Rev Pro: Orlando
Date: March 31, 2017
Location: Wyndham Orlando Resort, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Andy Quidlan, Gilligan Gordon

Somehow I hadn’t gotten around to this one. This is another Wrestlemania weekend show that I got to take in live and the only regular wrestling show I went to all weekend that wasn’t run by WWE. I’ve never seen a Rev Pro show before this so I’m coming in entirely blind. All I know is a little about their roster and that they’re usually in the UK. Let’s get to it.

Ring announcer Andy Quidlan (also a commentator) welcomes us to the show and thanks us for coming out. He also dedicates the show to Kris Travis, a British wrestler who died one year ago to the day. This was a major theme tonight and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Sami Callihan vs. Jay White

White is billed as the Death Machine and odds are you’ve seen him if you’ve watched any indy show in the last year or two. You might have seen White in Ring of Honor where he had some outstanding matches with Jay Briscoe. Callihan starts the clapping, which normally would imply that he’s a face, even though he’s against a guy named White who wears white.

Sami kicks him in the face at the bell and sends Jay outside for a suicide dive. White hits one of his own and they take turns sending each other into the barricade for running shots to the face. Callihan does the clapping again but in a more mocking tone. So now he’s the heel? Or is this one of those indy companies where there are no faces or heels? Sami sends him into the barricade and does a full run around the ring before crashing into Jay. He tries it again but this time White follows him around and scores with some chops.

Jay FINALLY gets back in, over three full minutes after he went to the floor. Now the referee starts counting, which had the fans around me wondering why he was even bothering at this point. Back in and Jay grabs a Muta Lock, only to have Sami bite the finger for the break. They chop it out again until Callihan puts him in the corner for some running kicks to the face. A Death Valley Driver into the corner puts both guys down, even though Sami hasn’t really hasn’t had anything done to him in a good while.

White slugs away and hits a running forearm for his comeback, followed by a suplex into the corner. Since it’s a British promotion, it’s time to fight over some submission attempts. A deadlift German suplex plants Sami but he comes right back with a sitout powerbomb into the Stretch Muffler (Brock Lock). Jay is right next to the ropes so Sami tries it again, only to be reversed into a Boston crab for the submission at 12:04.

Rating: C. This one didn’t do much for me as it was mainly two guys hitting each other over and over. I didn’t get any kind of a story out of this and that’s not the best way to open up a show. It certainly wasn’t bad but the match was pretty forgettable, which isn’t something you want to be, especially not in this spot. The match was fine but just there.

Jeff Cobb vs. Martin Stone

Stone, possibly better known as Danny Burch in NXT, is a big deal in the promotion and a former two time British Heavyweight Champion. Cobb is better known as Matanza in Lucha Underground, making this power vs. technical. Jeff takes him to the mat to start as the announcers praise Cobb for his wrestling abilities. The technical sequence goes to a stalemate and the sequel does exactly the same.

Cobb tries to take him down into a headscissors but Martin pops up and shakes a finger in his face. After a bit of a standoff, Cobb throws him up into a delayed vertical suplex for two, which the announcers refer to as “ginormous”. It’s off to a waistlock on the mat, followed by a standing moonsault and standing shooting star press from the slightly rotund Cobb. Stone comes back with a dropkick and a SUCK IT (which feels incredibly out of place) into a clothesline for two.

To crank up the evil (despite seeming like a face), Stone snaps the finger and chops away in the corner. You can see the sweat flying off of Stone as Cobb chops him back and grabs a swinging belly to back. Stone shouts OUTTA NOWHERE and hits an RKO for two, because WWE is still the most influential force in wrestling companies that want to be independent from it.

A bad looking t-bone suplex and a hard right hand give Stone two and it’s off to a Crossface, which was used in the previous match. Cobb drops him with a headbutt but misses a charge to the apron, allowing Stone to hit a hanging DDT (London Bridge) for the pin at 10:37.

Rating: B-. This is a match where commentary helped a lot as the announcers told the story of Stone needing a big win after time away from the company. Cobb doesn’t seem to have much of a history with the promotion but he was treated as a big opponent for Stone, making the story easy to follow and something that helped a lot. Good match too.

They shake hands after the match because a broken finger is nothing between friends.

The ring announcer gets us ready for the next match when Lord Gideon Grey staggers out to the ring, looking like a zombie. He even bounces off the barricade, seemingly not knowing that it’s there. He’s introduced anyway, even though he’s not supposed to be here at the moment. Grey introduces himself to the crowd and says his whole life has fallen apart since Swoggle has brought Colt Cabana back into his life. People had started taking him seriously and now it’s gone. That means a challenge for Swoggle.

Lord Gideon Grey vs. Swoggle

Swoggle kicks him in the knee and gets a Stunner for two less than fifteen seconds in. That’s followed by a bite to the trunks area with both Swoggle and the referee getting in on things. Grey misses a charge and Swoggle does Suplex City (Announcer: “He’s going to take him to Suplex Village!”), including a Brock Lesnar dance. Grey gets up and hits a sitout powerslam (50 Shades of Grey) for the pin at 2:07.

Grey’s mental health seems to go up by roughly 15 points with the win.

Ricochet vs. Marty Scurll

Ricochet is a King and Scurll is a villain. Marty gets one heck of a reaction and it’s easy to see why he’s becoming such a big deal so fast. The announcers are smart enough to agree that it’s going to be the match of the evening, which isn’t really that big of a surprise. The fans are split as a technical sequence goes to a standoff.

Scurll shoulders him down but Ricochet nips right back up. Scurll: “THAT WAS SWEET! I’m going to try!” A front flip into a nipup freaks the fans out but Ricochet isn’t dumb enough to go for a handshake. That turns into a YES chant with Scurll leading the way. Marty dances and offers a left hand instead, only to have Ricochet ready to block the eyepoke from the right hand.

Scurll bails to the floor so Ricochet handsprings into the ropes and backflips into a kneel. Back in and Ricochet bends him over his back and rams Marty’s head into the buckle over and over, setting up Tye Dillinger’s cartwheel into TEN. A spinebuster sets up the People’s Moonsault (exactly what it sounds like) and Ricochet grabs a front facelock, only to stop to yell at a single fan in the crowd.

Ricochet couldn’t understand what he said (I couldn’t either) so he sends Marty outside but misses a moonsault. Naturally he lands on his feet anyway but Marty pops back to the apron for a superkick. Back in and Scurll loads up the Villain’s Elbow but stomps away instead of dropping an elbow. Now that’s a villainous thing: set up something the fans want and then go the other way. A kick to the face sets up a chinlock, only to have Ricochet flip over into one of his own.

It’s time to crank it back up with Marty being sent outside for a big flip dive, followed by a running cutter into a standing shooting star for two back inside. They both miss some strikes until Scurll kicks him in the knee and grabs a brainbuster for two. Ricochet starts the flips again but gets cut off by another kick to the chest. A cutter from the knees drops Marty again and a running shooting star headbutt has Scurll stunned.

Both guys are winded so they slap it out with Ricochet getting the better of it, including a knee to the face to avoid some broken fingers. Well that’s one way to do it. The top rope shooting star press misses though and Scurll grabs a piledriver for two more. Now the finger is snapped and a piledriver into the chickenwing has Ricochet in trouble. The hold isn’t all the way locked though and Ricochet kicks him in the head, only to moonsault into the full chickenwing for the tap at 16:42.

Rating: A-. This was the match that the show needed with both guys looking awesome in a great back and forth match. There was a great blend of comedy and action here with Ricochet finally trying to get a bit too high and getting caught in the hold to wrap it up. Marty’s star is rising through the roof at this point and this was a big win for him over another top indy name.

Post match Marty says matches like these are why he loves professional wrestling. He thanks Trevor (Ricochet’s real name) and then calls him Prince before saying he’d love a rematch anywhere anytime. Marty dedicates the match and show to Kris Travis before leaving. Ricochet says he doesn’t remember his first Rev Pro show but he remembers Andy (the company’s owner) and Marty opening their arms to him. He thanks everyone for everything he’s gotten to do and mentions the merch tables being set up at intermission.

Speaking of intermission, it ran about half an hour (announced as being fifteen minutes) and there were indeed a host of wrestlers outside. During the break, I got to meet Ricochet, Colt Cabana, Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, Swoggle, Brian Cage (that man has huge arms), Jay White, Martin Stone (picture any stereotypical incredibly polite British man), Jeff Cobb, Fenix, Pentagon Dark and Shane Strickland. Everyone was very nice, which is always a perk.

Interim British Cruiserweight Title: David Starr vs. Josh Bodom

Bodom is defending and this title exists because the regular champion Will Ospreay was touring Japan. Starr’s schtick is that he has about fifteen nicknames (Your Favorite Wrestler’s Favorite Wrestler, the Cream in Your Coffee, Davey Wrestling, the 104 Minute Man and so on) which the ring announcer has to read off a card. Bodom is a big time heel who makes sure to do his own introduction where he calls himself the REAL Cruiserweight Champion. Since Ospreay won’t defend his title, Bodom isn’t either. Well to be fair he didn’t even bring the belt with him. Starr: “Hey Slim Shady. Where’s the strap?”

David Starr vs. Josh Bodom

The bell rings and I think this is now non-title. Starr trips him down and it’s an early crotch to the face. An Emma Sandwich gives David two but Bodom slams him head first into the mat to take over. They trade some not great chops as the announcers talk about various wrestlers Bodom and Starr have come close to beating. Yeah that’ll make us care about two guys who aren’t that familiar.

Starr unloads with chops and punches in the corner until something like a tilt-a-whirl Big Ending sends Bodom to the floor. Bodom is sent outside for some dives with Andy declaring Starr “very good at professional wrestling”. Josh comes right back by sending him into the barricade and going to the top for a flip dive off the post (that always makes it look better, even when the dive mostly missed) to drop Starr again.

Back in and a superkick sets up the running shooting star (too common of a move anymore) for two. Gilligan: “Who does Starr think he is???” Starr avoids what looked like a Swanton and hits a draping DDT onto the apron (that’s a new one). Not that it matters as Bodom comes right back with a powerbomb into a backbreaker for a near fall of his own. The big chops send sweat flying but a ref bump allows Bodom to get in a low blow.

Bodom grabs what looks like a pipe but a second referee comes in and takes it away. The distraction allows Starr to hit Adam Cole’s Last Shot for a close two. Back up and Starr runs the ropes, only to eat a superkick. Bodom grabs a Bliss Buster (picture Orton’s hanging DDT but he jumps on the back of the head to turn it into a piledriver) for the pin at 12:15.

Rating: B-. This was much better with the commentary explaining how evil Bodom is and Gilligan basically playing Michael Cole to Bodom’s Miz. That’s quite the benefit when I have no idea who either of these people are and it made the match a lot easier to watch on the second viewing. Good match here as it’s nice to have another storyline based match instead of all the specials.

Rey Fenix vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay’s British Cruiserweight Title isn’t on the line. Fenix takes his sweet time coming through the curtain. These guys are both very high fliers so this should be quite the spectacle. Fenix takes him down by the knee to start as the announcers suggest this might be “era defining”. Oh be quiet.

Both guys flip out of wristlocks and spin around a bit until Ospreay leaves a dropkick a bit short so Fenix can pose at him. Ospreay stops a charge and looks off into the crowd. Fenix looks too and is quickly headlocked in a spot that is far too simple to work as well as it did. They head outside with Fenix kicking at the chest, followed by something like the Rings of Saturn back inside.

The hold doesn’t last long as Fenix gets up and kicks him down, setting up a Swanton for two. Ospreay handsprings into his signature pose, only to have Fenix right there with a cutter to drop him again. Smart move there. Another superkick sets up another running shooting star, followed by Ospreay’s middle rope flip dive (something like a Phoenix splash into a Spiral Tap) for his own near fall.

They trade kicks to the head as the pace picks WAY up in a hurry. A reverse hurricanrana drops Ospreay but he pops up with one of his own to put both guys down. They try the same kicks and clotheslines at the same time with Ospreay knocking him to the floor. That means a Flying Space Tiger Drop (cartwheel into a flip dive and still perhaps the coolest name for a move ever) to Fenix, followed by a Phenomenal Forearm.

This is where commentary comes in again as the announcers had mentioned Ospreay facing AJ Styles a little over a year ago and learning from him. I can always go for commentators adding to a match like that and it helps a lot here. Fenix takes him up top for a super Spanish Fly, only to get shoved down for an Essex Destroyer (Canadian Destroyer with a DDT instead of a piledriver). A very high Phoenix Splash gets two and Ospreay is getting frustrated.

The Oscutter (backwards springboard cutter) is blocked and a middle rope stomp to the face gives Fenix two. Ospreay is staggered so Fenix swings around into a flip piledriver for two more. It worked so well that Fenix tries it again but Ospreay flips out and knees him in the face. His really spinny kick to the back of the head sets up the Oscutter for the pin on Fenix at 12:38.

Rating: B+. This was the indy flippy style done quite well with Ospreay looking like a killer out there. Fenix more than hung with him and it’s always cool to see some Lucha Underground people in person instead of on extreme tape delay. It might not be as good as Scurll vs. Ricochet but that’s hardly a criticism. Really fun match.

Unbreakable F’N Machines vs. Ryan Smile/Shane Strickland

That would be Brian Cage/Michael Elgin. I’m not too familiar with Smile but Strickland is Lucha Underground’s Killshot. Smile and Cage start things off with the massive Cage towering over him. Ryan flips off the ropes over Brian and tells him to suck it before offering a test of strength. Thankfully Smile is smart enough to kick him in the ribs and headscissor him into 619 position, only to have Cage take his head taken off with a clothesline.

Now it’s Cage hitting a 619 of his own and both guys try dropkicks into nipups. I mean Cage’s nipup doesn’t work but he tried. With the fans laughing at the nips, Elgin comes in for a front flip into a nipup, followed by Strickland mocking Cage’s failure. That’s fine with Elgin, who busts out a Worm. Strickland: “NOPE!” And he grabs his jacket and walks out. He’s back a few seconds later as the fans cheer for Big Mike.

It’s off to Elgin, who gets caught in an ankle scissors. Everything breaks down for a second with Strickland and Smile hitting dropkicks to the side of Cage’s head. That earns them a clothesline to the floor but Strickland gets right back up and kicks Elgin in the head. Mike is staggered so Strickland uses his huge chest for a springboard into a….well a mostly missed moonsault but it was a cool launch.

Back in and a pop up Big Ending gets two on Smile, followed by the delayed vertical suplex. That’s not enough though as Elgin hands Smile off to Cage to actually drop him. Smile finally remembers what planet he’s on and brings in Strickland for a series of dropkicks and a suicide dive to Elgin. A high crossbody gets two on Cage as the fans are oddly silent for this sequence.

For some reason, Smile and Strickland put Cage in his own corner for a kick to the face but Elgin comes back in to take them out. Perhaps for reasons of general bad psychology. Mike holds Smile upside down for a basement dropkick, followed by a powerbomb onto Cage’s raised knees but Strickland makes a save. The Machines aren’t done so they hit a double clothesline (one to the front and one to the back) followed by a double Hellevator but Strickland makes ANOTHER save.

Shane has worn out his welcome so it’s a superkick into a German suplex into a wheelbarrow neckbreaker to send him outside. That leaves Smile to take a super Elgin Bomb and an F5 from Cage….for two. The fans IMMEDIATELY call that BS and I can’t say I blame them. There’s no reason for Smile (or anyone not named Hogan in 1987) to kick out of something like that.

Elgin gives Smile a spinning backslap to the face before hitting a Samoan drop/fall away slam at the same time. Somehow Smile has the nerve to get up and powerbomb Elgin off the middle rope with Strickland adding a top rope double stomp. Shane dives on Cage and Smile adds a frog splash to end Elgin at 16:18.

