Scenic City Invitational 2018 Night Two

Darius Lockhart vs Scorpio

Glad to see another showing from these two, despite going out in the first round. Scorp has some nice kicks on display, including getting great height on a spinkick. Lockhart hits a few nice elbows to the face, and a decent cradle hammerlock DDT, which gets him a two, and he got to look decent working even exchanges with Scorpio at the start. The two shows have definitely made me want to see more of him. Scorp hits a flipping kick and a moonsault leg drop to win.

Corey Hollis vs Nick Gage

Hollis continues his performance from night one by heading straight out of the ring. This may not have been his best plan, as Gage isn’t opposed to fighting outside the ring. It’s very much his playground. Hollis gets hurled into chairs and gets taken to the top of the bleachers, only for Gage to throw him back down again. Liked the continuity, as Hollis tries the same sneaky low blow that won him his match on night one, only for Gage to catch the kick and hit a chokebreaker. Hollis is undeterred though, and when the ref prevents Gage from using a hammer as a weapon, Hollis does get the kick to the groin and a small package to win. Kudos to Hollis for selling the win by sprinting to the back.

Jake Parnell vs Gary Jay

Both were guys who went though against potentially more interesting opposition the night before, so I was hoping to be impressed on night two. Thought Parnell was really good here, looking really fired up. He hit a nice dropkick into the corner, before catching the third of Jay’s suicide dive trilogy and hitting a big Northern Lights suplex on the floor. He also takes a backdrop straight onto rows of chairs, which must have been a horrible landing. Jay seemed fine, but Parnell gets the best of the offence, hitting a lovely half Nelson suplex and a stomp to the floor. Parnell comes off the top to the floor with another stomp to the neck, and looks for the countout victory. Jay does this cringeworthy comedy sell of realising he’s about to get counted out before getting back in the ring. Parnell tries another stomp, but eats a big forearm to give Jay the win.

AJ Grey vs Fred Yehi

This was good stuff, like how they played off some of the spots from their matches in night one. At one point, AJ tries the Yehi “stuff your opponents arm inside the ringpost” spot from the previous night, but Yehi elbows him in the head to escape and sends him crashing to the floor with a dropkick. Yehi controls a lot of this match, wearing Grey down, but Grey stays in the fight, including a lovely reversal when Yehi tries a top rope German, only for Grey to roll through and nail a springboard dropkick whilst Yehi is still in the tree of woe position. However, the end sees Grey miss a twisting moonsault, and Yehi stomps him down and locks in the Koji Clutch. Grey won’t tap, so Yehi stomps him twice more and reapplies the Clutch whilst punching Grey in the face until the ref stops it. Really loved the ending, showed Grey’s heart whilst still putting over Yehi as a wrestling machine.

PCO vs Joey Lynch

I enjoyed this a stupid amount, just non-stop from start to finish, which is really what a match like this needed. After the huge abuse PCO withstood on night one, Lynch does the right thing in taking the fight to him right away, and following him out with a suicide dive. This is really a match of big hits, and my notes contain a lot of moves followed by exclamation marks. Lynch hitting a superplex on PCO onto the apron is utterly insane, and it’s followed by Lynch hitting a moonsault to the floor that looks like he’s only just caught. PCO is playing a sort-of Undertaker-esque unstoppable monster role, and he’s soon back in control, hitting a tombstone and a moonsault for two. This is played up as Lynch desperate to win in his hometown, so I can kinda forgive him kicking out of what should be a death move. Lynch hits a top rope Canadian Destroyer and a moonsault, but PCO sits up. Lynch hits a second – PCO sits up. A third has the same result. A fourth….finally keeps him down. Lynch plays it safe, hitting three more moonsaults to finally put PCO away. Utterly, utterly daft, but hugely enjoyable.

