Freelance Wrestling - The Decline of Mid-Western Civilization

Anthony Henry vs Space Monkey

Perfectly weighted opener, with Space Monkey always looking competitive, whilst never realistically feeling like he was going to win. Henry controls from the off by jumping Monkey at the bell and whilst Space Monkey does get in a big tope, Henry hits a big STO on the apron to establish his shine. Henry comes across well in his control, confident enough to allow Space Monkey to get a few kicks in with the knowledge that he’ll be able to catch one and use it to his advantage. The cockiness allows an opening for Space Monkey, as Henry misses a top rope stomp (having disdainfully kicked his opponent into place, which I loved), and Space Monkey comes back with a huge tornado DDT. Space Monkey’s little run of offence is decent – loved him monkey flipping Henry into the corner – but Henry is just a better wrestler, and he avoids a strike, hits a spinning TKO and a nasty looking Rude Awakening for the victory.

Arik Cannon & Ethan Page vs The Four Star Heroes (Matt Knicks & Chris Castro)

Hadn’t seen Cannon in years, and he looked far more credible than in his early 2000s binbag leather attire. He was always a good wrestler, but that outfit was so bushleague. There’s some slightly overlong opening schtick about Page and Castro both being pudgy guys, they work a “slam reversal” sequence for far too long, but the match really kicks off when Knicks and Cannon get in, working a fluid looking sequence. Knicks becomes face-in-peril, with Cannon hitting a lovely looking seated necksnap, though this doesn’t last too long. Page and Castro do at least pay off the earlier nonsense by slamming each other and we get a big melee. Liked Cannon hitting a gourdbuster on Knicks over Page’s back, though I still don’t like Page’s clunky looking between-the-rope cutter. The end sees Knicks avoid the Glimmering Warlock and roll up Cannon for three. Some good stuff here within the comedy, this could have been really solid if paced a bit better. After the match, Page turns on Cannon, and I suspect a more vicious edge might suit Page better than the comedy.

Gringo Loco vs Robert Anthony

This starts with Anthony jumping Loco as he walks to the ring, and is a big old weapons brawl. The commentators mention early that Loco is making a return from a heart attack, and this feels like a strange choice of match to have so early into a return. Anthony beats him around the ringside area, including a big powerbomb on the stage. Anthony does some really half-hearted bumping in this match, with the first coming when he tries powerbombing Loco on an overturned chair and instead takes a shitty backdrop. Loco hits a huge dive to the floor from the top of a ladder, which looks insane. Anthony takes another weak bump when he gets dropkicked onto a ladder that bridges the ring and the barriers, but it’s made up for when Loco hits a huge flipping swanton onto him. There’s no proper end to the match however, as Anthony brings out a taser to audible shock from the audience. The commentators bring up Loco’s heart attack again…and then Anthony tases him. Having a big angle like this totally depends on how the crowd buy it, and here they seem totally sold on it, with real rage directed towards Anthony. This could have gone down badly, either laughed at by the crowd or seeing the audience turn on the promotion, but they just about got away with it.

Xia Brookside vs Kylie Rae

This is face vs face, for Brookside’s IPW:UK women’s title. Rae seems to be working a gimmick not dissimilar to early Bayley, all friendly and smiley. Liked the initial mat exchanges, all cleanly worked, before Rae starts to up the ante with a big shot to the face. Brookside comes back with a rana and a neat superkick to the face of a kneeling Rae. Brookside also hits a nice running knee. Rae gets a nice looking crossface by grabbing Brookside’s arm from nowhere, but when she goes up top she gets distracted by former partner GPA, and Brookside is able to hit the Iconoclasm for the win. This was really enjoyable stuff.

Darin Corbin vs Joey Ryan

This is for Corbin’s Freelance title. Corbin keeps threatening to have a match here, but Ryan is doing everything in his power to bring this back to his bullshit. Call me old before my time, but Ryan’s continued demands to “Touch my dick” are the antithesis of funny. It’s frustrating, because the few times he actually does some wrestling, he’s more interesting than the rather pedestrian Corbin. We get Corbin falling facefirst into Ryan’s crotch and hurting himself, then the Ryan dick flip before Corbin hits a cutter for the win. This was trash.

20 Man Rumble

As I think I’ve said in the past, it’s hard for me to really get to grips with indy rumbles, as often I don’t know who half the guys are, what the hierarchy is and it’s harder for guys to impress with their ring time. Here, the lines are a bit easier to read. The first two entrants, Isaias Velazquez and Stevie Fierce are both fan favourites, and you get the vibe early on that these two could be iron men. In contrast, the next man in is chubby comedy wrestler BD Smooth, so you know he’s not long for the match. Velazquez and Fierce don’t spend much time actually wrestling in the match though, preferring to hang out on the floor killing time. There’s some highlights in the match, with certain wrestlers making the most of their chances to stand out. Chainsaw King looks very impressive, eliminating one wrestler with a huge press slam to the floor and another with a chokeslam on the apron. Anthony Henry’s entry finally brings Fierce to life, with the two of them brawling round the ring. Joey Ryan comes in, much to my horror, and he dickflips everyone in the match, until the two female entrants Hawlee Layne and Shotzi Blackheart clotheslines him to the floor. Arik Cannon comes out at 19, and you just know Ethan Page is going to be #20, and Cannon is so focussed on his former partner that he gets thrown out before Page enters. As predicted, Fierce and Velazquez are the iron men, lasting until the final two, before a returning Henry hits Fierce with a neckbreaker and Velazquez throws him out for the win. Aside from the Ryan nonsense, pretty good stuff.

