything breaks down again with Ricochet and Robinson beating the heck out of Sabre, including an elevated shooting star press for two. The rapid alternating continues as Robinson gets triple teamed. You know if any of these teams ever got on the same page, they’d clean house. A Buzzsaw Kick gets two on Juice…..and Taichi takes off his pants. Kanemura is a proponent of the pants and mists Taichi by mistake (I’m sure).
Pulp Friction (Unprettier) ends Taichi at 15:37. We’re not done yet though as Sabre grabs an Octopus Hold on Robinson during most of Los Ingobernables’ entrance. The champs destroy everyone else as this is already looking one sided. Robinson gets elbowed down and a backsplash gives Evil two. A leg lariat drops Sanada and the hot tag brings in Ricochet to really clean house like only a Kentucky boy can.
Unfortunately he does that stupid spot where he throws two opponents together, forcing one to DDT the other. Ricochet gets clotheslined to the floor so it’s Taguchi with another hip attack. The Tower of Doom puts everyone down again, including Ricochet catching Evil in a sitout powerbomb. Ricochet actually tags Taguchi, who walks right into a Backstabber for two. Everything breaks down again (I’m getting tired of typing that) and it’s Taguchi putting Bushi in an ankle lock. Sanada makes the save with a dragon sleeper though and Bushi adds a middle rope Codebreaker to retain at 23:56.
Rating: C. This was messier than it needed to be and while the last bit was good, it felt like they were just throwing all these people together for the sake of throwing them together. From what I can tell, these titles change hands faster than Impact changes their story about why their audiences never grow. Having this many people in a row wasn’t the best idea but there was some good action to help carry things.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice
The Bucks are challenging and my goodness the amount of praise they get from commentary is unreal. They’re already the Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions and the Superkick Champions because…..I have no idea really. We’re ready to go after the long weapons check and it’s Berreta vs. Matt to start things off.
The first superkick connects less than thirty seconds in and the Bucks take over in a hurry. A double clothesline drops the challengers and Berreta follows them out with a big running flip dive. Nick grabs Rocky for an apron bomb, followed by driving the back into the post a few times. This is probably as close to psychology as you’re going to get in a Bucks match so enjoy it while you can.
Back in and Berreta gets double teamed as the Vice roles have been reversed since their match at Wrestle Kingdom. Matt grabs a Sharpshooter of all things as a whole new branch of 90s offense is tapped. A wheelbarrow cutter gives Nick two but Matt charges into a double stomp in the corner to give the champ a breather. Rocky is back on the apron, only to have Matt pull him down for a powerbomb onto the ramp. I’m glad they did something else as you can only have someone stay down for so long.
The Swanton to the elevated Berreta on the floor gets two but More Bang For Your Buck is broken up. A Shining Wizard into a piledriver stuns Nick for two but Berreta is spent. Romero finally comes back in for a quick Strong Zero but Nick dives in with a Swanton for the save. Berreta actually makes the tag off to Romero for some house cleaning, including a double hurricanrana and double clothesline. Everything breaks down again and it’s a superkick to Romero, followed by a German suplex onto the apron.
Back in and Romero gets caught in the Sharpshooter with Nick adding a slingshot X Factor for a great cutoff. Somehow Romero powers up and dives over for the break. More Bang For Your Buck is countered into a crucifix for two, followed by a small package out of the Sharpshooter for the same. Berreta gets taken out again though and it’s the Indytaker into the Sharpshooter to make Romero tap away the titles at 14:13.
Rating: B+. That’s pretty easily the best Bucks match that I can remember and SO much of it is due to the lack of superkicks. They were actually having a match here instead of just goofing off and doing all their shenanigans. That makes them even more frustrating: it’s clear that they can do something great here with working the back and cutting off the partner but instead they go with the easy stuff and ruining the superkick because it’s funny (or something). Very good stuff though and that’s amazingly refreshing.
IWGP Tag Team Titles: Guerillas of Destiny vs. War Machine
War Machine is defending but the Guerillas jump them to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Tama hammers on Rowe and gets in a hard clothesline to drop the much bigger man. As is customary, this means a lot of swearing from the Guerillas but it’s off to Hanson to show off the real power.
Both Guerillas are stacked up on top of each other for the pounding forearms to the chest. The fans actually seem to like War Machine better as Hanson gets splashed in the corner. Hanson turns Loa inside out with a clothesline of his own and it’s back to Rowe. Loa laughs like the Joker but gets caught in a Rock Bottom (Loa: “OH S***!”). Everything breaks down again with Hanson getting the better of it and doing his screaming running clotheslines in the corner.
Loa spears Rowe and hits….something like a swinging reverse DDT on Hanson. Tama and Rowe slug it out until Loa comes back in with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Hanson is back up and throws Tama at Rowe for a springboard clothesline. Somehow that’s only good for two and Loa breaks up Fallout to save the match.
Rowe breaks up a quick Guerilla Warfare attempt and powerbombs Tama, setting up Hanson’s top rope splash for a rather close two. Back up and Rowe pops Tama up for something but he pulls Hanson down into a cutter. The referee gets bumped and it’s chair time with Rowe getting blasted in the back, setting up Guerilla Warfare (a bad looking elevated DDT) for the pin and the titles at 10:52.
Rating: B-. This company really likes changing its titles at the big shows. That being said, I like both teams as they both feel different enough than most of the people in this promotion. The match wasn’t great but it was certainly entertaining, with the biggest problem being that it came after the Bucks match. At least it was a fun brawl, albeit one with a bad ending.
The new champs pose in the chair after the win.
Cody vs. Michael Elgin
Just a way to get them both on the card here. Cody offers a cartwheel to start but Elgin shoulders him down and shows Cody the proper cartwheeling technique (I hear he won the Nevada state title back in 95). Since it worked so well the first time, Cody hits a vertical suplex, only to have Elgin pick Cody up for an eighteen second version. Callis says it was over thirty, meaning that bad timing skills are also a Canadian/Japanese problem.
It’s time for the loud chops with Cody in big trouble only a few minutes in. Cody finally grabs an Alabama Slam for a breather but he tries chopping Elgin in the corner. It’s Flair vs. Sting all over again, even capped off by Cody cutting him down at the leg to stay in control. The springboard missile dropkick lets Cody taunt him a bit…..so Mike grabs him by the throat for a Rock Bottom. That’ll teach him, or at least it should.
Naturally Mike does Cody’s taunt right back to him before rolling a few German suplexes. A Blue Thunder Bomb gets two but Cody pulls him down into the Trailer Hitch (modified Indian Deathlock) for little effect. Cross Rhodes are broken up but one heck of a clothesline drops Cody. Elgin tries the apron superplex, only to have Cody slip down the back for Cross Rhodes and the pin at 11:52.
Rating: C+. This was your standard formula match with the power vs. athleticism. That’s the kind of formula that is always going to work and there’s nothing wrong with having a match like that fill in about fifteen minutes on the card, especially with people who have serious potential like these two. Nice little match here.
Cody wants Christopher Daniels and Okada
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Kushida vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Kushida is challenging after losing the title to Takahashi and then losing the rematch in less than two minutes. He’s since won the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament to earn another shot. They start fast with Takahashi trying the Time Bomb but settling for an exchange of forearms to the face. The early slugout sends both guys to exhaustion, which really isn’t a good sign in what is likely to be a long match.
They chop it out again with neither getting much of an advantage again. Takahashi sends him flying into the corner with an overhead belly to belly for the first real advantage but he can’t follow up. Things settle down considerably but the fans are right there with Kushida. We hit the chinlock on Kushida, which seems rather odd in this promotion. I know they’re uses but it’s not something that feels right around here.
Back up and Takahashi misses a charge and gets caught in a cross armbreaker underneath the ropes. It’s quickly broken but that seems to have fired Kushida right back up. Kushida actually sets up some chairs and the fans are NOT happy with the idea, only to turn around when he uses one as a springboard for a dropkick against the barricade. Back in and it’s time to start in on the arm but Takahashi catches a handspring in a German suplex (anyone who has wrestled Marty Scurll would know to NEVER TRY A FREAKING SPRINGBOARD! UNLESS YOU’RE TAJIRI OF COURSE!).
They head up top with Kushida grabbing a Hoverboard Lock and pulling Takahashi right back down with it. Back to the Future (It’s a small package driver with another AMAZING name) is broken up so it’s back to the Hoverboard Lock but Takahashi escapes with a hard clothesline. Kushida heads to the apron but takes a cringe inducing (seriously) sunset bomb to the floor.
Takahashi takes him back in for a Death Valley Driver into the corner but puts Kushida on top for some reason. As you might expect, that means a super Back to the Future (thud) for no cover from the spent Kushida. We get the slugout from the knees with Kushida PUNCHING HIM IN THE NECK but both guys go down again. The fans boo Kushida stomping on him so it’s the Hoverboard Lock again and Takahashi taps at 19:14.
Rating: A. That’s one of the fastest nineteen minute matches I’ve ever seen. These two were beating the heck out of each other and it was a blast to watch from beginning to end. It felt like they couldn’t stand one another and that makes for an entertaining fight. They also played up the story of Kushida trying to claw his way back, which is an awesome story. I mean, it would have been much better if it wasn’t just a five month story but points for going with something entertaining.
Kushida thanks the fans but Bushi and Evil come out with the former misting the new champ.
Never Openweight Title: Hirooki Goto vs. Minoru Suzuki
Suzuki, an old man invading, is defending and this is a lumberjack death match, which means lumberjack. Both guys also have stables and we’re still in STABLE WARS!!! Feeling out process to start so let’s look at the Japanese commentary team instead. Arm cranking goes nowhere so Suzuki takes him up to the ropes and shoves him in the face a bit.
They start chopping it out with Suzuki rolling outside but being thrown back inside almost immediately. That works so well that they do the same thing with the roles reversed as this isn’t exactly deathtastic so far. Goto is sent outside again and now the lumberjacks get into it, allowing Suzuki to hit a running boot to the face. Suzuki drops a piece of the barricade on him and it’s more Suzuki-Gun interference.
Back in and Suzuki keeps up the hard strikes and some arm holds. Another brawl on the floor has Jushin Thunder Liger nearly jumping off commentary to fight Suzuki, drawing easily the loudest pop of the match. Goto scores with a lariat back inside and it’s time to forearm each other really hard again. They’re tough like that you see. Suzuki gets the better of it but throws Goto into the referee, drawing in the lumberjacks for the brawl.
Yoshi-Hashi hits a flip dive onto everyone else and it’s time to fight over chokes. The GTR (a spinning forearm to the chest into a backbreaker) gets two with a guy named Taichi coming in and pulling the referee out. One heck of a chair shots from Taichi knocks Goto out and a jumping Gotch Style piledriver retains Suzuki’s title at 16:01.
Rating: D+. As is almost always the case, I just don’t care about these matches. I don’t see the appeal of hitting each other really hard and turning it into a toughman contest, but that might just be a cultural thing. I need something more to connect to than “He can get hit really hard but THIS GUY can get hit even harder!” That and all the interference got old in a hurry as I have little idea who most of these people are and it’s basically just two groups hating each other for reasons not important enough to explain.
