WWF Prime Time Wrestling 02/06/1986

Don Muraco vs Danny Spivey

Not the exciting opener you might hope for to kick off this episode. Muraco is really happy to stall and waste a lot of time at the start of the bout, to the point that I’m quite happy when an impatient Spivey just says “fuck it” and stomps him as he gets in. Muraco takes control after hurling Spivey through the ringside barriers, then controls him with some very methodical offence. The best stuff in this bout comes from Spivey, and I liked his comeback punches which are quite fired up. The end sees Spivey try to suplex Muraco back in from the apron, but gets cradled for the win.

Tony Garea vs Mr X

Mr X is a masked Danny Davis. This is a truly terrible bout, controlled for the vast majority of it by Mr X holding a headlock. At one point, you can actively hear the crowd groan when X cuts off an attempted comeback and goes for another headlock. Garea gets the odd comeback, but X will always cut it off almost straight away, often by hitting Garea with a knee as he charges in. As a positive, Mr X does hit a nice legdrop, but this is mostly boring nonsense. Garea eventually gets the win with an O’Connor roll.

Lanny Poffo vs Psycho Capone

Really odd match. Capone looks like a scrawny “Double J” era Jeff Jarrett and this is strangely uncooperative in places. Poffo is mainly in control here, breaking an arm wringer with a big boot that he nicely holds in Capone’s face. Poffo does some nice 80’s high-flying hitting a flipping second rope senton and a moonsault. This should be the end, but Capone awkwardly kicks out. There’s a bit of confusion, before Poffo hit a slingshot senton to win. Basically a Poffo squash with Capone getting up quickly after some moves. Very strange.

King Tonga vs Tiger Chung Lee

This is JIP with some nice bits, but also some dull bits. Both work leg control sections that are pretty dull, neither guy seems to want to do anything more than hold the opponents foot. Better are the strikes from both men. Nice leaping enzuigiri from Tonga, vicious kicks to the face from Chung Lee and both men laying into each other aggressively. Tonga picks up the win with a big thrust kick.

The British Bulldogs vs The Hart Foundation

Real prick tease of a match. This barely goes five minutes and has a shitty ending, which is really annoying as the match was shaping up to be really good. The familiarity the four men had with each other means that there’s no holding back on some big shots. Bret hits some lovely looking European uppercuts in the corner on Dynamite and commits to missing a massive second rope elbow, and I’m getting pretty excited about this match…then the Harts hit the Hart Attack mostly behind the refs back, he turns around and disqualifies them. Just a baffling, bullshit end to a fun match.

Ted Arcidi vs Big John Studd

And of course this ended up being twice the length. The amount of time they spend stalling, dithering about a test of strength then working the test of strength is longer than the whole tag match. At times, there’s not a single bit of motion on screen as they linger in the same position working the test of strength. Eventually, they do a bit of fighting, with Arcidi gassing himself out after a series of soft looking forearms. He grinds down Studd with a series of running ax handles, the logic of which I quite like, before Studd boots him outside, seemingly to let him catch his breath. Studd keeps preventing Arcidi from getting in, before Arcidi drags him out and they “brawl” to a double countout. Yep, not even a clean finish on this stinker.

ECW Hardcore TV #29 26/10/1993

The Bad Breed vs Don E Allen & Chad Austin

Fun squash, with the Bad Breed looking like fun tubby bullies. There’s more than a hint of the Nasty Boys in their performance, not just because Axl is a dead spit for late 90’s fatter Brian Knobbs. Ian probably shows a bit more than Axl here, loved his full Nelson suplex on Allen before catching a top rope crossbody by Austin, and slamming him into the corner, ultimately sending him over the top rope. Axl hits a second rope leg lariat, essentially just hurling his massive frame at Austin, before a rocket launcher splash puts Ian on top for the three.

