Joey Janela’s Spring Break X
Date: April 17, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Veda Scott, John Mosley, Jordan Castle

This has become the biggest independent show of the weekend (or at least close to it) and I kind of find myself looking forward to it. Unfortunately some of that is due to seeing how ridiculous the show can get. That might be what we’ll be seeing here, with the main event featuring Joey Janela vs. a fourteen year old. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look back at the show’s history (I still need to see the first one), which really has become a big deal over the years. And now it’s the tenth edition, which thankfully does use the Wrestlemania X logo.

Opening video, which seems to be a generic GCW video.

Grab The Brass Ring Ladder Match

Vipress, Masato Tanaka, Gringo Loco, Shotzi Blackheart, Bear Bronson, 1 Called Manders, Man Like DeReiss, Sidney Akeem, Charles Manson, Terry Yaki, Vengador

For a guaranteed title shot and I’m sure this will be nice and orderly. DeReiss gets jumped during his entrance and the fight starts on the floor, meaning Loco has to moonsault onto everyone else. Akeem is taken up top for a Spanish Fly onto the pile and everyone is down again. Mason takes Yaki inside for…two, as I don’t think I quite get the rules. Mason stands up and some music plays as Tanaka joins us as the final entrant. DeReiss and Tanaka have a standoff and shout DeReiss’ 01-21 catchphrase until DeReiss grabs a cutter.

Vengador comes in to go after Akeem…and breaks the top rope on a flip attempt. Blackheart comes in and gets slammed by Loco, who goes…well as high up as he can. Tanaka hurricanranas him down but Blackheart dropkicks a ladder into Tanaka’s face. Bronson goes after Mason, who dropkicks him through a door in the corner for two. Tanaka and Bronson take turns blasting the other in the head with chairs (oh dear) and forearm it out until Bronson’s Black Hole Slam gets one.

The two of them brawl into the crowd as Blackheart sets up a ladder. The ring crew comes in to repair the top rope (fans: “SAFETY FIRST!”) and Blackheart climbs the ladder. Vipress joins her so Blackheart…kisses Vipress and removes her shirt before they both dive off. DeReiss goes up to the middle rope (still no top rope) for a 450 but Yaki kind of Angle Slam bombs him for two.

A regular ladder is bridged into the standing one…and Loco base bombs Vengador off one ladder and through the door for the huge crash. Vipress piledrives Mason off the apron and through a door but Christian Napier runs in to take Vipress out. Cue Matt Tremont to go after Napier and brawl with him to the back. Manders (hey he’s in this too) gets cuttered by Vengador, who goes up for a splash off the ladder for two. Manders lariats the heck out of Vengador for the pin at 21:42.

Rating: B-. Well it wasn’t boring. I’m not sure if it was good, but it wasn’t boring. This is their version of Money In The Bank, though they could have done a better job of explaining the rules. In short, a match with a ladder tends to have something to grab above the ring but this was just a weapons scramble match. It’s good enough, but with fifteen people involved, it was a bit much.

Post match San Francisco 49ers star and wrestling superfan George Kittle celebrates with Manders.

We get a video of GCW wrestlers who have passed away over the years. Well that’s depressing.

Atticus Cogar talks about everything he has done to get here and hates that someone is impersonating Hayabusa. This isn’t a game to him and he is the World Champion. The new Hayabusa is just an invader and the mask means nothing. The reality is scars carry rank and the fake Hayabusa is about to learn it. That’s an intense promo and I’m not surprised Cogar is the top heel around here after last year.

Rascalz vs. Marcus Mathers/Bustah And The Brain

Mathers and Reed start things off and miss kicks/clotheslines to start. A pinfall reversal sequence gets two each until Mathers kicks him into the corner. Reed misses a legsweep but comes back with a quick dropkick. Mathers is sent into the wrong corner and the Rascalz get in the rapid fire kicks for two. Price comes in and gets a running start into a jump to escape an early wristlock.

Oliver comes in to double team Xavier into the corner for some triple boots. Xavier is able to get up for a tag off to Wentz though and the unaware Mathers gets taken down. Wentz grabs a chinlock and kicks him down for two before it’s back to Reed. Some shots to the back keep Mathers down before it’s back to Wentz for a slingshot hilo.

Mathers fights up and brings Oliver in to clean house. A German suplex gets two on Wentz and cradles Reed at the same time, followed by an assisted Blockbuster for two. Wentz fights up and brings Reed back in for a slingshot belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination. Everything breaks down and Oliver hits a springboard clothesline to take over.

Xavier gets double teamed down and Price and Mathers hit a running dive each. Back in and Mathers’ 450 gets two on Xavier with Reed and Wentz making the save. Reed is back up with the running diving cutter and the Cardiac Kick hits Price. A Swanton into a 450 into Spiral Tap finishes Price at 16:04.

Rating: B+. This has been the week of the six man tags and this was yet another rather awesome edition. It’s a good example of a match that takes people and lets them do their thing from start to end, which was quite the treat. The Rascalz are great when they aren’t doing their comedy stuff and I like the other three more than enough for them to carry their side. Very entertaining match.

We get a video on Atticus Cogar vs. Hayabusa. Cogar is the big bad around here and Hayabusa is basically a tribute to the original. Cogar doesn’t think Hayabusa has the heart and scars though so it’s time for Hayabusa to earn them.

Game Changer Wrestling World Title: Hayabusa vs. Atticus Cogar

Cogar is defending. The fans seem to like Cogar a lot, despite him seemingly being the big villain. Cogar tries an early skewers shot so Hayabusa hammers away before avoiding a charge. Hayabusa’s Asai moonsault hits Cogar on the floor but Cogar ties him in the ropes for a moonsault back inside. The chinlock goes on and Hayabusa actually has to go to the ropes, meaning it’s time for the weapons.

Back in and Cogar starts chairing the knee down before getting the skewers for some stabbing. A back elbow gives Cogar two but Hayabusa knocks him off the top for a missile dropkick. Hayabusa’s suplex into a moonsault gets two and he grabs the Figure Four. The rope is grabbed and the fans are split between them, though the opt for Sabu after Hayabusa does one of his dives. Cogar is back up and kicks a chair into Hayabusa’s leg for two so it’s time to open a bunch of chairs.

