Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6 Night Two
Date: April 1, 2022
Location: Fair Park, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Kevin Gill

It’s the second half of the show and in this case, it needs to get a pretty big upgrade over the first half. Night one was a decent enough show, but it wasn’t memorable, which is the point of a show like this. Now that being being said, this show is built around the Clusterf*** Battle Royal, which could be quite the mess. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

We open with Joey Janela talking about beating Sean Waltman last night and wanting his flowers. He wonders why the fans hate him now but Spring Break needs a lethal dose of poison to turn it back into what it is supposed to be. This year, he is entering the Clusterf*** so he can end it once and for all. Maybe just don’t run it then?

Matt Cardona vs. Chris Dickinson

Chelsea Green is here with Cardona, who is currently the king, meaning yes he does have a Macho King crown. Green gets in an ALL HAIL THE DEATHMATCH KING and the fans are all over Cardona again. Cardona insults GCW and says they are the power couple of wrestling. Six years ago, he won the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania, but now he’s in this piece of garbage ring. If he was in WWE, like he should be, he would be celebrating his friend Mark Calaway, who he will see in the Hall of Fame one day.

Dickinson comes out with….MISSY HYATT to even things out, which is one of those names that makes this show feel fun. Both pairs share good luck kisses before the match, with Hyatt’s leaving Dickinson woozy. Dickinson wrestles him to the mat to start but Cardona is up to yell at Hyatt. That doesn’t work well for Dickinson, who grabs a cross armbreaker to send Cardona bailing to the floor.

Back in and Green grabs Dickinson’s foot for a distraction so Cardona can stomp away. After throwing his shirt at Hyatt, Cardona chokes with the wrist tape and then his hand for a bonus. The running forearm drops Dickinson again and a neckbreaker gives Cardona two. It’s already door time but Cardona spends too much time mocking the crowd, allowing Dickinson to backdrop him through the door in the corner.

The slugout is on with Cardona going to the eyes, only to get blasted with a running clothesline. The brainbuster gives Dickinson two but Green offers a distraction, allowing Cardona to nail a spear for two. Missy finally grabs Cardona’s boot and slaps Green, allowing Dickinson to hit a Death Valley Driver for two of his own.

Green offers another distraction so Cardona can hit a low blow into the Rough Ryder for two. Now it’s Green coming in and hitting Cardona with Missy’s loaded purse by mistake, allowing Dickinson to clothesline her down. The toss Razor’s Edge is enough for Dickinson to pin both of them at once at 12:43.

Rating: C+. You really can see why the GCW fans can’t stand Cardona in this run as he is one of the most annoying and obnoxious heels you could want to see. He is playing up the idea of being a big shot and that is one of the best ways to get heat from anyone. Dickinson is a decent power guy and looked good here, though Missy kind of disappeared for large chunks of the match.

Biff Busick vs. Tony Deppen

Feeling out process to start with Deppen trying to go to the mat to little success. Back up and Busick goes to the armbar, which has Deppen bailing to the ropes. Busick chops the heck out of Deppen, whose chops back have no effect. They head outside with Busick uppercutting away but a chop only hits the post. With Busick trying to shake it off, Deppen hits a flip dive off the apron and they head back inside.

Busick is fine enough to knee him down and the figure four necklock sends Deppen to the ropes again. Back up and Busick gets a little more violent by holding Deppen in place for some slaps to the face. Deppen is smart enough to go after Busick’s bad hand but Busick hits a running uppercut to take him down again.

Busick misses a charge though and Deppen hits a suicide flip dive for two back inside. Back up and the slugout goes to Busick until Deppen goes for the hand and grabs a Kimura of all things. With that broken up, Busick wins another strike off but Deppen avoids a charge in the corner. A running knee finishes Busick at 11:40.

Rating: B-. Sometimes you need two people to hit each other really hard and you got at least half of that here with Busick’s beating. Busick might not be a star in the making, but he’s an established hard hitter in the middle of the card and that should be enough to get him quite a few jobs. At the same time, you have Deppen as one of the better heels I’ve seen in a bit, as he is just straight up unlikable. Keep going with that and he’ll be fine.

Post match Deppen thanks Busick for the match but tells anyone who doesn’t believe in him what they can kiss.

Mike Bailey vs. Jordan Oliver

Bailey does his bow and they shake hands to start. Oliver does his pose so Bailey kicks him in the face and strikes away but Oliver is back up with chops of his own. Bailey’s leapfrog is countered into a faceplant and Oliver sends him outside for a big dive. Some kicks send Oliver through some chairs though and Bailey knees him in the chest.

Back in and Bailey kicks him in the chest for two, followed by the YES Kicks to make it worse. Bailey hits a running kick to the face in the corner and they strike it out again. Oliver snaps off a release German suplex and a sitout powerbomb for two but Bailey sends him outside. There’s the springboard moonsault to the floor and they strike it out on the apron.

Bailey gets the better of things and hits the moonsault knees, setting up the bouncing kicks back inside. The big kick to the head looks to set up the Ultimate Weapon but Oliver counters it with a cutter. A handspring cutter gets two so Oliver goes up, only to get pulled down with something like a One Winged Angel for the pin at 10:01.

Rating: C+. As is usually the case with Bailey, the action was good but he continues to have such a punchable face that it is hard to get into his matches. The good thing here was he didn’t have the stupid no selling that drags down every good thing he does, making this slightly easier to watch than most of his matches. Oliver has come a long way but still has a good bit to go before he moves up to the next level.

Effy says he shouldn’t be here but tonight he’ll beat Minoru Suzuki, have his own show tomorrow, and then maybe he’ll come for some gold.

Effy vs. Minoru Suzuki

Allie Katch is here with Effy. They both stick their jaws out with offers of a free shot but Effy’s attempt at a kiss gets him slapped. Suzuki slaps him down and then a kick to the face puts Effy on the floor. They head outside with Effy telling him to chop as hard as he can. That’s fine with Suzuki, who mocks Effy’s return chops.

A big boot sends Effy through the chairs and Suzuki cranks on the arm back inside. Effy tries some forearms but gets dropped with a single one from Suzuki. Then Effy bites Suzuki’s nipple and northern lights suplexes him for two. The big kiss staggers Suzuki but it’s a slap to the face and the Gotch style piledriver to give Suzuki the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C. Effy’s stuff may or may not be your cup of tea but Suzuki more or less squashed him here in a match with little to no doubt about the outcome. Effy was doing little more than comedy here so it isn’t like there was much to get annoyed about. They were going for the “wouldn’t it be funny if these two wrestled” idea here and I’ve seen worse versions.

Greatest Clusterf***

So this is basically a Royal Rumble, but only in the very loosest of terms. There are no set time intervals and I don’t believe there is a set number of entrants. I’m not going to be able to keep track of all of the eliminations, as I’ve never seen a version of this where they are all announced. This is going to be about total chaos and some surprise entrants and nothing more. You can be eliminated by pinfall, submission, over the top, leaving the building and…death?

Joey Janela is in at #1 and Buff Bagwell is in at #2 for your first surprise. Granted Buff is on a crutch but he has the American Males theme so this could be a lot worse. Janela wants to strut with him but it’s a superkick to get rid of Buff very quickly. George Gatton, with an unidentified title, is in at #3 and it’s a superkick into a piledriver to get rid of him too. Judas Judd Cassidy (I think?) is in at #4 and gets thrown over the top just as fast.

Yoya is in at #5 and suplexes Janela but gets caught in a heck of a package piledriver for the pin. Billie Starkz is in at #6 and a Gory Bomb takes Janela down but he raises knees to block her Swanton. That’s it for Starkz and it’s Juicy Finau (a big guy) in at #7. Janela can’t suplex him so Finau does it to Janela instead and it’s the even larger Sam Stackhouse, in Bam Bam Bigelow inspired gear, in at #8.

That leaves Janela to get crushed in the corner by back to back splashes but Stackhouse misses an ugly moonsault. Janela tosses both of them and it’s Rhett Titus in at #9 as Janela keeps up his Brock Lesnar-esque run. Titus wrestles him down and hits the running boot in the corner until it’s the Invisible Man in at #10.

So we have the Invisible Man, Janela and Titus with Titus and the Man slugging it out. The Man gets the better of both of them but an elbow to the face lets Janela and Titus beat him down. A double suplex lets the two of them pose but Man is back with a double low blow. The Man throws out Titus but gets stomped down until Dante Leon is in at #11. They waste no time in the next entrant with Ninja Mack in at #12.

Leon and Mack are long time rivals so they pose at each other before superkicking Janela down. A shooting star piledriver drops Mack and it’s a sick looking Jimmy Lloyd in at #13. Janela and Lloyd put on masks and they rehash their Social Distancing match, meaning they punch from a safe distance. Mack isn’t having that and kicks Lloyd down, setting up the running flip dive to drop Janela on the floor. Back in and Lloyd runs Mack over for the pin and Early Morning Guy Steele is in at #14.

Steele doesn’t seem to know what he is doing and falls off the top as Janela and Lloyd watch from the middle of the ring. Then Steele gives them a running double Blockbuster and a Canadian Destroyer each. Then he goes up top for a 450 to Lloyd, only to get rolled up for the pin from Janela. That was a weird one and it’s Blake Christian in at #15. House is cleaned but the Invisible Man hits Christian low. That earns him a dropkick and it’s Kevin Blackwood in at #16.

Blackwood’s suplex gets two on Leon and stomps on Janela in the corner until Hoodfoot is in at #17. Hoodfoot and Blackwood slug it out until Slade is in at #18. Young Dumb And Broke (Charlie Tiger and Ellis Taylor) are in at #19 and #20, giving us Janela, Invisible Man, Leon, Lloyd, Christian, Blackwood, Hoodfoot, Slade, Tiger and Taylor as this is far more organized than I was expecting. Everyone hits everyone until Deranged is in at #21 to clean house. With that going nowhere, Grim Reefer is in at #22 and has a smoke.

We now pause for everyone to partake, including Janela, who says he isn’t with AEW anymore and can do what he wants. Janela runs to the back (I don’t think he’s been eliminated but who can tell around here?) and Sandra Moone is in at #23. Reefer clotheslines her down and it’s Parrow in at #24. House is cleaned with Deranged and Reefer being eliminated almost immediately.

Big F’N Vin is in at #25 as Janela is having some Cheetos. Vin kicks Parrow out without much trouble as Janela wants to know his next spot. Nate Webb is in at #26 and comes through the crowd, who sings his theme music. Lloyd gets dropped by the Invisible Man, who hammers on Webb in the corner. Janela superkicks the Invisible Man though and tosses him out, much to the fans’ annoyance. Webb misses a charge and gets low bridged to the floor and Hoodfoot is tossed as well.

Shazza McKenzie is in at #27 and goes after Janela to start the beating. Janela gets in a shot to the face though and grabs a door, only to have McKenzie spear him through it. Janai Kai is in at #28 and Jazzy Yang (Jimmy Wang’s daughter) follows her at #29. The four women in the match stare each other down and it’s Edith Surreal in at #30. That gives us Janela, Leon, Lloyd, Christian, Blackwood, Tiger, Ellis, Moone, Vin, McKenzie, Kai, Yang and Surreal, assuming I didn’t miss any random eliminations.