Rockin’ Rebel vs Chris Michaels

I have, at worst, as soft spot for both guys, so the fact this ends up as the backdrop for a Sal Bellomo angle is disappointing. Basically, we’re joined-in-progress with Rebel decimating Michaels, picking him up on pins after a DDT and a piledriver, but Bellomo stops him before he’s able to attack Michaels with a chair. Probably the highlight was Rebel holding the chair over his head, dropping it in shock on seeing Bellomo, and the chair accidentally landing on the head of the fallen referee

There’s supposed to be a Bad Company vs Snuka/Muraco match, but the Public Enemy destroy Bad Company before the bell, so Snuka/Muraco win by forfeit

Shane Douglas vs JT Smith

This is an ECW title match, but Smith is going in with a bad knee. Smith gets in zero offence, as Douglas goes right to the knee and works it over. Smith can’t even get in an early slam attempt without his leg collapsing. Douglas puts in a figure four and Terry Funk throws in the towel on Smith’s behalf. Nothing to this, but it’s all set up for the post-match angle where Funk beats up Smith, annoyed at his reaction to the match being stopped.

PCW PowerBombShells 2017

Rhio vs Sierra Loxton

Both ladies are pretty young, but you can tell that Loxton is a bit more polished at this point. She’s got a bit more aggression about her offence, putting real force behind her forearms and looking comfortable working Rhio over on the mat. Her hip attacks in the corner look nasty and there’s real snap on her German suplex. Rhio’s offence is a bit softer, but she does take a nice looking bump from a DDT. Sadly, she ends up winning with the worst looking move of the match, some sort of Sister Abigail/Flatliner that doesn’t hit well, but both showed their promise.

Molly Spartan vs Jokey vs Jennie B

Fun triple threat with a mixed cast of characters. Spartan is the largest of the ladies and plays brickwall really well, letting the other two bounce off her. It takes Jokey and Jennie B teaming up to down her. Really liked the bulldog Jokey hit on a weakened Spartan, really drove her face into the mat. I was less of a fan of Spartan selling a Jennie B bronco buster with some disgusted retching, felt a bit of a cheap joke. Spartan gets to hit a lovely looking powerbomb, but Jennie B, who is in the match the least, ends up getting the pin, covering both women.

Jayde vs Lady Chardonnay Darcy

I was more familiar with both of these guys, though I hadn’t seen Darcy since she appeared in HOPE in her “chav” guise as simply Chardonnay. She looks in slightly better shape her, a bit stronger and more athletic. Jayde I saw have a decent enough match with Angelina Love, also in HOPE, but she’s very much the rookie here. They work a fun wristlock sequence to start, both girls looking comfortable with Jayde holding her own. Really liked Jayde breaking a run of Darcy control with a vicious headbutt. Some of her other offence looks a little hesitant, but she carries her weight in this match, and her back suplex looks terrific. Darcy is really smooth here, there’s that certain sheen of competence and professionalism some wrestlers have where you know you’re in good hands, and Darcy definitely has that here. A chokebomb sees Darcy pick up the win.

Jayla Dark vs Sadie Gibbs

Another good match, again pairing a more experienced pro with a relative rookie. Gibbs has a great look, seems to be a natural athlete, but has a few moments where her inexperience tells and Dark gets it back on track. Gibbs has a lovely looking standing moonsault early on, before Dark rolls out to sit on the apron. This seems to be to lure Gibbs in, as Dark drops her over the top rope when she reaches for her. Dark catches a charging Gibbs with a really perfectly timed kick, and it’s this kind of experienced sheen that helps keep the match together. Gibbs does have a habit of posing too much at times that don’t fit the move that’s just taken place, but the basics are there. Dark gets the win with a vicious looking Rocker Dropper.

Session Moth Martina vs Nadia Sapphire

This was a comedy match, but a fun one that broke the card up nicely. These feel like two characters who clash nicely for comic effect, with Sapphire’s high-maintenance egotist schtick working against the Moth’s chain-smoking, heavy-drinking antics. The few bits of actual wrestling here were really good. Sapphire laying out Martina in the ropes to hit a running hip attack was nice. Martina picked up the win with a codebreaker, this did what it needed to do.