Yoshi-Hashi saves Goto from further damage so Suzuki offers a challenge.
We actually recap Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi. Naito defended his Intercontinental Title against Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom to complete Tanahashi’s downfall but now Tanahashi is back for revenge. In other words, rebel vs. tradition.
Intercontinental Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
Naito is defending and has damaged the title by throwing it around, leaving the metal broken in a few places. Tanahashi goes right after him to start and they slug it out on the floor in a rare display of aggression from the good guy. Naito sends Tanahashi’s bad arm into the post to slow him down but a dropkick sends the champ into the barricade. They slug it out until it’s time to go after the arm, which doesn’t sit well with the fans.
The announcers actually explain Naito destroying the belt: he thinks there are too many titles and wants it to be retired. That’s……really different and I kind of love it actually. Naito sends him outside and poses, followed by a tornado DDT off the apron. Tanahashi is back in at nineteen (still takes time to get used to) and it’s off to an arm lock. Back up and Tanahashi actually SPITS on Naito, which is way out of character for him.
We hit the forearm exchange (actually they do but you get the idea) and a dragon screw legwhip takes Naito down by his banged up knee. Naito tries to bail but gets his leg banged against the apron as Tanahashi is showing extra aggression, which makes perfect sense in a big match. It’s too early for the Cloverleaf so Naito goes back to the arm with a pair of dropkicks.
The bad arm gets tied up again but Tanahashi reverses a suplex into a neckbreaker. High Fly Flow only hits mat though and it’s time for another big slapoff. Tanahashi has had it though and grabs both arms for a big German suplex for the slowest two I can remember in a good while.
Naito grabs his own German suplex and Destino for two, only to have Tanahashi pop up with the Sling Blade. The High Fly Flow is good for another near fall and you can hear some of the energy go out of the crowd on the kickout. The Cloverleaf goes on with Tanahashi almost turning it into a Liontamer to FINALLY make Naito tap at 25:58 and earn redemption.
Rating: A-. This was all about the storytelling and the leg/arm stuff worked very well. You could feel the idea Tanahashi fighting for everything he could with Naito relying on his normal stuff and not being able to hang in there at the end. It’s very similar to the Kushida story but this was just a hair better from a storytelling perspective, albeit not quite from the wrestling perspective.
We recap Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega for the IWGP World Title. They had the most overrated match of all time (which was great) at Wrestle Kingdom and now Okada has challenged Omega for the rematch.
IWGP World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada
Omega is challenging and has the Young Bucks in his corner. Feeling out process to start (of course, because this is going to be a long one) with Omega taking it to the mat and kicking Okada in the shoulder for a break. Omega can’t hit a neckbreaker and gets slammed down, only to block a hilo with raised knees. Neither can hit their finisher early but Okada tweaks his knee on a dropkick. As is so often the case in a main event match.
It’s fine enough to knock Omega outside for a flip dive but the knee goes out again. Back in and it’s time for the dropkicks to the knee, including a missile version which has Callis calling Omega a world class athlete. That’s certainly not overkill based on a freaking dropkick or anything. A Figure Four stays on the knee and they head outside with the knee going into various objects.
At least Omega is smart enough to stay on the knee for a bit before kicking at the back to annoy Okada again. A flapjack drops Omega but Okada can’t follow up thanks to the knee. They head outside again with Okada shoving him over the barricade and hitting a running dive. As you might expect, the knee goes out again and Okada can’t immediately follow up. Back in and Omega gets caught in an over the back neckbreaker but still avoids the top rope elbow.
Omega sends him outside again and it’s a top rope Asai moonsault, followed by a springboard missile dropkick for two. A loud sitout powerbomb gets the same but Okada gets his knees up on a middle rope moonsault. Okada goes up top but blocks the dragon superplex and hits a Death Valley Driver onto the apron. A VERY hard dropkick sense Omega into the barricade and Kenny is dazed. Callis: “It’s like being kicked by a horse.” Has Callis ever been hit by a horse? I doubt it, but that’s better than JR’s “Big Show’s headbutt is like being hit by a typewriter.”
It’s table time but Omega can’t get him up for the powerbomb (I’m sure Omega nearly dropping him was COMPLETELY intentional and not in any way, shape or form a mistake in this match that has been rated 125% on the star scale). Okada drops him again and hits the top rope elbow for no cover. Instead he goes back up, only to have Omega catch him for a superplex. He crosses Okada’s legs before lifting him, which is supposed to add something to it but it’s the exact same landing.
The V Trigger (knee to the head) is blocked and Okada rolls some German suplexes into a weak Rainmaker (you know, like it almost always looks) for two. Omega is back up with a sitout powerbomb for his own near fall and both guys are spent. Back up and another Rainmaker is countered into the snap dragon suplex but Okada throws him on top for a dropkick to the floor.
The huge top rope elbow puts Omega somewhat through the table (cracked but didn’t break) and it’s back inside for another dropkick. Of course the announcers are RIGHT THERE again to tell us how completely and utterly in awe they are of Okada’s dropkick. I didn’t know if them doing that the first 198 times during the match sunk in or not. Omega keeps swinging from his knees but eats a pair of Rainmakers (perhaps the worst of them I can remember as THEY’RE JUST STANDING CLOTHESLINES!
Okada walks around instead of covering and here’s Bullet Club with Cody holding a towel. The Bucks keep him from throwing it in and Omega hits a reverse hurricanrana to get a breather. Omega throws the towel down and charges straight into another dropkick. The fourth Rainmaker is broken up with a loud knee to the face for two (This is REAL wrestling! Not that nonsense trading of finishers that WWE does!) in a great near fall.
The One Winged Angel FINALLY connects but Okada gets his foot on the ropes. It’s a very good false finish, though it would have been better (like SIX AND THREE QUARTER STARS) if Omega hadn’t turned toward the ropes before hitting it for no apparent reason other than to set up the kickout. Omega does his pose again, allowing Okada to grab the wrist for the fourth Rainmaker of the match. No cover of course as the match is now longer than the Wrestle Kingdom version.
They slug it out again with Okada actually going down (a rare sight in one of these things), only to pop back up with another dropkick (WE GET IT ALREADY! Both the dropkick and how FREAKING AMAZING THE THING IS KELLY!). More knees (I’ve lost count on how many of those Omega has hit) drop Okada for two and a running version to the back knocks Okada silly. Another One Winged Angel is countered into the Tombstone (Hokey smoke a fresh finisher!) but Okada can’t follow up.
Instead he starts screaming but Omega collapses to avoid another Rainmaker. Since that standing clothesline is just SO hard though, Okada stumbles forward and can’t get up. They fight over a Tombstone until Omega settles for another knee to the head….as we’re told there’s five minutes left. Another running knee looks to set up what looked to be a Tombstone but Okada slips out and hits another dropkick. A spinning Tombstone plants Omega for no cover as we fill in more time.
Okada picks him up and gets small packaged in an outstanding false finish. ANOTHER FREAKING DROPKICK puts Omega down with two minutes left. Kenny grabs the ropes to block the Rainmaker with a minute left and another dragon suplex gets no cover. Instead Okada dropkicks him into the fifth Rainmaker (Take THAT John Cena with your five AA’s a match. Japan’s big names can do it too!) but time runs out at 60:03 (far closer than most hour draws go so points for that).
Rating: A-. I liked the Wrestle Kingdom match better but that’s not to say this isn’t a great match. The problem here should be obvious: I was so sick of the same dropkicks/jumping knee/RAINMAKER (because putting it in all caps instantly makes it cooler)/Tombstone sequences by the end that they stopped meaning anything to me. Anyone is going to run out of stuff to do by the end of a sixty minute match so I can’t blame them for it, but don’t act like them doing the same stuff over and over like that again for forty minutes is some amazing, never before seen formula. That brings us to the other big problem.
Meltzer giving this six and a quarter stars is downright laughable. What I’m supposed to believe is that this match is TWENTY FIVE PERCENT BETTER than any other five star match in history. Twenty five percent better than every match in the Steamboat vs. Flair trilogy, than Austin vs. Hart, than Michaels vs. Undertaker in the Cell, or in any of the roughly 183 tag matches he gave the rating to from Japan in the 90s.
Just…..no. Quite literally no, it’s not that good. Nothing can be, which is why I rolled my eyes when I saw what he rated the match. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with liking a style more than another (I do it, as does every reviewer around, because wrestling is very subjective) but this was some of the worst hyperbole I’ve seen in a good while. I had a good time watching it but again, it didn’t need to be an hour long. You could cut out a good fifteen minutes (like the knee stuff, which wound up meaning NOTHING after about half an hour in) and it’s a better match, though still not six and a quarter stars, or really anything close.
Now that being said, yes the match is excellent and an incredible athletic display. They were selling like they were dead at the end to really put over how much they were laying into each other. Okada came off as the star here with Omega not doing the same level of stuff that he was doing back in January (not to say he wasn’t working hard but January was a once in a lifetime performance). Great match, but I liked both Wrestle Kingdom and Kushida’s match earlier tonight better.
Both guys are gassed and the announcers officially call it a draw and do the standard wrestling thing of comparing it to other matches of the same style over the years. The ending is praised as well, though I’m not sure on that as Okada had him beaten, which doesn’t quite set up a rematch very well. There will be a rematch of course but it could have been done better.
Gedo puts Okada over and the guys get a standing ovation.
There was a post show press conference which I won’t watch because I don’t speak Japanese. The only news though is Cody challenging Okada, who he’ll face at the North American debut in early July.
Overall Rating: A-. Let’s get the big problem out of the way: this show is REALLY, REALLY long at nearly six hours. If you’re going to watch it, fast forward through the entrances and watch it in shifts, which is standard advice for almost all of the big wrestling shows around the world these days. Six hours is just too much to sit through at once and there’s no much of a way around that.
That being said, it’s a great show and certainly worth checking out (though you could skip a match or two and be fine). The two big matches are both outstanding and the Junior Heavyweight Title match is even better, making those three matches must see. The tag matches might vary a bit depending on your taste and the gauntlet match could have been cut down significantly (have the teams on the floor or something). The Never Title match is VERY subjective and while it’s not my style, I know that kind of stuff has a strong following.
As usual, it’s a show I had a good time with but nothing I’m interested in following up on. I’m probably going to increase my New Japan watching a bit going forward, though I’m probably maxing it out at four to five shows a year tops (probably closer to three or four). I probably won’t be covering the tournament finals and there’s virtually no way I’m doing anything but major pay per views. I’ll certainly be doing Wrestle Kingdom (and before people ask me this time) and probably this show plus a few others. New Japan is a lot of fun with some excellent wrestling but them coming to America could be quite a shock for them.