Hayabusa is laid on the chairs but Cogar’s moonsault stomp only hits said chairs to leave him down. Back up and Hayabusa bridges a door over some chairs and a 450 drives Cogar through it for a slightly delayed two. Cogar pulls him off the top though and the Brain Hemorrhage (bulldog driver) gets two more. With that not working, Cogar grabs the skewers but Hayabusa takes them away and stabs him in the head instead. Hayabusa misses a moonsault (Cogar moved, but he was three feet from where Hayabusa landed anyway) and another Brain Hemorrhage retains at 13:35.

Rating: C+. I hate the skewers thing, but thankfully they didn’t go too crazy with them here. Instead it was more about chairs and the doors, though I never got to the point where I thought the title was in trouble. This felt more like a challenger of the month more than anything else, as they never got into the idea of hurting Hayabusa to cause the scars that Cogar talked about. It’s not a bad match, but I was hoping for more.

We recap Marko Stunt/Jack Perry vs. Sam Stackhouse/KJ Orso. Stunt announced his retirement and Orso attacked him. Orso’s former friend Stackhouse came out to save Stunt and then turned on him, joining Orso on the side of evil. Stunt wanted revenge and Perry was back to team with him, setting up the match.

Sam Stackhouse/KJ Orso vs. Marko Stunt/Jack Perry

Yes Perry arrives in his bus and yes Luchasaurus is still driving despite having one good…I guess it would be an arm. Stackhouse (who weights around 400lbs) is dressed as One Man Gang and Orso is in Ric Flair gear. We get a bunch of posing to start until Perry shoulders Orso down. With that not working, it’s off to Stackhouse, with Stunt wanting to come in as well. Stackhouse even drops to his knees before handing it back to Orso. They run the ropes a bit until Stunt grabs a rollup and scores with a basement dropkick.

Perry comes back in for a slam and has Stunt stand on his shoulders for a big splash. It’s back to Stackhouse for the spinwheel kick in the corner and Perry I knocked off the apron as well. Perry gets dropkicked off the apron as well but Stackhouse misses a charge, allowing Perry to get the tag. A quick sitout powerbomb gives Perry two and it’s already back to Stunt, who gets planted by Orso.

Stackhouse’s basement crossbody hits Stunt for two with Perry having to make the save. Orso dropkicks Stackhouse by mistake so he rakes Stunt in the eyes. Perry is back up with a poisonrana to Orso and a moonsault to the floor to drop Stackhouse. Back in and Stunt gives Orso a heck of a tornado Codebreaker but Stackhouse drops Stunt with ease. Perry is back in with a tornado DDT to Stackhouse, allowing Stunt to hit a 450. Stackhouse is ticked and clotheslines both of them and Stunt gets planted with a fire thunder driver.

Somehow Stunt pops up at two and slaps away at the monster Stackhouse and gives him a Codebreaker. Orso is back up to send Perry into Stunt in the corner and then kicks Perry low for a bonus. The Character Assassination (something like the House Call) gets two on Perry and it’s time to grab Perry’s title. Ring announcer Emil J grabs the title and gets pulled inside, with Perry having to make the save. Stunt dives onto Stackhouse on the floor and J gives Orso a tornado DDT. Perry picks Orso onto his shoulder for a top rope flipping cutter from Stunt and the pin at 16:14.

Rating: B. They played this one mostly straight, with Emil J’s deal being the only thing that was a bit silly. The idea here was to have the fans see Stunt get his revenge with help from his old friend. It’s a great example of a story where they didn’t screw it up and went with what they should have done. I liked this more than I expected to and that’s a nice feeling to have.

Post match Stunt says he’s back.

We recap The Sandman in his retirement match against…the Invisible Man. This involved Sandman on a talk show, attempting to run Invisible Man over, and Man winning matches on the way here. This has…I have no idea what it has really.

Sandman vs. The Invisible Man

Sandman gets to do the full Enter Sandman entrance, complete with beer and cigarettes, which will never stop being awesome. This of course takes its sweet time but hang on because here is Bill Alfonso…to be in Man’s corner. Man knocks the beer out of Sandman’s hand to start and knocks him down, with Sandman begging off to start. Sandman fights out of the corner, gives Man a kiss, and throws the left hands to drop him.

The Singapore cane shots connect but Man is back with a low blow. Sandman fights back but Alfonso gets in for a distraction…and a bunch of zombies come out for revenge of the ECW On Sci Fi debut (WOW that’s amazing and no I’m not being sarcastic). Cue the Insane Clown Posse and Vampiro to take out the zombies (the Outbreak) but the Man rams them together. Richard Holiday comes out to load up a low blow on Sandman, which brings out…someone in overalls named Guy Steel.

Holiday gets beaten up but Steel gets dropped by Man. A Canadian Destroyer takes Steel down so Sandman asks a woman at ringside named Kendra Lust to hand in the cane. Naturally she turns on Sandman, which brings out Missy Hyatt to beat Lust down with her own cane. The women fight off so Man spears Sandman through a door in the corner, only to hit the referee by mistake.

Another referee comes in and Sandman beats him up, which brings out a third referee, who gets beaten up by Man. Five more referees (WHY DO THEY HAVE SO MANY REFEREES???) get taken out and let’s just keep it going, with Sandman and Man pingponging one of them back and forth. Even Fonzie beats up a referee, leaving Sandman and the Man to slug it out. Sandman falls on him for….the biggest group near fall you’ll ever see, as about ten referees count two.

Man kicks a ladder into Sandman’s face…but INVISIBLE STAN is back! Somehow Fonzie gets them to work together….so MICK FOLEY IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY! After taking out Stan with a double arm DDT, Foley throws Mr. Socko to Sandman and we get a big hug. Stan and Man are back up though and a low blow gives Man the pin on Sandman at 20:49.

Rating: A+. If you don’t get why this was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen in a long time, you need to pay better attention. Where else are you going to see two invis ok never mind on that one. But it had Foley and Sandman, plus a horde of zombies and Bill Alfonso, with Sandman going out on his back. I’m sold.

Post match Man and Stan leave together and Foley says he’s here for free because he and Sandman may not have liked each other, but they meant a lot to each other’s careers. With that, Foley leaves and Sandman toasts the crowd and leaves a beer in the ring for a nice moment.

Sandman might not have been a polished in-ring star, but he was the perfect choice for ECW at that time in front of that audience. He has turned that into a heck of a post in-ring career and this was just goofy fun to wrap it up. I got to be in the ECW Arena for a Sandman entrance once and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Sandman deserves this and it’s awesome to see him get this big sendoff.