Marko Stunt vs Shaggy vs Matt Lynch vs Ike Cross vs AC Mack vs Cyrus the Destroyer

This is a neat scramble match that’s just to kill time before the finals. Cyrus is aptly named here, as he just bulldozes through everyone. Cross eats a huge Samoan Drop, before Stunt is speared through Mack and Shaggy. He also wipes them out with a cannonball later in the match, which is particularly satisfying coming after some weak comedy between Stunt and Shaggy. Loved Cyrus grabbing Stunt by the ankles, swinging him around as a weapon. Eventually, Cyrus is taken out of the match by Cross spearing him to the floor, and Stunt nails the tilt-a-whirl codebreaker on Lynch…only for Mack to sneak in with a roll up for the win. This achieved what it needed to.

Cain Justice & Mance Warner vs The Carnies (Kerry Awful & Nick Iggy)

This was underwhelming. Justice is really misused here as Warner’s stooging partner. Not to say he isn’t good at it, as he’s a lot of fun here, but it’s the second night in a row that I’ve been left wanting more from him. He does get to show a bit of what he can do, locking Iggy in a cross armbreaker and twisting away at his fingers while doing so before Awful breaks it by dropping Warner on top with a death valley driver. Aside from that, Justice is getting hit in the face by his partner accidentally and generally being made to look like a goof. The Carnies are a team I enjoy, though they do have the single shittiest move in tag wrestling, where they contrive to make one opponent accidentally hit a Canadian Destroyer on his partner. The end comes quite abruptly, as the Carnies hit a double-team piledriver on Warner from the apron through a table, and the pin is quickly counted on the floor.

Joey Lynch vs Fred Yehi vs Gary Jay vs Corey Hollis

This is the four-way final to declare the 2018 winner. Hollis sticks to type and immediately leaves the ring as the bell goes. Liked Yehi dragging Hollis out from under the ring, where he was hiding, and holding him in place for a Lynch moonsault. Hollis plays up his opportunist role, sneaking in and trying to gets pins wherever he can. This turns into a real Lynch showcase, as he pins Yehi after hitting a moonsault whilst Yehi has Hollis in a Koji Clutch, and then pinning Jay after a Canadian Destroyer and a moonsault. This leaves him against Hollis, which is smart booking as Hollis is the one guy in the match guaranteed not to get cheers. Hollis gets another low blow, but this time only gets two, and as he argues with the ref Lynch rolls him up for a close two. A Canadian Destroyer and a moonsault finally give Lynch the win.

Scenic City Invitational 2018 - Night One

Curt Stallion vs Joey Lynch

This was a majorly hot opener, really set the tone for the rest of the night. Both are working face, though Stallion does some nasty things to ostensibly play the heel role – taking a cheapshot on a test of strength or standing on Lynch’s throat in the ropes. Both guys looked really good – I’ve been impressed with Lynch in the past, albeit with one or two reservations, but this was the best I’ve seen him look. There are some great moves from both, with Stallion hitting a nasty German suplex and beautifully reversing a Canadian Destroyer into a cradle neckbreaker. Lynch makes a nice comeback after slipping out of a back suplex, great looking knee to the face and a nice falcon arrow. Loved the DDT Stallion hit, pulling Lynch off the mat into the move in one slick motion. Stallion heels it up cockily with some casual slaps to the face, but this leads to a lovely spot where Lynch hits a Canadian Destroyer from running the ropes. Moonsault only gets two, which is sold as a big deal. Stallion hits a huge German suplex from the top, but Lynch rolls into a crucifix to get the win. Great stuff.

Jake Parnell vs Darius Lockhart

Really impressive performance from Lockhart here, seemed to have a natural charisma and he looked really smooth working the mat early. Parnell gets his big opening with a stomp from the apron to Lockhart’s back. Parnell hits some slightly goofy offence, with a series of falling splashes and the JYD crawling headbutts. Both guys have nice strikes interspersed through the match. Lockhart hits a lovely cradle hammerlock DDT, but Parnell gets his foot on the ropes. After the nearfalls of the previous match, I really liked how they worked this ending as a contrast. Lockhart misses a charge to the corner, and Parnell swoops to hit a chicken wing suplex, a big lariat and a top rope stomp in quick succession to get the win. Rather than risk a kickout, Parnell just hit three big moves in a row to get the victory.