NYWC Til I Collapse

Papadon vs Mike Orlando

Really solid opener here, I’ve been pretty complementary about Papadon’s shit-talking and schtick in the past, and it really helped carry the match here. Orlando was fine but a bit bland here, his comeback towards the end being all clotheslines and dropkicks. Papadon takes his control by luring Orlando into a stungun, he stops Orlando from breaking a headlock by just grabbing him by the nose and giving Orlando his comeback by taking too long climbing the turnbuckle by yelling at the crowd, before fully committing to his miss by faceplanting into the mat. Orlando hits a nice flipping spear for two. Liked Papadon catching Orlando in the ropes and landing a quick combo of 2-3 blows whilst Orlando can’t escape. The end sees Papadon spit at Orlando’s valet, causing a ref distraction and Papadon gives an eyepoke and a piledriver to get the win.

Willow Nightingale vs Kris Statlander

This was a step below Nightingale’s previous title defences, took a while to get going. Nightingale in particular seemed to be moving in slow motion, don’t know if that’s because she was facing a less experienced opponent. Liked Willow’s headbutts here, her big mane of hair looked wild as she swung her hair. Statlander seemed fine, though some of her execution was a little hesitant. Nightingale picks up towards the end, hitting a decent senton and I liked her superplex that she floated over into a fishermen’s suplex for two. A good DVD gives her the win.

Born & Bred (Anthony LaCerra & Jesse Vane) vs The Rep (Dave McCall & Nate Carter)

There’s a great early spot in this where Vane kicks both members of the Rep from the apron, before LaCerra hits a huge flip dive, leaping over Vane in the process. The Rep take over after blocking double monkey flips and throwing both faces into each other. Vane gets worked over competently enough, not sure how I felt about the double team stampede into a dropkick-assisted side slam. Vane lands on his feet from a fallaway slam and hits a dropkick in a nice spot. LaCerra hits a few nice kicks on the hot tag, and a superkick into a German suplex gives Born & Bred the win.

J-Redd, GIT, Randy Summers & Rick Cataldo vs The Benson Brothers, JT Kasin & Bo Prichard

This is a throwaway 8 man tag that stems from, of all things, an in-ring karaoke competition, where the heel team attack the Bensons, Kasin and Prichard after their own performances didn’t go so well. Brad Benson ends up as FIP. Pretty impressed by GIT’s boomerang clothesline, before everything breaks down and we get everyone in the ring hitting moves on each other (J-Redd’s moonsault press is pretty poor). Summers decides he wants to finish singing the High School Musical song he’d been singing earlier, but Kasin and Prichard grab him and hit a double-team swinging slam to win. Harmless enough.

Mike Verna vs Talon

This is billed as a grudge match, but it didn’t feel like one, more like a normal match. Talon controls the majority of the match, and his offence is fine. Liked his STO. Also really liked the spot where Verna hit a top rope crossbody, but Talon got in a blow in midair so that even though the move took him down, Verna ended up taking more pain. Makes sense given that he’s flying through the air with his stomach totally exposed. Talon ends up picking up the win, as he takes a crutch and hits the injured Rex Lawless at ringside. This distracts the ref, allowing Talon to nail Verna with the crutch and a Curb Stomp to win.

Bam Sullivan & Victoria von Black vs Stockade & Terra Calaway

This is an intergender tagmatch. Always thought Bam was the better of the Sullivan brothers, and he looks really good here. Loved an early spot with Sullivan in the corner, von Black gets tripped into him as she attempts to charge Stockade, and Calaway flattens them both with a corner cannonball. Liked Sullivan picking up von Black as if to wheelbarrow splash her onto Stockade, but instead drops her knee first onto Stockade. Made sense as von Black is the lightest person in the match, so dropping her knees onto him feels like it would do more damage. Von Black’s offence is pretty smartly worked, she’s quite small and Stockade is a huge guy, so her offence is limited to chokes and kicks. Calaway gets tagged in after a nice Stockade DDT to Sullivan. Calaway breaks an attempted von Black sleeper with a backpack stunner. The faces get distracted by destroying Mouse, who is accompanying Sullivan and von Black, but this allows von Black to low blow Stockade and Sullivan nails Calaway with a clothesline to win. This was well-worked, enjoyed this.

Bull James vs Joey Ryan

In contrast, I absolutely hated this. Just a terribly unfunny comedy match that makes the NYWC title match the least hotly contested contest of the show. Admittedly, if you find Ryan’s “powerful penis” jokes funny, you’ll love this, but this isn’t a wrestling match, it’s just a load of unfunny shit. The first few minutes is just Ryan trying to make James touch his knob. Hilarious. They then work a load of nonsense where they both pull lollipops out of their trunks and try to make the other eat it. This goes on for 7 terribly unfunny minutes before Blake Morris and Alex Reynolds run in to make this a no contest. A total waste of time.

