Joey Janela’s Spring Break 2
Date: April 6, 2018
Location: Pontchartrain Convention & Civic Center, Kenner, Louisiana
Attendance: 1,500
Commentators: Denver Colorado, Emil J

I’ve done parts of this series before so I figured I might as well knock off the rest of them. This show features a match that I’ve always wanted to see as it started one of the strangest comeback stories in wrestling history. Other than that, we’re in for a total mess and that is absolutely by design. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is designed after what looks to be a 16 bit video game, with Joey Janela and Glacier going after Marty Jannetty on the streets….where Jannetty lights Dink on fire to clear the stage. The second stage features Janela and Jannetty shooting at a Barber Shop (which can shoot back). With the shop destroyed, Shawn Michaels pops out of a DeLorean and superkicks Jannetty. That was different.

James Ellsworth is in a toy store and talks about working in WWE before coming here in his return to the independent scene. Tonight he’s ready to fight Matt Riddle, who doesn’t think much of Ellsworth.

Nick Gage music video. Is this just a really long pre-show?

David Starr talks about what wrestling has done for him and tonight, he’s ready for Mike Quackenbush. This is a really long pre-show isn’t it?

Quackenbush is in, and says so to Starr’s face.

Video on the Great Sasuke vs. Joey Janela, the show’s main event.

There’s going to be a Clusterf*** Battle Royal.

We start the series of videos from the beginning again as I guess we’ve got some time to kill before the show starts.

After 24 minutes of the videos looping, we’re ready to go, meaning we get to hear the commentators getting ready for the show and going over the match order.

The opening video is modeled after the WWF Attitude Era intro.

We open with a video on Joey Janela, which is basically a recreation of The Wrestler.

Teddy Hart vs. KTB vs. Tony Deppen vs. Eli Everfly vs. Gringo Loco vs. DJZ

One fall to a finish and DJZ would go on to become Joqauin Wilde in WWE. It’s a brawl to start (duh) with Everfly being sent outside. Deppen clears the ring but gets anklescissored down by Loco. Everfly is back in to snap off a headscissors before he and Loco come to a standoff. Hold on though as DJZ is back with his air horn but gets cleared out again. Hart walks on KTB’s back before pulling him into a sunset flip for two.

A torture rack backbreaker sends Deppen outside and a Project Ciampa hits Everfly. With a helping hand from the referee, Hart moonsaults onto a bunch of people on the floor. KTB dives onto everyone (Hart doesn’t go down) and Everfly hits a dive of his own. Back in and a springboard tornado DDT plants KTB and a super hurricanrana gives Everfly two on Loco. KTB comes off the top to dive onto everyone but Hart, who DDTs KTB down.

A Lionsault misses for KTB and Loco hits a springboard cutter to bring him down again. DJZ is back up and sunset bombs Loco into a moonsault onto KTB before hitting them both with a rolling DDT. Everfly hurricanranas Hart to the floor and takes Deppen up top for a…..super flipping Jay Driller (commentary: “He can’t do that!”) and the pin at 11:06.

Rating: B-. I’m not big on scrambles like this one, but there is something to be said about doing this kind of acrobatics and flips all over the place. It was certainly a fun match and the right way to fire up the crowd to start the show. Everfly’s finisher was completely nutty, making it perfect for a show like this one. Very fun stuff here and believe it or not, the fans loved it.

James Ellsworth vs. Matt Riddle

Ellsworth’s intergender title isn’t on the line (and I’m assuming Riddle’s unidentified title isn’t either). Ellsworth chop blocks him from behind before the bell but Riddle snaps off a gutwrench suplex to drop him as well. Fans: “WHERE’S YOUR CHIN?” Riddle hits a running forearm in the corner and the backsplash makes it worse. Riddle’s running knee just misses….because Ellsworth doesn’t have a chin. A superkick gives Ellsworth one but another is countered into the Bromission to give Riddle the win at 3:38.

Rating: C. Well yeah, what were you expecting? This was always going to be total destruction and it shouldn’t have been anything else. Ellsworth was always a joke and that’s how he was treated here, with Riddle, the indy prodigy, running through him. The missed knee was funny and then Riddle finished him off, as he should have done. That’s oddly logical from a show like this but I’ll take it.

Ellsworth flips off the crowd on the way out in a nice touch.

The ring announcer is ready to introduce the next match and….Virgil interrupts? He calls someone out (the audio isn’t exactly clear), gets no one, and leaves.

