Heels Have Eyes Four The Culture
Date: April 18, 2025
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ernest Miller, Kazeem Famuyide, David Otunga

This is the annual For The Culture show, which features Black wrestlers from around the world. The series has featured some good stuff and I’ve liked the shows well enough so far, though this one is a bit different as it is a co-promoted event between GCW (the regular promotion) and 4th Rope. That could make things different enough so let’s get to it.

Commentary and the ring announcer welcome us to the rope.

Rapper Westside Gunn comes out, apparently the person in charge of 4th Rope, and raps a song about hurting people…and the Hurt Syndicate is here. MVP is happy to be here because this is wrestling meets hip hop. He welcomes us to the show and tells us to have a great f****** time.

Mustafa Ali vs. Leon Slater vs. Trevor Lee

Lee, with far shorter hair, shoulders Ali to start and we get some early near falls. Slater sends both of them outside and tries the big running flip dive over the post, only to have his head hit the post (GEEZ) on the way down. Thankfully he’s fine and Lee takes him down for two back inside. A pop up hurricanrana sends Lee back outside though, leaving Ali to neckbreaker Slater down.

The standing phoenix splash gives Ali two as commentary can’t believe the speed. Lee comes back in to help Ali beat Slater down but he’s back up with a double handspring elbow. Slater’s spinwheel kick drops Ali but Lee knocks Slater silly with a clothesline. Back up and Slater gives Ali a spinning powerbomb before he gets whipped hard into the corner. That leaves Slater to roll Lee up for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: B-. Good, fast paced match to start here and that’s what it should have been. Slater is the young up and comer here as Lee and Ali are far more established. They all looked good here and thankfully they didn’t spend a lot of time out there, which made the match that much easier to watch.

Moose vs. Oni King

Moose’s TNA X-Division Title isn’t on the line. King apparently “woke up this morning and chose violence” and Moose flips the fans off at the bell. Moose knocks him down to start but King sweeps the legs and starts up some rhythmic strikes in the corner. Some right hands have Moose staggered but he’s able to block a suplex and hit a big boot. King runs him over for two but a suplex doesn’t work. Moose’s spear finishes at 3:40.

Rating: C. This wasn’t anything close to the opener but it wasn’t supposed to be. This was about two good size guys beating each other up and a spear from someone the size of Moose is always going to work. Having Moose on the show is a big deal and the match was fun enough while it lasted.

Justin Roberts comes out to be the guest ring announcer and has a quick chat with commentary, who he apparently knows.

4th Rope Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. TNT

TNT (Terrell/Terrance Hughes, the sons of D-Von Dudley, who brings them to the ring) are challenging and ignore the Hardys bringing out the TNA titles rather than the 4th Rope titles. Matt (who does not look thrilled to be here) starts with Terrance (commentary isn’t sure which is which) and takes him into the corner for some opening posing.

Terrance takes him down and does the Jeff Hardy dance so Jeff comes in for the double elbow. The flipping splash/fist drop combination sets up Poetry In Motion as everything breaks down. Terrell comes in for a cheap shot and D-Von gets in some choking from the floor (to quite the reaction). Terence monkey flips Terrell into a Cannonball to Jeff in the corner and we hit the front facelock.

Terrell Death Valley Drivers Terrance onto Jeff for two and it’s back to the facelock. Jeff mule kicks his way to freedom and brings Matt back in to give both of them the ten rams into the buckle. The Side Effect gets two on Terrance but a springboard Hart Attack (back elbow rather than clothesline) drops Matt for two more. Back up and the Plot Twist into the Swanton retains the titles at 7:14.

Rating: C+. You could tell the Hardys weren’t overly thrilled to be there but it was cool to see the two generations deal here. The Hardys have all kinds of history with the Dudleys and this was a fun idea. TNT isn’t a great team yet but they had some nice double teams and certainly didn’t look bad.

Some unnamed people are talking about their numbers in the battle royal but no one will tell much of anyone anything. This includes Vix Crow, better known as Alicia Fox.