Yes they’re popular with their core audience, but there’s a VERY big difference between the Japanese wrestling fans and the American wrestling fans. You can wrestle this style and bring in all these other names, but if that style is so successful over here, why does no one but WWE draw more than 5,000 fans a night? Maybe New Japan will be different, but I’m really not sure I see it happening. They could surpass Ring of Honor, but is that really a major accomplishment these days? Anyway, great show, but be ready to fast forward some stuff.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Lucha Underground – June 21, 2017: This Season is Way Too Long
Lucha Underground Date: June 21, 2017 Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
It’s week #2 of the Cueto Cup Tournament, which likely means four more first round matches as we get closer to the round of sixteen. In other words, we’re still filling in time because this season is WAY too long and they don’t have anything else to use all these episodes on. Let’s get to it.
The opening video recaps the tournament and last week’s match. Oh and that whole Cage murdering Councilman Delgado thing.
Melissa Santos hits on Fenix but Marty the Moth is watching from behind a wall like the stalker he is. That being said, Melissa came up to see Fenix as he arrived so he shouldn’t know Melissa was there. That also being said, that might be the most logical things around here.
Cueto Cup First Round: Cage vs. Vinnie Massaro
Vinnie tries to slap away at the monster to start and that’s probably why he’s not booked around here too often. Cage unloads on him in the corner but a thumb to the eye actually gets Vinnie a breather. It’s just a breath though as Vinnie gets clotheslined to the floor, followed by a spinebuster back inside. The straps come down but Vinnie actually scores with an STO. For some reason he goes after Cage’s gauntlet though, earning himself a bunch of clotheslines in the corner. The Screwdriver ends Vinnie at 3:31.
Rating: D. This should have been more one sided as we’re coming off Cage murdering someone who seemed to be a major power on the show. Massaro is just a jobber and he played his part fine, but this should have been more of domination to really hammer home Cage’s newfound power/aggression.
Cage puts the gauntlet on and beats on Massaro a bit more. A chokeslam puts the bloody Massaro on the floor.
Another video on Rey Mysterio, this time focusing on his mask. They’re certainly treating the title match as something really important, which helps out a lot.
Johnny Mundo, in pants again, trains with kendo sticks.
Cueto Cup First Round: Marty Martinez vs. Saltador
Saltador is the one who looks like a black and white checker board and offers his arm so Marty can put on a hammerlock. Marty grabs the wrist but the odd Saltador walks through the ropes and to the apron for the break. A dropkick sends Marty into the ropes and Saltador ties Marty’s legs in the ropes to continue the odd offense. That’s cool with Marty though who throws Saltador into the wall at ringside to really take over. Fans: “LET’S GET WEIRD!” I’d prefer we get Chinese but I haven’t had supper yet.
Saltador comes out of the corner with an ankle scissors and a springboard hurricanrana, followed by a very loud superkick for two. Marty has had it with someone being odder than him so he grabs a German suplex, followed by an exploder into the corner. A double underhook into a gutbuster is enough to put Saltador away at 7:12.
Rating: D+. Saltador certainly was odd but Marty moving forward was all that made sense here. The good thing about a promotion like Lucha Underground is the fact that they have enough people and gimmicks running around that you can run a tournament with people you might remember, which keeps things from getting too boring. This was more entertaining than I was expecting and that’s a big positive.
The Rabbit Tribe worships Mascarita Sagrada but he shakes them off and leaves.
Marty hangs out in his Melissa shrine but his sister Mariposa shows up to scare him. She promises to hurt him if they wind up facing off in the next round.
Cueto Cup First Round: Pindar vs. Mascarita Sagrada
The much smaller Sagrada gets thrown around to start and I have a feeling that’s going to be a theme here. As you might expect, Sagrada comes back with a headscissors and armdrag, followed by a running flip dive through the ropes. Back in and Pindar scores with a pop up cutter before hammering away in the corner.
The SI SE PUEDE chants don’t do Sagrada much good but the really spinny headscissors does. Kobra Moon’s interference doesn’t do much good and Mascarita’s moonsault gets two. Pindar has had it with him though and it’s a superkick to knock Sagrada silly. Pindar tosses him into the air for an X Factor and the pin at 5:58.
Rating: C-. This was actually a bit better than I was expecting with Pindar being a good choice to beat the heck out of Sagrada. You can only get so far with someone Sagrada’s size being a featured performer in a tournament like this but at least he only lasted about six minutes.
Cueto Cup First Round: Mariposa vs. Fenix
Santos still has a thing for Fenix. Mariposa isn’t interested in a handshake but Striker is interested in talking as fast as he can and telling us what we can see for ourselves. A tilt-a-whirl DDT plants Fenix and knocks him to the floor for a hurricanrana. Back in and a springboard version of Mysterio’s sitout bulldog gets two. Fenix kicks her in the head for the same and palm strikes her silly, setting up the Fenix Driver for the pin at 5:48.
Rating: C-. Too short to mean much but it was nice to have some kind of storyline development aside from just this massive tournament. The match was decent enough flying around but they needed to do a little more than Mariposa being able to keep up with Fenix. At least Santos being in a story for a change is interesting.
Marty runs in and goes after Fenix, scaring Melissa again.
Overall Rating: D. So let’s recap: we’re taking away the most interesting thing Lucha Underground does and replacing it with short matches that don’t have time to really go anywhere. At least we’re halfway done with the first round but I have a bad feeling about how much time is going to be dedicated to this thing in the name of filling in all kinds of time on this never ending season.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Lucha Underground – June 14, 2017: Murder and a Tournament
Lucha Underground Date: June 14, 2017 Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
It’s tournament time, which isn’t the most best description in the world around here. This time around it’s the start of the Cueto Cup, with the winner getting a Lucha Underground Title shot at Ultima Lucha Tres. Tonight we have first round matches, which could eat up a good chunk of time in a thirty two person tournament. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Dario Cueto’s announcements last week, as well as Drago turning on his partners to join the villains. There’s also a clip of the Black Lotus Tribe destroying Pentagon Dark…..whenever that was.
Pentagon comes in to see Dario, who has a bracket board in his office, just in case you wanted him to get even more awesome. Dario doesn’t think much of him being back but Pentagon goes after the arm, earning himself a spot in the tournament. Before leaving, Pentagon promises to break some bones if he doesn’t win something at Ultima Lucha.
Cueto Cup First Round: Mala Suerte vs. The Mack
They flip around to start with Mack grabbing an armdrag. The fast pace continues until a standoff but Suerte stops to pose instead of following up. That man needs a role model. Suerte’s chops have no effect so Mack Samoan drops him for two. A hurricanrana takes Mack down for a basement dropkick and some arm waving.
That just seems to tick Mack off as he grabs an exploder suplex for two more. Suerte’s release German suplex sends Mack flying and Mala heads up top, despite Mack being 90% of the way across the ring. Instead of jumping though, Mala drops down and runs across the ring for a backsplash. Eh cute enough. Suerte misses a Swanton though and the Stunner advances Mack at 7:31.
Rating: C. This looked like a squash on paper but Suerte wound up getting in enough offense to make things entertaining. Mack is coming off back to back Lucha Underground Title matches though and it wasn’t likely to have him lose to a low level performer like Suerte this early on.
Cage, still wearing the gauntlet (which is still shooting electricity), is lifting when Dario comes in. The boss thinks Cage should meet Councilman Delgado but Cage doesn’t seem interested. Dario insists though, because he’s not scared of a giant wearing a powerful weapon.
Cueto Cup First Round: Argenis vs. Pentagon Dark
Argenis tries to handspring off the ropes and gets dropkicked in the mask for his efforts. Pentagon takes the knee out and it’s one sided to start. A hurricanrana drops Pentagon but he kicks Argenis in the head to take over again. An exchange of superkicks goes to Pentagon but Argenis is able to take him outside. That’s about it for his offense at the moment though as Pentagon kicks him in the face a third time. Argenis gets two off a neckbreaker, only to get suplexed into the corner. The pumphandle driver gives Pentagon two so it’s a package piledriver to put Argenis away at 5:44.
Rating: C+. Pentagon comes off like someone who knows how to maul people and it’s very entertaining to watch him do so. This was completely one sided with Pentagon toying with Argenis from bell to bell. If Pentagon doesn’t go a very long way in this tournament, there’s something wrong with this promotion.
Pentagon breaks Argenis’ arm for a second time, just because he can.
Cueto Cup First Round: Famous B. vs. Texano
B. yells at Melissa Santos for not introducing him from Texas. He needs a stud like Texano in his stable so he’s willing to let Texano get an uncontested pin. B. lays down but Texano picks him up at two, setting up a sitout powerbomb for the pin at 25 seconds.
Famous B.’s valet Brenda gives Texano a little spank, which he doesn’t seem to mind.
Video on Rey Mysterio getting ready to challenge Johnny Mundo for the Lucha Underground Title.
Cueto Cup First Round: Aerostar vs. Drago
Striker reminds us of their best of five series and when you add in following matches, they’re 3-3 against each other. It’s nice to have them add in stories like that for some interest in what should be nothing matches otherwise. You know, ignoring the whole betrayal last week. Drago is now in red and on Kobra Moon’s leash.
Aerostar offers a handshake to start but Drago won’t do it. With Aerostar’s back turned, Drago hesitates to hit him but a smile from Moon turns him more evil and Aerostar is in trouble to start. Aerostar grabs a drop toehold to send him into the middle buckle, only to eat a dropkick. This might be more entertaining if Striker would drop the hissing sounds whenever talking about Moon. A hurricanrana and kick to the head stagger Drago but he catches a springboard in a cutter for two.
They look at each other for a second and again, Drago doesn’t seem to want to do this. Aerostar hits a suicide dive to send Drago into the stairs but bangs himself up even worse at the same time. Some cheap shots from Moon keep Aerostar down and Drago fires off some more kicks. Aerostar is right back with a freaky modified Texas Cloverleaf while laying on his back with a bodyscissors around Drago’s ribs. It’s broken in just a few seconds but it certainly looked cool. Drago comes right back with the Dragon’s Tail for the pin at 7:26.
Rating: D+. This was much more about the storyline than the match and that’s not often a good thing. The Kobra Moon stuff really isn’t all that interesting and it would have been nice to have a refresher after so many months away from the story. At least the logical winner moved forward though and the story can continue in the Trios Titles matches.
Drago lays Aerostar out after the match, again at Moon’s wishes.
Cage goes to City Hall where Councilman Delgado promises Cage more power as their work begins. Cage then chokes Delgado against a wall….and PUNCHES HIS FACE IN, apparently murdering the Councilman because Cage is a machine and not a man.
Overall Rating: D+. This was about moving stories forward instead of the matches and that’s not the best thing in the world when we’re in the start of such a long story. Assuming four matches a week, we’re looking at four straight weeks of first round matches before we really move to the bigger stuff. Then again we had a murder on this show as Cage continues to become a potentially huge bad. Not the worst show here but it’s a first step of a long way.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Lucha Underground – June 7, 2017: No Time For Pants
Lucha Underground Date: June 7, 2017
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
After last week’s one idea show, it’s time to mix things up a bit. This time around we have a few fresh ideas, plus more of the same one. We’ll be seeing Lucha Underground Champion Johnny Mundo vs. The Mack, one fall to a finish for the title. Other than that….who knows around this place. Let’s get to it.
