Desert Pro Wrestling
Date: February 16, 2020
Location: Brawley Lions Club, Brawley, California
Commentator: Wade Needam

You might remember me doing a show from this company a few months ago. One of the people who works backstage (and hopefully front stage in the future) for this promotion asked me to take a look at their next show and since this one is a good bit shorter, it’s worth a shot. Let’s get to it.

Andy Brown vs. Super Beetle vs. Genio Del Aire vs. Aeroboy

This seems to be highlights more than a full show as we go straight to the match with no intro or entrances. Brown kicks Beetle in the face to start and immediately begs off from the other two. One very good thing: commentary identifies everyone and says what they’re wearing so you have an idea of what is going on. So many companies miss that. Genio and Aeroboy are left in the ring to run the ropes and trade some flips until Aeroboy dropkicks him to the floor.

Brown and Beetle come back in with a low superkick and a suplex sending Brown into the corner. Genio dropkicks beetle to the floor but Aeroboy is back in for a headscissors into a basement dropkick. A headscissors on the floor takes Genio down again but Brown forearms Aeroboy out of the air. Beetle gets kneed in the face and we take a break.

Back with nothing having changed and a triple superkick dropping Brown. The other three trade superkicks and all four are down. Genio is back up with a Lethal Injection for two on Brown with Aeroboy making the save. Aeroboy Swantons Genio with Beetle making the save. A belly to back faceplant gets the same with Brown making a save of his own. Aeroboy and Brown slug it out with Brown shrugging off a Codebreaker and hitting a discus lariat. Genio is back in to clean house and hit a suicide dive on Aeroboy. Brown kicks Beetle in the face though and a piledriver is good for the pin at 6:36.

Rating: C. Brown stood out from the start as the more complete performer than the other three and that’s a good sign. The three luchadors felt like they could have been interchangeable while Brown felt like someone who has been around a good bit longer. It’s not a good match, but starting with the four way high flying match is often a smart idea.

Antesis vs. Flor

Women’s match. Flor armdrags her down to start and they stare at each other a bit. Antesis gets in one of her own and knees her in the ribs to set up a wristlock. That’s broken up with another armdrag and Flor hits a running shoulder. The third armdrag has Antesis down again and it’s time for a breather on the floor.

Back in and Antesis gets two off a slam and we take a break. We come back with Flor grabbing a DDT for two and the chop off ensuing. Antesis suplexes her for two more but gets caught in a rolling crucifix for the same. Flor gets two off a northern lights suplex before rolling into a cross armbreaker to make Antesis tap at 6:36.

Rating: C. I liked that finish as it looked good and made sense with someone going for the quick win as soon as they had an opening. The rest of the match was a good example of a degree of difficultly of five with an execution of….well slightly higher than that. They didn’t do anything flashy or overly impressive here, but what they did was done well. That’s far better than trying to be too much and looking sloppy so this was perfectly acceptable and I’ll take that.

Laberinto/Biagio Crescenzo vs. Dylan Kyle Cox/Koto Hiro

Main event and Laberinto is the Desert Pro Wrestling Champion. Laberinto headlocks Koto (who is rather skinny) down and they fight over a wristlock. A wristdrag sends Laberinto outside and it’s off to Cox vs. Biagio. They pose at each other to start and you can feel the charisma go up. Cox snaps off a hurricanrana and pulls him up into a torture rack for something like a reverse Samoan drop (that’s a new one).

Koto comes back in for a somewhat awkward looking springboard hurricanrana to Laberinto. Everything breaks down and Cox slams Koto onto Biagio. A missed charge in the corner lets Biagio get in a breather and a spear cuts Cox down for two. Laberinto comes back in for a running forearm and a Muscle Buster (as commentary seems to be a second ahead of the video).

Biagio comes back in for some forearms to the ribs but Laberinto comes in sans tag. The referee takes care of that and misses the hot tag to Koto (nothing wrong with playing the classics) as we take a break. Back with Laberinto putting on something like a reverse Koji Clutch and it’s already back to Biagio. A side slam plants Cox again but Biagio is getting a bit cocky. The top rope elbow hits knees and an enziguri is enough for the hot tag to Koto to clean house.

Another enziguri drops Biagio as everything breaks down. Stereo suicide dives drop Laberinto and Biagio and there’s a tornado DDT on Laberinto back inside. Biagio hits a Downward Spiral on Koto but Cox is back in with a bad looking Buckshot Lariat (more like a Buckshot slap to the chest). Cox goes outside and forearms Biagio, leaving Koto to roll Laberinto up for the pin at 10:42.

Rating: C+. I can see why this is the big closing match as they had a different level of energy and charisma. Cox got my attention immediately and it’s not surprising to find out that he’s been on some bigger shows at other times. All four of them look fairly young and like they need to get ring time, but that’s the point of a show like this. Nice enough main event, though I would have had Cox get the pin instead of Koto as he seems to be a better prospect.