Mike Santana vs. Raj Dhesi

Dhesi is better known as Jinder Mahal. We get a bit of respect before the match, with Miller wanting one of them to throw a right hand, just like he would. I’m thinking that would have been a kick, but that’s why Miller didn’t win much. Dhesi shoves him away and Santana realizes he needs to think twice about this. They go to a stalemate so Santana hits him in the face, only to get dropped with a shoulder.

Santana knocks him outside and keeps up the beating near the crowd, setting up the chops against the post. Back in and Santana catches him on top with a superplex for two and it’s already time to get frustrated. Dude, you hit one move. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Santana fights up and hits a rolling cutter for two. Dhesi’s Death Valley Driver gets the same but the Khallas is blocked. The referee accidentally gets superkicked though, allowing Dhesi to kick him low. A chair is loaded up but here is JBL to lariat Dhesi down. Spin The Block gives Santana the win at 10:14.

Rating: B-. I was getting into this one before the JBL ending, which is the whole Sheriff deal or whatever it’s supposed to be. That’s not the most interesting ending, but at least the two of them were both protected. Santana feels like someone who is ready to become a star, though Dhesi has done well enough since leaving WWE. I’m still annoyed he didn’t get at least a chance, but he needed to get away from WWE after how things went for him there.

Hollyhood Haley J/Vix Crow vs. Alexis Littlefoot/Masha Slamovich

I haven’t seen Littlefoot before but she’s from Lexington, Kentucky so we’ll give her some bonus points. Slamovich kicks J in the face to start and then brings in Littlefoot to face Crow. They slug it out with Crow getting the better of things as J has gone into the crowd to dance, while being paid in dollars. Crow grabs the chinlock and looks rather confused by whatever J is doing. J finally gets on the apron but Littlefoot rams Crow into her (that should be a tag) and rolls Crow up for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D. Yeah what else is this supposed to be? It was nice to have Crow back in the ring after being away for so long but it wasn’t like she got to do much here. Slamovich was barely involved in this, but given how much she has done over the weekend, I can forgive the shorter match. Nothing to see here.

Post match J whips out a sock and knocks Crow cold, revealing a rock inside.

The Infantry vs. Culture Inc.

That would be Carlie Bravo/Shawn Dean vs. Eli Knight/Malik Bosede and this is a street fight. They go straight to the brawling (as they should) with the Infantry taking over and heading outside. A running boot knocks Knight out of a chair and it’s time to go back inside, with the Infantry bringing in some chairs. That takes too long though and they’re quickly dropped with baseball slides, allowing Culture to grab the chairs. Back in and Bravo gets knocked outside, leaving Dean to get caught with a double superkick.

The beating continues, with the Infantry being sent into the set a few times. Back in and Bravo gets thrown onto a raised chair for two (ouch) and it’s right back to the floor. Dean is back up with a heck of a big dive and everyone is wiped out. The fight goes into the crowd and this can’t end well. They go into a dark corner and the camera misses something that draws a HOLY S*** chant. We go back inside with Bravo in trouble but Dean comes in with a top rope clothesline. Knight is staggered enough that a running double stomp onto a chair finishes Knight at 9:04.

Rating: B. It was a wild brawl for the most part and the big spots were certainly good. The problem was not being able to see some parts, but that’s more on the production than the wrestlers. It felt like they were having a fight though and that’s the point, with the anger coming through here.

One of the people asking about the numbers earlier (Joe Alonzo) finds someone we can’t see behind a door.

Tiara James vs. Maya World

James wastes no time in taking her down and throws in some pushups. A running shoulder takes World down but she’s back up with a shoulder of her own. And yes, she does include some pushups. James is right back up with a Backstabber for the win at 1:53, as World might have gotten banged up there. The referee didn’t seem to think that would be the ending and was checking on World after it was over.

Justin Roberts gets in the ring and wants to try an experiment. He’s heard that if….say his name he will appear, so here is Joe Hendry. We get the pose and catchphrase before Hendry talks about how great this weekend has been. Cue the Godfather, with the ladies, for one of the most random pairings I’ve ever seen.