Rating: D+. This match was already going long and that kickout was pretty much inexcusable. Unless Strickland was late making a save (which wouldn’t have made sense after the big moves he took), there’s really no reason for him to kick out there. Then again, they kind of gave away the ending when it was announced that Smile and Strickland were getting a future Tag Team Title shot. If that’s the case then, don’t have Smile take such a big sequence, unless his partner is there for the save. There was good action here with Elgin being a highlight as always but that kickout was just awful.

Undisputed British Heavyweight Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Penta El Zero M

Sabre is defending and also brings his Evolve and PWG World Titles. I’m pretty sure Sabre is a heel, as he has a custom rap entrance theme, talking about how great of a technical wrestler he is. A sample line: “If Dean Malenko has a thousand, he’s at fifth thou.” As expected, the fans sing a song about him but it’s quickly drowned out by CERO MIEDO. They circle each other for the first minute as the announcers talk about Sabre joining a the Suzuki-Gun faction in New Japan.

Sabre starts in on the arm but Pentagon takes him down and stretches the neck a bit. Something like an Indian Deathlock has Pentagon in trouble and Zack throws in some middle fingers as a bonus. Pentagon is right back with a modified Haas of Pain and it’s another standoff.

Back up and Pentagon grabs a surfboard with a chinlock only to let go and shout CERO MIEDO. Armdrags and a superkick send Zack to the floor for a posting. Pentagon hits the post by mistake though and Sabre sees a target on the arm. Sabre sits on the apron and throws up a peace sign as the fans serenade him a bit.

Back in and Zack stomps on the arm and cuts off a comeback with a penalty kick. A double underhook piledriver sets up a modified cross armbreaker. Pentagon makes the rope and pops right back up for a package piledriver onto the apron. Sabre is mostly dead but still manages a Canadian Destroyer into a triangle choke into a very modified Rings of Saturn to knock Pentagon out and retain at 15:43.

Rating: B. Sabre is one of the best technical guys I’ve ever seen and there’s something very cool about a character who is quite the jerk because he knows how much better he is than anyone else. Throw in the way he tortures people’s arms and it’s really hard to not be entertained by him in at least some way.

A quick goodbye takes us out. On the way out, I got to shake hands with Sabre Jr. as well.

Overall Rating: B. I had a good time with this show despite not knowing any of the stories coming in. The version with commentary is much better and it cuts out a lot of the dead time between the matches and intermission, thereby shortening the show by the better part of an hour. The wrestling is good and I’d check out another show from the promotion, which is about as high of a bit of praise as you can get.

You can see the show on Rev Pro’s on demand service at https://rpwondemand.pivotshare.com/.com for $8.49 a month with access to dozens of their shows.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Histories of Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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WrestleCon Supershow 2017
Date: March 31, 2017
Location: Wyndham Orlando Resort, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Marty DeRosa, Excalibur

This is something I’ve heard about for a few years now and when I saw the card, there was no question about taking it in. Basically this is a HUGE indy show with talent from all over the world working one show tied together with the incredible WrestleCon convention. I was in the crowd for this show and I’m really curious to see if it holds up on a second viewing. Let’s get to it.

No real intro for the show, likely because the show was already starting late.

Michael Elgin/Mascarita Dorada/ACH vs. David Starr/Trevor Lee/Caleb Konley

This is under Lucha Rules, meaning tags aren’t required. ACH is billed as “Mr. I Paid My Bills With This Booking” in a funny bit. It should also be noted that a lot of these matches weren’t announced in advance so these teams were total surprises. Dorada is better known as El Torito. The announcers talk about this being the fifth of Elgin’s TEN matches over the week (it was his second of the night) compared to John Cena only wrestling one. Oh yeah it’s going to be that kind of a show and that’s a good thing here.

ACH and Starr run the ropes to start and it’s already time for the dropkicks with all three heels (Starr and company) getting knocked outside. Starr offers ACH a free chop but gets hit low for his efforts with Konley getting one of his own. Lee blocks it though and a double superkick puts ACH on the floor. That means Dorada can come in for a triple armdrag and we have some heel miscommunication. Lee: “WHAT IN THE F****** F*** WAS THAT???” You can imagine the laugh that line got.

None of the villains can do a thing with Dorada, who grabs a headscissors on Konley but spins around him ten times before sending him down. Elgin takes a lap around the ring as Dorada collapses, finally allowing Lee to get in a hard shot on Dorada. I believe Dorada takes a thumb to the eye (the camera work is shaky at best and the arena is already dark so it can be a bit difficult to follow some of the action) and all three villains come in for some rhythmic clapping and a triple crotch to the face.

That actually doesn’t have any effect on Dorada so it’s a triple low blow and a hot tag to Elgin. Konley and Lee get suplexed at the same time and a Falcon Arrow gets two. That’s not enough strength so he German suplexes Konley and Lee at the same time for a bonus. ACH, now in a hat, remembers that he’s in the match as everything breaks down. Dorada is launched over the top onto all three but ACH’s followup dive is countered with a superkick. Not that it matters as ACH grabs a brainbuster, setting up Dorada’s moonsault for the pin on Konley at 11:53.

Rating: B. About halfway through this match, I knew this show was going to be a blast. This was the perfect choice for an opener with the heels really just being there to give the fun good guys something to do, which made this feel a lot more fun than serious. That’s likely to be the case with everything tonight and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The winners dance post match with Elgin doing the Worm.

Shane Strickland vs. ???

Strickland is better known as Killshot in Lucha Underground. The lights go out and we’ve got a surprise opponent with……Low Ki. This was a punch to the stomach for me as I’m REALLY not a fan of Low Ki so hopefully this one doesn’t last too long. The announcers basically say Strickland is screwed here and I can’t imagine we’re in for much of an upset. Feeling out process to start with Low Ki working on the arm and kicking Shane away. I have a feeling you’ll hear that more than once tonight. Say ten to fifteen times for a low number.

Strickland starts cranking on both arms to take over as the announcers praise Laycool with Low Ki’s success. DeRosa: “Somewhere in a parallel universe Killshot is wrestling Kaval.” We go to a test of strength with Strickland being driven down into a bridge. That just earns himself a hard kick to break things up, followed by even more kicks for two. Things slow down as Low Ki grabs a headscissors before chopping the heck out of Strickland’s chest.

Back up and Low Ki flips him into the ropes, setting off one heck of a counter sequence capped off by Strickland spinning around Low Ki and nailing a dropkick. Strickland has to bail out of a flip dive but lands on his feet, only to eat a hard dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Strickland easily counters a waistlock (likely because it’s a waistlock) into a catapult but Low Ki bounces right back off the ropes into a middle rope double stomp. Strickland won’t stay down though and comes back with a 619, followed by a jumping cutter (Strickland: “GOTCHA!”) for two.

A slingshot double stomp to the back gives Shane two and the announcers seemed stunned that Low Ki is in trouble. Both guys head up top at the same time and there’s no way this is going to end well. Strickland gets knocked down into a Tree of Woe over the apron, setting up a HUGE double stomp to the chest (think Del Rio’s bad finisher done well) onto the apron. Low Ki throws what used to be Strickland back inside for the pin at 13:03.

Rating: C+. Like I said, I’m certainly not a Low Ki fan but this was a VERY hard hitting match and the ending looked awesome. Strickland isn’t someone you see very often (save for Lucha Underground of course) and he got to show off quite a bit here. You knew there was going to be a kick based match on the card somewhere and this is as good of a place as you’re going to get.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Jeff Cobb vs. Lashley

Lashley is defending and the fans IMMEDIATELY break into a F*** THAT OWL chant. Cobb is better known as Matanza in Lucha Underground but he’s just a big athletic monster here. Now for the oddest part of the show, Lashley is announced and a country song comes on. There’s no Lashley so they hit his entrance again and he’s still not here. Fans: “F*** THAT OWL!”

Lashley appears through the crowd and we’re ready to go. I actually got to talk to Lashley the next day at WrestleCon and there was a very simple explanation: they didn’t have his song for some reason so he came to the ring anyway, knowing he was going to be the heel no matter what. Apparently it’s a BIG offense if you come out to someone else’s music so Lashley wasn’t about to make his entrance to the country song.

We get some Big Match Intros and Cobb holds up the title to really rub it in. Fans: “F*** THAT HEADBAND!” The good thing is that Lashley is really soaking it all in and relishing the whole thing, as he almost has to do. Lashley goes for a single leg takedown but Cobb muscles him up onto his shoulders to block. A hard shoulder drops Cobb and it’s time to slowly pound away in the corner.

Cobb gets in a clothesline to send Lashley outside but the champ whips him into the barricade, only to stop to argue with a fan. Back in and a neckbreaker sets up a chinlock as this is going really, really slowly. Lashley shows off a bit with a delayed vertical suplex, only to have Cobb muscles him up with a throw of his own.

It’s off to a triangle choke on Cobb….who lifts him up for a powerbomb to break. That’s the kind of thing they needed to do all match. Cobb gets athletic with a standing moonsault followed by a standing shooting star press for two. A deadlift German suplex gives Cobb two more but the spear just ends him for the pin at 10:45.

Rating: D+. This was ok but really felt like a major disappointment. It was billed as and should have been a battle of two monsters hitting each other really hard but instead it was more of a technical power match. You don’t see those very often and it made for a pretty slow match which didn’t work very well. Not horrible by any means but it could have, and should have, been better.

Sammy Guevara/Flip Gordon vs. Angelico/Jack Evans

I actually hadn’t heard of Guevara and Gordon, both of whom are apparently pretty talented guys from the northeast. Angelico might be my favorite guy from Lucha Underground so this was one of the matches I was looking forward to the most. Gordon and Angelico start things off with Angelico handling the early flipping. A roll through into an ankle lock sends Flip over to the ropes so it’s time for some handstand dancing. As is so often the case you see.

Gordon won’t shake his hand but he will bring in Guevara to face Evans. Jack wants a mic but can’t get one that works. Instead he just shouts a lot, saying that he can’t believe he’s getting to wrestle Justin Bieber (who Sammy resembles). Evans even offers to lay down if Sammy will sing a bit. That just gets him a superkick because it’s been too long since we’ve had one.

Sammy and Flip start stomping away in the corner, followed by a standing moonsault followed by a standing shooting star for two. Guevara gets a running start and flip dives onto Angelico and Evans for a nice pop despite being the heels here. Back in and we hit some fireman’s carry squats on Evans, who quickly reverses into an ankle lock.

Sammy shouts that he has a good one and grabs a crossface chickenwing. That goes as far as it’s going to go without Marty Scurll involved so Evans goes up top for a double Blockbuster. The hot tag brings in Angelico for the long legged knee shots as everything breaks down. Everyone kicks everyone until Evans does a ridiculous flip dive to the floor, leaving Angelico to hit the Fall of the Angels for the pin on Gordon at 13:02.

Rating: B-. Gordon and Guevara looked GREAT here and I could easily see them being a heel team in either NXT or TNA. Evans and Angelico were the bigger names coming in and while I’m a fan of the latter, I thought they were out shined here. Good match and I had a lot more fun watching it the second time around.

Hands are shaken post match.

Team Ricochet vs. Team Ospreay

Ricochet, Jason Cade, Sami Calihan, AR Fox, Desmond Xavier

Will Ospreay, Lio Rush, Drew Galloway, Ryan Smile, Marty Scurll

The ten man tag has become a staple of WrestleCon weekend and this might have been the most anticipated match of the show, if not the entire weekend. It’s fallout from the infamous match earlier in the year that saw the captains do an incredible match with all kinds of choreography. Just a hunch but I have a feeling that it’s going to be a lot more of the same here. The teams were only partially announced in advance and the members weren’t announced in the arena so this was a bit confusing.

Ricochet charges at Ospreay and they’re on the floor less than three seconds in. Everyone other than Scurll and Calihan join them less than fifteen seconds in before it’s off to Smile and Xavier for a double headbutt. They’re FLYING in and out of here so I’m not even going to be able to try to call everything here. Cade DDTs Smile to the floor but Galloway comes in and launches the much smaller Cade into the corner for some chops.

Fox tries some springboards on Galloway but gets thrown down in a big crash. Rush comes in to speed things up even more with those rapid fire kicks of his, only to have Sami come in with a cat mask on. Apparently it’s called space cat and as Rush says, “I F****** HATE SPACE CAT!”. Ospreay comes in and rips the mask off, only to have Ricochet come in as well. Now, I don’t usually do this, but I flat out admit I can’t do the following justice. Therefore, just watch.

And the version I filmed myself for a bit of a different angle.

Some of you might not get this and that’s fine but that’s for you Sally. I wish you could have seen it.

Anyway, we’re down to Ricochet vs. Scurll in the ring (for the second time tonight after their great match at the Rev Pro show) for all of five seconds before Cade and Smile come in for HUGE dives to take out a pile of people each. Ospreay gets superkicked by Cade and Xavier who follow it up with stereo flip dives out to the floor.

Fox goes even crazier with a springboard imploding 450, thankfully not killing himself when his head bangs into the barricade. Now it’s Galloway with a running flip dive (Marty: “He can dance! He can fly!”) but the captains won’t be outdone, meaning it’s Ospreay taking Ricochet to the top. Me from the crowd: “Oh they’re going to die.” Ospreay hits a HUGE C4 onto the eight others and everyone is of course out cold.

Back in and it’s Cade being put on top of a Tower of Doom with the superplex sending him into a sitout powerbomb from Galloway. Marty gets all fired up for the chickenwing on Calihan….who punches him in the face instead. Team Ricochet gets up first and puts four opponents in a corner each, only to charge into four stereo boots. They come back with superkicks but they all get stuck on top with their heads tucked on the buckles.

That means stereo superkicks, followed by everyone missing charges and taking similar superkicks of their own. We’re still not done yet though as Team Ospreay is down in front of a corner as four members of Team Ricochet goes up top. We get a completely ridiculous quadruple dive off the top (shooting stars and 450s you see) with Calihan hitting something like a package Tombstone on Galloway for a quintuple near fall and a huge gasp from the crowd.

The announcers talk about how Dave Meltzer is in the crowd tonight and needs another notebook from Walgreens, which is probably the fourth plug of the night for the store. Seriously it’s a great Walgreens. With nothing else left, it’s time for a long exchange of strikes, starting with six straight superkicks just because they can. Then they upgrade things a bit with a series of Diamond Cutters, including Smile blocking ones by just putting his hands out.

Rush jumps into his and does Orton’s pose on the ropes. Calihan flashes the Diamond Cutter sign and pulls Rush down (Marty: “Calihan yoga classes tomorrow morning!”), only to eat a Stunner, complete with middle fingers, from Galloway. It’s back to the Diamond Cutters, capped off by Ricochet going to the top but getting caught in a crazy springboard cutter from Ospreay.

Everyone goes after Ricochet with Galloway hitting a piledriver to set up a dog pile pin. Four people dive in for a save at two and this somehow keeps going. Fox and Ospreay slug it out until Scurll snaps AR’s fingers. You really can hear the noise in the arena and it’s impossible to not cringe. Calihan powerbombs Smile but gets dropped by Galloway.

It’s back to Ospreay vs. Ricochet with their series of counters until Will hits the Stundog Millionaire (spinning Stunner) into a springboard cutter…..for two. Excalibur: “Why would that be it? We’re having too much fun!” Ospreay hits a 630 but walks into a Canadian Destroyer from Cade. Jason follows it up with a West Coast Pop to FINALLY put Ospreay away at 22:05.

Rating: A+. Much like the match, this might be a bit long. I’ve been accused, and probably accurately so, of being a bit of a wrestling snob at times. It’s certainly true that I do tend to go a bit too hard towards the artistic side of wrestling where I need things to make sense and follow a logical progression or I get a bit annoyed at it. During and after this match, I started thinking about something.