The opening video looks at Prince Puma’s near death, Drago being kidnapped and last week’s title match.
Puma is going crazy in front of a mirror when Rey Mysterio comes up. Rey wants to check on his buddy but Puma doesn’t want his help. Vampiro appears in the mirror to threaten Rey, who breaks the mirror.
The announcers welcome us to the show. As usual, Vampiro makes no mention of the backstage stuff.
Lucha Underground Title: Johnny Mundo vs. The Mack
Mundo is defending and I always forget how awesome the Lucha Underground Title looks. Before the match, Dario Cueto comes in to announce everything, including making this falls count anywhere. Mack takes him straight down and gets two off a standing moonsault. Johnny will have none of that and hammers away but the Flying Chuck is countered into something like a Stunner for two.
They head outside with Mack hitting something like a Cannonball into the empty chairs (which had fans in them a few seconds ago), sending Johnny trying to crawl away. That’s fine with Mack who slams him onto a pile of chairs for two. A big chair shot misses but Johnny uses the powers of Parkour to escape.
Cue Ricky Mandel for a distraction, allowing Johnny to dive out of the crowd and take Mack down. Sexy Star comes out to get rid of Ricky so it’s time for a very slow slug out. Now it’s PJ Black coming out from underneath the ring to blast Mack with a kendo stick. A quick Stunner on the apron sends Black through a table but Mundo takes Mack down again. The End of the World hits knees though and Mack grabs a sitout powerbomb for two. Mack can’t suplex him to the floor onto the chairs so here’s Taya for a distraction, allowing Mundo to hit a sunset bomb onto the chairs for the pin to retain at 9:47.
Rating: B. They didn’t waste any time here and just started beating each other up. When you have a match that goes for nearly an hour, there’s no point in feeling each other out here and they didn’t waste their time as a result. Mack being overwhelmed by the numbers game helped and there’s no reason to have Mundo lose the title yet. Save that for something huge, especially with someone who has to deal with the Worldwide Underground first.
Here’s Dario for an announcement. We’re only at the halfway point of the season (I really wouldn’t bring that up boss) but we’ve already seen several new concepts. Now he has a new idea so here’s Melissa Santos with a trophy called the Cueto Cup. Starting next week, there will be a thirty two person tournament with the winner getting not only the cup but the Lucha Underground Title shot at Ultima Lucha Tres.
The question is who will the winner face. Well the Lucha Underground Title will also be on the line the night the cup is awarded with Rey Mysterio getting a shot. Right now though, let’s have a Trios Titles match! As usual, they got the point across in a hurry and Cueto nailed it. This company is so efficient with this stuff and it makes things a lot easier to watch.
Trios Titles: Aero Star/Drago/Fenix vs. Kobra Moon/Pindar/Vibora
Aero Star and company are defending. Pindar and Aero Star start things off as Striker is in really annoying analytical mode again. A springboard corkscrew dive takes Pindar down and a springboard hurricanrana sends him outside. Back in and Vibora kicks Aero Star in the face and we hit the chinlock. Striker explains why the placement of the arm keeps Aero Star conscious because that’s what he thinks commentary is about.
Aero Star fights out of the corner and grabs a super hurricanrana, allowing Fenix to come in and clean house. The tag looks to go to Drago….who mists Aero Star instead. He walks over and takes Moon’s place because she was never officially in the match. Somehow this allows Drago to go up top for a splash on Aero Star for the pin and the titles at 5:34.
Rating: C. So it’s the Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes story? I’m still not 100% sure what the story is between Drago and Kobra Moon but I’m assuming it’s something that it’s something where they’re going a bit too far to try to be creative. Vibora and Pindar aren’t the most interesting either and the story is really hurting as a result.
Mundo gets out of the shower and tells Mandel that they should celebrate all night long. Before that can get awkward, Taya comes in to tell Johnny about his match against Mysterio. Mundo sends Mandel off to deal with things and goes off to train, still in the towel. Johnny: “No time for pants.”
Mil Muertes vs. Prince Puma
Street fight. Puma, in a shirt to start, comes in through the crowd to dropkick Muertes down. Another dropkick sends Mil to the floor for a dive but takes too long setting up a table, allowing Muertes to spear him through the wood. Vampiro can’t speak as Muertes DDTs him on the floor.
That goes nowhere as Puma hits him with a sign and gets in a DDT of his own. Another sign to the head slows Puma down and Mil knocks him up the steps and up towards the entrance. Puma finds a shoe of all things but Muertes throws him onto his shoulders to carry him back down to ringside.
With Striker calling Muertes the Heavy Handed One, Puma hits a spinning kick off the wall and throws a trash can (complete with trash) inside. Puma’s walk down the barricade gets shoved off and they fight into Dario’s office where he’s fondling the trophy. Back outside with Muertes hitting Puma in the back with a wrench.
Normally that would kill him but instead, Mil just stares Vampiro down. A swinging Rock Bottom gives Mil two but Puma hits something like a Van Daminator. Puma isn’t done and hits a front flip Van Daminator (cool) for a close two. The 630 looks to finish but Katrina comes in with the stone to knock Puma down. Not that it matters as Vampiro hands Puma a brick to end Muertes at 11:40.
Rating: B. This was two guys with a history beating the heck out of each other. The idea of Puma giving in to the dark side and nearly turning heel is a fascinating idea as he really could make for a good bad guy. That could make for a strong character down the line, especially if he gets to face a top face champion, or even another heel but with Puma as an edgy face.
Overall Rating: B+. Now that’s the Lucha Underground I was hoping for. The tournament announcement was interesting and we had a title change and two really strong matches to go with it. This company’s strength is from the high intensity matches with the over the top characters. Do that instead of the long complicated backstory stuff and things will be fine.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Rev Pro – Orlando: England Comes to America….with a Bunch of Americans
Rev Pro: Orlando Date: March 31, 2017
Location: Wyndham Orlando Resort, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Andy Quidlan, Gilligan Gordon
Somehow I hadn’t gotten around to this one. This is another Wrestlemania weekend show that I got to take in live and the only regular wrestling show I went to all weekend that wasn’t run by WWE. I’ve never seen a Rev Pro show before this so I’m coming in entirely blind. All I know is a little about their roster and that they’re usually in the UK. Let’s get to it.
Ring announcer Andy Quidlan (also a commentator) welcomes us to the show and thanks us for coming out. He also dedicates the show to Kris Travis, a British wrestler who died one year ago to the day. This was a major theme tonight and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Sami Callihan vs. Jay White
White is billed as the Death Machine and odds are you’ve seen him if you’ve watched any indy show in the last year or two. You might have seen White in Ring of Honor where he had some outstanding matches with Jay Briscoe. Callihan starts the clapping, which normally would imply that he’s a face, even though he’s against a guy named White who wears white.
Sami kicks him in the face at the bell and sends Jay outside for a suicide dive. White hits one of his own and they take turns sending each other into the barricade for running shots to the face. Callihan does the clapping again but in a more mocking tone. So now he’s the heel? Or is this one of those indy companies where there are no faces or heels? Sami sends him into the barricade and does a full run around the ring before crashing into Jay. He tries it again but this time White follows him around and scores with some chops.
Jay FINALLY gets back in, over three full minutes after he went to the floor. Now the referee starts counting, which had the fans around me wondering why he was even bothering at this point. Back in and Jay grabs a Muta Lock, only to have Sami bite the finger for the break. They chop it out again until Callihan puts him in the corner for some running kicks to the face. A Death Valley Driver into the corner puts both guys down, even though Sami hasn’t really hasn’t had anything done to him in a good while.
White slugs away and hits a running forearm for his comeback, followed by a suplex into the corner. Since it’s a British promotion, it’s time to fight over some submission attempts. A deadlift German suplex plants Sami but he comes right back with a sitout powerbomb into the Stretch Muffler (Brock Lock). Jay is right next to the ropes so Sami tries it again, only to be reversed into a Boston crab for the submission at 12:04.
Rating: C. This one didn’t do much for me as it was mainly two guys hitting each other over and over. I didn’t get any kind of a story out of this and that’s not the best way to open up a show. It certainly wasn’t bad but the match was pretty forgettable, which isn’t something you want to be, especially not in this spot. The match was fine but just there.
Jeff Cobb vs. Martin Stone
Stone, possibly better known as Danny Burch in NXT, is a big deal in the promotion and a former two time British Heavyweight Champion. Cobb is better known as Matanza in Lucha Underground, making this power vs. technical. Jeff takes him to the mat to start as the announcers praise Cobb for his wrestling abilities. The technical sequence goes to a stalemate and the sequel does exactly the same.
Cobb tries to take him down into a headscissors but Martin pops up and shakes a finger in his face. After a bit of a standoff, Cobb throws him up into a delayed vertical suplex for two, which the announcers refer to as “ginormous”. It’s off to a waistlock on the mat, followed by a standing moonsault and standing shooting star press from the slightly rotund Cobb. Stone comes back with a dropkick and a SUCK IT (which feels incredibly out of place) into a clothesline for two.
To crank up the evil (despite seeming like a face), Stone snaps the finger and chops away in the corner. You can see the sweat flying off of Stone as Cobb chops him back and grabs a swinging belly to back. Stone shouts OUTTA NOWHERE and hits an RKO for two, because WWE is still the most influential force in wrestling companies that want to be independent from it.
A bad looking t-bone suplex and a hard right hand give Stone two and it’s off to a Crossface, which was used in the previous match. Cobb drops him with a headbutt but misses a charge to the apron, allowing Stone to hit a hanging DDT (London Bridge) for the pin at 10:37.
Rating: B-. This is a match where commentary helped a lot as the announcers told the story of Stone needing a big win after time away from the company. Cobb doesn’t seem to have much of a history with the promotion but he was treated as a big opponent for Stone, making the story easy to follow and something that helped a lot. Good match too.
They shake hands after the match because a broken finger is nothing between friends.
The ring announcer gets us ready for the next match when Lord Gideon Grey staggers out to the ring, looking like a zombie. He even bounces off the barricade, seemingly not knowing that it’s there. He’s introduced anyway, even though he’s not supposed to be here at the moment. Grey introduces himself to the crowd and says his whole life has fallen apart since Swoggle has brought Colt Cabana back into his life. People had started taking him seriously and now it’s gone. That means a challenge for Swoggle.
Lord Gideon Grey vs. Swoggle
Swoggle kicks him in the knee and gets a Stunner for two less than fifteen seconds in. That’s followed by a bite to the trunks area with both Swoggle and the referee getting in on things. Grey misses a charge and Swoggle does Suplex City (Announcer: “He’s going to take him to Suplex Village!”), including a Brock Lesnar dance. Grey gets up and hits a sitout powerslam (50 Shades of Grey) for the pin at 2:07.
Grey’s mental health seems to go up by roughly 15 points with the win.
Ricochet vs. Marty Scurll
Ricochet is a King and Scurll is a villain. Marty gets one heck of a reaction and it’s easy to see why he’s becoming such a big deal so fast. The announcers are smart enough to agree that it’s going to be the match of the evening, which isn’t really that big of a surprise. The fans are split as a technical sequence goes to a standoff.