TNA Bound For Glory 2012

Rob Van Dam vs Zema Ion
How good this match is will largely depend on how motivated RVD is. Too many of his TNA matches have been by the numbers. Both guys look good out of the blocks, with an Ion twisting kick from the top being an early high. I really like some of Ion's offence here, with a tornado DDT from inside the middle ropes being really nice, followed by an insane plancha. Nice bit of work sees RVD selling the head injuries from the aforementioned DDT leading to him failing to hit a monkey flip, instead getting dropped headfirst on the top turnbuckle. The match seems to be building nicely, until RVD reverses an Irish whip into a knee to the face before nailing Rolling Thunder and the 5 Star out of nowhere to win.

Samoa Joe vs Magnus
It's heartening to see just how much Magnus has improved since joining TNA. He gets to show some nice agilty and speed early on, surprising Joe with a clothesline from nowhere before leapfrogging him and nailing a high knee. I was also impressed by Magnus catching Joe coming off the ropes with a Michinoku Driver. Both guys throw some big bombs at each other, drawing a (possiblt premature) "This Is Awesome" chant. I like the way that both guys are are to counter each other, thanks to knowing each other as tag partners. Hence Joe avoiding a Magnus clothesline for the Kokina Clutch, only for Magnus to reverse that with the Bret/Piper pin for two. The end was pretty nice too. Magnus tried a figure-four on Joe, only for Joe to grab him on the turnaround for the Clutch to gain the win. Good ten minute bout.

James Storm vs Bobby Roode
MMA fighter King Mo is the outside enforcer. Loved Storm hitting Roode with an early punch so hard that he needed to check his hand. The thing I always find odd with Storm is that he's got a gimmick that implies grizzled brawler, but he uses moves like Codebreakers, which don't really fit. Here, he shows that he really is a good brawler, with a nasty legsweep directly into the railings. Storm blades nastily following a slingshot into the post, and Roode hammers the cut. Storm's selljob of the blood-loss is top draw, even when on offence, and it's this that allows Roode to gain momentum. What is also great is how King Mo doesn't really get involved, but instead helps sell the match by reacting in horror at the carnage as both guys trade weapons shots. Cowboy is so bloodied he borrows a beer to try and wash some plasma off his face. Roode gets two after spearing Storm through a table. Last Call gets a totally convincing nearfall for Storm. Roode makes a big mistake by bringing tacks into the ring, as he tries to superplex Storm onto them, only to get knocked from the top onto the tacks himself. Storm insanely follows with a top rope elbow for two. Not learning from this, Roode brings a bottle of beer into the ring, and again it backfires as Storm smashes it over his head. Storm Last Call's Roode back onto the tacks and picks up the win. Bloody, brutal, fantastic match.

Joey Ryan vs Al Snow
Like the last match, this is another example of TNA actually building a storyline longterm with 5 months of buildup to this match. Snow still looks in good shape. The early parts show the veteran Snow dominating by out-thinking Ryan. Ryan takes control, but keeps stopping to pose, which gives Al advantage again. Ryan kicks out at two following a SnowPlow. Al goes under the ring to fetch Head, but the ref prevents him using it, leading to Ryan barging Snow into the ref. Ryan tries a baseball slide, but Snow outsmarts him again by trapping him in the ring apron. Snow goes to get Head again, but Matt Morgan appears from nowhere to hit the Carbon Footprint on Snow to gift the win. Decent enough for what it was.

Kazarian & Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles & Kurt Angle vs Chavo Guerrero Jr & Hernandez
The World Tag Team Champions of the World decide to let the two challenging teams go at it, until Angle takes control on Guerrero. Then Daniels blindtags himself in, only for an annoyed Angle to boot him and drag him to AJ for a return blind tag. The teamwork between Guerrero and Hernandez is pretty solid considering how recently they joined together. TNA have also done a good job of presenting them as being on the same level as Styles and Angle. Kaz and Daniels regain dominace by attacking AJ behind the refs back, and isolate him in their part of the ring. Nice little heat sequence, which you don't normally get in triple threats. In fact, you get the added bonus of AJ also having to avoid the Mexican corner. Finally, he tags in Angle, who races through everyone. We predictably head into non-stop spotfest territory, the highlight being a huge dive from the ring to the floor by Hernandez. Until, of course, seconds later AJ nails a double-jump springboard plancha to the floor. Insane. It suddenly feels like a different match to the first half. It all ends when Hernandez blind tags AJ as he falls from the ring, and a Border Toss/ Frog Splash combo win it for him and Guerrero. As I said, felt like two different matches, but the ending was undoubtedly exciting.