In addition to being obsessed with wrestling, I’m also something of a movie geek (by last count I’ve seen I’ve seen just shy of 1400). I love old movies with the big sets and big performances but I’m also never going to miss a James Bond movie or anything from Marvel. Of course there’s stuff in there that doesn’t make a bit of sense sometimes but that’s completely missing the point. Those movies mainly exist to entertain and just be awesome. Now why can’t that be the case with wrestling as well?

I loved this match and after watching more live wrestling over the course of about a week than I had in my entire life, this was the match that stuck with me the most. This was incredible stuff with ten guys doing everything from action to comedy to emotion in more time than almost anything else got all night.

Of all the shows and all the matches I’ve ever been to in my life, I have never had more fun watching a single match that this one, including anything from any Wrestlemania I’ve ever been to. I got completely lost in this match and I nearly collapsed when it was finally over. Outstanding stuff here and a total blast, which is a lot more than I was expecting from what looked to be just another spot fest. Find this match if you can and just have fun watching some wrestling.

The fans chant ALL THESE GUYS as all ten sit in the ring and shake hands. Ricochet gets the mic and says that one year ago today, a British wrestler named Chris Travis passed away. That was a big deal at the Rev Pro show and it clearly meant a lot to them. As for this match, the captains actually got to pick their guys and it’s clear who is on Ricochet’s team because all of his guys are black (not quite) and all of Ospreay’s guys are British (Rush, from Baltimore: “Ello governor!”). Ricochet thanks everyone, including Vader, who he certainly loves.

Intermission, during which I met most of the people on the card so far, plus several who haven’t been on the show yet. I also ran to the fabled Walgreens and bought two big bottles of water because there were well over 1,000 people in a hotel conference room. That and the fact that a can of soda was SIX DOLLARS at the concession stand. I also saw Donovan Dijak watching the show as a fan, which is something you almost never see outside of something like this. The video actually includes intermission, which is just a still shot of the ring with no sound.

Ironman Heavymetalweight Title: Battle Royal

Now THIS was a treat. I’ve heard of this title for years but it’s almost always been in Japan. Basically it’s a parody of the Hardcore Title as it’s defended in battle royals but someone always jumps the champ after it’s over to win the title. Now I know that sounds like something you would see in WWE but oh not quite.

The belt has changed hands well over 1200 times (including once via dream sequence) with champions including a sex doll, a cameraman, a baseball bat, a ladder, the title itself, a young girl with the power to chokeslam adults, Vince McMahon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (someone was in a hold and tapped out on it, which meant that they tapped out to the star) and of course Joey Ryan, who is defending here.

This is basically a Royal Rumble with one minute intervals and the title can change hands via pinfall or submission. However, pins and submissions don’t count as eliminations and the only way to be eliminated is by being thrown over the top. Got all that? Good as I want to see Joey come out to the Pina Colada Song because it fits him so perfectly.

Colt Cabana is in #2 and we have one minute intervals. Here’s how this thing starts: Bell, Joey: “Touch my d***!” Instead Cabana pulls out some chest hair, which you can see fall out of his hand. A low blow has no effect on Joey so the fans chant KING OF DONG STYLE. Thankfully Kikutaro, a Japanese comedy character, is in at #3 and tries to go in slow motion. A Shining Wizard gets two on Joey and they take turns kicking Joey low, only to keep hurting themselves.

The Underground Luchador is in at #4 and there’s no hiding the fact that it’s Matt Striker. Luchador rolls Ryan up for the pin and the title before revealing himself to be, in fact, Matt Striker. Kikutaro grabs him low and spins around so Joey can eliminate him, meaning he’s the new champion. The Manscout Jake Manning is in at #5 and goes to the corner to read his scout manual. Everyone charges at him but he raises his boot every time without looking away.

It’s time for #6 and Welcome to the Jungle starts playing. Excalibur: “This could literally be any indy wrestler from twenty years ago.” It winds up being George South of all people and the fans…..don’t seem to care. For those of you who don’t know, South is a former NWA jobber who Ric Flair thought he could have a classic with if they were given time. That never happened but South is kind of a mini legend as a result.

Suicide (apparently played by Caleb Konley) is in at #7 and the fans don’t like the owl again. As you might be able to guess, there’s nothing to the wrestling here as this is all about the entrances and wondering who comes out next. Speaking of which, Mr. Hughes is in at #8 with no music and missing about 140lbs. South is eliminated off camera and it’s Zane Riley in at #9. He’s a big guy named Mr. 305 Live and grabs various people by the tights. 2 Cold Scorpio (one of the reasons I wanted to go to this show) is in at #10, thankfully rocking the Flash Funk gear.

Billy Gunn of all people is in at #11, complete with his most famous song. Riley takes a Fameasser and gets tossed, followed by Kikutaro, Manning and Cabana. Moose is in at #12 and we have Moose, Gunn, Hughes, Scorpio and Ryan at the moment. We get something of a bizarre staredown between Gunn and Moose, which Marty describes as the staredown he never knew he wanted.

Nothing happens until Swoggle is in at #13 as I wonder if this counts as a DX reunion. Swoggle is shoved down so Moose and Gunn can fight with Moose scoring off a dropkick. Shane Douglas, unfortunately not in a Target uniform and thankfully not in gear, is in at #14. Gunn gets rid of Hughes and Swoggle low bridges Suicide out. Kevin Thorn is in at #15 to scare Swoggle half to death. Shannon Moore is in at #16 but Gunn drops him with a side slam.

Hurricane is in at #17, complete with the full WWE entrance, to a huge reaction. That means chokeslams, including one to get rid of Thorn. Another one plants Gunn but he can’t lift up Billy’s dead weight. Abyss is in at #18 to get rid of Shane as Gunn was tossed off camera. Another chokeslam is enough to get rid of Scorpio before Hurricane’s chokeslam is swatted away.

Gangrel is in at #19, complete with that still rocking entrance music. Moore and Helms use the power of 3 Count to get rid of Abyss as Gangrel spits the liquid. A clothesline actually gets rid of Hurricane as Swoggle hits a pop up powerbomb on Moore. Marty Jannetty is in at #20 and Jake Roberts might be passed on the “how out of it can you be while still working a match” scale. I actually got to shake Marty’s hand in the lobby during intermission and mentioned that we had the same birthday. He didn’t actually say anything but just walked away….without letting go of my hand.

Anyway we have a final group of Ryan, Gangrel, Jannetty, Moore, Moose, and Swoggle. Marty starts dancing as Moore is tossed out. To make sure you know how bad it is, Jannetty takes Gangrel down and the announcers can’t keep straight faces over how gone he is. The fans think Marty is wasted (DeRosa: “That chant was true twelve hours ago.” Excalibur: “We’re going to have to have Sting come out here and give him a DDT to pin him.”) and Gangrel throws him out to get us down to four. Moose gets rid of Gangrel and starts the pump jabs on Ryan.

I’m not going to try to spin what happens next so here’s as literal of a play by play as I can give: Joey grabs Moose’s hand and puts it on his crotch, which causes Moose extreme pain. Moose goes down, tries to Hulk Up, gets cranked right back down, and is tossed out of the ring, all due to the power of Joey’s crotch. Swoggle runs up and throws Joey out for the win and the title at 25:00.

Rating: D. I think you can grasp (like Moose grasped Joey) that this wasn’t about the wrestling or the action but just getting some older wrestlers (I hesitate to call most of these people legends) out there and wondering who was coming through the curtain next. The anticipation here was outstanding and I really did have a great time finding out who they were dragging out of mothballs for each entrance. It doesn’t hold up but this is the definition of a thousand times more fun live than watching it later.

Joey grabs a rollup to get the title back less than thirty seconds later. Since we need something else to get fired up about, Joey makes the mistake of saying he’s the greatest champion of all time and issues an open challenge. In a moment that actually made me jump to my feet in shock…….ENTER SANDMAN starts up and we get the full on ECW entrance, complete with beer, cigarettes and the fans singing the song. I wasn’t a huge ECW fan but I LOVED the Sandman’s entrance so this was one of the coolest moments of my entire weekend.

Sandman drinks a lot of beer with the announcers ensuring us that he has personally checked every ID in the building. Excalibur gets to the obvious question: WHY IS RYAN STILL IN THE RING? Now it’s off to the other side of the arena with Sandman actually holding a full twelve pack of beer. At least you know it’s going to be a long entrance. Excalibur: “This entrance has lasted longer than Marty Jannetty’s sobriety!” Sandman gets in the ring, offers Joey a beer, and canes him in the head for the pin and the title.

And of course a fight breaks out as Sandman leaves.

Brian Cage vs. Johnny Mundo

This is a TLC match for no apparent reason with Melissa Santos and Taya Valkyrie as the respective seconds/girlfriends (both looking great). Melissa even does Cage’s entrance for a little Lucha Underground flavor. The announcers immediately start making fun of Lucha Underground’s, shall we say, hit and miss taping schedule as Cage misses a charge to start. Mundo misses a dive but hits the Flying Chuck for two.

We get the first chair but Cage snaps off a release German suplex instead. Something like a Van Daminator knocks Cage outside so Johnny can spit on a fan. Taya gets in a few stomps of her own as Johnny goes over to find a ladder. Mundo throws it at Cage to send him into the chair as we’re somehow five minutes into this.

The ladder is laid across the middle rope so Johnny can jump over it, only to have Cage dropkick it into his ribs. A backdrop sends Mundo into the ladder again and it’s FINALLY time for a table. Cage takes too long going up though, allowing Taya to grab his foot. Mundo gets knocked to the floor so Taya tries a hurricanrana…..right in front of a table. One heck of a superbomb ends Taya so Mundo, without checking on Taya for very long, completely misses Starship Pain onto the ladder onto Cage.

We get another table set up in the corner but Cage is up and holding a chair. Ever the villain, Mundo grabs Melissa for a distraction so he can kick Cage low. For the first time that I can ever remember, Melissa gets physical with a kick to the head, earning herself the safest spear through a table ever as Johnny turns around, basically driving himself through instead. Cage is livid and basically murders Johnny with a Steiner Screwdriver onto the chair for the pin at 14:05.

Rating: D. Easily the weakest match of the night here, mainly because it was billed as a TLC match. This would have been better off as a street fight or something like that as the ladder was barely ever used (not climbed once) and the rest of the weapons were just kind of there. It wasn’t so much bad as much as it was really disappointing, which is often a much worse case scenario.

We pause to clean the ring a bit before the main event with the broom guy getting a nice ovation. He even poses a bit because everyone is a ham at this show.

Hardys vs. Lucha Bros

That would be Pentagon El Cero M (Pentagon Dark in other words) and Rey Fenix, another pair of real life brothers and the PWG Tag Team Champions. The Hardys get an incredible reaction (as incredible as you’re going to get at nearly 12:30 at night) as they might not be playing the Broken Hardys…..but they’re playing the Broken Hardys. The anti-owl chants begin again as we have the Big Match Intros. This turns into dueling DELETE/CERO MIEDO (zero fear, Pentagon’s catchphrase) chants and for a little while, Cero Miedo is actually a bit stronger.

The dueling chants continue after the bell until the Lucha Bros take over with some kicks to the face. Pentagon picks Fenix up in a wheelbarrow slam but gets flipped forward into a 450 onto Matt in a cool spot. A double low blow gets two on Jeff but Fenix eats a Side Effect for the same. Matt and Pentagon clothesline each other and all four are down. Pentagon heads outside but Fenix misses a dive and takes his brother out by mistake.

That means a dive from Jeff to take both of them out and all four are down again. Back in and stereo Twists of Fate give the Hardys two before Pentagon loads Fenix up in a Gory Bomb but jumps forward for a backsplash/splash combo. There’s the Twist of Fate to Pentagon, followed by another to Fenix to bring him down onto his brother. The Swanton to both Brothers gives Jeff the pin at 7:22.

Rating: D+. The time killed this one and there’s no way around it. The show was pushing four hours at this point, meaning it was almost 1am. Couple that with the ten man tag and the battle royal and there was almost no way that anyone, even the Hardys, could make this work. They were probably smart to keep the match short as I don’t think the fans would have been able to handle anything that much longer.

The announcers sign off but Matt grabs the mic and say these are the fans that make wrestling great. They come here to get good wrestling and that’s what they get. Matt says the future of tag wrestling is safe with teams like the Lucha Bros, the Young Bucks and the Briscoe Brothers. If companies try to get rid of teams like them, they’ll fade away and classify themselves as obsolete. Fenix thanks the crowd and the Hardys to finally end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is a show where the right expression is “you got what you paid for”. The Supershow isn’t about angles or stories, but rather bringing together some of the top indy talent in the world for one show in a series of dream matches. I can easily get why this show wouldn’t be for every wrestling fan but if you just love having fun with wrestling, there’s almost no way you won’t have fun with this. I’ll definitely be taking this in every year and it was a major highlight of the weekend. Go out of your way to see the ten man tag and just have a good time watching the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

In addition to the Rev Pro show on Friday night, WrestleCon also put on a Supershow in the same room (and with a lot of the same talent). This was the definition of a supershow with a little bit of everything from comedy to violence to dueling chants. To say this was a lot more energetic than most shows is an understatement.

The show was scheduled to start at 8:30 but since Rev Pro went fairly late it wound up starting at about 8:50. There were also well over 1000 people in one room sot he place was BOILING. Prices for a bottle of water (as in a regular one) at the bar: SIX DOLLARS. Realizing this was insane, I went down the street to Walgreens and bought a liter sized bottle for $1.79. At intermission I went and got two more, with all three not combining for the cost of one. I get the idea of making money but those prices would drive customers away.

1. David Starr/Caleb Kenley/Trevor Lee vs. Michael Elgin/ACH/Mascarito Dorado

That would be El Torito at the end. To give you an idea of what we were dealing with on this card, ACH was introduced as “Mr. I Used This Booking To Pay My Bills.” The match was under Lucha rules and it was very clear that this was going to be a very Un-PG show. Dorado did a bunch of speedy stuff, causing Lee to shout the following at his partners: “WHAT IN THE F******* F*** WAS THAT???” Later, when Dorado was in a chinlock, Lee shouted at Kenley to “MAKE THAT MIDGET TAP!”

Dorado got beaten up for a good while (including taking a triple crotch shot to the head) until Elgin got in to clean house with the power. ACH didn’t really do much here and really could have been anyone in the spot. Dorado eventually ended Starr with a moonsault in about 12:00. This was a lot of fun and a great opener. B-.

2. Low Ki vs. Shane Strickland

Let’s make this clear: I’ve never liked Low Ki. I find him to be very one dimensional and repetitive beyond believe. He was a surprise here though and the roof came off when he appeared in the ring. They kicked each other a lot and Low Ki hit a top rope double stomp to the apron for a huge crash and the pin at 13:04. This was pretty repetitive and just kept going. D+.

3. Impact Wrestling World Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Jeff Cobb

Now this was interesting before the bell as Lashley was introduced to some country music and didn’t appear. It wasn’t clear what happened but an “F*** THAT OWL” chant started up. I couldn’t see the entrance but I saw Lashley walking around ringside with no entrance. As luck would have it, I got to ask him what happened at WrestleCon and it turned out they didn’t have his planned music and it’s a VERY serious rule to never come out to someone else’s music. He didn’t come out because they didn’t play the right song but he knew he was going to be the huge heel so he just came through the crowd instead.

The match was a good power brawl with Lashley not taking Cobb seriously to start and eventually getting thrown around. The more I watch of Lashley, the more I appreciate him. He’s just a machine out there and looks like a tank while also being a really nice guy outside the ring. Lashley realized he had to put some effort into things so he eventually got in the Dominator and a spear to retain at about 10:45. B-.