PCO vs. Walter

PCO isn’t the monster just yet. Before the match, Walter offers a chance to walk out but PCO gives him a crotch chop and we’re ready to go. They circle each other to start and PCO takes him into the corner for some taps to the chest. Walter works on the arm and gets kicked away without much trouble. PCO knocks him outside and loads up the dive, only to get run over with a shoulder.

The chop off ensues until Walter grabs a slam and sits on his chest. Some choking on the ropes keeps PCO down but he chops his way out of trouble. A kick to the head and short DDT put Walter down and it’s time to head outside. PCO loads up the first table but takes too long and gets dropped down onto the apron. Walter blocks a powerbomb off the apron and sends PCO hard into the steps, but the big chop only hits post.

As he’s a bit off, PCO goes up top and moonsaults down onto Walter and the referee for the big triple knockdown. Granted there was almost no length to the dive so it’s a wonder that he hit the two of them as well as he did. Walter is up first and powerbombs PCO through the table before doing it again (sans table) inside.

The second referee comes in for the two count so PCO gets booted in the face. The chops just wake PCO up though and he opens his own shirt so Walter can chop him again. PCO wins a chop off and the fans are actually on their feet as Walter looks scared. A discus forearm puts Walter on the floor for a suicide dive and a running flip dive takes him down again.

Back in and a super hurricanrana gives PCO two but Walter flips him over with a release German suplex. PCO is right back with a Regal Roll into a split legged moonsault for two (and another standing ovation). Back up and PCO hits a top rope Swanton to finally put Walter away at 18:29.

Rating: B+. Oh yeah this was rather awesome as it was all about two big guys beating each other up and hitting each other really hard. Walter was already a big deal but this would be a nice boost to his career. At the same time, it kicked off one of the most improbably career resurgences as PCO would turn this into an incredible second act to his career. It’s easy to see why too, as this was just hard hitting pain for the sake of beating on each other, with those chops making my skin crawl.

Post match they trade another chop each and shake hands before Walter leaves.

GCW World Title: Penta El Zero M vs. Nick Gage

Gage is defending and swears a lot before the bell. We get a CERO MIEDO vs. MDK chant off until Gage knocks him outside. The dive is cut off with a chair to the head and Penta chairs him again for a bonus. Penta’s chop hits the post though (with commentary pointing out that it’s two matches in a row) but is fine enough to grab some doors. Gage hiptosses him through a door in the corner and grabs a Falcon Arrow for two.

The boot scrape is cut off though and Penta Death Valley Drivers him through another door. A piece of the door over the head rocks Gage again and Penta puts some pieces onto Gage onto a table. The backsplash off the barricade doesn’t put Gage through said table in a nasty crash. Back in and Penta bridges a door over some chairs and Pentagon Drivers him through the door for two. Penta sets up another similar structure but gets powerbombed off the ropes through it instead. The chokebreaker retains Gage’s title at 9:27.

Rating: D+. This felt like a match where the idea was “Gage vs. this guy” and they didn’t have any more thought put into it. Gage didn’t do much of anything here and then retained in the end after Penta had done so much. That didn’t make for an interesting or even fun match from the usual freak show standards, so this was kind of a wreck.

Respect is shown post match. Penta leaves and Gage yells at the fans, who don’t seem to like him. Then he high fives a bunch of fans on the way out so he’s quite an odd duck.

Mike Quackenbush vs. David Starr

Starr does his long introduction and commentary (featuring Walter for this match) will not shut up, saying no one cares what Starr has to say. They fight over arm control to start until Starr gets two off a Thesz press. Back up and they shake hands before Mike climbs the rope and armdrags him into a leglock which he rolls over for what appeared to be a Crossface attempt, sending Starr to the rope.

Mike stomps on the foot and sweeps the leg, setting up some double knees to the ribs. The abdominal stretch goes on and even Walter is impressed by the series of twists it took for Mike to get it on. With that broken up, Starr Death Valley Drivers him into the corner twice in a row, followed by a springboard clothesline to the floor. Starr doesn’t want the countout so he throws Mike back in and gets tossed off the top for his efforts.

A Swanton gives Mike two but his hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb for two. Starr kicks him in the head for two, which has Walter wanting Mike to win because Starr is “acting like a d***.” A nice tornado DDT sends Starr outside but the big dive is cut off, with Starr driving him into the apron. Back in and Mike grabs a double arm crank but Starr slips out and blasts him with a clothesline for the pin at 11:37.