Dark Sheik, another woman, is in at #31 and we have a six woman showdown. Uh make that seven as LuFisto is in at #32. Some of the guys come in to go after the women, with Leon and Taylor being tossed out. The women all beat up Tiger and toss him out with Vin joining him. Then the women get into it, with Kai kicking out LuFisto. Moone is out as well and McKenzie hits a Stunner on Kai for the elimination. Janela comes back in to superkick McKenzie for the pin and it’s Maven of all people in at #33.

Everyone stops to look at him so Maven hits a bunch of dropkicks….and then walks out for an elimination. Fans: “THANK YOU MAVEN!” With everyone else pairing off, Sean Ross Sapp, yes the dirt sheet writer, is in at #34, drawing a WE WANT MELTZER chant. Sapp gets a mic and begs people to subscribe to Fightful Select so they can read about GCW wrestlers getting fired by AEW. Josh Barnett, former UFC Heavyweight Champion, is in at #35 but fellow writer Denise Salcedo (not in the match) comes in to low blow Sapp and toss him out.

Nasty Leroy is in at #36 and Barnett blasts him with a clothesline as Jimmy Wang Yang is in at #37. Yang manages to take him down (not the prettiest but it worked) so Jazzy (remember, Yang’s daughter) comes in to grab the leg, which apparently counts as a submission to get rid of Barnett. Jazzy rolls up Lloyd for an elimination and it’s Alec Price in at #38. Price tosses Yang and dances a bit before getting kicked in the face by Jazzy. That’s enough for Price to toss her as well and it’s Cole Radrick in at #39.

Radrick and Price wind up on the apron and it’s a double elimination. Brandon Kirk is in at #40, giving us Janela, Christian, Blackwood, Slade, Surreal, Sheik, Leroy and Kirk (I think at least). Sheik hits Kirk low as we’re told Slade has left the building. Janela runs the ropes a lot until Lord Adrean (a Wal-Mart Guy) is in at #41. Adrean cleans house and Tombstones Kirk for the elimination, only to get Death Valley Drivered by Janela for another elimination. Kevin Matthews (you might remember him as KM in Impact) is in at #42 and stares it down with Leroy.

A not great looking Rock Bottom plants Matthews and a worse Rock Bottom sets up a leglock for the tap as Janela busts a gut laughing. Then Janela hits Leroy low and pins him and it’s Nick Wayne in at #43 for a brawl on the apron with Janela. Wayne superkicks Janela out for one heck of a pop and here is B-Boy to introduce Team LA Fights, which are six unnamed people. The team (Jai Vidal and Jack Cartwheel are two of them) clean house and something like a Styles Clash into a sitout powerbomb gets rid of Blackwood.

With those six in at #44-49, the Second City Crew (AJ Gray/Mance Warner/Matthew Justice/1 Called Manders and Levi Everett) are in #50-#54. The Crew cleans house with Matt Vandagriff (of LA Fights) being tossed. Damian Drake and Ju Dizz (I think) are both out with Hunter Freeman joining them. Cartwheel gets knocked out but walks on his hands until Manders chairs him down for the elimination. Vidal is tossed out and the Crew is left alone until the others still in the match come in.

Christian and Wayne get together to toss Everett and Manders. Somehow Christian and Wayne are the last two with Christian hitting a quick Downward Spiral for the pin…and never mind as yeah there are some people still left. Sheik comes in off the top with a spinwheel kick and the rest of the Crew pile onto her for the pin. Christian goes after the Crew but gets taken down and superplexed into a top rope legdrop for the pin….and that’s it at 1:23:57 (I guess Surreal was tossed somewhere in there).

Rating: C+. To be clear, this match is not about something coherent or anything more than having one name after another. That being said, this was WAY more coherent than the previous edition and that helped a lot. This felt more like a very indy Royal Rumble and, save for Surreal, no one was getting lost in the whole thing. I had a good time with this and it did fly by with some fun moments. It’s the kind of match that I was expecting from a Spring Break and it went well, especially with all of the insanity that came with it.

Overall Rating: B-. This was more like the Spring Breaks of the past and it worked out pretty well all things considered. It was a collection of some fun matches before we got to the big main event and that wound up working well. Good stuff here and it didn’t feel like a regular GCW show. While those can be fun, it’s not what I came into this wanting. The main event is all that mattered here and the other four matches were a nice bonus so we’ll call this a success.

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Lonestar Shootout
Date: April 1, 2022
Location: Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 582
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Matthew Rehwoldt

So this is an interesting one as it is part of the NJPW Strong promotion, but there were two shows taped here. First up was the Lonestar Shootout special, followed by a regular TV show. That wasn’t mentioned during the night so this will be split in two rather than the one night that I watched it live. Let’s get to it.

I don’t follow New Japan Strong so I apologize in advance for missing any storylines or character details.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting across from the entrance.

Ren Narita vs. Rocky Romero

Student vs. teacher. They fight over arm control to start with Romero taking him down but Narita is back up with a chop. Narita’s spinwheel kick is countered into a half crab, sending him straight to the ropes. Some more kicks rock Romero but he’s right back with a qick tornado DDT.

Narita gets annoyed at some forearms so Romero forearms him even harder and hits a double stomp for two. Back up and a leg lariat drops Romero but a suplex attempt is blocked. The running Sliced Bread gets two on Narita so Romero blasts him with a running clothesline. Romero charges at him again but gets caught in a bridging belly to belly for the pin at 7:42.

Rating: C+. Nice hard hitting opener here with a surprise finish as Narita winning came out of nowhere. Romero putting someone over is not a surprise whatsoever but I wouldn’t have expected a Young Lion to win here. Good way to start the show as the fans are brought into things, which is exactly the point of something like this.

Clark Connors/Karl Fredericks/Mascara Dorada/Yuya Uemura vs. FinJuice/Daniel Garcia/Kevin Knight

Dorada takes Knight up against the ropes to start so Knight grabs a headlock. A run up the ropes sets up a high angle wristdrag to drop Dorada before they trade armdrags and nip up for a standoff. Connors comes in to chop away at Garcia before it’s quickly off to the eager Uemura. A dropkick drops Garcia as commentary talks about the importance of excursions. Knight comes in and knees Uemura in the ribs, setting up a sliding clothesline for two.

Uemura gets caught in the wrong corner so Robinson can come in and headbutt him down. There’s the Cannonball from Robinson into a belly to back from Finlay for two as the….I have no idea if they’re good or bad….team takes turns beating on Uemura. A belly to back suplex gets Uemura out of trouble and it’s the hot tag to Connors to clean house.

Everything breaks down and the double knockdown sets up the double tag to Fredericks and Knight. The slugout is on until Knight hits a heck of a dropkick. Uemura starts snapping off suplexes until Robinson cuts him off with a spinebuster. Dorada hits a big flip dive to the floor, leaving Fredericks to hit Manifest Destiny (implant DDT) to finish Knight at 10:45.

Rating: B-. They kept the pace fast here and that is what you need to do when you have that many people in there at once. Fredericks had a good DDT and the other younger stars got to showcase themselves well here. Uemura continues to seem ready to be a breakout star and Knight looked good too. Nice way to show off a bunch of stars at once and it flew by for a bonus.

Killer Kross vs. Minoru Suzuki

I think you get the idea here, with commentary more or less saying a match like this doesn’t need any kind of a build. Suzuki goes after the arm to start before grinding away on a headlock. Kross fights up and knocks him to the apron, where trash talk can ensue. You don’t do that to Suzuki, who grabs an armbreaker over the ropes to take over again.

They fight outside with Suzuki striking away but Kross gets right in his face. Kross gets beaten up around the announcers’ table before they head back in, with Suzuki looking eerily….happy. The armbar goes on, with Suzuki getting to bend the fingers back to make it even worse. Kross is able to block the penalty kick though and grabs a throw for two. That doesn’t work for Suzuki, who grabs a Fujiwara armbar. Kross makes the rope so Suzuki tells him to “COME ON F****** YOUNG BOY!”

They chop it out with Suzuki making Kross take a step back, only to have him call Suzuki young boy. That doesn’t seem like a good idea so Suzuki goes for the choke, only to get pulled into the Krossjacket. Suzuki breaks that up, calls him a young boy again, and hits the Gotch Style piledriver for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: B-. They were right when they said that this was going to be little more than a fight of two people hitting each other really hard and that is what they delivered. Suzuki is past his prime but he is in full on legendary status, where just seeing him in the ring is something special. Taking someone like Kross apart like that made it even better and this was fun while being exactly what you expected.

And now, here is an unadvertised Jon Moxley for a chat. Moxley says he wasn’t going to leave Dallas without setting foot in a New Japan ring. This ring brings out the fighting spirit and the best in him, which is what fostered his love of wrestling. He is so happy with how many people are here and it doesn’t matter what show they watch because it’s all about wrestling. On a more personal note though, he is tired of Will Ospreay hiding behind a Twitter handle. Moxley wants the scary version of Ospreay on April 16 and it is time to make an example out of him.

Jay White vs. Mike Bailey

This is part of White’s US Of Jay Open Challenge series. They both tease kicks to the….something in the corner before White headlock takeovers him down. That doesn’t last long as Bailey is right back up with the bouncing kicks to send White to the floor. Naturally that means a running flip dive but White is back up with a TKO across the top. The chinlock goes on but Bailey is right back to his feet with the chops.

Some kicks set up the running corkscrew shooting star press for two and Bailey avoids a charge in the corner for a bonus. It’s too early for the Ultimate Weapon so White sends him to the apron, where Bailey avoids a charge and hits a perfectly times Asai moonsault. They fight back up to the apron with Bailey missing the moonsault knees, allowing White to grab a swinging Rock Bottom for two. White wisely grabs a leglock but Bailey (eventually) gets to the rope.

Back up and Bailey fires off kicks to the chest (here we go) but he has to flip out of a sleeper suplex. The Bladerunner is blocked and Bailey kicks him down, setting up the moonsault knees. Bailey limps a bit (this is progress for him) before hitting the spinning kick in the corner. The Ultimate Weapon misses though and White drops him with a sleeper suplex. Now the Bladerunner can finish White at 14:10.

Rating: C+. Bailey’s horrible selling brings this WAY down again as otherwise they had a heck of a match. The problem is you can only do so much with that when Bailey will barely sell anything. I know he’s supposed to be all about speed, but if he can’t be slowed down with a bunch of work on the knee, he’s Superman rather than the Flash and that doesn’t work at all.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Chris Dickinson

Dickinson takes him down by the arm and works on an armbar as commentary explains that there will be a Strong taping after this match wraps up the show. Back up and they trade shoulders to no avail until Dickinson gets in a hard shot to take him down. The chop off goes to Ishii but Dickinson drops him with an elbow to the face.

They fight to the floor with Ishii sending him hard into the barricade before going back inside. Dickinson tries another chop which just fires Ishii up. The forearms seem to make Ishii come at Dickinson harder and a German suplex sends Dickinson flying. Another suplex wakes Dickinson up and he hits a brainbuster, only to have Ishii pop up for the double knockdown.

They both get fired up for the forearm off until Ishii headbutts the yelling Dickinson down. A heck of a clothesline gives Ishii two but Dickinson is back up with an enziguri. Dickinson’s brainbuster gets two but Ishii slips out of a Razor’s Edge. The sliding lariat sets up the brainbuster to give Ishii the pin at 16:11.