Godfather offers Hendry the women, but says it should be called the Nice Lady Train. We can call it the NLT! The fans aren’t sure about that, even with Haley J coming out to join in. Godfather offers to put Hendry on the “Lovely Lady Train”. The fans try to chant it, but they’re more into the idea of Godfather doing Hendry’s pose. This was bizarre fun.

Cha Cha Charlie is ready to win the battle royal to become Flyweight Champion.

4th Rope Flyweight Title: Battle Royal

This appears to be a Royal Rumble with 20 entrants for the inaugural title. Real1 (Enzo Amore) is in at #1 and does his greatest hits while looking even worse than usual. Joe Alonzo is in at #2 and apparently no one can stand him. Real1 sits on the top and Alonzo yells at the crowd as they decided to wait on #3, which is quite the troll job. Apparently we have one minute intervals (or less) and it’s Mo Jabari in at #3.

Real1 and Alonzo jump him before he can even get in, with Real1 hitting a running Razor’s Edge into the post (though it looked more like the crowd). Jabari is thrown inside for Jordunzo and the elimination. Sidney Akeem (Reggie from WWE) is in at #4 and picks up the pace, managing to knock Alonzo down. A Downward Spiral into the buckle cuts him off though and Jordunzo lets Real1 toss him out.

Richard Holliday is in at #5 and says he wants in on what Real1 and Alonzo are doing. If his Steiner Math is correct, the three of them together gives them 100% chance of success. They seem to agree and everyone shakes hands…and Holliday is tossed out as John Wayne Murdoch is in at #6. Yeah that tracks. Murdoch jumps Alonzo but gets knocked outside (not out) for a posting from Real1. The Razor’s Edge into the post knocks Murdoch silly and Mance Warner is in at #7.

That gives us something of a tag match, with Alonzo quickly being knocked down for a running knee from Warner. Real1 gets beaten up but manages to hang on as Cha Cha Charlie is in at #8. A frog splash hits Alonzo and Charlie tosses him out without much trouble. Charlie clotheslines Warner and Murdoch down as Rich Swann is in at #9. Swann and Charlie immediately dance together, until Charlie suplexes him to cut off the music. AJ Francis is in at #10 as I wonder what exactly the flyweight class is supposed to be.

Francis beats up Real1 on the ramp before coming in to throw Murdoch out. A splash hits Warner and Francis is dominating as Bryan Keith is in at #11. Francis runs over Keith and Real1 with a double shoulder but they muscle him up for a double suplex. We settle down into a more traditional battle royal with some elimination attempts until Tommy Dreamer (of course) is in at #12.

Dreamer hammers away on various people until he runs into Francis. The chokeslam is broken up with a bite to the hand and Kevin Blackwood comes in to clean house. Well until he gets poked in the eye and cuttered by Dreamer that is. AJ Gray is in at #13 and hammers away until we settle back down. Kenny King is in at #14 as the ring is getting full. Said ring gets more full with Odyssey (Jones) in at #15.

Odyssey knocks down a few people and goes after Francis, who pulls him off the top and tosses him without much trouble. Well that was disappointing. For some reason Francis goes up and gets ganged up on to no avail. Isaiah Broner is in at #16 and muscles Francis up for an impressive F5. An even bigger F5 hits Swann and Dreamer gets punched down as well. Keith and Broner chop it out until Elijah is in at #17.

A big guitar shot hits Broner and another hits Blackwood as the guitar is wrecked. Blackwood and Broner are out, followed by Gray as Elijah does some good work in clearing the ring. Elijah goes Old School (that’s stupid) but eliminates Dreamer anyway. Francis goes up again to pose, earning himself a low blow from King. That doesn’t go well either as King, and then Swann, are tossed by Francis. Real1 and Keith send Francis to the apron as Kevin Knight is in at #18.

Knight slams Charlie as almost everyone else is down on the ropes. Nic Nemeth is in at #19 as the star power in this is impressive. With Ryan Nemeth at ringside, Nic fires off superkicks, including a pair to get rid of Francis. Nic superkicks Elijah and just about everyone is down as EJ Nduka is in at #20 to complete the field. Nduka kicks a bunch of people and gives Knight a heck of a powerbomb.

