Fusion #77
Date: September 28, 2019
Location: Nytex Sports Center, North Richland Hills, Texas
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

The Dallas stretch continues with the fallout from last week’s pretty good show. We are in need of a new #1 contender to the World Title and with SuperFight on the horizon, they might need to pick up the pace a little bit. If nothing else we have something here between Teddy Hart and Austin Aries over the Middleweight Title. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Aries attacking Hart last week and knocking him cold with a brainbuster onto the apron.

Opening sequence.

Injustice says they need to look out for themselves because no one else will.

Injustice vs. Gringo Loco/Air Wolf

Myron Reed/Kotto Brazil for Injustice. Reed still has his chest protector and the referee finds a chain on Brazil during the weapons check. With that out of the way, Jordan Oliver slips Reed some brass knuckles. Hang on though as the referee finds the knuckles and gets rid of them before we get started. Brazil sunset flips Loco to start and gets stomped in the back for his efforts. Loco drops a standing moonsault for two and then sends him flying into the corner off an overhead belly to belly suplex. Wolf comes in and chops Reed in the chest protector for a bit of an “are you kidding me” look.

The rapid fire changes continue with Brazil sweeping Loco’s legs so Reed can drop a leg and take over. Brazil gets whipped into the corner for an uppercut to Loco and a dropkick gets two. The pace picks up a bit with Wolf getting in a kick to the head from the apron, allowing Loco to hit a belly to back faceplant. Wolf gets knocked off the apron so Loco electric chairs both of them at once (with Kotto on Reed’s shoulders as Reed is on Loco’s shoulders for a crazy visual). Since Brazil is dead, Wolf comes in (with a crowd shot that sees Brazil go from one side of the ring to the other) and gets the easy pin at 7:44.

Rating: D+. Oh yeah they had to edit something out of the ending because the ending came out of nowhere after a legitimate scary landing. That could have gone FAR worse and that’s a scary thought given how bad it looked in the first place. It wasn’t a good match in the first place as Injustice can only do so much in the ring, though Loco is an awesome performer with some great charisma.

Post match Injustice beats up the referee to blow off some steam.

Mance Warner’s uncle is here to watch the main event. Blood is promised, though Mance tells his uncle (named Moon Man) to no drink too much because they’re going out after the show.

Dominic Garrini is still coming.

During the break, Injustice attacked more referees.

Brian Pillman Jr. isn’t happy with Austin Aries injuring Teddy Hart. He’ll do something about it next week.

Salina de la Renta doesn’t want to talk strategy for the Bunkhouse Brawl.

The SuperFight Control Center tells us nothing new.

The Von Erichs are at a children’s hospital visiting the sick kids. The Dynasty shows up to say they should buy the place and turn it into a casino. MJF: “OH SNAP IT’S THE VON ERICHS! And you’ve got shoes on!” Their plans don’t sit well with the Von Erichs, so Holliday talks about trying to make the economy boom. His coffee is slapped out of is hands. MJF: “This isn’t the 1980s!”

Timothy Thatcher vs. Douglas James

James is a martial artist, though he’s rather small. They go with the grappling to start with the bigger Thatcher getting the better of it until we hit an early standoff. Neither can get very far with a grab of the leg so it’s a quick slugout with James taking him down by the leg this time around.

Back up and James scores with a clothesline to set up some kicks to the chest, only to have Thatcher pick the leg again. The chinlock doesn’t last long as James tries a cross armbreaker to no avail. Some gutwrench suplexes give Thatcher two but James is right back with a few superkicks for two. James tries a frog splash but hits knees, allowing Thatcher to grab a Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 9:01.

Rating: C+. I liked this one rather well as it showed a different style than most of what you get around here. That’s the kind of thing that can help keep things feeling fresh, which doesn’t happen enough at times. Thatcher is someone who looks good every time he’s out there and I could go with seeing him in a higher profile role.

Post match they exchange respect, with Thatcher offering to train with him. With that out of the way, Thatcher wants Tom Lawlor at SuperFight.

Jimmy Havoc promises to do bad things to Warner and licks a pitchfork.

Warner has the interviewer draw some items he’ll be using in the Bunkhouse Brawl. He isn’t happy with her artistic skills but the violence will tell the story.

Jimmy Havoc vs. Mance Warner

Bunkhouse Brawl, meaning anything goes. Havoc pulls out a shovel so Warner turns his back on him in a rather dumb move. The fight starts on the floor with Jimmy throwing a bail of rather abrasive hay at his head. Warner sends him head first into a whiskey barrel and it’s time to choke with a bull rope. Jimmy gets in a shovel shot to the head to take over, but because it’s a long match that’s only good for two back inside.

A rake across the head (with an actual rake) has Warner in trouble and allows the announcers to debate rake as a noun and verb. Warner gets in a poke to the eye and a rake to the face for two, meaning it’s time for a door. A pumpkin to the head misses as Warner throws it into the crowd by mistake, allowing Havoc to bust out the staple gun. With Warner down, it’s time for the second pumpkin….and Jimmy staples Mance’s tongue to said pumpkin. Rich: “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT???”

Warner breaks it off and DDT’s Havoc onto the pumpkin, which gets stuck. The running knee to the pumpkin gets two as Tony is very confused. Some chairs are set up in the middle with a door laid on top of them, only to have Havoc Death Valley Drive him through another door in the corner. Now Warner’s tongue is stapled to the door over the tables. Havoc goes up but Warner rips the staple out and throws a pumpkin at him. A superplex through the table sets up the lariat to give Warner the pin at 11:39.