Rating: B-. Much like Suzuki vs. Kross, this was a pair of big, strong guys hitting each other really hard until one of them couldn’t get up again. Also much like Suzuki, Ishii isn’t quite what he used to be but is still more than capable of getting in there and making something feel special. That is what he did here and Dickinson, while game, wasn’t going to get a win in a spot this big.

Post match, Minoru Suzuki comes out for a staredown with Ishii to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. It’s still weird cutting the event in half but what we got here was quite good. Granted it was short at less than an hour and forty minutes, but I’ll take what I can get. New Japan stars are not here very often and it still feels special to have them around, even for something like this. There are some very hard hitting matches here and the show flew by so we’ll definitely call this one a success.

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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Ring of Honor
Date: October 27, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Well now everything has changed. Ring of Honor’s future suddenly looks WAY different and that is not the best news. I’m not sure what is going to happen with the company but it is clear that things are going to be wrapping up. Hopefully the final few shows are good, but this is very uncharted territory. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Vincent is checking himself in the mirror and has the rest of the Righteous say that “he” is going to love it.

Quinn McKay runs down the card, which is all based on Violence vs. Pure.

Rhett Titus vs. Tony Deppen

Both of them talk about how they want to show that their style is better. They go with the technical stuff on the mat as Deppen wants to show he can do this too. Titus grabs a test of strength and powers him to the mat without much effort but Deppen reverses into a leglock. That’s broken up and we take an early break, coming back with Titus putting on a headscissors. Deppen is out in a hurry with a backslide but Titus snaps off a butterfly suplex for two.

A knee to the ribs and a knee to the back of the head give Deppen two of his own before he ties up Titus’ arms. Some biting of the hand gets two on Titus and here is Homicide to get on the apron for no logical reason. Titus blocks a backsplash by raising the knees and we take a break. Back again with Titus being sent to the apron but managing a hard slingshot shoulder for two. Homicide grabs a chair for a distraction, causing Titus to miss a running boot in the corner.

Deppen kicks him to the floor and hits a suicide flip dive (a Homicide specialty), followed by a top rope double stomp for two back inside. Homicide is NOT happy with the kickout as they trade rollups for two each. Titus gets in a gutwrench suplex and some running boots in the corner, setting up an implant DDT for two more. There’s the half crab with a knee in the back but Homicide throws in the chair for the distraction. Said distraction lets Deppen hit Titus with the chair, setting up the running boot for the pin at 12:23.

Rating: C+. I liked this one as Titus has improved a bit with his new style. He looks smooth with the clean wrestling stuff and that is nice to see as he has rarely had anything that has stuck (often through no fault of his own). Deppen is a rather good heel too and they worked well together, with the cheating making sense for the faction with the numbers advantage here.

Post break, Titus wants to know where the Foundation was during that. Fair question.

Tony Deppen asks why Homicide wouldn’t help him. They’re from the places with no rules so why would they follow rules here?

Brody King/Chris Dickinson vs. Jonathan Gresham/Tracy Williams

Homicide and Jay Lethal are the seconds. Before the match, both teams say their way is better. The Foundation jump them from behind to start in a bit of a twist and the fight goes outside early. Dickinson beats on Gresham in the corner and hands it off to King to power him around. It’s right back to Dickinson, who tries to go after Gresham’s leg, which just does not seem that bright.

King is back in with a neck crank to grind Gresham down but he finally sends King into Dickinson. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Williams so the pace can pick way up. Dickinson kicks Williams in the face but Williams hits a running corner clothesline. We take a break and come back with Gresham getting the tag and chopping away at Dickinson. The Foundation takes turns stomping on Dickinson’s ankles but Gresham ducks right into a knee to the face (that looked GREAT) to knock him silly.

Gresham gets up a boot in the corner though and tweaks King’s leg, setting up the sleeper. The other two get in a brawl of their own though and then crash the hold for the save. We take another break and come back again with King Boston crabbing Williams as Dickinson gets Gresham in an STF. Both holds are broken up so Dickinson puts the STF on Williams. That’s reversed into a Crossface but Dickinson flips out of that as well and grabs a rear naked choke. King holds Gresham back as Williams passes out at 12:52.

Rating: B. This was quite a match, with both teams getting the chance to shine. Dickinson beating Williams with a clean hold was interesting and not something I would have seen coming. If nothing else, I would have bet on the Foundation to win here to even up the night, so well done on throwing in a surprise here.

Jay Lethal and Homicide are already here and since they’re scheduled for the main event, let’s go.

Jay Lethal vs. Homicide

Lethal has the Foundation head to the back while Violence Unlimited stays at ringside, which can’t possibly go badly. Lethal starts fast and knocks Homicide outside, setting up the triple suicide dives. Back up and Homicide shoulders him to the floor, setting up the big flip dive and they’re both down for a second.

They get back in for the slow motion slugout until Lethal misses a middle rope dropkick. For some reason a fork is placed in the turnbuckle but neither can go face first into it. Instead, Homicide chokes away but Lethal scores with a superkick. Cue Dutch of the Righteous to jump Tony Deppen as the Lethal Injection finishes Homicide at 5:37.

Rating: C. It was fun while it lasted but they were flying through everything here until the screwy finish. That would be the finish where another faction interfered in a match between factions, but at least they interfered after a fast paced match. Lethal vs. Homicide could be a good showdown if they were given the chance, but we only got something fun for a little while here.

The Righteous poses on the stage and applaud everyone to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Another pretty good show here, but it is kind of hard to get interested when this version of Ring of Honor is not going to be around much longer. There was a theme here, but this time, even moreso than usual, it was all about a few groups of wrestlers and that is not exactly the most interesting. I could go for something different, though I’m not sure if that is an option right now. Either way, at least it was a fun show with a theme.

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rSpring Break
Date: April 9, 2021
Location: Cuban Club, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Emil Jay, Kevin Gill

This is arguably the indy weekend main event and the show is hit and miss to say the least. You never know what you are going to see at something like this and that could go multiple ways. I’ve had a good time at these things before, but those were all the Joey Janela versions. Janela is on the card, but his name is no longer on the show. Let’s get to it.

No entrances or anything, as tends to be the case with a show like this.

Dave Penzer is ring announcer. Well that’s an upgrade.

Starboy Charlie vs. Billie Starkz

Charlie just turned 18 and is billed at 145lbs, which commentary says is AFTER he put some size on. Tony Deppen joins commentary because he worked with both of them before and wanted to see the match. Fair enough reason. In your “that’s not normal” stat, Gill says that Billie is closer in age to his four and a half month old son that she is to Gill himself. Feeling out process to start and they go to the mat for the technical off.

Charlie works on a hammerlock but gets leveraged outside without much effort. Back in and Charlie can’t get a Sharpshooter so Billie kicks him in the head. They trade some rollups for two each until Charlie snaps off an armdrag to take over. A dropkick into a standing shooting star press (Deppen: “If I did that, I’d throw my back out.”) gets two on Billie, who blocks the third Amigo.

Billie rolls some German suplexes, giving us the now ultra rare Chris Benoit name drop. Back up and Charlie gets sent into the corner for a kick to the face and an Ocean Cycle suplex (electric chair dropped backwards into something close to a German suplex) gets two. The eternally teased German suplex off the apron continues to be teased but Charlie takes her down in the corner.

The running corkscrew moonsault gets two and Charlie sends her flying with a t-bone suplex. They trade shots to the face for a double knockdown and a breather. Back up again and Charlie suplexes her into the Tree of Woe, setting up the running boot. Billie gets her knees up to block a 450, only to miss a Swanton. They glare at each other a bit until Charlie snaps off a Michinoku Driver (dropping Billie on her head) for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: C. This was action packed but a VERY indy style match. You could feel that they were trying to figure out where to go next after each spot because it didn’t have much of a flow. It was certainly entertaining, but these two need a lot more seasoning (fair enough given their age). That being said, opening a show like this is a good thing for them as the more ring time they get is going to help them out.

Post match 44OH (Bobby Beverly/Eric Ryan) come in for the double beatdown. That means we need a save, and probably a tag match.

44OH vs. Ironbeast

Ironbeast is KTB/Shane Mercer and this feels like a hoss fight. Mercer picks both of them up to start and KTB comes off the top with a high crossbody for the big crash. KTB feeds Beverly back inside for a powerbomb (over the ropes) to plant him down hard. That’s not enough as Only is put on KTB’s shoulders so Mercer can superplex him into the middle. It’s time for the doors but KTB takes too long and gets knocked outside.

Back in and Mercer gets double teamed with forearms to the back and kicks to the face. A tiger driver gets two on KTB but Mercer breaks up the drive through the table. Beverly Cannonballs Mercer against (not through) the table but KTB sends Only through the table without much effort. KTB hits a big dive to take Beverly out on the floor, leaving Mercer to take Only up.

That means a super gorilla press, dropped into a super flipping World’s Strongest Slam (good freaking grief). That’s not it either as KTB adds a powerbomb before throwing Only into a bridging German suplex to give Mercer (ignore his shoulders being down too) for the pin at 6:49.

Rating: C+. Nearly total destruction here, with 44OH (modern names can be really dumb) only getting in a little bit in the middle. Ironbeast is great for a team at this level, as they can do all of their crazy athletic power stuff without giving up much of anything. This was fun and completely different from the opener, which is what you expect on a show like this one.

Penzer says he’s old so Emil Jay can handle the rest of the announcing. Well that’s a downgrade.

Arez/Gringo Loco/Black Taurus vs. Aramis/Dragon Bane/Laredo Kid

Lucha rules of course and yeah I’m going to get lost in a hurry. The latter team comes out to Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz so they can’t be all bad (or they might not be bad at all). Loco drives Laredo into the corner to start and takes him down with a test of strength. Commentary talks about how this could be similar to what used to happen on Monday Nitro as a great introduction to lucha libre. If you’re watching GCW Spring Break, you know lucha libre and probably most of these people.

Loco cartwheels his way out of a headscissors and we get a staredown. A front flip lets Loco flip off his opponents and everyone comes in for the big staredown. Aramis and company snap off a bunch of headscissors to the floor with Arez getting knocked onto Taurus’ shoulders. That’s fine with Kid and Aramais, who hit stereo suicide dives for the double knockdowns.

Back in and a triple 450 has the villains (I think?) in more trouble but Arez scores with three straight tilt-a-whirl backbreakers. Aramis is fine enough to drop Arez onto the turnbuckle but Loco and Taurus are back in to take over with the triple teaming. Kid’s crazy high springboard is speared out of the air and Loco adds a heck of a moonsault for two. Bane’s save doesn’t work either and the triple stomping ensues.

Somehow he’s fine enough to kick Loco in the head and grab a spinning DDT on Taurus for a breather. Taurus isn’t having that and clotheslines a bunch of people but Bane and Aramais save Kid from something on top. That’s fine for the good guys, who hit a crazy stereo triple dive from the top to the floor. Back in and Aramis chops it out with Arez until Bane hits a brainbuster onto the knee.