Miss Tessmacher vs Tara
I often find Tessmacher looks a bit hesitant on offence, but the opening moments here look pretty smooth. I guess because these two are real life friends. Tara takes control early, which makes sense as Tessmacher is a better seller than on offence. This isn't a great match, but at least they aren't afraid to lay in the blows on each other. Tessmacher's top rope flying headscissors was pretty good. A missed top rope elbow from Tessmacher leads to Widow's Peak for a clean Tara win. After this, Tara introduces her Hollywood boyfriend, who is some guy called Jesse from Big Brother.

Aces & Eights vs Sting & Bully Ray
Not sure how a man so awesome as a heel as Ray still works as a face, but he does. Aces appears to be Mike Knoxx and Luke Gallows. Sting and Ray attack them outside the ring as they cuff Joseph Park to the railings. Bully and Sting have control, until one Ace moves his partner out of the way of a Stinger Splash on the rails. The Aces wrestle in line with the gimmick, just big nasty guys hitting big meaty offence, so Aces vs Bully is just great. Ray's diving shoulder block from the 2nd rope looks killer. Another Ace runs in as Bully has control and downs him, before spitting at Park. This outrages Park so much he breaks his cuffs and downs the rogue Ace member to a huge pop. Bully and Sting nail a Doomsday Device on one Ace to another huge pop. Sting yells to Bully to get the table. A fourth Ace runs in though, and spinebusters Bully through the table for the Aces win. Afterwards Hulk Hogan comes to the ring to demolish the Aces members, and the faces unmask the interferring Ace as Devon.

Austin Aries vs Jeff Hardy
Aries seems more over here than Jeff. Jeff seems to be wrestling with a bit of an edge here, slapping Aries out of the ring. In fact, Jeff's offence looks more snug than usual, as he stomps Aries viciously in the corner. Aries takes over with a dropkick to the face, then takes a victory lap. Terrific. This might be the best Hardy has looked since joining TNA, using the ringsteps to hit Poetry In Motion on Aries into the railings. Back in the ring, Aries does a good job of keeping Hardy on the mat, as the crowd really is coming to life. I like the way that the few times Aries does go high-risk, it always looks painful for Hardy, like a dropkick to the back of his head. He also does so many subtle things, like drapping Hardy's legs over the ropes to hold him in place before slingshotting in with a twisting elbow. Hardy fires back with aplomb, hoisting Aries over his head with velocity. I also like the way he dazes Aries by ramming him into the turnbuckles before hitting the Whisper In The Wind, so it looks natural rather than contrived. This is absolutely the best Hardy match I've seen in ages, and it really feels like Hardy has upped his game to keep up with Aries. Austin really starts working Hardy over, including a sick looking DDT on the lip of the ramp. The ending stretch is super-heated, with both the Twist of Fate and the brainbuster getting kicked out of, before Hardy wins with the Swanton. Great match, but it feels like the wrong time to take the title off Aries.

Wrestling Society X: Season One Part One

So I managed to pick up this DVD of the first part of the only series of MTV's shortlived Wrestling Society X promotion (though at this point it looks pretty clear that part two will never get a UK release). WSX had a roster primarily made up of So-Cal indy guys (including anyone from XPW who didn't outright suck) so the talent on display is pretty good, though I'm commenting on each match with the knowledge that these matches were booked not so much as wrestling matches, but insane stunt shows for MTV viewers. With that in mind, let's crack on...

EPISODE ONE

Matt Sydal vs Jack Evans
The future Evan Bourne is accompanied by on-screen girlfriend Lizzy Valentine, playing a young preppy couple. Evans takes an insane bump straight away, hurtling over the top rope to the concrete floor. Sydal follows with a tope. This is absolutely a spotfest, but crucially it’s a really fun one, with everything connecting nicely. Sydal takes a nasty bump onto his head from an Evans leg lariat, which sends him to the floor. Evans follows him out with a cartwheel into a 360 somersault, which is just mental. Valentine interferes to try and help Sydal, but Evans manages to use her back as a launchpad for a tornado DDT, followed by a 630 splash for the win. Really high-octane way to kick off the concept of WSX.

WSX Rumble
Even Vince Russo would look at this and call it an overbooked clusterfuck. Basically, it’s a rumble with tables and “electrified wires” outside the ring and two contracts hanging above the ring. When all combatants are in, the contracts are lowered and the first two to get ladders and grab them get to compete in the WSX title match on the following show.

We kick off with Justin Credible and Teddy Hart, who foolishly celebrates an early modicum of success by moonsaulting off the top into a Credible superkick. Former XPW wrestler Kaos is 3rd, but gets hit with a cradle DDT by Hart. Vampiro is 4th and cleans house. We get a commercial break, during which Puma (5) comes in and gets eliminated, and Al Katrazz (6) is in the ring. 6 Pac is 7th, whilst Chris Hamrick is 8th. Sadly for Hamrick, entry no. 9, New Jack, takes offence to his Southern ways and follows him to the ring straight away, before proceeding to kick the shit out of him. Hamrick and Jack are both gone pretty much straight away, as Jack eliminates Hamrick and follows him out to inflict more pain. Suddenly, a load of stuff takes place at once, as Kaos is thrown into a big box of electricity by Katrazz’s tag team partner Luke Hawx. At the same time, Katrazz and Hart both get eliminated, as final entrant Youth Suicide gets in, and immediately empties a bag of tacks into the ring. Vampiro powerbombs him onto them straight away, whilst 6 Pac grabs contract #1. Suicide tries to climb the ladder, but is thrown off into another box of electricity on the outside. Vampiro then outlasts Credible to grab the second contract. A total fucking mess, with bad camera work and no rhyme or rhythm to the match,

