For The Culture 2023
Date: March 30, 2023
Location: Ukranian Culture Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Darien Bankston, D’Lo Brown

This show has become a tradition as the show focuses on Black wrestlers from around the world. That has made for some rather entertaining shows over the years and it features quite the group of talented stars. There is a good chance that it continues this year so let’s get to it.

A rather loud ring announcer welcomes us to the show and we’re starting with a scramble. Well of course.

Ashton Starr vs. Ju Dizz vs. Keita Murray vs. Darius Carter vs. Terry Yaki vs. Devon Monroe Faye Jackson

One fall to a finish. Carter, who seems rather full of himself, goes to the middle of the ring and tells everyone that they are about to lose tonight. Then he shoves Jackson in the face and it’s time for everyone to hit him in a row. Yaki hits a Cactus Clothesline to send Carter outside and it’s time for Dizz to dance with Jackson. That earns him a bunch of superkicks, leaving Starr and Monroe to kick Jackson down.

Starr beats on Monroe, who comes back with a rope walk armdrag but Jackson runs both of them over with a clothesline. Carter and Yaki come back in with Carter not being able to keep up with him. Yaki sends him outside for a dive, with Keita hitting a dive onto both of them. Dizz corkscrew dives onto all of them before Yaki adds another dive for a bonus.

Back in and Keita Boston crabs Yaki until Starr makes the save. Monroe comes back with a super jawbreaker for two but Jackson grabs a bottom rope hurricanrana. Carter piledrives Jackson but Dizz gives him a pumphandle powerbomb for two more. Monroe gives Dizz a twisting high crossbody….and Carter steals the pin on Dizz at 8:03.

Rating: C+. I’m not a fan of scramble matches but this was put together pretty well, with the people getting to do their stuff and not going too long. Carter felt like someone who had the personality to stand out a bit and him getting the win after starting off in trouble works. Also, points to the commentary team here, who kept saying the wrestlers’ names when they were around. A lot of fans aren’t going to be familiar with everyone as they come from all over so very well done on letting us know who we were seeing. So, so many shows don’t get that and it’s great to see for a change.

Willie Mack vs. Billy Dixon

Anything goes. They stare at each other to start before Dixon heads outside to start grabbing the weapons. Since Dixon spends so long getting weapons together, Mack goes outside and hits him in the face to get things going. Dixon punches him into the crowd but Mack shrugs it off and comes back to ringside. Mack walks him around the ring so more fans can hear the loud chops in a rather mean touch.

Back in and they slug it out until Mack scores with a superkick for two. A heck of a chair shot to the back keeps Dixon in trouble but he’s back with a clothesline. Some hard chair shots have Mack crawling across the mat, where Dixon bridges a door over two chairs, with Mack underneath. Mack fights up though and powerbombs him through the door, setting up a frog splash for two.

Dixon is back up with a spear through another door in the corner though and frustration is setting in. One heck of a spinebuster plants Mack, who pops back up with a Stunner. They head back to the floor (Brown: “This match is about as pretty as a rock fight.”) with Mack trying to slam him onto a chair but not exactly making it work. Back in and another Stunner is countered into a backslide to give Dixon the big upset pin at 13:19.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as they somehow managed to make a Willie Mack match boring. That’s very hard to do, but Dixon is a bigger guy who can only do so much. At the same time, they didn’t exactly give us a reason for why these two are fighting. It wasn’t the worst, but this was a long match that didn’t work very well. You need to give me a reason to care and that wasn’t the case here.

West Coast vs. The World

West Coast: G. Sharpe, Kenny King, Mazzerati, Alpha Zo, Midas Kreed
The World: AC Mack, Jay Malachi, JC Storm, Jeffrey John, Suge D

This is an elimination tag with King and Suge as the captains. Mack and Zo start things off with Zo running him over and sending him into the corner. A running kick in the corner misses Mack by about nine inches but Zo grabs a suplex instead. Sharpe and Malachi come in, with Sharpe chopping the heck out of him to take over. Malachi is back with a hurricanrana and dropkick, meaning it’s off to Mazzerati vs. Storm (both women).