Rating: B-. This was the technical match of the night so far, with Starr being just enough of a villain to make it a little uneven. What mattered here was getting in something different on the show and they made it work. These two worked well together and you could hear Walter being impressed on commentary so there had to be something to this one.

Commentary: “Walter is it fair to say that the better man won?” Walter: “No.” Starr grabs the mic and puts Mike over before saying how glad he was for being on this show.

Clusterf*** Battle Royal

This is a Royal Rumble with pinfalls, submissions and over the top eliminations, though the entrance intervals are going to be shaky at best. We see some people in the back trying to check into the match, including MJF in a blonde wig disguise. Jimmy Lloyd is in at #1 and Session Moth Martina (she likes beer) is in at #2. Martina dances a lot and gets kissed for her efforts as Orange Cassidy (still just an indy guy and not a phenomenon yet) is in at #3.

Cassidy takes so long to come in that Wheeler Yuta (looking about 17 years old) comes in at #4 and Curt Stallion comes in at #5 for the grapple off. Yuta rolls him up for two and it’s Facade in at #6 to strike away at Stallion. Facade sends him outside and adds a rope walk moonsault onto everyone outside (as no one has been eliminated yet). Back in and a running kick to the head pins Stallion for our first elimination. Swoggle is in at #7 and snaps off some German suplexes.

With Swoggle cleaning house, Grado is in at #8 and he seems immune to German suplexes. Apparently Grado is quite intoxicated and Kikutaro is in at #9 and crotches himself while trying Old School. As some other wrestlers come back in….the Invisible Man is in at #10. House is cleaned and Kikutaro is tossed before Swoggle taps to a Fujiwara armbar. Joe Gacy is in at #11 and slugs it out with Yuta, including the handspring cutter. Bryan Idol is in at #12 and gets to clean some house before Chris Dickinson, in a mask, smoking a cigarette, and coming out to Real American, knocks out Facade.

Gacy is tossed and Yuta is Razor’s Edged out onto the pile (some are still in, some aren’t) at ringside. Dickinson hits Hulk Hogan’s finishing sequence to get rid of Grado and is left alone (I think). Dan Severn is in at #13 and they go with the grappling (after issues at yesterday’s Bloodsport). Alabama Doink (sure) is in at #14 and gets tossed by Severn, who is eliminated by Dickinson. Rickey Shane Page is in at #15 and beats up Dickinson….as well as the still in Lloyd.

With that not working, Marcus Crane comes in at #16 and gets beaten up by Dickinson. Aeroboy (a masked luchador with another masked man apparently named Crazy Boy….who looks like Excalibur) is in at #17 and starts cleaning house, with a Swanton into a double pin getting rid of Dickinson. Rory Gulak (or Drew, according to the rather drunk commentary team) is in at #18 and doesn’t like the idea of the match (with the sign to prove it). Nate Webb is in at #19 and walks through the crowd as Rory beats people up inside.

Everyone gets out of the ring as the fans sing Webb’s song. After taking over the camera, Webb gets inside and plants Gulak with something like a spinning Big Ending for the elimination. Ethan Page is in at #20 so Gulak kicks him in the head. That earns Webb a trip into the corner and it’s MJF (no wig) in at #21.

The masked men go after Page and MJF, with the villains tossing out the luchadors. With them gone, MJF Codebreakers Page into a rollup for the elimination. Martina (hey she’s still in this) comes back in and puts a condom on her face for a Mandible Claw on Page. She also wraps her legs around MJF’s hand for the female version of Joey Ryan’s penis suplex. Then Page rolls her up for the elimination. Cassidy finally gets in for the lazy strikes (the fans approve) and a double chokeslam pus the villains down.

That lets Cassidy go up….and fall off the top so MJF and Page can pin him at the same time. The Invisible Man beats both of them up until Lloyd gives him a piledriver…..which is illegal in Louisiana so Lloyd is eliminated. Page and MJF double team Webb for a double two count so they beat up referee Bryce Remsburg. That results in a beating from Remsburg, who gets sent outside.

Mikey Whipwreck is in at #22 (oh yeah this is a battle royal) and beats the villains up until MJF elbows him in the face. The Whippersnapper (Stunner) sends Page into a spinning faceplant from Webb for the pin and we’re down to….however many are still in this thing. MJF shoves Mikey off the ropes and hits a splash for the pin. A poke to the eye stuns Webb and MJF throws him out….but the Invisible Man rolls MJF up for the win at 39:38.