Scurll shoulders him down but Ricochet nips right back up. Scurll: “THAT WAS SWEET! I’m going to try!” A front flip into a nipup freaks the fans out but Ricochet isn’t dumb enough to go for a handshake. That turns into a YES chant with Scurll leading the way. Marty dances and offers a left hand instead, only to have Ricochet ready to block the eyepoke from the right hand.
Scurll bails to the floor so Ricochet handsprings into the ropes and backflips into a kneel. Back in and Ricochet bends him over his back and rams Marty’s head into the buckle over and over, setting up Tye Dillinger’s cartwheel into TEN. A spinebuster sets up the People’s Moonsault (exactly what it sounds like) and Ricochet grabs a front facelock, only to stop to yell at a single fan in the crowd.
Ricochet couldn’t understand what he said (I couldn’t either) so he sends Marty outside but misses a moonsault. Naturally he lands on his feet anyway but Marty pops back to the apron for a superkick. Back in and Scurll loads up the Villain’s Elbow but stomps away instead of dropping an elbow. Now that’s a villainous thing: set up something the fans want and then go the other way. A kick to the face sets up a chinlock, only to have Ricochet flip over into one of his own.
It’s time to crank it back up with Marty being sent outside for a big flip dive, followed by a running cutter into a standing shooting star for two back inside. They both miss some strikes until Scurll kicks him in the knee and grabs a brainbuster for two. Ricochet starts the flips again but gets cut off by another kick to the chest. A cutter from the knees drops Marty again and a running shooting star headbutt has Scurll stunned.
Both guys are winded so they slap it out with Ricochet getting the better of it, including a knee to the face to avoid some broken fingers. Well that’s one way to do it. The top rope shooting star press misses though and Scurll grabs a piledriver for two more. Now the finger is snapped and a piledriver into the chickenwing has Ricochet in trouble. The hold isn’t all the way locked though and Ricochet kicks him in the head, only to moonsault into the full chickenwing for the tap at 16:42.
Rating: A-. This was the match that the show needed with both guys looking awesome in a great back and forth match. There was a great blend of comedy and action here with Ricochet finally trying to get a bit too high and getting caught in the hold to wrap it up. Marty’s star is rising through the roof at this point and this was a big win for him over another top indy name.
Post match Marty says matches like these are why he loves professional wrestling. He thanks Trevor (Ricochet’s real name) and then calls him Prince before saying he’d love a rematch anywhere anytime. Marty dedicates the match and show to Kris Travis before leaving. Ricochet says he doesn’t remember his first Rev Pro show but he remembers Andy (the company’s owner) and Marty opening their arms to him. He thanks everyone for everything he’s gotten to do and mentions the merch tables being set up at intermission.
Speaking of intermission, it ran about half an hour (announced as being fifteen minutes) and there were indeed a host of wrestlers outside. During the break, I got to meet Ricochet, Colt Cabana, Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, Swoggle, Brian Cage (that man has huge arms), Jay White, Martin Stone (picture any stereotypical incredibly polite British man), Jeff Cobb, Fenix, Pentagon Dark and Shane Strickland. Everyone was very nice, which is always a perk.
Interim British Cruiserweight Title: David Starr vs. Josh Bodom
Bodom is defending and this title exists because the regular champion Will Ospreay was touring Japan. Starr’s schtick is that he has about fifteen nicknames (Your Favorite Wrestler’s Favorite Wrestler, the Cream in Your Coffee, Davey Wrestling, the 104 Minute Man and so on) which the ring announcer has to read off a card. Bodom is a big time heel who makes sure to do his own introduction where he calls himself the REAL Cruiserweight Champion. Since Ospreay won’t defend his title, Bodom isn’t either. Well to be fair he didn’t even bring the belt with him. Starr: “Hey Slim Shady. Where’s the strap?”
David Starr vs. Josh Bodom
The bell rings and I think this is now non-title. Starr trips him down and it’s an early crotch to the face. An Emma Sandwich gives David two but Bodom slams him head first into the mat to take over. They trade some not great chops as the announcers talk about various wrestlers Bodom and Starr have come close to beating. Yeah that’ll make us care about two guys who aren’t that familiar.
Starr unloads with chops and punches in the corner until something like a tilt-a-whirl Big Ending sends Bodom to the floor. Bodom is sent outside for some dives with Andy declaring Starr “very good at professional wrestling”. Josh comes right back by sending him into the barricade and going to the top for a flip dive off the post (that always makes it look better, even when the dive mostly missed) to drop Starr again.
Back in and a superkick sets up the running shooting star (too common of a move anymore) for two. Gilligan: “Who does Starr think he is???” Starr avoids what looked like a Swanton and hits a draping DDT onto the apron (that’s a new one). Not that it matters as Bodom comes right back with a powerbomb into a backbreaker for a near fall of his own. The big chops send sweat flying but a ref bump allows Bodom to get in a low blow.
Bodom grabs what looks like a pipe but a second referee comes in and takes it away. The distraction allows Starr to hit Adam Cole’s Last Shot for a close two. Back up and Starr runs the ropes, only to eat a superkick. Bodom grabs a Bliss Buster (picture Orton’s hanging DDT but he jumps on the back of the head to turn it into a piledriver) for the pin at 12:15.
Rating: B-. This was much better with the commentary explaining how evil Bodom is and Gilligan basically playing Michael Cole to Bodom’s Miz. That’s quite the benefit when I have no idea who either of these people are and it made the match a lot easier to watch on the second viewing. Good match here as it’s nice to have another storyline based match instead of all the specials.
Rey Fenix vs. Will Ospreay
Ospreay’s British Cruiserweight Title isn’t on the line. Fenix takes his sweet time coming through the curtain. These guys are both very high fliers so this should be quite the spectacle. Fenix takes him down by the knee to start as the announcers suggest this might be “era defining”. Oh be quiet.
Both guys flip out of wristlocks and spin around a bit until Ospreay leaves a dropkick a bit short so Fenix can pose at him. Ospreay stops a charge and looks off into the crowd. Fenix looks too and is quickly headlocked in a spot that is far too simple to work as well as it did. They head outside with Fenix kicking at the chest, followed by something like the Rings of Saturn back inside.
The hold doesn’t last long as Fenix gets up and kicks him down, setting up a Swanton for two. Ospreay handsprings into his signature pose, only to have Fenix right there with a cutter to drop him again. Smart move there. Another superkick sets up another running shooting star, followed by Ospreay’s middle rope flip dive (something like a Phoenix splash into a Spiral Tap) for his own near fall.
They trade kicks to the head as the pace picks WAY up in a hurry. A reverse hurricanrana drops Ospreay but he pops up with one of his own to put both guys down. They try the same kicks and clotheslines at the same time with Ospreay knocking him to the floor. That means a Flying Space Tiger Drop (cartwheel into a flip dive and still perhaps the coolest name for a move ever) to Fenix, followed by a Phenomenal Forearm.
This is where commentary comes in again as the announcers had mentioned Ospreay facing AJ Styles a little over a year ago and learning from him. I can always go for commentators adding to a match like that and it helps a lot here. Fenix takes him up top for a super Spanish Fly, only to get shoved down for an Essex Destroyer (Canadian Destroyer with a DDT instead of a piledriver). A very high Phoenix Splash gets two and Ospreay is getting frustrated.
The Oscutter (backwards springboard cutter) is blocked and a middle rope stomp to the face gives Fenix two. Ospreay is staggered so Fenix swings around into a flip piledriver for two more. It worked so well that Fenix tries it again but Ospreay flips out and knees him in the face. His really spinny kick to the back of the head sets up the Oscutter for the pin on Fenix at 12:38.
Rating: B+. This was the indy flippy style done quite well with Ospreay looking like a killer out there. Fenix more than hung with him and it’s always cool to see some Lucha Underground people in person instead of on extreme tape delay. It might not be as good as Scurll vs. Ricochet but that’s hardly a criticism. Really fun match.
Unbreakable F’N Machines vs. Ryan Smile/Shane Strickland
That would be Brian Cage/Michael Elgin. I’m not too familiar with Smile but Strickland is Lucha Underground’s Killshot. Smile and Cage start things off with the massive Cage towering over him. Ryan flips off the ropes over Brian and tells him to suck it before offering a test of strength. Thankfully Smile is smart enough to kick him in the ribs and headscissor him into 619 position, only to have Cage take his head taken off with a clothesline.
Now it’s Cage hitting a 619 of his own and both guys try dropkicks into nipups. I mean Cage’s nipup doesn’t work but he tried. With the fans laughing at the nips, Elgin comes in for a front flip into a nipup, followed by Strickland mocking Cage’s failure. That’s fine with Elgin, who busts out a Worm. Strickland: “NOPE!” And he grabs his jacket and walks out. He’s back a few seconds later as the fans cheer for Big Mike.
It’s off to Elgin, who gets caught in an ankle scissors. Everything breaks down for a second with Strickland and Smile hitting dropkicks to the side of Cage’s head. That earns them a clothesline to the floor but Strickland gets right back up and kicks Elgin in the head. Mike is staggered so Strickland uses his huge chest for a springboard into a….well a mostly missed moonsault but it was a cool launch.
Back in and a pop up Big Ending gets two on Smile, followed by the delayed vertical suplex. That’s not enough though as Elgin hands Smile off to Cage to actually drop him. Smile finally remembers what planet he’s on and brings in Strickland for a series of dropkicks and a suicide dive to Elgin. A high crossbody gets two on Cage as the fans are oddly silent for this sequence.
For some reason, Smile and Strickland put Cage in his own corner for a kick to the face but Elgin comes back in to take them out. Perhaps for reasons of general bad psychology. Mike holds Smile upside down for a basement dropkick, followed by a powerbomb onto Cage’s raised knees but Strickland makes a save. The Machines aren’t done so they hit a double clothesline (one to the front and one to the back) followed by a double Hellevator but Strickland makes ANOTHER save.
Shane has worn out his welcome so it’s a superkick into a German suplex into a wheelbarrow neckbreaker to send him outside. That leaves Smile to take a super Elgin Bomb and an F5 from Cage….for two. The fans IMMEDIATELY call that BS and I can’t say I blame them. There’s no reason for Smile (or anyone not named Hogan in 1987) to kick out of something like that.
Elgin gives Smile a spinning backslap to the face before hitting a Samoan drop/fall away slam at the same time. Somehow Smile has the nerve to get up and powerbomb Elgin off the middle rope with Strickland adding a top rope double stomp. Shane dives on Cage and Smile adds a frog splash to end Elgin at 16:18.
Rating: D+. This match was already going long and that kickout was pretty much inexcusable. Unless Strickland was late making a save (which wouldn’t have made sense after the big moves he took), there’s really no reason for him to kick out there. Then again, they kind of gave away the ending when it was announced that Smile and Strickland were getting a future Tag Team Title shot. If that’s the case then, don’t have Smile take such a big sequence, unless his partner is there for the save. There was good action here with Elgin being a highlight as always but that kickout was just awful.