Corey Hollis vs Ike Cross

Hollis is great working the crowd, stalling and giving a real impression of not giving a fuck. Cross is apparently only a two year pro, but he seems really impressive so far, loved him attacking Hollis straight away when he finally gets into the ring. Cross is all motion, as if he realises he can’t afford to let Hollis escape again. This culminates with a big suicide dive. Dug Hollis using his smarts, using Cross’s momentum against him and avoiding a corner charge to take over. Hollis then hurls Cross into the corner, looked terrific. Hollis gets on the mic, though the sound quality isn’t great, and he runs down the ref and his opponent. Cross gets a few hope spots amidst the Hollis control, but Hollis stops him dead with a huge lariat. Cross misses a massive top rope splash, but Hollis is too cocky and gives Cross time to recover and nail a spear. However, Hollis uses the ref to block a second, and hits a low blow in the confusion to get the win.

Cyrus the Destroyer vs PCO

This is a clash of two big boys. No storytelling here, and barely any real selling, as these two just exchange big moves, which is fun if unsubstantial. Initial impressions are bad, as Cyrus blocks a suicide dive with a weak elbow and PCO looked like he’d never had any intention of actually trying the move. After that though, things heat up and it’s a lot of fun. Big running dropkick by Cyrus, PCO hits two chokeslams and a cannonball, Cyrus gets a big overhead suplex and finally PCO does hit a suicide dive. A Cyrus slingshot senton looks great for a near 400lb man, but he misses a second rope headbutt and a PCO moonsault gets the win. Just good fun.

AJ Grey vs 2 Cold Scorpio

This is fought with a much friendlier feel, with the commentary putting over that Scorpio is Grey’s idol. Lovely even matwork to start, with Scorp showing he’s still got some agility as he flips out of a wristlock. Nice spot as Scorp does a lovely dropdown and leapfrog on a rope running section, with Grey aping it just moments later. Grey hits a terrible attempt at a rana, but makes up for it with a great leg lariat. Aggression starts to increase and they exchange some nastier blows. Scorp has a few sloppy moments, with a powerbomb reversal looking off and a somersault legdrop only just grazes the side of Grey’s head, but he does hit a nice moonsault for two. Grey catches a spinkick and turns it into a slam and a frog splash gets the win. Match was only decent, rather than good, but it was nice to see Scorp and this was another welcome change of pace.

Cain Justice vs Gary Jay

This ended up being pretty short, but it was a neat ending. Justice attacks at the bell, but gets sent out and ends up eating three suicide dives. Jay is put over as a super striker, though it’s hard to buy a his average looking clothesline warranting a 360 sell from Justice. Justice briefly works the arm after Jay chops the ringpost, but this doesn’t last long as Jay catches Justice with a forearm to the face as he comes off the ropes, and wins on a knockout. Bit disappointing as I’d have liked to have seen more Justice, but the ending was really effective.

Mance Warner vs Fred Yehi

This is intense from the start, and I loved Yehi as the better wrestler suddenly getting a takedown during a strike exchange, to allow him to rain down blows on the mat. Warner sets up some chairs on the floor, but Yehi blocks a superplex attempt by shoving Warner’s arm down a hole into the ringpost, and just pummels it. It comes out covered in grease and grime, which makes it look much worse, gives the impression of a mangled limb. Yehi then throws Warner into the chairs for good measure. From this point on, Yehi is in full control, though Warner gets a few comebacks by irritatingly attacking with the bad arm. Yehi just stomps him down, and looks comfortable in control, before avoiding a running knee, crushing Warner in the corner and hitting a powerbomb for the victory. Good hierarchy match, as Yehi takes control early and doesn’t really relinquish it until the end.

Kerry Awful vs Nick Gage

This doesn’t go long, and really isn’t pretty, but it’s very effective. They go outside, and Awful eats a backdrop into the bleachers right off the bat, nasty looking bump. Awful blows his nose onto Gage when he gets him onto the floor, and this feel like a big mistake on a guy like Gage, who blasts him with a chair. Awful does a little armwork, stomping the arm of Gage onto a chair then hitting a senton onto the arm, before hitting a huge seated senton in the ring. Gage gets the chokebreaker for just two, before Awful locks in an unlikely figure four. Gage escapes, hits a second chokebreaker and a piledriver for the win. Again, selling was at a scarcity, but it was a fun spectacle.