We recap Effy vs. Allie Katch. They were friends and partners, but Effy lost the World Title and snapped under the pressure, even turning on Katch. She can’t see him like this and now it’s time for them to fight one on one, loser leaves GCW. This is another case where building up characters and relationships makes things feel important. Yes their team was often silly, but this feels important and emotional and that’s great to see.

Effy vs. Allie Katch

Loser leaves GCW. Effy shows off his g-string to start and starts a BUSSY chant, earning him a shot to the face. Katch can’t bring herself to dive after getting hurt doing it before so instead she hits a baseball slide. They go up to the stage with Effy being sent to the floor and taken down with a dive. Back in and a piledriver gives Katch two but Effy is back with something like a full nelson with his legs in the ropes. That doesn’t last long so Effy grabs the chair, followed by a running boot in the corner.

Effy takes too long going up though and gets a chair pelted at him for two. A top rope Fameasser sends Effy’s face into the chair for two so Effy asks her to hit him with the chair. Since she can’t do that, it’s a TKO flipped over into a dragon sleeper to put Katch in more trouble. Effy curb stomps her face first into the chair, leaving Katch busted open. Some hips to the head and a running seated senton gives Effy two.

The door is thrown in and stomped onto Katch but she’s back up with a powerbomb. A Muta Lock has Effy in more trouble but it doesn’t last long. Effy drops his trunks and hits another hip attack to the face, only to get pulled into a Pele Kick. Back up and Effy hits a spear for two before breaking the door over her head. A chokeslam onto a bunch of stuff gives Effy two and it’s time for a screwdriver (which was used on both of them over the years).

Cue the 1 Called Manders so Effy stabs him instead. Katch is back with a splash but the Cannonball misses. Effy grabs the bell so here is Parrow, who gets hit with the bell and stabbed with the screwdriver. Katch is busted open but keeps fighting back so Effy grabs a turnbuckle. Now it’s Dark Sheik coming out to take the wrench from Effy and hit him in the head. She hands Katch the wrench and leaves, so Effy starts begging off. Katch throws it down and hugs him…so Effy headbutts her. The screwdriver to the head has Katch screaming and the piledriver finishes her off at 25:50.

Rating: B. This was all about the emotions and that works because these two have been built up as people we should care about. Yes you had stuff that wasn’t as serious like Effy with his trunks and the screwdriver which is so over the top that it’s hard to care about, but the relationship is there. It’s a case of “personal issues draw money” and that’s why this worked, just like it would anywhere if it was treated as something that mattered.

We recap Steph de Lander/Mance Warner vs. Megan Bayne/??? Bayne had attacked the injured de Lander so Warner made the save and issued the challenge for Spring Break. Naturally, game on.

Mance Warner/Steph de Lander vs. Megan Bayne/???

Warner and de Lander have Las Vegas showgirls with her due to…well we’re in Vegas at a show. Warner jumps Bayne from behind and de Lander hammer away as there’s no partner yet. Bayne is down…and it’s Nick Gage. The brawl is on with Gage taking Mancer out and then giving de Lander a DDT. The introduction goes on as Gage and Bayne beat Warner up, with Gage switching off to de Lander.

Warner is back up to cut Gage off and we settle down to de Lander and Warner taking turns beating on Bayne. That’s reversed and Bayne chops away at de Lander, only to get choked by Warner. Bayne gets back up to fire off the forearms to de Lander and they knock each other down. Gage gets the tag and spears Warner through a piece of a door, followed by stereo falcon arrows to give Gage and Bayne two each.

It’s time for the weapons (you knew they were coming), with Warner chairing Gage down but getting speared by Bayne. Back up and Warner slugs away at Gage, who gets tornado DDT…well not through a door as the thing doesn’t break. The four of them sit in the chairs and slug it out until Bayne is up with a double clothesline. A piledriver onto the chair gets two on Warner, with de Lander pulling the referee. The required pizza cutter sliced Warner up and Bayne powerbombs him into Gage’s piledriver for the pin at 15:00.

Rating: C+. Your mileage may vary here and that’s just how it’s going to work with stuff involving Gage. I’m not big on the guy, though I do appreciate the idea of Bayne and Gage talking backstage to set the team up. The match was the usual violent brawling, though I do still like Warner, even if he does some out there stuff in the ring.

We recap Joey Janela vs. 14 year old Brodie Lee Jr. Lee wanted to wrestle Janela, who wasn’t interested, at least until Lee called him “Megan Bayne’s b****”. That was enough as Janela went hard on him and beat him up. The match was set, with Janela invoking Lee’s father dying to get his mother to sign a waiver for the match. And yes, this is the main event.

Joey Janela vs. Brodie Lee Jr.

Lee has a bunch of wrestlers to fire him up and we’re ready to go. Janela backs him into the corner and then hits a running shoulder, allowing Janela to get in some mockery. Lee rolls out of a wristlock and trips Janela down, earning himself a sucker punch. A headscissors takes Janela down so he grabs a crucifix, only to get caught with a PK. Janela knocks him down again but Lee is back up with a jumping back elbow. The chase is on with Janela decking him on the way back inside.

Janela’s backbreaker connects as Lee is bleeding from the nose. They go outside again where Janela chops the post by mistake and Lee gets two off a sunset flip back inside. Janela knocks him down again and hits another backbreaker, only to miss the moonsault. Lee is back up to stomp away in the corner, followed by the clotheslines. A nice hurricanrana out of the corner brings Janela down and Lee hits a good looking jumping knee.

Lee’s high crossbody gets two and Janela bails out to the floor. That just earns him a diving tornado DDT off the apron and Lee grabs the papers (ala his father) to throw at Janela. A Heatseeker (which Lee says is for MJF) gets two but Janela gets in a chair to the knee. Janela even Pillmanizes the leg, followed by an ankle lock. Lee rolls out and gets two off a rollup before getting his own ankle lock.

Janela makes the rope so the referee starts the five count, despite commentary saying there are no DQ’s in GCW. Janela is back up with a Figure Four but Lee manages to turn it over. They get back up and slug it out, with Janela doing as Lee asks and hitting him harder. Janela’s tombstone attempt is countered into a headscissor driver for two. A Death Valley Driver gets two on Lee…but Janela won’t piledrive him.

Cue Chris Bey, who isn’t allowed at ringside (like everyone else), allowing Lee to roll him up for two. The Death Valley Driver onto the apron is countered into a DDT and they get back inside. The slugout results in them both knocking the other down, but Lee nips up. A sliding kick to the head looks gives Lee two but Janela drops him again.

