And Out Come The Wolves
Date: April 20, 2019
Location: National Guard Armory, Bloomington, Indiana
Commentators: Bob Nugent, Tony Brewer

We’re going to Rival Showdown Pro Wrestling, another promotion on a seemingly endless list of companies I’ve been checking out lately. This show has a bunch of names I have at least heard of so we might be in for something a bit easier to follow this time around. Then again, you never can tell with something like this. Let’s get to it.

Bad sign to start: you can barely hear commentary over the entrance music.

Gringo Loco vs. Jake Something

They shake hands and lock up to start before Loco flips over him and flips forward out of the corner. A running headscissors drops Something so he tries one of his own, only to have Loco stick the landing. Something tries to drop down off a whip but Loco hits a standing moonsault for a nice counter. With nothing else working, Something blasts him with a clothesline and Loco is rocked hard. A whip into the corner gives Something two and he doesn’t seem overly nervous here.

Another chop rocks Loco again but he comes back with a quick middle rope dropkick. That sets up the big running flip dive to take Something down on the floor in the huge crash. Back in and Something knocks him right back to the floor, setting up his own crazy dive to crush Loco. It also lets Something do his WHAT’S MY NAME shout for the third time in less than eight minutes, just in case you didn’t get the idea.

A running crossbody against the apron gives Something two back inside and they’re both down for a bit. It’s Loco to his feet first and he runs the corner for a diving cutter (that looked good) and a near fall of his own. A top rope moonsault gives Loco two more as they are into the one big move at a time territory.

Something is back up with a running spear in the corner and a Michinoku Driver gets two. Loco escapes a superbomb and hits a super Falcon Arrow for the huge double knockdown. A delayed cover gives Loco two but Something turns him inside out with a clothesline. One heck of a sitout powerbomb finishes Loco at 13:46.

Rating: B-. This was a solid choice for an opener as they beat each other up with one big move after another. It was a classic power vs. speed match and that is going to work almost every time. Something is strong enough with the power game and Loco’s big dives and speed balanced it out well. You can always go with an opener like this and they are starting smart.

Post match here is a manager in a suit and a hat (Jason Bowler maybe?), with commentary trying to talk over him but again, you can’t hear a word of it. The manager has a client named Russ Jones who will face anyone at the next show and he wants Something. The match is on, but the manager won’t shake hands with someone from Detroit. Something knocks him down and shakes his hand anyway.

The ring announcer hypes up tonight’s double main event, including Abyss’ final match. He also hypes up a raffle, concessions and tonight’s charity.

The Carnies vs. Lethal Injection

This would be Kerry Awful/Nicky Iggy vs. Brad/Briar Mercury (in South Park shirts). The rather tattoed and masked Awful and Brad have a pose off to start before Iggy grabs a headlock. Awful takes off his mask as commentary needs security to get rid of some fans standing in front of them, which isn’t something you often hear. Brad and Awful chop the heck out of each other before they take turns bouncing off the same rope in a circle change.

Awful stomps on the arm and starts working on it (Bob: “That was a disarming move.”) before handing it off to Iggy for more arm cranking. Briar comes in and gets armdragged into an armbar of his own before it’s a double fishhook, because no one leaves the Carnies’ circus without a smile. A slam puts Briar down but Brad grabs Iggy from the apron so a dropkick can put him in trouble for the first time.

There’s a double back elbow to put Iggy down again and he gets tossed hard into the corner. Iggy’s escape attempt is cut off and Brad launches Briar into the air for a splash. A stomp out of the corner finally gets Iggy out of trouble and the double tag brings in Awful to chop away at Brad.

Awful hits a butterfly powerbomb into a crossthroat but Briar makes the save. Some superkicks to the….general area of Awful knock him back but Iggy comes back in for the save. A stomp/wheelbarrow faceplant combination plants Iggy as commentary actually tries to remember who is legal. Iggy is left alone with Briar and it’s a chokebomb to give Iggy two. Everyone gets back in and a bit of contrivance lets the Carnies force Brad to Canadian Destroy Brian for the pin at 11:16.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as the Carnies’ deal kind of goes away as soon as the bell rings and they’re just a team. The same is true with Lethal Injection, who were neither lethal nor injecting anything. The ending was not good either, as it takes a lot to make me believe that you can make someone give someone else a Canadian Destroyer and it didn’t work. Not the best match here and I was wanting it to end more than once.

The Carnies take their sweet time in leaving.

Abyss vs. Mojo McQueen

Monster’s Ball and this is Abyss’ final match. McQueen has a smoking box and a horned mask, which makes it less surprising to see him jump Abyss before the bell. Some whipping with the jacket has Abyss in trouble but he’s back up with a shoulder. A clothesline drops McQueen and another sends him out to the floor sot he real fight can begin.

McQueen sends him into the barricade and the slow beating takes Abyss around the ring. Some crutch shots rock Abyss again, including having the crutch knocked into his throat. McQueen’s chop only hits post though and Abyss hits some not so rapid chops against the barricade. They get back inside but Abyss takes too long to hit him with a trashcan. Instead McQueen trashcans him down into the corner, followed by a posting to make it worse.

We’ll get creative with a voodoo doll….but first it’s time to wedge a chair in the corner. McQueen stabs the doll in the head to put Abyss in pain, followed by more stabbings to make it worse. That’s not cool with Abyss, who grabs Janice (the spiked 2×4) from underneath the ring. As is ALWAYS THE CASE, it gets stuck in the turnbuckle pad so Abyss settles for whipping him head first into the chair in the corner. McQueen gets in a knee to the face and it’s time to bring in the table. Abyss breaks that up and pulls out the thumbtacks to put on said table. A chokeslam through both of them gives Abyss the pin at 8:38.

Rating: C. This wasn’t about the match being a big showdown but rather having Abyss in the ring one more time and that worked out well enough. Let him play the hits (or misses like Janice) and get a nice pop. It isn’t like McQueen feels like some top star so having him out there as a victim is a fine enough way to go, even if the match was only so good because they kept things moving.

Post match Abyss thanks the fans and says he couldn’t have picked a better crowd to go out in front of. Nice little moment there that you don’t get from Abyss very often.

Intermission.

Craig Mitchell vs. Eye Candy Elliott vs. Isaias Velazquez

I’ve seen Velazquez in MLW and Mitchell has some size to him. Mitchell lives up to the Eye Candy idea by having two attractive women with him. They hit the stall button to start with Mitchell heading outside for a breather with the women. The two lock up with Mitchell running him over but Velazquez hits a rolling kicks to the head. A dropkick sends Mitchell outside and hits a dive, only to be distracted by the women.

That’s enough to earn them an ejection so Elliott gets inside to start the double teaming of Velazquez in the corner. Velazquez gets double suplexed down and the villains take over. Some loud chops in the corner keep Velazquez in trouble but he ducks a clothesline so that Mitchell gets hit instead. Elliott is tied in the Tree of Woe so Velazquez can suplex Mitchell into him for a clever spot that actually made sense for a change.

A fireman’s carry swung into a faceplant rocks Elliott and a Sliced Bread to Mitchell makes him DDT Elliott for two (I still can’t stand those spots) to leave everyone down. Everyone is back up for a three way slugout until Elliott rakes their eyes. Elliott gets knocked down again though and it’s something like a Deep Six to drop Velazquez. Mitchell’s running forearm to the back of the head gets two but Elliott is back up with a running neckbreaker. Velazquez hits a Cheeky Nandos kick on Elliott, which has commentary and some fans losing it.

Mitchell is back with a World’s Strongest Slam/powerbomb combination at the same time (always looks cool) for two but he misses a charge. That means a middle rope double stomp/hanging DDT combination can put Mitchell down for a change so Elliott hits a swinging suplex for two on Velazquez. Back up and Mitchell hits a rolling Downward Spiral on Elliott but Velazquez runs Mitchell over. A Jay Driller gives Velazquez the pin on Elliott at 13:16.

Rating: C+. I had more fun with this one as they were out there doing their things, which made for an easier match to watch. You could easily get what everyone in this was about and that is not something you get to see very often. Velazquez felt like the biggest star out of the three so the win isn’t a surprise, but it came after an entertaining match.

Mance Warner vs. Mikey

Warner has been around for a bit and comes out to Freebird so he can’t be that bad. Mikey on the other hand has big hair and a big mustache. He also hugs a baby on the way to the ring, which does not go well with our evil commentator. Hold on though as Warner says he’s here to hit someone in the face instead of wrestling them, so let’s make this a Mancer Rules match, meaning falls count anywhere and anything goes.

Mikey is in so here we go, with Mikey posing on the ropes a lot before they go to the slugout. Some rather slow right hands in the corner rock Mance but he avoids a springboard moonsault. Warner heads outside so Mikey drills him with a suicide dive, only to get his skin ripped off by some chops. There’s the hard whip to send Mikey into the barricade but he does the same to Mance to even things up.

They head out over the barricade, with Warner throwing some chairs back to ringside because he’s a bit off. Warner wraps a purse around Mikey’s neck and beats on him some more, only to be taken to the merchandise table. Mikey strikes away but gets caught with a chair shot. A backdrop sends Mikey back to ringside and they finally get back into the ring. Mikey isn’t about to be suplexed onto an open chair so he sends Warner face first into it for two instead.

Warner knocks him back down but takes a bit too long going up, allowing Mikey to roll away before he can do anything. Instead Mikey misses a nip up and kicks Warner on the face to take him off the ropes. A dropkick drives a chair into Warner’s face and a rolling splash onto a chair onto Warner gets two. They sit next to each other and chop it out before getting to their feet for the right hands.

Both of them wind up their fists for about thirty seconds until Warner punches him down for two. Back up and Mikey slides between his legs but can’t get a sunset flip. Instead he kicks Warner in the face so Warner grabs a chair, which is kicked into the head for two more. Mikey slowly goes up top, with the delay allowing Warner to pelt him with a chair to bring him back down. A huge lariat finishes for Warner at 14:43.

Rating: D+. This was every hardcore, weapons brawl you could imagine and that is not a good thing. It doesn’t help that Abyss had a better (or at least faster) brawl earlier on and it didn’t make this look very good. Warner is someone who can talk rather well but the repetitive brawling can be a bit much to take.

Post match Warner talks about how they beat each other up and asks for some beers to celebrate. Mikey celebrates to Warner’s music and seems buzzed off one beer.

Jaylee vs. Elayna Black

Jaylee was in OVW for a bit and shoulders Black down to start. Black is back up with a cradle for two but Jaylee tosses her to the apron. Back in and Jaylee kicks her down and steps on the hair. We hit the chinlock for a bit but Black fights out in a hurry. Not that it matters as Jaylee grabs a standing armbar for the tap at 3:24, which seems to confuse commentary.

Rating: C-. Well that was quick and mostly painless, though they didn’t exactly seem polished out there. Jaylee certain had a look, but Black is the one who would get the attention, as she wound up signing with NXT under the name Cora Jade. She would get better, but she didn’t have time to showcase her talents here.

The ring announcer talks about the sponsors again. As a bonus, a kid gets in the ring to draw the raffle winner. It turns out that it is the kid’s birthday so we get a cake brought in, with the fans singing Happy Birthday. While this is going on, commentary points out other great days on this date in history….like the Columbine massacre….and the birthday of a certain German dictator.

Cue GT Vega (in the main event) to interrupt because he wants to know why he wasn’t invited. Vega has the candles lit again so the kid can blow them out….and then he hits the kid with the cake (pretty hard too). Vega wants someone to come out here and tell him that it isn’t his ring. No one is going to take him out, but here is someone to interrupt. That’s all well and good, but I’m going to need more on what that commentator said because WHAT THE HECK MAN???

GT Vega vs. Eddie Edwards

This is hardcore Eddie so he throws a chair at Vega’s head to knock him off the apron before the bell. Eddie: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Vega gets whipped up against the barricade and chopped a lot, only to have Vega chop the post by mistake. A headbutt with a birthday hat makes Vega stagger but Vega sends him inside, only to be taken down by a suicide dive. Kid to Vega: “NO ONE LIKES YOU! NO ONE LIKES YOU!”

Eddie crotches him on the barricade and leads the crowd in HAPPY BIRTHDAY again. Vega fights back and sends Edwards throat first into the barricade before sending him into a garage door. That’s broken up and Eddie sends him into a wall, followed by a trip to the merch table. As luck would have it, Eddie’s children’s book is on sale so he hits Vega in the head with it. Vega comes back and chokes with a chair, though he does stop to pose.

Eddie gets whipped through some chairs and kicked in the face as commentary apparently can’t see over the fans. They go back to ringside, with Vega sending him face first into the apron. A Roman Reigns apron dropkick rocks Eddie but he comes back with an overhead belly to belly inside (where they bothered to go for once). Eddie gets up a boot in the corner but gets dropkicked off the middle rope to put it on the floor again.

Back in and Vega chokes on the ropes some more, followed by a spinebuster for two. Eddie gets in a kick to the face though and they head outside, where fans are BEGGING Eddie to hit Vega with the cake. That’s exactly what he does, making Eddie the biggest hero on the show so far. Back in and Vega kicks him down again as Edwards just can’t keep anything going. A bridging northern lights suplex gets two on Eddie, who catches him on top with a crotching.

The top rope superplex brings Vega back down and the backpack Stunner gives Eddie two. A fireman’s carry faceplant drops Vega again but the Boston Knee Party is countered into a powerbomb backbreaker for a rather near fall. Vega’s TKO gets two more and he kicks Eddie in the face a few times.

Edwards is right back with a powerbomb for two but Vega kicks the referee down by mistake. That lets Eddie grab a chair but Vega hits him low. A chair to the head finishes Eddie at 18:31 (or so, as I didn’t hear an opening bell)….but they keep going anyway as Eddie seemed to kick out just in time. Vega hits Roderick Strong’s End of Heartache for the real pin at 18:58.

Rating: B-. The big brawl at the start wasn’t my favorite, but what mattered here was how it felt like an important match. Eddie is someone who can work well with anyone and it was nice to see him getting a spot like this. Vega looked polished as well, but from what I can tell, this was his second to last match to date. That’s a shame too, as he was a pretty solid heel here and could have gone on to a bigger stage.

Post match Vega yells at the birthday kid again but Eddie hits him low. Eddie hands the kid the cake to hit Vega again for the happy ending.

Overall Rating: C+. For a show that didn’t exactly look great on paper, this wound up working pretty well. You can tell when the bigger stars are carrying things here and that is always a plus. There were a few too many hardcore/weapons brawls and some of the matches were weaker, but it was a step or so above a lot of regular independent shows. The company didn’t seem to last long, though they did seem to have some potential. Just get better commentary though, as it was pretty terrible. Overall pretty good, but it needed some adjustments.

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The Wrld On GCW
Date: January 23, 2022
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Kendall Gill
Hosts: Lenny Leonard, Pollo del Mar

Every now and then a show catches my attention and I’ll add it to the schedule. That is the case here, as GCW has become the hottest indy around at the moment and I’m going to give it a shot. I am absolutely not a fan of the deathmatch stuff, but apparently that kind of wrestling is not allowed in New York so we get a bit of a reprieve here. Let’s get to it.

Note that I barely follow GCW so I am not going to know much in the way of storylines or characters so please bear with me if I miss something.

Kickoff Show: Blue Ribbon Battle Royal

Psycho Clown, Dark Sheik, Cole Radrick, Parrow, Hoodfoot, Ruckus, Charles Mason, KTB, Juicy Finau, Steve Scott, Nate Webb, Big Vin, Brandon Kirk, Janai Kai, Dustin Thomas, Marcus Mathers, Yoya, B-Boy, Lufisto, Thunder Rosa

Clown jumps Parrow before most of the entrances have taken place and we’re starting fast. The huge Parrow fights him off but Sheik hits a pretty awesome looking jump up to his shoulders into a double stomp to the chest (kind of like Cameron Grimes’ Cave In). Sheik isn’t done and hits a top rope spinwheel kick to drop Radrick. Back up and Radrick runs Sheik over as more people come in (Are these entrances timed? That hasn’t been mentioned.), giving us Parrow vs. Ruckus.

