California Love
Date: March 30, 2023
Location: Ukranian Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Jack Farmer, Slice Boogie

This is from Santino (not Marella) Brothers Wrestling, which I have at least heard of, making it worthy of a look this weekend. That could make for a variety of possibilities here, though I have no idea what to expect coming in. We could be in for almost anything here and hopefully that makes for a good show. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow the promotion so I’m coming in blind. I apologize in advance for anything I miss involving backstory, character details etc.

The ring announcer welcomes us to the show and runs down the card.

Eli Everfly vs. Kidd Bandit

Everfly wears a fly mask to the ring and Bandit is the Techno Witch. This is teacher vs. student with Everfly (teacher) jumping Bandit to start. The big dive to the floor drops Bandit but a DDT plants Everfly back inside. Everfly is fine enough to kick Bandit in the face but charges into a kick to the head as well. Sliced Bread on the apron drops Bandit though and a jumping knee gets two.

An exchange of kicks rock each other inside until Bandit’s Angel Killer (something out of an electric chair) is countered into a tiger suplex for two. A double underhook destroyer (ouch) gives Everfly two more but Bandit gives him a spinning kick to the head. The Angel Killer (One Winged Angel) onto the knee finishes Everfly at 7:24, despite the referee stopping for some reason between two and three.

Rating: C. Pretty standard independent style match here and that’s all it needed to be. Having a bit of a story with the student vs. teacher thing worked well, but it was more about two people doing moves to each other until one of them won. Bandit is booked all over the weekend so there might be something there, though this was just an ok showcase.

Big Dick Hoss vs. Koto Hiro vs. El Primohenio vs. Alec Tomas vs. Richie Coy vs. Ray Rosas

For an Inner City Title shot. Hoss is a monster cowboy, Hiro looks like Ultimo Dragon if you deflated him to about 80% size, Tomas is proud of being Armenian, Coy is flamboyant and Rosas is a former champion (and a replacement for the injured Rob S*** (yes I said Rob S***)). It’s a brawl to start with Hoss planting Rosas and tossing Tomas for a bonus.

Hoss is sent to the floor though and Coy comes in with a high crossbody to Primohenio. La Mistica into a Fujiwara armbar has Primohenio in trouble but Rosas makes the save. Hiro sweeps Rosas’ leg out and a springboard spinning bulldog makes it worse. Tomas plants Hiro though and adds a tiger bomb for two. Primohenio comes back in with a top rope Sling Blade and a dropkick hits Tomas for a bonus.

Hoss has to pull the referee out (no DQ in a scramble) so Rosas goes after him for a change. Hoss cleans house until everyone goes after him one after another. Five stereo knees to the face has Hoss knocked silly before it’s time for the parade of suplexes and drops on the head. Tomas Blue Thunder Bombs Coy for two with Rosas making the save. Rosas moonsaults onto almost everyone else at ringside, followed by a spear to Primohenio. A top rope elbow connects to give Rosas the pin at 7:55.

Rating: C+. I’m not big on scramble matches but it is nice to see one where you could see people standing out a bit, with Rosas feeling like a star. Other than that, Hoss felt like a monster but he only had one rush of dominance. That left four people who didn’t really make an impression, but at least Rosas, who felt like the most complete star here, got to look good.

Raunchy Rico vs. Tyler Bateman

Rico has his manager Damien Arsenick in his corner. Before the match, Arsenick does an Andy Kaufman bit of introducing the fans to soap and deodorant. This goes well with the water that Arsenick keeps spraying on Rico so they have a gimmick! Rico says that he respects Bateman and goes into Spanish, seemingly saying he’ll win. Thankfully commentary gives us a quick backstory (Rico cost Bateman a title shot) to give us a reason for this to be taking place. A lot of places don’t do that so well done on the important touch.

We get the Big Match Intros and Arsenick DOES NOT want to be called the water boy. They go to the mat to start (commentary is surprised) and Rico needs a breather on the floor. Back in and Bateman knocks him to the apron for a strike off, with Arsenick offering a quick leg trip.

Bateman is fine enough to chop away in the corner but Rico hits a running shoulder to the ribs. A neckbreaker keeps Bateman down but we do pause for a quick water break. Bateman grabs a suplex for a breather and an elbow to the face puts Rico down again. This Is A Kill (Tombstone) gives Bateman the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C+. They beat each other up well enough, with the Water Boy stuff being a cute enough bonus. Bateman feels like a monster and the Tombstone was good enough to look like an appropriate finisher. Rico didn’t exactly show much, though he hit hard and had enough of a presence. Nice slightly more violent match here and it worked.

Bomb Squad vs. Lucas Riley/Dom Kubrick

The Squad is Cameron Gates/DKC, with Gates talking about how special it is for him to be back with his best friend. Riley and Kubrick come out to Dancing Queen so they’re already awesome. DKC goes with the grappling to Kubrick to start but Kubrick takes him into the corner for some chops. Gates comes in and misses a charge at Riley, who dropkicks him down without much trouble.

