Beyond Wrestling - To Greektown & Beyond

Sonny Kiss vs RJ City

This starts hot, with City sneak attacking before the bell. Kiss is able to come back, moving really nicely around the ring, but gets hit with a slingshot belly-to-back suplex. Fun spot where City slaps Kiss in the face, but takes too long posing afterwards and gets sent into a corner where Kiss repays the favour with a handspring slap. City has a kind of goofy charisma and Kiss is an exotico, so their personalities mesh really well in this match. City tries to steal a win with a ludicrously over-the-top tight pull, which gets caught by the ref, but he does end up picking up the win after rolling through a crossbody, again with a handful of tights. Fun opener.

Anthony Greene vs Brent Banks vs Josh Alexander vs Kobe Durst vs Seleziya Sparx

This was a decent spotfest, feels like everyone brought something to the match. Fun spot with Sparx early doors, as she shows off her leg strength by getting into a handstand and using a headscissors to ram opponents headfirst into her muscular glutes (and a move that Alexander powers out of, via highlighting to the crowd that he’s married). Sparx continues to impress with a big crossbody to the floor and a nice Widow’s Peak on Durst. This didn’t have much substance, but the big moves were fun: nice mid-ring leaping rana by Greene, Alexander avoiding a pump kick and hoisting up Greene for a big slam, Greene grabbing Banks by the feet in the corner and lifting him into a powerslam in one fluid motion, before Durst hits a piledriver on Greene for the win. Fun fast food of a bout.

Jock Samson vs Puf

I hated this. Really overlong, uninteresting comedy match. Samson is a portly guy in jeans and a too short t-shirt, whilst Puf is an obese chap who dances to the ring. They do some basic comedy wrestling which is executed well enough, before we get a dance off. I did appreciate Samson using it as a lure to attack Puf from behind, and him hitting a back elbow into a dab raised a smile. Puf’s offense is unbelievably bad, with his punches looking soft and choreographed. He felt like one of the worst wrestlers I’ve ever seen. Puf only gets 2 on a splash as I beg for this to end. Samson gets a low blow, before some bloke comes out and leads the crowd through a rendition of the Canadian national anthem, distracting Samson enough to allow Puf to roll him up for three. Shite.

Josh Briggs vs Trent Gibson

The only Gibson match I’ve seen before was a three-way tag match from Smash where he’d impressed, so I was looking forward to seeing what he could do in a singles match. Thought this was a really good match, they played up the size difference between Gibson and the larger Briggs really well. Gibson attacks to try and get an early advantage, but he gets caught on a suicide dive and chokeslammed onto the apron. Briggs easily controls as they fight on the floor, but back inside Gibson slips out of a reverse Razor’s Edge and clips the knee to give him an opening. Gibson hits a successful dive to the floor, sending Briggs flying, and I loved him rushing into the ring, imploring the ref to start counting Briggs out. Briggs just about beats it, so Gibson attacks him as he enters, slingshotting him into the ringpost on the floor, and goes for another countout attempt. This again only gets to a 9 count. Gibson rolls the dice for two and tries to hit Briggs with a cricket bat. The ref stops this, but the distraction allows Gibson to hit a low blow for two. I liked Gibson selling his frustration and goes to the top rope in desperation. However, he only meets a big boot and Briggs hits a chokeslam into the backbreaker to win. Really nicely worked, they told the story really well.

Alexia Nicole vs Kris Statlander

Bits of this were really good, but there were also bits of this that weren’t very good. Statlander has been getting a lot of praise recently, but I’ve not quite seen that performance from her yet. Here, I thought she was pretty solid, she did the lions share of the entertaining stuff. I liked her early cartwheels after escaping an armbar, which lured Nicole into missing a kick to give Kris an opening. Nicole misses a double-knees to the corner and I really liked how Statlander focused her offence on the legs, felt like an organic gameplan. She works the leg with a dragon screw and some kicks before locking in a nice bridging leglock and a reverse figure four. Nicole comes back with a really slow victory roll, then does a load of offence totally ignoring all the work done to her legs, running around with no ill effects and even standing up with Statlander  on her shoulders. Just makes the preceding minutes pointless. Nicole hits a terrible looking spear to really compound the horror, before they brawl to the floor for a double count out.