It’s Storm starting fast with a pump kick and possibly ripping out an earring. That’s WAY too far so John and Kreed come in with John grabbing a springboard hurricanrana. The fans are split between East Coast and West Coast as Suge and Kenny come in. Suge works on a headlock before his running shoulders have no effect. Instead, Suge switches to the knee to take King down in a smart move.

King is right back up with a hard kick to the head though and Suge is knocked silly. Everything breaks down with all ten coming in and naturally most of them wind up on the floor, with King hitting a big flip dive. Sharpe takes Malachi down inside and hits the big flip dive off the top, leaving almost everyone down. The pile gets back up and heads towards the entrance, with Malachi hitting a HUGE flip dive over the corner. Back in and Malachi and Sharpe kick it out until until Sharpe hits a brainbuster for the elimination at 12:11.

John comes in and grabs a Gory Stretch on Sharpe, which he walks around the ring. Sharpe finally gets over for the tag (without getting out of the hold) to bring Kreed in to pick up the pace. A spinning kick to the head rocks John but Suge tags himself in for the save. Suge elbows Kreed in the head for the elimination at 14:32.

It’s 5-3 as Mazzerati comes in, only to have Suge put his hand on her head. With Mazzerati scaring him away, Suge brings Storm in for another showdown. Mazzerati yells a lot but gets speared down instead. That’s not cool with Mazzerati, who grabs a northern lights suplex for the elimination at 16:46. Then Mack comes in with a pair of Mack 10’s (arm cross Pedigree) to get rid of Mazzerrati at 17:02.

King comes in to slug it out with Mack before it’s quickly back to Suge. A spinebuster plants Suge so John comes in and ducks a spinning kick to the head. King gets cuttered down so it’s back to Zo, who gets caught with an uppercut. John Blue Thunder Bombs Sharpe but King rolls through a crossbody and hits the Royal Flush to get rid of John at 19:17.

It’s 3-2 with West Coast in the lead with Sharpe slugging away at Mack and Suge. The numbers get the better of him though and an assisted Mack 10 gets rid of Sharpe at 20:10. It’s Zo/King vs. Suge/Mack so they go face to face. The slugout is on…and King and Zo get stereo rollups for the win at 21:36.

Rating: B-. I got into this one as they didn’t fly through the eliminations and let the wrestlers show what they could do. You don’t get to see that very often in a Survivor Series match outside of WWE and in this case it worked pretty well. The ending was a nice surprise too and not something I remember seeing before. Throw in commentary telling us what was going on and this worked well.

Bryan Keith vs. 2 Cold Scorpio

They circle each other for about a minute as Keith isn’t overly popular here. A lockup lets Scorpio walk him into the corner but Keith is back with a hammerlock. Scorpio reverses into an armbar to take him down as they’re firmly in first gear (and almost slow motion). Keith armdrags him down into an armbar of his own but Scorpio fights up and hits a quick legdrop.

A belly to back suplex gets two but Mack manages a tornado DDT for the same. Keith ties the legs up in something like a Figure Four (but turned to the side). Scorpio grabs the rope so Keith grabs a very lame looking nerve hold, earning himself a kick to the chest. They trade forearms and then kicks to the face with Scorpio finally going down.

Back up and Scorpio knocks him down, setting up a moonsault for two. Scorpio goes to the top but Keith shoves the referee into the ropes for a nasty crotching. An exploder superplex sends Scorpio flying for the crash, followed by Diamond Dust (love that move) to drop Scorpio again. Back up and Scorpio fights his way out of…something and loads up a powerbomb, which is reversed into a sunset flip to give Keith the pin at 16:55.

Rating: D+. I’ve seen enough of Scorpio over the years to know that this wasn’t him at his best. I’m not sure what was going on here, but they were barely moving out there and it showed badly. Keith has shown some skill in the matches I’ve seen him in before, so this was a rather weird one that didn’t work. I’ll chalk it up to an off night, as both of them are much better than this.