Real1 gets one of his own as commentary chants about Nduka not being a flyweight. After Dreamer is in the match too, the weight limits go out the window. Nduka gets a running start and hits a crossbody on Keith and Knight, with all three of them being eliminated at once. We’re down to Real1, Nic, Elijah and Charlie. Elijah and Nic wind up on the apron with Ryan helping pull Elijah out…but Nic goes out as well. So we’re down to two with Charlie hitting a splash but Real1 skins the cat and wins at 34:25.

Rating: C+. I liked this a bit more than I was expecting to, as there is something very fun about seeing who is coming through the curtain next. That’s what we had here and it worked pretty well, with quite the lineup. It would have been better if it was pretty much anyone but Real1, but I’ve long since given up on the hope that we’ll be rid of him anytime soon.

Madusa of all people comes out to present the title. Real1 does a Shawn Michaels pose and of course wants a mic. He goes on a rant about how much he deserves this because no one has put up with more than he has. This is what he was made to do and there is no man in wrestling he would ask for advice. Madusa believed in him though and he has no problem asking a woman for advice. This is the first family of 4th Rope and that was for Windham and Brodie. Can’t stand the guy but that was a sweet thing to say.

And now we get extra emotional as here is Chris Bey (in an Evanescence shirt). He’s glad to be back but these people are sick. It’s 3am and these people are at a wrestling show! They’re here because of 4th Rope and for the culture. Bey is having a great weekend and even though he wasn’t able to be on the promotion’s first show, he’s been watching what has been going on. After hitting the promotion’s catchphrase, he sends us to the next match. This is always great to see.

Matt Riddle vs. Gabe Kidd

Kidd drops down to chill for a bit and then does the crane pose from Karate Kid. They go to the grappling with Riddle taking him down for a kneebar before letting it up for the chop off. Kidd hits a corner clothesline into a slam for two before putting Riddle in a chair at ringside. That means more chops but Riddle pops up and fires off his own strikes.

Back in and they fight over a suplex until Riddle gets two off a small package. Riddle’s fisherman’s buster plants Kidd again for a near fall but he catches Riddle up top for a superplex. A brainbuster gets two but Riddle knocks him down again. The Floating Bro connects for two and a running knee gets the same as frustration is setting in for Riddle. Back up and Kidd grabs a victory roll for the fluke pin at 6:52.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and it was nowhere near the other stuff I’ve seen from Kidd. Riddle losing clean is weird enough, but the good thing is that Kidd’s rise continues. He’s going to be a big deal somewhere and this is the kind of win outside of a major promotion that gives him an even brighter future.

Post match respect is shown but Riddle gives him an RKO. Sore loser.

Here is MVP, apparently the Commissioner, to ask if the fans are still with him. After starting a F*** THAT GUY chant for a fan who say something mean, MVP introduces the Flatbush Zombies for some music as the cage is set up for the main event. Points for not just asking the fans to sit there at about 4am.

Then a DJ plays some music.

Then another live performer performs. This eats up quite a long time, closing in on half an hour. I get the idea, but that is a long wait if you’re here for the wrestling.

4th Rope Title: Zilla Fatu vs. Josh Bishop

Fatu is defending in a cage (Justin Roberts gets the name of the title wrong). Fatu headbutts away to start and sends him into the cage a few times, with Bishop already being busted open. The Samoan Spike is blocked though and Bishop grabs a suplex. The slow beating begins and a fall away slam sends Fatu into the cage. A running dropkick does it again for two but Fatu knocks him down again and heads up.

That earns him a crotching on the top, with Bishop following to ram Fatu’s head into the cage. A nice superplex brings him back down for two and we hit the reverse chinlock. Back up and Fatu hits a backdrop and the flying shoulders. A DDT sets up the Superfly Splash for two but Fatu misses a charge into the cage. They both go up top, where Fatu grabs a super Samoan drop. The running Samoan Spike retains the title at 10:09.