John Atlas & Space Monkey vs MJF & Stokely Hathaway

This was enjoyable stuff, felt like a classic old school tag with a heel manager on one side and a plucky undersized babyface on the other. The heels sneak attack before the match starts, hiding either side of the entrance, and we get a brawl on the floor. Space Monkey is quickly the face in peril, and Stokely hits some good looking offence, with a big kneedrop and a great DDT that Space Monkey sells like death. MJF works over Space Monkey’s tail for no reason other than to be a dick, yanking it to keep Monkey in their corner. We build to the hot tag, and Atlas seems decent enough. Good press slam into a powerslam. I liked him no selling Stokely’s spear and hitting a huge powerbomb. Monkey comes back in, but MJF hits him with a burning hammer. However, Stokely tags himself back in, giving Space Monkey to opportunity to reverse a fireman’s carry into a small package for three.

Channing Decker vs Chris Dickinson vs Kobe Durst

This started well, but turned into a bit of a mess by the end. Decker was Trent Gibson’s partner in the Fraternity, but here he’s working solo with a hardcore gimmick. This start 1 vs 1 with Decker and Gibson, and these parts are really good. Dickinson is really good at working people into his kind of match, whilst also letting them shine. He’s a really fun mat worker, using his size and strength to overwhelm Decker on the mat. Dickinson batters Decker with some strikes, but Decker gets a sudden Finlay roll and moonsault to gain control, and then just hurls himself with reckless abandon through the ropes with a cannonball. Absolutely insane dive. We get a ref bump as Decker sets up a door in the ring corner, and he hits a DVD on Dickinson through it, causing the table to just explode. Great visual. Here’s where things start getting messy. We get a new ref and suddenly Kobe Durst arrives, attacking both and the match becomes a triple threat. All structure goes out of the window and we just get a few big spots. Durst piledrives Decker off the apron through another door on the floor, which in a sensible match would put him out for good. Durst tries to open a step ladder on the floor, but is unable to do so, resulting in an embarrassing scene of officials trying to open the ladder for what feels like ages. Decker is somehow back on his feet, climbing the ladder to the balcony as the rest of the roster appear as if on cue to allow him to moonsault onto the pile and pin Durst on the floor. Dickinson basically became a non-factor by the end, which feel ridiculous. 

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.

Limitless Wrestling - Hybrid Moments

Ace Romero vs Sami Callihan

Really hot opener. Romero is a really big guy, with a sort of Dusty Rhodes physique. The story here is that Romero has gone from main eventing the last show to opening this one, so he’s got something to prove. Proper hard-hitting back and forth contest, with Callihan seemingly trying to use his pace advantage early, hitting and running. Romero bumps big for a guy his size, missing a top rope senton to the apron, as well has connecting with a big senton on the floor. He maybe needs to leave visible air when hitting big boots, but he impressed here. Both got to kick out of some big moves – Romero hits two more sentons on Callihan inside the ring, whilst Callihan hits an unlikely DVD on Romero – but that worked for the story they were telling. An exchange of slaps ends with Romero hitting a big lariat to win.

Jordynne Grace vs Jessicka Havok

Really fun power battle between these two, kicking off with a shoulderblock battle that Havok wins. Grace finds herself in the rare position of being overpowered, so she has to resort to using her speed advantage instead, attacking with sudden bursts of energy. Loved her running elbow in the corner to a seated Havok. In turn, Havok looks great using her size advantage, really liked the standing Full Nelson she locked, which had Grace completely off the mat. The end was a bit sloppy, as Grace couldn’t fully get Havok up for a top rope powerbomb, but this was decent.