Undisputed British Heavyweight Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Penta El Zero M
Sabre is defending and also brings his Evolve and PWG World Titles. I’m pretty sure Sabre is a heel, as he has a custom rap entrance theme, talking about how great of a technical wrestler he is. A sample line: “If Dean Malenko has a thousand, he’s at fifth thou.” As expected, the fans sing a song about him but it’s quickly drowned out by CERO MIEDO. They circle each other for the first minute as the announcers talk about Sabre joining a the Suzuki-Gun faction in New Japan.
Sabre starts in on the arm but Pentagon takes him down and stretches the neck a bit. Something like an Indian Deathlock has Pentagon in trouble and Zack throws in some middle fingers as a bonus. Pentagon is right back with a modified Haas of Pain and it’s another standoff.
Back up and Pentagon grabs a surfboard with a chinlock only to let go and shout CERO MIEDO. Armdrags and a superkick send Zack to the floor for a posting. Pentagon hits the post by mistake though and Sabre sees a target on the arm. Sabre sits on the apron and throws up a peace sign as the fans serenade him a bit.
Back in and Zack stomps on the arm and cuts off a comeback with a penalty kick. A double underhook piledriver sets up a modified cross armbreaker. Pentagon makes the rope and pops right back up for a package piledriver onto the apron. Sabre is mostly dead but still manages a Canadian Destroyer into a triangle choke into a very modified Rings of Saturn to knock Pentagon out and retain at 15:43.
Rating: B. Sabre is one of the best technical guys I’ve ever seen and there’s something very cool about a character who is quite the jerk because he knows how much better he is than anyone else. Throw in the way he tortures people’s arms and it’s really hard to not be entertained by him in at least some way.
A quick goodbye takes us out. On the way out, I got to shake hands with Sabre Jr. as well.
Overall Rating: B. I had a good time with this show despite not knowing any of the stories coming in. The version with commentary is much better and it cuts out a lot of the dead time between the matches and intermission, thereby shortening the show by the better part of an hour. The wrestling is good and I’d check out another show from the promotion, which is about as high of a bit of praise as you can get.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Lucha Underground – May 31, 2017: All Night Long…..Again!
Lucha Underground Date: May 31, 2017
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro
So this still exists. We’re back into season 3 with the first show in four and a half months. The big story continues to be Johnny Mundo defending the Lucha Underground Title, which he’s putting on the line here in an All Night Long match against the Mack. In other words, that’s the only match on the whole show. Let’s get to it.
We open with a long recap of Mundo vs. Mack, the latter of whom won a mini tournament to get a non-title match against Mundo. Johnny won that one, allowing him to pick the All Night Long stipulation.
The house band is still here.
The announcers open the show and Vampiro can’t seem to sit still.
Lucha Underground Title: Johnny Mundo vs. The Mack
Mack is challenging and this is an Iron Man match with the show’s time limit. Mundo’s shoulders have no effect so Mack hammers away in the corner. A running knee drop gets two and it’s time to have crowd reaction shots because WWE does them. Mundo blasts him in the face with a running knee of his own, followed by the Moonlight Drive neckbreaker for two. A quick End of the World gives Johnny the first pin at 3:19 and we take a break.
Back with Mundo’s flip being countered into something like a Side Effect, followed by a running Bronco Buster/backsplash in the corner. Mundo gets in a Flying Chuck and looks to set up the End of the World but Mack is right there with a rollup, only to have Johnny roll him over and grab the ropes to go up 2-0 at 7:40. Mack dropkicks him outside for a flip dive, followed by a neckbreaker off the apron for a good sounding thud. Back in and Johnny kicks him in the head but springboards into a sitout powerbomb to make it 2-1 Mundo at 10:45. We get an on-screen clock showing 26:00 to go and come back with 25:59 to go.
Mack takes a few knees to the chest but snaps off a suplex for two. They trade hard strikes until Johnny grabs a standing C4 for two of his own. The champ takes too long going up top though and gets thrown down with a belly to belly superplex. Johnny grabbing the ropes to break it up at two annoys Mack even more so they both go up top. As you might expect, Mack isn’t quite up to Mundo’s skill level up there and gets sent outside. Johnny busts out a corkscrew dive but hurts his knee/ankle with just over 20:00 left.
We take a break and come back with a stretcher coming out. Mack helps Johnny up and of course is kicked low (not a DQ), followed by a DDT onto the back board (again not a DQ) for a pin (which is counted even though Mack’s shoulders are up) to give Johnny a 3-1 lead at 18:32. Mundo does some jumping jacks and actually gets booed by the crowd for a change. With Mack livid, Johnny bails up the steps, only to get pummeled up there as well. Mack puts him on the back board and shoves Johnny down the steps as we take another break. Back again with Mack grabbing the Stunner for the pin at 22:40 to make it 3-2.
Johnny hides underneath the ring as someone runs into the back. Mack follows whoever that was as Johnny comes back out. It’s PJ Black, who helps beat on Mack with some kendo sticks. Cue Son of Havoc to even things up with a stick of his own. Havoc goes to Dario Cueto’s office and gets some beer to revive Mack. PJ cuts Mack off again though and Johnny demands that the band play a victory song.
Cue Sexy Star to dive onto Mundo and Black so Havoc can take PJ backstage. Mack has set up a table and TOMBSTONES MUNDO OFF THE APRON THROUGH THE TABLE to knock both guys silly. Naturally Striker barely responds because he needs to go through his long statement about how amazing this is instead. That’s enough to tie it up at 31:42.
Both guys are spent but Mundo is able to roll outside and pull out another table. Mack finds a ladder with five minutes to go. Mundo hits him in the head with something from the announcers’ table to bust Mack open. The ladder is bridged over the middle rope with Mack tripping him face first into it for two. Another End of the World hits the ladder and Mack puts him on the table with 1:30 to go.
Cue Ricky Mandel to grab Mack’s foot before he can come off the ladder though. Son of Havoc comes out to deal with Mandel so Mack can splash Mundo through the table but the clock runs out at 37:09 (not counting time for commercials) before the three count. Mundo retains the title due to the draw.
Rating: B+. Good but not excellent match here. I’m not wild on the draw ending as this felt like the big blowoff match, though a bigger gimmick (TLC would make sense) for the final match would make sense. Mack has a certain charisma that can help carry him through matches and there’s nothing wrong with that. The interference was fine here as I’d rather have something like that than repeating the same stuff because they’ve run out of things to do with fifteen minutes left.
Dario comes out to say not so fast because we don’t have ties around here. Next week it’s one fall to a finish for the title. Mack Stuns Mundo to end the show. Is there a reason there was time for an announcement if this match was going ALL NIGHT LONG?
Overall Rating: B+. I kind of like the idea of going with the one big idea to come back here as having the Rabbit Tribe or whatever other nonsense (not a bad thing here) they have going on instead. What you got here was two guys fighting over a title and a few people coming in on either side to help their person win the title. The rematch will help as well as you can do one match with someone winning and other stuff filling in the hour. I’m glad Lucha Underground is back and hopefully it can figure itself out again.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
This is something I’ve heard about for a few years now and when I saw the card, there was no question about taking it in. Basically this is a HUGE indy show with talent from all over the world working one show tied together with the incredible WrestleCon convention. I was in the crowd for this show and I’m really curious to see if it holds up on a second viewing. Let’s get to it.
No real intro for the show, likely because the show was already starting late.
Michael Elgin/Mascarita Dorada/ACH vs. David Starr/Trevor Lee/Caleb Konley
This is under Lucha Rules, meaning tags aren’t required. ACH is billed as “Mr. I Paid My Bills With This Booking” in a funny bit. It should also be noted that a lot of these matches weren’t announced in advance so these teams were total surprises. Dorada is better known as El Torito. The announcers talk about this being the fifth of Elgin’s TEN matches over the week (it was his second of the night) compared to John Cena only wrestling one. Oh yeah it’s going to be that kind of a show and that’s a good thing here.
ACH and Starr run the ropes to start and it’s already time for the dropkicks with all three heels (Starr and company) getting knocked outside. Starr offers ACH a free chop but gets hit low for his efforts with Konley getting one of his own. Lee blocks it though and a double superkick puts ACH on the floor. That means Dorada can come in for a triple armdrag and we have some heel miscommunication. Lee: “WHAT IN THE F****** F*** WAS THAT???” You can imagine the laugh that line got.
None of the villains can do a thing with Dorada, who grabs a headscissors on Konley but spins around him ten times before sending him down. Elgin takes a lap around the ring as Dorada collapses, finally allowing Lee to get in a hard shot on Dorada. I believe Dorada takes a thumb to the eye (the camera work is shaky at best and the arena is already dark so it can be a bit difficult to follow some of the action) and all three villains come in for some rhythmic clapping and a triple crotch to the face.
That actually doesn’t have any effect on Dorada so it’s a triple low blow and a hot tag to Elgin. Konley and Lee get suplexed at the same time and a Falcon Arrow gets two. That’s not enough strength so he German suplexes Konley and Lee at the same time for a bonus. ACH, now in a hat, remembers that he’s in the match as everything breaks down. Dorada is launched over the top onto all three but ACH’s followup dive is countered with a superkick. Not that it matters as ACH grabs a brainbuster, setting up Dorada’s moonsault for the pin on Konley at 11:53.
Rating: B. About halfway through this match, I knew this show was going to be a blast. This was the perfect choice for an opener with the heels really just being there to give the fun good guys something to do, which made this feel a lot more fun than serious. That’s likely to be the case with everything tonight and there’s nothing wrong with that.
The winners dance post match with Elgin doing the Worm.
Shane Strickland vs. ???
Strickland is better known as Killshot in Lucha Underground. The lights go out and we’ve got a surprise opponent with……Low Ki. This was a punch to the stomach for me as I’m REALLY not a fan of Low Ki so hopefully this one doesn’t last too long. The announcers basically say Strickland is screwed here and I can’t imagine we’re in for much of an upset. Feeling out process to start with Low Ki working on the arm and kicking Shane away. I have a feeling you’ll hear that more than once tonight. Say ten to fifteen times for a low number.
Strickland starts cranking on both arms to take over as the announcers praise Laycool with Low Ki’s success. DeRosa: “Somewhere in a parallel universe Killshot is wrestling Kaval.” We go to a test of strength with Strickland being driven down into a bridge. That just earns himself a hard kick to break things up, followed by even more kicks for two. Things slow down as Low Ki grabs a headscissors before chopping the heck out of Strickland’s chest.
Back up and Low Ki flips him into the ropes, setting off one heck of a counter sequence capped off by Strickland spinning around Low Ki and nailing a dropkick. Strickland has to bail out of a flip dive but lands on his feet, only to eat a hard dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Strickland easily counters a waistlock (likely because it’s a waistlock) into a catapult but Low Ki bounces right back off the ropes into a middle rope double stomp. Strickland won’t stay down though and comes back with a 619, followed by a jumping cutter (Strickland: “GOTCHA!”) for two.