Black Wrestlers Matter Title: Kevin Knight vs. Myron Reed vs. Man Like Dereiss

Reed is defending and Dereiss raps his own way to the ring. Knight is quickly left alone in the ring but busts out a big dive onto Reed. Back in and Reed dropkicks him down, setting up a slingshot legdrop for two. Dereiss comes back in to kick Reed to the floor but Knight grabs the foot.

All three are back in now and Knight takes the other two down. A splash gets two on Dereiss and a hard clothesline drops him again. Reed dives back in to take Knight down, only to get dropped by Dereiss. A double Blockbuster puts Reed and Knight down for two, though Dereiss isn’t sure on that count. Reed starts bouncing around and cutters Dereiss but Knight dropkicks him down for trying another one.

Dereiss and Reed head outside and go into the chairs but Knight dropkicks Dereiss back off the apron. Back in and Knight hits a heck of a DDT on Reed but Dereiss is back in with a 450 to both of them at once. Knight tries to come in off the top with a frog splash, only to have Reed cutter him as he lands on Dereiss. That gets two (might have been a botch) so Reed Air Raid Crashes Knight onto Dereiss for a double pin to retain at 10:07.

Rating: B. This was the kind of high flying, speed based match that you were probably expecting. It was a lot of fun with everyone moving rather fast and hitting one big move after another. The cutter to catch the frog splash looked great and was probably supposed to be the finish. Either way, heck of a match here and probably the best thing on the show so far.

Pan-Afrikan World Title: Trish Adora vs. Calvin Tankman

Adora is defending and Tankman is a rather large man. They start before the bell with Adora being sent outside, where she manages to kick him in the head. Back in and the bell rings, with Adora hitting a quick DDT. Tankman elbows her in the face but gets caught with a German suplex for two. Another elbow knocks Adora silly and you can see her looking rather stunned by the shot.

Adora is fine enough to come back with some forearms, earning herself a hard slam. Tankman starts taking his time but misses a charge into the corner. A shot to the head rocks Tankman but he’s back up with a spinebuster. The big forearm gives Tankman two and he puts Adora up top, only to get sunset bombed back down. Lariat Tubman sets up Cattle Mutilation and Tankman taps at 8:49.

Rating: C. Intergender wrestling is a hard thing to pull off in almost any form and that didn’t take place here. I couldn’t buy the idea that Adora, as good as she is, could do any damage to someone the size of Tankman. It felt like a match where Tankman could have squashed her at any time and that’s not the best way to go. The match was far from bad in any way, but I didn’t buy it and that’s not good.

Post match Billy Dixon comes out for his shot and…yeah that’s not working for Adora.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had enough rather good moments to make up for the weaker points. The talent was certainly there and the triple threat and Survivor Series matches were both quite solid. There was only one bad match on the show and I’m still not sure what went wrong there. Overall it’s worth a glance at just over two hours, making it decent enough and not that long.

 

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Nice Night For A Neck Injury
Date: December 21, 2019
Location: The Basement East, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Dylan Hales, Steve McCash

This is from Southern Underground Pro, which I have seen in a co-promoted show over Wrestlemania 37 weekend and it went fairly well. I’m not sure what to expect here but there are some names that I recognize on the card. Granted I don’t know what they are going to do, but at least I won’t have to look everyone up. Let’s get to it.

As mentioned, I don’t follow this promotion so please bear with me on storylines and characters.

A rather sweary ring announcer welcomes us to the show and tells the fans to get as close to the ring as they can. Well just not in these spots so commentary and the cameras can see.

The commentator (who is already getting on my nerves) brings out Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini/Kevin Ku), who have a trophy (seems to be the Tag Team Titles) and issue an open challenge.

Violence Is Forever vs. Bazooka Horses

Non-title and that would be Graham Bell (who has a bazooka which shoots fireballs) and Warhorse. To make it better, the referee is wearing a Santa hat. Garrini and Bell go to a test of strength to start before taking turns on each others’ limbs. Bell gets the better of things by cranking on the wrist before they trade chops. Garrini gets knocked back by one but goes to the leg to cut him off.