Valkyrie: V - Valhalla

One of the few "problems" with the explosion of footage becoming available in the last few years is that I find it remarkably easy to end up with more wrestling than I can watch. For example, this show, which I paid actual money for three years ago, then left it sat on my hard drive unwatched. Decided maybe it was time to give it a go.

Sumie Sakai vs Lexia Avery

Fair opener. Avery has a considerable size advantage over Sukai, but seems afraid to really commit, both with her weak strikes and with some of her bumping. Sakai is experienced enough to compensate for this, and adds some nice little touches to the match. Loved her going for a Boston Crab by holding Avery’s legs, letting the ref count a pin and Avery to lift her shoulder, then going with that movement to turn the larger opponent over. I’ll give Avery credit, her good moves look impressive, with a nice side slam and a meaty looking kerb stomp, and I dug her viciously kicking the rope as Sakai lies over it. Sumie has move painful looking chops, almost like she’s trying to convince Avery to lay them in more. The end sees Avery try an Air Raid Crash, but Sakai rolls through and locks a tight cradle to win.

Nina Monet vs Davienne

Good early impressions, as Monet really locks in her headlocks tightly. Davienne takes control with an awkward looking shoulderblock (how awkward? I didn’t realise what had happened until the commentator decided that was what had happened), but makes up for it with a decent stomachbreaker. Monet has a nasty streak, locking Davienne in a submission and kicking her in the back of the head. Short match sees Lexia Avery interfere and distract Davienne, allowing Monet to hit a side Russian legsweep and a leaping DDT to win.

Nikki Addams & Dickie Rodz vs Nyla the Destroyer & Aja Perera

Intergender match here, as Addams and Rodz challenge the massive Nyla to a 2-on-1 match, only for Perera to come out to even the sides. Rodz being the only male doesn’t unbalance the teams as he’s pretty much portrayed as a goof and he’s not much bigger than Nyla. Because the match is basically building up to Nyla getting in the ring, we get heat worked on Perera pretty much from the get go. Perera gets a few moments, hitting a boot as Addams tries a top rope nothing from the top rope. Addams hits a lovely top rope Eat Defeat as compensation. The build up to the hot tag leads to a few awkward moments like Perera getting a chance to tag, going to her corner, then deciding to go back on offence again. Nyla does eventually get in, blitzing Rodz with clotheslines, then planting him with a powerbomb from the corner for the win.

La Rosa Negra vs Hania the Howling Huntress

Two out of three fall match here, and it felt like two decent-good wrestlers being hamstrung by overbooking. The work both do looks really good. Negra in particular impresses, seems to have good instincts. For example, at one point she goes for the three amigos, but she adds a punch to the stomach between suplexes to keep Hania weak. Hania hits a few nice combos, lovely legsweep into a low dropkick, and she gets great height on a flip senton. Negra sells really nicely too, flying like a ragdoll on Hania’s offence, and getting into the right position to take offence in a natural manner. The problem comes with the booking, which sees Negra’s entourage interfering in clumsy ways. She’s joined by JGeorge and a towering lady called Natalie, and they seem to fail to understand that you want to interfere behind the refs back. At one point, Natalie gets on the apron and kicks Hania in full view of the ref, who has to awkwardly turn away and pretend he didn’t just see it. Even the commentator has to clumsily explain it as the ref somehow not spotting it. Later, Natalie just gets in the ring, runs the ropes in a manner the referee couldn’t miss, then tries a suicide dive that spectacularly misses both JGeorge and Hania. You know the booking is failing when the crowd are chanting “This ref sucks” instead of the heat going to the heels. In the end, with each wrestler having a fall apiece, JGeorge gets in, accidentally hits Negra with a superkick and Hania hits a leaping reverse DDT for the win. Good wrestling in a poor match.