EPISODE 2

Luke Hawx vs the Human Tornado
Haven’t seen a Hawx match since he was Altar Boy Luke in XPW. This is pretty much a showcase for the Tornado character, but Hawx can go and, despite Tornado no-selling a kick to the nuts thanks to his “balls of steel”, Luke soon takes over following an exploder and a leg lariat. Tornado manages to send Hawx outside and hits an insane tope, followed by a Tornado DDT for the win. Brief, but enjoyable. Afterwards, we get a schmozz with Al Katrazz and Hawx fighting the team of Kaos and Aaron Aguilera, a result of the Hawx interference in last weeks rumble.

That 70’s Team vs Team Dragon Gate
The 70’s boys consist of PWG stalwarts Joey Ryan and Disco Machine, with Yoshino and Horiguchi repping for Dragon Gate. Horiguchi and Yoshino are insanely quick here and use this speed to take control early on. Ryan misses a dropkick, resulting in him yelling to Disco to throw him his asthma inhaler in a funny spot. The match soon descends into carnage, with Ryan hitting a superkick on Yoshino for the win.

Vampiro vs 6 Pac
This is for the first ever WSX championship. Both guys put in a surprisingly high effort and the match moves as a fair old pace. The problem is that it’s way too spotty and is pretty much just a collection of moves. A 6 Factor only gets two for Pac (I personally think it lost it’s power when it realised it’s new name didn’t actually mean anything). Vamp hits a tombstone from the apron into (oh yes!) an exploding coffin to get the win and the title.

EPISODE 3

Trailer Park Boys vs The Filth & The Fury
Trailer Park Boys consist of Nate Webb and Josh “Jug” Raymond (aka Josh Abercrombie of IWA-MS fame), whilst their opponents are Teddy Hart and Matt Cross. The Filth & The Fury dominate this right off the bat and this is a massively one-sided showcase until Hart takes a boot to the face attempting a moonsault onto Webb. The Boys have some nice double teams, but this is Hart and Cross’s match, and once Hart escapes Soylent Green, the end is nigh. Hart hits a Canadian Destroyer on Webb and puts him on a table outside before (and I can’t believe I’m typing this) soaking him in water and zapping him with an electrical cable, then hitting Open Hart Surgery on him from on top of some crates. In the ring, meanwhile, Cross hits a shooting star legdrop on Raymond for the win. Actually quite fun early on, but it took a ridiculous turn that I still can’t decide if I loved or hated.

Jack Evans vs El Hombre Blanco Enmascarado
EHBE is PWG stalwart Quicksilver which, being easier to type, is what I’ll call him. That said, his name is probably longer than this match. Quicksilver hits a Fishermans Buster for two, but Jack nails him with a knee to the head and hits the 630 for the win. Essentially pointless

Al Katrazz & Luke Hawx vs Los Pochos Guapos
Los Pochos Guapos are Kaos and ex-Carlito bodyguard Aaron Aguilera. This is a TLC match, only this time it stands for tables, ladders and cervezas, with a 6 pack of beer in the corner. I really like Aguilera’s 1940’s heavy look and this match is pretty well laid out when you take into consideration the WSX policy of rushing through everything. Give it another 5 minutes and it could have been pretty good. Kaos hits Hawx with a Kaos Driver early, but Aguilera stops him hitting a moonsault and tells him to hit it off the ladder, which Kaos promptly misses. Katrazz tries to hit Old School into a tornado DDT on Aguilera, but AA reverses it into a suplex into the ladder. Kaos hits a Ganso Bomb on Hawx and AA tells him to powerbomb Hawx onto the beers. However, Katrazz Irish whips AA into Kaos midpowerbomb, allowing Hawx to reverse it to a facebuster on the beers. That was pretty nicely worked. Katrazz powerbombs Kaos through a table for the win. Probably the best WSX thus far.

EPISODE 4

Matt Sydal vs Scorpio Sky
Sydal is described as the “Cocky Coverboy”, which would be a great gimmick for him to use if he turned heel in the WWE. Due to some poor booking, both guys are essentially working cocky heel gimmicks, though the crowd soon decides Sky is the face. The match kicks off with a series of flips, ranas and dives, until Sky nails Sydal with a backbreaker. Awesome moonsault into a legroller by Sydal. Sky comes back with a pristine tope. Lizzie Valentine distracts Sky, allowing Sydal to hit a standing moonsault for two. The ending is pretty choice, Sydal hitting a one man Spanish Fly that ends with him on top for the victory. Brief but fun, at least everything was crisp. Afterwards, Valentine writes “H8R” on Sky’s back in lipstick, which is a brilliant heel move.