Kasey Owens vs Jennie B

Owens was supposed to face Lucy Cole here, but an injury means she’s issuing an open challenge here. This really explains why Jennie didn’t do too much in the earlier triple threat. This was more of a showcase for Jennie, she got in a fair bit of offence and moved with more urgency. Her pump kick on the apron looked really good, aided by some decent selling by Owens. There is one botched DDT, but on the whole this was solid stuff. Owens hits a series of nasty looking running knees. Owens picks up the win with a kick to the jaw, but Jennie got more out of this match than the match she actually won.

Nightshade vs Lauren

This is falls count anywhere. I thought Nightshade was tremendous in this match, she seems pretty vicious and, being larger than Lauren, she makes sure to work the match that way. Her strikes look great and she hits a Michinoku Driver that had real snap. Lauren has some good points and some bad. Her offence doesn’t look like it should hurt Nightshade. Her Drive-By kick barely connects, with the same being true of her flipping elbow. Her strengths seem to be in her agility, as she moves really confidently and bumps like a maniac. Nightshade just hurls her through some chairs. Nightshade keeps overwhelming her, hitting a giant forearm and this massive German suplex. Another huge bump as Nightshade catches a crossbody to the floor and hits a fallaway slam through some more chairs. Back inside, a big kick gets the win for Nightshade. Really left me wanting to see more of Nightshade.

WWF Monday Night Raw 11/07/1994

Bret Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid

This is a really great match, with Bret putting in a real world champion’s performance. Bret subtly puts over Kid right from the start, bumping to the mat for an arm-wringer after one of his own doesn’t down the Kid. Bret is also the first to hit a few nasty blows, hitting a short back elbow to kick the match into the next gear. He also hits a few brutal looking European uppercuts in the corner, almost telling Kid that he may have won the early mat stages, but he needs to do more than that to win the title. I appreciated Jim Ross on commentary continually putting over that even Bret’s cheaper looking shots are “legal manoeuvres” as this is still a face vs face match. Bret reverses a crucifix to a big Samoan Drop for three, but Kid’s foot is on the rope and Bret gets it restarted. Bret is in firm control after the restart, planting Kid with a DDT and a full-on bulldog. Kid starts getting more success with high risk moves, hitting a lovely corner dropkick and a moonsault press for two. Kid only glances Bret with a cannonball from the apron, so it’s no surprise Bret is first into the ring. Kid misses a cannonball into the ring and an attempt at a missile dropkick is caught into a Sharpshooter for the win. Really great performance by both here, Bret put in a real “ace” performance.

Crush vs Matt Hardy

Quick little squash. Hardy evades some early blows by flipping out of the way, but eats a huge superkick. A backbreaker gives Crush the win.

Razor Ramon vs Barry Horowitz

Really fun match. The opening armwork was nice, Ramon forcing the bicep over his knee whilst Horowitz actually looked like he was trying to find openings to escape. The fallaway slam from Ramon looks huge and Razor then gestures for the Edge…only to hook Horowitz in a small package for the win. Have to love Ramon’s shrug to the camera after fooling the audience.

IRS vs Ray Hudson

IRS squashes are the worst, but thankfully this was the least worst one I’ve seen so far. IRS actually starts with some aggression, hitting a decent corner elbow and a legdrop. Of course, things slow inevitably down as Irwin hooks an abdominal stretch and an interminable leglock, but it started well. STF gets the win.

Beyond Wrestling - Bye Bye Beautiful

Mike Verna & Ryan Galeone vs EYFBO (Mike Draztik & Angel Ortiz)

Fun opener here, really liked the heel team of Verna and Galeone. Though the smaller EYFBO hit a pair of dives to kick things off, the power of the heel team soon becomes apparent. Verna hurls an opponent off the top rope onto Galeone’s knee then shows off his power by hitting a slingshot suplex that sees him go around all four sides of the ring. Wasn’t so taken with EYFBO, some of their offence like a slingshot double stunner by Ortiz looked a little corny, but this goes along at a decent pace, albeit a bit too short before the heel team get disqualified thanks to Rex Lawless using a crutch as a weapon on the floor.