Laberinto and Koto stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This is a show where you have to have some lowered expectations coming in. It’s a small indy show with some wrestlers trying to get their start and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m assuming there was more to this as I can’t imagine the fans paid for a 25 minute show, but cutting it out and just having the matches is a good idea if you’re trying to get the fans watching and give them a little taste. Perfectly watchable stuff here, at least from a small indy level.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Desert Pro Wrestling
Date: September 29, 2019
Location: Brawley Lions Center, Brawley, California
Commentator: Unknown

It’s back to the indies as I know a woman involved in the training school of this promotion (and happens to be filming the show here). I have absolutely no idea what to expect with this show but it does include former X-Division Champion Extreme Tiger in the main event. This is a completely random show for me so hopefully it can beat some of the other indies. Let’s get to it.

So this seems to have a few cuts in it, at least during the intros, so I’m assuming this is the entire show rather than just some matches from the show.

Archimedes vs. Honest John

They’re former tag partners and Archimedes (makes me think I’m watching Sword in the Stone again) is in a mask. Maybe it’s the camera angle but the ring looks huge. John hiptosses him over and follows up with an armdrag, allowing him to soak up some praise. Back up and Archimedes gets in his own armdrag and drops an elbow for two. The fans seem to like him at least so there’s something there.

A running boot in the corner connects so Archimedes tries it again, only to be sent face first into the middle buckle. The cocky stomping is on and a running elbow gives John two. The choking goes on in the corner as John would be fine with hearing some cheers. A gutbuster gets two more but Archimedes is up with the clothesline based comeback. That just earns him a Backstabber as they’re going with the idea that John, his former partner, knows Archimedes too well.

A near People’s Elbow hits Archimedes and we hit the dragon sleeper (not a sequence you see too often). John goes with a reverse DDT instead and gets a rather delayed two. An Orton backbreaker gets the same so John yells at the referee, allowing Archimedes to roll him up for a quick two of his own. Archimedes hammers away with uppercuts and a Samoan drop for two more. He charges into a hot shot though and it’s a double underhook DDT to finish Archimedes at 9:56.

Rating: C. Yeah it’s on a bit of an adjusted scale but what mattered here was I got the story they were going for. You could get the idea based on commentary and what they were doing and that’s as good of a combination as you can get with these resources available. The ending came out of nowhere and could have used a better spark but John had tried for the same move before so it was built up to an extent.

Jacob Tarasso vs. Romeo Cruz

I believe Tarasso was introduced as the Sea Urchin. There is a camera cut at the beginning of the match but it doesn’t seem like anything is missing. They fight over a wristlock to start with Cruz taking him down by the arm. That’s enough to send Tarasso over to the ropes and he clings to them ala the Road Dogg in the Royal Rumble. Back up and Cruz wrestles him down again, meaning it’s time for another rope clutch.

This time Tarasso takes it a step further and has a seat in the crowd with some water as a bonus. Tarasso gets back in and takes a dropkick to the face before Cruz snaps off a hurricanrana. That means another breather on the floor and Tarasso bails from the threat of a dive. Cruz beats him up on the floor for a bit but gets his leg kicked out as he goes to the top.

Tarasso snaps the arm over the top and starts in on it, including a kick to said arm to cut off the comeback. The armbar goes on with Cruz slapping the mat, though it’s not a tap for no explained reason. Back up and Cruz gets in a knee to the face in the corner, plus a superkick for two. Cruz tries to jump over him in the corner but lands on boots which looked rather low.

We hit the hammerlock (better than a chinlock and I can always appreciate that kind of thinking) but Cruz fights up with the good arm. A running flip dive connects on Tarasso and a superkick gives Cruz two more. Tarasso pulls him down by the arm and grabs something like the Anaconda Vice, only to have Cruz get over to the rope. The Vice goes on again so Cruz rolls his way out and scores with an enziguri. A very quick TKO gives Cruz and even quicker pin at 10:04.

Rating: C. Another perfectly watchable match here with Cruz fighting through the injury and making the comeback for the win. There’s nothing wrong with basic stories that are done well enough and that’s what we’ve been getting so far. It’s a low degree of difficulty but a pretty decent degree of execution, which is the much better combination.

Calavera/Luminoso vs. Last Warrior/Wizard X

That second team might have the most indyish names I’ve ever heard. They’re in masks as well, with Wizard looking like Fro Zone from the Incredibles. Calavera has someone named La Muerte with him. The much bigger Luminoso throws Wizard down to start and slaps him around a bit as I think we have a bully. Just to hammer in the point, Luminoso drops to his knees so Calavera can get in a cheap shot from the apron.

The still unnamed commentator says Last Warrior can do nothing during the double teaming, as we enforce one of those weird unwritten rules of wrestling: the good guys must be schmucks. Wizard’s crossbody is caught in the air so Warrior dropkicks him in the back to take the bigger guys down. Stereo sunset flips gives the tecnicos two and we settle down to Luminoso vs. Wizard again.

Warrior isn’t having that and comes in off the top with an armdrag and the rudos are out on the floor. We’re clipped to Wizard chasing Luminoso to the floor, allowing Calavera to get in a cheap shot. Everything breaks down and the rudos hammer away, including crotching Warrior against the post. That leaves Wizard to take an assisted wheelbarrow slam and Warrior’s save attempt….is completely ineffective.