4. Flip Gordon/Sammy Guevera vs. Angleico/Jack Evans

Angelico is my favorite from Lucha Underground so this was a treat. I didn’t know who Gordon and Guevera were at first but they both put in a very solid performance and got my attention more than once. Sammy looks a lot like Justin Bieber so Evans made a bunch of jokes when he got the tag. Evans did a bunch of insane flips and eventually Angelico’s running Razor’s Edge buckle bomb got the pin at about 13:00. I could very easily see Gordon and Guevera as a team on a bigger stage as they had a nice, clean cut look but played good heels.

5. Team Ricochet (Ricochet/Jason Cade/Sami Calihan/AR Fox/Desmond Xavier) vs. Team Will Ospreay (Ospreay/Marty Scurll/Lio Rush/Drew Galloway/Ryan Smile)

This was a ten man tag, which is becoming one of the signature matches of the WrestleCon Supershow. Let me put this very simply: I’ve been watching wrestling for a long time. Like, a very long time. I’ve been to more shows than I can count, including three Wrestlemanias. I have never, in my entire career watching wrestling, had more fun watching a wrestling match in person.

The captains were chosen due to a great match Ospreay and Ricochet had last year in Japan which was called choreographed nonsense. The solution? Give then four partners each (which they say they were allowed to hand pick) and TWENTY TWO MINUTES to do as much choreographed stuff as they could. This included a series of about ten straight cutters, quadruple big boots, a quintuple suplex and a dance off that has to be seen to be believed. As luck would have it, I had a camera on me and filmed the second half of said dance off. Everyone danced but I only got the last few. The one that matters is included though.

This was twenty two minutes of having fun with professional wrestling. It had been a very long day and I was starting to check out on the show due to a bit of a boring card. This match snapped me back to life and I had one of the best experiences I’ve ever had watching. Honestly I don’t even remember how the match ended but that wasn’t the point. Find this match online (the full show is available for $5 at Highspots’ website) and have a good time being entertained by it. Easy A+ and the most fun I had all weekend.

Intermission time, which again ran long as the wrestlers were running their merch tables. It also meant time for me to meet some more wrestlers, including Angelico, Lio Rush, Flip Gordon, Sammy Guevera (very nice guy), Desmond Xavier and Moose. As I was coming back from Walgreens for water, I saw Marty Jannetty in the lobby and WOW he was out of it. I shook his hand and he started walking around without letting go while hitting on a woman. As I was heading out of the arena, I also saw Donovan Dijak watching the show as a fan.

6. DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Title: WrestleCon Rumble

So…..explaining this title……uh……basically it’s a parody of the WWF Hardcore Title where the belt can be won by ANYTHING, including a baseball bat, a ladder, a cameraman, various sex dolls, a child who had the ability to chokeslam anyone and Candace Larae, whose title win took place in a dream. This was a Royal Rumble with one minute intervals but the title could change hands via pinfall, submission or an elimination. In other words, the title can change hands during the match but the winner would be champion no matter what. Instead of going through this step by step, here are the entrants and anythign of note.

1. Joey Ryan (defending champion)

2. Colt Cabana

Here’s what I’m dealing with in this match:

Bell rings.

Ryan to Cabana: “GRAB MY D***!”

Fans: “GRAB HIS D***! GRAB HIS D***!”

3. Kikutaro (Japanese comedy character)

4. Underground Luchador

This was a masked guy in a Lucha Underground t-shirt. It was obviously Matt Striker and after a rollup to pin Ryan (which wasn’t an elimination), he was unmasked as such.

5. Manscout Jake Manning (He reads and beats people up at the same time)

6. George South

7. Suicide (Never unmasked, apparently Caleb Konley)

8. Mr. Hughes (Down probably 100lbs from his mainstream days)

9. Zane Riley (Mr. 305 Live)

10. 2 Cold Scorpio (One of my favorites so this was a treat)

11. Billy Gunn (Easily the biggest pop of the match)

12. Moose (Who had a staredown with Gunn for a bizarre visual)

13. Swoggle

14. Shane Douglas

15. Kevin Thorn

16. Shannon Moore

17. Hurricane (With a bad limp)

18. Abyss (House was cleaned)

19. Gangrel (That music is still SWEET)

20. Marty Jannetty

The final five were Jannetty, Moose, Gangrel, Swoggle and Ryan. I don’t often say this, but Jannetty was an embarrassment. I know he’s on a horrible ankle but the fans were booing him out of the building, which says a lot given how fun this match really was. Thankfully he was gone soon thereafter but it was bad while it lasted. Ryan’s “special” suplex eliminated Moose and Swoggle tossed him a few seconds later for the win and the title at about 25:00. Much like the Gimmick Battle Royal in 2001, this was all about having people come to the ring one more time and not the result.

Ryan immediately rolled Swoggle up to get the title back (it’s defended 24/7 like the Hardcore Title) and then made the mistake of saying he would defend against anyone anytime. Then, in something I’ve always wanted to see and never thought I’d get to: Enter Sandman.

The Sandman came out with a full entrance, complete with the entire Metallica song, cigarettes and beer being poured into fans’ mouths. Sandman offered Ryan a beer but caned him instead for the pin and the title. I’ve always wanted to see a Sandman entrance and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

7. Johnny Mundo vs. Brian Cage

This was a TLC match, though in this case it was won by pinfall or submission. Mundo had Taya Valkyrie with him (showing off very well in basically a red swimsuit) and Cage had his real life girlfriend (which I didn’t know) Melissa Santos, who did his entrance ala Lucha Underground. It’s very odd to see Santos out of her ring announcer outfits but jeans and a Lucha Underground shirt worked very well. She’s a very beautiful woman.

I was somewhat disappointed by this one as they really just hit each other with weapons for a bit. Taya tried to interfere and got superbombed through a table while Santos actually got physical (I don’t think she ever has in Lucha Underground) and took a very protected spear through another table. That was enough for Cage as he busted out a Steiner Screwdriver onto a chair for the easy pin. I forgot to start the timer but I’d guess around 12-13 minutes. There really wasn’t a need to call this a TLC match as it was basically just a glorified street fight. C-, only because of the gimmick announced.

8. Hardys vs. Rey Fenix/Pentagon Dark

The Hardys weren’t playing their Broken characters here…..but yeah they were the Broken Hardys. Matt kept doing DELETE and shouted WONDERFUL a few times. Interestingly enough, CERO MIEDO was getting louder reactions than DELETE. This was actually pretty short with the Hardys never seeming to be in much danger. Fenix and Pentagon (collectively the Lucha Brothers and the reigning PWG Tag Team Champions) had some sweet double team moves though and I’m sure they’d be fun to watch more. A Twist of Fate into a double Swanton ended Pentagon at about 7:00. D+. Too short to be very good.

Post match Matt put over the Lucha Brothers (who are real life brothers as well) as the future of tag team wrestling, along with the Young Bucks and the Briscoes. Matt basically said he didn’t know how much longer he and Jeff could do this (I’m writing this after they won the Raw Tag Team Titles) but he doesn’t want Meek-Ma-Han to destroy tag wrestling (oh the irony). However, if any of McMahon’s teams try to take over, Jeff said they would fade away and classify themselves as obsolete. Hands were shaken in a sign of respect to end the show.

Overall, this was a total blast as they basically took everyone they could find not in WWE or ROH and threw together a wrestling card. Not everything can be Wrestlemania, but it doesn’t need to be. This show made me realize that sometimes you need to forget about the quality and the storytelling and such and just have fun watching people do wrestling moves to each other. I mean, this kind of stuff isn’t likely to work for the masses (WAY too many kicks to the head and silly flips) but it’s the junk food of wrestling: entertaining at the time and you remember it well. Really entertaining show here and I’ll be back for the 2018 edition. B+.

As part of the Wrestlemania week festivities, I took in the Revolution Pro Wrestling show. They’re a British company with major names like Ricochet, Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr. so I had to take in a card with that kind of talent included. This was part of the WrestleCon weekend events so the show was only about fifteen minutes from my hotel.

Before we get to the show though, there were two rather annoying wrestling related issues earlier in the day. At 1pm, Charlotte was doing a free signing at a Cricket Wireless store roughly ten minutes away from my hotel. Of course I went and when I got there a bit after 1, the line was wrapped around the building, down the alley behind the building and around part of another building. The fact that the line was so long isn’t an issue as people are going to flock for something that’s free. Cricket had also put up a sign saying “all guests after this point are not guaranteed to meet Charlotte”. I was standing right at the sign.

After about an hour in line, the sign was moved about 50 people forward. One of the workers came by and I asked if things were moving really slowly. It turned out that they were, because several people had upwards of ten items for Charlotte to sign. In other words, because a bunch of people just HAD to get her to sign things so they could throw them on Ebay, we were stuck standing in line even longer. Naturally this caused the line to go so slowly that it was cut off at 2:55 before I could get in. To be fair, it was a free event so I didn’t lose anything but time (and patience).

No worries though as Bayley was having a signing at the Orlando Eye, which was about fifteen minutes from Cricket. This was a bit better as I had already bought a ticket ($35, but you got a free trip on the Eye, which I had no interest in due to not being comfortable with heights) so I figured it would go better.

And of course not as the signing went until 4 and at 3:50, the Orlando Eye people cut it off because Bayley had another event to go to immediately thereafter. I got a refund, but these events tell me two things:

1. Maybe WWE shouldn’t schedule the same people for multiple events back to back. They have a ridiculous roster and I find it hard to believe they can’t stagger these out a bit better, just for something like this.

2. LEARN TO CALL THE THINGS OFF EARLIER WHEN IT’S CLEAR YOU’RE NOT GETTING EVERYONE IN! When you have over 100 people left, do you really need to wait until there are 10 minutes left to realize that not everyone can get in? Also, how long can it possibly take when there are signs everywhere saying no autographs? I know people want to talk to Bayley but it needed to be a few words, obligatory hug, photo, out. That should be 40 seconds at most but for some reason we get this instead.

So anyway, I get over to Rev Pro at 4:10 (thankfully it’s less than a mile from the Eye) and luckily it hadn’t started yet (indy shows almost never do). The show wound up starting at 4:25 with a bunch of empty seats on the floor, though they were mostly filled in by the third or fourth match.

1. Sami Calihan vs. Jay White

I’ve liked White since his first match with Jay Briscoe so I was looking forward to seeing him live. This wasn’t the best match in the world though as they didn’t have a lot of chemistry. They fought outside for two minutes early on before the referee FINALLY started counting, which got a rather jeering reaction from the crowd. The best spot was Calihan trying a powerbomb but getting blocked over and over. Instead of trying again, he pulls White up and punched the heck out of him before getting the powerbomb. White won with a Boston crab in about 12 minutes. D+.

2. Martin Stone vs. Jeff Cobb

Stone is also known as Danny Burch from NXT and Cobb is Lucha Underground’s Matanza. This was technical ability vs. power/athleticism and that’s what you got for about ten and a half minutes. Stone is just a guy in trunks but he looks very polished and kept shrugging off all of Cobb’s power stuff. Martin got in a hanging DDT for the pin. C+.

3. Lord Gideon Grey vs. Swoggle

This is a storyline heavy match as Grey seemed to be a comedy/lower level guy who was just starting to turn the corner until Colt Cabana brought Swoggle to the company and somehow ruined his life. Grey walked to the ring like a zombie, even bumping into the barricade because he kept staring straight ahead. Then he wrestled a mostly normal match which saw Swoggle do a series of German suplexes and Lesnar’s bounce back and forth. Grey hit a sitout powerslam for the pin in about 2:00 with a bunch of standard comedy spots. This was fine.

4. Marty Scurll vs. King Ricochet

Scurll’s ROH TV Title was acknowledged but not on the line. Scurll was easily the most over guy on the show so far and he knew it, despite being billed as the Villain. You could tell these two knew each other really well and that’s always going to help. There was some comedy as Ricochet did a bunch of flips into a nip-up.

Scurll, who isn’t the most athletic guy in the world, said very loudly “THAT WAS SWEET! I WANT TO TRY!” He then did a front flip into a nip-up for a huge reaction but Ricochet didn’t buy into the idea of a handshake. This gave us the YES/NO treatment for a big reaction. They both did their own versions of a People’s Elbow with Ricochet doing a moonsault and Scurll doing an Austin style stomp and a double middle finger. Ricochet also did Tye Dillinger’s cartwheel into a dropkick, followed by TEN.

They started taking things a bit more seriously by the end with Scurll teasing a big spot on the floor and then throwing Ricochet back in to annoy the crowd (because he’s a villain you see). Eventually Ricochet tried a handspring elbow but got caught in the chickenwing for the tap out at just shy of seventeen minutes. Really fun stuff here and easily the best thing all night. B+.

Post match, Scurll said he loved working with Ricochet and dedicated the to a fellow wrestler who passed away one year ago to the day in a nice moment. This was repeated multiple times so this was pretty clearly a big deal to everyone.

Intermission, which was billed as 15 minutes but ran closer to 30. However, a lot of the roster was out in the lobby selling merchandise, meaning I got to meet a host of wrestlers, including:

Ricochet, Colt Cabana (who I didn’t recognize at first), Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, Swoggle, Brian Cage (the biggest arms I’ve ever seen), Jay White, Martin Stone (very polite), Jeff Cobb, Fenix, Pentagon Dark and Shane Strickland (Killshot on Lucha Underground).

5. Interim British Cruiserweight Title: David Starr vs. Josh Bodom

Bodom was defending but didn’t have his belt for some reason. I’ve never heard of either guy and there wasn’t much to talk about here, though Starr had about fifteen nicknames that the announcer had to read off a card. It was clear that neither guy was the biggest name as the fans didn’t seem to know who they were. It was fine but nothing you haven’t seen before.

This was your standard cruiserweight style match with a bunch of flips, the third standing shooting star press of the night (more on that later), a bunch of strikes to the head (the indy staple), a great looking front flip from the top to the floor and a hanging piledriver (picture Orton’s hanging DDT but the guy jumps onto the back of your head to make it a piledriver) for the pin on Starr at 12:30. C-.

6. Will Ospreay vs. Ray Fenix

Ospreay is a high flying machine and one of the top stars in the promotion though his Cruiserweight Title wasn’t on the line. This was a much more standard high flying match and for some reason Fenix took his sweet time coming through the curtain and didn’t seem happy for a lot of the match, or after for that matter.

Ospreay flew around a lot even tricked Fenix by asking what something was out in the crowd to grab a headlock. They dove around a lot (and botched multiple things, though nothing too bad) with a Canadian Destroyer DDT as one of the cooler looking spots. Ospreay hit a big springboard cutter to win at just under thirteen minutes. This was a lot of fun but really botchy at times, which you have to expect. B-.

7. Michael Elgin/Brian Cage vs. Ray Smile/Shane Strickland.

This was power vs. speed, though Elgin and Cage got to show off a lot of athleticism. One very funny spot was Strickland doing a nipup, only to have Elgin come in and do a good looking Worm. Strickland said he was out, grabbed his jacket, walked up the ramp and through the curtain. He was back a few seconds later but it was rather funny. Other than Elgin grabbing a delayed vertical suplex and passing Smile off to Cage in mid-air to complete it, there wasn’t much here. Well not much original at least.

We did have our 5^th cutter of the night, as well as the fourth person saying SUCK IT with a crotch chop. Smile also got up a bit too many times, including kicking out of a superbomb into an F5, which the fans REALLY thought should have ended the match (they were right). Instead, Strickland got Cage up for a powerbomb with Smile adding a top rope double stomp. A not great frog splash put Cage away at about 13 minutes. The match was longer than it needed to be and got too repetitive with the big power spot from Elgin/Cage and then a head kick from Strickland/Smile. C-.

8. British Heavyweight Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Pentagon Dark

Pentagon is WAY over with Cero Mideo (Zero Fear) being the loudest chant of the night. The fans absolutely cannot stand Sabre, who is the British Champion, the Evolve Champion and the PWG World Champion (and came out wearing all three belts like a good heel should). This was all about trading arm holds with Pentagon surprising Sabre with some sweet stuff of his own. Sabre kept countering like the master that he is though and worked Pentagon’s arm half off.