Martin Stone vs JT Dunn

This was slightly disappointing, I think maybe I expected a bit more from them. Quite liked the early mat work, with Stone controlling after working over the hand of Dunn. Some nasty digit manipulation and I liked some of the big blows both guys hit. The kicks of Dunn looked nasty and Stone hit some beautiful European uppercuts and a massive clothesline. What I didn’t like was the early pointless strike exchange, and a cutter by Dunn looks a bit sloppy. The end was also pretty poor, featuring a sequence where both guys hit a finisher (Tower of London for Stone, big elbow for Dunn) only for the other guy to kick out at one. Ridiculous shit. Dunn ends up winning with a roll up and a grab of the ropes.

Brandon Watts vs Zenshi

Hadn’t seen Zenshi before, and I’m still not sure how I felt about him. Some of his stuff looked pretty goofy, but he hit some unique high-flying offence that actually worked with the goofiness. Liked his flipping cannonball headbutt from the apron and the way he slipped out of a tornado DDT attempt looked great. Didn’t come off as rehearsed, Zenshi felt more like someone naturally flexible just sliding out of the move. Even a bottom rope 450, which sounds stupid, was really effective thanks to how Zenshi whipped himself into the move. For his part, Watts was reliably good, really liked his STO on the apron and how smoothly he caught a handspring into a backcracker. The end was nice too, as Zenshi tries a 630, misses but tries to roll through, only for Watts to pin him to the mat as he tries, getting the win.

Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka) vs Matt Riddle & Jeff Cobb

Some absolutely hard hitting big boys here, and this match doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. The fun part was how well the early matwork was thrown in as Riddle and Dickinson tussle on the ground. Felt like the Steiners/MVC matches where you expected big blows from the off, but you got to see collegiate athletes showing their mat skills first. When we do get to the suplexes, the sheer size of these guys makes everything look impressive. It’s probably lucky for Riddle that his lovely rolling gutwrenches on Jaka get highlighted first, because the ease with which Cobb just hurls Jaka around is mindblowing. Dickinson and Jaka can’t compete with that, so they work some big strikes instead. Dickinson’s legs are like tree trunks, so his big kicks look and sound vicious. Riddle isn’t one to back down from a strike battle, and soon both Riddle and Dickinson have bright red chests. At one point, Riddle hits a series of chops to Dickinson’s chest that just sees a sheen of sweat fly off his body. The end run is pretty hot, but the Doom Patrol win through smarter tag team tactics, as Dickinson takes out Riddle with a bucklebomb, which leaves Cobb isolated for a high/low to give them the win. Really great match.

John Silver vs Zack Gibson

Really nice mix of characters here. Gibson’s pre-match promo sees him getting booed constantly, he’s barely audible. For his part, Silver is a little pocket rocket, and I love that after all Gibson’s big talk, Silver just blasts him at the bell, nearly picking up the win right away. Match was really nicely worked, with Gibson focusing heavily on the left arm of Silver in preparation for the Shankly Gates. The hammerlock slam on the apron was nasty looking. Silver peppers in a few nice comebacks, and something about his compact frame makes his strikes look more forceful. Superkick to a kneeling Gibson looks great, as does a pump kick, but Gibson always has the arm as an opening. Eventually, Silver hits a Batista Bomb (should be ridiculous from a guy so small, but he whips Gibson down with real force) and a knee to the head to win.

Travis Banks vs Tracy Williams

This was good, but not without flaws. For starters, I couldn’t tell if either guy was playing heel or not. Banks seems to be early on, going for a kick when offering a handshake and kicking Williams from a rope break, but after that he wrestles the match pretty straight with the crowd supporting him. Williams, as I’ve felt in previous matches, has strikes that don’t look particularly effective, but are sold as being on a par with Banks’, which look much stiffer. Banks hits a corner cannonball at speed that looks great. Williams applies a crossface that I initially thought looked sloppily loose, but when Banks rolls out to escape it, Williams is there to meet him and hook him into a piledriver, so it works. Banks ends up winning with the Slice of Heaven.