Taurus kicks Bane in the head and drops him with a torture rack backbreaker, leaving Loco to hit a super Falcon Arrow to plant Aramis. Kid hits back to back moonsaults on Loco but Arez makes the save. A belly to back backbreaker gets two on Kid and it’s a double Old School, until Kid snaps off a springboard hurricanrana to drop Arez because of course they can do that. Loco walks the ropes for a flying cutter, leaving Aramis to hit a poisonrana on Taurus.

Since they haven’t gone insane enough, Loco puts Aramis on his shoulders with Kid on Aramis’ shoulders for a super cutter from Arez, because DANG. Taurus plants Aramis with a pop up Samoan drop and another one plants Bane. Aramis is back up with a very, very, very long spinning torture rack to Bane, which lasts so long that Kid can beat up Loco and go up top for a moonsault frog splash onto Arez and Bane can hit a springboard corkscrew dive onto Taurus. After THIRTY EIGHT SECONDS of spinning, Armais powerbombs Arez for the pin at 13:46.

Rating: B. Yep, what else are you expecting here? These matches are not designed to be anything more than a crazy exchange of spots coming one after another. There is no way to call something like this other than just listing stuff because these matches are not supposed to have any kind of a story. I had a blast with this though as I kept saying “sure why not” because people shouldn’t be able to do this kind of stuff. Awesome fun.

Post match the money is thrown into the ring to keep with tradition.

Joey Janela has sent Jordan Oliver a creepy Lio Rush tape. Then someone slips a note under Oliver’s door with the date of this show written on it.

Jordan Oliver vs. Lio Rush

Oliver is still called Big Breakfast and I still don’t know why. Rush has a very over the top entrance, with some kind of a contortionist moving around a lot to a rather slow song. Then Rush staggers out to what sounds like a rap he is performing himself and is called the Blackheart. The (few) fans are split before the bell and commentary talks about how they’re scared of this version of Rush.

They stare each other down for over a minute before Oliver kicks him out to the floor. Oliver’s suicide cutter drops Rush hard and we need a breather as they both have to get back up. A standing choke doesn’t get Oliver very far as Rush hits him in the face again. Oliver puts him in a chair and gets a running start around the ring, which takes far too long and lets Rush nail a jumping knee to the face. To mix things up, Rush puts him in the chair and hits his own running dive, which actually connects.

Back in and Rush hammers away, including a boot to the face in the corner. An ax kick gives Rush two so let’s bring in a door (which commentary thinks might be FORBIDDEN). Hold on though as Rush needs to stop and yell at a fan, allowing Oliver to strike away. Some kicks to the head rock Oliver but he’s fine enough to suplex Rush hard through the door for two.

It’s time for another door but Oliver takes too long and gets caught with rolling German suplexes. An overhead belly to belly sends Oliver through the door for a slightly delayed two as commentary doesn’t exactly get emotional with these near falls. Back up and the standing C4 cuts off Oliver’s comeback attempt as commentary hypes up Oliver being undefeated in GCW this year.

A superplex to the floor is broken up and a double knockdown puts them outside at the same time. Back in and they go with the big slugout, with commentary bringing up Karate Fighters. Oliver’s tiger driver gets two and a running kick to the face is good for the same. With Rush down, it’s time for more furniture, this time in the form of doors and chairs. Two of the doors are laid over a quartet of chairs at ringside but Rush stares at Oliver to….I guess possess him?

Either way, Oliver forearms him for two with Rush bridging up for the kickout. Rush is right back with some more rolling German suplexes but Oliver rolls through the last one and grabs a German suplex of his own. Oliver sends him to the apron, where Rush (barely) muscles him over for the Falcon Arrow outside through the doors. Back in and Rush takes WAY too long to set up a frog splash (Oliver was half sitting up) and dives into a cutter.

A springboard cutter gets a very close two on Rush and we get the big shocked face. Another cutter (without much impact) drops Rush onto the apron and they’re both down on the floor again. That’s only good for two back inside with Rush bridging up for the kickout again. Oliver loads up a super cutter but gets shoved off, allowing Rush to nail the frog splash. Something close to a Gargano Escape makes Oliver tap at 22:24.

Rating: B-. This was a very indy style big match, with the tables and a bunch of different versions of the same move. Rush is a bigger star, but Oliver has gotten a lot out of this whole weekend. Given that this loss makes him 3-1 on the day, it is pretty clear that he is putting in the ring time to get a good deal of experience. He is a long way from being signed by a big promotion, but this kind of match will get him some needed notice.

Atticus Cougar (great name, though apparently it is pronounced “Co-Gar”) talks about being a Masada fan since he was a kid and now he’s facing Masada in a death (erg) match. This match has been one of his top priorities and now it is time to prove himself. At some point, Cougar used Masada’s signature skewers on Masada’s head, which seems to be an act of war.

Atticus Cougar vs. Masada

Death match with commentary promising a lot of violence. There are weapons, including barbed wire, all around the ring to start. The brawl is on to start with Masada sending Cougar into a skewer board in the corner. Masada finds a piece of a broken door but Cougar kicks him in the face to break it up. A suicide dive is countered into a belly to back drop onto the apron and Masda doors him. Part of the door is raked over Cougar’s head but he is right back with some kendo stick shots.

Masada is back with a bed of toothpicks, which he puts on Cougar’s back and pounds it in. Said board is raked over Cougar’s head to draw the blood and then pulls some toothpicks out of his back. Something that looks like a kendo stick to the head knocks Cougar down again and it’s time for the skewers to the head. Cougar manages to dropkick him into a skewer covered board in the corner, some of which are then pounded into Masada’s head.

They fight outside where Masada can’t hit a powerbomb so Cougar gets in a shot to the face. Back in and the door is set onto two chairs, but first Cougar stabs him in the shoulder with the skewers. Masada is back with some mini skewers into Cougar’s head (where they stick) and now the powerbomb through the door gets two. The skewers go into Cougar’s mouth for another stomping and that means it’s time for a breather (and skewer removal) on the floor. A few fans try an ULTRAVIOLENCE chant as both guys stand around for a bit.

Back in and Masada grabs a powerbomb into the STF but Cougar uses a piece of wood to the hand to break it up. Cougar’s top rope double stomp gives him his own two so he puts Masada on a chair. It takes too long for him to go up top though and Masada is right there, only to get caught with a super headlock driver onto a chair. Say it with me: for two.

Cougar whips out a board with a gusset plate attached but Masada takes it away and hits him in the arm. A Death Valley Driver gets two and Masada drives said plate into the arm. Cougar hits him low and puts more skewers into the head, setting up the headlock driver to drive the skewers even further in, again, for two. A low superkick sets up a third headlock driver to finally finish Masada at 18:40.

Rating: D-. Somehow, this featured more wrestling than usual in these matches, though that didn’t exactly make it better. This was more mindless carnage and violence with all of the blood they could manage, but they used the skewers so it was awesome (allegedly). As usual, they weren’t exactly building to anything here and kept repeating the same weapons over and over. Yeah they used skewers earlier, but now they’re using them AGAIN! More nonsense and thankfully we get to move on.

Rich Swann vs. Lee Moriarty

Ok this could be good. Swann’s entrance has the fans dancing for a cool visual, with commentary talking about how wrestling brings people together and Twitter tears them apart. I guess we’re to ignore him asking fans to get the show trending on Twitter before the match. Moriarty comes in with taped up ribs and they go technical to start, including an exchange of armdrags.

Both of them try dropkicks at the same time and it’s an early standoff. They trade some flips until Swann hits the dropkick to take over for the first time. An armbar brings Moriarty back to his feet and he grabs a Codebreaker onto the arm. Swann needs a breather on the floor so Moriarty goes after him to sent the arm into various things. Back in and the arm is sent into the corner as commentary talks about the (pretty good) For The Culture show late last night.

Swann grabs a neckbreaker for a breather and the rolling splash gets two. Moriarty is right back on the arm and snaps off a heck of a DDT for two of his own. A double underhook tiger driver drops Swann again but he’s back up with a one armed handspring cutter for a very near fall. The frog splash gets two more so it’s time for the big slugout.

An exchange of kicks to the head puts both of them down and the fans are pleased. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence for multiple two’s each until Moriarty grabs a Fujiwara armbar. That’s broken up as well so Moriarty keeps hold of the arm and nails a lariat for another two. Moriarty takes him up top, where Swann bites the bad ribs (that’s a new one) to take him back down. The 450 finishes for Swann at 12:14.

Rating: B-. Oh sure, these two can only get twelve minutes while a fight over skewers to the head gets nearly twenty. Swann winning is completely fine, though Moriarty continues to be one of the real stars of the weekend. He is going to get a good chance somewhere in the future and matches like this one are only going to make it happen faster.

Chris Dickinson talks about how Joey Janela has been living off of his reputation for years now. He isn’t going to stand for Janela turning wrestling into a circus and now it is time to knock some sense into Janela. The snake’s head is coming off and Janela better come ready to go. Dickinson loves him though.

Chris Dickinson vs. Joey Janela

Janela is in Bam Bam Bigelow inspired gear and they go straight at it with the slugout. Dickinson grabs a powerbomb and then throws in a second to make it worse. Commentary recaps the feud here: they were stablemates and Janela agreed to put up the naming rights for the show for a World Title shot, where Dickinson turned on him, presumably for being too goofy. I’ve heard worse ideas. Dickinson throws in a door, which he breaks in some smaller pieces to go after Janela’s head.

With Janela busted open, Dickinson drives the wood into his head even more, as a proper monster should. The rest of the door goes onto Janela’s head and a running basement dropkick drives the door into him again. A half nelson suplex plants Janela for two so Dickinson takes him up top. It’s desperation time though and Janela grabs a top rope superplex for the much needed breather. Janela stomps away in the corner but Dickinson is back with some hard rolling German suplexes.

Somehow Janela pops back up with a roaring elbow for two of his own, setting up a broken door over the head. Dickinson suplexes him down again as commentary talks about Dickinson getting annoyed at putting in the effort while Janela gets everything handed to him. Dickinson heads outside and asks for a chair so the fans throw in a few dozen, with commentary being VERY against this, as they should be.

A chair to the head in the corner rocks Janela but he comes back with a superkick and DDT (yep, it’s an indy match). Dickinson clotheslines the heck out of him and they’re both down for a double breather. They head up top again, with Janela fighting out of another superplex attempt and hits a tornado DDT onto the pile of chairs. Dickinson rolls outside though, as this needs to keep going. A suicide dive sends the now bleeding Dickinson down again (Commentary: “Dickinson is F*****!”) and a top rope double stomp onto the chest gives Janela two back inside.

Janela blasts him in the head with a chair but Dickinson wants more. The delay lets Dickinson go low, setting up Death Valley Driver onto a chair for one (of course). They slug it out until Janela grabs his own Death Valley Driver for two. Dickinson catches him on top with a super Razor’s Edge toss for two more. Therefore, let’s bring in a ladder and a door, though Dickinson is smart enough to pause for a running boot to Janela’s head.

The really big ladder is set up in the corner and Dickinson bridges the door over four chairs. Janela comes back with a low blow and chair shot before climbing up. Dickinson meets him on top though and it’s a super Death Valley Driver through the door, say it with me, for two. The fans chant for JOEY KICKOUT as Dickinson is favoring his knee. The knee is good enough for some dragon screw legwhips to drop Janela, who shrugs it off to grab a Figure Four. Dickinson almost turns it over but finally taps at 21:57.