It’s back to DKC to take Riley down and crank on the arms, only to have Riley slip out fast. Kubrick comes in and is promptly double flapjacked and dropkicked as the Squad is way ahead on continuity here. Another tag brings Riley back in and some kicks start to work on DKC’s arms in an effort to slow down the chops. DKC gets flipped into a faceplant but Kubrick can’t decide to cover or tag. Instead Kubrick goes up and misses a moonsault Swanton (that looked cool, minus the crash).

Gates comes in to pick up the pace with a wacky double takedown, meaning it’s already time to go back to DKC. Everything breaks down and DKC gets monkey flipped into a sitout powebomb (that was sweet) for another near fall. Gates has to save DKC on top and it’s a powerbomb/top rope Rough Ryder combination for two on Riley. Kubrick and Riley fire off superkicks to Gates but DKC takes a big one himself, taking the bullet for Gates in a way. The Cutter 99 (assisted springboard cutter and I believe that’s the name) finishes DKC at 14:11.

Rating: B-. This was an interesting dynamic as Riley and Kubrick weren’t full time partners (though they did have a history) while the Squad was trying to get back on the same page after time apart. It was good action throughout and that assisted cutter was a good looking finisher. Nice match here with Riley and Kubrick having a chance to move up the ladder to a bigger stage at some point.

Post match Gates and DKC are upset but ok, only to have Big Dick Hoss (Gates’ former stablemate) come out for a distraction. Gates decks DKC from behind to end the team again.

Matt Vandergriff vs. Bad Dude Tito

Tito certainly has charisma as they roll around to start, with Vandergriff getting two off a rollup. The smaller (but still tall) Vandergriff snaps off a hurricanrana to send Tito outside, where the big dive connects as well. Back in and Vandergriff’s dive doesn’t quite work and bangs up his knee. Tito unloads with chops and a cannonball gets two, leaving Tito a bit frustrated.

Vandergriff is fine enough to start striking and flipping away, including knocking Tito down. A top rope dive is speared out of the air though and Vandergriff is down again. A hurricanrana and brainbuster get two on Tito but he’s back up with an enziguri. Vandergriff is sent outside for a dive, followed by a heck of a lariat back inside. The Low Down gives Tito the pin at 8:54.

Rating: C+. This was power vs. speed and both of them looked good throughout. Vandergriff is a nice flier and Tito is someone who can run you over with straight power. Power vs. speed is something that has worked forever in wrestling and it works here too, with a pair of guys who might get another look from someone slightly higher up after some more matches like this one.

We recap the Inner City Title match, with Delilah Doom defending in a triple threat. As well as I can tell, Doom won the title and two other women (Heather Monroe/Johnnie Robbie) want to take it from here. Simple yet effective enough.

Inner City Title: Delilah Doom vs. Johnnie Robbie vs. Heather Monroe

Doom is defending and Monroe earned her title shot before the Coronavirus pandemic so this is a long time in the making. Everyone tries a rollup to start and Robbie is sent outside fast. Monroe sends Doom throat first into the rope though and a neckbreaker gets two. Robbie is back in to send Monroe outside as we’re in the two in/one out formula. Monroe comes back in and gets dropped just as fast, leaving the other two to slug it out.

Everyone is back in now with Robbie hitting some double knees on Doom in the corner. Monroe gets back up and is taken down by Doom’s springboard Codebreaker to put everyone down again. They slug it out from their knees with Doom getting the better of things as they get back to their feet. A double Stunner drops both challengers and it’s a double 619 to send Monroe and Robbie outside.

Back to back suicide dives send them into the chairs, followed by a double missile dropkick back inside. Something close to a Widow’s Peak hits Monroe but Robbie is up with a neckbreaker for two on Doom. Monroe is back up and gets German suplexed back down to give Robbie two.

Doom goes up but gets caught in a Tower of Doom, with Monroe slamming Robbie onto Doom for a double two (which would have given Robbie the title as she was covering Doom without the shoulders being on the mat). Robbie knocks Monroe off the top so Doom takes her place, setting up a super victory roll to retain the title at 13:03.

Rating: B. This was a hard fought match with some rather strong action throughout. All three of them stood out and there were times where I wasn’t sure who was going to win. All three of them got to show off a bit here and I could go for seeing more of all three. Best match of the show so far and it was a rather nice surprise.

Post match Ray Rosas comes out to hold up the title….and then lay Doom out. The fans are NOT pleased but Rosas says it’s all their fault. He gives them everything he had and then when he took some time off to heal up, the fans moved on. Rosas puts on a seated full nelson (kind of like a Crossface) until security breaks it up.

Che Cabrera (Santino Brothers Champion) and Damien Arsenick are ready for Willie Mack.

Santino Brothers Title: Che Cabrera vs. Willie Mack

Mack is challenging and Cabrera has Damien Arsenick. Feeling out process to start with Mack moving around until Cabrera works on a wristlock. That’s reversed into a headlock, which is reversed into Cabrerea’s hammerlock. Back up and an armdrag sends Cabrera into the corner, followed by a middle rope armdrag to put him down again. They fight outside with Cabrera getting some water, earning himself some hard chops into the crowd.