Ashley America vs Little Jeanne

Curious to see WCW alum Jeanne appear on this show. Cagematch tells me she didn’t wrestle for 6 years, then came back to wrestle on this card. Very quick stuff here, America (who is the heel, which you wouldn’t guess from her name) jumps Jeanne before the bell, but is unable to maintain any control. Jeanne hits a nice clothesline, works a bodyscissors nicely, whilst America only gets in a few basic moves. Ashley tries a deathlock, but Jeanne elbows free and hits a second-rope suplex to win. This was fine.

Kacee Carlisle vs Jessie Brooks

This is for Carlisle’s Queen of Valkyrie title. Really liked the presentation here, as they managed to make a match between two ladies I don’t know into a real big match atmosphere. Julius Smokes is accompanying Brooks, and his rapidfire motormouth persona contrasts nicely with her stoic silence, making her look like a badass. This is turn carries over to Carlisle, because her refusal to back down, getting in Brooks’ face mean that she too comes across as a tough lady. The match? Really good, neither seem afraid to lay in the shots, as they exchange blows with an audible thud. Brooks hits a series of lovely running forearms in the corner. Nice submissions interspersed too, loved the Camel Clutch that Brooks locks in, really nasty angle and she holds a tight chinlock at the time too. Neither lets up the intensity either, and I liked Carlisle resorting to an eyepoke just to get a moment of control. The end is the only disappointment. Brooks climbs to the second rope to hit vicious knees to the back of Carlisle’s head (which looks great), sending Kacee into a tree of woe on the outside of the ring. Brooks lays in some shots, only for Carlisle to just hit a double-arm DDT, draped from the top rope, to win. Just felt like it came from nowhere. Overall, a good match.

Fred Yehi vs Dickie Rodz

Well, this was odd. A match not advertised that seems to being fought after the show with no audience (bar a load of wrestlers surrounding the ring like lumberjacks), with no commentary and you can even see the ring announcer in the background putting his coat on and heading off for the night. So, this seems to be a practise match, but it’s still fought with some intensity. Rodz comes off far better here, and Yehi looks terrific. They work a decent mat section before turning the heat up. Loved the headbutts that Yehi hits. Rodz hits a nice back suplex, but Yehi starts bridging out of pins and breaks a second back suplex with a big elbow to the head. Yehi gets the win with a sudden exploder, a running flatliner and the Koji Clutch for the victory. Nice little curio here.

Limitless Wrestling - The World Is Ours

Jeff Cobb vs Darby Allin

Really nice match up here, with Cobb as the all-powerful bull being frustrated by a fly that he just can’t seem to swat away. Allin has to use his speed here, hitting a suicide dive in the first few minutes, but due to Cobb’s size he can take control with just one big forearm. Allin manages to hit a tope con hilo on Cobb through a chair, but he takes too long getting into the ring, and Cobb basically sucks him through the ropes from the apron and just hurls him. Watching Cobb manhandling an insane bumper like Allin is so much fun. Cobb hits a stalling superplex and a vicious forearm to the face, and Allin looks done. Cobb gets cocky though, holding a suplex with one hand, and Allin knees him in the head to escape. I like how Allin almost seems to accept this is his last chance, hitting a Coffin Drop from the top and tying up Cobb’s legs on a roll-up for the upset win.

David Starr vs Martin Stone vs Fred Yehi

All three guys are faces here. Because of these guys' styles in the ring, we get some gnarly three way grappling spots to start, instead of the usual string of moves. Yehi uses his stomp based offence to good effect here, first stomping on Stone’s foot to hold him in place for a back elbow, then stomping on the fingers of David Starr which Stone had broken moments earlier. All guys get time to shine, loved Starr’s succession of big dives on alternate sides, wearing down both men, and I liked the nice touch of Stone holding down Starr’s arm on a pin so, when he kicked out, he rolled straight into a Stone crossface. Also have to appreciate Starr making an effort to sell his fingers throughout. The end sees Stone break Yehi’s Koji Clutch on Starr, and lock Yehi into a crossface for the tap.