Rating: D+. I know I’m not the target audience for a match like this but I was in the same line of thinking of Tony here: at some point it gets ridiculous with stuff like stapling a tongue to a pumpkin. This just didn’t work very well as it was an entertaining enough brawl, but it came off as more silly than violent at times, which missed the point.

Post match Havoc pulls out some barbed wire to hit Warner in the head and draw some blood. The wire goes into Warner’s mouth with Havoc pulling back until referees break it up.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a good example of the hybrid idea behind the series but it was also an example of what happens when the matches just aren’t all that good. It wasn’t a terrible show by any means and they set up/advanced some stuff, but I wasn’t all that impressed throughout the show. SuperFight is starting to sound good though so they’re going in the right direction overall.

Results

Gringo Loco/Air Wolf b. Injustice – Electric chair to Brazil

Timothy Thatcher b. Douglas James – Fujiwara armbar

Mance Warner b. Jimmy Havoc – Lariat

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Release The Kraken
Date: January 9, 2016
Location: Oak Street Gym, Torrence, California
Commentators: Christian Cole, Todd Keneley

This is one of the final DVDs I got in the set that I got and as luck would have it, the final two are both from the same company. That would be Pacific Coast Wrestling, an independent company from California and this is their very first event. I know a fair deal of the names listed so maybe we’ve got something good here. Let’s get to it.

The hosts (including Keneley, who formerly did Impact commentary) welcome us to the show and run down some of the card, including a lights out match. How much of a feud can you have in the debut?

Opening sequence, presumably featuring highlights from the show we’re about to see. Kind of odd but they have to start with something.

Joe Graves vs. Timothy Thatcher

Thatcher is a somewhat well known submission master and comes out to what would become Walter’s music in NXT UK. Apparently Thatcher is replacing someone named Rick Luxury, which would seem to be an upgrade. They grapple to start with the referee breaking it up against the ropes. Nice to see someone doing his job for a change. Graves can’t get control of the leg so Thatcher escapes a chinlock for an early standoff.

We hit the grappling again with Thatcher taking him down and going for the arm. Graves finally tries something different with a chop to the back but Thatcher is right back with a headlock on the mat. The Fujiwara armbar attempt is blocked as it’s all grappling so far. Graves gets in a suplex and this time it’s Thatcher escaping an armbar, setting up a right hand to Graves’ head.

Thatcher stays on the arm and bends the fingers back before switching into a leglock. Graves has finally had it with this and starts throwing forearms to the head. A cross armbreaker doesn’t work either so Graves snaps off another suplex. Thatcher throws him down by the arm though and it’s a Fujiwara armbar to make Graves tap at 8:31.

Rating: B-. This one is going to entirely depend on your taste as the grappling was rather impressive and they did mention a history between the two, meaning that we’re likely to see a rematch down the line. At the same time here though, the match didn’t feel like it was building towards anything and just ended out of nowhere. It was entertaining, but felt more like a grappling display than a match.

Here’s an attorney named MK, who isn’t on the format sheet. He demands respect and silence, though he promises to speak slowly so these California wrestling fans can understand him. MK represents the Almighty Sheik, who will be facing MVP in the main event. Promoters and promotions fear the Sheik, which is why his match is not being sanctioned. Sheik has held World Titles while MVP has been held with handcuffs.

MVP is nothing more than a common street criminal, so cue MVP to respond. He insults MK’s clothing and steals his line about speaking slowly. Yes MVP is an ex-con but he’s turned things around since then, including winning titles and kicked out of the Undertaker’s chokeslam. Kane set him on fire, so why would he be scared of the Sheik? MK says in Sheik’s country, MVP is Sheik’s b****. MVP lays him out with a shot to the face and gives him a World’s Strongest Slam to set up the Ballin Elbow but MK bails. This was as fillerish as you could get, though I can understand helping to build up the first main event a bit.

At some point around here (not sure if before or after the promo), there was a second match with Chris Evans defeating Johnny Savoi. Not sure why that was cut but it’s not like the DVD was all that long in the first place. It’s not listed on the DVD case either so I guess it was a dark match on a six match show.

Classic Connection vs. Keepers of the Faith

The Connection (Levi Shapiro/Buddy Royal) has a masked manager named Fat Dick Johnson, who speaks in a weird country accent and talks about bringing their own tag ropes. Later, the Connection would get a new manager in the form of Brian Zane of Wrestling With Wregret fame.

Before the Keepers come out, Johnson talks about how they have tag ropes because they’re old school. He doesn’t like the Keepers, because one of them “looks like a retarded Steiner Brother” and the other would have to get smarter just to be stupid. The Keepers (Dom Vitali/Gabriel Gallo) finally cut him off and we’re ready to go, despite a lack of an explanation of what kind of faith they are keeping. Gallows does seem to be a bit Rick Steinerish as Vitali has to pull him back by the chain around his neck (though Vitali has one of his own).

The Connection stalls on the floor for a good while as we wait around on an opening bell. We can’t get an opening bell yet either as we get a weapons check and then an argument over who should start. Eventually it’s Royal vs. Gallo to start with Royal being smart enough to kick Gallo in the ribs instead of trying a test of strength. Royal tries a suplex and slam, both of which are reversed into the real thing by the much stronger Gallo. Shapiro comes in and is knocked outside with a single shoulder.