Rating: D. This right here? It was dumb. I get the idea of having a bunch of people involved and all that jazz but my goodness did this not hold my interest. I’m sure the live crowd (plus a lot of alcohol) really enjoyed it but it was a bunch of indy stars coming in, doing a little something and then moving on. It’s also one of those battle royals where it is virtually impossible to keep track of who is in there and who isn’t as people will stand outside for such long stretches. These things can be fun, but this didn’t have any big surprises or cool moments, leaving it as something that just kept going.

Joey Janela vs. Great Sasuke

Penelope Ford, in a Mardi Gras mask, is here with Janela. Sasuke comes to the ring with what looks like holy water to bless fans. A quick takedown doesn’t get either of them very far so they go to a grappling sequence with Janela twisting the fingers around. Sasuke nips up though and sits in the middle of the ring, which has Janela worried. Back up and Sasuke…apparently hypnotizes Janela and then spins his hand around, causing Janela to flip himself over.

Sasuke puts him in a chair at ringside and loads up a ladder, only to be whipped into it instead. Back up and Sasuke sends him flying off the top and onto the table for a nasty crash. Sasuke brings it back inside and puts Janela on the ladder for a missed Swanton, leaving Sasuke’s heck caught in said ladder. Janela grabs an inflatable alligator to crush Sasuke before loading up six chairs back to back.

With Janela going up top, Sasuke powerbombs him down onto the chairs in one of those STOP DOING THAT bumps. Sasuke hits him in the head with a door and then whips him through another in the corner. They slug it out on the apron and there’s a Death Valley Driver to plant Sasuke (Janela: “F*** YOU JIM CORNETTE!”). With Sasuke in a chair at ringside, Janela misses a top rope flip dive, only hitting the chair instead.

Janela is laid on a table and a big running flip dive drives him through it, which draws in Ford. A dance distracts Sasuke and Janela grabs a figure four. Sasuke gets to the rope, which rightly has commentary asking “IN THIS MATCH?” Janela misses a moonsault and gets laid over another table at ringside, allowing Sasuke to try and put a trashcan over himself and climb up.

This proves rather difficult (as you might have guessed) so he just throws it at Janela instead, setting up a Swanton onto Janela onto the table for the huge crash. Back in and Janela gets two (as Sasuke is mostly dead) but can’t believe the kickout. A Michinoku Driver onto the side of the ladder gives Janela two more, followed by a top rope double stomp onto a chair onto Sasuke for the pin at 25:16.

Rating: D+. To say this just kept going would be an understatement. It turned into little more than a hardcore brawl and that isn’t the most thrilling thing to see. Sasuke did a bunch of flips, but it didn’t exactly feel like a special match. Chop this in half and have some more wrestling and it’s much better, but it didn’t work for the most part, mainly due to the length and feeling like an indy street fight.

Post match Janela puts Sasuke over huge and thanks the fans, talking about how he can’t believe all this happened. Sasuke gets in a quick thank you of his own and they do a quick karaoke version of It’s My Life by Bon Jovi (sure) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a show where it depends on your viewing location. Watching this live in person would have been a blast, though watching it back at home just doesn’t work so well. The Quackenbush vs. Starr and PCO vs. Walter matches are both good (the latter being very good) but the rest of the show is mostly skippable. These shows would get better, but it took some time to get the formula of “fun indy show” down. For now, it isn’t quite working yet, but it could have been a lot worse. Just kind of a not great show that went on too long.

 

 

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Acid Cup 2021 Part 1
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: Cuban Club, Ybor City, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Gill, Various

This is another show from GCW’s the Collective and as you might have guessed, it is part of a tournament called the Acid Cup. While I’m not entirely sure, I would assume that it is held in honor of the late Trent Acid, which I’m sure will be confirmed during the show. Tournaments are about as easy of a concept as you can get in wrestling so hopefully this works out. Let’s get to it.

We’re outside today and it looks like this is in a parking lot for a unique visual. And yes, this is for Trent Acid.

First Round: Calvin Tankman vs. Colby Corino

Corino takes the much bigger Tankman down by the leg to start and works on a wristlock. A lot of bouncing gets Corino out of Tankman’s wristlock so Tankman chops him to little avail. Another one puts Corino down and he seems to be regretting the idea of sticking his chest out for Tankman. Back up and Corino hits an enziguri but his legs give out on an ill advised fireman’s carry attempt. Tankman pounds him down and chops away in the corner as this is staying rather slow to start.