Rating: C. It was violent (with the blood thankfully only being a focus at the beginning) and it did tell a story of Janela fighting back against the powerhouse, but EGADS the kickouts were insane. That seems to be Janela’s thing and it works with this audience, though that doesn’t quite make it the easiest thing to watch. The action and high spots were good, but the eye rolling over the kickouts brought it right back down, as tends to be the case with these matches.

Post match Dickinson pulls himself up so Janela offers a handshake, only to have Dickinson spit in his hands and walk away. Janela says he’s back in GCW and gets a rather limited reaction. Some of the fans do seem to like him though, with commentary saying it means the internet doesn’t matter. They then tell us to go get GCW merch online.

Effy vs. Gregory Iron

Iron is a wrestler with cerebral palsy and has Virgil of all people (you knew he would pop up somewhere) with him. Ring announcer: “Being accompanied to the ring by……VIRGIL???”. Iron gives Virgil a big introduction, dubbing him a Spring Break Hall of Famer and the newest member of 44OH. This is billed as Brunch vs. B****, with Effy putting up the naming rights to his Big Gay Brunch (the actual title). Effy’s entrance lets commentary talk about how little Effy cares about what anyone thinks of him and how he is for everyone. He gets in Virgil’s face to start but Virgil has a bottle of vodka.

The distraction lets Iron get in some chair shots to take over in a hurry as commentary wonders how Virgil got that bottle (which is apparently for drinking, not product placement). Effy comes back with some chops in the corner as commentary wonders what Iron would serve at his brunch. Iron is back with a Thesz press and shots to the face as we talk about Iron appearing on Steve Austin’s podcast.

Something like a reverse Fameasser out of the corner gives Effy two, which has Virgil fairly disinterested (as he stands on the apron instead of the floor). A Codebreaker gets Iron out of trouble but Effy grabs a sunset flip and pulls Iron’s trunks down in the process. There’s a backsplash for two on Iron, whose trunks are still down so Effy gives it some spanks.

Virgil comes in for a distraction so Iron can get in a low blow, only to have Virgil hit him in the head with the vodka bottle by mistake (with Virgil flinching before hitting him to make it look pretty awful). Hold on though as Effy grabs some scissors to cut off Virgil’s 44OH shirt to reveal an Effy shirt. The fans are pleased as Iron (still with the trunks down) gets powerbombed for the pin at 5:59.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure how much drama there was here and the match was more about comedy with some action thrown in. Effy seems to be a fan favorite and Iron seems to be quite the nasty heel, so the story worked out well enough. The problem is that it wasn’t very good and felt like a low level TV main event more than anything else. Granted I can appreciate that as we are almost at three hours on this show.

Post match Effy pulls Iron’s trunks back up, making him even more of a face.

A scafflold has to be built for the main event so here are some commercials.

Video on Rickey Shane Page vs. Nick Gage, with Page saying he came here, stole Gage’s manhood and title, so now it’s time to do it one more time.

We pause for a good while to put up enough light tubes to make half of a cage.

GCW World Title: Rickey Shane Page vs. Nick Gage

Page (apparently the leader of 44OH) is defending and it’s a deathmatch with nearly an hour to go in the show (oh boy). The entrances take the better part of ever as commentary REALLY hypes up the war between Gage and 44OH. Gage gets his Big Match Intro and then jumps Page with a light tube during his own, because Gage isn’t that nice. Page is whipped into a wall of light tubes and it’s time for Gage to stab him in the back with a piece of broken tube.

Another whip into the corner sends Page through a sheet of glass and Gage shrugs off a whip into tubes. The Facewash into the light tubes hits Page in the corner as Page is already busted badly. Gage can’t quite get out of the ring but eventually manages a springboard backsplash to drive him through a barbed wire/glass board. Some fans hold up chairs so Gage can send him face first into them as commentary talks about the glory that is Nick Gage. Page is finally able to score with a light tube of his own (my goodness it feels dumb to say things like this) and it’s time to gouge Gage’s forehead.

That’s a bit more than Gage is willing to sell though and Page is whipped through another glass panel. Back in and another light tube goes over Page’s head and Gage does it again for good measure. Gage gets whipped hard into the other wall of light tubes and Page breaks another one over Gage’s face. A comeback is countered with a backdrop over the top and through another sheet of glass, with Gage nearly landing on his head.

Page starts going after Gage’s injured ankle (which has been a problem for months) before taking him to the apron for a toss suplex through a bed of light tubes. That’s only good for two back inside, because it’s only been about 50 light tubes so far. Gage is a bit blinded from….well everything really, and hits the referee by mistake (BECAUSE A REFEREE MATTERS SO MUCH IN THIS THING) setting up a DDT and spinebuster. Another light tube connects with Page’s head and then Gage uses a jagged piece of tube to start carving MDK into Page’s back.

Page climbs the scaffold and here is Gregory Iron to slow Gage down. That earns him a piledriver onto various pieces of glass as Effy comes out to take care of Iron. Cue more 44OH members to go after Gage, with Page directing traffic while down on the scaffold. A table is loaded up and here’s a big package of light tubes wrapped around whatever is inside the thing.

44OH takes forever to load up more glass so here are Joey Janela and some more guys (to Walk by Pantera, making me think that that we were getting a Rob Van Dam cameo) to even things up. Gage gets up and points at Page on top of the scaffold, with Gage following (as we hear a production worker talking about having Gage’s music ready).

Page is tossed through the glass and most of the tubes, completely missing the table they are on. The rest of the tubs are smashed over Page’s back as we have a new referee. Gage finishes carving the M into Page’s back but gets hit low, setting up a chokebreaker for two. The referee gets a chokebreaker as well so here is Atticus Cougar to load up ANOTHER sheet of glass over some chairs.

Some skewers go into Gage’s head and now it’s time to put more chairs and another sheet of glass onto the first sheet of glass. Cue promoter Brett Lauderdale to hit Cougar with some tubes, allowing Gage to powerbomb himself through the two sheets (with Page landing on the mat and Gage going through everything) for two. A chokebreaker gives Gage the title back at 24:37.

Rating: D-. Ignoring the rather sickening worship of Gage by commentary, the insane blood, all of the interference and the ridiculous amount of missed spots, this was full of a lot of the same problems you often have from a deathmatch: it was so repetitive that none of it had any impact. See, they used a light tube, but then they used like A HUNDRED light tubes. They put him through a sheet of glass? Well how awesome would it be if they did it five times??? This was a big story for this audience, but dang these things are not for me and the actual content of the matches is one of the least problems.

Post match Lauderdale hands Gage some spray paint so he can paint MDK on the old belt (which had been painted by Page). Hold on though as some music plays and we have Jon Moxley for the big staredown with Gage. They go nose to nose, with some of Gage’s blood getting on Moxley’s face. Moxley goes to leave but Gage shouts some expletives and now the fight is on (like Donkey Kong, according to commentary).

Moxley lays him out with the Paradigm Shift and then hits another onto the light tubes. Gage is down so Moxley gets to pose a lot and leaves, with Gage popping back up because he doesn’t stay down. Gage asks where his motherf****** gang is and calls Moxley a variety of bad names. He thanks the fans for having his back and worrying about him while he was out with an injury.

What matters is that he is the best deathmatch wrestler in the world and he and Moxley will have a REAL deathmatch. Everything around here is real and none of these weapons are fake so we’ll see who is really tough. Gage hits the catchphrase, wants one of his friends let out of prison, and hits the catchphrase again to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The thing that needs to be understood here is that there are a lot of good matches on here. A lot of this stuff had nothing to do with the violence or the hardcore and was just about having some solid action. They had a good mixture of action with various kinds of wrestling and a lot of it is watchable at best and very entertaining at worst.

Then you have the deathmatch stuff and simply put, you’re either into it or you’re not and there isn’t much of a middle ground. One thing that does help is that (possible quality aside), there is certainly a main story going on through GCW, with 44OH seemingly feuding with most of the promotion. That’s fine for a story to have going on and it does seem like the deathmatches were set up, but they’re absolutely not my thing and it brings the rest of the show down. If you’re into some rather watchable indy stuff, this is absolutely worth a look, but you might want to have the fast forward ready for two of the longer matches.

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Ring of Honor
Date: August 18, 2021
Location: UMBC Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re still in the middle of the Women’s Title tournament and the results have been hit and miss so far. As tends to be the case in a tournament with a bunch of unknowns, some of the matches have outshone the others, there have been a few that didn’t exactly offer much. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with a recap of some previous round matches.

Ian Riccaboni previews the dead.

Holidead is the next “I’m dead and creepy” wrestler but talks rather fast and seems angry about a lot of things.

Max the Impaler is the next monster heel and has Amy Rose in her corner to promise violence in destruction.

Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Max the Impaler vs. Holidead

Holidead crawls around and shouts a lot to start and they trade some forearms to the face. Max shrugs off some clotheslines in the corner and sends Holidead flying. Holidead manages a slam but Max does the Undertaker situp to freak her out. A big charge drives Holidead into the corner and Max sits on her back. Back up and Holidead misses a charge into the post to make it even worse for herself.

Max tosses her with a suplex and we take a break. Back with Holidead elbowing her way out of a fireman’s carry and grabbing a DDT. This time it’s Max missing a charge into the post and getting caught in a release German suplex. Holidead hits a suicide dive to the floor but Max backdrops her way out of Darkness Falls. Instead Holidead settles for a spinebuster but misses a guillotine legdrop. An over the shoulder backbreaker finishes Holidead at 9:18.

Rating: C. This tournament continues to confuse me a bit as there is only so much you can get out of something where the matches are thrown together with no history between them. Both of them were a little scary and strong and Max won. How much more can I really get out of it than that? Completely watchable, but not exactly memorable.

Video on Matt Taven vs. Vincent. I’m not wild on Taven’s facial hair choices. Thankfully he shaves it off after talking about how Vincent has ruined his life but now he wants the World Title match.

Champions vs. All Stars

Champions: Bandido, Homicide, Chris Dickinson, Jonathan Gresham, Dragon Lee

All Stars: Flip Gordon, Briscoes, Josh Woods, EC3

I think the name speaks for itself. Bandido’s World Title still says Rush because he wants people to know who he beat to win it. Or Ring of Honor is slow updating things. We get a cool shot of all the titles on a table as Woods and Gresham go technical to start. Neither is getting anywhere and there seems to be some respect being shown here. Gresham wants Jay Briscoe but Dickinson tags himself in instead.

They hit the mat with Woods blocking a kneebar and shoving Dickinson down in a bit of a power display. Mark comes in to face Lee, which could be a bit interesting. With Flip standing on the floor, Mark unloads in the corner and shouts a lot but it’s off to EC3 to drop Lee with a neckbreaker. Flip tags himself in for a standing moonsault and we take a break.

Back with Dickinson elbowing Flip in the face for two but a clothesline allows the tag back to Woods. Homicide is fine enough to come in and take Woods out, setting up the Homicide/Dickinson vs. Briscoes slugout. We settle down to Woods and Gresham going amateur (shocking I know) but it’s back to EC3 for a suplex to Gresham. The Briscoes start taking over on Gresham but Flip tags himself in again.