Back in and Cabrera jumps over Mack to set up a heck of a running shoulder. An eye poke has Mack in more trouble but he sends Cabrera outside again. The suicide dive sends Mack flying into a chair though and we pause for more water spraying. Back in and Mack starts getting fired up and drops Cabrera with a spinwheel kick.

Mack’s spinning back elbow sets up the swinging slam and there’s the running reverse cannonball (which didn’t seem to make much contact). The Samoan drop into the standing moonsault but the Stunner is countered into a Death Valley Driver. Cabrera drapes him over the top for a swinging neckbreaker and the kickout means it’s time for the frustration.

A nasty slingshot DDT plants Mack for two more (with the referee’s hand hitting the mat as Mack’s shoulder was up at the very last second). Mack manages a high collar suplex and sends Cabrera outside for the running flip dive. Back in and Arsenick sprays water in Mack’s eyes, allowing Cabrera to snap off a super hurricanrana. A Jackhammer retains the title at 16:20.

Rating: B-. This was a hard hitting match with both of them working hard, though it went a bit longer than it needed to as they had gotten the point across. Arsenick interfering wasn’t exactly a hot finish, but I do like Cabrera having to do his own big moves after the cheating to retain. Cabrera didn’t exactly let the world on fire but for a tough champion, I’ve seen worse options.

Post match the beatdown is on with Raunchy Rico coming in for the beatdown. Matt Vandergriff and Tyler Bateman come in but get taken down as well. Arsenick yells about how no one can hang with Cabrera, including Slice Boogie on commentary. Boogie’s bad leg can’t help him but he grabs a chair and runs in to piledrive Arsenick. Boogie says he had to vacate the title because of his injury so on July 29, he’s coming for Cabrera.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s cool to see a promotion with so many of its own unique stars and only a handful who have been around in any prominent spot. Outside of Mack, there were only so many names who have been around elsewhere and that made things more fun. There wasn’t anything bad on the show and some of the matches were quite good, so well done on a showcase from a promotion that doesn’t get a lot of attention. The women’s triple threat was especially good and they even set up something for their next big show. Nice job all around here.

 

 

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Texas Till I Die
Date: April 3, 2022
Location: St. Jude Hall, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Chris Russo, Sammy Cassel

This is from New Texas Pro, which as you might guess is a local Texas promotion which ran some events over Wrestlemania XXXVIII weekend. I’m not sure what to expect from this show but there are some talented names on the card. Shows like this can go in a few different ways and hopefully this one works out well. Let’s get to it.

As you might have gathered, I don’t follow the promotion so I apologize for not knowing plot or character points.

Hyan vs. Billie Starkz

For the #1 contendership to the Women’s Title. They hit stereo pump kicks to start and that means it’s already time for a standoff. Starks sends her outside and yells at a lot of empty seats, allowing Hyan to get back up for her own dive. Back in and Hyan rolls her down into a cravate for some knees to the face. A half crab with a boot on the back of Starkz’ head makes it even worse and it’s off to an armbar.

Back up and Hyan plants her with a Wasteland for two and we hit the chinlock. Starkz fights up and hits a kick to the head of her own. They slug it out for a double knockdown but Hyan blocks a third Amigo. Hyan hits a running knee in the corner to set up a Falcon Arrow for two but Starkz rolls her up for the same. A Gory Bomb and Swanton give Starkz two each, only to have Hyan pull her into something like a crucifix with both arms cranked back for the tap at 9:35.

Rating: C. Not bad for a starter and Hyan seems like a fairly polished star. Starkz is someone who has been around the indies for a bit now and has potential but still needs some work and experience to sharpen the edges. Not a great match, but they didn’t do anything horrible and it had enough energy.

Respect is shown post match.

Tag Team Titles: Fly Def vs. JJ Blake/Cam Cole

Fly Def (Warren Johnson/Zack Mason) is challenging. Mason drives Blake into the corner to start and it’s quickly off to Cole. Johnson dropkicks him down for two but Cole grabs a headlock takeover. Back up and Cole gets his neck snapped across the top to put him back in trouble, setting up a slingshot elbow for two. Cole gets launched into the corner, where Blake is fine enough to not tag in.

Blake is willing to come in for an assist on a double clothesline and a neckbreaker gives Cole two. Back up and Mason grabs a German suplex on Blake, who cuts him off with a quick front facelock. As you might have guessed, Mason powers over for the tag but the referee is distracted, meaning the beating continues (that will always work and I love it). A Demolition Decapitator (with a knee instead of an elbow) gets two on Mason and we hit the one arm camel clutch.

Mason finally fights out and kicks Cole away, allowing the hot tag off to Johnson to start cleaning house. A sitout bulldog gives Johnson two but Cole comes in to cut him off. Cole hits a frog splash for two and a not very good looking Big Rig gets a delayed two. Everything breaks down again and a pair of running shots in the corner rock Blake.

A spinning high crossbody into a top rope splash gets two with Cole making a rather last minute save. What looks to be a Tower of Doom winds up as a sitout powerbomb to Cole, leaving Blake to get caught in a Gory Bomb/middle rope Codebreaker (doesn’t work so well but nice concept) for the pin and the titles at 13:16.