Janela loads up Lee’s discus lariat, which is countered into a Sister Abigail for two. A cutter hits Janela, who is right back with a piledriver for two. Janela takes Lee up top but a dragon superplex is broken up. Lee rolls into a Cross Rhodes for two on Janela and his father’s discus lariat sets up…another discus lariat. Lee pulls him up at two though and grabs the Sharpshooter (as he was trained in the Dungeon) for the tap at 28:49.

Rating: C. Where in the world do I begin? First of all, no, of course I’m not grading this on a normal scale because Lee is 14 and not a regular wrestler and no I’m not going to say this was some embarrassment to wrestling as I was having a blast with the Sandman and the Invisible Man on the same show. That’s all fine. The problem is the charm of this match wore out its welcome WAY before they wrapped it up, as suspension of disbelief only got me so far. It’s Lee getting to honor his father and the company trying to help him deal with things, which is great, but this needed to be WAY shorter than Janela’s regular far too long matches.

Post match Lee’s mother comes in to hug him and his little brother comes in. Lee’s trainer gets in and the brother says he’s coming for Janela next. Janela’s eyes bug out to end the show (ok they made up for some of it there).

Overall Rating: B. I’m never going to be a full time GCW fan, as they’re a bit too all over the place for me. I’m not big on the death match stuff and a lot of their content is fairly low rent. That being said, every so often, when they’ve had the chance to put something together and have the right people and I’m in the right mood, it can be incredibly entertaining stuff.

I do like the Spring Break shows and they’re the kind of insane fun that only wrestling can provide. This might not be the best wrestling, but it’s some of the most entertaining at times and that’s worth quite a bit. You might love this or hate it, but they know their audience and that’s a good thing to see, as you can get fun nights like this one.

Results
1 Called Manders won the Grab The Brass Ring Ladder Match
Rascalz b. Marcus Mathers/Bustah And The Brain – Spiral Tap to Price
Atticus Cogar b. Hayabusa – Brain Hemorrhage
Marko Stunt/Jack Perry b. Sam Stackhouse/KJ Orso – Elevated top rope twisting cutter
Invisible Man b. Sandman – Rollup
Effy b. Allie Katch – Piledriver
Nick Gage/Megan Bayne b. Mance Warner/Steph de Lander – Piledriver to Warner
Brodie Lee Jr. b. Joey Janela – Sharpshooter

 

 

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

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Strangle-Mania: Viva Las Violence
Date: April 17, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Joe Dombrowski, Mark Roberts, Zac Amico,

Why not end it with some Juggalo Championship Wrestling? This is the last indy show of the week that I’ll be covering and I’m coming into it completely blind. Vince Russo is now a big force in this company and that means if I’m going out, I’m going out on a ridiculous show. Let’s get to it.

A car with Texas license plates arrives and drops someone in a body bag out of the trunk before driving off.

The opening video looks at gambling.

Then we play the two videos again, with the audio fixed.

The regular opening video shows us some of the bigger names set for the card.

Here is half owner Violent J to get things going. J welcomes the fans and we’re ready with the opener.

In the back, Jasmin St. Clair yells at Vince Russo, who says the Monster Corporation is split up if they lose tonight. St. Clair is their manager so she’s issuing a challenge for a six person tag against some legends.

George South/Rock N Roll Express vs. St. Clair Monster Corporation

The Corporation is Beastman/Kongo Kong/Mr. Happy. And yes South has his face painted like a clown. The Monsters jump them to start as commentary says the legends have something like 130 years experience. That actually might be true and that’s insane. Beastman gets staggered with a knee lift and Kong is taken into the corner for some alternating wristlocks.

Kong gets knocked down but comes back with a shot to Morton. Happy comes in and knocks Kong out by mistake, leaving South to fight back on Beastman. Kong is back up but crashes into his partners as everything breaks down. Kong and Beastman crash into each other in the corner with Happy (who isn’t that bright) thinking it’s a game. He splashes both of them and Kong falls down for the pin at 4:41.

Rating: D+. This was a comedy match and I think you know where this show is going. The match was the mess you would have expected, though it’s always nice to see the Express. Thankfully they kept this short, with Happy being little more than a comedy goof and the other two not being much better.

Commentators preview the rest of the card.

Kerry Morton says he is Mr. JCW and knows Mickie Knuckles wants to face him. Vince Russo wants to get rid of him because no one can hang with him. Knuckles is getting in the ring with a Japanese legend as Morton was on a Japanese tour.

Here is Claude, an odd artist, as played by Wrestling With Wregret’s Brian Zane. He doesn’t like the fans and they don’t like him either but he’ll be here for the next match.

Mickie Knuckles vs. Kerry Morton

And apparently Claude is guest referee for this Kamikaze Death Match. Before the match, Morton tells the fans to shut the f*** up while he talks. He sees some women here for a change and some of them are actually good looking. Morton can’t believe he has to look at TWO women in his sport, meaning Knuckles and the ring announcer.

Now he’s going to show the men what it’s like to whip a woman. Knuckles slugs away to start and knocks him outside where Morton gets in a cheap shot. The weapons are already thrown in but Knuckles grabs him low to cut him off. Some trashcan shots to the head have Morton staggered but he gets in a hard shot of his own to take over again. Knuckles bites him low (“It’s not the biggest target but Mickie found it!”) and it’s a running hip attack in the corner.

A running dropkick sends a trashcan into Morton’s face and Claude is ordered to help set up some weapons. That takes too long and Morton fights back again, only to spend too much time thrusting his pelvis in her face. Knuckles shoves him through a door…but Claude stops to sneeze. Morton knees Claude down by mistake and Knuckles rolls some suplexes for two. Knuckles thrusts back at Morton and gets sent through a door, with the rest being broken over her head. A trashcan shot gets the pin at 8:58, with Morton using the rope.

Rating: C-. This was the weapons mess you would expect and that’s all it needed to be. Morton is great at being a jerk and the fans want to see him get beaten up. Knuckles got to do that and then Claude was able to make it even worse, which is exactly the idea. It wasn’t a good match, but the angle was fine.

The Outbreak don’t do well in their urine test. Yep. Because they’re zombies.

Outbreak vs. Brothers Of Funstruction

The Outbreak (again, zombies, named Abel and Jacksyn, with Barnabas The Bizarre) are apparently addicted to cocaine, hence the drug test. The Brothers (Ruffo and Yabo, a pair of clowns) bring in a bunch of balloons…and hang on as here is Violent J to make it a triple threat.