Gresham gets in a leapfrog, sending EC3 into Flip for a crash. Bandido gets the hot tag and everything breaks down in a hurry. Bandido and Rush hit stereo suicide dives onto Woods and Gordon and it’s time for the parade of kicks to the face. Gordon rolls Homicide up but runs into an overhead belly to belly. The 187 is blocked and Flip Five gives Flip two but a Paul Orndorff style piledriver gives Flip the pin on Homicide at 13:29.

Rating: B. The star power and general calamity of this one made it work as there is something cool about taking the champs and their challengers and throwing them together. You aren’t going to run out of pairings to put together here and it worked out rather well, as tends to be the case. This is one of those ideas that always works for ROH and it continued the tradition this time.

We run down the Glory By Honor card (both nights) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Thankfully we are now on to the second round of the tournament and can get some more familiar matches going, as it hasn’t been the most interesting thing so far. Other than that, the show swung into a much different direction with the main event, which made this a good show as a result. I liked the main event concept and it set up the double night event. Good stuff, as ROH continues its roll.

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Ring of Honor
Date: August 11, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

We are still firmly in middle of the Women’s Title tournament, which dominated last week’s show. That meant a kind of hit or miss collection of matches, as you can only get so far with a bunch of wrestlers we haven’t seen before having short matches. While it wasn’t bad, it was lacking some interest, which hopefully is here this time. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We look at Allysin Kay defeating Willow to advance on the non-televised show.

Quinn McKay says she has come up short time after time and that is because of the Allure. Now it is her last shot and it is guaranteed to be one on one. Now she is getting her chance to thank the fans by beating Mandy Leon.

Mandy Leon thinks this is rigged because McKay has lost her two matches but is in the tournament anyway. Why is McKay here with one of the founding mothers of the division? No worries as she’ll take McKay out.

Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Quinn McKay vs. Mandy Leon

Rematch from a few weeks ago when Leon needed Angelina Love’s help to beat McKay. A spear cuts Mandy down at the bell but it’s too early for the Tangerine Dream. Mandy needs a breather on the floor but McKay follows her out to keep up the brawl. Back in and Mandy gets in a shot to the face though, allowing her to stomp away in the corner. A butterfly suplex gives Mandy two and we take a break.

We come back with a Hennig necksnap giving Mandy another two. Some forearms to the back in the corner allow for even more trash talk, setting up a running Unprettier for two more. The frustration is setting in and McKay avoids a charge in the corner, allowing a neckbreaker to connect for two. A powerslam sets up most of the Tangerine Dream but Mandy is out with a Backpack Stunner. Mandy’s Astral Projection is loaded up but McKay reverses into a cradle for the upset pin at 7:12.

Rating: C. This was the only way this match could wind up going and they got it right. McKay going on a serious run throughout the entire tournament would not be a surprise and I could go for seeing her do just that. Odds are the Allure messes with her again at some point and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them cost her. For now though, this worked well.

Commentary goes nuts at the upset and McKay runs over to celebrate with them.

Marti Belle got into wrestling because it was a little bit of everything she wanted to do. Trisha Adora wants to show you what she can do and is a military veteran. They have both been through adversity and Adora is fighting for her mother, who has cancer.

Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Marti Belle vs. Trish Adora

They go with the grappling to start as Adora spins out of an early wristlock. That doesn’t last long so they’re back up for another standoff. Belle headlocks her down as we hear about Adora being a chess aficionado. Back up and Belle blocks the Lariat Tubman (ok then) with an ax handle to the arm and we take an early break.

We come back with Belle’s running knee getting two and Adora’s arm being wrapped around the rope. A running knee gets a delayed two on Adora but she fights back with forearms to the head. Adora gets in a kick to the arm and a judo throw sets up some hard kicks. That’s enough for Adora, who grabs the Cattle Mutilation for the tap at 7:13.

Rating: C. Another perfectly fine match here without much that is going to stick with me. It helps a bit to have Belle as a more familiar face, though it is still not exactly great. The match wasn’t bad but it also wasn’t quite memorable, making this the most “there” match that I have seen in a little while now.

We look back at Bandido winning the World Title at Best in the World.

Brody King/Chris Dickinson vs. Rey Horus/Bandido

King and Dickinson are ready to hurt people. The luchadors try chopping away at the bell and are taken straight into the corner to start the choking. Dickinson takes Horus down into a Crossface to start and then chops him down again. King comes in to run Horus over and the neck crank goes on.

We take a break and come back with the stomping continuing in the corner as Horus stays in trouble. Horus finally manages to get away and the hot tag brings in Bandido to start cleaning house. King gets dropkicked down and there’s a heck of a gorilla press to Dickinson. The big Fosbury Flop to the floor takes out King and Dickinson and it’s some running clotheslines on Dickinson back inside.

Horus gets knocked outside though and King grabs the Boston crab. Horus’ dropkicks don’t break it up and he gets pulled down into the Crossface from Dickinson. Both are broken up and Dickinson brainbusters Bandido for two. Back up and the 21 Plex is countered, only to have Bandido drop Dickinson with it for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. Bandido feels like the World Champion and it was a good match, though the ending came a bit out of nowhere and it didn’t really get the time to be built up. What matters here is getting Bandido a win to keep him moving forward as champion, as it might be a while before he has his first major title defense.

Post match the rest of La Faccion Ingobernable runs in to go after Bandido, with Rush ripping off the mask. Violence Unlimited comes in for the brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a pretty flat show, as the tournament is only so interesting and the rest of the show wasn’t anything great. That is the regular trouble with tournaments, as they have a tendency to overshadow everything else and take away so much of the focus. It’s still perfectly watchable, but don’t expect much to change until we get to the finals.

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Ring of Honor
Date: June 30, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are rapidly approaching Best In The World and a lot of the card has either already been made or is pretty obvious. That is not a bad thing either, but we also have to set up the rest of the Survival of the Fittest tournament. In other words, you can feel things getting interesting around here again and that is a very nice thing. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and runs down the card, which will be headlined by the Survival of the Fittest finals. Well that’s big.

Here’s how all six of the finalists qualified.

But first, this.

Matt Taven vs. Dutch

Dutch has Vita Von Starr and Bateman with him. Taven goes straight at the monster to start and gets shoved down without much effort. Some heavy forearms to the chest have Taven in trouble but Dutch’s powerslam is broken up. A dropkick has no effect on Dutch, who runs Taven over to send us to a break. Back with Dutch taking it outside for a whip into the barricade.

Vita adds some choking but here is Maria Kanellis-Bennett to order her to the back. With that out of the way, Taven spin kicks him to the floor for the big suicide dive. The Flight of the Conqueror takes Dutch down again, setting up Aurora Borealis….for one, with Taven being stunned. Taven flips out of what looks like a spinning Boss Man Slam, setting up the Climax. That’s enough for Bateman to pull Taven outside and take him out for the DQ at 11:09.

Rating: C. The ending is annoying but I get why you don’t want either of these guys taking a fall. The story worked well here as this was about making Dutch look like a monster, which worked out well. I’m not sure how much longer they can drag out this Taven vs. Righteous story, but that has been the case for months now.

Post match, Vincent comes out to dance as Bateman beats on Taven. Mike Bennett comes in for the brawl but the Righteous gets the better of things. Security breaks it up.

Post break, Vincent talks about how Matt Taven wants everyone to cheer for him but one day, he’ll have nothing left. Dig what he’s saying? Taven looks a bit crushed.

Jay Briscoe is ready to knock Mark Briscoe out in the Fight on the Farm. He let Mark have the win at the 500th episode and now it’s time to knock him out like he always has.

Survival of the Fittest: Demonic Flamita vs. Brian Johnson vs. Eli Isom vs. Bandido vs. Rhett Titus vs. Chris Dickinson

Elimination rules and the winner gets a future World Title shot. During the entrances, everyone gets a quick promo about how they’re going to win and what it means to them. Bandido and Flamita trade the kicks to start before falling outside, meaning Dickinson and Titus can come in. Dickinson headlock takeovers him down but Titus is back up with a suplex for two. Isom comes in and goes to the mat with Titus for some grappling. It’s off to Johnson to come in and chop it out with Isom, who sends him into the corner with a backdrop.

Johnson sends Isom outside but gets dropped by Bandido. The big dive is loaded up but Bandido has to grab Flamita, meaning it’s a huge backflip World’s Strongest Slam onto the pile. Back in and Bandido kicks Johnson down, only to be rolled up by Bandido for the elimination at 4:48.

Flamita isn’t done though as he jumps Bandido and puts him through the timekeeper’s table. Some chair shots crush Bandido even worse, drawing out Rey Horus for the save. We take a break and come back with Isom armdragging Johnson into an armbar but his belly to belly is broken up. Johnson whips him hard into the corner and talks about how Isom has all of seven people in Indiana cheering for him.

That’s enough to fire Isom up for a release northern lights suplex but the referee gets bumped, allowing Johnson to get in a poke to the eye. The hanging cutter out of the corner sets up the Process….but Isom rolls outside. Dickinson comes in but Johnson bails to the floor, allowing Titus to come in for the dropkick to Dickinson. Johnson comes back in (pretty fast at that) but gets suplexed by Titus for two. Another dropkick sets up a running boot in the corner to rock Johnson again and the top rope knee finishes Johnson at 12:55. Dickinson comes in to go after Titus’ knee, setting up a kneebar for the fast tap at 13:28.

The rather banged up Bandido gets back in so Dickinson Saito suplexes him for two. Dickinson stays on the bad arm but Bandido pops back up with some shots of his own. The threat of a cross armbreaker has Bandido on the floor so here’s Isom to win a slugout. That doesn’t seem to hurt Dickinson for the most part until a superkick staggers him. That’s enough for Bandido to come in with the 21 Plex to get rid of Dickinson at 18:55.

We’re down to Isom vs. Bandido and after a break, the slugout is on. Isom gets two off a sidewinder suplex and the Rings of Saturn goes after the arms. Bandido grabs the rope and frustration has set in. The Promise is blocked though and Bandido hits the X Knee but the arm gives out on the 21 Plex. Isom grabs an Air Raid Crash for two but the Promises is broken up again. Instead Isom settles for two off a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. The Promise is broken up yet again and this time Bandido takes him down into something like a reverse cross armbreaker/Koji Clutch hybrid (Isom’s arm is WRENCHED back) for the win at 23:51.

Rating: B-. This might not have been as epic as some of the previous editions of the match but they hit it full on with Isom’s near upset and had the right winner. That’s about all you can ask for in a huge match like this as Bandido vs. Rush sounds pretty awesome for a main event at Best In The World. Dickinson looked like a killer here too, so three of the six coming out looking good works well.

Respect is shown and Bandido celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, Ring of Honor knows how to put on a good show and keep you entertained for an hour. The tournament final was the big focal point of the show and it worked well, with the opener being fine enough of a way to keep things going. I’m looking forward to the pay per view and if it can be as good as their TV, everything is going to work out.

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Ring of Honor
Date: June 16, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are well on the way to Best In The World and that means it is time to start getting a card together. That is in theory at least, as Ring of Honor doesn’t not usually run on the same schedule that most promotions use. We are also on the way towards Survival of the Fittest, meaning it is time for at least one more qualifying match. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and recaps the first Survival of the Fittest qualifying matches. We also run down the card, including the Tag Team Titles being defended. That will be under Pure Rules, so we go over the tag version of the rules (as you should).