Rating: B-. I like Fly Def, but this one went on too long and the champs were in over their heads. This needed to wrap up a few saves earlier and the extra stuff didn’t really make it better. The title change is nice and Fly Def was a good enough young team, but the lack of audience noise is making this show a bit weird to watch, especially in a longer match like this one.

ASF vs. Stephen Wolf

That’s short for Antonio San Francisco. Feeling out process to start as Wolf takes him down in a front facelock with commentary talking about Wolf recovering from a horrible neck injury/surgery. ASF slips out of a rollup for two and we’re up to a standoff. Another takedown attempt is cut off by a standing backflip flip from ASF so Wolf tries a springboard wristdrag….which gets so high that he gets his feet caught in some of the drapes above the ring.

You don’t see anything like that happen very often and since Wolf is fine, ASF slips out of a powerbomb attempt and kicks him to the floor. There’s the big running flip dive to drop Wolf on the floor but he’s fine enough to avoid a 450 back inside. The Death Valley Driver into the corner gives Wolfe two and we hit the chinlock. ASF slips out and hits a springboard Sling Blade, with commentary possibly implying that was a bit more flippy than necessary.

Back up and Wolf kicks him in the face, setting up a running shooting star press for two. ASF isn’t going to be outdone with a Death Valley Driver of his own into a basement dropkick. A series of strikes from ASF looks to set up a handspring but Wolf grabs a sliding cutter (cool) for two more. Wolf misses a moonsault though and the 450 gives ASF the pin at 10:03.

Rating: C+. They had a bit of time here and while this was a very indy feeling style match with a bunch of flips and dives, it was entertaining enough to keep me interested in two guys I have barely heard of before. For a ten minute match on this kind of show, it worked out perfectly well.

Commentary compliments ASF’s…..cover. That’s a pretty rare one. Respect is shown as well.

Cole Radrick vs. Aaron Mercer

Radrick has been decent in the few matches I’ve seen from him before. We get a bit of a tentative handshake and we’re ready to go. Feeling out process to start and they trade some chops, with both of them standing still to maximize the shots. Mercer chops him so hard that blood is trickling down Radrick’s chest (dang) and a running kick to said chest gives Mercer two.

They head outside with Radrick being sent hard into the barricade to keep him in trouble. Back in and they strike it out with Radrick knocking him down for two of his own. Mercer gets knocked to the apron and grabs a triangle choke over the ropes. With that broken up, they slug it out again with Radrick getting the better of things until a running shot to the face cuts him off. Radrick gets caught with another right hand on the top and it’s Nigel McGuinness’ old Tower of London to give Mercer the pin at 8:10.

Rating: C. I’m still not big on the “you hit me and then I’ll hit you” stuff and there wasn’t much here besides that. I don’t know if Radrick was a bit tired after wrestling so much this weekend, but this didn’t exactly catch fire. Granted it doesn’t help when you are having a cold match in front of a small crowd so there is only so much that you can get going.

Post match Radrick grabs a mic and puts Mercer over. He thanks the fans for coming out and shakes Mercer’s hand, apparently finally getting to meet him.

Heather Monroe vs. Shazza McKenzie

This is McKenzie’s New Texas Pro debut. Monroe has a large fan (as in one she holds in her hand) and quite the feather boa so she’s more than a bit over the top. McKenzie cranks on the arm to start and takes it to the mat with an armbar. Monroe can’t get a Figure Four so McKenzie headlock takeovers her down. A running dropkick puts Monroe in the corner and a running shot to the face makes it worse.

Monroe is able to take her to the floor by the knee (egads) and makes fun of McKenzie’s face, which was damaged by Maven (yes that Maven, because there can be only one) over the weekend. Back in and something close to a dragon sleeper keeps McKenzie in trouble, setting up a running hip attack in the corner to make it worse. A double stomp to the back out of the corner gives Monroe two but McKenzie manages a knockdown of her own.

They’re both down for a bit, followed by a strike off. McKenzie ties her in the ropes for the rapid fire kicks to the chest and a high crossbody gets two. Monroe is fine enough to grab a half dragon suplex and a basement superkick connects for two more. They strike it out again until McKenzie hits a splits Stunner and goes up. The middle rope sunset flip is countered though and Monroe sits down and grabs the rope for the pin at 10:48.

Rating: C+. McKenzie is someone who feels like she should be ready to become a top star but never breaks through for whatever reason. You could definitely tell she had some more polish here than a lot of the other stars on the show and she did a nice job of putting over Monroe. Nice enough match here, and McKenzie still feels like she could have a lot of potential.

Six Shooter Challenge

This is a six person match with timed intervals, but a pin or submission can win the match at any time, even if everyone isn’t in yet. There is a two minute interval for the first two entrants and one minute intervals after that, with the winner gets a future title match. I’d assume six entrants but you never can tell with these things. At least it isn’t everyone at once though, with Max Heights (whose Lone Star Title isn’t on the line) in at #1 and Izzy James is in at #2.