Josh Briggs vs Darby Allin

Briggs comes across as one of those guys who’s very tall, but not particularly imposing. He seemed fine, but it’s Allin who does all the noteworthy stuff in this match. He gets great height on a springboard armdrag, does a lovely move where Briggs kicks out of an O’Connor Roll and Allin deftly leaps to the bottom rope and flies back with a crossbody to the seated Briggs, as well as taking some big bumps when he gets posted outside the ring. Allin impressively flips out of a chokeslam and gets in a rapid chop combo, but the power advantage pays off for Briggs, as he wins with a huge facebuster slam. Allin looked great in defeat.

Maine State Posse (Danger Kid & Alexander Lee) vs The Thick Boys (John Silver & Jay Freddie)

The commentary seemed to suggest that this incarnation of the Posse didn’t seem to be gelling very well, referring to a third member who apparently works better with Danger Kid. Loved the huge flip dive Danger hit early on, seemed at odds with his unimpressive look. Alexander Lee didn’t really impress, seeming a bit tentative on his kicks, but I loved how Silver worked with him here, rolling into his legs to send Lee crashing into the ropes and hitting a big rebound German suplex. Things break down with the commentary highlighting that Danger Kid still hadn’t tagged into the match, and as soon as Kid accidentally kicks his partner, the result is pretty obvious, as the Thick Boys hit a double Rubix Cube on Lee to win.

Matt Cross vs Petey Williams

Two elder heads of the indy scene colliding, and this is a comfortable, amiable match. Nothing fancy, but both guys are experienced enough that you suspect they could work this bout in their sleep. Petey does some token legwork, but you don’t really watch a Matt Cross match for his selling, so it’s not a huge surprise when he starts his comeback with cartwheels and springboards. Petey locks in a decent looking sharpshooter, and I loved the smarts in him leaning back to grab Petey’s hand to try and prevent a rope break. Cross does two moves in a row that end with a double stomp, just to make sure you know his leg is totally fine. The Canadian Destroyer is reversed into a Jig’N’Tonic for two, before a springboard cutter gets three for Cross. Pretty easy going stuff.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs Jonathan Gresham

Nice change of pace here, as both guys decide to work a load of character-based schtick rather the big-move workrate style seen in other matches here. It’s a fun dynamic, the loudmouth vs the technician, and they work it well here. Gresham gets every opportunity to make MJF look foolish, including trying him up in his own trunks in order to hit a move on his prone opponent. Friedman gets a run of control and starts focusing on the arm and shoulder of Gresham, sending him into the ringpost. Gresham fires back with a nice sequence, hitting a jawbreaker, an enzuigiri and a German suplex in quick succession for a 2 count. MJF takes advantage of a distracted ref, however, to hit a low blow and tie up Gresham with an armbar for the win.

Cam Zagami vs Chris Dickinson

Zagami cuts a fun heel promo, offering an open challenge, before getting blindsided by Dickinson, who hits two Pazuzu Bombs for the quick win. This was really more of an angle to let Dickinson call out Eddie Kingston on the mic afterwards, but it was fun enough.

Christian Casanova vs Ethan Page

Probably the weakest of the featured matches. Casanova seemed fine, even if he spends a lot of the early stages re-tying his hair, but there’s definitely some sloppy moments. They even blow the spot where a heel pretends to be about to throw his opponent through the crowd but instead throws them back into the ring, as Casanova accidentally throws Page into the camerawoman by the apron. Page is a guy with a lot of hype, but it felt like there was good and bad to his performance. I liked his cross-armed iconoclasm, but his through-the-ropes stunner looked poor. Page’s swanton looked decent, before we get a ref bump. Mr Grim comes out, seemingly to attack Casanova, but instead levels Page with a Pounce, and Casanova hits Page with a gold chain to win. Not great, but this was fine.