Donovan Dijak vs WALTER

This was a really interesting match, really well worked. This is Dijak’s last match for the promotion before heading to NXT, and he really takes a beating here. Despite his size, Dijak is the underdog throughout as WALTER just keeps on him like a bear. There’s one lovely spot where Dijak breaks a sleeper hold by making the ropes, but before he can turn around WALTER launches him with a big German suplex. Even though you suspect Dijak rarely works from beneath in matches, he’s really good at timing his hope spots, but he doesn’t get too many. The corner combo, as Dijak turns and levels WALTER with a series of shots including a rolling big boot, looks great, but soon his comebacks feel like they’ve got less and less behind them as WALTER wears him down. Dijak flipping out of a powerbomb attempt is super impressive, but he promptly eats a WALTER lariat. Even when Dijak gets to hit Feast Your Eyes, WALTER hits a massive clothesline as he falls to stop any momentum. In the end, Dijak uses his last scrap of energy to power up from a sleeper, hit a second Feast Your Eyes and barely win. Really great bout.

CHIKARA More Songs About Buildings & Food (2004)

Mano Metalico vs Joker

This had it’s moments. Loved the early stages, as Joker trips Metalico to start and attacks the back of his head with rapid fire punches. Metalico plays up the size advantage nicely, making himself hard to move. Loved the spot where Joker reverses an attempted beal into a one-legged codebreaker, looked great. Then things kinda just slow down, as Joker holds a loooong chinlock on Metalico. They basically just wander around the ring a bit and then a Joker Shining Wizard leads to a ten count on the mat. Really hurts the match pacing. Mano is too big for the Joker Driver and he gets planted by some kind of driver by Metalico for the win.

Lance Steel vs Darkness Crabtree

This was an amusing piece of business, as Steel wins with a roll up in a few seconds. We get a fun segment of Crabtree demanding rematches with different stipulations and losing them all immediately (submission match – loses to a headlock in seconds, falls count anywhere – small package outside the ring). Finally he asks for a no countout match, and they disappear outside not to be seen again tonight…

Din Mak vs Matt Bomboy

These two had a reasonable bout on the last CHIKARA show, but it wasn’t so good that I wanted a rematch so soon. This was also totally fine, without ever being close to being great. Bomboy is the standout here, liked his shit-talking during a submission hold on Mak and he hits a Northern Lights Suplex. But there was some really weak stuff here too – Din Mak not only hits a poor sunset flip, but also a dreadful sunset flip powerbomb from the corner looks appalling. Bomboy takes a 360 bump from a clothesline, which doesn’t match how weak the clothesline looked. Bomboy gets the win with a clumsy looking O’Connor Roll.

Claudio Castagnoli vs Sabian

This is European Rules for Claudio’s WxW title, worked in rounds with 2/3 falls or KO rules. This was primarily done to establish the gimmick in CHIKARA, and was pretty effective in doing so. Sabian controls the early going, including some nice armdrag variations, but soon Claudio is able to use his more aggressive side to take over. He even takes a public warning following a cheap shot at the end of round 2. Claudio concentrates on Sabian’s arm, including a nasty looking hammerlock slam. Claudio also makes fun use of the public warning system, waiting until the ref’s is talking to the ring announcer to issue his second public warning, before working Sabian’s arm over in the ropes. The aggressive side of Claudio is also shown by his persistence in going for the KO, and a running uppercut to the back of Sabian’s head gets the 10 count.

The Wildcards vs Team FIST

Another CHIKARA defence of the Wildcard’s IWA-MS tag titles, despite the belts being once again AWOL. Real fun Wildcard’s performance here, starting with Kingston reversing an Akuma wheelbarrow into a massive German suplex. I loved them switching a chinlock on Akuma behind the ref’s back, seemingly for no reason other than they love to cheat. Akuma gets the hot tag after a second wheelbarrow is more effective and it all breaks down. A blown Team FIST double-team slightly hurts the end, before Kingston slams Icarus into a ringpost from a caught pescado and holds Akuma’s leg on a suplex to give his team the win.