Heights gets rolled up to start and bails to the floor for a quick breather. Back in and Heights gets some rollups of his own until he drops James pretty hard onto his shoulder. James pulls a springboard dive out of the air and grabs a Sharpshooter but Rudy Garza is in at #3 for the save. Garza snaps off Three Amigos on Heights, who is right back with a high crossbody to take both of them down. Sky de Lacrimosa (the Texas Chasinsaw, who has no chainsaw) with Cousin Otis, is in at #4 and knocks Garza out of the air.

There’s a Rock Bottom out of the corner to take out James but all three get on the monster. That doesn’t work very well and it’s Jerome Daniel Griffey (Dr. Sleep, who looks like an MMA fighter) in at #5 to go after Sky as well. Griffey gets to clean house and it’s a quadruple sleeper until T Ray is in at #6 to complete the field. It’s Griffey getting in Ray’s face, earning himself a quick T (F) 5 for two, with a group save needed.

Ray shrugs that off and sends them into the corner for some running clotheslines. A running hurricanrana drops Sky and a powerbomb gets two on Heights. Ray is knocked outside for a big flip dive from Heights, leaving Griffey to muscle Sky over for a suplex. Garza takes Griffey down but Ray is back in with a T5 to Garza….but Heights comes in to steal the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C. I liked the staggered entrances deal but yeah this was just another scramble match and nothing more. Heights seems like a good villain, but there is only so much to be gathered from a match with six people over ten minutes. T Ray felt like a good monster and Sky is probably going to be a threat to multiple people around here, but find a better way to showcase them than throwing everyone in at once.

Heights immediately runs off in a smart move.

Women’s Title: Raychell Rose vs. Willow Nightingale

Rose is defending and gets powered away to start. Nightingale’s headlock is broken up and they go to the grappling for a change. Back up and Nightingale flips to the middle of the ring for some quick dancing. Nightingale manages Two Amigos before the third is countered into a small package for two.

A fisherman’s buster plants Rose for two but she’s right back to work on Nightingale’s leg in the corner. The leg cranking stays on in the middle of the ring before a running knee in the corner rocks Nightingale again. Nightingale quickly fights out of a chinlock and scores with a heck of a clothesline for a double knockdown.

The clothesline comeback is on, setting up a spinebuster to give Nightingale two. There’s the Pounce into a Cannonball in the corner for two but Rose knocks her off the top. Rose’s spear connects for two but Nightingale knocks her off the top as well. Rose goes right back to the leg and a running knee to the back of the head (ala Adam Cole’s Last Shot) retains the title at 10:12.

Rating: C+. Nightingale is such fun to watch but she didn’t get to do as much of her thing here. She has so much charisma and it is so easy to like her so having her around helped a lot. Other than that, Rose was fine as a champion for Nightingale to go after, making this a perfectly fine title match.

Mysterious Q vs. Davey Richards

For a future New Japan Pro Title match. Feeling out process to start with Richards getting him down by the arm. An exchange of cradles gets two each and Richards takes a quick breather on the floor. Richards comes back in and kicks him down to set up the chinlock. With that not working, Richards kicks away at the arm before cranking away at it in various painful looking ways.

They head outside where Q cuts off the big kick to the chest, only to have Richards take out the leg again back inside. A running dropkick to the knee sets up the Figure Four, which Q turns over to send Richards to the rope. Richards is fine enough to kick him down again as commentary wonders why Q can’t get anything going. Back up and Q grabs a release German suplex, followed by the Q Cutter for a delayed two.

A dragon screw legwhip over the rope lets Richards go up, where he misses the double stomp. Richards instead grabs an Indian Deathlock to send Q bailing to the ropes again. They slug it out until Q’s handspring kick to the face is countered into an ankle lock. That’s broken up so Richards kicks him down and hits the top rope double stomp for two. A brainbuster gets two more so we hit the ankle lock again, which Q reverses into a cradle for the pin out of nowhere at 15:48.

Rating: B-. In case you were wondering, no, Richards has not gained the ability to show emotion or do much beyond striking people rather hard. I know he has an audience and some people are into this stuff, but I’ve never been a fan and Q didn’t get in much here, with even commentary acknowledging it. Q has a good look and some size, but this wasn’t a good showcase of him because of all the Richards dominance.

Respect is shown post match to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show where the wrestling was pretty good for the most part but it was such a dry event that I was dreading watching most of it. Maybe it was the small crowd and venue, but there was almost nothing on here that would make me want to watch more from the promotion. There was no emotion here at all and it felt like a show that could be done better by other promotions. That doesn’t make it feel special, but rather just kind of there.

 

 

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Bar Wrestling #28: The Best City I’ve Ever Been To
Date: January 16, 2019
Location: Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Louden Noxious, Kevin Condron

This is Joey Ryan’s now defunct promotion and a company I had been wanting to look at for awhile. Then everything about Ryan came out and the promotion went under, as did Ryan’s career. I had already bought the show before everything happened so I might as well watch it, though I would absolutely not recommend giving Ryan any money in any form. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow the promotion and have no idea about characters, angles, storylines etc. so please bear with me.