That doesn’t work for Bell, who is right back with a series of forearms to take over. Ku (in a Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animals sweater) comes in to face Warhorse, who seems rather intense. A wrestle off goes to Ku, who pats Warhorse on his head for some mind games. Warhorse even gets down in referee’s position for some Greco Roman wrestling so Ku kicks him in the leg in a smart move.

Back up and Warhorse slides on his knees (like Kevin does in the Home Alone video games) before ripping off Ku’s sweater for some chops of his own. A powerslam plants Ku again so it’s back to Bell, who seems to be kicked low. Garrini comes back in and it’s a German suplex/running elbow combination to drop Bell hard. A spinebuster gets two on Bell and a hard curb stomp knocks him silly for the same.

It’s back to Garrini for a knee to the ribs and Warhorse is drawn in so Violence Is Forever can bring in some crowbars, ala the Wet Bandits. They get caught ripping at Bell’s face and somehow that isn’t a DQ, apparently because of the season. With nothing else working, Bell grabs Garrini’s bare toe and twists it around but gets German suplexed for his efforts….right into the corner for the tag off to Warhorse.

That means house can be cleaned but Garrini saves Ku from a powerbomb. Some Kawada kicks rock Garrini again and Bell hits an F5. Bell is fine enough to, with an assist from Ku, climb the ropes for a moonsault out to the floor onto both of them. Back in and Bell fires off some YES Kicks but Garrini says bring it, setting up a slap fight. A tiger suplex gets two on Garrini but he’s right back with a heel hook.

Garrini makes the mistake of mocking Warhorse though, meaning it’s a top rope double stomp to break it up. Now it’s Warhorse vs. Ku in another slugout until a snapdragon suplex drops Warhorse hard. Warhorse snaps off his own hard suplex on Ku (who had a previously broken neck).

Ku and Warhorse slug it out again with Warhorse getting the better of things, setting up some rotating running shots in the corner from both Horses. Something like Total Elimination puts Warhorse on the floor and a Gotch style piledriver plants Bell for two. Since this is modern wrestling, Bell pops up and strikes away until a shot to the head cuts him off. A package piledriver into a doctor bomb finishes Bell at 17:27.

Rating: B-. This was a hard hitting fight that got some time and the champs wound up winning, even though it was a non-title match. I liked what we got here and they started well, as the opener was entertaining. Warhorse is a bit over the top, but he kept it in enough check here to not be a distraction. Solid match here and I’m interested in what else they have, so well done.

Here is Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham, who speaks on a headset and has a rather glittery coat, to say his scheduled debate opponent isn’t here tonight, so he wants the biggest disappointment available in the locker room.

Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham vs. Bradley Prescott IV

Prescott has a beer in both hands and dances to the ring. Hold on as Rockingham offers Prescott a brochure with hints about how to make his life better. Prescott does stop to read it, even managing to avoid a charging Rockingham at the same time. Rockingham runs again but Prescott drops to the mat, while still reading the brochure. Back up and Rockingham rips it up, blames Prescott for it, and gets hiptossed for his efforts (complete with screaming into the headset).

We settle down to the two of them missing a bunch of chops in the corner, leaving both of them gasping for air. With breathing restored, Rockingham gets sent over the top to the apron and then knocked down onto a beer can. Back in and Prescott misses a dropkick and gets his neck snapped across the top rope. A kick to the back puts Prescott down as Rockingham yells about going to Yale. Prescott hits a running corner clothesline but he gets run over to give Rockingham two.

They slow down a bit and exchange some stomps until Prescott….gets caught on the ropes while trying a sunset flip. Rockingham takes him down again and gives Prescott a paper cut with the brochure, then spits beer into the cut to make it worse (that’s painful). Prescott fights back and slugs away, with commentary thinking he has been watching Rock movies to throw punches like that.

