FSW WWE ID Championship Tournament: You May Have Seen This Before

FSW WWE ID Championship Tournament
Date: April 18, 2025
Location: FSW Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Jake Black, Trevin Adams

It’s pretty much what the name says, as we started the tournament on Wednesday and now we get the second day here. There is a men’s and women’s version, which means we are going to be seeing some of the prominent ID names getting their chance. The first night wasn’t bad at all and hopefully this lives up that standard. Let’s get to it.

Men’s WWE ID Championship Tournament: Cappuccino Jones vs. It’s Gal

This is a double elimination tournament and Gal powers him around to start. A headlock doesn’t work for Jones so Gal pulls him into a fireman’s carry. That’s broken up and Jones hits a big dropkick before chopping away. Gal shrugs that off and powers him down, meaning it’s time for some pushups with choking included. A legdrop gives Gal two and he grabs a chinlock with a knee in the back.

Back up and Gal chokes in the corner before slapping Jones in the face. That seems to wake Jones up enough to fight back, only for Gal to kick him in the face. Jones manages a quick Stunner into a springboard elbow to the face, followed by a pop up cutter for two. Hold on though as Gal comes up holding his elbow but the referee catches him using the medals. Jones hits him in the face and grabs the Decaffinator for the pin at 7:32.

Rating: B-. This was a pretty nice match actually with Gal getting in the offense but posing too much, leading to him trying to cheat to no avail. Jones is someone with a goofy but simple gimmick and it is starting to take off for him. Both of them are entertaining enough and this was a good way to open the show.

Post match Jones thanks the fans for being here to support them tonight. He would have done anything to get here and now he has a big pot brewing for anyone who wants some. Cue Swipe Right, Jackson Drake and Zayda Steele to lay Jones out. Drake brags about the team’s success so far and more success is coming. He’s ready for Marcus Mathers and Ricky Smokes is ready for Sean Legacy and Brad Baylor is ready for Ice Williams. Even Zayda Williams is ready to win her match! These people don’t have much to say.

Zayda Steele/Mazzerati vs. Brittnie Brooks/Zara Zakher

Steele wants to face Brooks but immediately bails out to the floor, allowing Mazzerati to headlock Brooks instead. Brooks reverses into an armbar, which is broken up just as quickly. Back up and Brooks grabs some armdrags into a snap suplex for two. Zakher comes in for an elbow to the face and a running kick to the back for two. Mazzerati is back with a gutbuster and Steele slaps her in the back for a tag, meaning it’s time to hammer on Zakher. Steele knocks her onto the floor and stomps away but stops to blow a kiss to the camera.

Back in and a dropkick knocks Zakher out of the Tree of Woe but Steele accidentally knocks Mazzerati off the apron. It’s back to Brooks and Mazzerati tags herself back in, only to get forearmed in the face. Brooks grabs a DDT for two but Mazzerati fights up. Steele grabs her by the hair and tags herself back in though, setting up a Gory Bomb for two on Zakher. Mazzerati won’t tag in so Steele shoves her off the apron, which has Mazzerati leaving. Zakher RKOs Steele for the pin at 10:36.

Rating: C. It’s nice to see a story in a match like this, as you have Steele dealing with Mazzerati, complete with commentary pointing out how Mazzerati has recently changed her attitude. Other than that, it wasn’t much of a match but at least it got some time and they were able to showcase themselves. Steele continues to look like a star and if she can back it up in the ring, she’ll be a big deal.

Bodhi Young Prodigy vs. Freedom Ramsey

Bodhi tries a quick sunset flip for two and holds the ropes to avoid the dropkick. Ramsey comes back with an atomic drop and a middle rope faceplant gets two. A jumping legdrop gives Ramsey two but Bodhi comes back with a DDT for a needed breather. The comeback is on and Bodhi hits a high crossbody for two. A Pele drops Ramsey again but he avoids the 450. Ramsey hits a Blockbuster for the pin at 5:47.

Rating: C+. I’ve only seen a bit of these two so I didn’t have much of an idea of what is going on but they pulled me in to Bodhi making his comeback. That’s an impressive thing to do as I don’t have any reason to care about these two but it worked anyway. Bodhi’s comeback was engaging and the fans got into it, which made things even that much better.

Respect is shown post match.

Men’s WWE ID Championship Tournament: Sam Holloway vs. Aaron Rourke

They’ve both lost once so the loser is eliminated. The bigger Holloway shoves him into the corner to start so Rourke grabs a lockup and climbs the ropes. That doesn’t work either so Rourke just opts to hammer away in the corner. A running boot in the corner rocks Holloway and Rourke sends him to the floor for a dive. This works a bit better for Holloway, who crotches Rourke on the barricade and then chops the heck out of him.

Back in and we hit the chinlock to keep Rourke down, only for him to reverse into an Octopus. That’s broken up as well so Holloway cuts him off with a running dropkick (impressive given his size). A top rope splash gives Holloway two and he can’t believe the kickout. Rourke gets up again but gets caught in a powerbomb, which he reverses into a Code Red for the pin to eliminate Holloway at 9:28.

Rating: B-. Rourke got to stand out a bit more here than he did yesterday and that’s nice to see. That’s kind of the point of what you’re supposed to see from these matches as they’re still making themselves known on the bigger stages. Rourke doesn’t have much that makes him stand out but at least he was out there with a bigger guy who gave him a solid opponent.

Men’s WWE ID Championship Tournament: Aaron Roberts vs. Jordan Oasis

Oasis starts fast and knocks him outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Roberts drops him with a clothesline before ramming Oasis’ head into the mat. Roberts slowly hammers away in the corner before dropping down onto Oasis’ back. Oasis finally fights out and manages a good spinebuster. Roberts’ chokeslam gets two but a Vader Bomb is countered into a powerbomb to give Oasis two more. Back up and Roberts pulls out a foreign object for a cheap shot, setting up the Vader Bomb for the pin at 7:07.

Rating: C+. Oasis feels like someone who turn into something so while it’s annoying to see him lose, it might mean that they have a little more for him to do. Seeing him face some adversity could make for a good story and hopefully that is where they’re going. At the same time, Roberts is a pretty standard big man and hasn’t shown me much so far. There will always be a place for someone like him in wrestling, but so far he hasn’t shown me much.

Men’s WWE ID Championship Tournament: Jackson Drake vs. Marcus Mathers

They fight over a lockup to start until Drake pulls him down into a headscissors. That’s broken up and Mathers knocks him outside, followed by some leg cranking back inside. Drake fights up and is dropkicked down almost immediately. Mathers charges into a boot in the corner though and Drake gets in a middle rope knee to the arm to take over. The arm is tied up and Drake gets creative by using his wrist tape to pull back on the arm even more.

The referee sees Drake using the ropes on a cover to give Mathers a breather but Drake is right back on the arm. Mathers’ arm is fine enough to slam him down, followed by a spinning high crossbody. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Mathers two but Drake pulls him into a Kimura. That’s broken up with a quick slam but the arm gives out and Drake gets a cross armbreaker.

Mathers survives that as well and fights up for a superkick. That means it’s time to go up top, where Drake’s superplex brings him back down in a big crash. Back up and the frustrated Drake hammers away in the corner, setting up a bridging German suplex for two. Mathers blocks the running knee though and a dragon screw legwhip takes Drake down again. A middle rope Canadian Destroyer hits Drake and the Broad Street Buster (fisherman’s buster) gets another near fall. Cue Swipe Right for a distraction, allowing Sam Holloway to post Mathers. Drake adds the running knee for the pin at 18:32.

Rating: B-. Well that was…long. I’m not sure I’d say it was especially good, but it’s nice to see them being able to hold it together for a longer match. Drake is a decent enough villain and Mathers certainly feels like someone who could turn into a bigger star if he is properly developed. For now though, they had a nice match, even if it went on for quite awhile.

Post match, Drake brags about how great he and Swipe Right are. Again.

Men’s WWE ID Championship Tournament: Sean Legacy vs. Ricky Smokes

Legacy isn’t waiting here and dropkicks Smokes to the floor to start. Some chops rock Smokes even more and they head back inside where Smokes can keep chopping away. Smokes gets in a shot of his own in the corner and starts in with his own chops, followed by a kick into the ropes. Legacy fights up and goes to the top but gets dropkicked out to the floor in a heap.

Back in and Smokes drops a knee, followed by the required chinlock. That’s broken up and Legacy strikes away, setting up a middle rope Spanish Fly to leave both of them down. Legacy moonsaults into a lifting reverse DDT for two before grabbing the torture rack, only to have to go after Swipe Right. Smokes kicks him in the head but dives into a Codebreaker. The torture rack flipped into the swinging neckbreaker gives Legacy the pin at 8:32.

Rating: C+. Legacy has definitely felt like the biggest star in the ID program so far and it seems like he’s the centerpiece, at least in the early stages. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him as the first champion, but he’s almost guaranteed to at least make a deep run. Smokes is one half of the annoying heel tag team so Legacy had a reason to beat him, though I’m not sure if there was much drama.

Post match Swipe Right comes in for the beatdown but Ice Williams and Cappuccino Jokes make the save. And now, the main event.

Men’s WWE ID Championship Tournament: Ice Williams vs. Brad Baylor

Williams starts fast and hammers away, including knocking Baylor to the floor for some uppercuts. Baylor gets in a shot of his own and they head back inside, where Baylor starts going after Williams’ neck. The pace slows again as Baylor hammers away and then grabs a chinlock. That’s broken up and Williams spins around to hit a quick DDT. Williams ties him in the ropes for a kick tot he face and an elbow to the back for two.

Baylor comes back with a snapdragon for two before going up top, where he reverses a superplex into a swinging superplex (ala Kevin Owens). Back up and Williams hits a good looking superkick for two, plus a good shocked kickout face. Baylor brainbusters him onto the knee for two more and goes for a turnbuckle pad. With the referee taking care of that, it’s a low blow for two on Williams. Back up and they slug it out until Williams superkicks him down again. A brainbuster finishes Baylor off at 11:13.

Rating: C+. Baylor feels like the bigger star of Swipe Right, which is quite a big deal at this point given how much they have been featured. At the same time, Williams is another guy who might wind up becoming a star and certainly has the look. He’s already doing well with his early tournament appearances and that should give him a nice next few appearances.

Post match Williams says he’s going to be the first ID Champion and thanks the fans for coming out.

Overall Rating: C+. The show isn’t bad and the action is good enough, but the ID people are starting to lose their charm. They’ve been all over the weekend and you can only see Swipe Right and company run in so many times to do their thing before it stops working. I know we’ll get to the title stuff and some better stories later, but two long shows from these same people in a few days is a bit much. It’s not bad, but there’s a reason these people are prospects rather than the featured stars.

On top of that, the tournament is kind of all over the place. You have some people with one loss, one guy already eliminated and in theory some wrestlers who haven’t debuted yet. What we didn’t have was any kind of graphic or standings showing where people were. Maybe they don’t know all of the entrants yet or they haven’t been announced, but it doesn’t make for the easiest thing to follow, especially with the double elimination aspect. It makes the show feel all over the place and hard to keep track of, which isn’t the kind of feeling you want fans to have. Good enough wrestling, but it needs to be tightened up.

Results
Cappuccino Jones b. It’s Gal – Decaffinator
Brittnie Brooks/Zara Zakher b. Zayda Steele/Mazzerati – RKO to Steele
Freedom Ramsey b. Bodhi Young Prodigy – Blockbuster
Aaron Rourke b. Sam Holloway – Code Red
Aaron Roberts b. Jordan Oasis – Vader Bomb
Jackson Drake b. Marcus Mathers – Running knee
Sean Legacy b. Ricky Smokes – Torture rack swinging neckbreaker
Ice Williams b. Brad Baylor – Brainbuster

 

 

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

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