No intro or anything as we open in the ring with introductions.

Jungle Boy vs. Ray Rosas

Peter Avalon is here with Rosas. The acoustics aren’t great here so the introduces are a bit difficult to understand. The fans seem to call Rosas “sexy Jesus” though, in case you needed an idea of what you are in for here. Commentary is much better though so at least I won’t be totally lost. They hype up Boy as a newcomer/prospect so this could be interesting. They fight over a lockup to start and go back and forth across the ring a few times, with the fans being rather pleased. That’s broken up so they go back to the lockup, which is broken up as well.

The fans seem to like Boy as commentary thinks the fans are into Boy because they’re swingers too. Boy grabs a running hurricanrana into a springboard armdrag followed by another one as the luchaing is on. Back in and Rosas grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to get a much needed breather. Commentary sings Welcome To The Jungle as Boy is whipped hard into the corner, which shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. A backbreaker gives Rosas two and a slingshot splash to the back gets the same.

Some loud chops in the corner have the fans even more into Rosas, who adds one to the thigh for a bonus. Rosas stops for a beer from the fans and then backdrops Boy to the apron. A superkick cuts off Boy’s comeback attempt but he is right back in with a slingshot spear. Boy grabs a pumphandle Codebreaker for two, meaning it’s time for the commentary to talk about Boy’s luscious hair. Rosas slams him out of the corner for a lax two, allowing Boy to roll him up for the same.

Back up and Rosas grabs a Texas Cloverleaf, sending Boy towards the rope but Rosas pulls him back in. A Styles Clash gives Rosas two and everyone is stunned on the kickout. There’s a low superkick into a fireman’s carry backbreaker for a VERY close two. Rosas takes him up on the corner for a super fireman’s carry, which is countered into a super poisonrana into a low superkick to knock Rosas silly. The tiger driver gives Boy two and they’re both down. Boy goes up but Rosas runs the corner for a top rope superplex. A top rope elbow is enough to finally finish Boy at 10:56.

Rating: B. This was almost all action and you could tell how into the rest of the show the fans are as a result. Boy looks like a star and Rosas looks like the guy who stopped him, but you can almost guarantee that Boy’s time is coming. It was a lot of fun and that seems to be the theme of this place, so there isn’t much to complain about here.

There are no transitions between the matches on here so this keeps moving.

Heather Monroe vs. Taya Valkyrie

Taya would become known as Frankie Monet and is the Impact Knockouts Champion here. She’s also crazy over and doesn’t like Heather trying to pull something off of the handshake. A forearm puts Taya down but she nips right back up, only to have Monroe grabs a springboard wristdrag. Monroe grabs a running hurricanrana for two as commentary calls her a modern day Lelani Kai (your taste may vary).

Taya knocks her down and hits a double stomp to the back, setting up a kick to the face for two. Monroe is ready for a charge in the corner and gets in a shot of her own for a VERY delayed near fall. A bunch of strikes in the corner have Taya in more trouble, but Louden suggests the Contra Code for a kickout. Taya kicks her down and, after a little shaking at the crowd, gets two.

A legdrop between the legs gets two more on Monroe (who complains about “my *****” (I’ll let you figure out what she said)). Taya’s running knees in the corner get two but a collision puts both of them down. Back up and they slug it out until Taya’s Samoan drop gets two. Monroe’s Canadian Destroyer gets the same, with commentary talking about the town in Iowa Monroe might be from.

Taya catches her on top and kicks away at the back, setting up a Backstabber for two. The Road To Valhalla is blocked and Monroe kicks her in the head for the next near fall. A basement dropkicks rocks Taya again and Monroe’s Michinoku Driver has Taya grabbing the rope for the save. Taya gets knocked down into the splits but she sweeps the legs to set up a curb stomp. The STF makes Monroe tap at 10:11.

Rating: C+. There were some moments where the chemistry was off but they hit each other rather hard. The fans were approving (for various reasons) and Taya has all kinds of charisma. It was a good second match and Monroe held her own against a much more well known name like Valkyrie.

Tyler Bateman vs. Luchasaurus

Not to be confused with Tyler Bate. Whoever he is, he isn’t sure what to do with Luchasaurus to start but has to suplex his way out of a chokeslam attempt. Luchasaurus takes him outside but Bateman escapes another chokeslam attempt and kicks him in the face. Back in and Luchasaurus kicks him in the head, setting up another kick to the head. The knees to the ribs into a spinning back chop drops Bateman as we hear about Luchasaurus’ bronto burgers. More shots to the face put Bateman down but he’s back up with a discus forearm to the back of the head.

They trade knees to the face until Luchasaurus kicks him in the head. The chokeslam into the standing moonsault gets two on Bateman and they both need a breather (less than six minutes in). A slow exchange of kicks to the face sets up a spinwheel kick to give Luchasaurus two. The fans chant “F*** THAT GUY” at someone (perhaps in the crowd) and Luchasaurus seems a bit confused. Bateman scores with a hard running lariat, followed by a forearm to a downed Luchasaurus (Death From Above) for the pin at 7:41.

Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one and Luchasaurus wrestled like any run of the mill guy here instead of a big monster. Bateman is presented as a psycho but he came off as more of a regular heel here. The action wasn’t great either, with a bunch of strikes and double knockdowns and not much else to go with it. This was a pretty bad miss and easily the worst thing on the show so far.

Doomfly vs. Dagas y Diamantes

That would be Delilah Doom/Eli Everfly (a name I’ve heard a good bit about but haven’t seen more than once or twice) vs. Daga/Tessa Blanchard, the latter of whom are VERY popular. Daga shoves Everfly (who barely clears the top rope) down and they run the ropes, setting up a rather fast paced exchange with neither making much contact. The women come in (taking their time to get there) and it’s Doom with, as commentary puts it, “some kind of takedown”.

A running hurricanrana takes Tessa down again and we get the double Black Widows on Daga and Tessa. It’s too early for a double 619 though, sending commentary into a karaoke version of I Believe I Can Fly. Back in and Doom gets dropped, leaving Everfly to get double teamed down (and for commentary to make more Double Dare jokes about Doomfly’s weirdly matching purple and green gear). Tessa dropkicks Daga’s knees out to crotch him on the middle rope and a Codebreaker out of the corner gets two.

It’s back to Daga for a running corner slap and the chinlock goes on. That doesn’t last long as Everfly pops up with the tornado DDT for a much needed breather. Doom comes in off the hot tag and gets to clean house, including a running headscissors to send Daga outside. Stereo 619s hit Tessa in the ribs and a pretty bad looking sliding German suplex drops her again. Everfly hits a big flipping dive onto Daga and the fans seem to approve.

Back in and Tessa plants Doom with a cutter for two but a Blue Thunder Bomb gives Doom the same. The guys come back in with Daga hitting a slingshot dropkick, setting up some rapid fire kicks to the face for two. Everfly grabs a wheelbarrow Stunner and it’s a missile dropkick into a crucifix bomb for the next near fall as Tessa saves. Everfly’s top rope double stomp to the back sets up a…..hanging snapmare (ok then) for two on Tessa. That was a weird move and didn’t exactly look good either.

Doom catches Daga on top with a super (slow motion) victory roll for two as Tessa makes another save. The women slug it out until Daga adds a superkick. A Codebreaker into a Backstabber gets two on Doom with Everfly making ANOTHER save. Everfly grabs a Code Red on Daga and catches Tessa on top with a kick to the head. Tessa kicks him away though and it’s Magnum to Everfly, setting up Daga’s double knees backbreaker for the pin at 12:56.

Rating: B-. Some of the botches and misses held it back a bit but this got some time and used it well, which is what I’ve been waiting for since the opener. Tessa really can hang with just about anyone and Daga was on here, despite being hit and miss a lot of the time. Everfly is so small that it is hard to get much out of him, though Doom was perfectly fine. Good, action packed match here.

Brian Cage vs. PJ Black

This could be interesting. The much bigger Cage shoulders him down to start so Black picks up the speed by cartwheeling away. An exchange of dropkicks goes to Cage and we reset by walking around for a bit. Black gets in a shot to the face and heads up top, only to get pulled onto the turnbuckle to cut that off in a hurry. The half crab goes on to keep Black in trouble for….well about five seconds as he grabs the rope in a hurry.

Black tries to go up again but gets pulled down into a Falcon Arrow for two. We hit the chinlock for a bit but this time, Black sends him into the corner for a running crossbody. A high crossbody sets up a top rope chop to the head and Cage is staggered for a change. Now a springboard moonsault press can give Black two but Cage rips his chest off with a chop. The sitout Alabama Slam gives Cage two and we hit that “GET YOUR S*** IN” chant. Black slips out of an F5 (another thing Cage needed to get in) but his superkick is flicked away.

What seemed to be a botched victory roll sets up a half crab on Cage (snazzy recovery if that wasn’t the plan), who is in the ropes in a hurry. Black gets creative with the AJ Styles springboard moonsault into a reverse DDT, setting up a top rope standing double stomp for two more.

Cage catches him on top but the super hurricanrana is countered into a sunset flip to give Black two. That earns him the big discus lariat though and they’re both down again. Back up and Black easily wins a strike off, setting up the crucifix bomb for two. Cage isn’t having this and hits am F5 into a buckle bomb into a helicopter bomb for the pin at 10:07.

Rating: C+. Power vs. speed is the kind of formula that has worked for the better part of ever in wrestling and they did it again here. There wasn’t much of a story to the match beyond that though as Cage just hit a string of big moves and won in the end. Not exactly thrilling, but I don’t think they were exactly shooting for anything great with this one.

RockNES Monsters/Eric Watts vs. So Cal Uncensored

That would be Johnny Yuma/Kevin Martenson and NOT THAT Eric Watts. They have nearly 40 minutes for this so either there is something after or this is going REAL long. Daniels and Martenson start things off with a slam into a dropkick to put Daniels into the corner. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker plants Martenson and it’s off to Kazarian for a jumping double stomp to the back. Yuma (the Moon Man) comes in and gets slammed a few times, setting up a springboard legdrop to rock him again.