A whip into the corner crotches Rockingham against the post and a step up backsplash gives Prescott two. Rockingham is back with an over the back backbreaker slammed down like a reverse Samoan drop. The ensuing rollup gives Rockingham two but Prescott grabs a bridging German suplex for two of his own. Back up and one heck of a tilt-a-whirl powerbomb gives Rockingham the pin (with commentary sounding shocked) at 9:15.

Rating: C. This was more a battle of the gimmicks than anything else and it worked out well enough. The smarter than you heel will always work and Prescott….well he was kind of a frat boy style guy and that might not have the longest shelf life. Not exactly a great match, but at least the fans seemed into everything.

Post match Rockingham says this is his first win in THREE YEARS. I’d be surprised too.

Alan Angels vs. Ryder Reid

You probably know Angels from the Dark Order in AEW and Reid is a skateboarder. They slap it out to start until Angels gets the better of a slugout. A running hurricanrana takes Reid down and he grabs an armdrag into an armbar. Despite having the hold on, Angels has the referee give him some beer for a nice boost. They roll out to the floor though and Reid gets posted to keep him in trouble. Angels chops the post though and it’s time for Reid to go after his fingers. Back in and Angels manages to kick Reid’s leg in the ropes and it’s a slingshot faceplant onto the apron to plant Reid again.

A moonsault gives Angels two but Reid is back with a wheelbarrow faceplant. Reid puts Angels on his shoulder and spins him over into a DDT for a big crash and another near fall. Back up and Angels kicks him in the head, setting up a suplex into the corner. The Wing Snapper (a Backstabber with feet instead of knees) finishes Reid at 5:39.

Rating: C. This was a rather indy match with both guys doing their moves until one of them got a pin. Angels banging up his hand was the only way to give Reid a chance but it was all downhill from there. The rest of the match wasn’t too bad, but it didn’t exactly build to anything and they were in and out before it made much of an impression.

Zack Cooper vs. Brett Ison

The fans certainly seem to like the rather large (and seemingly violent/angry) Ison. They trade shoulders and chops to start and an exchange of suplexes have both of them bouncing up. The threat of Ison’s spinning shot to the head sends Cooper bailing into the corner and things slow down a bit. Ison hits a heck of a Saito suplex for two, followed by the running boot to the face in the corner for the same.

Street Justice (whatever that is) is broken up and Cooper hits a running dropkick out to the floor. For some reason Cooper tries a handspring on the apron and gets forearmed down for his efforts. Back in and a Shining Wizard gives Ison two but Cooper is back with a Roode Bomb for the same. Cooper goes up and, after shrugging off some headbutts, he knocks Ison off the top and into the corner. Coast To Coast connects for a very delayed two but Ison is back up with a spinning forearm. A hard knee to the face sets up Street Justice (Jay Driller) for the pin at 7:34.

Rating: C+. Ison is every “I’m big and angry and snarling” heel that you’ve ever seen and that wasn’t exactly inspiring. At the same time, this match suffered from a bad case of indy style, as they made it clear that it wasn’t going to end until someone hit their finisher, which made the near falls a lot weaker. Commentary hyped up Street Justice so much that it was the only way Ison was winning and since he is big and angry and snarling, it was hart to imagine him losing. The action was pretty good, but it wasn’t the best presentation.

Post match, respect is shown.

Aaron Williams vs. Shawn Dean vs. Lee Johnson vs. Nolan Edwards vs. Patrick Heeter vs. Silas Mason

Here’s your required Scramble match. You can tell Heeter is a heel because he’s bald and flips the crowd off a lot. Mason is the Thrillbilly, which just makes me want to watch a Mickie James match. Heeter gets in the middle of the ring and yells about how he is taller than everyone else (he isn’t). With that out of the way, Heeter bails out to the floor (where he points to his head) as commentary puts over how important scramble matches can be around here.

