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.