Near the end Pentagon got his package piledriver onto the apron and unfortunately, Sabre was back on his feet in less than a minute. That REALLY hurt things as it should have been a pin (if there was any chance Sabre was losing here) but was just a big spot instead. Sabre got his crazy armbar to end things a few minutes later at just shy of 16:00. This was really solid stuff, save for the lack of selling. Sabre’s technical stuff is must see. B+.

As I was leaving, I got to shake hands with Sabre in the lobby for a nice way to wrap things up.

Overall the show was fun with two very good matches though not much to support them. I certainly can’t complain for a $25 general admission ticket, especially with the amount of huge British names I got to see, along with the names that I got to meet at intermission. Rev Pro is certainly not bad and I had a fun time at the show. Overall: B-.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Middle Kingdom Wrestling
Date: February 17, 2017
Location: Pattaya Boxing Stadium, Pattaya, Chon Buri, Thailand
Commentator: Al Leung

We’re going to wrap up this very abbreviated season and hopefully head back to China where things are a bit better. The first show was a pretty mixed bad with one horrible match and one that was quite entertaining so it’s hard to guess what’s coming this time around. Let’s get to it.

Same opening sequence as last time, which isn’t the worst thing in the world given some of the eye candy in there.

We hear more of Dalton Bragg’s conversation. It’s true that he can’t wrestle but he’s found a replacement named Hayden Pearce, who is something called the Kingdom Wrestling Federation (no idea what/where that is) Champion. Tonight, he’ll defend against the Slam, though the graphic lists Pearce as Hayden Zenith. That’s the kind of thing that needs to be tightened up as I’m not even two minutes into the show and it’s already an issue.

Black Mamba/Big Sam vs. Maxim Risky/Malkeet Brawler

Maxim and Brawler are from India and one of them charges to the ring early, earning a good looking powerbomb from Sam. A boot to the chest drops Brawler but it’s Risky and Mamba starting things off as we hear the second bell. The commentator says this is in China, which doesn’t quite work after the whole point of this show is being in Thailand.

A suplex gets two on Mamba and Sam comes in….for some jumping jacks of course. Well you can’t do those on the apron. Sam comes in again for a regular save before distracting the referee so Mamba can choke. That second one threw the idea off a bit and it would have been a lot better if he had said it was a cramp or he was stretching or something like that. If you do it before and after but not in the middle, it weakens what you did in the first place (which was good).

Back to Sam for a clothesline on Brawler and what looks like a Sid Vicious pose. A gorilla press drop keeps showing off the power (smart) and it’s off to a camel clutch. Brawler makes the ropes so it’s another slam into a one finger cover. Mamba comes in again and plays Bret on something like a top rope Hart Attack but the referee is putting Sam out of the ring instead of counting. What would Danny Davis think of something like that?

Brawler gets in a TKO (love that move) and it’s a double tag to Sam and Risky. Sam takes a DDT and Risky gets in some really, really bad looking right hands in the corner. Follow through with those things. Brawler hits a running Fameasser (called XYZ) on Mamba and a slam on Sam in a fairly impressive power display.

A double suplex is another power display and Risky gets two off a superkick. I’m not sure how wise is it to have your monster getting beaten up and thrown around like this. Mamba sneaks in a low blow (second of the match but the first one meant and changed nothing) and Sam grabs a chokeslam on Risky. Mamba adds a frog splash for the pin at 10:39.

Rating: D+. There’s a LOT to talk about in this one. This is the best example I can think of to show how important psychology and match layout are to making something a success. Let’s look at Sam. He has the most unique look in this promotion (much bigger and Caucasian instead of the mostly Asian roster) and in this match he was acting like the opponents were beneath him (the one finger pin and various times where he acted like he didn’t even need to try). That’s playing to his character and very good. Sam is different and he should act like he is.

His move set made sense too. It was a lot of power stuff like the powerbomb, gorilla press and chokeslam. Back at Wrestlemania XIII, Shawn Michaels said there was no reason for Sid Vicious to deviate from his power game because the power was going to take him wherever he needed to go. That makes a lot of sense for someone like Sid/Sam as their offense is going to be more devastating due to their power so it should be the majority of what they do.

That brings us to the rest of the match, which had some issues. As I mentioned, Mamba hit two low blows. The first one just slowed his opponent down for a bit and then it was right back to where they were going before. Something like a low blow should be a match changer, not something on the same level as a clothesline or a few right hands. If you’re going to do those big spots, use them sparingly. Otherwise they’re just a regular move and people won’t care when they’re used in important spots. If you need proof, look at WWE’s main event style of spamming finishers.

There were good things in the match but there’s also a lot that needs to be tightened up. I didn’t really feel a flow to the match. One team was in control, then the other was in control, then the heels won. The ending felt like it came out of nowhere and the match just ended instead of building up to something. I’d also like to know a bit more about Risky and Brawler. All I know is they’re “stars in India”. How long have they been wrestling? Should I cheer for them? How long have they been teaming? Stuff like that can go a long way.

A big guy covered in tattoos whose name sounded like Humungous says he’s bringing underground wrestling to China.

Eurasian Dragon vs. Humungous

Dragon is the Singapore Champion and Humungous wants to make it a title shot. The request is accepted and we’re ready to go. This was another example of the disappearing and reappearing subtitles.

Singapore Title: Eurasian Dragon vs. Humungous

Dragon is defending and gets driven into the corner as we hear about Humungous wrestling around the world. A few forearms sends Humungous into the ropes like a cowardly heel and he flips Dragon off after teasing a handshake. Dragon misses a Flip Flop and Fly but grabs La Majistral for the pin to retain at 2:28.

Humungous hits him from behind and says he wants a rematch. I’m not sure if debuting someone and having them job immediately is a good idea but Humungous had a good look.

KWF Title: Hayden Zenith vs. The Slam

Slam is challenging and his CWE Title isn’t on the line. One side note here: all of the titles that I’ve seen around here look really good. There are a lot of ugly belts in wrestling but these are all very nice. Granted part of that might be due to the fact that the KWF Title is a WWF Attitude Era World Title replica. Eh if you’re going to use a replica, use one of the best looking of all time.

They start fast (a rarity around here) with Slam sweeping the leg but stopping to pose, allowing Zenith to pull him off the ropes and hammer away. Some loud chops set up a hard Saito suplex on Slam and we get a cocky cover. A hard kick to Slam’s back sends some sweat flying (always a good visual) and we hit an octopus hold. Zenith switches over to a few more submission attempts as this is already by far and away the most polished match of the two shows.

Slam fights up but eats a pair of superkicks (giving us a Superkick Party reference) and they head out to the ramp. Some rather hard forearms knock Hayden back in and Slam’s top rope forearm gets….no cover. Instead Zenith slips out of a Jackhammer and we get a ref bump. Cue Bragg to check on the referee as Slam hits a suplex into a cutter (not a Jackhammer as the announcer puts it). It’s a ruse though and Bragg hits Slam in the head with the crutch so Zenith can retain at 8:33.

Rating: C+. This was the first time I really felt like I got an angle this promotion has tried to run. It’s a very simple idea and I got the point without having to figure anything out. Zenith and Slam were some of the more polished guys and Bragg as the champion who is scared of Slam is a good enough story. Throw in Bragg having a #1 contender in Selfie King and you have the makings for something interesting. I haven’t felt that around here too often and it’s very nice change of pace.

Bragg beats on Slam with the crutch to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Much like the tag, there’s good and bad on here. Let’s get to the good first: this felt like a more complete show. There were three matches here and each one felt like it served a purpose. The tag match was good and made Sam look like a threat to someone down the line. Dragon vs. Humungous looks to be the start of a feud and Humungous has some charisma to him. Finally you have the main event which felt like a good angle. I’m pleased here and while the show had some quality issues, it had a good structure, which might be more important.

On the other hand, the promotion is still lacking in character development. Let’s take a look at the two shows combined. Other than having Sam in his corner, what separates Ash, Jason and Black Mamba? They have a similar look and wrestle a similar style. I barely know anything about them and they really lose me when I’m trying to remember which is which.

Finally, the offenses need to be varied up a bit. In the first three matches of these two shows, three people used a frog splash. There are a ton of moves to use from the top and just because a frog splash is cool, you can use something else. Drop an elbow, drop a knee, do a spinning splash. Just don’t do the same thing that so many people have done. It was annoying in the Cruiserweight Classic and it’s the same here.

I liked enough of the show and this episode showed some promise but they need to find a way to keep that momentum going. Maybe it was just a lucky night with an angle to help tie things together at the end but they need to build on that instead of having a bunch of one off shows before advancing the story. Have people cut a thirty second promo (throw in subtitles if necessary) and keep things moving. It’ll keep people coming back and that’s the key at this point.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Middle Kingdom Wrestling
Date: January 20, 2017
Location: Pattaya Boxing Stadium, Pattaya, Chon Buri, Thailand
Commentator: Al Leung

If I remember right, the previous season ended with a line about things picking up in the spring so I’m not entirely sure what this is. This one is labeled as a Thailand Edition though so maybe this isn’t the third season premiere but rather just something as a bonus. Either way, they need all the ring time they can get so maybe we’ll have something here. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is in a club with some good looking women dancing. I’ve heard worse ideas.

We go to the arena for the first match and……there’s no one there. Of a few hundred seats, there might be two dozen people in the arena. I know there probably isn’t much of a wrestling scene in Thailand but this is really sad looking.

Selfie King vs. Candy Brother vs. Mickie Rawaz

The winner gets a future MKW Title shot and the ring is HUGE, probably bigger than a WWE ring. No one gets an entrance and right away we get to a major downgrade in the production. There’s a new (and far weaker) commentator who doesn’t give his name to start the match.

On top of that the camera work seems to have gone way down in quality, though having a camera at either side of the ring is certainly different. A sloppy looking Russian legsweep/DDT combo puts everyone down and we get the triple headlock spot. King is sent outside and Candy…..I guess dances as we’re told Mickie is a local wrestler. That’s the first thing we’ve heard about any of the wrestlers and we’re over three minutes in.

This time it’s Mickie being sent outside so Brother wraps a Twizzler around his hand….before kicking King in the ribs. Eh cute fake out. We continue the “theme” of the match with Brother being sent outside so King can hit a Cannonball. Candy comes back in as there are too many cameramen on the apron. They’re getting a bit distracting, much like having another camera in the corner for a lot of their shots.

Mickie slams both of them down and drops a double leg for two on both. Back up and Brother ties his legs between both of theirs’ and pulls back on their arms for a good looking hold which goes nowhere. Instead it’s off to some slaps to King’s chest, followed by the Tower of Doom to put everyone down. The announcer (still no name) explains that this is a kickboxing ring, meaning it’s much bigger and stiffer. That’s one of the first interesting things he’s said so far. King takes a few quick pictures and drops a frog splash on Brother for the pin at 10:31.

Rating: D-. And that might be too high. This was a real mess with absolutely no story, mostly bad wrestling and no help from the commentary. King winning is fine as he’s one of the better known names in the promotion but that might be the only positive thing I can come up with here. It felt like they were trying but the major production downgrade and lack of anything resembling a story to the match dragged it through the floor.

King takes a quick selfie next to the fallen Candy in one of the best gimmicks going in the promotion.

Dalton Bragg is on the phone in the back (with subtitles, which help overcome some sound issues) and says he’s not medically cleared to defend the MKW Title against the Slam.

ABC Tag Team Titles: Ash Silva/Jason Wang vs. Claude Roca/Tony Trivaldo

Roca (in his 70s) and Trivaldo are defending their French Tag Team Titles. Everyone (who I can identify thanks to some better graphic placement) seems to be a face here and it’s Claude vs. Ash to start. A monkey flip sends Ash flying and Claude headlocks him over for good measure.

Trivaldo (easily the biggest guy and with by far the best look) comes in for a slam and headlock but it’s off to Wang as this is already more structured than the first match. Want takes over with some knees to the head and a frog splash connects (albeit being left a bit short) for two. We get some challengers miscommunication and it’s a double clothesline to set up the tag to Roca. Claude continues to use basic wrestling (I need a Drew Gulak joke there) until Jason throws him into the corner.

The challengers take over and turn into the de facto heels with Wang grabbing a camel clutch. Claude nips up (because of course he can) and monkey flips both of them down at the same time. There’s the hot tag to Tony so house can be cleaned and everything breaks down. Tony spears Jason and gives Ash a release F5. Claude is thrown onto Jason for the pin at 11:20.

Rating: C+. This felt like a different promotion and that’s the best thing that could happen. It’s amazing what a simple story (work over the older guy and keep the younger, stronger champion on the apron) can do for a match and these guys worked fine together. Ash and Jason are old rivals (thank you commentator) so they had their own little story built in. Good match here and I had more fun with it than I was expecting to.

Ash and Jason get in a fight post match.

Overall Rating: D+. That tag match did wonders for this show and really does feel like it came from a different company. The opening match felt like something thrown together by people who had no idea what they were doing. Then everything improved in the second match, including the commentator (whose name was listed on the YouTube page but never on the show itself).

Overall, this was a downgrade from the China shows and some of that might be due to the length. This would have been better off at about five minutes shorter and just one match with more promos to fill in the extra time. It’s far from terrible but as usual, there are a lot of adjustments to be made.

I know I keep harping on it but the commentary here was a big issue. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I miss the old commentary team (maybe they’re gone due to different location), who were far better than the lone guy here. Commentary can do a lot for a show, especially one like this where there isn’t a deep history. Something as simple as “Ash and Jason have feuded before) was a big help but it was one of the only things we were given all night. The commentary is our guide and without it going well, it’s hard to know where things are supposed to go.

Maybe this show didn’t work as well because it was part of a co-promotion and more of a feature than a regular show but it wasn’t as good as the normal stuff is. There was something good in there though and the teaser for next time gave me some hope so maybe there’s hope to be had. Not terrible but again the big problems really hold things back.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Lucha Underground
Date: January 4, 2017
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

We’re back to the promotion where Cage has a glove that gives him superpowers. Now, I don’t know about you but to me, that sounds FREAKING AWESOME. This show is starting to reach the point where they can do all kinds of things with the stories they have going on but the question is whether or not they can actually capitalize on those stories. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at the Battle of the Bulls, the Rabbit Tribe and Sexy Star vs. Mariposa (in theory Mariposa at least, or whoever is sending the spiders to Star).

Mil Muertes wants to know how Prince Puma is alive and Catrina blames Vampiro.

Catrina runs into Jeremiah Crane, who says he beat the man she loves (Mil) last week. She says that’s not who she loves and disappears.

Sexy Star vs. Mariposa

They waste no time and slug it out to start with Star getting the better of it and scoring with a hurricanrana to send Mariposa outside. That doesn’t go well for Star as Mariposa sends her into various hard objects, including the front of the announcers’ table. The fans are split here but switch to a holy excrement chant as Star goes into the table ten times.

Back in and the Butterfly Effect is broken up, followed by a sitout hiptoss of all things for two on Mariposa. A Samoan drop sets up a modified Indian Deathlock on Star with Mariposa kicking her in the head for a bonus. They head up top for a superplex, only to have Mariposa get shoved off, setting up a top rope double stomp to give Star the pin at 6:49.

Rating: C+. This is a match where I wanted to see more of it, which I can’t remember happening with Sexy Star. She’s much more interesting fighting people her size than someone who allows Striker to do that really, REALLY annoying “she’s just an underdog who won’t stop fighting” schtick. I liked that they just went with the violence here instead of trying to do a wrestling match, which doesn’t fit this setup.

Post match Marty Martinez comes out and chokeslams Mariposa. Striker: “WTF!” As in he says the letters.

The White Rabbit Tribe comes up to Mascarita Sagrada to tell him he’s their inspiration and god. Sagrada says no and calls them nuts.