Mason, by far the biggest guy here, cleans house and grabs Edwards low. Williams superkicks Mason down to accidentally save Edwards but it’s Dean getting up to clean house. Johnson gets back up for the battle of AEW jobbers and blocks Dean’s DDT, setting up Swerve Strickland’s running kick to the back of the head. Heeter is back up but Edwards takes everyone down, only to get kicked down by Williams.

Edwards strikes away to stagger Williams, including a pair of kicks to the head. Heeter blocks Edwards’ dive so Williams dives onto him with a….I’m not sure what that was. Dean is right there with a big flip dive to take a bunch of people down so Johnson tries one of his own, only to land on the apron (EGADS). Thankfully he’s fine and everyone but Heeter gets back inside.

With everyone else in a corner, Johnson hits a bunch of running shots until Mason switches places with him and does the same thing. Heeter plants Johnson with a sitout F5 but Dean is back in with a Project Ciampa to Edwards. That leaves Dean and Williams to have a rather awkward exchange, capped off by Edwards hitting a neckbreaker.

Johnson hits a standing corkscrew moonsault on Edwards but Mason makes a save with a legdrop. Mason gives Williams a VERY swinging Boss Man Slam but stops to pose instead of covering. Heeter plants Mason, only to have Johnson come in off the top with Spiral Tap to steal the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C. I have made no secret about the fact that I do not like this kind of match. There are WAY too many people doing WAY too many things and they don’t allow anyone to really shine. I was worried that they were going with the Heeter win, but thankfully they went with anyone else here. The match was all action, but it was such a mess that it was hard to get much out of it.

Adam Priest vs. Gnarls Garvin

Garvin, billed as Big Beef, is from a trailer park in Louisville, Kentucky and Priest is a guy who got some buzz over at least one Wrestlemania weekend. Priest jumps him before the bell and knocks him to the floor, setting up a heck of a suicide dive. They get inside for the opening bell, with Beef hitting a backdrop to take over. Some chops in the corner don’t do much good for Priest, who gets launched into the corner to cut him off.

Beef gets his jacket off and makes me think I’m watching a Husky Harris match. Priest catches him with a German suplex and a dropkick staggers Beef again, setting up a middle rope moonsault for two. With that not working for him, Beef hits a heck of a powerbomb and a running crossbody against the ropes. A rather big top rope splash finishes Priest at 3:17.

Rating: C-. They kept this quick and that is not a bad thing. Beef is a bigger guy who can move around, but I’m not sure how long he would be able to keep that pace up. At the same time, I was surprised by the ending as Priest seemed to be a bigger deal than Beef coming in. The splash looked good too and it would have been a bit much to have Priest kick out.

Jaden Newman vs. Big Twan Tucker

Twan is indeed big and seems rather proud about staying woke. Apparently Newman has new gear (it’s a onesie) and is wearing an unidentified title. Jaden is an extra evil villain by stomping on the referee’s Santa hat, making me want to see him massacred. Twan powers him down without much effort to start and then does it again for a bonus. With the on the ground stuff working, Jaden goes up top and gets pulled down onto his face.

The onesie is ripped open so Twan can fire off some chops, including a double hand version that leaves Jaden in shock. They head outside where Twan chops him the rest of the way out of the onesie and then smacks him upside the head. Jaden finally wraps the leg in the rope to take Twan down and a running knee cuts him down inside. A bit too much trash talk lets Twan Pounce him for two but Jaden goes old school evil with the eye rake. Jaden ties up both arms and fishhooks the jaw but has to let go because it seems to be illegal. I’m not sure if that is the case, though I didn’t read the updated rule book.

A kick to the head sets up a hard slap but another just wakes Twan up. More strikes rock Jaden and a swinging Boss Man Slam gets two. Jaden’s shot to the face, including a top rope punch, only get one but a running flip neckbreaker drops Twan. That’s good enough for a victory lap (McCash: “Is your goal to win the match you dumb f***???”) which takes way too long, allowing Twan to spear him out of the air back inside. The chokeslam is countered though and Jaden hits a pair of running forearms to the back of the head for the pin at 9:08.