Entrants keep coming in one at a time but with maybe fifteen seconds in between, making me wonder why they started so fast. Scott (I think? Commentary is too busy to say who these people are.) is clotheslined out as Big Vin takes his place. Vin grabs Sheik from the apron and backflips in for a World’s Strongest Slam (that’s a new one) before having a big hug with Finau.

The ring (which isn’t very big in the first place) is WAY too full here as Kirk is tossed. Thomas (the wrestler with no legs) comes in and hits a tornado DDT on KTB. Mathers and Yoya are in as Radrick is out in a hurry (and actually gets named). Mason (in a suit) is in next as this is just a free for all of people hitting one move after another with nothing close to coherence.

Now it’s B-Boy coming in as Clown hits a superbomb on Mason. Mathers (I think) is out with Sheik and KTB following him. Lufisto makes a big surprise return and there go Clown and Thomas. Thunder Rosa is the big surprise and final entrant so we look at her beating up Parrow in the corner while everyone else brawls.

Lufisto gets rid of Webb and B-Boy and we’re down to Lufisto, Parrow, Rosa, Mason and Vin. Rosa hurricanranas Parrow out and the women beat up Mason in the corner. Vin gets beaten down in an opposite corner until Rosa and Lufisto slug it out. Mason sneaks up and tosses Rosa but Lufisto suplexes both of them. Vin puts Lufisto on the apron and Mason drives Vin into her for the elimination. A low bridge sends Vin to the apron but he chokeslams Mason out for the win at 16:04.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t a good start to the night as I’m still not sure who all was in the match. Commentary didn’t do a good job of explaining what was going on and the camera work made it even harder to keep track of the whole thing. I’m not quite thrilled with where things are going from here, but hopefully we get something a little easier to follow going forward.

Kickoff Show: Jack Cartwheel vs. Alex Zayne vs. Grim Reefer vs. Shane Mercer vs. Ninja Mack vs. Dante Leon

No tags and one fall to a finish. Zayne is billed as The Sauce and from the nearest Taco Bell. The fact that he is from Lexington makes it even better. Mercer starts fast with a pop up powerslam on Reefer (that looked good) and there’s a big flip dive to drop some people on the floor. Cartwheel and Mack hit their stereo running flip dives to the floor, followed by dives from Zayne and Leon.

Reefer goes up, lights one up, and hits a big springboard flip dive to drop the pile. Back in and Mack punches away at Reefer before hitting the People’s Moonsault. Leon comes in for a cutter on Mack but gets powerslammed by Mercer. A super fireman’s carry flapjack drops Leon but Zayne clears the ring. Cartwheel takes him down for a slingshot hilo but Mercer is back up with a gorilla press drop.

Reefer kicks Mercer down and spins him into a Crossface with Leon making the save. Leon’s big cutter hits Reefer but Mercer plants Mack with a super backflip World’s Strongest Slam. Zayne is held in the ropes for a shooting star press from Cartwheel, driving Zayne into the apron. A chair is brought in but Reefer counters Mercer’s….something into a DDT onto the chair for the pin at 7:58.

Rating: C+. This was slightly easier to follow than the opener but that isn’t saying much. The thing to remember about a match like this is that it is all about getting your stuff in with nothing resembling a story being told. The match may be fun, but this is all about setting things up for the real card. Not exactly good, but a lot of fun and rather exciting, as is kind of the point.

Owner Brett Lauderdale comes out to hype up the crowd and talks about how hard it has been to get here. They were ready to take over the world but then the pandemic hit. He was told that a million GCW’s have come and gone but now they are here with the roster to make it work.

We get the entrances for the opener, which will start when the show goes on the air. This company has some AEW influences.

The opening video, which is rather quiet, shows a bunch of wrestlers in the empty building with their voiceovers talking about how they have no business at this level. Now they’re here to prove that they belong. Right on point here.

AJ Gray vs. PCO vs. Alex Colon vs. G-Raver vs. Tony Deppen vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Jordan Oliver

Ladder match, with the winner getting any title match they want at any time. AJ Gray is a surprise entrant as his scheduled opponent, Eddie Kingston, is out with an injury. They start fast (I’m not sure I heard a bell) with Deppen hitting a springboard dropkick to drive the ladder into Lloyd and Oliver.

Gray buckle bombs Deppen into the ladder in the corner and blasts him with a lariat before going up. His ladder is WAY too short though, meaning G-Raver does him a favor by throwing a ladder at Gray’s ladder for the save. PCO comes in, allowing Colon to lift up G-Raver for a Doomsday Device, albeit with a ladder shot instead of a clothesline to make it even worse. Colon hits PCO in the face with the ladder but Oliver dropkicks the ladder down to break up the double climb.

Oliver kicks Lloyd in the face and hits a dive to the floor. PCO hits his own running flip dive through the ropes. Deppen adds a double springboard flip dive to take out everyone, sending them walking up the aisle. As luck would have it, Gray is ready with his own running flip dive off the stage at the exact same time. PCO chairs Gray down and moonsaults off the top onto the big pile again.

That means PCO can climb, but he’s actually smart enough to drop down and beat up anyone trying to make a save. Deppen brings in a bigger ladder and bites PCO on the face but Jordan Oliver is there to cut him off. Lloyd breaks that up too but gets kicked down by Oliver. PCO chokeslams Oliver off of the ladder though and there’s a package piledriver onto the ladder to make it worse.

G-Raver and Colon break that up, with Raven putting Colon onto two chairs with a ladder over his back. Raver goes up, shoves the ring out of the way, and drops down onto the ladder onto Colon. Well that was dumb. Lloyd gives Raver a running Razor’s Edge over the top and onto a big pile of stuff on the floor. Gray goes up on a ladder on the floor and tries to dive into the ring, only to crash hard onto another ladder (the fact that I’m not sure who he was aiming for is a bad sign). Cue John Wayne Murdoch to take out Colon on the floor, leaving Gray to take the ring down at 15:11.

Rating: C-. The spots were good, but this was a very indy style ladder match, which is not meant as a compliment. There was too much going on between all of the people and it didn’t work so well. At the same time, you had a person shoving the ring out of the way to hurt someone else. That’s about as bad of a level of ladder match logic as you’ll find, making this quite the mess.

Gringo Loco/Demonic Flamita/Arez vs. Bandido/ASF/Laredo Kid

Lucha rules (duh) and it’s Arez starting with Kid. The trade early misses until Kid’s hurricanrana is easily blocked. An armdrag sends Kid outside so it’s Bandido coming in for Three Amigos. That means the Eddie dance as it’s a headscissors to send Arez outside. Loco comes in to hammer on Bandido, who is sent outside so ASF can come in. A wristdrag sends ASF outside for a change and it’s Flamita coming in to take his place.

The 619 in the corner looks to set up something off the top but Flamita flips off the crowd and drops down to flip the fans off instead. ASF is left alone in the corner, with Flamita and Arez hitting stereo moonsaults to the floor (that was sweet). Bandido and Kid get caught in stereo surfboards on the floor for the big running flip dive from Loco. ASF is sent outside as well, only to get launched over the top for the crash back inside (cool).

Flamita follows him back in for two, with ASF climbing Flamita to armdrag Loco. Bandido’s team is back in with stereo superkicks into stereo headscissors to the floor. The not quite stereo dives take out Loco and company but ASF and Kid miss missile dropkicks back inside. Flamita and Bandido are left alone for a big staredown, with Flamita kicking him down and hitting a huge frog splash.

ASF hits a 450 but Arez makes a save of his own. A dropkick breaks up Arez’s cover and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Flamita. It’s Bandido vs. Loco for a strike off until Bandido hits a heck of a tornado DDT. Back up and Bandido and Loco grab double electric chairs (as in Arez is on Flamita’s shoulders on Loco’s shoulders while ASF is on Kid’s shoulders on Bandido’s shoulders), leaving ASF and Arez to slug it out rather high in the air.

ASF snaps off a Canadian Destroyer (egads man) while Loco and Bandido hit powerbombs on the other two. Loco catches a charging Bandido in a Spanish Fly and everyone is down. Back up and Bandido LAUNCHES ASF over the top and into a hurricanrana on Loco. Flamita hits a dive, then Bandido hits a dive, then Kid Spanish Flies Arez off the top onto the pile. ASF and Loco seem to load up a super Canadian Destroyer but can’t get the timing right, leaving Loco to hit a regular piledriver for the pin at 14:10.

Rating: A-. The double electric chair was good enough to make this about as fun as it could have been and the rest was a bunch of insanity that you can only get in a match like this one. This kind of a match is designed to have a bunch of people flying around with one crazy spot after another and they made it work like only they can here. Bandido’s awesomeness has long since been established and it was on full display again with this one. Check this out, which you should always do with something involving these people.

Ian Riccaboni joins commentary.

Ring of Honor World Title: Blake Christian vs. Jonathan Gresham

Christian is challenging…or at least he would be if Gresham was here but we need to make a last second change. Worry not though, because we have a replacement.

Blake Christian vs. Lio Rush

Rush offers a handshake but Christian looks at him instead. They do shake left hands though and it’s an armdrag to take Rush down. Back up and Christian offers a handshake, which allows him to sunset flip Rush for two. Rush bails to the floor for a breather before heading back inside to avoid some charges.

Christian heads outside, only to pull Rush outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster gives Christian two, setting up a roll into a crucifix hold. That’s broken up and Christian misses a charge into the corner, allowing Rush to hit a spear for two. Christian is fine enough to catch him with a kick to the face on top but Rush kicks him down.

A ripcord Spanish fly drops Rush again though and a springboard 450 gives Christian two. Rush is right back with a twisting DDT and the Final Hour gets two more. They go to the apron where Rush can’t hit a German suplex to the floor. Instead they drop down, with Christian hitting a Tombstone. Back in and a 450 double stomp finishes Rush at 12:39.

Rating: B-. Take two guys and let them do their thing for about twelve minutes, which is all you needed to do here. Christian gets the win to keep him strong until he can get his title shot. Gresham being gone is rough to see but having someone like Rush as the backup worked as well as anything else. Good match, but they weren’t about to follow that six man.

We recap Matt Cardona vs. Joey Janela. Cardona married Chelsea Green but Janela faked some pictures of the two of them by a pool together, sending Cardona over the edge. The interesting thing is that Cardona is the huge heel who is mocking all things indy and trying to turn it into WWE. This has been one of the better things going on the independent scene and Cardona has had one awesome stunt after another.

The IF CARDONA WINS WE RIOT sign is a great touch.

Joey Janela vs. Matt Cardona

Chelsea Green is here with Cardona….who comes out to Enter Sandman entrance (or at least a cover), turning the crowd completely upside down in about three seconds. The “IF CARDONA WINS WE RIOT” shirt is an even greater touch. He also has a red flannel shirt with f*** Mick Foley on the back, while Green (with the Internet Title) is in the Zack Ryder half trunks/half tights. Cardona asks what’s up GCW Universe and takes credit for the sellout. Joey Janela didn’t do it, so tonight he’s ending Janela’s career before Tony Khan can fire him.

Cardona jumps him at the bell for two and flips off the fans. The fans get in a “F*** CARDONA/WOO WOO WOO!” chant so Janela hits a Death Valley Driver through the door. The suicide dive takes out Cardona on the floor and it is time for Janela to chair him down. A top rope flip dive sends Janela crashing through the chair though and Cardona gets to chair him down. Green pulls the chair away though and kicks Cardona low for a big surprise.

Janela goes up, only to get crotched by Green because it was a ruse. Cardona shows off the cup he was wearing but Janela is fine enough to hit a superplex to put them both down. Janela grabs the title, but here is Smart Mark Sterling (of AEW fame) to say that if Janela uses the title, he’s disqualified. Commentary: “But it’s GCW!” He brings out someone who is very influential in Cardona’s career, so here is someone in a Vince McMahon mask. It’s Vincent/Virgil though, and the distraction lets Sterling grab Janela.

The belt shot takes Sterling down by mistake though and a Death Valley Driver sends Cardona into the ring frame. Cue Swoggle to post Janela but here is a huge guy named Sam Stackhouse to take Swoggle out. Now it’s Marko Stunt to throw a chair at Swoggle’s head but Cardona takes him down as well. Janela brings in a pair of doors, with Swoggle and Cardona being put through one each.

Green hits Stunt with the belt and gives him a Canadian Destroyer, leaving Cardona to AA Janela through an open chair for a near fall. Cardona loads up two doors, which really does take too long so Janela takes him out. Green’s latest interference earns herself a piledriver so here is a guy in a motorcycle helmet. That would be Brian Myers, who decks Janela and helps Cardona hit a middle rope Radio Silence through the door for the pin at 19:39.

Rating: B-. It was a bit long, but this was a lot of fun with Cardona playing a perfect troll. Cardona knows how to make these people nuts by doing everything they don’t like and now he gets to take out another one of their heroes. The big flaw here is that the match went too long and you could have cut out a good portion in the middle which was more about several other people other than Janela vs. Cardona. This was all about Cardona putting together something else to get people to care about him though, as he continues to be one of the more creative people in wrestling.

Post match Sean Waltman of all people comes in and takes out Cardona before posing with Janela. I’m sold on getting to hear The Kings again.

Here is the injured Mance Warner for a chat. He talks about how awesome GCW’s locker room and entire crew is and thanks the fans for getting them here. Cue Atticus Cougar (pronounced Co-Gar) to say 44OH are the real outlaws around here. Cougar doesn’t like Warner’s Second Gear Crew so Warner is ready to fight.

44OH comes in for the beatdown, with Matthew Justice (Warner’s partner) coming in for the failed save attempt. The lights go off (BECAUSE WRESTLING!) and it’s Bill Alfonso and Sabu making the save. Chairs to the head put 44OH down and we actually get a pin, with Fonzie counting. Pantera’s Walk plays because ECW.

Video on Allie Katch vs. Ruby Soho. Katch talks about divine destiny, meaning that if something is meant to happen, it will happen no matter what. That seems to be the case with this match, as she runs into SOHO painted on a wall. Katch was billed as a big deal during Brett Lauderdale’s pre-show speech so she means something. I don’t remember her being much more than someone who did cat-esque things as Allie Kat but maybe things have changed.

Allie Katch vs. Ruby Soho

They shake hands to start and Soho armdrags her down early on. The threat of the Riott Kick is blocked early on but so is Katch’s piledriver. That’s fine with Allie, who hits a basement dropkick for an early two. Soho is sent into the corner and it’s a running hip attack into a Cannonball for two more.

They trade kicks to the face with Soho getting rocked, only to be able to come back with a German suplex for the double knockdown. Katch takes too long going up top though and gets armdragged back down for a quick two. The Riott Kick connects for two on Katch but she’s right back with a knee into the piledriver for two of her own. With that not working, Katch loads up a super piledriver, which is countered into a Riott Kick from the middle rope to give Soho the pin at 9:31.

Rating: C. I’d hope that Katch can do more than this as it felt like any other match. This came off like a match where a star was making a guest appearance in the territory with the story of the popular star getting a shot. It wasn’t bad, but there was absolutely nothing special to this and it just came and went.