Rabbit Tribe vs. Kobra Moon/Pindar/Vibora

The fans call Pindar Luchasaurus and Moon has Drago on a leash. Mala Suerte and Pindar get things going and it’s off to Saltador for a right hand to the jaw. Apparently Drago will be taking Moon’s place as I’m still not sure what’s going on with this story, nor do I care. Drago gets taken into the corner for some triple teaming from the Rabbits. That goes nowhere though as it’s off to Vibora, who easily cleans house and brings Pindar back in for a forearm to Paul London’s head. Everything breaks down and Drago gets to clean house though London scores with some superkicks on Vibora. That earns him a tombstone though and Drago adds a running boot to the face for the pin at 7:29.

Post match Drago is chained again, which seems to hypnotize him. Aerostar and Fenix come in for the save as Drago is released but he doesn’t seem to recognize them. They’re able to keep him from leaving with the villains.

Sexy Star comes in to see Mack who wants to win the title by himself tonight. Star is cool with that.

Dario comes in to see Mack and says tonight isn’t going to be for the title. Instead the winner gets to pick the stipulation for the title match down the line. Dang it I can’t stand that kind of booking.

The Mack vs. Johnny Mundo

Non-title because Lucha Underground is changing the way they’re booking. Feeling out process to start with Mack actually taking him down in a nice amateur move, only to be kicked low for his efforts. An enziguri staggers Mack and Johnny flips him off, earning himself a suplex on the floor.

The champ’s crawl under the ring allows him to knee Mack in the head against the barricade for a sick sounding crash. Mack actually comes back with a slam and People’s Elbow of all things for two. A nipup into a standing moonsault is good for another near fall on Mundo and an Alpha Bomb (slam into a powerbomb) draws in the Worldwide Underground. As you might expect, Mundo hits a low blow for the pin at 8:43.

Rating: C. I liked what we had going here but there’s only so much you can do without much time and in a match that really doesn’t matter too much. Mack continues to be very deceiving as he looks like someone very overweight but winds up being someone who can do moves far beyond what you would expect. Also, the heel wins here? You couldn’t just have Mack win via countout or DQ or something?

Mundo calls him fat and makes the match All Night Long.

Mil Muertes comes out and jumps Vampiro for saving Puma. Cue Puma for the save but Vampiro calls him off and takes the Flatliner to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was one of those shows designed to set stuff up for the future, which is fine for a placeholder and in Lucha Underground’s place, I can actually believe that it’s going to pay off down the line. Muertes vs. Dark Puma could be interesting and I’d like to see where it goes, though the Vampiro bit scares me somewhat. This wasn’t a great show but maybe it can lead somewhere great, which is a good sign.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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

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Lucha Underground
Date: January 11, 2017
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We’re in a weird place at the moment in Lucha Underground as things are taking forever to get anywhere, though at the same time CAGE HAS FREAKING SUPERPOWERS. It’s hard to say where these shows are going to go from week to week but that can make things that much more interesting. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at Dragon Azteca Jr. wanting to go after Matanza, Cortez Castro coming back to the Temple under a mask, Texano getting mad at Famous B. and Johnny Mundo picking All Night Long for his match with the Mack.

Councilman Delgado is in Dario Cueto’s office to talk about Cage with the gauntlet. Dragon Azteca comes in and wants a death match with Matanza, which is granted for tonight.

Vampiro says he’s coming for Mil Muertes at some point in the future.

Texano vs. Joey Ryan

Joey puts the lollipop in his trunks and Texano isn’t sure what to think. To be fair neither am I. A shoulder and slingshot hilo get two on Joey and it’s time to head outside because almost every match is a brawl around here. The lollipop comes back out and ignore the small, curly hair stuck on it. Back in and a kick to the ribs sets up a chinlock on Texano as this is less one sided than you would expect.

Cue Famous B. and Brenda in cowboy gear to recruit Texano. A middle rope leg lariat gets two on Joey but he grabs a t-bone suplex. Joey’s superkick gets two and Texano looks shocked (and rightfully so). With Famous B. distracting Joey, Brenda slips Texano a horseshoe to knock Joey out for the pin at 7:04.

Rating: D+. Seriously? Texano now needs Famous B. to beat Joey Ryan? The guy who rubs oil on his chest is now a match for someone as good as Texano? I’m hoping Texano doesn’t turn heel and become another Famous B. lackey as he’s hardly the most interesting heel in the world.

Texano shoves B. down and high fives fans as he leaves.

Here’s Mundo for a chat but the fans shout him down in Spanish. You can call him whatever you want because you also have to call him champion. He came here when this place was an upstart and beat everyone put in front of him. The Worldwide Underground believed in him though and that brings him to Mack. After some standard big guy jokes, Johnny says Mack can’t last all night long. Cue Mack for the fight and he actually beats up the entire team to stand tall. Mack says the title will be his.

Cage vs. Veneno

That seems to be Castro under his mask. Veneno is wearing a spider style mask and Vampiro says the name means poison. A few kicks have Cage in trouble until a Screwdriver crushes Veneno for the pin at 1:23.

Cage leaves and Sexy Star comes out to yell at Veneno, likely due to the spider mask.

Prince Puma is hearing Vampiro’s voices in his head when Catrina comes in to say it’s not the same after you die. All Puma can see is blood and pain but it’s Mil’s. Catrina sees the same, but it’s Puma’s.

Matanza vs. Dragon Azteca Jr.

Death match. Dragon fires off kicks to start as Vampiro goes on about bloody baseball bats. Matanza slugs him down though and throws in the first chair, which is of course pelted at Matanza’s head. The monster is knocked to the floor for a dive but he throws Dragon into the wall to take right back over. Dragon is carried up to the balcony but he grabs part of the ceiling and flips onto Matanza. In one heck of a scary looking spot, Dragon hurricanranas him down the steps (like TWO of them) but a chokeslam OFF THE BALCONY AND THROUGH A BIG BUNCH OF WOOD is good for an immediate stoppage at 6:34.

Rating: C+. That seems like a way to write Dragon off and while I’m not sure why they needed to do that, at least the match was fun while it lasted. You need to have Matanza be a monster for a bit and this is as good a way as anything else. Massacring jobbers is only going to get you so far and Matanza is WAY past that point already.

Rey Mysteiro comes back to go after Matanza and knocks him through Dario’s roof. Dario tells everyone to get out.

After the credits, Marty Martinez stalks Melissa Santos but Mariposa kidnaps him. She thinks he might be learning something but a slap to the face just makes him laugh.

Overall Rating: C+. This was an interesting enough show though as is often the case, it seems to be a way to set up for things later on instead of doing things that actually matter at the moment. It’s not a bad show but this forty week season is going on WAY too long and is really dragging the show down in the process.

Apparently this is a mid-season finale and the show will be back in the summer. That’s a very, very long time off and that’s not good.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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

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

Wrestle Kingdom 11
Date: January 4, 2017
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 26,192
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

This is one of those shows that I do every year as I pretty much have no other option. While I only kind of follow New Japan, I almost always enjoy this show, even if I have no desire to watch the show all the time. If nothing else it’s nice to have English commentary, even though I’m not wild on the idea of listening to Corino shout SUPERKICK whenever the Young Bucks are on. Let’s get to it.

As is always the case, since I barely follow New Japan, I’m going to miss a lot of details or not understand a few things. Please bear with me as I’ll keep up as well as I can.

Pre-Show: New Japan Rumble

Basically an annual Royal Rumble to get everyone on the card with regular timed intervals. Michael Elgin (returning from a broken orbital bone) is in at #1 and at #2 it’s…..Billy Gunn? Seriously? Well he’s no Haku but ok then. It’s rather odd that the crowd is quiet (as well as far away from the ring) so you can really hear what they’re saying. Billy’s shoulders have no effect so Elgin tells him to try it some more. They shove each other a bit and the one minute (or so) clock runs down with Bone Soldier (of the Bullet Club and formerly known as Captain New Japan) in at #3.

The Soldier very slowly hammers away until Gunn and Elgin easily take him down. That allows the announcers to do their stupid inside jokes about Corino in Roppongi. Cheeseburger is in at #4 and the announcers freak out. Cheeseburger actually low bridges Soldier out so Gunn punches both guys down. The referee (actually in the ring) tells Gunn to stop with the hair pulling. Are there DQ’s in battle royals?

Jushin Thunder Liger (who just happens to be Cheeseburger’s mentor) is in at #5 and it turns into a tag match for, what, a good forty five seconds or so? It’s actually even shorter as Elgin tells Gunn to suck it and clotheslines him out. Kuniaki Kobayashi, a 60 year old legend who had a big feud with Tiger Mask is in at #6. He takes his sweet time getting to the ring and the camera stays on him the entire way because he’s a legend and all that jazz. A fisherman’s suplex on Liger…..gets two, because you can be eliminated by pin. That doesn’t answer my DQ question but it makes things a bit more interesting.

Tiger Mask (IV) is in at #7 and he grabs a crucifix for the pin on Kobayashi. It’s good to get rid of him as he looked about 90 years old out there. Manabu Nakanishi, a former IWGP World Champion, is in at #8 to clean house with ax handles. Elgin no sells his so Manabu spears him down instead. A double clothesline puts both guys down instead and it’s Ryusuke Taguchi, a comedy guy, is in at #9.

Everyone goes after Nakanishi and it’s a dog pile for the elimination. Liger puts on the surfboard but Tiger Mask dives in for a cover and an elimination. That’s rather creative, assuming you ignore Liger’s shoulders being up. Taguchi rolls Tiger Mask up for another elimination about ten seconds later as Yoshitatsu (one word for some reason) is in at #10.

In case you’ve lost track, we have Elgin, Cheeseburger, Taguchi and Yoshitatsu as the announcers do even more inside jokes. Yuji Nagata is in at #11 and grabs a quick seated armbar on Taguchi. Yoshitatsu makes the save and is immediately the most hated man in the building. Hiroshi Tenzan is in at #12 as Nagata suplexes Yoshitatsu for the elimination. Tenzan and Nagata slug it out and Corino says he missed Yoshitatsu’s elimination due to being on Twitter. Taguchi’s hip attack misses and….well I’m not sure what happens as Hiro Saito is in at #13.

The old guys get in a three way fight and Nagata is pinned, much to Corino’s chagrin. Scott Norton (a MUCH bigger deal in Japan) is in at #14 to give us a final field of Elgin (who has basically disappeared), Cheeseburger, Taguchi, Tenzan, Saito and Norton. A quick powerbomb eliminated Taguchi and everyone decides to go after Elgin….one at a time. That goes as badly as you would expect and Saito is taken out by an Elgin clothesline. Norton is eliminated a few seconds later, leaving Tenzan, Elgin and Cheeseburger.

Elgin throws Cheeseburger at Tenzan before putting Tenzan out to get us down to two. Cheeseburger hammers away and actually scores with a superkick. For some reason, Cheeseburger tries a sunset flip on a guy whose finisher is a powerbomb. The Elgin Bomb gives, uh, Elgin, the win at 25:13.

Rating: D+. The announcers made it very clear that this was about having fun instead of being a serious match and there’s nothing wrong with that. Elgin getting a win is the best option as it’s not like there were many choices here other than a bunch of legends or comedy guys. Give the win to someone who could use it and have some fun in the process. This was fine for a pre-show battle royal and that’s all it was supposed to be.

The opening video runs down the card in order, which I think I kind of like.

Tiger Mask W vs. Tiger the Dark

The announcers flat out say this is for the sake of promoting an anime, though this has potential with Kota Ibushi and ACH donning the masks respectively. Feeling out process to start and it’s a double dropkick to give us a stalemate. Back up and we get to hear the announcers explain some of the anime. Dark backflips out of the corner and hits a dropkick to set up a big flip dive out to the floor. A running discus lariat only seems to wake W up, meaning a dropkick puts Dark back on the floor.

One heck of a moonsault to the floor drops Dark but he comes right back with something like an Octopus Hold back inside. Dark gets two off a tombstone and the kickout shocks him. That snap German suplex lets you know it’s Ibushi and a tiger suplex (fitting finisher) gets two. The sitout Last Ride gives W the pin at 6:34.

Rating: C. For a match between two talented guys who are having this match to promote an anime that I have no interest in watching….I guess I’ve seen worse. Both guys are good enough and the match was fine for an opener, though it felt more like a dark match. I guess they would rather do this here than get on the crowd’s nerves by doing something less serious later and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Roppongi Vice vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending and along with Matt Sydal/Ricochet and ReDRagon, these teams have traded the titles since November 2014. As a bonus, the champs come to the ring with the IWGP, PWG and ROH Tag Team Titles plus custom made Superkick Party titles. They even call the Hardys out on the way to the ring as the angle continues despite them never showing up in TNA. I love that for some reason.

The challengers clean house to start and put the Bucks on the floor, sending them bailing up the ramp. That doesn’t happen in Japan though and Vice follows, only to eat double superkicks. It’s nearly a countout but we get the WWE DIVE UNDER THE ROPES AT WHAT SHOULD BE THE COUNTOUT BUT THE REFEREE IS KIND OF SLOW spot.

With a lot of trash talking, the Bucks knock them outside again as Kelly says the Bucks should be thanked for a lot of the fans here. I’m not sure I’d go that far Kevin. Rocky is told to suck it over and over (dude chill with that) before a superkick puts him down on the floor. Nick kicks Matt by mistake though and a superkick takes down a young boy. The hot tag brings in Romeo to clean house and it’s a double knee to take Matt down.

Trent puts him up in a fireman’s carry but flips him into a rack (cool spot) so Romero can hit a top rope stomp for two. Strong Zero is broken up though and it’s time for even more kicks from the Bucks. You know, because that’s what they do. Nick takes too much time on top though, allowing Trent to run the corner for a German superplex. Corino tries to talk about how this is Chaos vs. Bullet Club but of course doesn’t bother to explain what any of that means (Yes I know what it means but if you’re a new fan, that means nothing to you. That always bugs me.).

Trent misses a flip dive and lands back first on the floor in a bad looking crash, leaving Rocky to hurricanrana both Bucks at the same time. That means nothing though so let’s throw another superkick. The elevated 450 gets two on Rocky and the fans really wake up off the kickout. Four straight superkicks get two as Trent is still down. That means More Bang For Your Buck but Romero rolls Matt up as he tries the rolling fireman’s carry and Trent grabs Nick so Rocky can get the pin and the titles at 12:46.

Rating: C+. I liked the match as much as I can like a Young Bucks match with the loss making it a little bit better. Then again I have no reason to believe that the Bucks won’t get the belts back like, tomorrow, as these guys are given titles almost every single week because they get to be faces and heels at the same time for reasons that continue to elude me.

The Bucks say it doesn’t matter because they still have the rest of their titles. DO THESE GUYS EVER SELL ANYTHING???

Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: David Finlay/Ricochet/Satoshi Kojima vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Bullet Club vs. Chaos

That’s the longest title I’ve ever written for a match. Finlay and company are defending and this is a gauntlet match. For some reason (which I’m sure you can understand), Bullet Club brings out some women to dance before the match. Bullet Club (Hangman Page/Yujiro Takahashi/Bad Luck Fale) vs. Chaos (Jado/Will Ospreay/Yoshi-Hashi) start things off with the Club jumping them as you would expect heels to do.

We settle down to a banged up Yoshi getting beaten down in the ring with Takahashi throwing kicks and Page getting two off a jumping DDT. A neckbreaker allows for the hot tag to Ospreay as things speed up in a hurry. Ospreay starts fast with a cartwheel moonsault over the top to take out all three members followed by a middle rope corkscrew moonsault for two on Page.

Adam’s front flip into a clothesline gets the same but a moonsault kick to the head is enough for the hot tag to Jado as things speed way up. Everything breaks down and Fale starts hurting people, which is what you’re supposed to do when you’re that size. Takahashi gets in a quick DDT for the pin on Jado at 7:36.