Outbreak vs. Brothers Of Funstruction vs. Backseat Boyz

The Outbreak goes after the Boyz to start fast and they take out Abel before moving on to the Brothers. That earns the Boyz a double atomic drop but the Outbreak are up to fire off elbows in the corner. The Boyz come back with a top rope G9 to Jacksyn but the Brothers make the save with their balloons. We pause for some tickling but it doesn’t work on the undead Outbreak. As Above So Below (Skull & Bones) finishes Ruffo at 7:45 (counting the two on two tag part).

Rating: C. This was all about the insanity and ridiculous gimmicks and that’s exactly what it came off as, which is…good? I guess? It’s certainly memorable and while “cocaine addicted zombies” might not be the most traditional gimmick, it’s better (I think) than some of the terrible ideas we could be seeing.

Post match the Outbreak celebrate with cocaine. Of course they do.

Big Vito (yes that Vito) pays off PCO to help him in the main event against Vampiro. PCO isn’t in but Vito has another idea.

American Title: Disco Ray vs. Mikey Avalon vs. Mecha Wolf vs. Ninja Mack vs. Facade

Facade is defending and goes to the floor as the other four do a test of strength. Ray starts dancing and Wolf is mesmerized by the hips. Some tambourines to Avalon (the Man Of 1000 Gimmicks) have him in trouble for a change and it’s Facade back in to take over on Ray. That leaves Facade to do a handstand in the corner and then kick Ray down. Wolf slugs away at Facade and Avalon pushes Mack off the top.

Avalon is back in with his surfboard, which he throws at Facade’s head followed by…a surfboard. Wolf gets in a frog splash for two, with Ray making the save. Avalon side slams Wolf for two but Wolf is back with some mist. Mack backflips into a dive to the floor and Ray Downward Spirals (Panic At The Disco) Facade. Hold on as Ray’s Ring Rat (yes that’s her name) comes in to hit him low. Facade chairs Ray down and hits a Sabu Triple Jump Moonsault to retain at 10:21.

Rating: C+. This is pretty easily the best match of the night thus far, mainly because it was more about a wrestling match than all of the ridiculous stuff. Yes you had the stuff with the Rat (because her name is Ring Rat) and the mist, but I’ll take that over the other stuff we’ve seen thus far. The athleticism was certainly good.

Post match the Rat leaves with Steven Flow.

Violent J and Big Vito yell at the Vampiro retirement match. Vince Russo comes in to ask what happened to Vampiro’s honor and Vito yells a lot. With Russo and J gone, Vito pays someone off to do…something. The guy calls Vito horrible and Vito says don’t you forget it or it could be you next.

Here is the Green Phantom. He doesn’t do anything, but he’s here. Then he leaves.

Women’s Title: J-Rod/Nyla Rose vs. Alice Crowley/Dani Mo

Crowley is defending and yes it’s a tag match for the singles title (whomever gets the fall gets the pin), with Katie Forbes as guest referee. After a long weapons check, it’s Crowley suplexing J-Rod to start and hitting an Emerald Flosion for an early two. Mo comes in to kick J-Rod in the head but Crowley tags herself in to face Rose.

The usually bigger Crowley gets thrown around by Rose, so Mo tags herself in and gets powerslammed for two. J-Rod comes back in to strike away on Mo before it’s back to Rose, with Mo giving her a Code Red for two more. That doesn’t get her very far as it’s J-Rod with a running elbow in the corner. Crowley is drawn in and a double chokeslam gives J-Rod the pin and the title at 8:12.

Rating: C. As usual, the stipulations don’t make a ton of sense and the reason for them being added didn’t really get explained. That’s where things get complicated because it leaves you wonder why you’re watching this. I wanted to see more of Crowley, who has impressed me in the limited time I’ve seen her, while J-Rod looks like an amazing prospect. At the same time, it’s nice to see Rose, as she’s too good to leave sitting on the sidelines.

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2 Tuff Tony/Rob Van Dam/Willie Mack vs. Kenta/Good Brothers

Tony’s entrance takes forever and Van Dam (who does not age) has Bill Alfonso with him. Anderson and Tony start things off with Tony stopping for a drink. It seems to work, with Anderson shouldering him down and Gallows coming in to face Mack. The power exchange doesn’t get either of them very far so it’s off to Kenta vs. Van Dam.

Believe it or not, Kenta runs his mouth before getting pulled into the corner for the tag off to Tony. Everything breaks down (I’m shocked it took that long) and we settle down to Mack Stunnering Anderson. Gallows is back in to strike away but he gets caught with a Van Daminator. Not to be outdone, Tony lights something on fire and knocks Gallows down. The Five Star finishes for Van Dam at 8:59.

Rating: C. They were probably better off keeping things a bit nuts here rather than trying to do a regular match. Van Dam continues to defy all things involving time and aging as he’s still about the same as he was ten years ago. The others didn’t really add much here but the Good Brothers kind of come packaged in with a show like this one.

Vince Russo gives Caleb Konley (Russo’s chosen one) a pep talk, telling him to be less relaxed. Konley says he’s done everything Russo has asked him to do and now he gets yelled at again. That’s what Russo wanted to hear.

JCW World Title: CoKane vs. Matt Riddle vs. Nic Nemeth vs. Caleb Konley

CoKane, a cocaine addicted Kane enthusiast, is defending and this is elimination rules. Hold on though as here is Jeeves to bring out EC3 as guest referee. Because that’s a thing that he can do. And apparently Jeeves and EC3 are cousins. Konley has Vince Russo with him and Nemeth has his face painted. Actually Russo jumps on commentary because of course he does.

Konley drops to the floor to start and it’s Riddle coming in to clean house. CoKane kicks him down but gets suplexed for his early efforts. Konley comes in and has to block the straws to the head. CoKane’s rope walk is cut off and Konley elbows him in the back of the head. Nemeth is back in to knock Konley down and drops the big elbow. Nemeth’s superkick puts CoKane down but Konley kicks Nemeth low.

A Burning Hammer pins Nemeth at 5:20. Riddle is back up to kick away, with a fisherman’s buster getting two on CoKane. A Broton hits CoKane as Konley heads outside again. Riddle Tombstones CoKane but Konley kick Riddle low, with another Burning Hammer finishing him off at 7:21.

