AC Mack & Ike Cross vs the Lynch Mob
Good opening bout, the Lynch Mob are well served to fast
paced matches like this, and the heel team of Mack and Cross look really good
in opposition. The Lynch Mob hit huge dives from the off, before working some
quick double teams. Mack takes over on Matt Lynch in a really neat way, as Mack
forces him backward through the ropes and Irish whips him throat-first into
them. Cross is clearly a terrific athlete, getting nice height on a corner
splash and he takes a big bump off a backdrop to the floor. Matt Lynch eats a
huge spear from Cross for two, with Joey pushing Mack on top to break the fall.
The Lynch Mob pick up the win with a rolling senton/frog splash/moonsault
combo, enjoyed this. Good start to the show.
James Ryan vs James Bandy
I’d been impressed with Bandy on the debut show, so it was
nice to see what he could do here in singles action, and what he did seemed
really good. Nice jumping knee, sharp elbows in the corner and a nice dropkick
on the floor through the ropes. Ryan played to the crowd well, though his
offence seemed a bit softer than Bandy’s. Bandy makes a comeback after a short
Ryan offensive spell, hitting some nice kicks before nailing a running dropkick
for the win.
Tragedy Ann vs Aja Perera
Probably the weakest match of the show, albeit still decent
in places. There were little bits I liked, such as Ann hitting a mule kick
after a compactor legdrop and Aja had a few nice moves, with a facebuster and a
running knee both looking good. However, there were a few awkward bits that
dragged the match down – Ann running Perera into all four corners looked weak,
an odd spinning slam didn’t really work and there’s a strange moment when Ann
runs at Perera and bends down into position for a piledriver for no reason.
Perera hits a Franchiser into a flatliner for the win.
Cain Justice vs Anthony Henry
This, on the other hand, was really good. Loved the opening
matwork, with both guys jockeying for position, felt super competitive. Henry
escaping a single-leg crab by forcing himself backwards through Justice’s legs
looked great, and I liked Justice trying to get control by yanking Henry off
the apron to the floor, only for Henry to immediately hit a forearm instead. A
big exploder through the chair follows, must really have sucked for Cain.
Justice finally gets control by using the ringpost to his advantage, contorting
Henry’s hand over the top and through the loop on the side of the post. Cain
from this point works the arm nastily, maintaining good focus. There’s a really
clunky roll up sequence mid-match that doesn’t really work, but after that they
get back to the good stuff. Loved Justice catching a kick, with Henry rolling
though from there to lock in a submission, the commentary suggesting that Henry
might have deliberately given the leg to allow him to transition to the
submission. However, Justice gives a low blow behind the refs back and locks in
the Twist Ending to win. Really good stuff.
Team TAG (Kevin Blue & Chris Spectra) vs Michael Spencer
& Chance Rizer
Dominant victory for Team TAG, with Spencer and Rizer
getting just enough hope spots to keep it competitive (including Rizer briefly
getting the visual pin on Blue with the ref distacted). Rizer gets a nice run
of offence to start, before Spectra cuts him off as he goes for a dive. Team
TAG then work over Rizer, including a nice belly to belly by Spectra. They don’t
do anything fancy, just nice simple control, keeping Rizer in their part of the
ring. Tag Team 101, essentially. After a melee, where Rizer scores the visual
pin, Spectra hits a huge shoulderblock, with Rizer taking a nasty looking bump,
and a double team assisted DDT gets the win.
Billy Buck vs Cabana Man Dan
This immediately follows the previous match, with Dan making
the save as Team TAG and Buck continue a beatdown. Dan is a short little
spitfire, seems to have real energy and physical charisma, and he looked very
good here. Dug him avoiding being blindsided at the bell by side-stepping a
charging Buck, and taking him down with a fun mixture of takeovers and pins.
Buck stomps on the bare feet of Dan to get an advantage, and allows Team TAG to
beat Dan down on the floor. Buck controls CMD nicely and even gets to show some
ring smarts as well, avoiding Dan leaping out of the corner and slamming his head
to the mat. When he does make his comeback, Dan is like a bouncing ball,
leaping up into a chinbreaker, hopping over and nailing a mule kick to the jaw.
Team TAG try to interfere, but CMD chops them both down with his flip flops.
However, this leaves him exposed as he turns around into the Buckshot superkick
for the loss.
Really enjoyed this, CMD comes across as a really likable fired up face, whilst
the heels come across as suitably nefarious and smart enough to take advantage
of their openings.
Slim J vs Cam Carter
Really loved the opening to this, with both guys countering
and rolling through moves, gave the air of competitive one-upsmanship. I’d
never seen Slim J before, and I was really impressed. He’s really fluid in the
ring, just feels totally natural in the ring. Carter continued the good
impression he made on the debut show, ending a nice kick combo with a really
high German suplex. I liked how the veteran Slim J didn’t give Carter a second
to breath, at one point nipping to the top rope and hitting a big spinning kick
so quickly. Slim J commits to a big missed moonsault and we get a nice strike
exchange that actually feels like a fight. Slim J takes a big kick to the face,
and stumbles into the corner, subtly hooking the top rope with his arm to stop
himself falling down. Lovely bit of selling. Carter hits a destroyer and a
really nice 2nd rope 450 for two. Slim J hits a superplex that he
chains into a guillotine that feels like it should be the finish, but Carter
powers to his feet and hits a double underhook brainbuster for the win.
Tracy Williams vs Arik Royal
This is for Williams’s Powerbomb title. Loved the commentary
putting over Royal having two victories over Williams already, and throughout
the match they make the suggestion that Royal might have his number. They tell
a really good story here, with Williams working a limb, in this case Royal’s
arm, and taking advantage of his openings to try and damage to his chosen
damage point. For his part, Royal goes for big shots, using his raw power to
break Williams down. Williams’s offence to Royal’s arm looks convincing, with
nasty kicks to the armpit, hitting big downward chops with the arm propped on
his own shoulder, plus his opportunistic attacks are really well worked. He
lures Royal into throwing a wild punch just to yank the arm over the ropes, he
lets Royal take his time going to the top in order to catch him with a
crossface mid-dive and, when he gets caught on the top rope a la Ric Flair, he
grabs the arm and drops it over the top rope again. When Royal is on offence,
he beasts Williams, hitting a huge overhead toss, crushing him in the corner
with a shoulder charge before sprinting Williams to the other corner to crush
him again. He also hits a lovely stump piledriver, making it look like a
struggle to get Williams up. Royal gets a two after a big tackle, with the ref
recovering from a bump to keep him looking strong, before Williams locks in a
Fujiwara armbar to get the tap. Thought this was excellent.
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