The Connection takes a breather on the floor until Shapiro comes back in to continue the action fest. Gallo slams him down so it’s off to Vitali for two, followed by Gallo coming right back in. A missed charge gives Shapiro a breather but Vitali comes in for a Death Valley Driver. Vitali misses a moonsault but gets two anyway, followed by diving onto Royal for a bonus.

Back in and Johnson trips Vitali from the floor so Shapiro can finally get in some offense. The Connection starts stomping away in the corner with Johnson adding some choking for a bonus. A dropkick to the knee lets Shapiro hammer away and Royal’s running knee in the corner gets two. The triangle choke goes on for a bit, followed by a clothesline to cut off Vitali’s comeback bid.

We hit the front facelock to keep Vitali in trouble and it’s Royal jumping over Shapiro to land on Vitali’s back, albeit in the corner instead of on the ropes for a little change. Vitali finally explodes out of the corner with a clothesline and the hot tag brings in Gallo to clean house. Everything breaks down and Vitali spears Royal, leaving Gallo to clothesline Shapiro for two….as the referee realizes that Shapiro isn’t legal. The melee lets Johnson get in a cane shot to Gallo to give Royal the pin at 13:58.

Rating: C-. It might not have been the quality of the first but this was a bit more entertaining with the old school tag formula. That being said, it was longer than it needed to be and Johnson’s stuff got a little annoying in a hurry. I can always go for an old school tag match though and the Connection worked well in the Midnight Express knockoff roles.

The Sheik knows MVP and lists off some of the places the two of them have worked over the years. They’ve never fought before though and in this case, the headlines are already out about the two of them facing off. This will not be a wrestling match or catch as catch can. Unpredictable times call for a reliable friend, which seems to be Sheik’s trusty spike.

JR Kratos vs. Dylan Drake

Kratos was part of GFW’s Amped tapings. Drake on the other hand comes out in a Ric Flair style robe and seems to have retired from wrestling since this was taped. Drake’s running boot before the bell is shrugged off as Kratos sends him outside for an early breather. Back in and Kratos hits a fireman’s carry takeover, which sends Drake bailing to the floor again.

Back in and again and Kratos easily takes him down again as the grappling can begin. Drake’s triangle choke doesn’t work so well as Kratos powerbombs him down for two instead. Drake gets smart with a rake of the eyes and wraps Kratos’ leg around the post for his first advantage. The leglock goes on, followed by a legdrop to the leg for a bonus (the Ric Flair robe might have been more appropriate than I thought).

It’s another leglock to hold Kratos in place for a bit, though the leg is fine enough to whip Drake hard into the corner. A crotching against the post makes it even worse for Drake and a running (good) knee to the side of the head knocks him silly. Back in and Kratos gets two off a dropkick, with the knee pain inspired delay meaning the cover only gets two. Or the fact that it was just a dropkick.

Drake flips him off out of general stupidity so Kratos hits a powerslam and wheelbarrow suplex for two more. Drake’s powerbomb onto the knee gets two, even with feet on the ropes. That’s shrugged off and it’s a chokeslam into a sitout powerbomb (the Game Changer) for the pin on Drake at 11:39.

Rating: D+. Kratos looked good here but the match just kind of kept going until it got to an ending. Drake was nothing memorable in the slightest and was working a bit of an old school style without the energy or emotion that would make it feel special. Boring match here, though Kratos could be worth something against a better opponent.

Scorpio Sky vs. TJ Perkins

Sky takes over with a wristlock so Perkins spins around into one of his own. How wrestling of him. A dropkick lets Perkins nip up so Sky (bald of course) claims a hair pull. That joke always makes me chuckle. Sky takes over and stomps away, only to get headscissored right back down. A grab of the leg gets Sky out of trouble as the announcers talk about Sky’s recent success in mixed martial arts. Another headscissors gets TJ out of trouble and it’s a basement dropkick so Perkins can pose a bit.

Sky is back up to kick Perkins outside, then sends him inside, then sends him outside again. Does it seem like they’re just killing time here? I mean it’s clear that they are, but I didn’t know how well it was coming through. Back in and a backbreaker drops Perkins again, followed by a backbreaker to keep up the variety. A hard whip into the corner stays on the back but it’s too early for what looked like a Sharpshooter.

Perkins snaps the arm ala Pentagon Jr. and the comeback is on, somehow with Perkins as the face it seems. Who looks at him and sees a face? Sky gets in a knee, stops to glare at the camera, and hits another backbreaker. At least this time he bends Perkins’ back over a knee to mix it up a bit. We hit the camel clutch but since that’s a bit too thrilling, it’s another knee to the back and a chinlock to tone it down a bit. That gives the announcers the chance to talk about Sky coming to the show straight from his grandmother’s funeral. You know, just to perk things up a bit.

Perkins fights up and hits a dropkick but it’s a hard looking collision for a double knockdown. Back up and Perkins hits a Regal Roll into a standing corkscrew splash. Perkins takes his time going up so Sky can block a sunset bomb. Sky’s victory roll and knee to the face get two each, followed by another double knockdown. Sky is up first and hits a nasty looking German suplex into the corner but another knee hits buckle. The suplex into the corner is shrugged off in ten seconds so Perkins can hit a springboard missile dropkick to the back, meaning it’s a rollup for two.