A hurricanrana out of the corner puts Luminoso down and it’s time to go outside again, with the fans seemingly into Warrior and Wizard (sounds rather geeky in a good way). We’re clipped (seemed to be rather quick) to Warrior finding Luminoso trying to hide in the crowd for a funny bit. Luminoso does it again and this time it actually works for a bit, only to have Luminoso get right back up on the apron. Well it was a clever idea at least.

We settle down to Luminoso vs. Warrior with a headscissors putting Luminoso right back on the floor. That leaves Wizard to kick at Calavera’s leg and slap on a Figure Four. That’s broken up in a hurry as well so Warrior ankle locks Calavera, which is saved just as quickly. Back up and stereo victory rolls give Warrior and Wizard the pins at 10:20 shown.

Rating: C+. This was a case where you didn’t need the commentary, other than to say who was who. You can look at these guys and get the story immediately, with two smaller guys against two bigger guys who cheat. Power vs. speed is the quintessential wrestling story and it was on display here in a nice little match.

Andy Brown vs. Fidel Bravo

The fans seem to approve of Bravo. Quick note: well done by commentary as he points out which is in trunks and which is in pants. Simple, yet effective. Bravo wastes no time in sending Brown to the floor as we hear about Bravo being on NXT and 205 Live. Good thing to point out. Back in and Brown’s headlock takeover is quickly countered into a headscissors so Brown has to flip up.

Brown hits a heck of a chop so Bravo sweeps the leg to put him down again. A running forearm into a neckbreaker gives Bravo two and it’s time for another breather on the floor. The baseball slide doesn’t work well for Bravo here as he gets caught in the ring skirt and pummeled in an old Fit Finlay move. They fight over a suplex on the floor until Brown drives him hard into the apron. Back in and Brown takes a bow before getting a running start into a…..chinlock. So he likes Finlay and Kevin Owens for some good taste.

That’s broken up even faster than usual and Brown hits a hard clothesline for a rather delayed two. Brown spends too much time yapping and gyrating though, only to dive into the raised boot (still can’t stand that spot). Bravo is up with a one kneed Codebreaker for two and we’re clipped to Bravo hitting a tornado DDT for two more. It’s clipped again to the referee shoving Brown down so it’s clipped again to Brown grabbing a chair. The referee takes it away (good job) and it’s a Michinoku Driver to finish Brown at 8:36 shown.

Rating: C. Another perfectly watchable match with the cheating Brown falling to the popular Bravo. This continued the theme of having a bunch of very simple and easy to follow stories, which is what you should be doing on a show like this one. Bravo got to show off a bit here and I can see why WWE would use him in a small role here and there.

Extreme Tiger/Genio Del Aire vs. D. Luxe/Estudiante Jr.

Tiger is by far the biggest star around here and you can feel the higher star power. They go with the wackiness to start as Tiger comes in, chases Estudiante off, and then runs from Luxe as he comes in as well. Repeat about three times. Luxe and Genio take turns sweeping the leg for two each and that means a standoff. Genio reverses a wheelbarrow into a victory roll for two and we hit the pinning combination sequence.

Luxe sends Genio into Tiger’s corner so the back slap tag is on in a hurry. The high crossbody hits Luxe for two but la majistral is broken up. The much bigger Estudiante comes in and gorilla presses Tiger onto Luxe’s knee. Tiger gets over to Genio for the hot tag and a few rooms of the house are cleaned until a running knee to the head drops Genio.

That’s enough for Tiger to get stomped down in the corner and a running knee to the head gives Estudiante two. An assisted splash gets the same so Tiger goes with the enziguri to bring Genio back in. A double handspring elbow takes both villains down and it’s a multiple springboard armdrag to Estudiante.

We settle back down to Luxe and Tiger chopping it out and the fans getting behind Tiger again for getting the better of it. Hold on though as Luxe and Estudiante need to have a meeting in the corner, with Tiger being nice enough to let them. With action resuming, Tiger kicks Luxe’s leg out a few times but gets stomped down by Estudiante.

A neckbreaker gets two with Genio making the save, plus throwing in a Lethal Injection for a bonus. The lifting release Pedigree plants Genio so it’s Tiger making a save this time. Tiger gets up top for a legdrop between the legs, leaving Genio to moonsault to the floor onto Luxe. Tiger hits his own dive onto everyone and we’re clipped to a series of kicks to send Estudiante into a Backstabber. A Code Red gives Tiger the pin at 13:08

Rating: C+. Tiger really does bring another level of star power to the show and you can see that he’s a bigger deal than anyone else on the show. Having a bigger name like that around is going to bring some extra eyes to the promotion and as Tiger was the only name that I immediately recognized, they seem to be on the right track.

Overall Rating: B-. This is what something like this promotion should be doing. They kept things simple here and the good guys won up and down the card, save for the opener. In other words, they gave the fans a reason to want to come back and that’s how you build an audience. Nothing on it was bad and I could go for seeing some more of these guys. It was completely acceptable and given the circumstances here, I’ll call it a pleasant surprise.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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