Rating: C+. It was nice while it lasted, but it didn’t last that long. Granted it was probably close to 5am local time here, but you would kind of hope for a longer main event, especially in a cage for a title. Zilla feels like someone who could go somewhere if he gets the chance to develop, though that is going to take time. Bishop wasn’t bad either, though this didn’t feel like a big time main event.

Post match a bunch of wrestlers from Reality Of Wrestling, including Journey Fatu, run in to beat Zilla down. Bishop is beaten down as well and Reality Of Wrestling owner Booker T. pops up on screen to say this is just the beginning for 4th Rope. And we seem to have an invasion angle.

Overall Rating: B. It’s very long and the music part wasn’t the most thrilling time (though I’m sure it had its fans), but my goodness what a lineup. You had the Hardys, the Hurt Business, Nic Nemeth and a bunch of other TNA stars. This felt like something closer to the annual WrestleCon Supershow with all kinds of big names. The wrestling was good enough and it had the cool moments with Bey and Hendry. I had a lot of fun with this and it was WAY better than I was expecting.

Results
Leon Slater b. Trevor Lee and Mustafa Ali – Victory roll to Lee
Moose b. Oni King – Spear
Hardys b. TNT – Swanton to Terrell
Mike Santana b. Raj Dhesi – Spin The Block
Masha Slamovich/Alexis Littlefoot b. Hollyhood Haley J/Vix Crow – Rollup to Crow
The Infantry b. Culture Inc. – Double stomp onto a chair to Knight
Tiara James b. Maya World – Backstabber
Real1 won a battle royal last eliminating Cha Cha Charlie
Gabe Kidd b. Matt Riddle – Victory roll
Zilla Fatu b. Josh Bishop – Running Samoan Spike

 

 

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For The Culture 2024
Date: April 5, 2024
Location: Penns Landing Caterers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Big Swole, AC Mack

This has become a tradition from GCW over Wrestlemania Weekend and the shows tend to be pretty good more often than not. The show focuses on Black wrestlers and there is quite a bit of talent on the card. GCW can do rather well when they try and hopefully that is the case again here. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Team Myron vs. Team Dolla

Myron: Myron Reed, Ruckus, Devon Monroe, Darian Bengston, Calvin Tankman
Dolla: AJ Francis, Isaiah Broner, Keita, Mr. Danger, Terry Yaki

Francis yells at Reed to start with Reed not being able to do the test of strength. Instead Reed hits him in the face but gets taken down with a single shoulder. Tankman comes in for the rather large lockup with Francis taking him into into the corner but missing the big chop. Back up and Tankman hits something like a Pounce to send Francis into the corner. It’s off to Monroe for a bouncing hurricanrana to send Broner outside.

Keita comes in and kicks Monroe into the corner for a suplex right back out of it. It’s off to Bengston to take Keita down by the arm but Danger comes in with a springboard moonsault. Francis cleans house and everything breaks down, as you probably expected it to do. We get back to back stereo dives to leave almost everyone down.

That leaves Francis to tease a dive, only to flip the fans off instead. Danger busts out a big springboard corkscrew moonsault and NOW Francis busts out the big dive. Back in and we get the parade of big knockdowns until a hanging F5 hits Broner, followed by a sitout powerbomb from Ruckus to give Reed…the pin (it wasn’t quite clear) at 11:48.

Rating: C+. The problem here is there were so many wrestlers in there at once that it was hard to keep track of what was going on. It doesn’t help that they had so much going all over the place, with no one really getting to stand out. Francis was the biggest name in the whole thing and was only featured part of the time. Fun enough match, but not exactly focused.

Thick N Juicy vs. Kings Of The District vs. Killionaires Club vs. The Mane Event

That would be Brooke Valentine/Faye Jackson vs. Eel O’Neal/Jordan Blade vs. J Boujii/PB Smooth vs. Duke Davis/Ganon Jones Jr. Hold on though as we need to see if Jackson will give Smooth (a 6’9 giant) a Stinkface. That won’t be happening so it’s Blade starting with Valentine instead. Blade snapmares her down for a dropkick to the back before it’s off to the test of strength.