We’re down to one on one as Russo rants about commentary not praising Konley enough. Konley knocks the referee down by mistake and gets caught with CoKane’s Lethal Injection. The cocaine is loaded up but Steven Flo takes it away. The Burning Hammer only gets two and Russo is ticked. CoKane sits up, has some cocaine, and hits a chokeslam to retain at 11:21.

Rating: C-. The cocaine stuff is dumb and I don’t know how else to say it. Maybe they’re going for the idea of “well we don’t know exactly what it is” but it’s still just a dumb story no matter how they present it. CoKane is at least a funny character, but to have him as the top name in the company is…yeah there’s a reason this place isn’t taken the most seriously. Throw in Russo being his usual self on commentary and this wasn’t going to work.

Post match Russo gets in the ring to yell and it means nothing.

We recap Vampiro’s retirement match. Vampiro returned to help Violent J and then wanted to retire. For some reason Vito hates him and is sending PCO to get him. Vito wants to get rid of him as well and…yeah I’m not sure if this makes sense either. Eh you take what you can get.

Vampiro vs. Big Vito vs. PCO

Vito, wrestling in most of a suit, insults the crowd and the ICP fans, which is more complicated as the ICP come out with Vampiro. Before the match, Vampiro thanks the fans for staying around and thanks the ICP for working with him for so many years. PCO has him scared and he doesn’t know Vito very well (Then why is he here?) so let’s fight. Vampiro chops away at PCO to limited avail so PCO helps him knock Vito down.

They go outside with PCO and Vito being sent into the post before the brawl heads out into the crowd. They come back to ringside with Vampiro being knocked into a chair, leaving Vito’s shots to PCO to not have much effect. J gets in and cue the man Vito paid off earlier (Shane Mercer), who hits Vito by mistake.

PCO is back in with a headbutt to Vito so Vampiro comes in to steal a cover. Vito’s crossface goes on so PCO makes the save and stomps away on Vampiro. Vito yells at PCO for trying to go after Vampiro and gets chokeslammed for his efforts. Vampiro cuts PCO off and it’s the Nail In The Coffin to finish Vito at 10:42.

Rating: D. I watched this show and I’m not sure if I know why these people are fighting or what is going on. That’s something that might make sense after a big time World Title match, but this was a simple retirement match. Why do we have this much going on in Vampiro’s retirement match? Ah yes: Russo is booking and it’s a bunch of people who were past their primes decades ago (ok maybe not PCO) so what else were you expecting?

Post match Vampiro gets the streamers and a trophy to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. Yeah this was as bad as you would have expected, with some fun/funny ideas in there but so much stuff that was just either bad or made no sense. I still don’t get the idea of running angles during what should be your biggest show of the year but that’s always been a Russo thing. This really did not work and while the weekly show might be better, this had way too many of the Russo issues and tropes dragging it way down.

Results
Rock N Roll Express/George South b. St. Clair Monster Corporation – Splash to Kong
Kerry Morton b. Mickie Knuckles – Trashcan to the head
Outbreak b. Brothers Of Funstruction and Backseat Boyz – As Above, So Below to Ruffo
Facade b. Disco Ray, Mikey Avalon, Mecha Wolf and Ninja Mack – Triple jump moonsault to Ray
J-Rod/Nyla Rose b. Alice Crowley/Dani Mo – Double chokeslam to Mo
Rob Van Dam/2 Tuff Tony/Willie Mack b. Good Brothers/Kenta – Five Star Frog Splash to Gallows
Vampiro b. Big Vito and PCO – Nail In The Coffin to Vito

 

 

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Outbreak
Date: February 21, 2020
Location: Ice Center, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Josh Matthews

This was a nice little surprise as OVW/Impact Wrestling ran a joint show in Lexington as a setup for Saturday’s Sacrifice in Louisville. For some reason OVW never runs Lexington so hopefully this is the start of a trend. The show was barely advertised locally so it was far from a guaranteed sellout. Let’s get to it.

The venue was rather small, with four rows of chairs on three sides. One good sign: I sat in the fourth row and by the time the show started, they had put out a fifth row of seats behind me. There was a small but invested crowd so it seemed to go fairly well. I was facing the entrance with commentary on my right (you could hear almost every word they said, which is a weird situation when you’re in the arena) and OVW owner Al Snow about eight feet behind me.

Josh Matthews, going solo until the actual show starts, welcomes us to the show and talks about the big upcoming events. It’s fairly clear that he doesn’t have much to say here other than listing off shows so he’s trying to fill time, which is harder than it seems.

Pre-Show: Dimes vs. Corey Storm

Storm grabs a headlock to start but Dimes is out with a sunset flip for two. Dimes shoulders him down as Josh is talking to I believe Twitch users. I know it sounds a bit goofy but can you imagine WWE doing something that direct? Storm fights out of a chinlock and snaps off a German suplex before dropkicking Dimes into the corner. A top rope double stomp to the back gives Storm the pin at 2:56. Entertaining while it lasted and Storm looked decent.

Josh chats some more.

Pre-Show: Rae Lynn vs. Cali Young

Young is a rather bubbly blonde who is running for some unspecified office, complete with her campaign manager DL3 (in an American flag shirt and shorts). I think you get the idea here and while it’s a small indy gimmick, OVW is a relatively small indy. We start with a Pledge of Allegiance but Lynn rolls her up for two. That means a dancing salute from Young but Lynn drops her with a shoulder.

Young can’t nip up so Lynn slams her, only to have DL3 grab her foot. Lynn is fine enough to hit a crossbody for two and a small package gets the same. A snapmare sets up a chinlock on Lynn but she’s back up in a hurry. DL3: “Get her!” Callie: “Okay!” Another chinlock doesn’t last as long so Callie goes with an X Factor for two more. Callie misses a charge and gets kicked in the head, drawing DL3 up to the apron so there’s no count. Lynn knocks them into each other and rolls Callie up for the pin at 6:08.

Rating: D+. There isn’t much to say about this one as it was two women who are neither good nor horrible in the ring with a limited amount of time to work. It’s fine for a warmup match and Callie’s patriotic deal was fine enough for what they’re doing. OVW’s women’s division has never been a strong point but this was far from a disaster. Just kind of there for the most part.

Moose joins commentary and is happy to be going back to Atlanta for some shows. They talk about his time with the Atlanta Falcons and it’s much more of a chat than an interview. Moose is ready to face Jay Bradley and isn’t worried about facing a so called “best big” tonight. He thinks it’s going to be bell, spear bell, and yes, he is Mr. Impact Wrestling. This was really different and in a pretty nice way (once they got the commentary to work).