We recap Jeff Jarrett vs. Effy. Jarrett doesn’t like GCW calling themselves outlaws because he is the Last Outlaw. There has to be a huge stable out there of people who have been THE LAST OUTLAW. There have also been guitar shots to show you how serious this has been.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Effy

Effy pulls $20 out of his trunks, which the referee throws to the floor. They go with the basics to start, with Jarrett powering him into the corner. Effy’s spins to get out of a wristlock don’t work so Effy drops to his knee, which freaks Jeff out for a bit. Some shots to the ribs set up a modified Tarantula but Jarrett is back with a clothesline. They head outside with Jarrett whipping him with the belt (which seems to draw a DADDY LIKES IT chant).

Back in and it’s time for more whipping and choking, which seems to make Effy smile. Jarrett uses the belt to tie Effy in the corner, which doesn’t exactly last long. Effy is back with more rights and lefts, setting up a faceplant for two. Now it’s Effy getting to whip away but he misses a Blockbuster. The guitar takes too long for Jarrett though so Effy pulls off his fishnets for some choking. That’s too much for Jarrett, who hits him with the guitar and grabs the Stroke for the pin at 11:15.

Rating: D+. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Effy and I’m going to assume that a lot of it is due to his promos and character work, because he wasn’t doing much in the ring here. All he had was a bunch of punches and a missed Blockbuster, which isn’t exactly stealing the show. That being said, Jarrett winning is a good bit weird, as he is the second outsider in a row to beat a signature GCW name on their biggest night ever. Not a great match, but you can see how much bigger of a star Jarrett is than most of the roster. If nothing else, seeing someone who seems like he knows how to put a match together is almost a rarity around here.

GCW World Title: Homicide vs. Jon Moxley

Homicide is challenging after winning a Rumble last month. The fans chant F*** BULLY RAY to start, which has to make Moxley smile a bit. They forearm/slap it out to start before going face to face. Homicide sends him outside but the dive is cut off with a shot to the face. The fight heads outside with Homicide biting away, only to get sent shoulder first into the post.

Moxley cranks on the fingers and hits a piledriver for two For some reason Moxley goes up but it’s a super cutter to bring him back down. They trade clotheslines until Moxley grabs the Paradigm Shift for two. Moxley hammers away and Homicide seems to lose a tooth. A chair is wedged in the corner but Homicide cuts him off and strikes away. The chair is on the mat and it’s another Paradigm Shift onto said chair to give Moxley two more. Homicide flips him off and bites Moxley’s face, only to get blasted with a lariat. The lifting Paradigm Shift onto the open chair retains Moxley’s title at 11:32.

Rating: C. That’s it? This was so short that I thought I missed part of the match, as I would have bet on it going a good bit longer than Jarrett vs. Effy. Maybe that is the result of ring rust from Moxley, or just time constraints from the pay per view, but this wasn’t exactly great. It worked while it lasted, but it just didn’t last very long.

Video on the Briscoes, who are issuing an open challenge for the Tag Team Titles. Most signs would suggest that this is going to be FTR, but you never know around here.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. ???/???

The Briscoes are defending against….Nick Gage/Matt Tremont. Well you knew Gage would be on here somehow. Gage puts Nick through the door in the corner to start and it’s time for a duel of the chairs. Mark and Nick trade pieces of door shots to the head but Jay breaks up the pizza cutter. Tremont gets beaten down and the Froggy Bow onto a door gets two on Gage. Back up and Tremont hits a release Rock Bottom to plant Jay and Gage hits a middle rope piledriver on Mark. The chokebreaker gives Gage the pin and the titles at 5:35.

Rating: D. That was a Nick Gage match alright, but this time he had a huge partner to do some really basic stuff too. I know why Gage had to be on the show but it isn’t like his matches are much to see. It’s the feel good moment of the show, though having it come in a five minute match didn’t do the show many favors.

Post match Gage swears a lot and puts over his gang while bragging about how far GCW came. The locker room comes in to celebrate and we’re out.

Overall Rating: D+. One of the shows you are probably going to see this compared to is Barely Legal. While it is nowhere near that important (or good), there is one thing that does stand out. My biggest issue with Barely Legal was the lack of an explanation of why Sabu and Taz hated each other. It was the “Grudge Match of the Century” but we were never told why they were fighting. The ECW fans knew, but Barely Legal wasn’t just a show for the ECW fans.

Now do that for three hours and you have this show. There was barely anything explaining who these people were, what they were doing here, why they were fighting or ANYTHING about them. Cardona vs. Janela had a bit of backstory, but this felt like the game plan was “just keep doing what we’ve been doing (minus the deathmatch stuff, which isn’t their fault)”. It was a show that you either got or didn’t get, with GCW not offering much in the way of guidance.

On top of that, the wrestling was hit and miss at best. Everything felt rushed and very little really stood out. The lucha match was great, but you could get one of those a week on Ring of Honor. Cardona is excellent at riffing on independent wrestling, but then he won, just like Soho over what seems to be the big female star around here. This show didn’t do a thing to make me more interested in GCW and as the big debut on the national stage, it was a pretty hard miss.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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International Showdown
Date: March 19, 2005
Location: Coventry Skydome, Coventry, England
Attendance: 3,400
Commentators: Dean Ayass, Eamon D’Arcy

So this is a British independent show that was recommended to me and it sounded worth a look. There are a bunch of names on the card and some of the matches do sound good. Several of them are from TNA so there will at least be some star power on the show. Let’s get to it.

This was presented by the Wrestling Channel, which sounds like quite the awesome concept.

Johnny Storm promises to beat up all three opponents in his fatal four way.

The ring is rather small and I think I like that.

Jonny Storm vs. Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin vs. Spud

The ring announcer says a bunch of stuff but commentary drowns it out. Spud is better known as Drake Maverick and this is one fall to a finish. Sabin flips Spud down by the arm to start and they fight over wrist control. An armdrag into a rollup gives Spud one so Sabin rolls him up as well for a standoff. Williams and Storm come in, much to the fans’ appreciation. Williams takes him down for a basement dropkick to the back of the head but gets sent outside, where he has to block a sunset bomb.

Sabin gets in and sends Williams outside, leaving Spud to hit a big dive to the floor. Storm hits his own running flip dive onto the pile and then goes back in for a running DDT on Spud. It’s back to Sabin for a powerslam into a running Swanton to crush Spud for two. That leaves Storm to hit a Michinoku Driver into a middle rope moonsault for two of his own, with Williams making a save.

Somehow Spud is able to get back up for a neckbreaker on Storm, who superkicks him down so Williams can steal the near fall. The Canadian Destroyer is broken up though and Sabin hits a reverse DDT for a breather. Storm comes back in as everything breaks down, setting off a rapid fire exchange of rollups for two each. Since it’s required, we hit the Tower of Doom (or something close enough to it) to leave everyone down.

It’s Sabin up first with an enziguri to Williams, setting up a running Liger Bomb for two. Sabin goes up so Storm catches him with a super poisonrana, leaving Spud to make the save this time. Storm misses a running enziguri on Spud, who grabs a spinning DDT for two. Back up and Sabin springboard missile dropkicks Spud to the floor, only to get caught in the Canadian Destroyer to give Williams the pin at 11:27.

Rating: B-. Take a bunch of high fliers, put them in a match and have them do their high spots for about ten minutes. It worked in WCW and it worked very well here too. This was a fun match and the fans were into it, so what more can you ask for? The Canadian Destroyer was still amazing at this point so the ending was the right call, with neither of the British wrestlers taking the fall either. Nice opener, and a good start.

Everyone poses together after the match.

Spud says that was amazing and he wants to face everyone again.

Steve Grey vs. Mal Sanders

This is under British Rules and a legend named Tony Scarlo is guest referee. Grey debuted in 1969 and Sanders debuted in 1977. Sanders headlocks him to the mat to start as we hear about their history together. Grey literally bounces his way to freedom and then rolls out of a wristlock. A headstand counter lets Grey work on the wrist so Sanders cartwheels out. That’s broken up as well so Sanders takes him down again as the technical off continues.

They keep up the feeling out process as the first round ends (An explanation of British Rules would be nice. A lot of fans will know them, but that isn’t going to be everyone). We start round two with Grey’s leg giving out on a slam attempt but he kicks Sanders onto the referee. That means Sanders gets to slap the referee in the back of the head a bit and we’re back up.

Sanders grabs a bodyscissors and lifts Grey up to drop him down, which commentary says was what old British wrestlers would call a piledriver. Another battle of the wristlock goes nowhere so Grey takes him down into a hammerlock instead. That’s broken up and we’re right back to another standoff. Round two ends with Grey on his back and in need of some help.

We start round three with a battle of sunset flips going nowhere so they’re back up again. Sanders blocks a victory roll though and walks around with Grey hanging from him for a unique visual. Grey gets out and ties up the legs for something like an Indian Deathlock. That’s broken up as well so Grey hiptosses him down, only to get caught in a hammerlock. Back up and they trade crossarm chokes to end the round.

We start round four with Sanders changing to strikes to mix things up. A clothesline puts Grey down and a snapmare gives Sanders…nothing, as Grey has his foot on the ropes (Off a snapmare?). Sanders takes too long going up for an ax handle though and gets punched out of the air but Grey STILL can’t keep anything going. Instead Sanders hits a running shoulder, only to get tossed hard out to the floor. Back in and Grey hits a crossbody for the pin out of nowhere at 17:19.

Rating: C. This is kind of hard to rate as it’s much more for the British audience, leaving outsiders with two older guys having a match which wasn’t great. That being said, it was nice to see something different and that’s what we got here. It felt like something you’re not going to see elsewhere and that’s rather nice to see when British wrestling would go on to become so popular in the coming years.

Here’s Bill Apter for a live Apter’s Alley. He has a special Lifetime Achievement Award to present, but here is Greg “The Truth” Lambert, dressed like a judge, to interrupt. Apter thinks he looks like Harry Potter but Lambert offers him some praise. That doesn’t last long though as Lambert needs to yell at the fans, prompting Apter to tell him to GET TO THE POINT. Lambert talks about how Apter is a has been whose most recent magazine fell apart.

Violence is teased but Lambert thinks he knows someone who deserves that award: FWA Heavyweight Champion Alex Shane (with entourage). The rather tall Shane talks about how much better he is than the fans and knows he’ll have five women tonight while the fans are at home with WWE Divas in the Caribbean. Shane is ready to take care of Raven tonight, but Apter cuts him off to bring out the real recipient of the award: Mick Foley!

We pause for a good while to soak in some chants before Foley is presented with the award from Apter. These two know each other rather well, as Apter apparently shot Foley’s wedding video and did a Cookie Monster voice to calm down Foley’s son. Shane gets in Foley’s face and calls him an old washed up piece of censored, which Foley says is true. Foley will be celebrating his 40^th birthday soon and he doesn’t wrestle anymore, but he has stepped aside so people on this show can steal the show like never before.

That’s ok, but Foley will NOT stand for Shane in the middle of a cheap pop, especially right here in Coventry, UK! Foley suggests violence but offers Shane the chance to leave, with Shane actually bailing. After some thank yous from Foley, he gets a nice send off, with Apter wishing him a nice day as the Cookie Monster. Foley leaves, allowing Lambert and Shane to sneak in from behind and hit Apter low. That brings Foley back for the save and to call out some help for Apter. With Apter gone, Foley says you haven’t seen the last of him tonight. Sounds ominous.

CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe

Well ok. They’re both from Ring of Honor here, which is quite weird to hear. Even stranger: Punk with his blonde hair. Joe is looking downright slim here (even showing signs of abdominal muscles) and Punk’s right leg is heavily taped. Feeling out process to start and they fight over wrist control until Joe takes him to the mat. Punk heads outside for a breather as commentary tries to understand the concept of straightedge. Back in and Punk gets hit in the face, which the fans refer to as being “b**** slapped*.

That’s good for another trip to the floor but Punk is back in to actually win a test of strength. An exchange of armdrags sets up some kicks to Joe’s chest, which just get on his nerves. Joe shows him how to throw some kicks, including a jumping enziguri to drop Punk. Back up again and Punk grabs another headlock takeover, which is reversed into a headscissors. Joe kicks him down again and drops a big knee for two.

A heck of a facewash in the corner puts Punk in even more trouble and he charges into a Rock Bottom to make it even worse. Punk is back up with a snap across the top into a slingshot hilo (that’s a new one). Some rapid fire chops into a basement dropkick to the back of the head sets up the chinlock on Joe. That’s broken up in a hurry as well so Punk snaps off a Russian legsweep, only to be sent outside. One heck of a suicide dive rocks Punk and a running boot against the barricade makes it worse, setting up a near fall back inside.

Punk is back with a hammerlock DDT and a Lionsault for two so Joe snaps off a powerslam for the same. The powerbomb into the STF has Punk in more trouble and Joe drops a backsplash for another near fall. Punk snaps off a tornado DDT (which he doesn’t swing all the way around, landing on his stomach) and frustration is setting in.

With nothing else working, Punk loads up the Pepsi Plunge (middle rope Pedigree, his old finisher) but Joe isn’t feeling that and slips out. A hurricanrana into a HARD clotheslines gives Joe two and they’re both down again. It’s Punk up first with some kicks and a Shining Wizard for two, but Joe blocks the Pepsi Plunge again. Instead, Punk’s leg gets kicked out and it’s the MuscleBuster to give Joe the pin at 20:45.

Rating: B. Oh like this wasn’t going to be good. These two have awesome chemistry together and I always wanted to see them get to do something in WWE. They had a long match and beat each other up but Punk still can’t beat Joe no matter what he does. Awesome match and these two could have a good match against each other in their sleep.

Respect is shown post match.

In the back, Punk says he’s banged up but his pride hurts more than anything else. He keeps getting up and tomorrow is another day. Joe can hit him over and over again but Punk is going to keep fighting him until he makes Joe feel like he does right now. One day, Punk will prove that straightedge means he is better than you. Punk got fired up in the end after starting kind of lame.

Doug Williams/James Tighe/Scorpio vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Tiger Emperor/Yoshinari Ogawa

The latter team is from Pro Wrestling Noah, where Misawa/Ogawa recently lost the Tag Team Titles to (2 Cold) Scorpio/Williams. Believe it or not, Misawa gets by far the biggest pop of the six. The handshakes take a long time until Williams works on Emperor’s wrist to start. Tighe comes in to trade arm cranking and armdrags. That leaves us with a standoff until Tighe gets sent to the apron, only to come back in with a missile dropkick. The big dive takes Emperor down again and it’s off to Scorpio for a pretty ineffective front facelock. Misawa comes in and you can tell the fans are in a bit of awe.

Scorpio gets driven into the corner and elbowed in the face, setting up a quickly broken chinlock as commentary keeps rifling off everyone’s resumes. Ogawa gets the tag and walks into a superkick, allowing a tag back to Williams. The grappling is on with Williams going full British to pull him into a headlock. Ogawa reverses into a headscissors until they roll apart for a standoff. Scorpio and Emperor come back in with Scorpio grabbing a suplex for two. Emperor is right back up with a dropkick to the floor and it’s back to Tighe.

That’s about it for the good things for the non-Noah guys, as Misawa grabs a camel clutch. Ogawa chops away in the corner and Emperor adds a spinning moonsault for two. Tighe pops up and brings Williams back in for some knee drops, followed by a belly to back suplex. Scorpio gets two off the standing moonsault and adds a powerbomb into the springboard somersault legdrop and another near fall. Ogawa is back up with a dropkick, allowing the tag back to Misawa to clean house.

Williams doesn’t seem to mind and gutwrench suplexes Misawa for two. It’s already back to Ogawa, who gets knocked off the top and crushed with a top rope knee. Tighe comes back in with a high crossbody for two of his own, only to miss his moonsault. Emperor grabs a quickly broken Black Widow but walks into a Side Effect. Misawa and Ogawa are sent outside, leaving Emperor to get hit with a bunch of running shots in the corner.