Maine State Posse (Danger Kid, Alexander Lee & Aiden Aggro) vs Allie Kat, Ashley Vox & Kris Statlander

Intergender six-man here, with each of the ladies having a silly gimmick (Vox comes from the sea, Statlander is an alien and Kat is….well, guess). Didn’t take to this, too much goofy shit especially from Allie Kat whose gimmick seems to take over a lot of the early part of the match. There’s too much clunky comedy mixed with out-of-place moments of violence. Aggro hits some big forearms and Lee hits a nasty looking complete shot, then moments later Statlander will do some “hilarious” alien mind trick comedy. It doesn’t work and disrupts the flow of the match. There’s some poor looking offence too, unfortunately, with a really clunky dive train and Vox hitting a terrible looking DDT on Lee. The end sees all six in the ring in and it’s a mess of bad timing and bad execution. Kat finally gets the win following a piledriver. Yeah, didn’t like this.

Dick Justice & Troy Nelson vs DL Hurst & Brett Domino

Match of two halves here. Dug the first half, where the heels Hurst and Domino control. They’ve got good swagger and nice heel control, keeping Nelson contained in their corner. Domino hits a lovely dropkick right to Nelson’s face. Then Hurst misses a moonsault and it’s like the match resets, with the heels having to stooge for a load of comedy offence. The faces basically run wild from the moment Justice gets in and win with a Heart punch/neckbreaker combo.

Matt Cross vs MJF

After the last two matches, this was like a cool glass of water in the desert. Just well executed stuff, with MJF as a truly unlikable heel. After a run of control by Cross, MJF pulls the ref in the way of some Cross offence in the corner, forearms Cross in the face and throws him into the ringpost. From there, we get smug heel control, with petty little touches like stomping on Cross’s ankle. MJF works the arm, with a slingshot Divorce Court, and a really painful looking Quackendriver focused on the limb. Cross does ruin the effect by hitting a cartwheel elbow, but he does at least pay lip service to it for the rest of the match, limb dangling limply by his side as he tries to fire back with chops. MJF stopping a barrage of strikes by spitting directly in Cross’s face, a perfect way for such a dick to take over. Cross gets a cutter from nowhere, but misses a shooting star, landing on the arm which MJF instantly locks into a crowbar for the tap. Really good stuff.

Tessa Blanchard vs Deonna Purrazzo

Thought Blanchard was excellent here, just comes across as having a nasty mean streak and her offence looks great. Loved her barrage of offence when she had Purrazzo leant against the ropes, running at her with elbows to the back and dropkicks to the neck. Not overtly heelish, just aggressive and determined. Purrazzo gets a short shine period, luring Blanchard into going up top and suddenly catching her with an armbar. Purrazzo wisely uses Blanchard’s aggression against her, moving out of the way to avoid charges and using this to take her openings. However, Blanchard hits a killshot, a top rope Codebreaker, which is enough for the win. Really neat little sprint.

Eddie Kingston vs Chris Dickinson

Absolutely loved this, two of my favourite wrestlers beating the tar out of each other. They open in a really fun way, jockeying for position on the mat before Dickinson suddenly hits a huge overhead belly-to-belly from nowhere. Eddie soon retorts by pump kicking Dickinson off the apron and hitting a huge suicide dive. Kingston is a really smart offensive wrestler, here putting Dickinson in a neck crank, with the result that it leaves a wide open spot for him to hammer repeated elbows into the side of Dickinson’s face. The viciousness of Kingston’s control manages to make a brute like Dickinson fighting from beneath seem viable. They exchange strikes, and for once it doesn’t feel awkwardly slotted into the match – Kingston is a man who won’t stop fighting if he still can, whilst Dickinson is a man who’s too meatheaded to know he’s in pain. Dickinson hits a huge German suplex, an enzuigiri and a Death Valley Driver in quick succession, and you can sense Kingston doesn’t have much left. Another strike exchange sees neither body willing to give in, until Dickinson throws a thudding kick into Kingston’s head and hits the Pazuzu Bomb to finally put him away. I loved this.