Opening sequence, complete with the ring announcer telling the fans to get up and make noise.

Trey Wentz vs. Maximus Khan

Khan’s OVW Title isn’t on the line. He has a big helmet and cape to make him quite the intimidating presence. Wentz’s offer of a handshake is slapped away but he gets powered into the corner. That means a top rope hurricanrana to send Khan into the corner for a running dropkick.

Khan is right back with some right hands to the head and Wentz is in trouble in a hurry. The chinlock goes on until Khan switches to a sleeper, sending Wentz over to the rope. This time Wentz grabs a rolling snapmare and kicks him in the chest to send Khan outside. Back in and a springboard Codebreaker gives Wentz two but Khan’s ax kick gets the same. A heck of a spear finishes Wentz at 9:20.

Rating: C. I like both guys and this was a good showcase for Khan. Wentz is part of a trio but he has enough credibility that beating him makes Khan look that much better. It’s not a game changer, but it makes Khan look like a big deal. Good enough choice for an opener here with power vs. speed being as basic of a wrestling story as you’re going to find.

Dave Crist vs. Joey Ryan

So Crist apparently has no idea what Ryan is all about and is rather confused by the whole thing. He does get in a rather funny line during his entrances (though the camera doesn’t pick it up here): “I’m not like you Kentucky hillbillies! We don’t have hills in Ohio!” Josh explains Joey’s shtick in as PG of a way as possible, which gets to what bothers me here: there are a bunch of kids in the audience and Ryan’s deal is far from kid friendly. I’m sure he has a PG version of it, but this was the full on deal and there’s something off about doing that with so many kids in the audience.

We get the full lollipop deal and it’s time to oil up after the bell. Dave: “WHAT IS THAT FOR???” Joey tells him to touch it but Dave has to ask the fans what he needs to touch. Dave does in fact touch it and then asks what that thing is. After teasing getting in a fight with a fan, Dave invites Joey to wrestle the wrestle guy. Joey: “Wrestling’s not really my strong suit but I’ll give it a go.”

They fight over arm control until Ryan takes him down for a leglock. Some armdrags put Dave outside so he comes back in for failed attempts at a low blow and atomic drop. Dave bails to the floor again because of a leg injury but this time he comes back in to work on Ryan’s leg. He dives into a raised boot though and falls face first between Joey’s legs. Joey fires back with clotheslines and a dropkick but Dave gets in a spinebuster. Standing Sliced Bread #2 gives Dave two more but Joey makes him touch It. The Plex sets up Sweet Tooth Music for the pin on Dave at 9:39.

Rating: D. Yeah what else were you expecting here? My guess would be the same stuff that you always get from Ryan, which is one of my biggest problems with him. I’ll give them points for having something unique with Dave being all confused and not knowing what was going on, but the first half was really basic stuff and not very good, which is the other part of what’s wrong with Ryan: his wrestling is rather boring most of the time, hence the need for the shtick.

Johnny Swinger vs. Willie Mack

Hold on though as Swinger says no one wants to see these two fight. They’ve caught on like wildfire so strong that Tommy Rich called him up the other day. Ole is ticked but the fans need to go buy a Mack and Pack shirt for $29.95, cash on delivery. They can have a tag match instead so bring out the ham and eggers. Swinger tries a rollup but the bell hasn’t rung yet, so Mack is rather annoyed. He grabs his own rollup for two as the bell rings and Swinger knows he’s in trouble.

Mack scares him into the ropes where Swinger insults the mizarks, earning himself some atomic drops. Swinger needs a breather but goes with a test of strength to continue the rather dumb ideas. That earns him a double stomp to the hands and Mack hammers away in the corner for a bonus. A cheap shot out of the corner drops Mack and we hit the nerve hold. Swinger pulls at the nose and gets two off a forearm to the face.

We go Orndorff with a bit of a dancing elbow but Mack is back up with a few back rakes. A missed elbow starts up the Mack chants and the fans are even more pleased as Swinger misses his own elbows. The swinging slam into the legdrop sets up the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault as Mack is rolling. There’s the Stunner into the Six Star Frog Splash to finish Swinger at 10:44.

Rating: C. I know the wrestling wasn’t much to see but Mack is one of the best guys around here and Swinger is so goofily bad that it’s fun (and we’re in on the joke for once). Keeping him WAY down in stuff like this is fine and he’s playing everything perfectly. Just let him stay as a comedy guy and he could stick around for a good while.

Tony Gunn vs. Trey Miguel

Gunn is a former OVW Champion and has yet to show me much of anything in previous appearances. Gunn shoulders him down and says this is the Gunn Show. I’m almost scared to ask how long it took him to think of that. They go to the mat with neither being able to get ahead, meaning it’s a standoff. Back up and they both miss some right hands until Trey kicks him in the face.

Tony takes the leg out as he heads outside, only to get taken down by the suicide dive. Gunn kicks the ropes on the way back in though and Trey has banged up his knee. Back in and Gunn grabs a kneebar, as he certainly should be doing. Now it’s a Brock Lock to mix things up a bit, even lifting Trey up for a bonus.

That’s broken up and Trey manages a kick to the face, setting up a jumping neckbreaker to put both of them down. In a not so bright move, Trey goes up and misses the double knees, though he settles for a double stomp to the back of the head for two. Gunn grabs the Texas Cloverleaf to go back to the knee, only to let it go so Trey can hit the Cheeky Nandos kick in the corner. A 619 into the top rope Meteora finishes Gunn at 11:05.

Rating: C. Another completely watchable match with Wentz fighting back through adversity and hitting his finisher to win, even though there wasn’t much logic in using a knee based move after you knee was banged up. Then again Trey isn’t the most logical guy in the world so maybe it makes sense for him. Not a bad match either, even with Gunn being rather generic in everything he does.

Moose vs. Jay Bradley

Hoss fight. Moose tries the spear at the bell but gets kicked in the face for his efforts. They trade shoulders with Moose going down, only to nip right back up. Moose gets tossed across the ring and that means it’s time for a breather on the floor. Bradley follows him out though and sends Moose into the apron, only to get whipped into the barricade.

The run around the ring clothesline is cut off by an elbow to the face and it’s a chokeslam onto the apron for a bonus. Back in and a Vader Bomb elbow gives Bradley two but Moose hits some running dropkicks to the face. A wind up lariat misses and Bradley headbutts him down for two.