A slingshot double stomp to the back gives Shane two and the announcers seemed stunned that Low Ki is in trouble. Both guys head up top at the same time and there’s no way this is going to end well. Strickland gets knocked down into a Tree of Woe over the apron, setting up a HUGE double stomp to the chest (think Del Rio’s bad finisher done well) onto the apron. Low Ki throws what used to be Strickland back inside for the pin at 13:03.
Rating: C+. Like I said, I’m certainly not a Low Ki fan but this was a VERY hard hitting match and the ending looked awesome. Strickland isn’t someone you see very often (save for Lucha Underground of course) and he got to show off quite a bit here. You knew there was going to be a kick based match on the card somewhere and this is as good of a place as you’re going to get.
Impact Wrestling World Title: Jeff Cobb vs. Lashley
Lashley is defending and the fans IMMEDIATELY break into a F*** THAT OWL chant. Cobb is better known as Matanza in Lucha Underground but he’s just a big athletic monster here. Now for the oddest part of the show, Lashley is announced and a country song comes on. There’s no Lashley so they hit his entrance again and he’s still not here. Fans: “F*** THAT OWL!”
Lashley appears through the crowd and we’re ready to go. I actually got to talk to Lashley the next day at WrestleCon and there was a very simple explanation: they didn’t have his song for some reason so he came to the ring anyway, knowing he was going to be the heel no matter what. Apparently it’s a BIG offense if you come out to someone else’s music so Lashley wasn’t about to make his entrance to the country song.
We get some Big Match Intros and Cobb holds up the title to really rub it in. Fans: “F*** THAT HEADBAND!” The good thing is that Lashley is really soaking it all in and relishing the whole thing, as he almost has to do. Lashley goes for a single leg takedown but Cobb muscles him up onto his shoulders to block. A hard shoulder drops Cobb and it’s time to slowly pound away in the corner.
Cobb gets in a clothesline to send Lashley outside but the champ whips him into the barricade, only to stop to argue with a fan. Back in and a neckbreaker sets up a chinlock as this is going really, really slowly. Lashley shows off a bit with a delayed vertical suplex, only to have Cobb muscles him up with a throw of his own.
It’s off to a triangle choke on Cobb….who lifts him up for a powerbomb to break. That’s the kind of thing they needed to do all match. Cobb gets athletic with a standing moonsault followed by a standing shooting star press for two. A deadlift German suplex gives Cobb two more but the spear just ends him for the pin at 10:45.
Rating: D+. This was ok but really felt like a major disappointment. It was billed as and should have been a battle of two monsters hitting each other really hard but instead it was more of a technical power match. You don’t see those very often and it made for a pretty slow match which didn’t work very well. Not horrible by any means but it could have, and should have, been better.
Sammy Guevara/Flip Gordon vs. Angelico/Jack Evans
I actually hadn’t heard of Guevara and Gordon, both of whom are apparently pretty talented guys from the northeast. Angelico might be my favorite guy from Lucha Underground so this was one of the matches I was looking forward to the most. Gordon and Angelico start things off with Angelico handling the early flipping. A roll through into an ankle lock sends Flip over to the ropes so it’s time for some handstand dancing. As is so often the case you see.
Gordon won’t shake his hand but he will bring in Guevara to face Evans. Jack wants a mic but can’t get one that works. Instead he just shouts a lot, saying that he can’t believe he’s getting to wrestle Justin Bieber (who Sammy resembles). Evans even offers to lay down if Sammy will sing a bit. That just gets him a superkick because it’s been too long since we’ve had one.
Sammy and Flip start stomping away in the corner, followed by a standing moonsault followed by a standing shooting star for two. Guevara gets a running start and flip dives onto Angelico and Evans for a nice pop despite being the heels here. Back in and we hit some fireman’s carry squats on Evans, who quickly reverses into an ankle lock.
Sammy shouts that he has a good one and grabs a crossface chickenwing. That goes as far as it’s going to go without Marty Scurll involved so Evans goes up top for a double Blockbuster. The hot tag brings in Angelico for the long legged knee shots as everything breaks down. Everyone kicks everyone until Evans does a ridiculous flip dive to the floor, leaving Angelico to hit the Fall of the Angels for the pin on Gordon at 13:02.
Rating: B-. Gordon and Guevara looked GREAT here and I could easily see them being a heel team in either NXT or TNA. Evans and Angelico were the bigger names coming in and while I’m a fan of the latter, I thought they were out shined here. Good match and I had a lot more fun watching it the second time around.
Hands are shaken post match.
Team Ricochet vs. Team Ospreay
Ricochet, Jason Cade, Sami Calihan, AR Fox, Desmond Xavier
Will Ospreay, Lio Rush, Drew Galloway, Ryan Smile, Marty Scurll
The ten man tag has become a staple of WrestleCon weekend and this might have been the most anticipated match of the show, if not the entire weekend. It’s fallout from the infamous match earlier in the year that saw the captains do an incredible match with all kinds of choreography. Just a hunch but I have a feeling that it’s going to be a lot more of the same here. The teams were only partially announced in advance and the members weren’t announced in the arena so this was a bit confusing.
Ricochet charges at Ospreay and they’re on the floor less than three seconds in. Everyone other than Scurll and Calihan join them less than fifteen seconds in before it’s off to Smile and Xavier for a double headbutt. They’re FLYING in and out of here so I’m not even going to be able to try to call everything here. Cade DDTs Smile to the floor but Galloway comes in and launches the much smaller Cade into the corner for some chops.
Fox tries some springboards on Galloway but gets thrown down in a big crash. Rush comes in to speed things up even more with those rapid fire kicks of his, only to have Sami come in with a cat mask on. Apparently it’s called space cat and as Rush says, “I F****** HATE SPACE CAT!”. Ospreay comes in and rips the mask off, only to have Ricochet come in as well. Now, I don’t usually do this, but I flat out admit I can’t do the following justice. Therefore, just watch.
And the version I filmed myself for a bit of a different angle.
Some of you might not get this and that’s fine but that’s for you Sally. I wish you could have seen it.
Anyway, we’re down to Ricochet vs. Scurll in the ring (for the second time tonight after their great match at the Rev Pro show) for all of five seconds before Cade and Smile come in for HUGE dives to take out a pile of people each. Ospreay gets superkicked by Cade and Xavier who follow it up with stereo flip dives out to the floor.
Fox goes even crazier with a springboard imploding 450, thankfully not killing himself when his head bangs into the barricade. Now it’s Galloway with a running flip dive (Marty: “He can dance! He can fly!”) but the captains won’t be outdone, meaning it’s Ospreay taking Ricochet to the top. Me from the crowd: “Oh they’re going to die.” Ospreay hits a HUGE C4 onto the eight others and everyone is of course out cold.
Back in and it’s Cade being put on top of a Tower of Doom with the superplex sending him into a sitout powerbomb from Galloway. Marty gets all fired up for the chickenwing on Calihan….who punches him in the face instead. Team Ricochet gets up first and puts four opponents in a corner each, only to charge into four stereo boots. They come back with superkicks but they all get stuck on top with their heads tucked on the buckles.
That means stereo superkicks, followed by everyone missing charges and taking similar superkicks of their own. We’re still not done yet though as Team Ospreay is down in front of a corner as four members of Team Ricochet goes up top. We get a completely ridiculous quadruple dive off the top (shooting stars and 450s you see) with Calihan hitting something like a package Tombstone on Galloway for a quintuple near fall and a huge gasp from the crowd.
The announcers talk about how Dave Meltzer is in the crowd tonight and needs another notebook from Walgreens, which is probably the fourth plug of the night for the store. Seriously it’s a great Walgreens. With nothing else left, it’s time for a long exchange of strikes, starting with six straight superkicks just because they can. Then they upgrade things a bit with a series of Diamond Cutters, including Smile blocking ones by just putting his hands out.
Rush jumps into his and does Orton’s pose on the ropes. Calihan flashes the Diamond Cutter sign and pulls Rush down (Marty: “Calihan yoga classes tomorrow morning!”), only to eat a Stunner, complete with middle fingers, from Galloway. It’s back to the Diamond Cutters, capped off by Ricochet going to the top but getting caught in a crazy springboard cutter from Ospreay.
Everyone goes after Ricochet with Galloway hitting a piledriver to set up a dog pile pin. Four people dive in for a save at two and this somehow keeps going. Fox and Ospreay slug it out until Scurll snaps AR’s fingers. You really can hear the noise in the arena and it’s impossible to not cringe. Calihan powerbombs Smile but gets dropped by Galloway.
It’s back to Ospreay vs. Ricochet with their series of counters until Will hits the Stundog Millionaire (spinning Stunner) into a springboard cutter…..for two. Excalibur: “Why would that be it? We’re having too much fun!” Ospreay hits a 630 but walks into a Canadian Destroyer from Cade. Jason follows it up with a West Coast Pop to FINALLY put Ospreay away at 22:05.
Rating: A+. Much like the match, this might be a bit long. I’ve been accused, and probably accurately so, of being a bit of a wrestling snob at times. It’s certainly true that I do tend to go a bit too hard towards the artistic side of wrestling where I need things to make sense and follow a logical progression or I get a bit annoyed at it. During and after this match, I started thinking about something.
In addition to being obsessed with wrestling, I’m also something of a movie geek (by last count I’ve seen I’ve seen just shy of 1400). I love old movies with the big sets and big performances but I’m also never going to miss a James Bond movie or anything from Marvel. Of course there’s stuff in there that doesn’t make a bit of sense sometimes but that’s completely missing the point. Those movies mainly exist to entertain and just be awesome. Now why can’t that be the case with wrestling as well?
I loved this match and after watching more live wrestling over the course of about a week than I had in my entire life, this was the match that stuck with me the most. This was incredible stuff with ten guys doing everything from action to comedy to emotion in more time than almost anything else got all night.
Of all the shows and all the matches I’ve ever been to in my life, I have never had more fun watching a single match that this one, including anything from any Wrestlemania I’ve ever been to. I got completely lost in this match and I nearly collapsed when it was finally over. Outstanding stuff here and a total blast, which is a lot more than I was expecting from what looked to be just another spot fest. Find this match if you can and just have fun watching some wrestling.
The fans chant ALL THESE GUYS as all ten sit in the ring and shake hands. Ricochet gets the mic and says that one year ago today, a British wrestler named Chris Travis passed away. That was a big deal at the Rev Pro show and it clearly meant a lot to them. As for this match, the captains actually got to pick their guys and it’s clear who is on Ricochet’s team because all of his guys are black (not quite) and all of Ospreay’s guys are British (Rush, from Baltimore: “Ello governor!”). Ricochet thanks everyone, including Vader, who he certainly loves.
Intermission, during which I met most of the people on the card so far, plus several who haven’t been on the show yet. I also ran to the fabled Walgreens and bought two big bottles of water because there were well over 1,000 people in a hotel conference room. That and the fact that a can of soda was SIX DOLLARS at the concession stand. I also saw Donovan Dijak watching the show as a fan, which is something you almost never see outside of something like this. The video actually includes intermission, which is just a still shot of the ring with no sound.