Scorpio’s moonsault and Williams’ top rope knee drop gets two more, with Misawa coming in for the save. Williams hits a sitout powerbomb for two on Emperor, who is right back up with a handspring elbow. That doesn’t go so well either as Williams reverses into a German suplex (that was sweet) for two more. It’s back to Misawa and Ogawa to stagger Williams though and Ogawa grabs a top rope hurricanrana for another near fall. A 619 gives Emperor two more but Williams snaps off Rolling Chaos Theory to FINALLY put Emperor away at 23:45.

Rating: B+. This was long and showcased everyone involved, which is exactly what they were shooting for. It’s always great to see a real legend like Misawa and Scorpio is an all time favorite as well. The one setback here was the ring size, as that tiny thing just does not work for a six man tag. Still though, awesome match with everyone getting to show off a bit in the good amount of time that they had.

A lot of respect is shown post match.

In the back, Scorpio, Doug Williams and James Tighe are all proud of their win over legends like that. Williams and Scorpio are ready for all challengers.

Raven vs. Alex Shane

Raven’s Rules, with Shane’s goons barred from ringside and Shane’s FWA Title not on the line. Commentary lists off Raven’s accomplishments, capped off by saying “he even had a good match with the Big Show”. Before the bell, Raven says he hasn’t been in England long but he likes what he has seen. He isn’t happy with what Shane did to Bill Apter tonight though and it is time for some revenge. Shane jumps him to start and sends Raven into the corner, including a ram into the exposed buckle.

Raven is already busted open so he tries the Raven Effect, sending Shane bailing to the floor. That’s fine with Raven, who grabs a chair and knocks Shane right back outside. They fight into the crowd with Raven carrying him near the fans, only to be sent into the hockey boards. Now it’s time to head up into the balcony, with Shane stopping to do Raven’s pose. That’s never a good idea, and Raven hits him low for a toss down to the floor.

Shane mostly lands feet first so he survives, with Raven having to climb down to allow him to recover. They get to the entrance stage where the Raven Effect and a powerbomb are both broken up, meaning it’s time to get back into the ring. Shane hits him low but gets drop toeholded face first into the open chair. The corner clothesline into the running bulldog gets two on Shane. Raven gets sent into the chair as well though and it’s a cutter to put him back down.

Another drop toehold sends Shane into the chair (it’s not a good sign to use the same spot three times in about a minute and a half) but the referee takes the chair away from Raven. That doesn’t make a ton of sense, but Shane kicks the chair into the referee’s face. Cue Shane’s goons to go after Raven, meaning Mick Foley comes back for the save. House is cleaned and Foley grabs the Mandible Claw on Shane. That’s enough to set up the Raven Effect, with Foley grabbing the referee’s hand for the count at 15:57. I guess that counts.

Rating: B-. This was pretty good as Raven has probably done something like this about a hundred times. It helps that it is also Raven was freshly released from WWE and not as banged up as he would come to be later. It was a fine match that probably gave the fans a bigger thrill than came through on the broadcast.

Post match Foley says Shane learned never to mess with him and his friends, and Raven learned never to dare Foley to do something. Foley then does a funny Diamond Dallas Page impression….and Raven does a puppet show with the socks that fans have thrown into the ring. Hold on though as Raven wants ONE MORE cheap pop, which has Foley talking about a woman’s rather large chest. Foley: “And I love looking at them, RIGHT HERE, in Coventry, England!”

NWA TNA X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels has been in wrestling for a long time and he finally gained the glory he had been craving. AJ Styles is not taking that away from him tonight. I had forgotten how lame the original X-Division Title design really was.

NWA TNA X-Division Title: AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels is defending and yeah I think this is going to work. They go face to face to start but Daniels punches him down early. AJ is back up but misses the dropkick half of the drop down into the dropkick. Back up and Styles is fine enough to hit a slam into the jumping knee drop. There’s a surprisingly delayed vertical suplex for two on Daniels as the fans are split down the line. AJ goes up but dives into an exploder suplex. Daniels drops an elbow and hits his own delayed brainbuster for two.

AJ is fine enough to nip up for a hurricanrana, only to charge into a hot shot. The Arabian moonsault sets up what would become known as the Bank Statement. They head outside with Daniels winning a strike off and grabbing a reverse cravate back inside. AJ is right back with a backbreaker into a gutbuster, only to get pulled into a Koji Clutch. That’s good for two arm drops but AJ makes it over to the rope for the break.

Back up and AJ blasts him with a discus lariat to put both of them down. A top rope elbow to the face sends Daniels outside and AJ is right there with the running flip dive. They head back inside with Daniels scoring with an STO to put both of them down. AJ loads up the moonsault into the reverse DDT, gets blocked, and then does it again for two. Daniels is right back up with the release Rock Bottom into the BME for his own near fall.

The Pele drops Daniels though and they’re both down for a bit. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence until Daniels has to go to the rope to break up the Styles Clash. Daniels scores with the Angel’s Wings for two and he can’t believe the kickout. Last Rites is countered and AJ pulls him up into the Styles Clash for a very near fall. Daniels is right back up and grabs Last Rites to retain the title at 20:38. Ignore AJ’s foot being underneath the rope.

Rating: B+. This is another good example of “well what else were you expecting”. These two were the hottest things in the world at this point not named John Cena and Batista and it would only get better when Samoa Joe joined the fray. It was another awesome match between two people who had a lot of awesome matches against each other. Hence why they were in a main event on a pretty big show.

After waiting a bit, they shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this was awesome and that’s not exactly surprising given who was on the show. You had basically an indy all star show with some local stars thrown in. The fact that the locals were all quite good as well made it even better. This was a heck of a show and absolutely worth checking out. We were in a great time in wrestling at this point and you could see both the present and the future right here. Definitely check this out if you get the chance.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

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

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

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

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

Jungle Boy vs. Ray Rosas

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heather Monroe vs. Taya Valkyrie

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

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

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

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

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

Tyler Bateman vs. Luchasaurus

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

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

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

Doomfly vs. Dagas y Diamantes

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brian Cage vs. PJ Black

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

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

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

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

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

RockNES Monsters/Eric Watts vs. So Cal Uncensored

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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California Championship Wrestling
Date: August 6, 1986
Location: Fender’s Ballroom, Long Beach, California Commentator: Barry Richards

Oh boy I’ve been wanting to check this one out for a long time. California Championship Wrestling is, as you might have guessed, a territory from back in the mid 1980s. What sets it apart is that it is apparently the worst wrestling territory that anyone has ever seen. I’ve seen quite a few bad territories in my day and I’m curious to see what they have. Let’s get to it.

I know NOTHING about this going in.

Opening sequence and egads this is looking bad.

The show is sponsored by Budweiser so it seems to have some kind of money.

Barry Richards welcomes us to the show and runs down the card, which actually has some names.

Golden Star vs. Junior Maivia

We have a heel ring announcer who insults the timekeeper and referee, because that’s a thing we need here. Star is a masked luchador and Maivia is…..hopefully not related to the rest of the family as he is a rather bad looking man. From what I can find, this is Peter Maivia Jr., making him Rock’s uncle. I’m going to assume that’s just kayfabe and hope for the best. Star knocks him outside at the bell as we hear about Maivia being a heartthrob. Maivia comes back in and sends Star outside for a change but he’s right back in to work on Maivia’s arm.

Back up and Maivia takes over with an armbar of his own and goes after the mask. That makes Star all the angrier so he kicks Maivia in the corner and slaps on the chinlock. Maivia reverses into a hammerlock, which is reversed into a double arm crank. That doesn’t last long either as Maivia is right back on the leg. Star reverses into a waistlock and then seems to rip at the face. The chinlock goes on but again Maivia reverses into a hammerlock. Back up and Star whips him hard into the corner but gets caught with a middle rope crossbody to give Maivia the pin at 8:06.

Rating: D+. Oh I’m seeing the issues around here. The wrestling wasn’t the absolute worst, but this feels so painfully low budget. The guys both looked like they were found on the street somewhere and put in wrestling gear for a sketch instead of actual stars. Not an awful match, but this feels so low rent and bottom of the barrel that it’s hard to get into anything.

Rocky Johnson vs. Billy Anderson

Johnson gets an entrance (to Soul Man, which makes me smile) and it’s weird to see someone who had a career on this show. Johnson grabs a hammerlock to start and the shuffle is on as we hit the armbar. Back up and it’s a crisscross into an armdrag to put Anderson down again. The test of strength goes to Johnson (of course), who takes Anderson’s hands to the mat for a stomping. A headscissors keeps Anderson on the mat and it’s time for the flipping. Back up and Johnson hits those dropkicks like only he would throw, setting up the running sunset flip to pin Anderson at 4:46.

Rating: C-. Like I said with the first match, this wasn’t too bad as Johnson was just over two years removed from being half of the Tag Team Champions in the WWF. He absolutely had some star power here and looked like someone who belonged in a bigger company. This was a completely acceptable squash and the fact that it was in California Championship Wrestling was just a detail.

Rocky Johnson and Jimmy Snuka are right here together and they’ll face anyone. Snuka knows that the best are in California Championship Wrestling, even though Superstar Billy Graham is coming for them.

Victor Rivera/Chief Jay Strongbow Jr. vs. Steve Strong/Professor Tanaka

Stone (who has a handgun on his trunks) and Tanaka have the Golden Greek John Tolos, a legend in California and later Mr. Perfect’s Coach in 1991, with them. The big brawl is on before the bell, with Tolos getting in some shots of his own. Rivera is busted open and the referee is bumped but Rivera fights back and the good guys (I guess?) clear the ring. The match is a double DQ but I never heard a bell. This was actually kind of a hot angle so well done.

Destroyin’ Samoan vs. Beartrap Smith

The Samoan is your run of the mill Samoan and Smith is a huge (billed at 470lbs). Commentary says the Samoan is a nephew of Afa and Sika, which makes him either one of a few familiar stars who are wrestling while VERY under age, a very thin Yokozuna, the Tonga Kid (on loan from the WWF) or a very young Rikishi. The latter would be the only real option, and that’s not Rikishi so…..yeah the announcer is making stuff up.

Either way, the Samoan takes Smith down without much effort and headbutts the ribs. Some shouting sets up eye raking and biting, followed by several more headbutts. A middle rope headbutt misses though and Smith gets up after nearly three minutes on his back. Smith hits a terrible splash (basically kneeling on him instead of a splash) for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: D-. Now this is more like it with the wrestlers who feel like caricatures and embarrassing work. Smith got knocked down, stayed there for three minutes, and laid on top of Samoan for the pin. This was another bad match and makes me think that the two in the middle were exceptions rather than the norm.

Samoan gets in a few cheap shots after the match.

Jimmy Snuka vs. Steel Gladiator

Gladiator looks like a knockoff biker. Snuka takes him down with a top wristlock to start and pulls on the mat a bit as this is in first gear. They trade arm and leg holds for a bit until Snuka cradles him for two. Snuka seems to get bored with everything and hits a backbreaker, setting up a top rope headbutt for the pin at 3:52.

Rating: D. This one tilts the balance down to bad, as Snuka did have star power but he might as well have been ordering breakfast here given the amount of effort he was putting in. You could see that he was just going through the motions here and that makes for a lousy match, no matter how big of a name he was.

A former boxer wants to be a manager and has a trophy. What is he doing with it? Not important enough to explain.

We replay the ending of the Snuka match, which didn’t run the six minutes they mention here.

Snuka thanks the fans and he’s back for the people to see.

A six year old fan likes his Jimmy Snuka action figure, which is from the WWF.

Overall Rating: D-. Yeah this was really bad, as the only decent things on the show were Johnson’s match (as he was a star who was trying) and that big brawl in place of a match. The rest was complete junk, as it felt like a show that was put together on a nothing budget with two names and no one else to fill in the time. I’m not sure if it’s the worst show ever, but I can see why it has this reputation. Awful show, but not as bad as it could have been thanks to Johnson.

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WrestleReunion VI
Date: January 28, 2012
Location: The Westin Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 900
Commentators: Excalibur, Marty DeRosa

I’m not completely sure on the name of this show as I’ve seen it as both WrestleReunion VI and Pro Wrestling Superstars: Los Angeles but I’ll take the one with Roman numerals. As you can probably guess, it’s a big time indy reunion show featuring a bunch of wrestlers from years past, which can make for some interesting matchups but often some lackluster performances. Let’s get to it.

Here are Mick Foley and Mike Tyson to open things up so there is certainly some star power. Foley talks about his history with Tyson and mentions being a guest referee tonight. Now usually he promises to call a match right down the line and tonight he’s refereeing the New Age Outlaws vs. the Steiner Brothers. This time though Foley needs our help “because Rick Steiner has never liked me and Scotty is out of his f****** mind.” I’ve been watching Mick Foley for about thirty years and I don’t think I can remember three times I’ve heard him use an F bomb. I mean he’s right, but it’s rare.

Usually he’s going to get physically involved, but tonight he isn’t crazy enough to do that. This time though, he has Mike Tyson watching his back so he’s safe to head to St. Louis for the Royal Rumble (that gets a heck of a pop). Tyson takes the mic and talks about various wrestlers he likes, including Billy Graham and Sid Vicious. I really can’t make out most of what he’s saying, but that’s Tyson for you.

We get our first commentary and…..well actually Excalibur is quite good at this kind of show so it should be fine.

Arik Royal vs. Adam Page

This is one of the things I love about watching old shows because Page is 21 years old here and absolutely nothing. Excalibur tells DeRosa to calm down a bit and save some energy, which makes me chuckle for reasons of the future. The bigger Royal goes after the arm to start as commentary actually talks about something interesting, with a discussion of the pressure of having to follow Foley and Tyson.

Royal hits a headscissors into an armdrag but misses the backsplash, allowing Page to miss a standing shooting star. We get a standoff for a bit until Royal nails a spinwheel kick. Royal goes up but dives into a dropkick to the floor. Page tries a running shooting star off the apron and hits Royal’s chest with his head for a nearly terrifying landing. Page takes his necklace back and goes inside…..but we’ve got VADER. I think we’ll call this a no contest at about 4:00 as this is going to be a massacre.

Rating: C-. The ratings are going to be a little bit lighter this time around as this is a one off legends show and not about the match quality. I’ve seen Royal before and he did fine in both matches so he seems to have a little something going for him. Then there’s Page, who would go on to become a huge star on national television. That’s one of the things I love about watching a show like this: seeing someone who is nothing here but would go on to bigger things. Not much of a match of course, but VADER, so we’re fine.

Royal jumps Page post match….and then decides to go after Vader. Well maybe that’s why Page became a bigger star. Vader runs him over so Page tries to come in for a German suplex. Excalibur: “ARE YOU ANTONIO INOKI PAGE???” Destruction ensues but Royal gets up to help double team Vader in the corner.

A double suplex isn’t happening though and Vader mauls Royal again. Royal manages to trap Vader’s arms so Page can go up….but then Vader breaks free and hits Royal in the head. Page gets caught on top and it’s there’s a Vader Bomb. Royal gets chokeslammed and Page gets powerbombed as the Vader stuff went on a good bit longer than the match itself.

New Age Outlaws vs. Steiner Brothers

The only meeting ever here, with Mick Foley (“The hardcore legend and friend of Mike Tyson!”) as guest referee. Road Dogg does his usual stuff and hands it off to Billy Gunn to take it home. Gunn: “IF YA SMELL……” Hang on because that’s not right. Gunn knows he screwed up so let’s try it again. Gunn: “AND THAT’S THE BOTTOM….” No again, but he gets it right on the third time. You can tell he’s serious here too because he’s in the Kip James trunks. Then we get very serious because Scott Steiner grabs the mic and drops his first homophobic slur of the night.