Eli Isom is ready to beat Dak Draper to advance to the Survival of the Fittest finals. They have met before and went to a time limit draw. Isom knows he could have won in five more minutes, so Draper needs to bring everything he had plus more to win this time.

Dak Draper knows Eli Isom and knew that their paths would intertwine. He isn’t worried about Dalton Castle because it is time to be on to bigger and better things, like winning the tournament and winning the World Title.

Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match: Dak Draper vs. Eli Isom

Hold on though as the lights go out and here is dancing Dalton Castle with the clapping Boys. Castle says he’s just here to look at Draper so Isom sends Draper outside in a hurry and hits the big flip dive. Back in and Isom strikes away at the head, including a few right hands and a jumping kick to the face. Draper punches him out to the apron and manages a deadlift superplex, which is always the impressive sight.

Castle and the Boys start walking around as Draper drops a knee for two. A hard clothesline puts Isom down again and we take a break. Back with Draper hitting a top rope forearm to the head to send Isom outside. Isom gets thrown hard into the barricade, sending Castle into hysterics.

Back in and a waistlock has Isom in trouble until he rolls over to the rope. Draper is smart enough to put the hold right back on and it’s the Doctor Bomb for two. A monkey flip sends Draper into the corner and a spinning belly to back suplex gives Isom two of his own. Draper is right back with a powerslam and Castle starts the cheers. The Magnum Drop is loaded up but instead Draper takes Isom up top but Castle and the Boys walk away. The distraction lets Isom grab the Promise for the pin at 11:17.

Rating: C. The Castle stuff is interesting but this is a good example of one of Ring of Honor’s bigger issues. Draper and Isom feels like it started months ago and it is still going at such a slow pace. Stories take so long to advance around here so the good stuff that they have at the start is going to fade away by the time they get anywhere. As for the match, either of them could have won here, but Isom winning is a good way to go as he has been pushed pretty heavily as of late.

O’Shay Edwards talks about taking Sledge out and now it is time to beat Chris Dickinson in the Survival of the Fittest. Edwards has impressed me almost every time I’ve seen him so this has me interested.

Chris Dickinson has survived against everyone and he is ready to do it to Edwards again, just to stick it to everyone here.

Tag Team Titles: Dragon Lee/Kenny King vs. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus

Williams and Titus are defending and this is under Pure Rules. Titus takes King to the mat to start and it’s time for the exchange of holds. King gets the better of things with a hammerlock and a front facelock but gets reversed into Titus’ own hammerlock. Williams comes in for some knees to the ribs and the Cloverleaf goes on, sending King bailing to the ropes. A Fujiwara armbar almost makes King use another break but he rolls out instead and brings Lee in to pick up the pace.

Williams welcomes the chop off until Lee snaps off a running hurricanrana to send him outside. That means a hard whip into the barricade to put Williams in trouble and we take a break. Back with Williams suplexing Lee down for two but King comes in to pound Williams down. King and Lee start taking turns hammering away until Williams gets over for the tag off to Titus. Some rolling neckbreakers have Lee in trouble as everything breaks down. King kicks Williams off the apron as Titus grabs a suplex for two on Lee.

The hot tag brings in Williams for a discus lariat on King, who has to use the final rope break to escape. King pulls Williams into something like an Indian Deathlock, meaning Williams has to use his first break. Lee is back in for a slingshot kick to Titus in the corner, followed by the running dropkick in the corner.

Back up and Titus loads up a superplex on Lee but gets caught in the Tree of Woe for Lee’s top rope double stomp. Titus is back up with the dropkick to put all four down. Lee’s running knee is countered and Williams hits a discus forearm in the corner. The super driver plants Lee and King comes in for the save….but that’s a DQ at 16:09 because King and Lee are out of rope breaks.

Rating: B. Now that is a good way to use the rules as you should. This is the kind of thing that you do not get to see very often and they set it up rather well. At the end of the day, the rules are established and they built the finish up throughout the match. It was all action as well, which is what you would see every time with these teams. Good match here and I really like the ending.

Post match La Faccion Ingobernable runs in for the beatdown but the Foundation makes the save. Violent Unlimited comes out to watch approvingly as the show ends. Why yes, these faction battles are still continuing.

Overall Rating: B-. Another good show here, but they do need to get to the pay per view card so something can actually happen with these stories. You’re only getting so far with the stories not advancing over and over. Now the good thing is the fact that the they have a pay per view in less than a month, but a good amount of stuff needs to happen there. It’s still a good weekly show, but you can only stay in the same place for so long.

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

Rich Swann vs. KTB

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

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

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

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

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

AJ Gray vs. Daniel Garcia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brian Cage vs. Chris Dickinson

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

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

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

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

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Eli Everfly

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

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

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

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

Jordan Oliver vs. Jimmy Lloyd

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

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

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

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

They brawl to the back.

JTG vs. Dr. Cube

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

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

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

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

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

Low Ki vs. Lio Rush

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

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

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

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

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

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Evolve #1
Date: January 16, 2010
Location: Rahway Events Center, Rahway, New Jersey
Attendance: 500
Commentators: Leonard F. Chikarason, Lenny Leonard

So a good chunk of the Evolve library has been put up on the Network and since the whole thing is being blown up for the sake of Peacock sooner than later, I figured I would take a look at one of their shows. This is the promotion’s debut event so there is not likely to be much in the way of storylines. Let’s get to it.

Kyle O’Reilly is warming up when Davey Richards gets annoyed at the cameras. They’re here to film everything for a documentary but Davey and manager Tony Kozina throw them out anyway. Davey Richards being really serious? Stunning indeed.

Akira Tozawa and Kota Ibushi have a chat that I can’t understand.

Opening sequence, mainly featuring clips from Full Impact Pro.

Various people talk about why they wrestle, with one of them saying he would be dead if he didn’t.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Bobby Fish

O’Reilly has Tony Kozina with him. They trade kicks to the legs to start and then fight over the wrist, which the fans appreciate. Back up and Fish nails a dropkick and avoids a charge to send O’Reilly shoulder first into the rope. The big dive takes him down and it’s back inside for a t-bone suplex to send O’Reilly flying again. A top rope headbutt gives Fish two but O’Reilly knees his way to freedom. O’Reilly is back with the rolling butterfly suplexes for two of his own and it’s time to trade the hard kicks.

Fish kicks him down into a cross armbreaker, sending O’Reilly straight into the ropes. More big kicks rock O’Reilly but he counters one into a reverse fisherman’s suplex for two of his own. Fish hits a superkick but walks into a discus lariat for the double knockdown. O’Reilly is back up with a tornado DDT for no cover so Fish grabs a Falcon Arrow for his own two. Back up and O’Reilly hits another tornado DDT into a brainbuster for the pin at 6:35.

Rating: C+. This was a good way to start things off as it was all action and the kind of match that an audience like this would appreciate. If nothing else, it was bizarre to see these two looking so young but that’s the point of an opener like this. It was a hard hitting indy style match and that’s what it should have been in this spot.

Chuck Taylor vs. Cheech

No transition between the match and no entrances, which makes the show move a lot faster. Cheech was a regular on the independent scene around this time and Taylor would get more famous later on. This is an official qualifying match for the Evolve singles division. They start fast with Cheech hitting a shoulder but Taylor sidesteps a dropkick.

Cheech takes him down without much trouble and grabs something like a Sharpshooter where he sits down on the leg rather than pulling it back. That lets him get in some posing until Taylor makes the rope and comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A headscissors has Cheech in trouble and an overhead belly to belly sends him flying. Cheech is right back up with a moonsault press for two but Taylor hits a dropkick for the same.

The Awful Waffle is broken up and Cheech grabs some rollups for two each. Cheech superkicks him into the corner and hits a running kick to the face, followed by a 619 from the floor. Back in and Chuck hits his own kicks to the face, only to get caught with a spear. A running elbow in the corner drops Cheech for two and the Awful Waffle finishes Cheech at 6:29.

Rating: C-. It was energetic but this was every stereotype of an indy match you can find. They were doing everything they could all match with no selling and one spot after another. I know that’s the style that they want to have around here but it would be nice to see someone stop for a few seconds just to let something sink in for a change.

Post match Chuck is asked about his win and doesn’t like the idea of having to win a qualifying match. Vengeance is coming.

Ricochet vs. Arik Cannon

Cannon is an indy mainstay and RICOCHET HAS HAIR! LIKE SHOULDER LENGTH HAIR!!! Ricochet flips out of a wristlock to start so the bigger Cannon runs him over with a shoulder. A headscissors sends Cannon to the floor and Ricochet hits the cartwheel flip dive. Back in and Cannon nails a suplex into the corner but Ricochet takes him down for two off a quick rollup.

They trade strikes in the corner until Cannon drops him with a right hand into a brainbuster for two. Ricochet can’t hit a tornado DDT as Cannon reverses into a swinging brainbuster for another near fall. Back up and Ricochet kicks him in the face, setting up a 630 for the pin at 4:01.

Rating: C. Ricochet got to showcase himself a bit here but Cannon was dominating most of the match. That being said, Ricochet wasn’t exactly intimidating with the hair and not exactly filled out physique. Then again he was in his early 20s here and had a long way to go. Not a bad match, but they were flying through it so fast that it could only go so far.

Post match here’s Chuck Taylor to say that he’s from the south where they don’t believe in evolution. He’s into creationism so he’s here to create. The challenge is on, with Ricochet saying let’s do it now but Taylor walking off.

Silas Young is with Jimmy Jacobs and talks about what they want to do around here. Another wrestler (who might have been a very young Adam Cole) comes in to tell Jimmy that his match is coming up, which Jimmy does not seem to appreciate.

Brad Allen writes MOM on one set of wrist tape and MAC on the other, both with some crosses surrounding the names.

Dark City Fight Club vs. Aeroform

The Club is Jon Davis/Cory Chavis and were around the indies for years without ever making it to the big time. Aeroform is Louis Lyndon/Flip Kendrick, another team who would hang around for years. The smaller Aeroform starts fast and hits a double dropkick for two on Chavis. Back up and Chavis blasts Kendrick for two, setting up a modified Hart Attack (side kick instead of a clothesline, which Harlem Heat called the Big Apple Blast). Lyndon gets double teamed down as tags just seem to be a suggestion here.

Davis misses a charge in the corner and Lyndon gets over for the hot tag to Kendrick to clean house. Everything breaks down (Was it ever together in the first place?) and Lyndon has to avoid a brainbuster onto the apron. A springboard DDT Plants Davis and a 540 Spiral Tap gets two with Chavis making the save. Back up and Davis Pounces Kendrick, leaving Lyndon to take Project Mayhem (double hiptoss into a sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combination) for the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C-. I really wasn’t feeling this one as it was just a mess with a bunch of flips vs. a bunch of power stuff. That isn’t quite thrilling stuff but it’s a basic formula that can work in most cases. I know tag team wrestling has basically devolved into two on two matches with tags just kind of being a detail but a little lip service to the idea that they still matter would be nice every now and then.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Niya

Mercedes is introduces as the WSU (Women Superstars Uncensored) World Champion but this seems to be non-title. Niya didn’t seem to wrestle very long and Martinez chops her into the corner to start. Some rolling suplexes set up a fisherman’s buster to finish Niya at 1:11. Yep Martinez is still awesome.