Los Ingobernables (Bushi/Evil/Sanada) are in next and their entrance takes forever, allowing the Club to recover. That’s not the brightest move in the world and Fale crushes Sanada for two. Takahashi gets in a good looking kick to the face in the corner but Bushi dives through the ropes to take out Page. We get something like a Conchairto with the second chair wrapped around Takahashi’s head and since that should likely kill him, a dragon sleeper makes him tap a few seconds later at 12:38.

We’re down to Los Ingobernables vs. the champs so let’s have another very long entrance. Thankfully the champs start fast with Ricochet and Finlay (Fit’s son) hitting stereo flip dives to take down some Ingobernables. We settle down to Bushi choking Finlay with a shirt but it’s off to Ricochet for one heck of a series of smooth transitions into a kick to Sanada’s face and a DDT to Bushi.

Evil comes in but gets chopped by Kojima as everything breaks down again (as it should). We get a bit of a botch with Ricochet being thrown into a Codebreaker but Bushi can’t quite get it straight. To be fair that’s almost impossible to do if you’re not the Revival. Kojima starts busting out brainbusters until Evil grabs the referee, allowing Bushi to mist Kojima for two. An STO puts Kojima away a few seconds later and we have new champs at 21:02 (total time including entrances).

Rating: B-. I’m very, very glad that they made this a gauntlet match instead of having all twelve in the ring at the same time which just didn’t need to happen. Los Ingobernables seem to be the rising stars of the company and it’s a good idea to give them some titles. That being said, the announcers basically flat out said that the titles change hands all the time and they actually would do so again the very next day. In other words, this means nothing but at least it was the right choice here.

Juice Robinson vs. Cody

Robinson used to be known as CJ Parker and Cody is of course Cody Rhodes. There’s no real story to this one other than Cody needs an opponent for his Japanese debut. Cody is part of the Bullet Club but he’s not rocking the shirt here. Eh the Bucks can superkick him later. Something I’ve always liked about this show: every time a match starts the camera zooms in on the ring. It’s just a cool visual.

A hiptoss puts Juice on the floor to start but Juice counters his dive into a belly to belly. As we look at the replay, Juice cannonballs into the Cody against the barricade for a painful looking crash. Back in and Cody grabs an Alabama Slam to take over before stopping to pose by leaning on his fist.

Corino points out that Cody has been at Wrestlemania, Final Battle and Wrestle Kingdom in the same year. That’s not bad but Cody points the Bullet Club gun at Corino, who had a big feud with his dad in ECW. A side kick drops Cody but bangs up the knee which was tweaked on the cannonball.

Juice keeps showing some great fire as he comes back with a fireman’s carry into a gutbuster (or at least some knees in the vicinity of the chest), only to have a chop block take out the knee again. That means a modified Indian Deathlock until Juice grabs a rope. Why does it always take so long for them to realize they’re right next to the ropes? Cody keeps talking trash to Corino and gets two off an elevated DDT. Juice gets in a clothesline and tries a powerbomb but the knee gives out. Cross Rhodes is good for the pin at 9:37.

Rating: C+. I liked this way more than I was expecting to and it actually worked as a debut instead of just a regular squash. I’m not sure where they’re going with Cody vs. Corino (in this company at least) and Robinson looked WAY better than he did during any of his NXT matches. This was a lot better than I was expecting and I had fun with it. If nothing else, maybe Cody can finally live up to some of his hype.

ROH World Title: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Cole is challenging in a Final Battle rematch and is another member of Bullet Club. They shake hands and Cole spits in his face because that’s how heels are supposed to act. Kyle has the cross armbreaker on in less than twenty seconds before grabbing a quickly broken rear naked choke. A shove off the top is enough to set up ADAM COLE BABY and the champ is down on the floor.

Kyle comes up holding his shoulder and Cole rushes it with a chair to really take over. Back in and O’Reilly fights with his legs in a smart move, though I’m not sure how long that’s going to last. It’s time to go after Cole’s leg as Corino breaks down the champ’s psychology: he has a way to beat you by working on any body part so he’ll switch around for what works at the moment.

Normally I would get annoyed at a style like that and say PICK A BODY PART but the commentary explaining the wrestler’s mindset (which we are only going to know if we’re told) is a good thing. Cole gets in a bicycle kick and they do the ROH forearm slugout before a double kick puts both guys down.

The champ easily wins a strike off and scores with a brainbuster but can’t get the cross armbreaker. Instead Adam kicks him in the head and hits back to back Last Shots (that suplex into a neckbreaker onto the knee) for two. Another kick to the shoulder sets up three straight superkicks, followed by a fourth to the back of the head. A third Last Shot gives us a new champion at 10:18, making Cole the first three time champion in ROH history.

Rating: B-. This is a situation where the backstage issues make the story a bit more logical. Apparently Kyle turned down a contract extension with ROH shortly before this show and would have been a free agent. Obviously you can’t keep the title on someone who isn’t a guarantee to be around so they did the title switch. There’s nothing wrong with that and it really was their only viable option.

As for the match itself, they did what they could in this setting but there’s a limit to how effective they can be with ten minutes. The shoulder was a fine story and played into the finish so I have no problem there. They just didn’t have the time to make this work but they did well with what they had.

Ads for upcoming shows, including two shows in California, which I believe are the first ever stand alone New Japan shows on US soil.

Tag Team Titles: Chaos vs. Guerillas of Destiny vs. G.B.H.

Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii/Toru Yano) and G.B.H. (Great Bash Heel, comprised of Tomoaki Honma/Togi Makabe) are challenging the Guerrillas (Tama Tonga/Tanga Loa), who are part of the Bullet Club. Also Yano, a comedy guy, has stolen the World Tag League trophies (owned by G.B.H.) and the title belts and maybe Corino’s wallet. Got all that? In a logical move, the Guerillas beat the heck out of Yano for stealing their belts. Where’s Repo Man when you need him?

Honma slams Loa but misses a headbutt (a trend for him), allowing Yano to unhook the corner pad and whip Honma in. It’s off to Ishii for the monster power in the form of a suplex, followed by Yano coming in and immediately tagging Tama in instead. Makabe comes in as everything breaks down with Makabe clotheslining someone in every corner. Corino talks about the high amount of F Bombs (but thankfully his only jab at WWE is someone tweeting him to say this isn’t PG) and GBH gets in ten right hands to the Guerillas’ heads.

With everyone else on the floor, Tama slides around (very slick) and jumps into a DDT on Makabe. Honma comes in and SWEARS A LOT (with Corino laughing so much he has to turn his mic off) before dropping a headbutt on Loa. Everything breaks down again with the Guerillas sending Yano outside and swearing even more. We lose Corino again thanks to four F bombs during a powerbomb on Honma for two.

Makabe powerbombs Tama to set up Honma’s top rope falling headbutt for another near fall with Ishii remembering he’s in the match and diving in for the save. Guerilla Warfare (an upside down Magic Killer) drops Makabe but Yano tags himself in from behind. Ishii gets to have the time of his life by fighting both Guerillas at the same time, only to have Yano low blow them both, setting up a rollup for the pin and the titles at 12:27.

Rating: B. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to as the comedy was nowhere near as big of a deal as I was worried about it being. Once they gave up on the tagging (as they should have done) it got a lot more entertaining and I got into the match by the end. Above all else though, this was a great example of why English commentary helps. I would have had no idea what was up with the champions not having the belts and the trophies in general had it not been for Corino and Kelly and those are important details. That helps so much and it’s made the show that much more entertaining.

Junior Heavyweight Title: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kushida

Takahashi, part of Los Ingobernables, is challenging and was known as Kamaitachi in ROH. He came in as part of a ticking time bomb countdown so his entrance consists of a bunch of big pink balls. Yeah I’m not sure I get it either. Kushida spends a bit too much time posing and gets knocked off the corner, only to come back with a kick to the face and a HUGE flip dive off the top to the floor.

We actually get things going with the champ working on the left arm (to set up his Hoverboard Lock arm hold) but getting caught in a very fast sunset bomb. That warrants a check from the referee and thankfully Kushida is able to continue. Those head shots are always scary so it’s a relief when the people get up. A downward spiral into the middle buckle stuns Takahashi though and a Tajiri handspring elbow keeps him in trouble.

Takahashi grabs a release German suplex though and Kushida comes down on the head again, followed by what looked to be a bit of a botch off a top rope hurricanrana, which came off as more of a top rope seated senton. The champ falls outside for a top rope…..something that looked like a backsplash to a standing Kushida though it barely made contact.

Back in and Kushida opts for a kick to the head to put both guys down for a well earned breather. Another sunset bomb doesn’t work and Kushida pulls him out of the air into a cross armbreaker on the floor. I’m liking the fire from Kushida here and he stays full on face by throwing Takahashi back in instead of taking what would have been an easy countout win. Back in and some hard kicks to the arm set up the Hoverboard Lock but Takahashi guts his way out and turns it into a fireman’s carry, only to have Kushida counter into a rollup for two.

A weaker Hoverboard Lock doesn’t work so they just punch each other in the face really hard. Kushida heads up top (probably not the best plan) and grabs another Hoverboard Lock, only to be countered into a super victory roll for a close near fall. Takahashi sends him head first into the corner and grabs a fireman’s carry into something like a spinning Emerald Flowsion for the pin and the title at 16:53.

Rating: B+. Here’s the thing: really don’t like either guy and I was dreading this match more than almost anything else. That being said, it’s still the match of the night so far as I was getting into the idea of Kushida wanting it to be a fair wrestling match and Takahashi going for the head for the sake of the title. It told a good story, though the ending felt a bit out of nowhere. Still though, really good stuff.

Never Openweight Title: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto

Shibata is defending. If the previous match was one I was almost dreading the most, this was the one I was certainly dreading the most. The Never style is one I really don’t care for, though I understand what they’re going for with it. The announcers push the idea that Goto, who is a two time Intercontinental Champion, a three time New Japan Cup winner and a G1 Climax winner, has never won the big one. Uh, right.

Shibata slaps him in the chest to start so Goto grabs a headlock. That earns him a trip to the mat in a top wristlock as Shibata wants to make up for his own taped shoulder. Now the announcers aren’t sure how to define success because it might be something other than winning. So they’re ripping off the Dolph Ziggler story? And this is supposed to be the best in the world?

A shortarm scissors keeps Goto down but he powers out and starts with some YES Kicks. As tends to be to my annoyance, Shibata no sells and forearms Goto in the face. Yes we know he’s tough. Find something new to do. Shibata no sells a suplex but finally stays down when his bad neck is rammed into Goto’s knee.

Goto actually scores with some clotheslines but runs into an STO to put both guys down. Back up and Shibata gets in his rear naked choke to pull Goto right back down to the mat. You can feel the audience getting worried here and a BIG sigh of relief when Goto makes the bottom rope.

More hard strikes don’t get us anywhere but Goto’s suplex into a Side Effect gets two. Goto starts unloading on Shibata with even more strikes, followed by back to back GTR’s (Nightmare on Helms Street with Shibata’s head going into Goto’s knee) for the pin and the title at 16:23.

Rating: B-. Ignoring the story not making sense given Goto’s title history, I’m still not a fan of this tough man style. I know it’s a throwback to the old school strong style and all that jazz but I just don’t care for it. This is a case of me really just not being the audience for a style though it’s entertaining enough. Not bad at all but nothing I’m ever going to want to watch again.

Long video on Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito without a translation so I’m kind of guessing here. From what I can tell, Naito (defending here) has been corrupted and doesn’t care about tradition and honor but is awesome enough that it doesn’t matter. Tanahashi is all about the company and being great in the past but time is catching up with him. He’s beaten Naito is a lot better now, meaning this is a huge challenge. Assuming that’s the case, I’ve heard far worse.

Intercontinental Title: Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Naito is defending and is the leader of Los Ingobernables. Tanahashi debuts new music here and it really doesn’t sound great. I can barely remember his old song but I’d bet it was better than this. There’s no contact in the first minute as Naito isn’t interested in a lockup. They lock up over a minute and a half in and it’s Tanahashi being sent to the floor, leaving Naito to pose on the mat as is his custom.

Back in and Tanahashi actually pulls hair before dropkicking the champ down. HIT THAT AIR GUITAR BABY! Naito starts in on the leg like a heel should, including throwing the boot to the referee the champ can get in a dropkick to the knee. That’s a new one. A reverse Figure Four doesn’t last long and Tanahashi fights back, including a middle rope flipping splash for two. This has been a fast ten minutes so far and I’m kind of surprised by that. It’s too early for the Texas Cloverleaf but Tanahashi is cool with a dragon screw leg whip over the middle rope.

A Sling Blade on the apron (which may or may not be the hardest part of the ring) sets up a high crossbody to the floor with Tanahashi landing on Naito’s head for a NASTY looking landing. Back in and Naito basically falls into the ropes to crotch Tanahashi, setting up a high angle side slam for two more.

We hit a leglock on Tanahashi for a long time but he’s finally able to turn it over into a deep Texas Cloverleaf. Another rope is grabbed so Tanahashi goes with back to back Sling Blades, only to miss the High Fly Flow. Destino is countered into a rolling neckbreaker to put both guys down again. Back up (again) and they kick at the knees with Tanahashi getting the better of it off a dragon suplex.

The High Fly Flow (What knee?) hits Naito’s back but the second attempt (No really, what knee?) hits Naito’s knees. Thankfully the champ holds his knees and can’t follow up. After a bit of time on the mat it’s a reverse tornado DDT followed by Destino to give Naito the completely clean pin at 25:43.

Rating: A-. I could have gone for a bit more of the knees playing into the finish but this was a great back and forth match with the leg work building up throughout. The idea of both guys working the same body part was interesting and Naito winning completely clean is the EXACTLY right call. Tanahashi is forty years old and has more titles than he knows what to do with so this isn’t a career breaker. Also as a bonus, the match never felt long. That can get old in a hurry but it wasn’t a problem here.

Kelly plays up the idea that the ace of the era (Tanahashi) might be out of gas. That could be an interesting story as it’s what we’re seeing with Cena over in WWE.

We hit the recap video for the main event and they actually put in subtitles. Basically Okada is the defending champion and the new ace of the promotion while Kenny Omega (leader of the Bullet Club) shocked New Japan by winning the G1 Climax. Okada says he’s the man entrusted with New Japan and wrestling’s futures and he’s not going to let someone like Omega mess with those responsibilities for his own gain. As a sidenote: it’s really weird to hear English in these things.

Ok before we get to this thing, let’s pause for a minute. As you probably know, this match has gotten INSANE praise online with Meltzer calling it possibly the best match of all time. While I’ve learned a long time ago to take everything Meltzer says with a ten gallon bag of salt, I’m going to go out of my way to be as impartial as I can on this one. I know it’s big and I know it’s important but I’m curious to see how much of the hype it deserves. Like, I haven’t heard a match this hyped up since……oh since the last Wrestle Kingdom.

IWGP World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is defending but Omega gets a big Terminator style entrance, complete with Omega acting out the scene where the Terminator beats people up and steals their clothes. Omega comes in with the half mask and shotgun but NO SUNGLASSES THAT HE PUT ON IN THE VIDEO. Well that’s minus half a star right there. Seriously does no one care about continuity? Also I don’t believe you clean with a gun so minus another half star for that.

They lock up at just under a minute in before hitting the mat for the opening wrestling sequence. Omega takes him down with a headlock and they’re definitely taking their time with this one (as they should). Okada comes back with an armdrag into an armbar and we hear about a cultural difference as Okada is making his second defense of a title he won in JUNE. I know the argument is that you don’t hot potato New Japan titles around between the same people (other than almost every other title) but that’s getting into UFC territory.