That goes nowhere so they trade running shoulders to limited avail. A double knockdown gives us a double tag to O’Neal and Jackson, with O’Neal’s headlock not getting him anywhere. Jackson runs him over with a shoulder and sits on his chest for two and O’Neal, dubbed Bad Brain, goes into the wrong corner in a not so bright move. Thick N Juicy hit running hip attacks on the Kings, who seem to approve. Stereo Cannonballs crush the Kings again but the Club comes in to clear the ring.

We get the big Club vs. Event showdown, with Boujii not being able to do much against the rather large Duke. Almost everyone heads to the floor, allowing Jones to hit a big dive onto the pile. Back in and Blade manages a German suplex on Jones but the Kings Club clears the ring again. O’Neal strikes away at Jones to limited success. Jackson goes up (taking over a minute due to a bunch of slipping) and dives onto almost everyone else, setting up a Banzai Drop to pin O’Neal at 12:45.

Rating: C+. This was a bit easier to keep track of than the opener, though that might have been due to having four teams instead of two. There were some short form showdowns in there and that helped a bit, though again there is only so much you can get out of a match with eight people involved at once. Thick N Juicy were the focal point here, which is impressive given a giant like Smooth being involved.

Man Like DeReiss vs. Sonny Kiss

Kiss grabs the wristlock to start and flips around to start to slip away. Some hip shaking has DeReiss out on the floor but he comes back in for some dancing of his own. Back in and Kiss does Naomi’s headscissors to ram him into the back of the trunks, only for DeReiss to hit a hard shoulder.

DeReiss works on the arm until Kiss flips out of a belly to back suplex and strikes away. A German suplex and a hard clothesline give DeReiss two and they trade rollups for two each. Natural Selection gives Kiss two but DeReiss is back with a sitout powerbomb for another near fall. Kiss gets up and manages a gorilla press (that’s impressive) into a torture rack Stunner for the pin at 9:03.

Rating: C. While it was rather nice to have a singles match and both of them have a good bit of charisma, the action was nothing special. It was mainly a power vs. speed match, though Kiss’ gorilla press at the end was quite the surprise. Perfectly fine match, but nothing that stood out much for what is supposed to be a special show.

Janai Kai vs. Jada Stone vs. Joseline Navarro vs. Maya World vs. Mazzerati vs. Tiara James

Elimination rules…or not actually as the ring announcer says there is a change of plans, making this one fall to a finish. It’s a brawl to start with Maya, Mazzerati and Stone hitting stereo dropkicks to the floor. Maya and Mazzerati hit dives, followed by Stone’s corkscrew moonsault onto the pile.

Back in and Stone strikes away on Maya until a German suplex drops Stone for two. Mazzerati comes in and gets kicked in the head and hits a sliding clothesline to the back of the head. Navarro avoids a charge in the corner and hits a basement DDT to put Mazzerati down. James comes back in and gets kicked in the face but catches a returning Kai with a gutbuster.

Everyone gets together for a suplex attempt, with Mazzerati, Maya and Stone managing to get the others over. Mazzerati goes for covers on a bunch of people but can’t get anywhere. Well she can get to two but that’s it. Everyone is back up Mazzerati hits a hurricanrana to send Kai into everyone else. We hit the parade of suplexes and throws until Navarro hits a running crossbody in the corner to pin Mazzerati at 10:32.

Rating: C+. Much like the first two matches, there was so much going on here with so many people that you can only get so much out of it. No one had a chance to stand out and it felt like who managed to get a pin first rather than whoever won. That’s the problem with these scramble matches and it was on full display again here.

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Jah-C

They shake hands to start and fight over arm control, with Jah-C powering out of a top wristlock. We get a standoff, allowing Jah-C to yell at a woman in the crowd, which seems to be a bit of an overreaction. They go to the mat with Scorpio grabbing a front facelock, which is reversed into an armbar. Jah-C takes him down and seems to tell Scorpio to bring it, which works for him. An armdrag puts Jah-C down before Scorpio lures him into a fake handshake.