Rating: C. Tucker looked good for a big guy and Jaden was a decent enough heel. There might have been a few too many big spot kickouts but you kind of have to expect that. The other interesting thing is that they kept this clean, even with the villain winning in the end. Not a great match, but sometimes a completely watchable match is all you need.

Bonestorm Title: AC Mack vs. Mr. Brickster

Mack is defending and insists that the referee hold up both of his titles (because he has another one too) so he can handle his own entrance. On the other hand, Brickster has a small saxophone and seems to be a bit of a party guy. Mack tries a chop block (as he did before, putting Brickster on the shelf for six months) but Brickster is ready for him.

The bell rings and Mack misses a charge in the corner, allowing Brickster to start chopping away. A big boot gives Brickster two but he telegraphs the heck out of a missed clothesline in the corner. Mack goes smart by going after the bad leg and the cockiness goes up rather quickly. The fans get behind Brickster but are quieted down when the knee is slammed into the mat.

We pause for Mack to glare at the fans, allowing Brickster to hit a powerslam (from his knees) to send Mack into the corner. Hold on again though as someone throws Brickster a bag containing….a stuffed set of male genitalia with Mack’s face on it. The crowd has various chants as Brickster takes Mack outside so fans can hit Mack in the face with it.

Commentary gets in various jabs of their own and Brickster hits an ax handle to the back for two. Brickster hits a standing Iconoclasm for two (with commentary SCREAMING at the near fall) but here is Shawn Dean for a distraction. Alan Angels crotches Brickster on top and a hanging Pedigree (or something close to it) retains the title at 8:34.

Rating: C+. I’ve seen Mack before and I like almost everything that I’ve seen from him so far. He feels like a seasoned veteran and someone I could see wrestling on a bigger stage. Brickster had a bit of a Brutus Beefcake vibe to him and that is not a bad thing, as he had charisma and the fans got into what he was doing. Nice main event, with Mack feeling like a star.

Post match commentary screams that all of these guys are from Atlanta (including the other title Mack had). Mack yells about how if you invade them, they’ll invade you. Brett Ison and Violence Is Forever run in for the save. Brickster talks about being glad to be back and how we can do great things when we come together. He tells us to never stop believing and Don’t Stop Believing plays, with the fans singing along. Commentary shouts a lot to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show, as it had talented wrestlers and a very modern feel, but it also felt like it belonged in the early 2000s. For every good thing, there was a lot of the IN YOUR FACE feeling with the swearing (I lost count of the number of wrestlers who was introduced as FIRST NAME F****** LAST NAME) and over the top nature. The positive is that mainly stayed between the matches, which did have high energy and felt fun without any of them being close to bad. Overall, it’s clearly a promotion that has been established, but turning it down a notch would be a nice idea.

 

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

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

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

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

Bonestorm Title: AJ Gray vs. JD Drake

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

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

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

Good Hand vs. Cabana Man Dan/Bret Ison

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AC Mack vs. Myron Reed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daniel Makabe vs. Arik Royal

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

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

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

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

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

Adam Priest vs. Matt Makowski

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

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

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

O’Shay Edwards vs. Jon Davis

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

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

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

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

We get the post match show of respect.

Nolan Edward vs. Angelus Lane

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

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

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

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

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

FinJuice vs. Violence Is Forever

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

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

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

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

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

Respect is shown to end the show.

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thick N Juicy 2.0 vs. Fire N Flava

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fire N Flava dance A LOT to celebrate.

PB Smooth vs. Jon Davis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bryan Keith vs. Darius Lockhart

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

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

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

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

Tre LaMar vs. Eli Knight

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

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

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

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

JTG vs. AJ Gray

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

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

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

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

Lio Rush vs. Lee Moriarty

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

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

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

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

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

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Rich Swann

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Action Wrestling Title: Marcus Mathers vs. Arik Royal

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

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

Bryan Keith vs. Alex Kane

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

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

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

Gary Jay vs. Billie Starkz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Very Good poses on his own to end the show.

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

 

 

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