Keeping It Gangsta vs That 70’s Team
KIG consists of Babi Slymm and former CZW champion Ruckus. That 70’s Team come out to answer an open challenge, and prepare for the match by oiling themselves up. KIG are into total control early on due to the fast paced offence of Ruckus. Slymm comes in and retains control, until Ryan helps Disco complete a victory roll by booting Slymm in the gut. Some high-concept comedy ensues involving Ryan wearing a thong, and Ruckus gets the hot tag. Ruckus is a guy ideally suited to tag matches, his high paced offence suits being the hot tag guy really well. Slymm hits an insane spinning sidewalk slam on Disco. Ruckus puts Ryan in the tree of woe, smashes a discoball in his crotch before hitting a flipping moonsault from a blinged-out ladder onto Ryan’s face. What a sentence. Match was pretty enjoyable.

And that is the final match we get. The episode finishes with an angle involving Vampiro, 6 Pac and a debuting Ricky Banderas (plus ludicrous special effects), but we get no more episodes of WSX...

What we DO get is some web-exclusive matches as extras...

Luke Hawx vs Puma vs the Human Tornado
Earlier this year, I reviewed a PWG match which was a triple threat match with a similar line-up, with Davey Richards instead of Hawx. That was a longer match but, taking into account the WSX constraints of time, I think I enjoyed this one more. This is in large part down to the presence of the former XPW Altar Boy, who really gets showcased here. Tornado kicks things off early with an insane tope to both men which sends him through the safety rails, but Hawx soon takes control on him after sending Puma to the floor with a huge Irish whip to the corner. Hawx nearly beheads Tornado with a clothesline, downing him with a vicious looking series of kicks. Hawx retains control and nearly gets two off a powerbomb, but is shoved from the top rope to the floor by a returning Puma. Tornado attacks Puma and hits a corkscrew senton on him for the win. Made Puma look really dumb, but Hawx and Tornado got to look great.

DIFH vs the Trailer Park Boys
DIFH (or Doing It For Her) are Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black rocking an emo gimmick, Jimmy being the sensitive one and Black being the intense one. The commentators spend a lot of the early going talking about Johnny Webb managing the Trailer Park Boys, and how he’s a former XPW champion, as if anyone watching will have any idea what that means. Jacobs is too busy spending the early moments waving to girls, so Black has to kick things off by hitting Jug with some nice strikes. The Boys take over on Black, with some nice double teams in the corner. Jacobs does get in, but Raymond nearly kills himself hitting a suicide dive into the rails (and partially Jacobs). We see some nice character developments for DIFH as Jacobs locks in a Camel Clutch on Raymond, but gets upset when Black comes in a blasts Jug with a dropkick to the face. Jimmy tries again with a Cattle Mutilation, but Black comes in again with a standing Shooting Star. Raymond manages a hot tag after a springboard kick, and Webb comes in and gets the win on Black following Soylent Green. I liked this a lot.

Matt Sydal vs Matt Classic
Matt Classic is Colt Cabana under a mask, and the gimmick is spectacular. Essentially the story is that he is a wrestler from the 1950’s who has been in a coma for 50 years and is returning to action. Cabana plays it to the hilt, with not only a moveset straight out of the black-and-white days, but also wearing large trunks, no kneepads and with ridiculous mannerisms. Classic locks on the dreaded stomach claw early on, but Sydal somehow escapes and uses his speed to take over. Classic manages to lock on the trapezius claw from a Sydal pinfall, but Sydal hits a reverse rana and the Shooting Star Press to win. Really fun comedy match.

Matt Classic vs Scorpio Sky
Another excellent Classic match. Classic brings some more old school to the table, including fish-hooking Sky. Sky downs Classic with a flying headscissors, but gets caught on another move, and Classic downs him with a dreaded airplane spin. A Heart Punch sends Sky straight down, but Classic misses a bottom rope splash which allows Sky back into it. Sky hits a sloppy looking Impaler DDT for the win.

DIFH vs That 70’s Team
The match starts with Disco doing an unnatural amount of gyrating. Jacobs doesn’t seem to want to hurt him, so Black uses his partner as a weapon, whipping Disco into the corner and hurling Jacobs at him. Ryan comes in to attack Jimmy, who ends up as face-in-peril. Machine hits a snazzy looking snap powerslam. Jimmy nails a neckbreaker on Ryan, which causes Joey to need his inhaler. This gives Jacobs time to make the hot tag. The awkward thong comedy comes out again, DIFH rock a nice double team finisher: Black hoists Ryan on his shoulders, Jacobs hits a top rope elbow and Black finishes it off with a sitout driver. This picks up the win. Another perfectly good tag match, better than most of the ones on the main show.

DIFH vs Team Dragon Gate
The third DIFH match on the internet matches and really, they’ve been a highlight of the DVD. This is another fine match, with the opening section with Jacobs and Horiguchi being superslick. Loved seeing Jacobs using the flying headscissors, though it’s not quite the same without the power of the furry boots. Yoshino is still superquick, enough that he starts to make my TV blur, and he gets a two off a tornado DDT. Black is still forced to use the sensitive Jacobs as a weapon, hurling him into Horiguchi for a two count. Horiguchi misses a moonsault, and DIFH use the elbow/driver combination to pick up the win. DIFH were awesome.