We’ll try Watts (who is very tall) as the fans are WAY behind SCU here. Sky and Watts, former partners, get their big showdown with Sky grabbing a rolling cradle for two. The sunset flip is countered though and Watts powers him into the corner. The chokeslam doesn’t work either and they tease a right hand each for a standoff. A double Wakanda Forever pose lets Watts miss a right hand but Kazarian tags himself in for a spinwheel kick. Sky comes back in but gets distracted so Watts can hit him in the face.

Watts can’t bring himself to try the chokeslam so he watches Sky very slowly fall down instead. Martenson comes back in for a backbreaker as the SCU chants are back up. We hit the chinlock from “SCYuma” as we hear about his various outer space wrestling exploits. A series of running shots in the corner keep Sky in trouble but he manages a jumping neckbreaker for the needed breather (and two, but that’s not as important). The hot tag brings in Daniels for the comeback, including an STO to Yuma.

There’s the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Martenson breaks up Angel’s Wings. Commentary dubs the RockNES Monsters “space cops”, which would explain….well very little actually but it’s a unique idea. Kazarian comes back in as well and rolls up Martenson while grabbing a bridging northern lights suplex for two on Yuma at the same time. Martenson is sent outside and it’s a Backstabber to Yuma, setting up Kazarian’s Unprettier. That’s broken up by Watts, who gets double clotheslined outside.

Sky busts out the big flip dive, which doesn’t seem to be the best idea when the fans are that close. Back in and the referee gets bumped, sending us into the parade of secondary finishers. Another referee comes in but won’t count Watts’ chokebomb because he isn’t legal. That means a chokeslam to the referee, sending commentary into a FRENZY over this assault. Sky can’t hit a TKO on Watts, who kicks him in the face instead. Watts grabs a chair but Joey Ryan comes in to break it up, always the voice of law and order.

Ryan gets dropped but here is Hangman Page with the Buckshot Lariat to drop Watts. Page and Ryan give Watts a double YouPorn Plex (egads) and they shake hands, which is apparently a big deal. The RockNES Monsters come back in to beat them both down but here are Cody and Brandi Rhodes because this match can’t end. They jump Cody as well but he beats them up, leaving Brandi to spear Yuma. Cody dives over the top to take Martenson down but gets kicked in the face by Watts. Brandi gets terrified in the corner but the Young Bucks come in for the save (Did SCU fall into a hole?).

Somehow Watts doesn’t notice the Bucks’ full entrance, posing and streamer throwing so it’s a surprise (How?) superkick party. The Bucks stop to look at original referee Rick Knox so Watts gets back up to jump all three of them (Commentary: “A true Sith Lord if I’ve ever seen one.”). That earns him another superkick but Cody and SCU are back in, with the Best Meltzer Driver finishing Yuma at 23:57.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where you have to throw out every bit of logic in the world and go along for the ride. The big AEW invasion was much more for the live fans, which is exactly the point of a show like this. The wrestling itself was pretty good, though the last ten minutes or so were a complete circus. In this case though, that’s how something like this should have gone and it was a pretty fun match.

Post match Sky grabs the mic and says he would bring back SCU, but he didn’t say the Elite was coming with him. And Joey Ryan is here too. SCU has signed with a new company called All Elite Wrestling and no, they never considered splitting up. They are friends and brothers, almost like the Three Musketeers. Fans: “YOU F***** UP!”

That’s a red line for some reason and Matt Jackson busts out a 3 Musketeers candy bar. The rest of SCU says don’t do it (Daniels: “THINK OF YOUR PHYSIQUE!”) but he takes a bite anyway. Fans: “YOU SICK F***!” I’m going to assume that’s a Being The Elite deal and move on to Cody asking if the fans had a good time tonight. Cody says having the wrestlers in charge didn’t work for WCW but it’s going to work for AEW. They are in charge of hiring people, meaning the JOEY chant starts up. Cody: “You guys are going off script a bit.” Fans: “SIGN THAT D***!”

They can’t anyway, because Lucha Underground has him locked up until 2028. Instead, they’ll sign everyone in the building. Nick says they might not be able to afford that, but the fans disagree. Brandi tells Cody he has to fire everyone here, with Daniels saying they now have a ninety day no cheering clause (that was funny). Kazarian puts over southern California and the trio holds up SCU signs (which they can’t quite spell right at first). A lot of high fiving fans and a thank you from Joey wraps up the night.

Overall Rating: B-. I had fun and that’s all you can ask for from a show like this. The wrestling was mostly good and it felt like a pretty nice indy event. The AEW invasion at the end felt like a big moment as the company had only been announced about two weeks earlier. Anything involving Ryan was hard to watch before everything came out so the ending was pretty much the only bad thing. Overall, at about an hour and forty minutes total (with no entrances and jumping from match to match), it’s an easy watch and they know how to give the live fans a good time. Just don’t buy it so Ryan doesn’t get any money.

 

 

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