Commentary tells a story about running into Corino in an airport in 2014 as Corino counters a powerbomb and hits a double stomp. A kick to the top of the head gets two on Tankman but he is right back with a clot and something like a Rock Bottom for two. Corino is back up with a spinning kick to the face and somehow manages a Samoan drop for an impressive visual. The middle rope 450 misses though and Tankman’s spinning backfist to the back of the head….only gets two. The Tankman Driver finishes Corino at 8:08.

Rating: C-. Tankman has been all over the weekend here and that is not a bad thing. He is a good sized guy who can do some impressively athletic things in the ring, which is always going to get some attention. Corino was doing what he could here but there is only so much that you can do when you are that small. To be fair though, that was a crazy impressive Samoan drop and I wouldn’t have believe Corino could pull it off.

We now pause for a cleaning of the ropes and a board sticking up in the ring. A bunch of people have to get in to stomp on the ring to try and fix things, complete with a camera shot of the people underneath the ring making repairs. To fill time, commentary makes up fake results of the Showcase of the Independents Family Reunion show. Now they have to lift up the mat and replace a board, which is even sadder given that there is not even a full front row around ringside. A quick Trent Acid discussion is cut off because everything is fine. This took about seven minutes so it could have been much worse.

First Round: Braden Lee vs. Laredo Kid

They start slowly until Kid flips out of an early wristlock. Lee takes him down with a headlock takeover and but Kid bounces back up and hits a running shoulder. Kid gets kicked out to the floor, followed by Lee hitting a heck of a gutbuster for two back inside. A springboard crossbody drops Lee though and it’s time to head outside, where Lee can’t hit a tornado DDT onto the concrete.

Instead, Lee takes it back inside for a good looking 450 for two. Kid is right back with a Michinoku Driver into back to back moonsaults for two of his own. Lee snaps off a running Spanish Fly but misses a shooting star, which would have missed by six feet anyway. Back up and Lee goes up top, only to get caught in….kind of a reverse super Spanish Fly, where Kid had him in a belly to back superplex then flipped backwards to land on Lee’s back as Lee landed on his face. That’s enough to finish Lee at 8:06.

Rating: C+. Total spot fest match here but Kid is someone who has been getting higher and higher profile matches as of late. It makes the tournament feel a little bit bigger because the star power helps it a lot. Pretty nice match here too, with Lee getting to showcase himself a bit before coming up short in the end.

First Round: Dragon Bane vs. KTB

I’m not sure who Bane is but he comes out to Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz so he can’t be too bad. KTB takes him down with ease to starts so the smaller Dragon goes with a handspring moonsault. Granted KTB just stands there and watches him so it doesn’t mean much. Dragon’s hurricanrana is easily countered into a sitout powerbomb and a running shoulder in the corner gives KTB two.

KTB plants him again for two but Dragon slips out of a powerbomb and strikes away. This goes very badly for Dragon and his chops are rather pitiful looking. A spinning kick to the head and a handspring elbow work a bit better though and KTB is knocked to the floor. Dragon hits a double springboard spinning moonsault to drop KTB again as commentary tries to figure out what he just did.

Back in and they trade Spanish Flies to give KTB two (Commentary: “Isn’t adrenaline crazy?”) but Dragon is back with a poisonrana for a rather delayed two. They chop it out from their knees, with commentary explaining which part of the hand offers the most pain. They trade pump kicks but KTB is back with something like a Dominator into a knee to the face for two more. Back up and Bane suplexes him into the corner, setting up another poisonrana. A shooting star press finishes KTB at 8:15.

Rating: C. I wouldn’t have bet on that so it is rather nice to have a surprise like this. This was a bit of a styles clash as it felt like Dragon was trying to get in all of his spots instead of having more of a flowing match, but that is kind of understandable given how a show like this is supposed to go. Not too bad and the surprise ending helped a good bit.

In a nice gesture, Dragon high fives all of the fans, though to be fair it doesn’t exactly take that long.

First Round: Jordan Oliver vs. Edith Surreal

Surreal is the unmasked version of Still Life With Apricots And Pears (who you might not know). Oliver is wearing Trent Acid inspired pants and it’s a feeling out process to start with Oliver taking him down by the leg and cranking away. That’s reversed into a full nelson with Surreal using her legs to work on the neck, followed by a missile dropkick for two. Surreal starts in on the arm and shrugs off the threat of a Boston crab.