The Thick Boys (Jay Freddie & John Silver) & Ethan Page vs Austin Theory, Christian Casanova & Mr Grim

Reasonable six way action here, with the Thick Boys having some neat offence. Loved Freddie’s pop up powerslam and their flapjack into a big uppercut. Theory also puts in a good performance here, with a brainbuster and a standing moonsault looking great. He hits a lot of moves from forward rolls, which you know will be his downfall later in the match, so it’s no surprise when a heat section on Page is ended up Theory rolling straight into a cutter. Silver is a blog favourite and he looks predictably good here, snapmaring Casanova into a cannonball on Theory in a great spot. Casanova hits a nutso twirling bulldog on Silver, to keep up the run of fun offence. Even the guy I knew least about, Mr Grim, gets a fun moment, hitting a full weight DVD on Silver. However, Grim accidentally hits a pounce on Casanova, and the Thick Boys hit a big slam to get the win. Just enjoyable stuff.

Anthony Henry & James Drake vs Dorian Graves & VSK

This starts off feeling like a squash, with the team of Henry and Drake decimating their massage-gimmicked opponents. Henry stomps the shit out of Graves, but Grave’s hits an unlikely tornado DDT on Henry, really forcing him down to the mat. There’s a little bad comedy as VSK gives Drake a shoulder massage to stop an offensive run, but aside from that he looks really good, and I thought them using massage oil to create a slip-n-slide for a cannonball was a neat way to incorporate the gimmick. Drake misses a standing moonsault, and the faces hit Shatter Machine for the unexpected victory.

Anthony Greene vs Ace Romero vs JT Dunn vs Josh Briggs

At some point, the bottom rope has fallen off, so this match kicks off with only the top two sets of ropes. This doesn’t seem to hold them back though, and this ends up being a big, daftly entertaining four-way. Briggs sets the tone early, hitting a big overhead suplex on Dunn before hitting an insane dive over the turnbuckle. Romero hitting a devastating senton to Greene also is pretty neat, before we get a big crowd brawling section that ends with a super-high Dunn crossbody from the top of the lockers. We get utter chaos in the ring, with Briggs eating a superkick to the face from Dunn whilst he tries hitting a moonsault. Hurst and Domino, who had been sent to the back by the ref earlier when they came out with Greene, come out and punch the ref, assumingly to allow them to interfere freely, but they get squashed when the enormous Romero hits a dive to take them out. However, Greene still gets the win when he lets Dunn hit a big elbow to Briggs before rolling JT up for the win. These matches rely on a minimum of resting and some big well-executed spots, and this was really good stuff. Greene maybe had the least moments to shine, but then he’s also the shitbag heel who pulls out a cheap victory, so that kinda makes sense. Josh Briggs, who had seemed merely fine first time I saw him, looked great here, in many respects the rich man’s Baron Corbin, hitting all sorts of big throws and that incredible dive. Excellent main event.

ACTION Wrestling Debut Show 27/4/2018

AC Mack vs Joey Lynch

Good opener. I liked Mack as a loud-mouth braggart, and his attempt to get in Lynch’s face sees him get met with a big elbow to the jaw. Loved Lynch holding a wristlock and clapping using Mack’s hand to get the crowd into it. The commentary makes mention of Lynch returning from a knee injury, which nicely pre-empts him jarring his leg on a floatover. Mack works it over, but the selling is inconsistent. At one point Lynch can’t even run the ropes without collapsing to the mat, then moments later he’s landing on his feet flipping out of a back suplex and sprinting across the ring. Wouldn’t stand out so much if he’d not oversold it in the first place. Lynch misses a moonsault but reverses a figure four attempt to a cradle for the victory.

Arik Royal vs Michael Spencer

Spencer isn’t the most intimidating looking character, and he’s pretty awkward throughout this. Right at the start, he hits an ugly looking wheelbarrow armdrag. Royal is far better here, taking control with a nice cheapshot where he puts his body between the blow and the referee. Royal hits a kind of kneeling pounce that looks good. This is basically a squash, but at least the right guy won, as Royal slams Spencer’s skull to the mat with a leaping dunk before nailing a spear to win. Liked Royal a lot here.