Jack Evans vs Marcus Riot
Riot is a guy I know nothing about. Even a quick Google search is revealing nothing. Riot is dressed exactly like Evans, with the storyline being that Riot is an Evans superfan. Riot does a really good job keeping up with the uberfast Evans early on, but he gets blasted with a swank cartwheel kick by Evans. Evans sends him outside and hits a nuts 360 springboard plancha. Riot gets back on offence by raising knees on a standing SSP and nails a roaring clothesline for two. Evans fires back with a reverse rana for two. He follows it with a fantastic standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Evans misses the 630, but he blasts Riot with a Fisherman buster and hits the 630 second attempt for 3. Fun story with Riot being the Evans clone, and he looked pretty good. Shame I’ve literally no idea who he is.

PWG Guitarmaggedon 2005

Arrogance vs Hook Bomberry & Topgun Talwar
Not a great opener. The Arrogance team of Scott Lost and Chris Bosh seem pretty good, whilst Talwar is pretty much a comedy act (shown by his ludicrous sell of a leg bite). That said, some of the Talwar/Bomberry double teaming looks pretty good. Wisely, the heels soon take over on Bomberry after Bosh knees him in the back running the ropes. I say wisely, because given a solid spell on offence, Arrogance look great. Bosh especially impresses, with both some novel moves (liked the clothesline into the backbreaker) and some dickishness (opening up his ring cloves to rub the roughest part into the head of Bomberry).Bomberry gets the hot-tag following a decent enzuigiri, and Talwar does come in with a fun move where he knocks Bosh down in his own corner, then slingshots Lost from outside the ring onto his own partner. Bosh takes a huge spill to the floor, before Talwar and Bomberry hit stereo dives to the floor. The match drags a little more, before Arrogance hit a Hart Attack into a backbreaker on Bomberry, before Lost locks in a sharpshooter for the win.

Puma vs the Human Tornado vs Davey Richards
This is an elimination 3-way. Have to say, Puma looks pretty badass here in plain black flared tights. He also acts like a surly dickhead during the match, which meshes nicely with Tornado’s shtick. So one hand you get Puma hanging Tornado in a tree of woe, charging the corner and stopping to punch Tornado in the balls, on the other hand you get Tornado pimpslapping Richards and hitting him in the corner with offence coming from dance moves. In fact, it’s the presence of Richards that brings the match down: for while he does nothing wrong, he gets in the way of seeing what could be a fun Puma/Tornado match. Tornado comes close to taking himself out of the match at one point, missing Richards on a tope and landing in a heap of chairs. Puma and Richards battle each other exclusively to buy Tornado some time following that. Tornado recovers pretty quickly, but gets caught in a Richards powerbomb for 2. A Richards Shooting Star also only gets two. Puma and Richards then work a series of pinfalls and reversals, which ends with Puma getting a bridge for the three. Puma is left with the still-groggy Tornado, and Richards comes back to steal Puma’s mask, allowing Tornado to hit a Tornado DDT for two. However, Puma blocks a corner charge and nails a 450 splash for the win. They really put Puma over strong here, and he looked the best out of the three guys.

Alex Shelley vs Joey Ryan
Ryan is introduced as the “Technical Wizard”, so naturally Shelley totally schools him on the mat from the get-go. Shelley is working face, and throws in some wonderfully wankerish moves, grabbing Ryan in a wristlock to clap his hand, then manipulating Ryan’s fingers so he’s flipping himself the bird. After a few minutes of humiliation, Ryan finally gets an advantage by kicking the ropes into Shelley’s groin on a rope break, but this merely fires Shelley up more, wrapping Ryan up like a pretzel. I love the dynamic of Shelley being so arrogant on the mat as a face, doing some push-ups while having Ryan trapped in a headscissors. The fans are really into laughing at Ryan, to the extent that even a small child at ringside gives him shit (earning the child a chant). Ryan finally gets on offence by avoiding a Shelley charge into the ringpost, giving Ryan an opening to work over Shelley’s shoulder, hitting a nasty hammerlock slam on the floor before bringing him back in for a Divorce Court. Ryan dominates for a good spell and Shelley’s selling is terrific, constantly shaking his hand to get feeling back and frantically trying to keep Ryan away from his injury. Shelley finally makes his comeback and gets two from a Flatliner. Shelley goes back to the mat with a few pinfall attempts, but gets caught up when trying La Majistral as Ryan grabs the ropes and holds on for a controversial win. Great match, really well structured and it kept both men looking strong.