We get a few F bombs to the fans and it’s time to go. Actually hang on because Foley realizes that he’s in over his head here and says he’ll be cowering in the corner. Billy and Scott finally get things going with Scott unloading in the corner. Well at least hitting some slow knees to the ribs. Billy fights out of the corner by punching Scott in the face and it’s off to Dogg. Rick comes in with a double clothesline though and we get the old Steiner Brothers pose.

The Outlaws bail to the floor (Wouldn’t you?) until we settle down to Rick biting Dogg’s pants in the corner. That’s enough to send Dogg outside to ring the bell because he isn’t standing for Rick’s tongue going…..uh, somewhere. Dogg: “I’m not saying we can’t have a drink later and talk about it, but in here, I’m not standing for it!” Ring announcer: “Ladies and gentlemen, referee Mick Foley has just informed me that he is authorizing tongue in the a** for this match!”

We settle back to Rick backing Billy into the corner, with Gunn’s trunks coming down a good bit in the process. Gunn gets in a right hand but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Rick to bite him right in the middle of the back of the trunks. That sends Gunn over to grab Dogg around the waist, giving us the expected reaction. It’s off to Dogg, who wants Scott for no logical reason. He has to stay with Rick, who he drives into the Steiner corner so Scott can come in for some shots to the ribs. Well he got what he wanted.

Dogg’s bouncing punches manage to put Scott down for two, with the fans saying YOU STILL GOT IT. I’ll let you figure out which one they’re talking about. Scott is back with a spinning belly to belly suplex and Rick gets in some choking from the apron. Foley: “MIKE TYSON FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHERE ARE YOU???” Scott suplexes Dogg and goes into the pushups, earning a cheer despite not being so nice earlier in the night.

Rick slaps on the crossface of all things as Marty gets his Mike Tyson history wrong (by saying that Mike Tyson called Steve Austin “Cold Stone” on Raw when it was at the Royal Rumble). Dogg fights up and gets the hot tag off to Gunn for some house cleaning. The belly to belly cuts that off and it’s time for Scott to get in Foley’s face. That means Mr. Socko…..who goes flying after a single Scott glare. The distraction lets Gunn hit the Fameasser for a pretty fast three at 11:32.

Rating: C. All things considered, this was not half bad whatsoever. They were actually working a bit and while of course it wasn’t great (they’re old and mainly retired), they did some goofy stuff to bridge the gap. The Foley being scared stuff helped a lot and I liked it well enough. For a one off dream match, I’ve seen far, far worse.

Post match Rick finds Socko and has some Alex flashbacks (look it up).

Colt Cabana vs. Fit Finlay

Under World Of Sport (British) rules and a fan who won an auction gets to handle the introductions. There are three five minute rounds and you can win by pin, submission or knockout. There are no closed fists allowed either, which probably won’t make that much of a difference but it’s certainly a rule. Another fan gets to be Cabana’s corner man but Cabana says we’re about two minutes away. The referee goes over the rules, with Cabana asking if a kick low is legal (Cabana: “WHAT ABOUT A KICK TO THE D***?”).

We get the bell to start the first round, as commentary still hasn’t actually explained the rules here. Finlay grabs Cabana’s leg so Cabana bails into the corner in a hurry as commentary explains the idea of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. A shot to the face rocks Cabana again and the corner man has to check on his face.

That seems to be ok so Finlay takes him down into a toehold. Finlay grabs a nerve hold and ribs at Cabana’s face because he’s kind of an awesome villain. Back up and Finlay starts in on the arm, with commentary almost calling Finlay a grizzled young veteran (like that would ever work for a UK wrestler). Cabana finally comes back with a headlock takeover and one fan calls it boring. Round one ends but Cabana doesn’t want to let go of the headlock that he worked so hard to get in the first place.

After the corner man gives Cabana some water and towels him down, we’re ready to go with round two. Some uppercuts rock Cabana as Excalibur says he suffers from knowitallism. Finlay stomps on the fingers and kicks him in the face before sending Cabana outside for a needed breather. The corner man adds some slaps (despite NOT being in the corner) and we get some Cabana sneering. Finlay heads outside to yell at a fan so Cabana tells the corner man to slap Finlay in the face.

Thankfully that isn’t going to happen so Finlay doesn’t get to do something so horrible that I can’t come up with a good metaphor for the level of violence. Back in and Finlay hits some elbows to send him outside, setting up a whip into the barricade. They get back inside for some arm cranking/stomping into a keylock to keep Cabana down. The round ends with Finlay evening things up by not letting go of the arm either, which does not seem good for Cabana either.

Finlay goes extra evil by jumping Cabana during his meeting with the corner man. The Fujiwara armbar goes on to start the third round but Cabana fights up. That earns him an arm first whip into the corner and it’s back to the armbar with a knee in the shoulder. A Jake Roberts short arm clothesline sets up the running seated senton but Cabana reverses into a sunset flip for a creative counter. The Flying Apple (which might not have been named yet) connects but it’s too early for the Billy Goat’s Curse. Finlay kicks him shoulder first into the post and then does it again for a bonus. The Celtic Cross finishes Cabana at 15:16.

Rating: C. This didn’t really feel like some kind of special British match as it was really just Finlay working the arm and the a regular finish. The rounds didn’t change much either and I was a bit disappointed with the whole thing. It was fine as a regular match, but they seemed to be going for something special here and it just wasn’t there.

7OH!4 vs. Unholy Alliance

7OH!4 is Caleb Konley/Cedric Alexander, with commentary saying they are the next CM Punk/Colt Cabana or Motor City Machine Guns. Eh they were names but hold on a second there. The Alliance is Tajiri/Mikey Whipwreck, former ECW Tag Team Champions but unfortunately minus James Mitchell/Sinister Minister. Konley grabs a wristlock on Mikey to start but he’s right back with a hiptoss into a headscissors despite not being the size of a guy you would expect to use a headscissors.

We hear about some rookie named Zack Ryder to come out of Mikey’s school as Tajiri comes in to a rather big reaction. Tajiri misses a swinging kick to Alexander’s face so it’s a hammerlock to take Alexander down instead. Back up and Alexander’s headlock doesn’t work and Tajiri starts firing off the kicks to the arm. Mikey comes in to pick Alexander up so Tajiri can nail a dropkick to the face. There’s a double gutbuster to Konley and stereo kicks to the head have him on the floor as the fans are rather pleased.

Mikey’s slingshot dive takes out both of them and the referee begins a rather slow count. Tajiri however won’t dive so Mikey comes back in and gets enziguried into a Downward Spiral for two (with Excalibur getting in the beta version of combiNATION, because I can’t escape the thing). Konley grabs the cravate to hold Mikey down for a bit, followed by the basement clothesline to give Alexander two. Tajiri spits at Alexander (with commentary thinking it’s Konley) and it’s a double Russian legsweep to drop Mikey for two.

Hold on though as Tajiri comes in to….pull Mikey’s pants up and then head back to the apron. Well at least he’s polite. Embracing the power of raised pants, Mikey superkicks Alexander (THE PANTS WORKED!) and it’s back to Tajiri to clean house. Everything breaks down and Tajiri’s superkick gets tow on Konley. Mikey snaps off a pretty nice Frankensteiner on Alexander and a low makes it worse. The referee checks on Alexander and Tajiri mists Konley, setting up the Whippersnapper for the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C+. I know Mikey and Tajiri were a big deal in the dying days of ECW but they were a rather nice team who still looked good here. You don’t get something like that very often and it was fun to see them working so well. Alexander and Konley were still really young here so losing to a team with some credibility, even if it was twelve years old at this point, was fine. Pretty good match here too so well done on a little surprise.

Demus 3:16 vs. Mascarita Dorado

Minis match and Dorado is better known as El Torito. Demus is a good bit bigger and is probably about Rey Mysterio size. A wristdrag takes Demus down to start and frustration is already setting in. Demus knocks him down without much effort so Dorado starts rolling around as we hear about the WWF Light Heavyweight division. Dorado pulls him into the cross armbreaker but Demus powers him up with ease because the size difference is a bit much here.

Back up and a rather spinning headscissors sends Demus outside, setting up the big suicide dive. Dorado manages to throw him back inside for a fireman’s carry, which is a little more impressive than you might think. A fireman’s carry slam sets up a moonsault but the second moonsault only hits raised boots. Demus grabs a tilt-a-whirl into a Dominator (cool) and there’s a giant swing to send Dorado down again. They head outside with Dorado being dropped onto the timekeeper’s table and Demus takes him back in for a pop up powerslam.

There’s a heck of a toss as Excalibur talks about Wolverine debuting back in the 1960s. Dorado bounces up out of the corner with a double springboard headbutt, followed by a crazy spinning (as in he spins around Demus about ten times) into a headscissors to the floor. That earns the HOLY S*** chant, setting up the top rope hurricanrana to take Demus down again. Back in and a top rope hurricanrana, with Dorado landing on his feet because, sets up another very spinning hurricanrana into a small package for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C+. Yeah this was fun and Dorado is one of those things that has to be seen to be believed. He can do all kinds of stuff out there and makes it look easy, which is about as cool as you can get. Demus was a good target for Dorado as he is so much bigger, allowing Dorado to do all of his spots out there. Throw in getting in and out fairly fast and this was a lot of fun. Not great, but it was the kind of match that fit in perfectly on a show like this.

Dorado having a salsa version of the Mission Impossible theme makes it even better. The fans throw in the money so Dorado slaps him in the face with a dollar. That might seem rude, but Demus picks the dollar up and, ahem, cleans himself with it so Dorado is better….I guess?

Tommy Dreamer vs. Kevin Steen

Street fight and for you younger people, Steen is better known as Kevin Owens. The fans seem split here and it’s an exchange of hammerlocks to start. Dreamer’s shoulder bounces off of Steen (Steen: “IN YOUR DREAMS!”) and it’s time to hammer on Dreamer for a bit. Steen drop toeholds him down and hits the flipping legdrop to the back of Dreamer’s head. Back up and Dreamer kicks him low in the corner to send Steen outside, setting up the running flip dive off the apron.

A bottle of water to the head rocks Steen again but Dreamer gets crotched on the barricade because Dreamer spends too much time pointing at the crowd (as Dreamer tends to do). They brawl through the crowd and Steen hits him over the back with a well stolen crutch. Dreamer gets taken up onto a camera table and gets knocked down onto (not through) another table in a big crash. Back into the crowd with Dreamer hitting him in the head with a Steen DVD.

Dreamer sends him into the barricade and then heads backstage to grab the usual assortment of weapons. A hockey stick to the back rocks Steen again and there’s….something made of wood over Steen’s head. Dreamer gets sent into a plastic tray in the corner and Steen hits him in the knee with a stick. The Sharpshooter goes on (because Steen is Canadian) but is broken up in a hurry. Dreamer misses a charge into the post so Steen puts a stop sign over him to set up the Cannonball, which is not the brightest move in the world.

That lets Steen tie him in the Tree of Woe and this isn’t going to end well. Indeed, as Steen hits a running dropkick to a chair in the face. Commentary starts making Steven Segal references as Dreamer catches him on top with a superplex. Dreamer wins the big slugout so Steen goes low in a smart move. The Even Flow gets two but Dreamer catches him on top to break up a moonsault.

Now it’s Steen in the Tree of Woe so Dreamer can hit him low with a stick. There’s the running basement dropkick to drive a stop sign into Steen’s face and now it’s time to grab a piece of barricade. That takes too long though and Steen superkicks him off the apron. The fans want to see someone use a hammer but they settle for Dreamer kicking a rope for a low blow. With nothing else working, one of the fans gives Dreamer a HUGE hammer, which he uses to crush the bell between Steen’s legs. Steen is fine enough to shove Dreamer onto the piece of barricade inside and a Swanton finishes Dreamer at 19:24.

Rating: B-. This was a pretty hard hitting street fight, though it did run a good bit longer than it should have. What mattered here was the idea of the old hardcore legend vs. the new breed and that worked out rather well. I’m not wild on these matches most of the time but this one was pretty fun, which is about all you can hope for in this kind of a situation.

Post match Steen is ready to say something to Dreamer but Raven runs in to hit Steen low and DDT Dreamer for old times’ sake. Steen to Raven: “You’re a f****** a**hole!” Steen to Dreamer: “Thank you.”

Intermission, which is cut from the video.

Roderick Strong vs. Jake Manning

Manning is an adult Manscout and comes out to a John Cougar Mellencamp song, which I believe was used in the Waterboy. After Manning gives the referee some lessons on how to properly call a match, he takes Strong down to the mat for a headscissors. They grapple on the mat for a bit with Strong getting the better of things but that is broken up in a hurry. Manning takes him back down by the arm as commentary talks about how it might be difficult to find footage on Manning, who rarely leaves the southeast.

Strong is back up with a shot to the face and unloads with the chops in the corner. A belly to back suplex sets up a chinlock on Manning but he’s right back up with a kick to the face. Manning drops an elbow for two and drives Strong into the corner for the choking. They head outside with Manning sending him into the apron for two, setting up the next chinlock. That’s broken up as well and they go with a pinfall reversal sequence for some near falls each. Strong is back up with a dropkick and they’re both down for a breather.

It’s Strong up first with a bunch of running forearms into a belly to back suplex for two more. Manning comes back with an (oddly appropriate for reasons that I can’t figure out) airplane spin. Strong isn’t having that and hammers away but Manning is right back with a backbreaker into a Downward Spiral for three. Only two of them count though due to the foot being on the rope though, meaning Strong can come back with an enziguri. The Angle Slam gets two and it’s the backbreaker into the Sick Kick to finish Manning at 11:04.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that I like to see on a show like this, as Strong is a much bigger name than Manning but they went back and forth well enough here to make you believe that Manning could pull it off. The match worked well as Strong can have a good match against anyone and Manning held up his end despite being known for little more than his gimmick. Good stuff here, with a nice battle of the generations.

Davey Richards vs. Harry Smith

That would be Davey Boy Smith Jr., freshly released from WWE, and this could be interesting. They go with the technical exchange to start (shocking I know) with Richards getting him down into a modified surfboard and rolling him up for two. That’s broken up for a standoff and they lock up, with Smith absolutely towering over Richards. It’s back to the mat with Smith grabbing a short armscissors and rolling him around a bit.

That’s reversed into something like an Indian Deathlock from Richards to crank on the leg. Make that a Muta Lock with commentary thinking Richards would do well at Subway. Smith slips out and cranks him down by the arm, setting up a full nelson. That’s broken up as well as Richards rolls out with an armdrag, only to get pulled into a spinning belly to belly for two. More arm cranking has Richards down again but he sends Smith to the floor. There’s the running kick to the chest from the apron, setting up the suicide dive.

Back in and a missile dropkick sends Smith into the corner. It’s time to start working on the leg, with Davey kicking away and grabbing a Trailer Hitch. Richards stomps on both knees at once and it’s a dragon screw legwhip into a half crab. Now it’s an STF as the fans start shouting various things. Smith fights up and kicks him into the corner, setting up a powerslam for two.

Smith crotches him on top and grabs a delayed superplex for a slightly delayed near fall. A superkick and a powerbomb give Smith two more each but Richards kicks him down again. The top rope double stomp gets two and we hit the ankle lock. That’s broken up with a roll into the post, allowing Smith to grab a cross armbreaker. Richards rolls into another ankle lock, which Smith reverses into one of his own.

The grapevined version is countered into a Sharpshooter, which Smith reverses into his own Sharpshooter. Smith grabs a small package for two but Richards BLASTS him with a knee for the same. Back up and Smith tries a powerbomb but Richards reverses into a sunset flip. Smith sits down on it ala his dad against Bret Hart, only to have Richards slip out into a cradle for the pin at 17:26.