Skylar vs Willow Nightingale vs Davienne vs Ashley Vox vs Kennedi Copeland vs Terra Calaway

Pretty fun little match, basically non-stop action. There’s a nice dive sequence on the floor, highlighted by an unlikely second rope moonsault by Nightingale. Copeland hitting a series of sloppy cutters is the only questionable bit, but there’s lot to enjoy here. Dug Calaway hitting a series of big cannonballs in the corner, liked Davienne following that by dropkicking people into the ringposts in the corners, before Calaway ends up alone with Copeland, hitting a full Nelson slam to win. Evenly worked to give everyone a little shine, fun spotfest to break things up before the main.

JT Dunn vs Anthony Greene

Though this was really good, both men really impressed me here. Dunn was really good working from beneath, as he works most of this match selling a leg injury. His selling is believable, firing off his good leg when hitting punches on his comeback and really stretching to hit a blow when Greene is JUST out of range. Greene had really nice execution to his stuff, real snap to his moves. His roaring elbow looked great, and I loved his instant focus on the leg when Dunn goes down injured. Both guys get convincing nearfalls, with Greene hitting a top rope cutter and Dunn nailing him with Death By Elbow. The end sees a double count out, as Dunn hits a tombstone on the apron, sending both men tumbling to the floor. Dunn is on the brink of getting back in, but Greene holds onto his leg, ensuring the match ends a draw. Really enjoyed this, thought Dunn was far more effective as a face than in the previous match I’d seen where he was a heel, and for a guy I’d never heard off Greene was a really fun discovery.

NYWC Trust No One 2017

Milk Chocolate (Brandon Watts & Randy Summers) vs High Society (Blake Morris & King Mega)

This was a fun little tag match. I’ve enjoyed three of these guys previously, whilst being unconvinced by Mega, and for the most part this was good stuff. Mega still looks awkward taking offence, but he earns bonus points by how nice his falling slam is after catching a Watts crossbody. High Society work heat on Watts, loved the spot where Morris grabs Watts by the trunks and pulls him back into a big diving lariat to the back of the head. Morris does more shit-talking here than I’d seen previously, which was a nice addition to his presentation. Watts pulls out a few little touches here that were really nice, really struggling to escape as Morris held him in place for a Mega splash, and using the turnbuckle to elevate himself into a tornado DDT for the hot tag. A double pump kick by Milk Chocolate on Mega looks pretty weak, but the end of the match is well done, as Morris ducks a rolling elbow attempt by Summers, and he turns into a Mega chokeslam for the win.

Alex Reynolds vs Robbie E

On the other hand, this was a bit disappointing. Just too much clunky comedy which took away from the match. Reynolds does a really goofy sell after getting his head rammed into the buckles, where he keeps ramming his own head into the buckle, stumbles then falls face first. There’s a brief bit of actual Reynolds control that actually works nicely, like him standing on Robbie’s throat whilst doing an arrogant muscle pose. Robbie bits Reynolds’ arm to escape a crossface, before we get more clunking comedy as Robbie keeps rolling away from a Reynolds attempt at a top rope moonsault, whilst Reynolds keeps climbing different turnbuckles like a goof. To add to the terrible nature, when Reynolds does try the move, he half lands on Robbie’s back despite the fact he’s supposed to miss. Reynolds picks up the win with a crossface, where he knees Robbie in the head whilst holding it, but on the whole this wasn’t great.

The Big O vs Maxwell Jacob Friedman

This is for the Big O’s Fusion title. Friedman tries to cheapshot the Big O after claiming he wants out of the match, but it doesn’t go too well as O hits him with a big overhead throw, a pounce and a huge powerslam for the win.

Born & Bred (Jesse Vane & Anthony LaCerra) vs the Benson Brothers vs Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs J-Redd & G.I.T.

Four way match for Born & Bred’s tag titles. This only goes 8 minutes before being ruled a no contest, but this feels like a teaser trailer for 4 or 5 different tag matches you leave the bout wanting to see. J-Redd and G.I.T. feel like the weakest links, but all the other teams make the most of their chances to shine, and there’s some really fun spots in the match. Loved CJ Benson backdropping his partner into Born & Bred, loved Private Party’s manager holding up Brad Benson from the ring apron which allowed Quen to hit a brutal looking double stomp to the floor and CJ takes a huge bump as he dives to the outside, whacking his legs on the metal barricades. Born & Bred soon follow him out with a wicked looking stereo flip dive/top rope crossbody, which soon leads to a double countout. Really fun taster of the tag division.