Instead, Surreal gets him down and cranks on the face and leg at the same time, followed by an exchange of rollups for two. A headscissors on the mat keeps Surreal down as commentary talks about how this isn’t the kind of match you would expect from these two. Back up and Surreal gets dropkicked out to the floor so Oliver posts her hard. They head back inside with Surreal taking him down by the leg and cranking on the ankle as the very slow pace continues.

Surreal gets creative with a Figure Four stump puller, but since that is kind of hard to maintain, it’s off to a seated abdominal stretch instead. That’s reversed into a leglock from Oliver, which is reversed into a cradle for two. Back up and Surreal grabs a bulldog for two and it’s time for more rollups for two each. Oliver grabs a Stunner and kicks her in the face (Acid signature) for the pin at 9:52.

Rating: C-. This was a rather slow paced match and it didn’t exactly work. It felt like they were just going from one move/sequence to another with nothing bridging them together, which made for a fairly weak match. Both of them are capable of more so this was fairly disappointing and the lack of drama (Oliver was wearing Acid’s PANTS) didn’t help it either. Not awful, but not much to see here.

Ten minute intermission.

First Round: JJ Garrett vs. Lee Moriarty

Garrett is a substitution for Treehouse Lee and looks like he doing a Scott Steiner cosplay. He is introduced as what sounds like Dot Steiner so I have my early 90s WCW eyes working. They go with the grappling to start with Garrett taking him down but Moriarty sits out and it’s already a standoff. Moriarty picks the ankle and cranks away, sending Garrett to the ropes in a hurry.

Back up and Moriarty sweeps the leg and kicks the arm, followed by a dropkick to send Garrett outside. Garrett comes back in with a bit of a slower pace but this time manages to whip Moriarty into the corner to take over. After a quick discussion of Scott Steiner on Saved By The Bell, Garrett grabs a belly to back suplex for two. Moriarty is back with a running enziguri in the corner and a jumping double stomp to the back of a seated Garrett’s head. And then Garrett starts vomiting and the referee stops it at 5:42.

Rating: C. I’ve seen a lot from Moriarty this weekend and he really does come off as one of the better stars out of the series of shows. He has the technical and in-ring abilities to make it work with just enough charisma to make him more interesting. Throw in the fact that he looks pretty young and already seems fairly polished and he could be on to something. Garrett was just there for a short burst and you are only going to be able to get so much out of him in so little time, though he was fine enough.

We now pause to clean the ring and get some ads, including from a man named Toy Vomit, which might not be the best timing.

First Round: Aramis vs. Arez

Arez appears to be part goat. They fight over a top wristlock to start as one of the commentators can barely be heard. Aramis takes him down and starts tying up the leg but Arez ties him into a ball and puts on kind of a reverse full nelson with the legs, because these guys know some crazy complicated holds. That’s reversed but Arez reverses the reversal into something like Paige’s Scorpion Crosslock.

With that broken up as well, it’s off to a pinfall reversal sequence and the rather rapid fire tumbling into some near falls. They’re still not don so more grappling gives them two each until it’s another standoff for a pretty well deserved standing ovation. A springboard armdrag puts Aramis down but he wristdrags Arez over without much trouble. An exchange of anklescissors sets up a pair of superkicks from Aramis to send Arez outside. One heck of a suicide dive rocks Arez as commentary LOVES the fact that Aramis led with his head instead of just shoving him.

Back in and Aramis kicks him in the face, setting up a running shoulder in the corner as commentary is very pleased with the international flare here. Aramis grabs the arm and climbs the ropes to jump into a victory roll, followed by a heck of a springboard hurricanrana. Rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner gives Aramis two and they’re both down for a needed breather.

They slug it out until Arez grabs the arm and spins over to the apron to tie it around the ropes. Then he does it again with another arm and pulls on it for one of the most unique spots I can remember seeing in a long time. They fight out to the floor with Arez throwing water on him and then drinking some of it himself. Back in and Aramis is sent to the apron where they trade more kicks to the head. Arez kicks him in the chest but hurts his own leg in the process to put them both down again.

We pause for the injury and the referee gives Arez a ten count to get up. Back up and they strike it out rather hard until a double kick to the head (Commentary: “That looked like a d*** game of Karate Fighters!”) puts them both down again. Aramis pumphandles him onto the shoulder for a Dominator into a knee to the face and a torture rack spun into a powerbomb (with a lot of spinning) gets two. Arez has had it with this and comes back with a bridging northern lights suplex for the pin at 13:36.