Rating: B. It was good action throughout and Smith looked good in defeat, but egads I had forgotten how hard it is to get invested in a Richards match. He is so ultra serious all the time, though at least he wasn’t doing his “get kicked in the head and scream a lot without selling anything” and writing it off as strong style. This got the crowd going and I certainly didn’t hate it though, which is some high praise for a Richards match.

Post match Richards says he can’t believe the people up north let Smith go. Richards talks about the similarities between the two of them, including idolizing the same people growing up. Respect is shown and Smith says it’s better to hear these fans chant his name instead of Michael Cole every Monday night. Wrestling will always be #1 for him, even if he jumps into MMA (which he didn’t).

El Generico/Great Sasuke vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are actually young here and come out to MMMBop, which is rather frustrating. Matt does the Randy Savage finger spin and Nick parodies the Spinarooni (there’s your 90s reference). The fans go NUTS for Generico and it’s a shame that he retired so soon after this. You know Excalibur is right there with all of the Sasuke history because this is his thing.

Generico reveals a half Generico/Sasuke mask and takes Nick down to start. An exchange of wristlocks goes nowhere so Nick drives him into the corner and starts in on the arm again. We hear about how completely and utterly amazing the Bucks are as Sasuke comes in to headlock Nick. Some kicks to the ribs have little effect on Sasuke (the only time Sasuke and Rick Rude will be compared), who elbows Nick in the head. Generico comes back in and gets taken into the corner so Matt can talk a lot of trash.

A few quick armdrags have Matt in trouble as we hear about Sasuke making a documentary about mouthwash (or something). Generico hammers away on Matt in the corner and fires off chops against the ropes for a bonus. Matt is back with the headscissors to hold Generico in place, allowing Nick to kick him in the mask and into the barricade. Back in and Matt laughs at Generico, setting up the slow motion stomping.

We hit the front facelock until Nick comes back in for some shots in the corner. A handspring rake to the back sets up a slingshot hilo as Excalibur talks about how the Young Bucks have a supernatural feel for the DMZ on the thirty third parallel in the ring. Generico rakes the Bucks’ chests to escape but it’s still too early for the tag. Matt’s waistlock keeps Generico in trouble but he manages the exploder suplex into the corner.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Sasuke to clean house as everything breaks down. Sasuke dropkicks Nick through the ropes and Generico hits the big running flip dive to crush Matt. Back in and a Blockbuster gets two on Matt and Sasuke takes a LONG time to go up for a Ram Jam (from The Wrestler), allowing Matt to roll away. The Bucks take turns kicking Sasuke in the back of the trunks but it’s back to Generico for the Blue Thunder Bomb to Nick.

The Helluva Kick is broken up but Nick kicks Matt in the head but mistake. Sasuke crushes Nick with a springboard missile dropkick, only to have Nick low bridge him to the floor. A wheelbarrow faceplant gives Matt two on Generico and Risky Business gets the same. More Bang For Your Buck is countered into a half and half suplex and Sasuke is back with a powerbomb to Nick. Matt superkicks Sasuke though and everyone is down again.

Nick comes back in to knee Sasuke off the apron but Generico sends Nick’s kick into Matt’s head. You know the Bucks aren’t selling that though and it’s a double superkick into the assisted Tombstone for two on Generico with Sasuke making another save. Nick misses a moonsault and Sasuke hits a big flip dive onto Matt on the floor. That gets the fans back into it and Generico’s Swanton gets two on Nick. Now the Helluva Kick can connect to set up the brainbuster onto the buckle to finish Nick at 21:12.

Rating: B. This was better than I was expecting and it was nice to see the Bucks actually lose for a change. You don’t usually see the dream team beating the regular partners so this was quite the surprise. It really is a shame that Generico retired, as he is quite the star. You can see how influential he was too, as a lot of people would copy his style, almost down to the move at times.

Wrestle Royal

20 man Royal Rumble and Ken Shamrock is a ringside enforcer. Matt Classic (I hear Colt Cabana is a big fan) is in at #1 and Lanny Poffo is in at #2 for one of the most unique matches I can remember seeing in a long time. Commentary makes it clear that entrants will be STRICTLY timed, after an apparent issue last year. Classic slowly hammers away at the back and grabs a claw but misses the bottom rope splash. Poffo actually manages the moonsault (not bad for 57) and goes for the mask.

Rock Riddle (the original Mr. Wonderful, who I’ve never actually seen wrestle) is in at #3 as we seem to have 90 second intervals. Riddle doesn’t actually get in the ring as Classic and Poffo continue their slow motion fighting. The timing is already a bit off as Carlos Colon (The Youngster!) is in at #4. Colon gets to hit both guys in the head as commentary continues its running joke of Classic feuding with every old wrestler ever. Riddle finally comes in (I wasn’t betting on the flower print gear) for a few shots of his own as Gangrel is in at #5.

Brawling continues as Gangrel (getting a rather strong reception) bites Poffo in the corner. The clock is even further all over the place as Jesse Hernandez is in at #6. Classic gets beaten up some more but gets choked in the corner by Gangrel. Mando Guerrero is in at #7 and gets quite the reception as he beats on Classic. They finally start teasing some eliminations (and no you cannot expect any kind of serious quality out of this) until Kevin Sullivan is in at #8.

Stick shots abound until Colon headbutts the stick out of Sullivan’s hands. Colon stabs Sullivan in the stomach with said stick and then beats Gangrel in the back. Piloto Suicida (still active today) is in at #9 as the ring is really getting full. The rapid fire entrances (now barely at a minute) continue as Tommy Dreamer is in at #10 (OF COURSE Dreamer is working twice) to hammer on Gangrel as commentary talks about how these two are some of the youngest in the match. Everyone is still in as Dreamer beats on Classic, apparently as payback for all of those boring Madison Square Garden main events.

Robbie E., the reigning TNA TV Champion, is in at #11 and promises to become the youngest ever winner of this match. Then Dreamer tosses him in a hurry for a funny bit. Virgil (to Ted DiBiase’s music) is in at #12 as Poffo, Colon and Guerrero were all put out somewhere. Greg Valentine, coming out to Sharp Dressed Man of all things, is in at #13. Classic is doing Hindu squats as Sullivan hits Suicida with the bell. Valentine has Dreamer in the Figure Four as Gangrel drops elbows.

Konnan is in at #14 to go after Sullivan, with commentary (thankfully) bringing up the Dungeon of Doom. Dan Severn is in at #15 and this could be interesting. Gangrel goes after Severn in a hurry as the ring is too full again. Jimmy Hart, with a lot of padding, of all people is in at #16 and wisely walks around the ring for a bit.

Godfather, with his ladies, is in at #17 and Gangrel eliminates himself to join in. Hart was eliminated off screen and Brutus Beefcake is in at #18 (dang I miss that theme) and goes after Valentine to ruin the Dream Team reunion. Bradley Ray Schreak (an auction winner) is in at #19 as Sullivan is out. Beefcake grabs the sleeper on Schreak as Suicida is out. Schreak gets a haircut, including with the big scissors, as Severn gets rid of Virgil. The match completely stops for the haircut until Schreak wakes up and panics over his hair being gone.

That’s enough for an elimination and it’s Raven in at #20 (with Dreamer waiting on him) to complete the field. The final grouping is Classic, Dreamer, Valentine, Konnan, Severn, Godfather, Beefcake and Raven. Hang on though as Raven doesn’t want to get in, only to have Kevin Steen come out and jump him from behind. Steen throws Raven in for a DDT from Dreamer, who tosses Raven without much trouble. Dreamer, ever the genius, jumps out to beat on Raven some more and beats him to the back with Steen. Classic is eliminated and there goes Konnan.

We’re down to Severn, Valentine, Beefcake and Godfather (I love indy wrestling) but Shamrock distracts Severn, allowing Valentine to toss him. Severn pulls Valentine out and we’re down to two. The Ho Train misses Godfather but he low bridges Beefcake out for the win at 23:12.

Rating: C. Fun. What other word is there to describe something like this? They weren’t trying to do anything serious here and it was all about having people get a quick payoff and come out to a pop. It worked at the Gimmick Battle Royal in 2001 and it works at any show like this. I had a good time with it and that’s the entire point of this kind of match. It’s a lot of fun, and well done on doing what they should have.

The women come in to dance with Godfather, who hits his catchphrase (while clearly having a blast) to wrap up the night.

Overall Rating: B. I’ve seen a good number of these reunion style shows and this was one of the better ones, with a nice mixture of old vs. new and some legends matches thrown in there as well. They had some big names included and while they might have had a better option as the main event (though it did fit the reunion theme), this was a lot of fun. It’s longer than it needs to be (at nearly three and a half hours, not counting intermission), but I had a good time with it and that is entirely the goal with something like this.

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Power Pro Wrestling
Date: February 7, 1987
Location: Cowtown Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Michael Hayes

Someone wanted me to look at some Universal Wrestling Federation shows so here we go. This is the evolved form of Mid-South, though things are not exactly looking great by this point. I’m not sure how well this is going to go, but it is a promotion I haven’t looked at very much before. Let’s get to it.

Bill Watts (boss) is in his office to announce a one night tournament for the vacant Tag Team Titles. We hear four of the eight teams but don’t see any brackets. Not that it matters as the tournament is taking place at an event later tonight.

JR and Hayes run down the card and Hayes is excited about winning the Tag Team Titles.

Mike Reed vs. Angel of Death

Angel (very bald and with Sunshine in his corner) was a candidate for the Black Scorpion in WCW a few years later. A slam puts Reed down and a splash gives Angel two. Reed gets tossed around and there’s a running clothesline to drop him again. A suplex sets up a Samoan drop to finish Reed at 2:02. Rather effective squash.

Chavo Guerrero and Missing Link are ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

We look at the end of last week’s Badstreet Match (street fight) with the Freebirds beating up Steve Williams and Ted DiBiase. Devastation Inc. came in to help the Freebirds until a bunch of wrestlers came out to chase them off.

Hayes rants about how the Freebirds always keep things even.

Eli and Wild Bill Irwin are ready for Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams in the tournament. A young Bruce Prichard is the interviewer here.

Buddy Roberts thinks someone beat the Missing Link over the head with an ugly stick. Sunshine tells Dark Journey to stay out of the way tonight.

Ted DiBiase is ready to take out One Man Gang to become UWF Champion, just like he beat him before. It is so bizarre to hear DiBiase as a face.

Super Ninja vs. Bobby Walker

Both of them are debuting, that isn’t Hard Work Bobby Walker of (very minor) WCW fame and Bruce Prichard takes Hayes’ place on commentary. Ninja headlocks him down and then kicks him in the face, followed by a toss to the floor. Back in and Ninja stomps away with a gutwrench suplex taking Walker down again. A superkick finishes Walker at 4:24.

Rating: D+. Pretty dull squash here as Ninja wasn’t doing anything more than the bare basics. Walker was as lame of a jobber as you could get, so I can’t say I’m overly surprised. Ninja wrestled in the AWA as Mr. Go. I remember seeing him challenge the Midnight Rockers for the Tag Team Titles with a partner named…..the Super Ninja. That’s 80s wrestling for you.

Ninja drops Walker again post match, which has JR talking about his “sadistic Oriental side.”

Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams are ready to win the Tag Team Titles because they’ve been champions before.

Jeff Gaylord vs. Ted DiBiase

Gaylord is a good sized guy who was one of the Knights at Survivor Series 1993. This is face vs. face so they go technical to start with a fight over a top wristlock. DiBiase’s armbar sends Gaylord to the rope so he grabs a headlock takeover instead. Back up and another headlock takeover has Gaylord down as we hear about how he has no chance here. It works so well that DiBiase does it for a third time, which works yet again.

They get up for a third time and seem to mistime something, as DiBiase swings a wild elbow to knock him down. Gaylord pops back up and DiBiase misses a similar elbow and gets slammed for two this time. A backslide doesn’t work for DiBiase so he grabs a small package for the pin at 5:07 instead.

Rating: C-. I can see why the WWF went after DiBiase so hard as he looked great, could talk and had the technical skills. The problem is that he doesn’t seem to have much of a character, so throwing in one of the best ideas ever helped quite a bit. Gaylord was big for a technical guy and did fine, but there is a limit to how far you can go against someone as smooth as DiBiase.

Respect is shown post match.

Missing Link vs. Buddy Jack Roberts

Roberts has the rest of the Freebird Family, meaning Michael Hayes, Angel of Death, Terry Gordy and Sunshine. Link just has Dark Journey so this isn’t quite the balanced fight. And never mind as the Family jump him before the bell and the big beatdown is on. Ted DiBiase, Chavo Guerrero (Link’s partner in the tournament) and Steve Williams make the save. Link was busted open in the process.

Post break, we get a shortened version of the “fifteen minutes of action” during the break, with Guerrero/DiBiase/Williams saying they are sick and tired of the Freebirds. The challenge is on but matchmaker Grizzly Smith comes out to say no. DiBiase and company aren’t leaving though so Smith goes to the back to figure something out. We’re clipped to the Freebird Family slowly coming out and Sunshine trying to place peacekeeper. Granted that involves calling Chavo a chihuahua so it might not be so effective. DiBiase promises to keep the numbers even and that’s about it.

Eli vs. Chavo Guerrero

Eli has Wild Bill Irwin with him and was a territory guy in the 80s with a little time in Japan. Chavo hammers away so fast to start that I almost miss DiBiase there too. Granted DiBiase and Irwin getting into the ring to brawl at the same time makes it a little more obvious. Chavo and Eli fight to the floor as DiBiase grabs the whip to clear the ring. Another referee comes out and disqualifies Eli, though the bell never actually rang.

The Freebird Family talks about having the best odds to win the Tag Team Titles, mainly because they have two teams included. Hayes: “If it comes down to us, which it probably will, you take one belt and we’ll take one.”

Dark Journey says Chavo Guerrero and Missing Link are ready for Sting and Rick Steiner. Chavo starts in English and switches to Spanish while promising to win the belts.

JR and Bruce Prichard give their tournament picks (one of the Freebird teams/DiBiase and Williams). The matches begin on TV next week.

We get a music video of general highlights to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: C. I can see why the show is so well received, though at the same time you can see that things have fallen a very long way by this point. The energy wasn’t there, even though a lot of the talent was. The company would be sold to Jim Crockett in about two months so it isn’t like there was much left to see from these guys. This wasn’t bad, but the company has done better stuff before. In case you were wondering: Terry Taylor and Chris Adams, who weren’t even on the show, won the titles.

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Acid Cup 2021 Part 2
Date: April 9, 2021
Location: Cuban Club, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Gill, Emil J.

We’re back with the second half of the single elimination tournament and the first round could have been a lot worse. Granted we have a bunch of matches yesterday with no brackets for the second round, but then again there is a chance that those don’t exist just yet. Let’s get to it.

Here is Part 1 if you need a recap.

No opening video or anything, but the ring announcer does welcome us to the show.

Second Round: Calvin Tankman vs. Dragon Bane

Tankman is a monster and Bane comes out to Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz. Commentary: “He’s happy!” First words of Clint Eastwood: “I ain’t happy!” I’m going to assume that was a misquote and move on, though now with a catchy song in my head (as opposed to in my knee). Tankman shoves him around to start so Bane is back up with a running hurricanrana. Another one is countered into a heck of a powerbomb for two as commentary compares Bane to a grilled sandwich.

Tankman grabs a reverse chinlock with a knee in the back, followed by a belly to back suplex for two. Trash talk ensues as we see what looks to be some wrestlers arriving in their car on the road opposite the cameras. Bane’s chops just earn him an angry slam and it’s time to chop it out.

Bane is back with a hurricanrana into a spinning headscissors to put Tankman on the floor, setting up the big flip dive. Back in and Bane grabs a hurricanrana for two, followed by a Canadian Destroyer. The shooting star press gets two on Tankman but he’s right back with a spinebuster. The elbow to the back of the head sets up the Tankman Driver for the pin at 6:41.