Willow Nightingale vs Karen Q

Really getting to enjoy Nightingale now, this was the second solid performance I’ve seen from her and though she’s still a bit green in places, she’s obviously improving. This was worked as face vs face, and had a slight exhibition-y feel. Liked the early grappling where they exchange throws whilst still maintaining a lock-up, and when they do up the pace, the offence from both looks good. There’s great timing on a missed Nightingale senton followed by an impressive exploder suplex by Q. Really liked Q’s standing moonsault, really whipping herself over on the move, before Nightingale picks up the win with a vicious looking DVD. Dug this.

Stockade & Joe Gacy vs Aidan Baal & Bam Sullivan

This is for Stockade and Gacy’s Tier 1 tag titles. Stockade seems to be working face here, and looks to be having fun with it. It suits him, impressive for someone who came across as a career heel. The face team are two big, hairy guys and they look really good on offence, moving really well. There’s something quite endearing about two burly looking guys exchanging high fives whilst bulldogging their opponents. Gacy becomes face-in-peril after Sullivan grabs him by the waist as he’s running the ropes, and the heat section is pretty fun. I was particularly impressed by Baal, who doesn’t have a very impressive look, but has a great high takedown on Gacy and sells his comebacks nicely. Bam always struck me as the better Sullivan in the Hounds of Hatred, and I dug his rolling cannonball into the corner. Stockade is on fire as the hot tag, he’s really good at putting his weight behind his moves, so a flying clothesline looks devastating. Loved him hitting a double DVD on Sullivan and an interfering Mouse. Sadly, we get a terrible spot where the heel valet tries a crossbody on Stockade, gets caught and then reverses a powerbomb into a rana. Aside from the unlikely physics of this tiny woman being able to move the massive Stockade, it’s stupid because she’s a heel and shouldn’t be outpowering massive face wrestlers. The valet ends up giving Stockade a low blow for an underwhelming DQ finish, but the meat of this was really good

NYWC House of Madness 2016

The Benson Brothers (Brad & CJ Benson) vs The Fella Twins (Eddy McQueen & Rick Cataldo)

Interesting pairing of gimmicks, with the Benson’s being laid-back surfer types and the Fella Twins being two guys working exotico gimmicks. Of the two, McQueen looks more convincing as someone who might live that lifestyle, whilst Cataldo very much comes off as a portly guy in a bad dress. This was actually pretty fun, all four guys looked to have their upsides. I especially dug CJ as your surfer Jim Duggan big brawler, a guy either too laidback or too uncomprehending to release a waistlock when McQueen tries to use escape by grinding against him. Dug Brad using a surfboard on McQueen and actually adding a foot to the back to mimic surfing, though not so keen on him not selling when Cataldo drapes a shinbone over his throat to choke him. The Fellas work the heat on Brad, with Cataldo working a lot of ass-based offence and McQueen driving some vicious knees to the spine. CJ is a fun hot tag, and he flips Brad into a moonsault on McQueen for the win.

Stockade vs Johnny Radke

This is for Stockade’s NYWC title, and is a fun competitive squash. Stockade is a big dude, and uses his size really well. Loved him refusing to go over for a Radke side headlock. Stockade has massive sounding chops and, as a heel, when the crowd chant “One more time!”, he pretends to go for it, then locks on a headlock instead. Stockade looks like a big bear just mauling his prey. Radke gets a brief flurry – I like that Radke’s first offensive blow seems to unsettle Stockade, who then misses a charge into the corner to totally yield control – and you buy a superkick as a potential one-shot kill. It’s not enough, and Radke misses a senton and eats a big DDT for the win. Good stuff.