Rating: B. This is going to be one of those matches where your individual tastes are really going to vary. Yes, this match felt like the most telegraphed match I’ve seen in a very long time but it was a blast as they beat each other up with one spot after another. They weren’t going for realistic here and the flips and holds and counters were crazy fun. Just great luchaing here and if you’re in for a performance instead of trying to make it feel like a competition, have fun with this one.

Money is thrown in and the wrestlers and referee split it.

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Tony Deppen

Hold on actually as Radrick says Deppen is stuck between Tampa and Orlando so the match isn’t happening. Therefore, let’s do that open challenge thing.

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Jimmy Lloyd

Lloyd is a hardcore guy and I really hope that isn’t what we’re getting here. Actually hang on again.

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Ellis Taylor

It wouldn’t be an indy show without a three way. Radrick is sent outside to start and there’s a dropkick to do it again. A superkick drops Taylor though and Lloyd is left alone in the ring. Radrick comes back in for a clothesline to the back of Lloyd’s head and then heads outside for a Gory Bomb onto the steps. Lloyd throws Radrick into a bunch of chairs at ringside but gets dropped as well.

That leaves Radrick and Taylor to slap it out at ringside before all three head back inside to miss some strikes to the face. Radrick dropkicks both of them down at the same time and it’s some running clotheslines in the corner. An Air Raid Crash gets two on Taylor with commentary comparing it to how Hulk Hogan covered Iron Sheik. Taylor is back up with a poisonrana on Lloyd, followed by a kick to Radrick’s head. Radrick is fine enough to hit a springboard Stunner on Lloyd, followed by something like an abdominal stretch lifted into a powerbomb to finish Taylor at 5:48.

Rating: C. This could have been a lot worse as Lloyd didn’t get to do his nonsense. Radrick is a smaller guy and looked fairly impressive here while he had the chance. They didn’t have time to do much here but the show is running out of time and they have one match left, which is the kind of thing that is going to happen. What we got was fine enough but the time hurt things a lot.

First Round: Nate Webb vs. AJ Gray

Webb is wearing a mask honoring the injured B-Boy. Webb grabs a wristlock to start but gets reversed into a rather hard headlock. A running shoulder drops Webb and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and we hit the headlock again, with Gray taking him down into a front facelock this time. Make that an armbar as we continue the barrage of first gear holds.

Webb gets back up and they talk trash, setting up the exchange of right hands to the face. Gray knocks him down again, with Webb being knocked to the floor this time. They chop it out again and Gray gets suplexed onto the concrete for a rather scary landing. Webb pelts a chair at him and then hits Gray in the back with it for a bonus. Gray gets in his own chair shot and then crushes Webb’s throat with it for a bonus (Commentary: “I don’t think these guys are friends anymore.”).

Some chairs are thrown in, with Gray setting them up and bridging a large door between them for a bonus. What looks like a superplex is broken up and Webb hits a middle rope double stomp to the back, because Gray is a little nuts. The door is moved into the corner and Webb spears Gray through it for the big crash. The running dropkick in the corner (another B-Boy tribute) gets two on Gray but he’s right back up with an enziguri to catch him on top. A top rope superplex plants Webb again for two and one heck of a clothesline gets the same. Emerald Flosion finishes Webb at 9:28.

Rating: C. Not too bad here again and I was rather relieved to see the chair and door stuff kept mostly to a minimum. Webb feels like someone who belongs more in a place like CZW but he was perfectly acceptable here in a mostly normal match so I’ll take being surprised. Gray is one of the more featured people over the course of the weekend and you can see the talent. I’m not sure if he is as good as he is hyped up to be, but he is perfectly acceptable with everything that he does, which is a lot more than you usually get on a show like this.

No brackets for the second round but you don’t really need them for something like this.

Overall Rating: C+. We’ll call this one a breath of air after some of the pretty bad stuff I’ve seen over the weekend. This had watchable to good action throughout and Arez vs. Aramis was a blast. Other than that, there is nothing worth going out of your way to see but if you want a nice sample platter of indy wrestling with no big messy scramble match or a bunch of hardcore/deathmatch nonsense, this is about as good as you are going to get from what I’ve seen over the weekend.

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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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.

 

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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AND

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