Ironman Heavymetalweight Title: Battle Royal
Now THIS was a treat. I’ve heard of this title for years but it’s almost always been in Japan. Basically it’s a parody of the Hardcore Title as it’s defended in battle royals but someone always jumps the champ after it’s over to win the title. Now I know that sounds like something you would see in WWE but oh not quite.
The belt has changed hands well over 1200 times (including once via dream sequence) with champions including a sex doll, a cameraman, a baseball bat, a ladder, the title itself, a young girl with the power to chokeslam adults, Vince McMahon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (someone was in a hold and tapped out on it, which meant that they tapped out to the star) and of course Joey Ryan, who is defending here.
This is basically a Royal Rumble with one minute intervals and the title can change hands via pinfall or submission. However, pins and submissions don’t count as eliminations and the only way to be eliminated is by being thrown over the top. Got all that? Good as I want to see Joey come out to the Pina Colada Song because it fits him so perfectly.
Colt Cabana is in #2 and we have one minute intervals. Here’s how this thing starts: Bell, Joey: “Touch my d***!” Instead Cabana pulls out some chest hair, which you can see fall out of his hand. A low blow has no effect on Joey so the fans chant KING OF DONG STYLE. Thankfully Kikutaro, a Japanese comedy character, is in at #3 and tries to go in slow motion. A Shining Wizard gets two on Joey and they take turns kicking Joey low, only to keep hurting themselves.
The Underground Luchador is in at #4 and there’s no hiding the fact that it’s Matt Striker. Luchador rolls Ryan up for the pin and the title before revealing himself to be, in fact, Matt Striker. Kikutaro grabs him low and spins around so Joey can eliminate him, meaning he’s the new champion. The Manscout Jake Manning is in at #5 and goes to the corner to read his scout manual. Everyone charges at him but he raises his boot every time without looking away.
It’s time for #6 and Welcome to the Jungle starts playing. Excalibur: “This could literally be any indy wrestler from twenty years ago.” It winds up being George South of all people and the fans…..don’t seem to care. For those of you who don’t know, South is a former NWA jobber who Ric Flair thought he could have a classic with if they were given time. That never happened but South is kind of a mini legend as a result.
Suicide (apparently played by Caleb Konley) is in at #7 and the fans don’t like the owl again. As you might be able to guess, there’s nothing to the wrestling here as this is all about the entrances and wondering who comes out next. Speaking of which, Mr. Hughes is in at #8 with no music and missing about 140lbs. South is eliminated off camera and it’s Zane Riley in at #9. He’s a big guy named Mr. 305 Live and grabs various people by the tights. 2 Cold Scorpio (one of the reasons I wanted to go to this show) is in at #10, thankfully rocking the Flash Funk gear.
Billy Gunn of all people is in at #11, complete with his most famous song. Riley takes a Fameasser and gets tossed, followed by Kikutaro, Manning and Cabana. Moose is in at #12 and we have Moose, Gunn, Hughes, Scorpio and Ryan at the moment. We get something of a bizarre staredown between Gunn and Moose, which Marty describes as the staredown he never knew he wanted.
Nothing happens until Swoggle is in at #13 as I wonder if this counts as a DX reunion. Swoggle is shoved down so Moose and Gunn can fight with Moose scoring off a dropkick. Shane Douglas, unfortunately not in a Target uniform and thankfully not in gear, is in at #14. Gunn gets rid of Hughes and Swoggle low bridges Suicide out. Kevin Thorn is in at #15 to scare Swoggle half to death. Shannon Moore is in at #16 but Gunn drops him with a side slam.
Hurricane is in at #17, complete with the full WWE entrance, to a huge reaction. That means chokeslams, including one to get rid of Thorn. Another one plants Gunn but he can’t lift up Billy’s dead weight. Abyss is in at #18 to get rid of Shane as Gunn was tossed off camera. Another chokeslam is enough to get rid of Scorpio before Hurricane’s chokeslam is swatted away.
Gangrel is in at #19, complete with that still rocking entrance music. Moore and Helms use the power of 3 Count to get rid of Abyss as Gangrel spits the liquid. A clothesline actually gets rid of Hurricane as Swoggle hits a pop up powerbomb on Moore. Marty Jannetty is in at #20 and Jake Roberts might be passed on the “how out of it can you be while still working a match” scale. I actually got to shake Marty’s hand in the lobby during intermission and mentioned that we had the same birthday. He didn’t actually say anything but just walked away….without letting go of my hand.
Anyway we have a final group of Ryan, Gangrel, Jannetty, Moore, Moose, and Swoggle. Marty starts dancing as Moore is tossed out. To make sure you know how bad it is, Jannetty takes Gangrel down and the announcers can’t keep straight faces over how gone he is. The fans think Marty is wasted (DeRosa: “That chant was true twelve hours ago.” Excalibur: “We’re going to have to have Sting come out here and give him a DDT to pin him.”) and Gangrel throws him out to get us down to four. Moose gets rid of Gangrel and starts the pump jabs on Ryan.
I’m not going to try to spin what happens next so here’s as literal of a play by play as I can give: Joey grabs Moose’s hand and puts it on his crotch, which causes Moose extreme pain. Moose goes down, tries to Hulk Up, gets cranked right back down, and is tossed out of the ring, all due to the power of Joey’s crotch. Swoggle runs up and throws Joey out for the win and the title at 25:00.
Rating: D. I think you can grasp (like Moose grasped Joey) that this wasn’t about the wrestling or the action but just getting some older wrestlers (I hesitate to call most of these people legends) out there and wondering who was coming through the curtain next. The anticipation here was outstanding and I really did have a great time finding out who they were dragging out of mothballs for each entrance. It doesn’t hold up but this is the definition of a thousand times more fun live than watching it later.
Joey grabs a rollup to get the title back less than thirty seconds later. Since we need something else to get fired up about, Joey makes the mistake of saying he’s the greatest champion of all time and issues an open challenge. In a moment that actually made me jump to my feet in shock…….ENTER SANDMAN starts up and we get the full on ECW entrance, complete with beer, cigarettes and the fans singing the song. I wasn’t a huge ECW fan but I LOVED the Sandman’s entrance so this was one of the coolest moments of my entire weekend.
Sandman drinks a lot of beer with the announcers ensuring us that he has personally checked every ID in the building. Excalibur gets to the obvious question: WHY IS RYAN STILL IN THE RING? Now it’s off to the other side of the arena with Sandman actually holding a full twelve pack of beer. At least you know it’s going to be a long entrance. Excalibur: “This entrance has lasted longer than Marty Jannetty’s sobriety!” Sandman gets in the ring, offers Joey a beer, and canes him in the head for the pin and the title.
And of course a fight breaks out as Sandman leaves.
Brian Cage vs. Johnny Mundo
This is a TLC match for no apparent reason with Melissa Santos and Taya Valkyrie as the respective seconds/girlfriends (both looking great). Melissa even does Cage’s entrance for a little Lucha Underground flavor. The announcers immediately start making fun of Lucha Underground’s, shall we say, hit and miss taping schedule as Cage misses a charge to start. Mundo misses a dive but hits the Flying Chuck for two.
We get the first chair but Cage snaps off a release German suplex instead. Something like a Van Daminator knocks Cage outside so Johnny can spit on a fan. Taya gets in a few stomps of her own as Johnny goes over to find a ladder. Mundo throws it at Cage to send him into the chair as we’re somehow five minutes into this.
The ladder is laid across the middle rope so Johnny can jump over it, only to have Cage dropkick it into his ribs. A backdrop sends Mundo into the ladder again and it’s FINALLY time for a table. Cage takes too long going up though, allowing Taya to grab his foot. Mundo gets knocked to the floor so Taya tries a hurricanrana…..right in front of a table. One heck of a superbomb ends Taya so Mundo, without checking on Taya for very long, completely misses Starship Pain onto the ladder onto Cage.
We get another table set up in the corner but Cage is up and holding a chair. Ever the villain, Mundo grabs Melissa for a distraction so he can kick Cage low. For the first time that I can ever remember, Melissa gets physical with a kick to the head, earning herself the safest spear through a table ever as Johnny turns around, basically driving himself through instead. Cage is livid and basically murders Johnny with a Steiner Screwdriver onto the chair for the pin at 14:05.
Rating: D. Easily the weakest match of the night here, mainly because it was billed as a TLC match. This would have been better off as a street fight or something like that as the ladder was barely ever used (not climbed once) and the rest of the weapons were just kind of there. It wasn’t so much bad as much as it was really disappointing, which is often a much worse case scenario.
We pause to clean the ring a bit before the main event with the broom guy getting a nice ovation. He even poses a bit because everyone is a ham at this show.
Hardys vs. Lucha Bros
That would be Pentagon El Cero M (Pentagon Dark in other words) and Rey Fenix, another pair of real life brothers and the PWG Tag Team Champions. The Hardys get an incredible reaction (as incredible as you’re going to get at nearly 12:30 at night) as they might not be playing the Broken Hardys…..but they’re playing the Broken Hardys. The anti-owl chants begin again as we have the Big Match Intros. This turns into dueling DELETE/CERO MIEDO (zero fear, Pentagon’s catchphrase) chants and for a little while, Cero Miedo is actually a bit stronger.
The dueling chants continue after the bell until the Lucha Bros take over with some kicks to the face. Pentagon picks Fenix up in a wheelbarrow slam but gets flipped forward into a 450 onto Matt in a cool spot. A double low blow gets two on Jeff but Fenix eats a Side Effect for the same. Matt and Pentagon clothesline each other and all four are down. Pentagon heads outside but Fenix misses a dive and takes his brother out by mistake.
That means a dive from Jeff to take both of them out and all four are down again. Back in and stereo Twists of Fate give the Hardys two before Pentagon loads Fenix up in a Gory Bomb but jumps forward for a backsplash/splash combo. There’s the Twist of Fate to Pentagon, followed by another to Fenix to bring him down onto his brother. The Swanton to both Brothers gives Jeff the pin at 7:22.
Rating: D+. The time killed this one and there’s no way around it. The show was pushing four hours at this point, meaning it was almost 1am. Couple that with the ten man tag and the battle royal and there was almost no way that anyone, even the Hardys, could make this work. They were probably smart to keep the match short as I don’t think the fans would have been able to handle anything that much longer.
The announcers sign off but Matt grabs the mic and say these are the fans that make wrestling great. They come here to get good wrestling and that’s what they get. Matt says the future of tag wrestling is safe with teams like the Lucha Bros, the Young Bucks and the Briscoe Brothers. If companies try to get rid of teams like them, they’ll fade away and classify themselves as obsolete. Fenix thanks the crowd and the Hardys to finally end the show.
Overall Rating: B. This is a show where the right expression is “you got what you paid for”. The Supershow isn’t about angles or stories, but rather bringing together some of the top indy talent in the world for one show in a series of dream matches. I can easily get why this show wouldn’t be for every wrestling fan but if you just love having fun with wrestling, there’s almost no way you won’t have fun with this. I’ll definitely be taking this in every year and it was a major highlight of the weekend. Go out of your way to see the ten man tag and just have a good time watching the show.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here: