This Supershow saw Southside Wrestling leave the confines of the Rushcliffe Arena to put on a show at the Brittannia Hotel in Nottingham city centre. With a mix of UK indy names, US indy stars and ex TNA and WWE stars, this was a show that didn't disappoint.
Kay Lee Ray vs Awesome Kong
This was a fun choice of opener. Kong, though looking leaner than in her TNA and WWE days, still had a substantial size and power advantage over Lee Ray. KLR's game plan here was to play hit-and-run with Kong, trying to nail her with increasingly harder moves as Kong got more dazed. When Kong was on offence, it was a case of KLR surviving what was thrown at her. She survived an implant buster and a spinning backfist, kicking out of both at two. A rally of offence gave Lee Ray an opening, but Kong got knees up on a Swanton, and hit a huge implant buster for the win. Good opener.
Mark Haskins vs Uhaa Nation
First time I've seen Nation, and he's pretty impressive, with great size and loads of natural charisma. Haskins is one of the best wrestlers in the country though, and he controls the early stages by working the arm of Nation. The size difference does come into play with Haskins unable to hit a snapmare on Nation, and this size difference allows Nation to take control. As well as his size, Nation seems to be very agile and nails some impressive aerial moves. Haskins is able to keep in the match, making comebacks by attacking the arm. At the end, Nation nails a standing moonsault, but misses a second and Haskins locks in a Fujiwara armbar for the tapout win. Well-worked match.
Kris Travis vs Martin Kirby
Both members of Project Ego are without opponents after both Shannon Moore and MK McKinnan no-showed. Kirby launches a marvellous promo on both guys, referring to Moore as a drug addict in rehab and McKinnan as a fat blond lesbian. However, his attempt to get out of wrestling Travis backfires when, after they agree not to wrestle, he claims that he'd have won the match anyway. Travis takes exception to this and attacks off the bell with a superkick and a uranage for two. Travis is wrestling with injured knees, which Kirby referred to in his pre-match promo, and after he misses a double-knee in the corner, Kirby goes to work on his partners leg. The match is really well worked, with Travis making well-timed comebacks using his good leg. Before things can really heat up though, commentator Adam Curtis gets on the mic and encourages the two to stop fighting, comparing the work they're having to go through with the work of the US imports. Both guys leave the ring for a double-countout, which is a disappointing ending, but understandable given that this was a last-minute booking in difficult circumstances.
The Predators vs Robbie X & Mark Haskins
The development of Robbie X in Southside has been great to follow, starting as a talented lowercard flier, then progressing to the Speed King title and now being considered one of the better guys on the Southside roster at the age of 18. Robbie has taken on the Predators several times in the past, finally picking up the first win when teaming with Jonny Storm in a non-title match. Here, he teams with Haskins, who has been a thorn in the side of the House of Pain stable for the past few month. This was a great match, loved Robbie and Haskins fast-tagging and working the arm of Joseph Conners early on, as it showed not only tag-team continuity, but was also consistent with Haskins' normal MO of attacking the arm. Both faces take it in turns to be face-in-peril, with Conners and Paul Malen looking typically rabid in attack. What I like about the Predators is how they live up to their name, with a viciousness in their offence that justifies the billing. Robbie kicks out of the Predators' Trophy Kill finisher, which has been a surefire death finisher until now, making the kickout more effective. Haskins interjects to stop a top rope version, and Robbie hits a Phoenix Splash for the win. Nicely worked tag match.
The Hunter Brothers, Hardcore Holly & Dale Mills vs SC Supreme, Nathan Cruz, Max Angelus & Harvey Dale
This was an elimination tag match, with the losing captains (Mills or Dale) having to leave Southside for good. Surprisingly, the Hunters are both eliminated early here, leaving Holly to have to carry the load for his team. The crowd reacted really well to Holly, and he looked great here, seemingly not having aged in ten years. A slight disappointment is that I was looking forward to a battle of chops between Holly and Supreme which never happened, but the promise of one did amusingly lead to Supreme's elimination as Holly outsmarted him by ducking a chop and rolling him up for the three. Cruz is in next, and cowers off from Holly, but only to allow a distraction to give him control over Holly. A fun little section ends with Holly hitting the Alabama Slam to eliminate Cruz. Holly and Angelus square off, again having a fun little segment before Harvey stops an Alabama Slam attempt, the distraction of which allows Max to hit a discus clothesline for three.
The match to this point had been plenty of fun, and wisely, with two of the remaining three being non-wrestlers, the booking took over to keep it entertaining. First Angelus, fed up with Harvey Dale's guidance, slapped the ref to get himself disqualified, leaving the two non-wrestlers in the ring. At this point, SC Supreme reappeared, luring the ref backstage and allowing heel commentator Adam Curtis to enter the ring with a referee shirt. However, to the shock of all, he belted Harvey with a mic, allowing Mills to cover for the win and to ultimately keep his job. Really well booked match from start to finish, and the in-ring action was a lot of fun.
Chris Masters vs El Ligero
Ligero came out with his mask still ripped and broken from his cage match with Martin Kirby last month. Ligero seems to have lost heart since losing to his mortal enemy, which certainly wasn't the right frame of mind to be in when facing Masters. Masters was great heeling it up here, taunting the smaller, demoralised Ligero, who looked close to walking out at points. Ligero did get in some nice hope spots, but an attempt at a springboard armdrag was reversed into the Masterlock, to give Masters the easy win. Be interesting to see where Ligero goes from here.
Stixx vs Kevin Steen
This was the main event and, with the Predators losing their tag belts and Harvey Dale losing his job, Stixx has "nothing to lose" so challenged Steen to a falls-count anywhere match. To cut a long story short, this was an excellent match. with two heavyweights throwing bombs at each other. What I loved is how they built up the level of the spots throughout the match, with both dishing out heavy blows, but neither kicking out of moves that should finish the match (and I differentiate here between moves that COULD win a match and SHOULD win a match). Even the humourous moments were in keeping with a violent brawl, with Steen ramming Stixx into the walls culminating in him throwing Stixx headfirst into the crotch of a poster of Davey Richards. Stixx moves so well for a guy of his size, moving smoothly, but not bouncing around in a way that diminishes his aura as a hard man. The end came from a suitable move too, with Steen flapjacking Stixx through a chair, then hitting the package piledriver to win. Really fantastic brawl that was a joy to watch
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Saturday, 9 November 2013
WWE Battleground 2013
Alberto Del Rio vs Rob Van Dam
Man, RVD and Ricardo really aren't a combination that works well together. RVD starts well with a moonsault and a DDT onto a chair in opening 3 mins. Love Del Rio's aggression, with a nasty boot to RVD's face. Since turning back heel again, Del Rio's viciousness has been a joy to behold. Here, he also takes some nutty bumps to make RVD look better, hurling himself into a ladder, then to the floor. RVD's bump when Del Rio kicks him in the head with the ladder landing on him is a bit milkier. There is something a little sad about Jerry Lawler claiming you'd need a clairvoyant to guess what RVD will do next, when he's pretty much just running through his usual spots, only with a ladder involved. This does lead to a nice bump, as RVD misses Rolling Thunder onto a ladder. Ricardo, being the little shit he is, gets involved when ADR has the armbar locked on, and rightly gets kicked shitless by Del Rio. Del Rio proceed to sell a frogsplash onto a ladder (which Del Rio is under) as if his insides have been liquidated. The ending, with ADR destroying RVD's arm in a chair and forcing a tapout to the armbar is more proof that brutal sadist ADR is one of the best guys in 2013.
Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro vs the Great Khali & Santino Marella
I think we all know there is only one reason this got booked, but let's give it a chance. That said, I'm not sure people were hoping for an opening section of matwork between Swagger and Marella. Aside from some nice RA double teams, there is nothing here to enjoy until the inevitable moment....Cesaro giving the giant swing to Khali. That's enough for the three, but this match could easily have been dropped.
Curtis Axel vs R-Truth
I like Axel, but he's going to have to uproot trees here, as Truth hasn't been interesting in years. Axel takes a few nice bumps early on to help the challenger look good, before kicking Truth into the barricades to take over. There is a period of Axel offence before Truth starts his comeback, with an awesome glassy eyed sell of a leg lariat by Axel. Scissor Kick gets two for Truth, but Axel avoids a corner charge and hits the Axelizer for the win. Totally heatless from the crowd, but this was perfectly ok.
Brie Bella vs AJ Lee
With her leather jacket at ringside, Tamina gives good Diesel to AJ's Shawn Michaels. I like Brie showing a bit of rage at the start of this match - her offence isn't great, but at least she looks like she wants to hurt AJ. I loved AJ taking over by kicking Bella's knee on the apron whilst on defence, shows her comparative ring smarts. AJ works over the left arm pretty well, and uses it as a weak point to focus on to stop Brie getting on offence. Brie's offence looks pretty milky in comparison. AJ picks up the win with a roll-up after Brie gets distracted by Tamina choking out Nikki Bella at ringside.
Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns
Going into the PPV, this was the match I wanted to watch above all others. It's been said by a lot of people online, but it's true...Goldust hasn't lost a step. He moves smoothly, his punches have real snap and his offence looks crisper than ever. His diving clothesline on Reigns here is immense. Cody also gets to show some fire, which really suits him. Meanwhile, the Shield team continue to show their skill at tag wrestling, wearing down Cody, keeping themselves in between him and his corner and generally looking good. Cody comes back with a top rope moonsault to Rollins and Goldust comes in on fire, love his sharp boot to Reigns' temple. Also got to love mid-40's Dustin Rhodes adding a diving crossbody to his arsenal. The offense run ends as a missed crossbody sends Goldust to the floor, but luckily he's also an awesome face-in-peril. He takes Reigns' awesome flying clothesline like a champ. What helps here is that the fans genuinely like Goldust, genuinely want him to win, so he gets a lot of support when the Shield members wear him down with chinlocks and other holds. Goldust's comeback snap powerslam still looks gorgeous. Hot tag Cody is great at being fired up, and a lot of his offence is better suited to being a face - the Disaster Kick in particular is a great "sudden pop" move. The ending with Dusty stopping some Dean Ambrose interference and Cody nailing the mother of all CrossRhodes is awesome. Tag matches don't get much better.
Kofi Kingston vs Bray Wyatt
Man, I really liked the Kingston gameplan early here, trying to wear down Wyatt with some tough looking kicks. When Wyatt is on offence, I quite like the air of menace he gives off, from his running corner splash to the diving headbutts he hits on a downed Kofi. You get a feel for the cruelty he's trying to dish out. Kofi's comeback is a little uninspired, but the diving crossbody Bray uses to stop it is magnificent. Wyatt's "upside down spider walk" however looks fucking terrible, and I hope he isn't planning on using it regularly. We've just enough time for an insane Kofi tope to the outside before Wyatt hits Sister Abigail for the win. This was better than I'd have hoped for.
CM Punk vs Ryback
Punk actually uses the same plan as Kingston here, wearing Ryback down with kicks, only with more success as Ryback leaves the ring several times to avoid him. It's quite fun seeing someone the size of Ryback playing chickenshit heel. Punk's plan seems to be to hit and run, which works as he gets Ryback to his knees, before peppering him with shots to the ribs. The otherside of a cat-and-mouse style match the occurs as Punk is caught by Ryback and becomes victim to Ryback's power game. Punk is viciously hurled into the corner ringpost. I like Punk trying to break a chinlock with blows to the ribs he'd already worked on. Ryback's offence is methodical, but fun, with a nasty clotheline levelling Punk. A bodyscissors/choke is broken by Punk delivering vicious blows to face. Heyman grabs the mic and distracts Punk, which makes him look like an idiot as Ryback nails him. A soppy clothesline from Punk downs Ryback, which looks a bit shit. I was starting to worry the match was going to be overlong at this point, before another Heyman distraction backfires, with Punk hitting a lowblow to win. Decent, though a few parts really dragged.
Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton
I was looking forward to this, as I enjoy sneaky heel Orton, and I liked it early on as he went for a test of strength with Bryan, only to grab the rope and kick him in the midsection, with the rope grabbing making him look even more devious. Also, as soon as he gets on offence, he's chasing Bryan round the ring to grind Bryan's face into his boots over and over. Love it. They've got a fine line to tread between keeping Bryan looking strong and putting over the new, more violent Orton, and I think they just about get it right, with Bryan getting nice, aggressive hope spots and Orton shutting them down suddenly. Bryan's got a few set spots that get good reactions, and he's great at mixing them in. This time, he doesn't hit his usual running dropkick after flipping over Orton in the corner. Instead, Orton throws him from the ring, only for Bryan to send HIM out with a headscissors and nail the suicide dive. Little things like that keep him interesting. Orton hitting a vicious back suplex onto the barrier then throwing Bryan into the ringpost puts over his new edge perfectly. Top rope superplex by Orton looks great too. Bryan comes back with a crossbody to the floor which looks nuts, and his series of running dropkicks to the corner is fantastic. In fact, this match is really fucking good, which makes the awful ending all the more frustrating. Big Show knocking out both guys would be much less upsetting if the match had only been so-so. Slap an ending on this, and you've got a match-of-the-year contender. Instead, it just leaves a disappointing taste in the mouth.
Man, RVD and Ricardo really aren't a combination that works well together. RVD starts well with a moonsault and a DDT onto a chair in opening 3 mins. Love Del Rio's aggression, with a nasty boot to RVD's face. Since turning back heel again, Del Rio's viciousness has been a joy to behold. Here, he also takes some nutty bumps to make RVD look better, hurling himself into a ladder, then to the floor. RVD's bump when Del Rio kicks him in the head with the ladder landing on him is a bit milkier. There is something a little sad about Jerry Lawler claiming you'd need a clairvoyant to guess what RVD will do next, when he's pretty much just running through his usual spots, only with a ladder involved. This does lead to a nice bump, as RVD misses Rolling Thunder onto a ladder. Ricardo, being the little shit he is, gets involved when ADR has the armbar locked on, and rightly gets kicked shitless by Del Rio. Del Rio proceed to sell a frogsplash onto a ladder (which Del Rio is under) as if his insides have been liquidated. The ending, with ADR destroying RVD's arm in a chair and forcing a tapout to the armbar is more proof that brutal sadist ADR is one of the best guys in 2013.
Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro vs the Great Khali & Santino Marella
I think we all know there is only one reason this got booked, but let's give it a chance. That said, I'm not sure people were hoping for an opening section of matwork between Swagger and Marella. Aside from some nice RA double teams, there is nothing here to enjoy until the inevitable moment....Cesaro giving the giant swing to Khali. That's enough for the three, but this match could easily have been dropped.
Curtis Axel vs R-Truth
I like Axel, but he's going to have to uproot trees here, as Truth hasn't been interesting in years. Axel takes a few nice bumps early on to help the challenger look good, before kicking Truth into the barricades to take over. There is a period of Axel offence before Truth starts his comeback, with an awesome glassy eyed sell of a leg lariat by Axel. Scissor Kick gets two for Truth, but Axel avoids a corner charge and hits the Axelizer for the win. Totally heatless from the crowd, but this was perfectly ok.
Brie Bella vs AJ Lee
With her leather jacket at ringside, Tamina gives good Diesel to AJ's Shawn Michaels. I like Brie showing a bit of rage at the start of this match - her offence isn't great, but at least she looks like she wants to hurt AJ. I loved AJ taking over by kicking Bella's knee on the apron whilst on defence, shows her comparative ring smarts. AJ works over the left arm pretty well, and uses it as a weak point to focus on to stop Brie getting on offence. Brie's offence looks pretty milky in comparison. AJ picks up the win with a roll-up after Brie gets distracted by Tamina choking out Nikki Bella at ringside.
Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns
Going into the PPV, this was the match I wanted to watch above all others. It's been said by a lot of people online, but it's true...Goldust hasn't lost a step. He moves smoothly, his punches have real snap and his offence looks crisper than ever. His diving clothesline on Reigns here is immense. Cody also gets to show some fire, which really suits him. Meanwhile, the Shield team continue to show their skill at tag wrestling, wearing down Cody, keeping themselves in between him and his corner and generally looking good. Cody comes back with a top rope moonsault to Rollins and Goldust comes in on fire, love his sharp boot to Reigns' temple. Also got to love mid-40's Dustin Rhodes adding a diving crossbody to his arsenal. The offense run ends as a missed crossbody sends Goldust to the floor, but luckily he's also an awesome face-in-peril. He takes Reigns' awesome flying clothesline like a champ. What helps here is that the fans genuinely like Goldust, genuinely want him to win, so he gets a lot of support when the Shield members wear him down with chinlocks and other holds. Goldust's comeback snap powerslam still looks gorgeous. Hot tag Cody is great at being fired up, and a lot of his offence is better suited to being a face - the Disaster Kick in particular is a great "sudden pop" move. The ending with Dusty stopping some Dean Ambrose interference and Cody nailing the mother of all CrossRhodes is awesome. Tag matches don't get much better.
Kofi Kingston vs Bray Wyatt
Man, I really liked the Kingston gameplan early here, trying to wear down Wyatt with some tough looking kicks. When Wyatt is on offence, I quite like the air of menace he gives off, from his running corner splash to the diving headbutts he hits on a downed Kofi. You get a feel for the cruelty he's trying to dish out. Kofi's comeback is a little uninspired, but the diving crossbody Bray uses to stop it is magnificent. Wyatt's "upside down spider walk" however looks fucking terrible, and I hope he isn't planning on using it regularly. We've just enough time for an insane Kofi tope to the outside before Wyatt hits Sister Abigail for the win. This was better than I'd have hoped for.
CM Punk vs Ryback
Punk actually uses the same plan as Kingston here, wearing Ryback down with kicks, only with more success as Ryback leaves the ring several times to avoid him. It's quite fun seeing someone the size of Ryback playing chickenshit heel. Punk's plan seems to be to hit and run, which works as he gets Ryback to his knees, before peppering him with shots to the ribs. The otherside of a cat-and-mouse style match the occurs as Punk is caught by Ryback and becomes victim to Ryback's power game. Punk is viciously hurled into the corner ringpost. I like Punk trying to break a chinlock with blows to the ribs he'd already worked on. Ryback's offence is methodical, but fun, with a nasty clotheline levelling Punk. A bodyscissors/choke is broken by Punk delivering vicious blows to face. Heyman grabs the mic and distracts Punk, which makes him look like an idiot as Ryback nails him. A soppy clothesline from Punk downs Ryback, which looks a bit shit. I was starting to worry the match was going to be overlong at this point, before another Heyman distraction backfires, with Punk hitting a lowblow to win. Decent, though a few parts really dragged.
Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton
I was looking forward to this, as I enjoy sneaky heel Orton, and I liked it early on as he went for a test of strength with Bryan, only to grab the rope and kick him in the midsection, with the rope grabbing making him look even more devious. Also, as soon as he gets on offence, he's chasing Bryan round the ring to grind Bryan's face into his boots over and over. Love it. They've got a fine line to tread between keeping Bryan looking strong and putting over the new, more violent Orton, and I think they just about get it right, with Bryan getting nice, aggressive hope spots and Orton shutting them down suddenly. Bryan's got a few set spots that get good reactions, and he's great at mixing them in. This time, he doesn't hit his usual running dropkick after flipping over Orton in the corner. Instead, Orton throws him from the ring, only for Bryan to send HIM out with a headscissors and nail the suicide dive. Little things like that keep him interesting. Orton hitting a vicious back suplex onto the barrier then throwing Bryan into the ringpost puts over his new edge perfectly. Top rope superplex by Orton looks great too. Bryan comes back with a crossbody to the floor which looks nuts, and his series of running dropkicks to the corner is fantastic. In fact, this match is really fucking good, which makes the awful ending all the more frustrating. Big Show knocking out both guys would be much less upsetting if the match had only been so-so. Slap an ending on this, and you've got a match-of-the-year contender. Instead, it just leaves a disappointing taste in the mouth.
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