Aerial Express vs Los Luchas
Man, the opening section here is so fluid, all reversals and counters. Scorpio Sky (of the Aerial Express) is especially impressive, countering out of a wristlock beautifully. Sky hits Phoenix Star with a swank looking backbreaker out of the corner. Star is equally as impressive, levelling Quicksilver with a nice spinning German suplex. Los Luchas display some excellent team work. One double team move is fantastic: Zokre gets Quicksilver in a surfboard, Phoenix Star hoists Silver on his shoulders out of the surfboard and then drops him face first on Zokre’s knees. I also loved Zokre elevating Quicksilver in the air to be caught by a huge Phoenix Star spear. Really, this match shows why tag team wrestling is such fun. Though not booked to be spectacular, the fact that these are two actual tag teams who know how to work effectively with their partners, means that they were able to work a totally enjoyable ten-minute match. In the end, the Aerial Express reign supreme, isolating Star by sending Zokre outside, and hitting a choice missile dropkick into a piledriver on Star for the win.

AJ Styles vs James Gibson
This is for AJ’s PWG title, but AJ, as reigning NWA champion, offers to put both belts on the line, which pretty much telegraphs the result. AJ is the bigger of the two men, and uses his size advantage to bully Gibson a bit, and is able to use his relative power to back suplex Gibson out of a headlock. AJ starts working over the arm of Gibson, and quite nastily wrenches Gibson’s arm into the mat. He also hits a lovely Northern Lights suplex onto a hammerlock. However, AJ gets a bit flashy, which costs him, getting rammed chest first on the apron following a failed baseball slide, then getting caught on an attempted tilt-a-whirl which Gibson turns into a gutbuster. The dynamic now switches, with AJ being forced to fight from underneath, whilst Gibson wears him down with headlocks and headscissors. AJ manages to come back into it following a Pele and, whilst Gibson manages to block a Styles Clash by grabbing the ropes, AJ instead decides to give him a brainbuster on the apron. A Spiral Tap attempt is missed, and Gibson plants Styles with a huge German suplex for two. We then go into a swanky ending sequence, as AJ reverses a Trailer Hitch attempt into a rana, then from that into a bridging pin, then from that into the Clash for the win. Really enjoyable match.

Christopher Daniels vs El Generico
This is for the TNA X Division title, which once again telegraphs our winner. Daniels slaps away an attempted handshake and gives the ref some shit in the opening minutes to establish his heel credentials. Daniels dominates Generico on the mat to start, including locking in a full Nelson (which Daniels yells is a Masterlock). Generico gets in a bit of offence, including a nice standing moonsault, but Daniels is quick to regain control, taking out Generico’s legs on an attempted springboard armdrag, which sends him crotch-first to the ropes. Daniels continues to show his superiority, as they really mark out Generico as the underdog here with Daniels again wearing him out on the mat. However, as Daniels carries him to the top rope, Generico gets a break, slipping free and nailing him with a 2nd-rope powerbomb for two. Generico sends Daniels out and hits a spectacular twisting tope. Back in, Generico hits a good looking tornado DDT and levels Daniels with a Yakuza kick in the corner. Daniels is deadweight, but turns out to be playing possum, meaning a second attempt misses, giving Daniels the chance to hit the BME for the win. Pretty fun, told a good story, but lacking that certain something to make it really good.

Super Dragon & Disco Machine vs Excalibur & Kevin Steen
Dragon, Disco and Excalibur are all former members of SBS, before Excalibur turned heel due to what he perceived as the ego of Super Dragon. This is a war from the get-go, with both teams on the attack. Excalibur and Dragon especially exchange some harsh blows. Disco Machine becomes face-in-peril pretty early on, after Steen catches him in the corner, and the Steen/Excalibur team really start going to work on him. Disco tries to come back with a cannonball from the ring apron, but Excalibur moves, letting Disco splat on the floor with a sickening thud. A Super Dragon suicide dive on Excalibur is stopped by a Steen boot, and the heels position Dragon on the apron to allow Steen to use him as a launching pad to moonsault onto the still-prone Disco. Back inside, it’s like a wrestling Passion of the Christ, with the heels giving Disco an absolute kicking. A monster Excalibur German suplex gets two. Disco finally gets a burst of offence, hitting Steen with a sick tornado DDT from inside the ring all the way to the ring apron! He makes the hot tag to Dragon, who wails away on Excalibur, hitting a huge powerbomb into an STF. However, Dragon tags Disco back in to allow him to hit a toprope stomp on Excalibur whilst he’s prone on Disco’s knees. The problem is that Disco is still weary from his beating and is soon beaten down again, massacred by a Steen powerbomb. Excalibur and Steen hit a diving headbutt and frogsplash respectively for two. Disco blocks an Excalibur Tiger Driver and nails a chokeslam, but elects not to make the tag and is soon beaten down yet again by Steen, who levels him with a sick Fisherman’s Buster. Disco again elects not to go for the tag after downing Excalibur with a DDT, so Dragon comes in, slaps him and drags him to their corner for a tag. Dragon is a house of fire, hitting a kerbstomp on Excalibur, a roaring elbow to Steen before nailing Excalibur with the Psycho Driver, only for Disco to turn heel by kicking him in the head. Disco nails him with a chokebreaker, before feeding him to Steen for two package piledrivers for the win. Awesome battle, with a sensible heel turn as Disco tries and fails to get the job done, but gets annoyed with Dragon for doubting him. A whole heap of brutal fun.