Rating: C. Bane is a pretty nice high flier but Tankman has been one of the biggest stars of the weekend so far. Giving him a nice run in the tournament makes a lot of sense and going out in the second round isn’t much of a push. This was a nice enough opener, though the lack of noise and energy is rather jarring.

Second Round: AJ Gray vs. Lee Moriarty

These have been two of the most prominent names of the weekend so this feels big. Gray grabs a front facelock to start as commentary clarifies that he is having Coke Classic, not the other kind of coke (you have to stay away from that Zero stuff). Moriarty reverses into a kneebar but gets reversed into a quickly broken leglock. Gray takes him down and goes after Moriarty’s taped ribs because Gray seems to be rather smart.

That’s broken up and they chop it out with Gray getting smart (again) by going to the ribs. The seated abdominal stretch stays on the ribs but Moriarty slips out and hits a running double stomp to a seated Gray. A bridging German suplex gives Moriarty two but Gray kicks him in the ribs. Gray’s hard clothesline gets two but a Gory Bomb is countered into a sunset flip to send Moriarty on at 5:43.

Rating: C+. Moriarty is someone I’ve seen multiple times here and he isn’t getting boring or repetitive at all. Commentary was calling him a wrestling scientist here and that is a pretty appropriate name. You can see him picking people apart and figuring out the right path to beat almost anyone. This was a fun match with two talented guys. Not much time, but it told a story and that’s hard to do in just a few minutes.

Second Round: Arez vs. Cole Radrick

After a slight delay in the bell ringing process, Radrick takes him down by the legs to start and then does it again for a bonus. Arez slips out and goes for the arm as the mat grappling continues, this time with Radrick spinning into a headlock takeover to keep Arez down. Arez kicks him down and they trade insults in differing languages. An enziguri sends Radrick outside for a moonsault from the apron, followed by more kicks back inside.

Radrick hits a heck of a clothesline for two and it’s time to take the straps down (nothing could go wrong here). They slap it out from their knees until Arez is back up with a Lumbar Check for two, complete with pushups on Radrick’s chest for the near fall. Arez wraps him up in something like a Black Widow crossed with an abdominal stretch for a freaky combination.

Then he ties up all of Radrick’s limbs at once but since that can’t last very long due to intense pain, Radrick is back with a kick of his own to stagger Arez. An Air Raid Crash is bridged back into a suplex for two on Arez but he’s back up with a bottom rope dropkick to get creative. There’s a middle rope double stomp to a standing Radrick’s back for two more and they’re both a bit winded. Radrick is back up with a butterfly suplex rolled into kind of a Blue Thunder Bomb for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: C. It’s hard to get annoyed at an indy match that is designed to have two people get their cool stuff in. That’s all they did here and Radrick continues his Cinderella run while Arez builds his stock up at the same time. Good enough match here, though Arez tore the house down yesterday and that’s what’s going to get the attention.

Second Round: Jordan Oliver vs. Laredo Kid

Well in theory at least, but Kid isn’t here and for some reason, Oliver gets to pick his opponent.

Second Round: Jordan Oliver vs. Brayden Lee

Kid beat Lee to get to the second round so this is what makes the most sense. Well as much sense as an indy tournament is going to make. We do get a handshake before the match starts and we are ready to go. They fight over a test of strength and go into some monkey flips to little avail, as Oliver is taken up against the ropes. The pinfall reversal sequence gets some near falls each and the fans applaud politely.

Lee grabs a headlock takeover so Oliver hiptosses him into the ropes, only to have Lee hold on and armdrag him down. A dropkick puts Oliver down again and there’s a suicide dive to send him into the chairs (and allowing Lee to take a picture with a fan). Oliver superkicks his way to freedom but Lee gets in his own shot to the face, as commentary says Oliver is a future Hall of Famer. Exactly which Hall of Fame are we talking about here?

Neither can hit a suplex on the floor so Lee drops him onto the apron instead. Lee’s suicide dive is countered with a ram into the apron and Oliver comes back with a slingshot twisting Stunner. Oliver hits a nice dropkick and, after a pose, grabs a headscissors choke. That’s broken up with an electric chair but Oliver hits an enziguri. They go up top with Lee reversing a belly to back superplex into a crossbody to put them both down again. Back up and Lee chops away until Oliver cuts off a kick to the chest.

Lee scores with a springboard clothesline for two so he goes up again, earning himself an enziguri. Oliver pulls him back down with a super Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Lee catches him on top this time. A super poisonrana (with Oliver slipping out and nearly landing on his head) sets up a sitout powerbomb for two on Lee. Commentary can’t believe it, summing it up with “Well f*** me I suck but the match continues.” Lee has to bail out of a shooting star press and Oliver kicks him in the face at 13:50.

Rating: C. This took some time to get going and there were some sloppy sections in there, but some of the spots looked good. Oliver winning isn’t surprising (again: he’s wearing pants inspired by the tournament namesake) and he continues to show some potential after a few adjustments. Lee has a good look but it was only a bunch of spots here, meaning you can’t get very much out of this one.

El Hijo de Canis Lupus vs. Gabriel Sky

Non-tournament match. I’ve heard of Sky before and he comes out to the theme from Charmed so he can only be so bad. They start fast and trade some headscissors in some early luchaing. The covers don’t get any counts and it’s a standoff to some applause. Sky hits a dropkick to put Lupus down and a bouncing springboard hurricanrana sends Lupus to the floor. There’s the big flip dive before they head back inside, with Lupus blasting him with a clothesline for two.

Lupus unloads with the chops in the corner and the chinlock goes on. A boot choke in the corner has Sky in more trouble as this has settled down a lot more than I would have expected. Back up and Sky kicks him in the head, setting up a half and half suplex. Lupus hits a pop up knee to the ribs into a German suplex for two. Sky grabs a front facelock and flips him forward into a DDT, setting up a Falcon Arrow (meaning the “he did the deal” lines make their return) for two.

Back up and Lupus sends him hard into the corner for two but Sky is right back with a poisonrana out of the corner. There’s a top rope double stomp for two on Lupus so Sky goes back up, only to get caught in a super Spanish Fly. Lupus is right back up with a GTS into a powerbomb into a knee to the head (Commentator: “F***! F***! F***!”) for the pin at 7:21 (those were all one after the other to really end Sky).

Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this one as they were kind of sloppy and just trading spots, which wasn’t the most interesting stuff. It was far from bad, but it was the kind of match that feels like you could see from any two indy wrestlers. The ending wasn’t exactly great either, as the moves didn’t look great or crisp. I’ve seen far worse, but this wasn’t the most thrilling.

Semifinals: Calvin Tankman vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty misses a running kick to start and gets plowed over by the much bigger Tankman. Some hard shots in the corner have Moriarty in more trouble and Tankman slams him down without much trouble. We hit the bodyscissors to stay on the ribs as you can already see a pretty basic formula here. That’s switched into a chinlock so Moriarty fights up, only to be sent outside in a heap.

Back in and Tankman knees away at the ribs as the pace stays very slow so far. Some jawbreakers give Moriarty a breather and a kick to the head out of the corner staggers Tankman again. Moriarty gets caught with a shot to the face on top (Tankman: “YOU F***** UP!) and Tankman drops him ribs first onto the top. That puts Moriarty on the floor but he dives back in to beat the count at nine.

Moriarty tries to fire up, earning himself a forearm to the face. That actually seems to fire Moriarty up so he strikes away, setting up a double stomp to keep Tankman down. It’s Moriarty back up first and kicking away at Tankman’s rather large chest. Tankman headbutts him in the ribs though and a gutbuster puts Moriarty down for two more. The Tankman Driver is countered into a choke, which manages to survive a ram into the corner. Tankman falls forward and Moriarty elbows him in the head over and over until it’s a stoppage at 9:26.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that is going to make Moriarty look like a star, as he hung in there against a monster and then held on until he could steal the win. I was surprised that they went with a stoppage instead of a submission. Good stuff here, and Tankman looked like a heck of a monster throughout the tournament. Moriarty is a more interesting pick though, as he has been great at what he has been doing for days now.

Semifinals: Jordan Oliver vs. Cole Radrick

Radrick is favoring his ribs on the way in. They go straight at it with an exchange of kicks to the head and a double clothesline gives us a double knockdown less than thirty seconds in. It’s already time to forearm it out from their knees and pull themselves up to strike away even more. Radrick counters a running big boot with a kick to the face and a splash to the back gets two.

Some hard kicks keep Oliver in trouble but he Rock Bottoms Radrick out of the corner, setting up a spinning middle rope Swanton. Oliver kicks him down and it’s time for another double breather. A German suplex drops Radrick but he blocks a second, only to get caught by an enziguri. They go up top with Radrick headbutting his way out of a belly to back superplex attempt.

Radrick counters a tiger driver into a hurricanrana for two and Radrick is frustrated. Oliver counters an armbar into a tiger bomb for two but Radrick is back with a Shining Wizard for the same. Back up and Radrick takes the straps down to slug it out, only to run into the big boot for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: B. These guys beat each other up rather well, as Radrick’s Cinderella runs ends. Oliver is someone who has grown on me a lot, though I’m still trying to get my head around the Big Breakfast nickname. This felt like two guys who were beaten up and tired and gave everything that they had to make it to the finals. Good match here, and both of them are coming out of this tournament looking a lot better than they did coming in.

Respect is shown post match.

Ken Broadway vs. Marcus Mathers vs. Lucas Riley vs. Damien Drake vs. Matt Vandergriff vs. Facade

Scramble match (erg) with one fall to a finish. Broadway throws money around on the way to the ring, which doesn’t seem too bright. Vandergriff and Drake are the Future Stars of Wrestling Tag Team Champions and regular partner as the Unguided. Facade comes out to the Ninja Rap from Teenage Mutant Ninja II: Secret Of The Ooze (there better be a Super Shredder joke in this match), making him the most awesome part of this show.

It’s a brawl to start with Broadway chilling on the apron, which is probably about as long as I’m going to be able to keep track of this. Vandergriff hits a very springboard armdrag to Riley and we’re actually going to have tags here, which is one of the best things to see in this kind of a match. Riley spins around into a rollup for two and they both wind up in a corner, with Vandergriff snapping off a top rope hurricanrana. A springboard spinning cutter drops Vandergriff so it’s off to Drake for a dropkick.

Broadway stands back instead of tagging in, allowing the two of them to kick each other down. Mathers comes in and kicks away at Drake, setting up a Code Red for two. Now Broadway will come in and shrug off a Mathers chop and hit jumping back elbow to the face. A one footed Lionsault gets two on Mathers, who is then springboard enziguried out to the floor. Facade comes in to some cheering for the showdown with Broadway, who is pulled to the floor by Vandergriff and Drake.

Facade and Vandergriff hammer on each other until Facade kicks his way out of the corner. Drake comes back in and gets kicked down as well, followed by a kick to Mathers’ face. Facade hits a middle rope springboard cutter to Drake as commentary gets in some Don Jardine references. Drake and Vandergriff catch Facade on top but Drake’s superplex is broken up as well. The Tower of Doom is no sold (because indies) and a double suplex gives Drake two on Facade.

Broadway comes back in to beat up the Unguided with Mathers having to dive (a long way) in for a save. Mathers rolls Broadway up for two and a reverse DDT flipped forward into a cutter drops him again. Vandergriff kicks Mathers down and hits a 619 into a slow motion poisonrana. Riley is back in this time and hits a step up knee in the corner to rock Drake. A Rock Bottom drives Drake into Vandergriff for one with Mathers making the save. Broadway and Facade fight outside, leaving Mathers and Riley to fight on the apron.

Mathers hits a very slow Tombstone on the apron (to no response because there is no one here, making that a pretty needlessly dangerous spot). Drake moonsaults onto Broadway and it’s time for the parade of dives. Facade’s is broken up and Drake gets in his way but Broadway puts Drake onto his shoulders. That lets Facade hit a double springboard Blockbuster onto the pile to put everyone down. Broadway throws Facade through some chairs and hits a bridging German suplex to finish Drake at 13:18.

Rating: C. I cannot stand this kind of a match as there is no way for anyone to stand out other than one big spot here or there. Broadway doesn’t so much win as much as he gets the pin when everyone else is down, making this little more than a big showcase with no flow or story in the slightest. It makes sense to put it on a showcase show, but when you’ve seen a bunch of them in a few days, any of the charm falls away. Throw in that this was kind of sloppy and they took WAY too long between spots in places and it felt like something there because you need this kind of a match on this kind of a show.

And they didn’t even make a Shredder joke!

Acid Cup 3 Finals: Jordan Oliver vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty’s ribs are a bit banged up coming in while Oliver just looks tired. We get the Big Match Intros, complete with a list of everyone they defeated to get here. We get a handshake to start and they go to a test of strength. The bigger Oliver takes him down but can’t break the bridge. That’s fine with Oliver, who wisely hits him in the bad ribs but Moriarty easily slips out of a headlock.

Oliver can’t roll out of a hammerlock but he can elbow his way to freedom only to get sent outside in a hurry. They hit the stall button for a bit as commentary recaps how much these two have probably done this weekend. Oliver even gets smart by having a drink of water on the floor and pours it over his head, which seems to be a good idea. Back in and Moriarty runs him over but the ribs stay banged up.

Oliver is right back with a hiptoss, plus an elbow to the ribs on the cover as the member of the Young, DUMB and Broke stable is looking rather smart. A hard whip into the corner bangs up the ribs even more and Oliver is starting to look a bit cocky. Oliver’s snap suplex gets two and Moriarty is looking frustrated by the pain in his ribs. The rather smart waistlock goes on and Oliver adds a dragon sleeper with elbows to the ribs.

Somehow Moriarty survives that and grabs the arms, which are put into a full nelson (with bodyscissors). Moriarty cranks on the leg to escape in a smart move and they’re both back up. The slingshot cutter (Cleopatra) is countered and Moriarty sends him shoulder first into the post. Moriarty follows him outside and puts Jordan in a chair to crank on the arm. That’s broken up with Moriarty being sent face first into the post to put him down as well. Back in and Moriarty goes back to cranking on the arm, including snapping it over the shoulder.

They lock hands and slap it out before a double clothesline puts both of them down again. Back up and they strike it out again until Moriarty’s double arm trap German suplex gets two. Oliver nails his running big boot (which they finally call the Verdi (Acid’s real last name) Kick) for a close two, meaning it’s time for both of them to go outside. That goes nowhere so Moriarty puts him up top for a super Russian legsweep floated over into a Crossface. Oliver punches him in the ribs for the break and grabs the Boston crab to make Moriarty tap at 14:21.

Rating: B. This was one of the better matches of the tournament and above all else it felt like a match for a prize. They structured things well with the ribs vs. everything else on Oliver, who got to look great by making the technical wizard tap out. It was a very solid main event, though again the wasn’t much drama when Oliver was wearing Acid’s pants throughout the tournament. There is power in those pants.

Post match Oliver….leaves, as there is no trophy (as in, like, a cup). Commentary gives a tributes to Acid to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was another completely watchable two hours and eighteen minutes of wrestling and that’s all you can ask for from a show like this one. Outside of the scramble match, there was nothing in the way of gimmick matches or nonsense like that which makes things go by quickly. The two days of this thing were straight wrestling matches for a prize and that’s very nice to see, as the structure isn’t quite there with a lot of these shows. Good stuff here, and Oliver felt like a star.