Perkins’ frog splash hits knees to give Sky his own two and they’re both spent. They slug it out until Sky hits a great looking jumping knee to the head….for two. That should have been the finish (about the fifth so far). The yet to be named Detonation Kick sets up another armbreaker from Perkins but Sky stacks it up for the break. That’s it for Sky, who hits the Ace of Spades (TKO) and the Big Fat Kill (running knee to the face) to finish Perkins at 22:15.

Rating: B-. They were going for the epic here but it was more long than great. That being said, it was the best match of the night and probably the match the promotion is going to point to in their early days. That’s understandable in this case too as they had a long, rather good match, which needed about three minutes clipped off to really make it work as intended.

MVP is here to grapple because he loves wrestling. Then he found out he’s facing the Sheik, who likes to harm people instead of wrestling them. Maybe Sheik has seen everything MVP has done and owns and thinks he’s gone soft. Yeah maybe his success has gotten to him a bit, but the threat of someone trying to take it all away from him fires him up again. MVP takes off the jewelry and says it’s not going to be the MVP who made Shinsuke Nakamura tap or the MVP who beat Chris Benoit two straight falls.

It’s going to be the MVP from the ghetto of Miami and who spent nine and a half years in prison. Sheik is going to get to see the real MVP, who has seen and survived all kinds of things that Sheik can’t imagine. I’m not big on MVP for the most part, but this was very good and made MVP seem like a threat with star power.

MVP vs. Almighty Sheik

Anything goes. Sheik (better known (I think) as Josef Samael in MLW) starts throwing chairs into the ring before MVP comes out and is flanked by MK. Hang on though (of course) as Sheik swings a chair to keep MVP on the floor. Let’s throw in some Big Match Intros, allowing the commentator to say that Republicans are throwing things at their TVs because a Syrian wrestler is getting this much time.

MVP comes in with a chair of his own and a duel sends Sheik outside so more stalling can ensue. The delay lets MVP throw the chairs out and lay on the ropes for a bit. They’re on the floor in a hurry as this is likely to be one of the walking brawls. MVP drops him throat first across the barricade and hammers away. A flag shot (with the announcers not being sure which country it is, despite knowing that Sheik is from Syria) puts MVP down so he hits Sheik low for the break.

They fight into the crowd with MVP burying him under some chairs. That lasts all of a few seconds until Sheik is up with some chair shots to the ribs, followed by more walking through the crowd. Now it’s over near the doors and vending machines, including a trashcan shot to Sheik’s back. As commentary complains about fans being on their phones during this (fair enough), it turns into a fight on the floor with MVP choking from the back.

Sheik finds his spike for a breather and hits more chair shots, followed by a bottle of mustard to the head. A piledriver on the floor is countered with a backdrop as Cole goes into a rant about Sheik being the reason Americans don’t like Syrian refugees. Sheik shrugs off a chair shot and stabs MVP in the ribs but MVP gets the spike away. That means a cut to Sheik’s head and….yeah let’s skip the ring and go back into the crowd.

With that exhausted, Sheik heads back inside and MVP throws in some chairs but loses the spike. A DDT gives Sheik two so MK comes in. That means it’s time for fire, which hits MK by mistake. Sheik beats up the referee as security comes in, meaning the match is thrown out at 13:00.

Rating: D+. This was just a wild brawl with both guys walking around the ring until we got to the big angle ending. I’m not a big fan of something like this, though they did a good job of setting things up throughout the show. The match felt like a bigger deal, but this was just walking from place to place so both guys could hit each other with things until the finish. It was a good setup with a pretty weak match to follow up.

Wrestlers and security can’t break things up so more wrestlers come out to split them apart. The bell rings and since wrestlers are Pavlovian by nature, the fight is on again. They’re eventually held back and Sheik leaves but MVP has something to say. MVP throws out the challenge for the rematch in March, threatening to actually kill Sheik next time.

The announcer thanks us for coming out and tells us to come back next time, though there are six minutes left. MVP drops the Ballin Elbow on Sheik’s robe before leaving.

A five minute recap video ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I didn’t care for the main event, but it helped with the show’s biggest problem: it was the only match on the show that didn’t feel lifeless (though Perkins vs. Sky came close). So much of the show felt like they were just doing matches for the sake of doing matches, which may be due to this being the first show. It wasn’t horrible and nothing was really bad, but only the last little bit made me interested in seeing where it was going.

That being said, I’ll be skipping the second show as it didn’t make me want to keep watching. You shouldn’t need filler on a two hour show, but between the promos and hype for the main event, this could have been closer to an hour and a half. I already have the third one though so we’ll be moving on to that, which hopefully offers an improvement. Given that the second show has three rematches from this show, I’m not exactly thrilled with the prospects. Not the worst by far, but it needs some work to get to good.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Fusion #69
Date: August 3, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

Things are getting wild around here with all kinds of things going on. That has made for some interesting setups and the nice thing is MLW has gotten a lot better at paying those things off. If they can do that again, we could be in for a nice setup as they head towards their first pay per view in the fall. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Bestia vs. Mance Warner last week as Mance loses another battle in the war against Salina de la Renta. The rather wild Von Erichs vs. Contra match gets a look as well.

Opening sequence.

Jimmy Yuta vs. Low Ki

Yuta drives him into the corner….and gets kicked in the head for the knockout at 30 seconds. Longer than usual for Low Ki lately.

Post match Low Ki says he’s got a lot of unfinished business.

Tom Lawlor is ready to go to war with Contra in the War Chamber.

Contra says bring it on, but it’s four on four. The match has since been confirmed as WarGames under a different name.