Bradley’s pop up powerbomb gets the same but Moose catches him on top. That means a top rope superplex with one of the loudest landings I can ever remember. Moose’s chokebomb gets two more and they trade big shots to the face. Bradley hits the Boom Stick (hard lariat) for two so he loads up another, only to get No Jackhammer Needed down for the pin at 12:40.

Rating: B. This was easily the match of the night so far as the two of them beat the heck out of each other with one hard hitting power move after another. Bradley is little more than a power guy but he does it quite well and makes for some entertaining matches. When Moose finds a good opponent, he can do some awesome stuff in the ring and that’s what he did here.

The announcers chat for a bit as something (maybe part of the mat that attaches to the ring) has to be repaired.

North vs. Larry D./Acey Romero

Non-title and Larry (or Madman Fulton as the graphic says) is a local/big guy who got signed off another Impact Plus event. Alexander tries to dodge Romero to starts and then a single shot to the face…has no effect whatsoever. Some big slams have Alexander down and it’s off to Larry for some shoulders. It’s off to Page for a headlock but for some reason he tries some shoulders to as much effect as you would expect.

Alexander grabs Romero’s foot though and Page kicks him in the head, followed by sending Alexander hard into Romero’s back. As Josh gets his Kentucky geography wrong, Page hammers away and rips at Acey’s face against the ropes. Alexander forearms at the face and hands it back to Page for a knee drop. The wide variety of pounding on Romero continues until the North mixes things up by beating him up at the same time. Romero hits the double Pounce and the hot tag brings in Larry to clean house.

A sitout powerbomb gets two on Alexander, who is right back with a muscular suplex. Romero is already back in as everything breaks down with the big guys getting the better of things. The North pulls Larry off the top and into Romero though, followed by a heck of a German suplex for two on Larry. Romero dropkicks Alexander into Larry for a full nelson slam but Page sends Larry outside. That means a powerbomb out of the corner can finish Romero at 16:03.

Rating: D+. The length is the big problem here as Romero and Larry aren’t exactly guys with a lot of versatility. They can do some good things for their size but sixteen minutes is WAY too long for a big guy like Romero and a very limited guy like Larry. It’s not a horrible match but it just went on WAY too long.

Rhino vs. Madman Fulton

No DQ, or “old school” rules as it’s called here. They drive each other around a few times until a hard shoulder puts Fulton on the floor. The brawling begins with both guys being sent into various things, including Rhino dropping him back first onto the apron. Rhino chairs him in the ribs and gets in a suplex in the aisle. Now it’s a trashcan and a kendo stick as Rhino starts unloading with various shots. He spends too much time hunting for weapons though and that lets Fulton get in his own chair shots.

The trashcan is wedged in the corner but Rhino hiptosses him onto an open chair. Fulton gets sent HARD into the trashcan in the corner, only to come back with a slam onto the folded chair. Rhino is right back up and superplexes him onto a few chairs for two. The Gore is cut off with a trashcan shot and Fulton smashes him with a kendo stick. The referee gets bumped, followed by a Gore and another referee running in for the pin at 13:22.

Rating: D+. If you’ve seen one of these, you’ve seen all of them. There’s nothing to this other than trading shots with weapons and that doesn’t exactly keep me interested in what is going on. Fulton losing to Rhino is far from a stretch but the ECW stuff doesn’t exactly hold up well these days, especially with an ECW guy still in there.

Kiera Hogan vs. Megan Bayne vs. Jessika Havok vs. Jordynne Grace

Non-title and Bayne is a tall/muscular woman from OVW. It’s Bayne vs. Havok in the first of what will likely be several power showdowns. The hit/shove each other a few times until Grace comes in to slug it out with Havok. Hogan comes in and has to escape a Grace Driver attempt, meaning Bayne can come back in to fight Grace.

With Grace being sent outside, Havok comes back in to splash Bayne in the corner. Forearms to the chest keep Bayne down but she avoids a legdrop. Bayne’s crossbody takes Havok down but Hogan and Grace come in for stereo near falls. Bayne knocks both of them down and Samoan drops Havok for two on all three. Havok is back up though and chokebombs Bayne into a Boston crab for the win at 7:02.

Rating: C-. They kept this short as there is only so much that you can do with these four going after each other. The win makes sense as Havok is challenging Grace on Saturday so at least they have some logic. Bayne is someone who could be a nice player once she gets some more experience, because she already has the look and size.

Ace Austin/Jake Crist vs. Tessa Blanchard/Daga

Preview for tomorrow’s Austin vs. Blanchard match. Ace bails from Tessa to start so it’s Jake coming in to trade arm holds with Blanchard. That’s fine with her as she ties up Jake in a leglock to send him to the ropes for a breather. Daga and Ace come in for an exchange of shoulders with Daga getting the better of things. A dropkick keeps Jake down so it’s off to Ace, who again runs from the legal Tessa.

Ace gets in a cheap shot from the apron to drop Daga though and NOW he’ll come in, like any good heel. That means a front facelock, followed by a bow and arrow to keep Daga in trouble. A rather nasty northern lights suplex drops Daga on his head for two and it’s off to the reverse chinlock. The headscissors works on the neck a bit more, with Ace bragging about his legs.

An invading Tessa lets Jake come in sans tag but it’s quickly back to Ace to stomp away even more. Daga fights back but gets pulled into the corner by the leg. A quick flurry of kicks and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker get Daga out of trouble though, meaning Tessa can come in and clean house….until the referee says he didn’t see it.

I can always go for that and it’s Daga getting taken back into the corner to continue the beatdown. Daga scores with a snap powerslam and NOW the tag to Tessa counts. House is cleaned in a hurry but Magnum misses, allowing Ace to hit a Samoan driver onto the knee. Daga brainbusters Ace though and sends him outside for a dive. The Buzzsaw DDT finishes Jake at 16:50.

Rating: B. Now this was more like it and you can see the talent out there. Tessa really is good and has the fire in her eyes that makes you realize just how good she is. Couple that with a slimy heel like Ace and we should be in for a heck of a fight tomorrow. This was a very nice formula based tag match and the best thing on the show, which is often what a main event should be.

Overall Rating: C. This was perfectly watchable and there were some good matches throughout the card. Not everything is great or even good but Moose vs. Bradley and the main event were solid enough. For $15 flat to sit in the fourth of five rows on a two and a half hour show, I can’t complain much at all. It makes me want to watch Sacrifice and that’s entirely the point of something like this. Above that though, I’d go again so they’ve done something right.

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