Both guys escape finishers and Omega spits in Okada’s face (WAY too common a thing tonight) before taking a breather on the floor. Back in and a big boot drops Omega, who is sent right back outside. An Orton elevated DDT makes things even worse for Kenny and….it’s table time, though the announcers point out that Omega put Okada through a table at one point.

Omega is sent over the barricade and Okada adds in a running crossbody as we hear that more foreign fans are watching live than ever before. No sarcasm: that’s awesome for both NJPW and wrestling in general. Back in and we actually hit a chinlock for a bit before Kenny pops up for something like a running Fameasser. A running knee to the ribs and a hurricanrana put Okada to the floor.

That means the rise of the Terminator pose and a big (very big) flip dive to take the champion out. We hit a one arm camel clutch until Okada grabs the rope and hits a high angle AA to get a breather. A modified STF sends Omega to the ropes and Okada is getting frustrated. As the champ gets back up, I need to point out Corino being great on commentary by trying to explain the wrestler’s mindset here. You NEVER get that enough in most wrestling companies but it’s incredibly valuable.

Omega gets in a backbreaker and baseball slides Okada over the barricade to keep working on the back. A springboard moonsault over the top almost overshoots Okada in a rather impressive display of athleticism. It didn’t make great contact but it looked awesome. We crank up the violence a bit with Omega putting the table on top of Okada for a running double stomp from the apron.

Kenny gets two off a powerbomb and it’s time to get frustrated. A Regal Roll followed by a middle rope moonsault gets two and there’s a large cut on Okada’s back. Okada puts him on the top for a dropkick out to the floor as the champ keeps staying in there, waiting on Omega’s mistake. Neither guy can hit a finisher from the apron through the table (that thing better break) and before I can finish typing that, Omega is backdropped over the top and through said table.

After we make sure Omega isn’t dead, Okada hits one heck of a missile dropkick for two. With some warning from the Bucks, Kenny blocks the Rainmaker and grabs the big spot of the match with a dragon superplex. Looked painful but it’s hardly this amazing move that will never be topped. Omega scores with a knee, only to walk into that gorgeous dropkick from the champ. A running knee to Okada’s head looks to set up the One Winged Angel but Okada reverses into a tombstone for a delayed two.

The crowd is WAY into this (which makes me wonder what the difference is between this and an opening match where “they’re showing respect to the athletes”) and you can hear them gasp when the Rainmaker gets a near fall. One heck of a shotgun dropkick sends Omega into the corner where the Bucks tell him that he can’t be beaten. Ignore him laying on his back with his eyes closed.

Kenny pops up and reverses a tombstone into a modified version of his own and both guys are down long enough to look at the crowd for a bit. They slug it out again until Omega snaps off a dragon suplex, followed by a Shining Wizard for a VERY close two. Kenny STILL can’t hit the One Winged Angel as Okada escapes and hits a hard clothesline. Oh wait: the RAINMAKER (Does capitalizing it mean it’s something other than a hard clothesline?).

Omega makes the mistake of grabbing his hand while kneeing Omega in the head, setting up a third Rainmaker. Another tombstone is countered into a jumping knee to the face but Okada counters the Angel AGAIN into the jumping tombstone. The fourth Rainmaker (if I EVER hear a New Japan fan complain about WWE wrestlers repeating finishers, I’m going to have a very hearty laugh) finally ends Omega at 46:17.

Rating: A. It’s too long and the Rainmaker was used too much. Those are my only criticisms of it, unless you count New Japan fans over hyping ANOTHER Okada match at Wrestle Kingdom. Yes it’s great and a classic but six stars and the greatest match of all time? Really? If you cut off about six to seven minutes here and there, it probably goes up to a higher rating but at the moment, it’s just excellent and one of the best matches I’ve seen in a long time.

I’m interested in the fact that they didn’t have Omega hit the One Winged Angel. That sounds like they’re setting something up for the future and I’m interested in seeing if that’s the way they’re going down the line. Okada winning doesn’t seem like the best idea as it doesn’t fit the last year of storytelling but if they’re setting up something for WAY down the line (and NJPW loves to do that), I’m not sure I get this one. Great match though.

Gedo (Okada’s manager) and Okada talk about taking New Japan global in a speech that I don’t understand (though Corino translates part of it).

The English commentary ends and we get some shots of the Japanese announcers wrapping it up.

Overall Rating: A-. Let’s get this out of the way: this show is long. Like it’s almost Wrestlemania long. Unfortunately, that makes it a bit hard to sit through and leaves you wanting to pick out things that could have been cut. In this case, it’s probably part of the main event and maybe make the Six Man Title match a regular one fall match, though I like the gauntlet style better than having a bunch of people out there at once and no one being able to do anything.

As for the good, there really isn’t a bad match on this show and that doesn’t happen. There are however a bunch of matches that are just ok or slightly above average and that brings it down a bit. The show isn’t something I’m ever going to watch again and it’s probably going to be gone from my head in about three days, as is the case with most of these shows. That’s true because of one point and it’s the reason I don’t watch more New Japan: I don’t have a connection to it.

For me, wrestling is a long form story. There are characters I’ve watched for years and I care about what happens to them. New Japan, partially just due to the language barrier (which again, was GREATLY reduced thanks to Corino and Kelly, who weren’t great but did exactly what they were supposed to do), doesn’t offer me that, at least not without a long time being spent watching them.

That’s the difference between WWE and New Japan: one is based on storytelling and character development and the other is based on in ring work. What people so often overlook, and what might get on my nerves most about wrestling fans (and people in general) is that they so often feel the need to bash you over the head for not knowing what REAL wrestling (or anything for that matter) is because it’s not the style they like.

It’s the same reason I take Meltzer’s ratings with a grain of salt: he likes Japanese wrestling a lot and isn’t big on the WWE style. Why people think that’s a bad thing isn’t clear but any reviewer does it. I’m a bigger fan of the simple stories that you get on NXT and Smackdown and I care more about advancing those stories than having a great match (though that’s important too). You can like both and still be a wrestling fan, which is the case here. I liked a lot of this show but there’s no emotional connection for me because it’s just not my style.

The show, as usual, was a lot of fun and very entertaining but I’m not likely going to watch more of it until next year. Wrestle Kingdom is easily the biggest non-WWE show of the year and it’s certainly bigger than a lot of WWE shows. I’ll be watching it every year because it deserves the attention for offering some of the best wrestling in the world and entertaining me every time I watch it, even if I don’t find it as great as some people.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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World of Sport Wrestling
Date: December 31, 2016
Location: MediaCity Studios, Manchester, England
Commentators: Jim Ross, Alex Shane

This has been a big request so let’s knock it out. World of Sport was a big British wrestling promotion for years back in the 60s through the 80s and I’m almost certain this is only the same in name only. The interesting thing is this would be the reason WWE launched the whole UK tournament. It should be fun to see what they were so afraid of so let’s get to it.

This was taped back in November so things could have already changed.

The arena looks good. Small, but good.

World of Sport Title: Dave Mastiff vs. Grado

The title is vacant coming in and yes it’s that Grado. JR describes Grado as the British version of Dusty Rhodes. The British Dream? Before the match, Grado says he’s going to create history tonight but Mastiff, who probably weighs about 350lbs and is flanked by two fellow heels, cut him off. There’s very little in the way of introductions here as it seems we’re supposed to just know who these people are. Thankfully JR identifies them as Sha Samuels and Johnny Moss because graphics aren’t available.

Mastiff slams him down so Grado shakes his knees ala Rich Swann (I’m not comparing him to Dusty) and hits a Bionic Elbow. Now they’re calling Grado the modern day Big Daddy and we hit the clubbing forearms to Grado’s back. Mastiff misses a middle rope backsplash and some splashes in the corner set up the Wee Boot (JR didn’t seem to know the name). Samuels shoves Grado off the top though and Mastiff Cannonballs him for the pin at 5:35.

Rating: D. Wait what? They start the show off with a title match, don’t tell us much of anything about these people or how they got here and the match doesn’t even break six minutes? This was really disappointing and Grado came off as more of a comedy guy than a serious title contender, though the fans seemed to really like him.

Grado gets the hero’s reception, but again I’d like to point out that it wasn’t even six minutes long.

Interviewer Rachel talks to General Manager Mr. Beasley, who is really happy to be here. Grado comes in to complain but Mastiff and company crash the interview to celebrate.

Back from a break with Mr. Beasley saying what happened in the title match wasn’t fair. There will be a battle royal tonight and Mastiff will defend against the winner at the end of the show.

Video on some World of Sport legends with some older wrestlers talking about Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Kendo Nagasaki. It’s amazing how small the ring was back then.

Rollerball Rocco, Johnny Saint and Marty Jones (trained William Regal) are here. That’s always a smart move.

Kenny Williams vs. Sam Bailey vs. CJ Banks vs. Delicious Danny

Ladder match to qualify for the battle royal which is a qualifying match for the World Title match. Williams looks to be a skateboarder, Banks is a heel and Danny is a cowboy. That’s about it for the character development we can get during the entrances. It’s a slugout to start and I’m going to have a really hard time remembering who all of these people are.

Williams takes over to start and dropkicks everyone else down, including dropkicking the ladders into their faces. Bailey dives onto all three but the ladder is knocked over, leaving Danny and Kenny to slug it out. A German suplex brings Kenny off the ladder (Shane: “He just killed Kenny!”) but it’s time for various people to pull each other off the ladder over and over.

Danny gets caught in the ladder as Shane declares this the weirdest DIY show he’s ever seen. With all three down, Danny dives onto everyone at the same time. For absolutely no logical reason, here’s another ladder and it’s a four way climb. Kenny knocks the rest down and wins at 6:48.

Rating: C-. As I said in the first match: that’s it? This was a ladder match for the sake of having a ladder match with nothing especially entertaining or interesting with four people I know next to nothing about. This is starting to look like any given indy card and that’s not exactly a good thing.

More legends stuff.

Alexis Rose vs. Viper

Rose is a pretty standard looking female wrestler while Viper is build more like Nia Jax. Viper shoves her around to start but Rose does some nice spinning around to avoid a charge and gets in a bicycle kick. The bigger lady runs her over and grabs a cravate, followed by a seated crossbody for two. Alexis comes back with a few kicks and a high crossbody for two as we start looking at the crowd. A middle rope moonsault misses though and Viper hits a running backsplash for the pin at 4:37.

Rating: C-. This was fine with a basic power vs. speed match. Neither was anything special but for a pretty basic indy show, it’s all you can ask for. This was announced as the first ever women’s match in the promotion’s history and if that’s the case, I’ve seen far worse options over the years.

Mastiff is annoyed at being accused of cheating.

Video on how big World of Sport used to be.

Ashton Smith/Rampage vs. Coffey Brothers

The Brothers are Joe and Mark and I’ve seen the former before. Mark and Ashton get things going with a pretty slow feeling out process. Coffey gets in a dropkick as commentary goes silent for a few seconds. A double underhook swing into a suplex gives Joe two (JR: “No decaf!”) but Rampage clotheslines Mark from the apron to take over.

The slow beatdown continues with Rampage holding a chinlock. Ashton comes back in for some trash talk but walks into a leg lariat, allowing the hot tag to Joe. Everything breaks down and Smith grabs a spinebuster on Joe with Mark diving in for a save. Smith superkicks his partner by mistake and Joe hits a discus lariat for the pin at 9:05.

Rating: C. Another completely watchable but absolutely nothing out of the ordinary match whatsoever. That’s the show in a nutshell: everything has been fine but that doesn’t mean it’s something worth watching. The brothers were a nice team and the fans seemed to be familiar with them which is always a perk.

Beasley says Mastiff will be defending tonight and there’s going to be a surprise in the battle royal.

El Ligero vs. Zack Gibson

Ligero is a luchador and Gibson is a big heel. Gibson takes him to the mat at the bell and goes for the arm, only to get caught in a hammerlock from Ligero. They head outside with Ligero’s hurricanrana being countered into an apron powerbomb to stay on the arm. The announcers do a good job of mentioning how important the technicians were to World of Sport as Gibson is wrestling a very similar style.

Ligero fights up and sends him outside for the required flip dive to take over again. Back in and Ligero hits a wheelbarrow faceplant for two but makes the mistake of trying again, resulting in a seated armbar. Not that it matters as Ligero makes the rope and hits a springboard tornado DDT for the pin at 8:30.

Rating: C+. Match of the night here as you had a good combination of styles here to keep both guys looking good. Gibson is much more in line with the traditional British wrestling style and Ligero is your pretty standard luchador. That made for an interesting match and the best psychology (read as almost the only psychology) of the night.

Rachel talks to the battle royal entrants, all of whom say what you would expect.

Battle Royal

Mark Coffey, Joe Coffey, El Ligero, Grado, Sha Samuels, Johnny Moss, Kenny Williams, ???

The winner gets a title shot later in the night and the mystery man isn’t here yet. Williams gets suplex slammed to start followed by a gorilla press for the first elimination. Samuels and Moss get rid of Ligero as well, leaving us with the two of them against the Coffeys while Grado, as in the only option to win at the moment, is down in the corner.

The two teams slug it out until a near miscommunication between the brothers result in a double elimination. We’re down to Samuels, Moss and Grado….and here’s Davey Boy Smith Jr. to complete the field. Now that works for a cool moment and an actual surprise. House is quickly cleaned and we get the delayed suplex as Smith gets to show off a bit.

Unfortunately he doesn’t actually eliminate anyone and even covers Moss after the powerslam. Moss and Samuels dump Smith, leaving Grado to get double teamed. That lasts all of a few seconds until a clothesline gets rid of Samuels and a low bridge dumps Moss to give Grado the win at 8:23.

Rating: D. So they go through the trouble of bringing Smith in and then have him be eliminated in all of two minutes after a few suplexes. The rest of the battle royal was a waste of time though as it was just a matter of time until we could get to the finish with Grado winning. It was only going to be him or the mystery man, making this a pretty solid waste of time for the most part.

Smith comes in for the post match save. Medics check on Grado as we go to our last break.

World of Sport Title: Dave Mastiff vs. Grado

The injured Grado is challenging. Before the bell, Samuels and Moss are ejected to make it an even match. After Mastiff runs his mouth a bit, Grado limps out until Dave chop blocks him from behind. Naturally NONE OF THAT is a DQ so the bell rings with Grado unable to stand. Mastiff works on the knee and sends Grado into the steps as this is already dragging less than two minutes in. The leg is wrapped around the ropes but Mastiff misses a charge and posts himself. Grado hits a quick cutter for the pin and the title at 3:37. That was his only offensive move of the match.

Rating: F. Oh good grief what was that? Mastiff beat Grado by cheating earlier and then loses because he slips on a banana peel in their rematch later in the night? That’s their big finish? You couldn’t have DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. win the title here instead? Grado isn’t all that interesting in the first place and now he’s the full on focus of this show. I’m not sure I get it either but I’m not British.

Overall Rating: D. And really, that could have been a lot lower. This was not a good show and most of that is due to the title stuff. I’m still not sure why I’m supposed to know who these people are (again, might have to do with me not being from England) but the promotion really didn’t do a good job of explaining them either. It’s a big mess and Grado is far more of a comedy guy who barely got in any offense. That’s really their best available option?

The rest of the show was watchable but it felt like there was a big checklist with each kind of match. You really could have called this anything else as there’s no connection to World of Sport, making this one heck of a reason for WWE to start a whole tournament and weekly UK show. They have a lot more to worry about from something like What Culture Pro Wrestling, which has far bigger names and is WAY more fun.

This show wasn’t terrible by any means and I’ve seen far, far worse things over the years. Really though, it’s unnecessary and feels like they just threw a famous name out there and hoped for the best. I wasn’t impressed and I wouldn’t watch again, but it’s miles better than some of these kinds of shows. If you’re in the mood for British wrestling though, check out Rev Pro or What Culture to actually be entertained.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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

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