Lacey vs Allison Danger

Fun stuff to start with Lacey working some hairpulling schtick early on. Danger hits the ringpost on a corner charge, and Lacey works the arm for the rest of the bout. This is probably for the best, as Danger’s selling is really good here, but her offence a bit less so. Loved Lacey holding onto the arm to kick Danger in the head, giving her less defence, and a hammerlock side slam looks good. Danger’s comeback is a bit low impact, before she picks up the win with a soft looking STO.

Hallowicked vs Skayde

This was fun, but it did feel a bit like an exhibition of cool stuff Skayde could do to Hallowicked by the end. Skayde is in control for the bulk of this, controlling Hallowicked’s arm on the mat in a smoothly worked manner. Hallowicked gets a few chances to show what he can do, and looks good, if not as smooth. It never feels like he’s in any danger of winning however, and it’s no surprise when La Majistral gets the victory for Skayde

Mike Quackenbush vs Oriental

This is for Quack’s IPW Mexican Light Heavyweight title. It’s kind of interesting to compare this to the last match, as here we get smooth matwork with both guys being portrayed as equals, and is therefore more satisfying to watch. The pace of the reversals and counters they worked was very impressive, and Oriental looked great here. His pescado into a rana on the floor was a fun spot to work in front of a crowd of 50 people. Oriental takes control after slightly heeling it up, attacking Quack as he tries to re-enter the ring. At this point, Oriental is all over Quack on the mat, chaining from submission to submission. It’s actually really effective, as you get the impression he isn’t giving Quack the chance to break any holds as he’s already in a new hold by the time Quack could figure out a counter. Quack comes back by reversing a powerbomb into an armdrag midair – looked great – and hitting a big flip dive, before Oriental wins with a tiger suplex. Great bout.

Larry Sweeney, American Gigolo, Share Cropper & Crossbones vs Jigsaw, Jolly Roger, DJ Skittlez & Shane Storm

Decent enough 8-man match that gives everyone a chance to shine, without exposing the weaknesses of the lesser participants. The opening stages see guys pair off for a couple of minutes, with the Jigsaw/Share Cropper pairing probably yielding the best results. Roger/Gigolo is the most pleasant surprise, with some nice looking moves including a pendulum by Roger. Skittlez gets to show off some impressive strength without being over-exposed as he often is in longer singles bouts. There is a goofy 8 man headlock spot that ends in a multi-man Russian legsweep I could have done without, but this pretty much flew by. Loved a nearfall that saw Jigsaw leap in from nowhere to stop Sweeney pinning Roger. However, as it all breaks down, Crossbones hits an enzuigiri from behind on Jigsaw, and Sweeney hits the piledriver to win. Fun way to end the show.

WWE Main Event 15/07/2014

Emma vs Cameron

Not a match I was looking forward to, but credit where it’s due I thought Cameron showed some nice aggression here. She looked like she really disliked Emma, and getting boots up on the corner cross body looked nicely timed. Emma takes a big bump to the floor when she gets dumped attempting a tarantula. Emma gets the win though, when she gets a small package after Cameron was distracted by taunting Naomi at ringside. Short, but surprisingly effective.

Rybaxel vs Big E & Kofi Kingston

This is pre-New Day, but I think only a week or two before they formed. This was really fun, Rybaxel had become a legit good team at this point. Love Axel grape-vining a free arm with his legs whilst holding Kofi in a side headlock. The inevitable Big E/Ryback big lads face off is great, both guys move really well and it’s a fast paced little segment filled with unlikely leapfrogs and nice rope running. Axel might well be the MVP of the bout though, loved his running knee to the face of Big E and the diving clothesline from the apron that makes E the face in peril. It leads to a hot finishing run and a great end as Big E just hurls Axel upwards, he bounces off the canvas and straight into Trouble In Paradise for the New Day win. Great stuff.

Sheamus vs The Miz

This is right after the Miz came back and was working the “money maker” defending his face schtick. Sheamus is a guy who’ll totally blast you in the face, so this was a fun pairing. Miz works a load of fun avoidance spots that lead to him taking more punishments, like not being able to stop the 10 blows to the chest due to covering his face. Sheamus happily works some meaty sounding body shots whilst Miz is concerned with his face. This plays nicely to the end too, as Sheamus goes for the Brogue Kick, Miz cowers with his face covers, and Sheamus locks in a really tight roll up to win. Fun stuff.