Ethan A Sharpe vs James Bandy vs Donnie Dollars vs Adrian Hawkins

The only guy I’ve seen here is Dollars, who’s pretty good. He’s easily the best wrestler in this match, looking really impressive, with a really nice slam-facebuster and a great big boot to the face. Hawkins slips on a springboard on his very first move and I don’t know if it affects him, but he’s a bit sloppy throughout. Sharpe has all the look of a comedy wrestler, and his strikes are indeed laughable. Bandy seemed fine, but it’s probably for the best this is short, with Hawkins slipping out of a Dollars pumphandle slam and rolls him up to win.

Billy Buck vs Cam Carter

Buck is accompanied by Team TAG, Kevin Blue and Chris Spectra. Carter is the leaner competitor here and makes the most of his speed advantage. Early on, he sends Buck out of the ring with a headscissors and hits a neat dropkick to the stomach as Buck tries to get in. There’s some lovely camera work as Buck takes control by hurling Carter shoulder first into the corner, with Carter almost coming straight into the viewer. Dug Buck’s control on the shoulder, with him wrapping Carter’s left arm around the corner post and really yanking on it. Buck continues to impress with come great height on a dropkick, and I loved how he just casually threw Carter to the floor to be picked off by his henchmen. Carter makes a nice comeback, taking out all three opponents with a plancha and hitting a neat springboard 450 splash back into the ring. However, there’s a ref bump and Buck takes advantage of a missed 450 to hit the Buckshot superkick to win. Really good stuff here.

Matt Sells vs Big Bite Martinez

Sells looks like a knock-off of 1992 DDP whilst Martinez is a guy wearing an interesting looking mask with a big tooth-filled mouth. This is short, with some sloppy looking offence before Team TAG come back and beat both men down.

Cain Justice vs Fred Yehi

This right here was terrific. I’d heard a lot about Justice from various people who’s opinions I trust, and I liked his performance in the CWF Mid Atlantic rumble I watched, but this is the match that made me a believer. Loved the focus both guys had on their matwork, with Yehi trying to lock on a Koji Clutch right on kicking out of a pinfall while Justice dropped his guard for a second. The kind of matwork where the wrestlers have to be alert or they’re done for. Yehi works over the arm of Justice viciously, jamming the arm over his shoulder. They fight outside the ring, and this is where Justice takes over, breaking Yehi’s fingers by snapping them through a small look on the outside of the ringpost. Real nasty looking shot. I like how instead of this being just a one off spot for a pop, it dictates how the rest of the match goes, which it really should. With every hold Justice applies, he makes sure to include the fingers in some way, making escape harder for Yehi. Every time Yehi tries to comeback, he goes for Justice’s shoulder, which he worked over earlier. It means the early matwork has consequences. Justice locks in a triangle, grabbing the fingers in the process, but Yehi is able to power up and slam him down to escape. The end is perfect, as Justice goes for a knee strike, only for Yehi to avoid and use the momentum to send Cain to the mat, swiftly locking in a Koji Clutch with elbow strikes to the head for the victory. Great, great match.

Gunner Miller vs Dominic Garrini

Interesting clash of styles here, with the power of Miller vs the technique of Garrini. In the initial stages, Garrini is really fun at trying to grab a limb from anywhere to down Miller, trying to force a submission. Miller finally gets some separation with a big overhead belly-to-belly suplex. There’s a nice spot where Miller tries some shoulder barges in the corner, only for Garrini to lock in a front choke. However, because they’re so close to the ropes, Miller is able to force the break and hit a knee strike as Garrini lets go. Garrini has nice open palm strikes, though he does kind of telegraph a missed back elbow. Both gets close nearfalls with the CTE pounce for Miller and a stump piledriver by Garrini getting two. Finally, the end sees Garrini lock on another front choke from a Miller spear, but Miller holds on a powers him up into a jackhammer for the win. Good main event.