It’s time for the War Chamber Control Center. The only match set so far is the namesake match, meaning we hear the WarGames rules again, though you can win by pinfall or submission. That just sounds awesome no matter how you slice it.

We look back at Warner vs. Salina de la Renta and company.

Konnan has some demands for Salina. First up: he wants Jimmy Havoc vs. LA Park, loser leaves MLW. Both Salina and Havoc aren’t happy but the match is made. That sounds like writing Havoc off for AEW.

The Dynasty is at a car dealership and don’t like being told to wait. They like MJF’s watch and threaten a Yelp review for taking so long. It turns into a discussion of Teddy Hart failing the Wellness Policy, meaning he can’t cash in his rematch for the Tag Team Titles. Hammerstone freaks out over a Wellness Policy but they’ll get him some clean liquid.

MLW is going to be working with Pro Wrestling Noah.

Here are the Spirit Squad (Mikey/Kenny) to say they’re here because they earned it instead of their open name. That means an open challenge, which isn’t going to end well.

Spirit Squad vs. Von Erichs

The fight is on in a hurry with the Von Erichs beating them down while the music is still playing. A double dropkick and the threat of the Claw send the Squad bailing to the floor. The music keeps playing as it’s a double noggin knocker on the floor. We take a break and come back with Marshall beating up the Squad on his own and dropkicking Mikey to the floor. There’s a powerslam and a good looking moonsault for two on Kenny, followed by a claw slam/belly to back suplex combination for the pin at 5:25. They needed a break in this match? The music played through the entire match.

Post match here’s Contra for the brawl, with the Von Erichs holding their own for a good while. Cue a mystery man to spray mist in Marshall’s eyes as Contra has a fourth member. What a great time to mention that Marshall has a newborn. It worked in Mid-South.

Gringo Loco vs. Zenshi

This is from the Chicago tapings due to Low Ki’s match going so short. They flip around to start with Gringo shoving him away and saying not so fast. Zenshi climbs the ropes and gets a sunset flip for no count. A shooting star misses and Zenshi says bring it. Loco misses an enziguri as Jordan Oliver and Myron Reed are protesting in the crowd.

With Loco on the floor, Zenshi flips over the top, handstands on the apron until Loco gets to his feet, and then headscissors him down. We spend a good while looking at a replay and then a crowd shot (I can’t imagine the botch in there) before seeing Zenshi hit a bottom rope 450 for two. Zenshi tries a moonsault but gets caught in the Tombstone for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C. This was fine for a quick filler with some exciting flips and that’s all it was supposed to be. Sometimes you can have something that is little more than a popcorn match and that’s what we got here. Loco is popular with the crowd and it’s easy to see why. It did its job and didn’t try to do anything else, which is how it should have gone.

We look at Marshall being blinded again.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. doesn’t want to talk about Alexander Hammerstone and his Georgia. Instead he’s ready for Timothy Thatcher tonight and knows it’s going to be strong style catch wrestling. Smith’s technique is too strong for Thatcher and ignores a question about Georgia. Brian Pillman Jr. comes in and seems to have a plan.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

They slap hands to start and it’s a slow pace to get things going. Davey throws him off of a headscissors on the mat and it’s time for some early grappling. Smith gets a hammerlock and you can see Thatcher playing this out in his head as he tries to find a way out. The hold is reversed into a half crab, with Thatcher’s eyes bugging out. That’s broken up so Thatcher kicks at the leg and grabs it again, this time sending Smith over to the ropes.

More kicks to the leg set up a belly to belly to put Davey back in the middle, setting up a legbar. With the grappling not working so well, Davey headbutts his way to freedom but can’t get a cross armbreaker. Thatcher switches into an ankle lock with a grapevine as the counters continue. Davey slaps the mat (not a tap) and turns it over into a Sharpshooter, sending Thatcher to the ropes for a change. They slug it out (Tony: “Like two rams butting heads on the side of the Rocky Mountains!” How long has he had that one saved up for?) until Thatcher gets two off a small package.

Another pinfall reversal sequence gives us some slick two counts and it’s time for a breather. Back up and Smith rolls some German suplexes, followed by a tiger suplex (Thatcher’s “OH DANG” look when he knows he can’t block it is great) for two. They fight over arm holds with Thatcher not being able to get a cross armbreaker this time. Smith isn’t having this and rolls out into a Crossface for the tap at 14:46.

Rating: B. This was almost all technical mat work, which is all the more impressive given Smith’s size and power. It makes him look like a complete package and all the more dangerous, which he’ll have to be to go after Hammerstone. Thatcher looked incredible as well, making me wonder why he hasn’t gotten a job in a big company yet. He isn’t the most interesting looking but there’s always a role for someone with his style.

Georgia comes out to interview Davey, who is thankful to the fans. He knows Georgia wants to keep her silence on Hammerstone but Hammerstone is playing her. Smith promises to use a crossface chickenwing on Hammerstone to become Openweight Title.

Overall Rating: B+. There are times where you just get the Fusion concept and this was one of those nights. You got enough of everything to make for a fun show which absolutely flew by. It was a knockout, an energetic squash, a lucha match and a technical clinic. That made for a very easy show to watch while stories were advanced and stuff was set up for the future. Well done all around and one of the best put together shows they’ve had to date.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Mercury Rising 2018
Date: April 6, 2018
Attendance: 1,000
Commentators: Lenny Leonard, Ron Niemi

This is the WWN (World Wrestling Network) Supershow, which is a bunch of smaller promotions (Evolve, Shine, Full Impact Pro and more). The thing is, I’ve never actually seen anything from the majority of them. I’ve always wanted to check them out but the schedule never worked or I was just too busy to get there. This year though I’ve done a little bit of everything from almost every big promotion over Wrestlemania weekend so I might as well try it now. Let’s get to it.