C.R.A.B. Wrestling 08/09/2017

So, this is a random show I decided to watch on Powerbomb.tv, thought it looked quite interesting. The name stands for Championship Rasslin' And Beyond and the poster featured a post-WWE Simon Grimm, so it felt like something I'd like to see. Grimm is very much NOT involved in this show, but it's still plenty good...

Sonjay Dutt vs Isaiah Frazier

Nicely worked veteran vs rookie match, thought Frazier looked like a real prospect. They worked the opening section quite evenly, before Dutt starts to take control. Nice full-bodied senton by Sonjay. Frazier moves well, and takes a fun big bump on the top of his head as Sonjay kicks his legs out. Dutt does a bit of leg work and is generally presented as being one step ahead of Frazier, but it’s Frazier who wins with the worst looking move of the match, a weak looking full Nelson facebuster. Aside from that, this was fun.

The Bang Brothers vs The Rulers of Wrestling

The Bang Brothers are two lean guys in purple trousers and tye-dye tops called Sloppy Joe and Dirty Banger, so I hate them straight away. The RoW are apparently new, and the commentary team don’t seem to know their individual names. Sloppy Joe almost blows a sunset flip early on, just to add to his negative first impression. The RoW seem pretty good though, working some nice double-teams and one of them hit a really great looking powerslam. The heat is mainly worked on Joe and, when the hot tag is made, it’s abruptly cut off by a spinebuster and the RoW finish with a suplex/crossbody combo.

Gauntlet Match for the CRAB Southern Maryland Championship

This is a gauntlet seemingly fought under Royal Rumble rules, with new entrants entering every 2 minutes and eliminations taking place via pinfall or submission. There’s a lot of guys in here that I’ve never seen before, and with no entrance graphics, I’m forced to rely on the ring announcer and commentary team to get names, which weren’t always clear. As a match, this was fine, moved pretty quickly and the low points were briskly skipped past. One entrant is called Zany the Clown, a positively wretched looking creature and I was delighted when a large lad Big Country pinned him right away with a pop up Samoan Drop. The interestingly named Adam Chandler The Great was the most impressive looking entrant, a big powerful looking guy who hits a really impressive looking Northern Lights suplex on a big fat guy. Low point came in the form of Arnesto the Night Owl, who performs an awful dive to the floor and ends up having to be saved from crashing and burning by the Rulers of Wrestling as he overshoots on a top rope crossbody. The first two entrants, Brian Johnson and J George, end up as the final two, and it’s Johnson who ends up getting the title.

Donnie Dollars, Ivan Ali & Obsidian vs JSin & Money Greene

This is for the CRAB tag titles, being defended by the three-man heel team in a handicap match. Dollars is the real standout of the match, a big, husky looking guy with nice movement, some big moves who also makes the opponents offense look the most impressive. Loved his big sitout pumphandle slam. In contrast, I was least impressed with Greene, who threw some milky looking forearms, did some terrible overacting and in one awful bit, made a huge leaping dive to his corner for a tag when he could clearly see no-one was there (JSin having been knocked off the apron). Dollars commits fully to missing a big 2^nd rope legdrop leading to the hot tag. JSIn seems like a decent big man, making it more impressive when Dollars catches a cross body for a swinging slam. There seems to be some tension between Obsidian and Dollars towards the end, and it’s no surprise that they fully fall out after Obsidian eats the pinfall, taking a double-team powerbomb from the faces to give them the titles.

Isaiah Frazier vs Mack Buckler

This is for the CRAB heavyweight title, in a match Frazier qualified for in his victory over Sonjay. This match isn’t as good, mainly because Buckler isn’t as impressive as Sonjay. He just felt like a guy who was “there”, nothing really memorable about him or his performance. Frazier looked good though, taking some nasty looking bumps. He takes a painful looking landing on a twisting dive to the floor and eats a big powerbomb onto the ring apron. Buckler gets the victory with a sitout powerbomb before turning heel, but it’s Isaiah who stands out here.