Mike Verna vs Mouse

Mouse is a slight, ratty-looking kid in a shirt and trousers, and Verna is very firmly in control. Verna knows it too, and doesn’t want to hurt the kid, who wont stop trying to fight him. A cheapshot blow by Mouse seems to enrage Verna, who hits a nice slingshot suplex (which has multiple bounces on the top rope). Liked the sequence where Verna blocks a tornado DDT with sheer power, only for Mouse to chain into a guillotine choke. The end sees the Hounds of Hatred enter and attack Verna for the non-ending.

King Mega, Alvin Alvarez & Ultimo Maya vs GIT, J-Redd & Iri$h

The good thing about trios matches is they’re hard to totally mess up, even if (as is the case here), you suspect the participants aren’t very good. The face team is three lads in vests and jeans, working white-boy gangsta gimmicks. Trouble is none of them impress here – GIT (or Gangsta In Training) at least takes a good beating, but J-Redd’s offense consists of forward rolls or slipping on the ropes when trying to springboard. Iri$h is barely in the match, so he must be the least decent. The heels at least show some spark – I liked Alvarez realising the ref was distracted by the face team, so quickly rushing GIT into the heel corner for a beatdown, and Mega had a nice line in condescending covers, but this wasn’t great, before it ends on a DQ, Maya beating the opposition down with kendo sticks.

Tyler Murphy vs Joe Gacy vs Maxwell Jacob Feinstein

Too short triple threat for Murphy’s Fusion title. Feinstein seemed to be working as a cocky loudmouth, and I enjoyed the two faces quickly throwing him out to work one-on-one. When he does get in, Feinstein tries to work over the arms of both guys, bending the limb in fun ways. Gacy moves well for a big lad, and he hits a fun, if unlikely, handspring elbow on Murphy. This really went by too quickly, and I’m looking forward to watching more from all three guys. Murphy gets the submission with a keylock on Gacy.

Tony Nese vs Mike Orlando

Good match here, though I think they went a bit too long at 20 minutes. Orlando had to control the bulk of the match as heel, and he didn’t have enough interesting ways to fill time. I like Nese, and he’s pretty good as a face, even getting to hit the springboard moonsault he always misses on 205 Live. Orlando is pretty methodical on offence, getting cocky against the more famous Nese, and this gives Nese little openings for attempted comebacks. Orlando has a valet to interfere on his behalf, though she gets thrown out when she puts Orlando’s foot on the rope after a 450, the match’s first false finish. She comes back out when Nese has Orlando in a half-crab (with the camera unfortunately catching Nese telling Orlando to tap when the ref’s back is turned) leading to Orlando low-blowing and getting a roll-up for two. Orlando has a nice flying shoulderblock and a great Rydeen Bomb, and the two false finishes do help the match, as both times you buy that Nese is going to lose, only for him to hit a second 450 for the victory.

The Hounds of Hatred (Bam & Boo Sullivan) vs Alex Reynolds & JT Kasin

Sadly, the main event was probably the worst match on the show. I really dig Reynolds, guy has nice execution and carries himself well in the ring, and I liked Bam Sullivan, but the other two guys brought this down. Reynolds hits a great looking crossbody and suicide dive early, before becoming face-in-peril. Boo Sullivan is really hesitant for a big lad, and has really soft looking offence, but Bam controlled Reynolds better, and I loved his really low Swanton – instead of getting great height on it, he really whipped himself down with force. Giving Boo credit, he really misses an elbow drop with intent, before Reynold’s tags Kasin in. Kasin is an odd guy to watch, he doesn’t feel like a wrestler – his movements in the ring just feel odd. He looks like he should be a brawler, but he hits the worst mounted punches I’ve seen in a while. The end is a real mess, starting with the Hounds of Hatred blowing a double-team move, before some stuff happens outside the ring involving Reynolds and a referee (it’s dark and there’s no commentary, so it’s tough to make out). Inside, Kasin punches the HoH’s valet in the face, rightly drawing boos despite Kasin being a face, and he gets taken out with a loaded blow to keep the tag belts on the hounds. Even aside from the stupidity of having a face punching a woman, this was a sloppy bout.