I’m coming into this virtually blind as I only somewhat follow this promotion, meaning I’m likely not going to know a lot of people and stories.

Ad for Club WWN, their version of the Network.

Host Trevin Adams is in the ring to welcome us to the show and run down the card. There’s a pretty good sized crowd if nothing else.

DJZ/AR Fox/Trey Miguel vs. Austin Theory/Travis Banks/Zachary Wentz

Lucha rules so I hope I can tell who everyone is. If I’m right, Theory is the current FIP (Full Impact Pro, a promotion under the WWN banner) and WWN (as in the whole thing, kind of like the NWA World Champion, which he won earlier in the night) Champion while Banks is the Progress World Champion. Commentary just jumps in and starts talking about the history of six man tags on this show without even saying hello or saying who is who.

Theory tells DJZ to play his horn to start and forearms him in his distracted face. Fox and Wentz come in with Wentz snapping off a hurricanrana, meaning it’s Miguel replacing Fox as the fast start continue. With the announcer saying they haven’t seen either guy before, it’s off to Banks for a running knee but DJZ comes back in for an Indian deathlock, including the horn from the floor. DJZ sends Theory to the floor for a big springboard dive but Wentz dives onto everyone else.

Miguel hits another dive of his own so Fox follows him with a springboard imploding 450. Now maybe it’s just the audio, but you would expect a much stronger reaction (or at least a louder one) than any of those dives received. Fox brings Theory back in and it’s a human centipede of dragon sleepers. Miguel comes in and kicks everyone down and it’s a bit of a breather.

Banks is up first with kicks to Miguel and Fox, followed by a Cannonball to both. Miguel 619s Banks in the ribs but misses a top rope double stomp, only to hit a….springboard crotch to the face? It was either supposed to be a seated senton, a hurricanrana or reversed into a powerbomb but it didn’t really resemble any.

Theory is back with a powerbomb to Fox but DJZ gives him one of his own. Banks gets in a spinning fisherman’s driver as the pace has gone through the roof. Wentz drops Miguel on his head and a Roll of the Dice sets up a Swanton to give Fox two. DJZ hits a 450 on Wentz as Fox and Miguel nail suicide dives for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: B-. Some insanely fast paced offense but they’re not doing a great job of laying things out for a new fan. I was trying to keep track of who was who and why they were fighting each other but that’s the case with most shows at this level. Still though, very fun opener and the kind of match you want on a show like this. I’d assume this sets up some sort of a title shot down the line, or else why have a double champion’s team lose?

Indeed, Fox motions that he wants the title.

Jason Kincaid comes out for a match but Jarek 1:20 jumps him from behind and beats him down. That’s not it as Jarek handcuffs him to the barricade, meaning it’s time to mention the Louisiana State Athletic Commission. Jarek kicks him in the face and chokes a lot as Kincaid screams a lot. Apparently this is part of a heel turn as Jarek wants to be a bigger deal around here. Makes enough sense and the announcers explained it to us so well done, though telling us a bit more about Jarek and/or Kincaid would have helped.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Munenori Sawa

Sawa is a striker/shoot submission guy who is back after a fairly lengthy retirement. Sabre on the other hand is a submission master who does things that I can’t even describe most of the time. He also lost the Evolve Championship the night before so he’s on a bit of a downswing. Sawa slaps him in the face to start and we’re ready to go in the technical style match of the night.

The announcers explain Sawa’s Japanese pedigree (good) as Sabre takes him down into a double armbar which is quickly escaped. They grapple on the mat and Sawa has to bail to the ropes again. Both guys head outside for a slap off, which isn’t exactly Sabre’s strong point. Sawa knocks him into and out of a chair before they fight over abdominal stretches back inside. Very technical so far and it’s mostly even in the early going. Sawa starts in on the leg but Sabre slaps his way out of an early leglock.

A power drive elbow (ala Great Muta) has Sabre in more trouble and it’s time for the rapid fire strikes in the corner. They head to the apron with Sawa grabbing an ankle lock but getting reversed into a nasty armbar. That’s broken due to the ropes so Sawa is right back on the leg. Sabre isn’t about to be out technicaled so he pulls Sawa into an STF and then a headscissors with an armbar.

Another rope break saves Sawa so it’s off to an Octopus Hold with Sabre having to fall into the ropes for the break. Sabre counters a punch into a cross armbreaker (with a middle finger to the fans, as is his custom) but Sawa reverses into a choke of his own. That earns Sawa a Pele and a leglock/Brock Lock on the mat (Orienting With Napalm Death. Seriously, though not the same move with the same name from Strong Style Evolved) for the tap at 13:22.

Rating: B. Sabre fascinates me more every time I watch him as some of those holds defy the laws of physics. I can see why he’s such a star on shows like this as he’s just a treat to watch. Sawa isn’t someone I’m overly familiar with but he was fine here, albeit not someone who really stood out.

Post match Sawa gets the big ovation. It wasn’t that great of a match.