Post match, Martinez says she is here to fight men and women because she is here to evolve.

Brad Allen vs. Silas Young

Allen starts fast with a dropkick to knock Young into the ropes, setting up the big dive to the floor. Back in and Allen misses a high crossbody out of the corner and it’s time to chop it out. Allen gets the better of it and hits a springboard flip dive for two, followed by a gator roll to send Young outside. That means a DDT on the floor to drop Allen for a change, followed by a knee drop for two back inside.

A rolling elbow into a basement clothesline gives Young two more and frustration is setting in early. Allen uses the delay to grab a neckbreaker, followed by a slingshot Swanton for two more. Young gets flipped backwards onto the apron and then the floor, setting up a big moonsault from the top. That sounds good in theory, but Young dropkicking him out of the air made it a bit worse.

That’s good for a nineteen count and then two more for Young back inside. Young is even more frustrated and starts kicking Allen in the head. A hard clothesline gets two but Young misses a springboard moonsault, allowing Allen to hit a springboard spinning high crossbody for two of his own. Allen catches him in the corner and hits a swinging Downward Spiral for the pin at 10:23.

Rating: C+. I liked this a bit better as they had some more time and even sold a thing or two. This was a good deal slower than the previous matches and that’s a smart change after everything else has been so fast paced. It’s no classic or anything but Allen made a bit of an impression and you could see the potential in Young, even if he had to change a lot to become a star. Now why did Allen not have the writing on his wrist tape?

Post match, Allen says he has been fighting for this chance for his entire career and thanks Evolve for the chance. And his mom too. Allen goes to leave but comes back to say he wants Chris Hero at the next show.

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Ken Doane

That would be Kenny from the Spirit Squad. The much bigger Doane shoves him down with ease to start and unloads in the corner but Jacobs is right back up with some stomping of his own. A small package gives Jacobs two but his guillotine choke is broken up in a hurry. Doane ties him up in the ring skirt and hammers away for two back inside. Jacobs’ shoulder being up earns him another beating and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Doane trips him down again with a slingshot elbow getting two.

The chinlock goes on again and the fans think this is awesome. As I try to figure out if that is sarcasm, Jacobs breaks out and hits a quick clothesline. Doane’s slam and running forearm can’t keep Jacobs down so he whips Doane hard into the corner. Some stomps to the ribs get two but Doane is back up with a heck of a spinebuster for two.

A hanging DDT out of the corner gives Jacobs two but the Contra Code is countered into a bridging German suplex to give Doane two more. Doane’s guillotine legdrop (that always looked good) is enough for the pin at 10:07. Hold on though as Jacobs’ foot was on the ropes and TOMMY DREAMER (HOW IS HE ON EVERY SINGLE SHOW EVER???) comes down to point out the referee’s mistake. The match is restarted and Jacobs grabs the guillotine choke for the fast tap at 10:51.

Rating: C+. Doane is someone who was crippled by a horrible gimmick but he was completely watchable once he got away from the nonsense of the Spirit Squad. I’ve never been a Jacobs fan but he was doing a nice underdog deal here, which is more than I would have bet on. Nice match and that’s nice to see.

Post match Dreamer gets in the ring to say he’s back (When did he ever leave?). He walked away from something that he loved but he would never walk away from being in the wrestling ring. He thanks everyone for trying to live their dream and letting him live his. It was his dream to have a midcard match on an indy show restated? Get better dreams. Dreamer goes to leave but Jacobs says hang on a second (it has been a full thirty seconds since Dreamer got some praise).

Jacobs thanks Dreamer for promoting the show but won’t thank him for helping him win his first Evolve match, because Jacobs doesn’t need it. He is choosing to stand alone in Evolve and wants to know why Dreamer is here. Is it because he needs that one more minute in the spotlight? Jacobs wants that look off of Dreamer’s face because he has seen it for the last fifteen years. Dreamer takes his jacket off but Jacobs doesn’t need approval from a washed up has been. Dreamer is just here to have fun though and isn’t even being paid, so he jumps Jacobs. The fight is on with Dreamer getting the better of it because reasons.

Davey Richards is still warming up.

Ken Doane leaves the rest room with his bag over his shoulder and rants about how he is tired of being treated like this everywhere he goes. He storms off.

Chris Dickinson vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano has long hair for a weird look and has only been wrestling for about five years. Dickinson takes him into the corner to start but Gargano is back with an enziguri into a running clothesline. An Ace Crusher gives Gargano two and it’s time to start trading cradles for two each.

Gargano gets something like the Rings of Saturn but it’s broken up for an exchange of strikes to the face. They’re both knocked to their knees with Gargano blocking a big kick to the ribs. Dickinson is right back with a Falcon Arrow for two and an elbow to the face gets two more. The knee pad comes down but Gargano catches him with a running DDT. There’s the Lawn Dart into a full nelson spun into a faceplant to finish Dickinson at 6:04.

Rating: C. This is one of the best parts about watching a show like this: seeing future stars as absolute nothings who are mainly there to fill in a spot on the card. Gargano looked a little odd with his longer hair but managed to keep his calm against the bigger and more athletic Dickinson. Good enough match here but another short one.

Post match some people show up to the VIP area and Gargano is rather pleased to see them. Again: NAME THESE PEOPLE.

TJP vs. Muneori Sawa

They trade some kicks to start with Sawa taking him to the mat for a quick trip to the rope for a break. A snap German suplex sends TJP flying but he’s right back with a rollup into a standoff and applause. Sawa can’t get the arm so he takes TJP into the corner for a kick to the chest. More rapid fire strikes connect but Sawa misses a running boot. Not that it matters as he takes TJP down by the leg and headbutts away at the knee, followed by an elbow to the ribs.

TJP is right back with a cross armbreaker, sending Sawa straight into the ropes for the break. Some kicks to the arm keep Sawa down but he’s back up for an exchange of strikes to the face. They slug it out from their knees until Sawa pulls him into a kneebar. The rope is grabbed so it’s a dragon screw legwhip, only to have TJP pull him into a cross armbreaker for the break. Back up and TJP’s leg is fine enough to fire off kicks, setting up another cross armbreaker. That’s reversed into a rollup for two and Sawa nails a Shining Wizard for two more. The Octopus goes on and TJP taps at 9:18.

Rating: B-. I’ve always liked TJP and that was the case again here. They were tearing it up with the submissions and holds, which made for a heck of a showcase. That’s the kind of thing you can always go with and it was great to see here. I don’t think I have ever seen Sawa before so it was cool to have someone fresh but still fun to watch. Good stuff here.

Adam Cole narrates his talk with Tommy Dreamer and promises people will remember him. So yeah the guy who looked like Adam Cole earlier was in fact Adam Cole.

Team Frightening vs. Akuma’s Army

That would be Frightmare/Hallowicked/Mike Quackenbush vs. Brodie Lee/Gran Akuma/Icarus and these guys are from Chikara. Mike takes Icarus down by the arm to start and that goes nowhere as commentary tries to explain the story here, which is as much of a downward spiral as you can get. Icarus slips out of an Octopus attempt and it’s quickly off to Hallowicked vs. Lee for an exchange of shoulders.

Hallowicked snaps off a running hurricanrana and brings Akuma back in, with Hallowicked taking him down with a spinning armdrag. It’s back to Icarus so Akuma gets in a cheap shot from the apron but a series of kicks from the ring and apron rock Akuma in a hurry. A victory roll gets two on Icarus and it’s back to Lee for a heck of a powerbomb. Frightmare gets knocked off the top and Lee pulls him back over the top for two.

Akuma comes back in and Frightmare uses him as a launchpad to hurricanrana Lee. The hot tag brings in Hallowicked, who charges into Lee’s swinging Boss Man Slam. The pace picks up and Akuma hits some double knees to the chest for two on Frightmare. Mike comes in for a super hurricanrana into a Swanton with Frightmare adding a standing moonsault for two on Akuma. Frightmare snaps off a tornado DDT to Lee and the Rydeen Bomb (Sky High) finishes Icarus at 11:34.

Rating: C+. This was another fast paced and entertaining match, though egads trying to figure out what the backstories in a Chikara match is harder than something that is very complicated. It was a nice addition on the show from an energy perspective but the costumes and characters do feel completely out of left field here. Pretty high energy match though and that’s all you can ask for out of a showcase.

The documentary filmmaker consoles TJP but then runs away when she realizes she is on camera.

Davey Richards vs. Kota Ibushi

Kyle O’Reilly, Tony Kozina and Michael Nakazawa are here. They waste no time in going with the hard strikes to the face with Ibushi knocking Richards out to the floor. Back in and Ibushi strikes away in the corner until they head to the apron where Richards snaps him down onto the apron. Richards starts in on the arm with a hammerlock suplex into a flipping over hammerlock.

There’s a stomp to the arm, followed by a modified Tequila Sunrise. Richards goes up top but Ibushi is right up there, only to get taken down by a flying armbar. Ibushi fights up with forearms to the face, with Richards seeming to enjoy them as usual. More cranking to the arm ensues and they both go to the apron. A fight over a superplex to the floor is broken up with Ibushi knocking him outside. That means the big moonsault can connect, followed by more rapid fire strikes into a standing moonsault for two.

Richards shrugs them off and hits his own missile dropkick, followed by the handspring kick to the head for two more. A cross armbreaker is broken up in a hurry but Ibushi flips out of a superplex attempt. The rapid fire kicks just wake Ibushi up more and it’s the double moonsault for two. Ibushi goes up but Richards catches him with the release German superplex. Running kicks in the corner rock Ibushi again and a big kick to the face gets two.

Ibushi rolls out of a kimura and snaps off the poisonrana, only to get blasted with a running clothesline. More strikes set up another running clothesline and the DR Driver gets two on Ibushi. They head up top for the exchange of headbutts and Ibushi knocks him down. The Phoenix splash misses and Richards knocks him down for a shooting star press. The Kimura makes Ibushi tap at 18:13.

Rating: B. It was very hard hitting and a very strong style match, but my goodness I had forgotten how annoying Richards could be. The ultra serious and hard hitting/striking stuff gets old fast and it did here again. There is something that seems so ridiculous about being hit in the face and just screaming at someone but that is almost all Richards would do. Good match for the style they were wanting, but I wouldn’t be complaining that this was Richards’ only Evolve match for about three years because of his new deal with ROH.

Brad Allen talks about how he signed with WWE and his mom was killed in a car wreck the next day. Egads that’s rough.

Johnny Gargano, Jimmy Jacobs and the VIP people from earlier try to get Silas Young to go out on the town with them. Young agrees, but gets a phone call as they leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is the definition of a promotion where if you like it you’ll like it and if you don’t like it you won’t. That might sound really simplified, but there is not going to be much of a middle ground on this stuff. It was a VERY similar style throughout with a good chunk of the roster using a bunch of kicks to the chest/head and submission holds. You know what you are getting here and if you like that style then you will enjoy it, but if that is not your thing, this is not likely to change your mind. The show is far from bad and nothing is overly terrible, but it very well might not be your style.