Scorpio kicks him down and grabs the chinlock, which doesn’t last long. They slug it out until Scorpio leverages him outside without too much effort. Back in and Scorpio kicks him down, setting up a springboard moonsault for two. Jah-C rakes the eyes though and hits his own springboard moonsault for his own two. Scorpio drops him and busts out the Tumbleweed for another near fall but Jah-C kicks him down again. A Lionsault gives Jah-C and a superkick finishes Scorpio off at 10:43, with Scorpio kicking out at 3.1 in a bit of a weird look.

Rating: C+. I’m always going to be interested in seeing Scorpio as I’ve been a fan for over thirty years. The guy has such a natural charisma and while he can’t quite go like he used to (as he’s 58), he still has enough ability to put on a good match. I’m curious about that ending though, as it definitely did not seem to go as it was supposed to.

Post match Scorpio gets to dance a bit.

Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling Title: Suge D vs. Alex Kane

Kane is challenging and has Faye Jackson with him. The much bigger Kane blocks a whip into the ropes to start and Suge realizes he needs to do something else. Suge hits about ten straight running shoulders but can’t get anywhere, so he stomps on the foot and then runs Kane over. Back up and Kane shrugs off a shot to the face and grabs a German suplex. Kane fires off some knees to the head but Suge is back with a facebuster for two.

That just annoys Kane again as he ties Suge in the ropes for a running boot to the face and two of his own. Some rolling German suplexes set up a t-bone suplex to send Suge into the corner but Suge talks trash as he comes out. Some running clotheslines and forearms stagger Kane and Suge grabs his own German suplex. They trade more suplexes until Suge gets two but Kane is back up with a Crash Landing. A spear gives Kane two but Suge hits his own, setting up a piledriver to retain at 12:07.

Rating: C+. Suge seems to be more of the scrappy brawler while Kane is there to throw suplexes. It turned into a hard hitting fight and that helped a good bit, making it perhaps the best match on the show so far. Kane is a bigger deal in MLW so he has some status here, which made him feel like a stronger threat to take the title. Nice match here.

Darius Carter vs. Billy Dixon

Darius Lockhart is the guest referee. Commentary says this is five years in the making though doesn’t exactly explain how we got here. Carter shoves him to start and gets pummeled out to the floor, where Carter manages a quick posting. Back in and Dixon kicks away, setting up a middle rope elbow to the face for one. Carter’s dropkick puts Dixon down again though and the pace slows a lot.

Carter starts going after the leg and grabs a Hartbreaker, despite Lockhart’s protests. The Figure Four goes on back inside but Dixon makes the ropes in a hurry. That’s fine with Carter, who takes it to the apron for a piledriver, which is countered into a backdrop. Back in and Carter starts in on the finger so he can stomp away in the corner. For some reason Lockhart helps Dixon up and tells him to fight back, which is exactly what Dixon does. The comeback doesn’t last long as Carter knocks him outside but Dixon beats the count.

Carter hammers away at the forehead but Dixon runs him over with a shoulder. Dixon sits up ala Undertaker and gets two off a middle rope Thesz press. Another shot drops Dixon but Carter stops to yell at Lockhart, allowing Dixon to grab a Pedigree for two. Carter picks the leg again though and we hit the Figure Four again. Dixon fights up but gets his fingers snapped to put him back down…and he passes out for the pin at 19:14.

Rating: C. This is a match where commentary really hurt things, as it felt like it was supposed to be this big grudge match and we were never given any reason why. Was there some significance to the Figure Four? Or why do Lockhart and Carter not like each other? This was the main event and something treated as bigger than the rest of the show but you would never guess it based on most of the presentation.

Overall Rating: C-. For The Culture has been hit and miss over the years and this was on the latter side. The biggest problem here was a focus on quantity over quality, with three of the seven matches being multi-person messes in one form or another. The main event, while not bad, didn’t feel overly important and that hurt things even more. On top of that, the show didn’t start until around midnight so the main event was starting around 2:30 in the morning. Overall, this wasn’t a great show and it needed to be laid out a good bit better to really improve.

 

 

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