ICW No Holds Barred Volume 11: Then And Now
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: 81Bay Brewing Company, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: The Struggles, Ron Niemi

This is another promotion where I don’t know anything about it coming in but this seems to be a more violent promotion, which is not likely to be in my wheelhouse. I’m not sure what to expect coming in and I’m not sure about who all is on the card. Hopefully it is going to be a bit better than what I’m picturing so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence, which advertises No DQ, No Submissions and No Rules. Oh geez please don’t be a deathmatch promotion. Why am I doing this to myself again?

The ring announcer welcomes us to the show….and the ropes are chains.

Tony Deppen vs. Daniel Garcia

They circle each other for a bit to start until Deppen goes for the leg. That means a trip to the mat with both of them trying to tie up the legs. Deppen gets the legs crossed and cranks on Garcia’s arms at the same time. With that broken up, Garcia sends him to the floor for a breather. Back in and they go to the mat for more grappling with Garcia getting in some elbows to the back of the head.

Deppen slips out of that and bites Garcia’s bare toes, which has Garcia bailing underneath the ropes in a smart move. It’s Deppen getting on top for a slap off on the mat until some heavy forearms rock Garcia. You don’t do that to him though as he grabs a German suplex and starts stomping away rather fiercely. Something like a Crossface goes on, followed by a bodyscissors over the chain to make it worse.

Back up and they slap it out until Deppen is thrown into the chains for two. What looks like a Gotch style piledriver is broken up though and Deppen stomps on the bare feet. Garcia doesn’t mind and stomps on Deppen’s head but Deppen kicks him low. A running knee to the head finishes Garcia at 8:33.

Rating: C. Not much to see here and it did feel a bit more like a fight instead of a match. Deppen has come a long way in the last year or so and that is a very good thing. At the same time, Garcia has popped up a few times over this weekend and I haven’t seen much about him to get my excited. Not awful here, but it was a fine way to start off the show.

Here’s a guy named Scoot Andrews, who is billed as the Black Nature Boy. Andrews lists off all of his credentials on the independent circuit and…..I think he is here to introduce Lee Moriarty. Or maybe to find someone to beat him. The audio isn’t exactly the best around here.

Lee Moriarty vs. Steve Madison

Moriarty’s IWTV Title isn’t on the line. Madison, the hometown boy, comes out to Hearts On Fire from Rocky IV so we have a favorite. They go to the grappling to start with Moriarty working on the arm but getting taken down into a headlock. That goes into an early standoff and it’s Madison taking him down by the arm again. Moriarty flips out again and they stop to stare at each other again. More mat grappling goes to Madison but Moriarty is back up with an armdrag into an armbar.

Madison gets smart by snapping Moriarty’s throat across the chain and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up and Moriarty slides over to hit a double stomp to the throat. Madison is right back up with a shot of his own and the Sharpshooter goes on. Moriarty turns that back around and grabs Madison’s fingers for a little snap. A Russian legsweep gives Moriarty two but Madison is right back with a backdrop driver. Moriarty enziguris him and hits a suplex into a Downward Spiral (that’s a new one but it worked) for the pin at 7:46.

Rating: C+. Moriarty continues to impress over the weekend and that has been very nice to see. This was another good wrestling match between two guys who were completely able technicians. Madison isn’t someone I’ve seen before (and commentary said he doesn’t wrestle often) but he seemed like a steady hand. Good match here, and that is becoming the norm for Moriarty.

Post match Andrews comes in to show respect….and then pulls Moriarty into a Fire Thunder Driver. Andrews drops the IWTV Title onto Moriarty’s chest, which commentary thinks means a seed has been planted.

So far so good at thirty minutes in.

We look at the history between Justin Kyle and Bruce Santee. They had some Super Fights, which seem to be them punching each other quite a bit. The first two fights were split so I think you know where this is going.

Justin Kyle vs. Bruce Santee

Good luck on telling them apart as they’re both big bald biker looking guys. Kyle starts swinging to drive him into the corner early but Bruce shoves him away, only to come up favoring his wrist. More rights and lefts have Bruce down on his knee but a Superman Punch is countered into something like a World’s Strongest Slam (not that this is a wrestling match in any way).

They fight on the mat for a bit before getting back up, where a right hand sends Santee outside. Santee beats up the chairs so Kyle hits a BIG dive to take him down. Chair shots to the back rock Santee again and Kyle is rather fired up. Back in and Santee hammers away but Kyle kicks him back, meaning it’s time for the big slugout in the middle. Kyle rocks him with a right hand so Santee says bring it so Kyle kicks him in the head for the knockout at 4:40.

Rating: B. I have no idea what to call this as a wrestling match but that isn’t what they were going for here. This was about two big bruisers beating each other down and that’s what we got here. I’ve never heard of either guy but it makes sense to have them do something like this. Good, fun brawl here and exactly as advertised.

Post match Santee grabs the mic and seems to show respect. Then he a drink.

The ring announcer tells the fans to stay away from the ring. I think.

Jon Davis vs. Dominic Garrini

Garrini has Kevin Ku with him. They go straight to the slugging it out in the middle with Garrini needing a second off some chops tot he bare chest. After about two minutes of chopping, Garrini kicks him in the chest instead so Davis does some of his own. Garrini finally starts a series of strikes to take over but Davis snaps off a suplex to send him flying

Some shots to the face and a few slams give Davis two but Garrini snaps off some strikes to the chest. A German suplex sends Davis flying and a running knee gets two. Back up and they trade elbows to the face until Davis STOs him down. The Shining Wizard gives Davis two and a powerbomb gives Garrini the same. Davis is right back with a heck of a lariat into a piledriver for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C. This took some time to get going and they spent a lot of time hitting each other rather hard, which is about as interesting as something like this is going to be. Both of these guys have been around quite a bit over the weekend and they have gotten a bit of an upgrade. I’ve only seen Garrini from MLW and mainly in a tag team, while Davis has not been around for a bit but is making a nice showing for himself as the grumpy power guy.

Brandon Kirk vs. Danny Demanto

There are a bunch of weapons around the ring so here we go. Brandon has Kasey Kirk with him and they do not seem to be popular. Demanto seems to be more of a hit with the fans, though he might be a bit loopy. He also has a rather energetic guy named Mittens in his corner, because of course he does.

Kasey handles Brandon’s (her husband) introduction and the fans REALLY do not like her. Granted I can barely understand her but that seems to be the right conclusion. Demanto on the other hand is the “Tom Brady Of Banging Your Lady”, which is about as clever of a nickname as I’ve heard in the last four minutes. Kirk jumps him before the bell for two but Demanto reverses a whip to send Kirk outside. A bunch of chair shots have Kirk staggering around the ring and Demanto puts him on a table.

That means a top rope elbow to drive him through and they’re both down at ringside. Demanto hits him in the ribs and back with a baseball bat (after not being able to break it over his knee) and there’s a hard whip through a bunch of chairs. Now it’s time to get extra violent as Demanto takes some kind of spiked plate and elbows it into Kirk’s head, where it gets stuck.

That opens up the head so let’s pour some hot sauce in there for a bonus. Back in and it’s time to pour in some salt and lemons to go with the hot sauce. Demanto picks up a kendo stick but has to stop and swing at Kasey, allowing Brandon to get in a thumb tack wiffle bat shot. Another spike plate goes into Demanto’s head for a change and Kirk puts a keg between his legs.

With Demanto stuck, Kirk crushes said keg with a baseball bat for two. Both of them escape fireman’s carries until Kirk sends him over the top and through a table with what looks to be a bunch of cut open cans stuck to the top. We now pause because THAT WAS REALLY STUPID and Demanto can’t get up. Kirk helps him as well so Demanto hits him in the face, with commentary praising Demanto for being a piece of garbage. Kirk is laid on a door and a powerbomb/piledriver sends Kasey through Kirk through the door.

Instead of covering, Demanto flips off the camera as Kirk pulls himself back in. Demanto picks up a baseball bad with an empty water cooler container on the end and here’s Mittens to hold Kirk. The big shot hits Mittens by mistake though and Kirk’s lariat gets two. They fight over a suplex until Kirk grabs a small package for two. It’s time to slap it out from their knees but Kasey hits Demanto with….something to give Kirk the pin at 14:24.

Rating: D. This started off fun with Demanto having a bunch of charisma but then went rather weird with Demanto almost having a heel turn in the middle. The Kirks seem like a pretty despicable team and the fans really didn’t like them, but it was still not much to see with all of the hardcore and violence. More hardcore nonsense, but you had to know something like that was coming around here.

Post match Demanto grabs the mic and says he lost everything two years ago. He knows that he can always press the restart button and burn this place to the ground. So he wants everyone here who has ever been told no or who has lost someone to put up a middle finger. We get the ICDUB chant and he seems happy about something. Upon further investigation, Demanto is the owner of the company. That makes….a bit more sense I guess.

The ring announcer says they don’t have any hot food here so if you’re hungry, you’ll have to Door Dash it. Ok then.

Calvin Tankman vs. Dan Maff

These guys are rather large. They go nose to nose to start with Tankman talking trash. The chop off fires both of them up even more until Tankman knocks him outside. Tankman follows him out and gets sent through some chairs for the big crash. That’s fine with Tankman, who is right back to send Maff through some chairs as well. A chair to the back, as opposed to a back to the chair, keeps Maff in trouble, but another one just wakes him up.

Maff kicks him away and it’s time to set up a door. They hammer away at each other’s heads until they stagger around to opposite sides of the ring. Back in (for once) and they forearm it out with Tankman getting the better of things. A lariat is countered into a half and half suplex to drop Tankman though and a backsplash connects. Maff hits a lariat into a backbreaker but Tankman is back with a lariat of his own for a close two. It’s time to bring in a door and a couple of chairs to bridge it over, which can never go well.

A spinebuster puts Maff through the door for two more so Tankman needs some more chairs. Some fans throw one in, earning a warning from the ring announcer (“Please hand the chairs to the competitors.” That isn’t something you hear in your usual matches and that might be a good thing.). A bunch of chairs are stacked up and a powerslam onto said pile gets two on Maff.

With Maff out on the floor, Tankman hits a heck of a suicide dive to send him through another door for another two. Maff is back up and catches Tankman on top, only to get knocked back down. Tankman’s frog splash onto Maff onto the chairs…..gets two, as this has gone from beyond ridiculous to completely stupid. Maff slips out of a superplex attempt and hits something resembling a Cheeky Nandos kick. The Burning Hammer in the vicinity of the chairs finishes Tankman at 20:13.

Rating: D. Nope. This was a match that started off well as a good battle of the big men but then went WAY too far, to the point where it was so ridiculous. They had a bunch of big spots and the kickouts stopped being interesting and started being a joke about how the thing was never going to end. I was getting annoyed at this one and that should not be the case with a match that started off fun. They went about twice as long as they should have and it was a big miss as a result.

Post match they stare at each other and trade more chops as a show of respect. That might make up for a bit of the match. Tankman leaves and here’s Bruce Santee, in a “F*CK JOE BIDEN” shirt, to yell at Maff before their match in an upcoming one night tournament.

Weapons are loaded into the ring for the next match. Oh boy here we go.

The ring announcer requests that fans keep their masks up.

Jake Crist vs. Nolan Edward

This is Crist’s debut with the company and he kicks Nolan outside at the bell, setting up a suicide dive in the first seven seconds. They move some chairs around with Edward managing to kick him in the face and throw some chairs inside. Back in and Crist scores with a high crossbody and some kicks to the face get two. Edward is back with something like a McGillicutter into a Gory Stretch.

Crist is sent face first into one of the chains but kicks him in the ribs to break up a Bionic Elbow. A swinging belly to back fisherman’s suplex sends Crist through a door for two but he’s right back with a Death Valley Driver through another door for another two. Crist gets two off a spinning brainbuster so Nolan is back with a snapmare into some fast knee drops. A Stunner drops Nolan again and this time Crist pelts a chair at his face. Then he does it two more times for a bonus and Nolan is down again.

Crist puts him on top for a superplex onto a chair so it’s time to put a barbed wire board over a pair of chairs. Nolan gets caught on top and there’s a super cutter through the barbed wire board for two (and a very limited reaction). Another barbed wire board is loaded up over the chairs and, after pelting a chair at Nolan’s head, Crist….gets butterfly suplexed through the board instead, giving Nolan the pin at 12:03.

Rating: C-. This is one of the more frustrating shows in a long time as it’s the kind of thing that should make me mad but they’re keeping the violence at just a low enough level to keep the anger levels down with it. I’ve seen Nolan twice this weekend and haven’t been interested, though Crist is someone who can do some good things. He’s better with his brother, but his brother is kind of horrible outside of the ring and should have been dropped.

A lot of respect is shown post match.

After an ad break, Edward is still in the ring and has a seat while holding the microphone. Edward has been told that there is no such thing as a draw in wrestling anymore. That means a challenge to…..Sami Callihan. This would have been a bit better if the fans hadn’t chanted Edward’s nickname: No Flinch.

More weapons are loaded in for the main event, with the ring announcer again telling fans to get their masks up.

Neil Diamond Cutter/The Rejects vs. Carnage Crew/???

The Rejects (John Wayne Murdoch/Reed Bentley) and the Crew (DeVito/Loc) are….not important enough to individually name to start, meaning the video’s graphic has to help me out. The brawl is on at ringside without the Crew’s partner being out here yet. I also don’t think there was a bell but I can’t imagine it matters. Cutter hits Loc in the head and Murdoch bites him as commentary mentions the Crew’s partner (who I’ll save for a bit of a surprise). Cutter gets sent through a board in the corner and Loc hits a basement clothesline for two.

The brawling continues around ringside, including Loc stapling a dollar to Cutter’s tongue. Bentley puts DeVito through a door and we get a parade of weapons shows with no particular rhyme or reason. Loc takes Murdoch inside for a belly to back suplex and Bentley’s swinging Russian legsweep gets two on Cutter. Something like a Magic Killer gets two on Loc…..and we’ve got NEW JACK as the partner. The trashcan full of weapons goes into the ring, including the guitar over Cutter’s head to give DeVito the pin at 6:35.

Rating: D. As you might have guessed, this wasn’t about the wrestling or anything outside of the brawling as we waited on New Jack as the big special moment. Granted it might have been better had he been a mystery partner, but knowing who it is going to be and having then showing up in the end works as well. This was more of the hardcore match I was expecting but they kept it short so it’s hard to get overly annoyed. Totally not my thing, but you had to have a match like this from a promotion called NO HOLDS BARRED.

Celebrating ensues post match, with New Jack being about six inches taller than DeVito and Loc. The Rejects grab the mic and says this was about the violence as the Rejects faced the Carnage Crew for the first time ever. Bentley challenges them to a two on two match in the future but New Jack answers, saying he came here from North Carolina. I think he says he has been drinking all day, so you censored censored censoreds and various other censoring. The Crew accepts the challenge and New Jack throws a trashcan at the Rejects. New Jack’s theme music ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This show started off well enough and was even a nice surprise to get things going, but then it descended down into a lot more of what I was expecting. What surprised me here was that it never got all the way down into where some of these shows tend to go. There was even some good wrestling earlier in the show and that is always going to help things. The show certainly isn’t great and there isn’t much on it worth seeing, but I was expecting a deathmatch nightmare and got a fairly average show with some hardcore thrown in near the end. If that’s as bad as it gets, I can live with this.

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

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

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

First Round: Calvin Tankman vs. Colby Corino

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

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

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

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

First Round: Braden Lee vs. Laredo Kid

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

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

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

First Round: Dragon Bane vs. KTB

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

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

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

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

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

First Round: Jordan Oliver vs. Edith Surreal

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

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

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

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

Ten minute intermission.

First Round: JJ Garrett vs. Lee Moriarty

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

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

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

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

First Round: Aramis vs. Arez

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Tony Deppen

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

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Jimmy Lloyd

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

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

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

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

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

First Round: Nate Webb vs. AJ Gray

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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