The End vs. James Drake/Anthony Henry vs. Tracy Williams/Dominic Garrini

Street fight and the End is Odinson/Parrow. I have no idea who any of these people are so I’m going to be in some trouble here. Williams and Garrini, part of the Catch Point stable (albeit with Garrini as hired muscle and not a full member), seem to be faces and have former ROH manager Stokely Hathaway with them. Stokely says he accepted this match to show how great Catch Point is a national treasure and takes a seat at ringside. Actually hang on as Drake and Henry come out, sending Stokely running to the back.

The End, with their unnamed manager, comes in and starts the brawl with Catch Point (seemingly the feud the match is built around) but Garrini hits a big flip dive off the top to take everyone down. The announcers recap the backstory (Drake/Henry challenged the End and Catch Point jumped in to get their hands on the End) as the End’s theme song goes on for a long time. Garrini gets beaten down inside and Williams sets up a table on the floor. Williams and Garrini get back up and double team Henry in the corner but the End come in and take over.

A ladder is brought in to cut Odinson off and another shot drops Parrow but the manager (Drenin) gets inside. That earns him a kick to the head and some running chops in the corner to get us back to the regular six. Williams and Henry slug away on the End but Williams makes the save with a chair. The huge Parrow takes the chair away from Williams but gets powerbombed onto (not through) the table at ringside. There’s another table in the ring and a double suplex puts Odinson through for another near fall.

Garrini’s armbar on Williams is quickly broken up and Henry and Anthony put his bare feet in the ladder for a series of chair shots. Williams saves Garrini from a double superplex but the End comes back in for stereo Towers of Doom. They’re not done though as it’s a Super Collider for two each on Henry and Drake. Another table is loaded up in the corner and a Pounce puts Garrini through it in short order.

The End takes Williams down with Henry making the save before taking Drenin out again. The good sized Drake hits a nice moonsault but Drake wants more violence instead of the pin. That means a bunch of chair shots and yet another table being brought in because we haven’t had one of those in a while. Henry hits a Coup de Grace onto Odinson through the table (well kind of as the legs broke but the middle held) for the pin at 13:24.

Rating: D+. Well that happened. This was far from good with only some energy throughout the whole thing. I still have very little idea of who these people are or why they’re fighting in the first place. Again, I know the regular fans know who they are but could we get a little more for the new fans? On top of that, the action wasn’t very good with no real story and very few near falls. It just felt like people hitting each other with weapons for the sake of hitting each other with weapons, which has been done far better before.

We take a quick break for the sake of clearing the ring. This includes the ring crew sweeping, earning a SWEEP FOREVER chant. So they’d rather watch sweeping than the wrestling they paid for? Indy fans are weird.

Shine Championship: LuFisto vs. Holidead

Shine is an offshoot of Shimmer and LuFisto is defending. Holidead is something like a zombie and has appeared in ROH and Impact. LuFisto heads into the corner to start but misses a charge and gets rolled up for two. A missed big boot allows LuFisto to tie her into the Tree of Woe for a Cannonball (looks better with the upside down part). It’s time to work on the knee with Holidead’s leg being wrapped around the post, followed by a rather long chinlock.

Holidead fights up and slugs away with a neckbreaker getting two. To mix things up a bit, she licks LuFisto’s face and gets two more off a side slam. A spinebuster plants LuFisto again but she takes her into the corner for a quick Facewash. Holidead is right back with a Samoan drop but LuFisto is back on the knee with a spinning toehold and an inverted Figure Four. That means a rope break and Holidead is right back with something like White Noise for two more. A guillotine legdrop misses (would have missed no matter what happened) and LuFisto grabs a Burning Hammer to retain at 8:13.

Rating: D. This was two women doing moves to each other for eight minutes until one person hit a big move for the win. It’s not a good match with neither of them really standing out and both of them just kind of being there instead of doing something special. I don’t know if this is a big draw for the show, but this did nothing for me whatsoever.

Post match LuFisto says she’s tired of Barbie dolls and is going to hold this title until she retires. She wants to fight someone special at Shine 50 so cue Kimber Lee (formerly Kimberly Frankele/Abbey Laith in NXT) and the match seems to be made.

Keith Lee vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

I’ve heard of Sekimoto (a big guy named the Muscle Monster) before but, again, have never actually seen him. Lee is a big deal around here (losing the WWN Championship earlier in the day) so this is probably one of the biggest matches on the show. They trade big shoulders to start with Sekimoto going back a few steps.

Lee, who makes Big E. look small, snaps off a passable hurricanrana because he can. An exchange of forearms has Sekimoto down and we hit a neck crank. Back up and a hard right hand rocks Sekimoto so it’s time for the big, heavy slugout. Sekimoto muscles him up for a slam and we hit an abdominal stretch as the video and audio are out of sync.

A big suplex sets up a missile dropkick to rock Lee for two but he’s back up with a crossbody for two. Lee grabs a sitout Sky High for the same and hits middle rope moonsault….hits? It grazed Sekimoto but apparently he moved in time. A bridging German suplex puts Lee away at 13:38.

Rating: B. Now that was fun in the hoss battle sense with both guys beating the heck out of each other. Sekimoto has a great look and is far more muscular than most guys you would see on a show like this, making him all the more entertaining to watch. I could have gone for more of this and that’s a good thing. Well done and I’m not surprised that Lee signed with WWE.

Post match hardcore “wrestler” Nick Gage comes in to clean house. He’ll be in the parking lot if anyone wants a fight. Gage leaves and Lee gets up as the fans….kind of cheer? Lee is ready to face Gage at an upcoming show.

Evolve Tag Team Titles: Chris Dickinson/Jaka vs. Ringkampf

Dickinson and Jaka (part of Catch Point with Hathaway at ringside) are defending and Ringkampf is Walter (not doing the all caps thing) and Timothy Thatcher (the longest reigning Evolve Champion ever. Walter is another guy I’ve never actually seen wrestle before and is a monster by comparison at 6’4 and probably 300lbs. Thatcher and Jaka start things off and it’s already time to go after Jaka’s arm.

That’s broken up so Thatcher goes after the leg and draws Dickinson in, allowing the tag to Walter. The challengers take turns on Jaka’s arm with Walter kicking Dickinson off the apron. Hathaway is arguing with the fans as Jaka gets chopped into the wrong corner. A missed charge allows the hot tag off to Dickinson so the pace can pick up a bit. Dickinson hits a running corner clothesline for two and the champs start taking turns on Thatcher in the corner.

A rather twisty leglock keeps Thatcher in trouble so Walter comes in for the save like a good partner should be doing. Thatcher gets away with a belly to belly and the tag brings the monster back in. That means big old chops and a big boot to Dickinson. Walter and Dickinson slug it out with Dickinson even gyrating the hips a bit. Thatcher and Jaka come back in with Jaka missing a very fast spinning kick to the head. A double knockdown leaves us with Walter kicking Dickinson in the face but taking a Falcon Arrow for two.

Dickinson gets in a tornado DDT to keep Walter down but he’s right back up with a butterfly suplex. Walter sleepers Dickinson until Jaka dives in with a top rope splash for the save in a good looking crash. The hot tag brings in Thatcher but it’s the Death Trap (Doomsday Device with a chokeslam instead of a clothesline, which didn’t look nearly as cool as it sounded) to retain the titles at 15:27.

Rating: B. This felt like a team getting the win because they were a better team, which you don’t see happen very often. It’s nice to see some good tag action like this and you can almost pencil in Walter for NXT in the next few years. Good match and something that was easy to follow on its own, even in another case where I didn’t know most of the people.

Post match Catch Point is here with Williams saying the team is doing great but there’s a problem. Hathaway has caused issues as the businessman so he’s out. That’s not how things work though, as it turns out Hathaway’s contract puts him in control of the entire team, so Williams is the one who has been fired. This brings out Garrini to lay Williams out and the team takes his Catch Point shirt.

Evolve Title: Matt Riddle vs. Will Ospreay

Riddle is defending (having won the title yesterday and again, I’ve never seen a match of his) and this is under Riddle Rules, meaning no rope breaks. Ospreay is VERY banged up coming in, with a bad neck and shoulder thanks to injuries suffered in Japan. So Riddle is known as the King of Bros and really, it’s kind of the perfect name for him. You would get the same vibe if you looked at him so well done.

Riddle takes his time going around shaking hands with fans and is wrestling barefoot, as is his custom. They do the Big Match Intros and Riddle misses a jumping knee to the face so it’s a Helluva Kick and release German suplex from Ospreay but Riddle pops to his feet. A dropkick puts Riddle on the floor for a suicide dive as Ospreay is throwing everything he has at him early on due to the injuries taking his stamina.

They head to the apron and you can see the crazy look in Ospreay’s eyes. Riddle German suplexes him on the apron though and Ospreay is already near death. Back in and an exploder has Ospreay down again and some rolling gutwrench suplexes get two. Riddle slowly kicks at him as the fans are begging him to hit Ospreay in the bad shoulder. That just ticks Ospreay off and he sends Riddle into the corner for the hesitation dropkick.

Riddle powerbombs the heck out of him though and flips Ospreay over for a hard knee to the face. A kick to the shoulder cuts Ospreay off and it’s a sleeper suplex (cool) for two. The Bro-Mission (an abdominal stretch on the mat with a leg trap) goes on and Ospreay’s already in trouble.

Somehow he gets up and climbs to the top for a sleeper superplex, which is enough to need the medics. Well more referees in this case and Riddle is told to stand in the corner. Ospreay tells the referees to let it go so it’s a running knee to the back of the head and a Tombstone (how illegal) for a very close two, meaning Riddle is ticked. He takes the tape off of Ospreay’s neck and drops a backsplash to the upper back.

A running knee to the face gets one and Riddle isn’t having something like this. He loads up a cradle piledriver but Ospreay reverses into a triangle choke of all things and a hard lariat puts Riddle down. Riddle’s next knee strike is countered into a sitout powerbomb (with Ospreay nearly dropping him) for two. The Oscutter (springboard cutter) is pulled into the Bro-Mission though and Ospreay taps at 13:53.

Rating: B+. I completely get it with Riddle as he has a great look and made the MMA stuff look as natural as you could have hoped. The idea of a killer like that beating on an already injured Ospreay made for a very emotional match and if Ospreay had just a few more close calls, this would have been a classic. As it is though, it’s a very good story and a heck of a match worthy of being a big show’s main event.

Post match Riddle says that was an awesome performance from Ospreay and praises the fans. A little posing and a catchphrase end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I know I say this a lot but this is a great example of a show where the good is really good and the bad is either short or not terrible. The action itself was strong and there were people I’d want to see again. As mentioned though, the biggest problem was trying to figure out who these people were or what they were doing. Maybe a supershow was a bad place to come in for something like that, but they need to do a better job of welcoming in new viewers. What we got was good though and the string of rather good matches is more than enough to make this worth a look. Surprisingly awesome show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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