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.

AAW Windy City Classic XII 26/11/2016

ACH vs Mustafa Ali

This was a solid opener, though not the blowaway showstealer the commentary team were portraying it as. I’d never seen ACH before, and I liked some of the little touches he did, like stopping on a slid reversal of an Irish whip to sucker Ali in, then hit a sneaky kick. He’s got some heft behind him too, so his springboard splash looked painful. Ali is really fluid, loved the rolling ring entry that flows into a neckbreaker. There is one moment where ACH really obviously sets up a dive following an Ali baseball slide: ACH awkwardly clambers over the safety rail, then unsubtly pushes the rail away to make space for the landing. It’s actually all for naught, as Ali manages to hit mainly chairs on his flip dive. That aside, I dug this, and I really liked the feel of the ending sequence. ACH hit a succession of moves and got two counts on each, but rather than getting frustrated or selling shock, he swiftly hit another move, not giving Ali time to recover, and eventually being rewarded with the match winning 450 splash.

The Hooligans, Buck Nasty & Connor Braxton vs The Wet Bandits (Markus Crane & Dan Lawrence), Kongo Kong & Colt Cabana

With big indy 8 man matches, it gives you a chance to check out a load of guys you’ve not seen before and to remember names to look for/avoid on future indy cards, and I got guys for both lists here. Hard to get a grip on the Hooligan’s gimmick, they’re wearing overalls and no shoes like your typical hillbilly wrestler, but those overalls are covered in punk rock patches. The first half of this match is filled with some insufferable cutesy comedy nonsense, led mainly by the Wet Bandits. It’s not until the heel team finally get to work some heat on Crane that things pick up. Loved the nasty looking body shots by the Hooligans and the long flurry of chops and punches they inflict on him in the corner. They also hit a nice 2^nd rope legdrop/standing moonsault combo, which was impressive from such stocky guys. Kong I’d heard a lot about, and I loved him picking up Lawrence, his own partner, as a weapon to hit a rolling senton on three opponents in the corner. Braxton and Kong hit opposing simultaneous fallaway slams/Samoan drops, whilst both holding two wrestler, which is impressive, albeit a little too cutesy. Cabana and Kong hit top rope splashes on the Hooligans to win. Final scorecard: Hooligans and Kong – like to see more of, Braxton and Nasty – seemed fine, Wet Bandits – insufferable. Not too bad.

Kimber Lee vs Mercedes Martinez

This is for Martinez’s Shimmer title. Pretty decent match on the whole, though not without a few stumbles from both. Both played their roles well, with Kimber as face running through a nice, crisp offensive flurry to start, contrasting with Martinez heeling it up with chokes, at one point doing a double bicep pose with her leg draped over Lee’s throat. Mercedes definitely wins the battle of stiffer looking chops too. Lee’s comeback run is pretty nice, getting two off a decent swanton, but Martinez looks to have been playing possum, kneeing Lee when she tries to pick her off the mat, and hitting a Fisherman’s buster for the victory.

Alex Daniels vs Chuck Taylor vs Jake Crist

Daniels has a Ben Affleck-themed gimmick, which seems to involve him yelling Ben Affleck film titles before his moves. He seems like quite easily the best guy in this match, bumping like a maniac and hitting some lovely offence – great kneestrike to the face, loved his running slam into the corner and his strikes looked sharp. Crist’s offence was a bit shitter, he hit this really indy-tastic facebreaker that I didn’t like, but his character work was fun, doing this arsehole over-the-top mocking of Daniels’ agony after giving him a belly-to-back suplex on the ring apron. I realised this match that, though I intensely dislike Taylor, his execution of offence is actually fine, it’s just his irritating facials when selling and stupid noises he makes that puts me off. That said, his finishing Awful Waffle looked arse here. Want to see more of Daniels though.

Heidi Lovelace vs Jessicka Havok

This is an I Quit match. Like Lovelace’s gameplan here, attacking the larger Havok with a dive to the floor before the bell. Havok’s size and power advantage means she’s going to control the bulk of the bout, but Lovelace absorbs the punishment and waits until Havok makes a mistake to try and capitalise. The only thing is, she has to eat a load of punishment, getting hurled into the ringside barriers and getting folded in half with a single-leg crab. But then Havok will miss a charge into the corner, and Lovelace pounces, rolling through a crucifix in a lovely movement into a Rings of Saturn. Havok’s kicks are a bit soft, but this kinda helps explain how Lovelace is able to recover despite taking big shots like a Stretch Muffler tangled in the ropes. Havok sets up a load of chairs in the ring to hit a top rope Air Raid Crash, but again this gives Heidi time to recover, escaping to hit a sunset powerbomb through the chairs and then choking Havok out with a chair on a Camel Clutch to win. Really well laid out match, enjoyed this a lot.

Eddie Kingston, Homicide & Low Ki vs Brian Cage, Drago & Pentagon Jr

This has the feel of a dream match, but takes an interesting twist early on due to what seems to be a legit injury suffered by Low Ki. Ki ends up on the floor outside with Homicide checking on him, putting Kingston at a 3-on-1 disadvantage (during which time he suffers the indignity of Pentagon hitting a top rope stomp to his nuts). With Ki still hurt, Homicide and Kingston manage to isolate Drago, the smallest of their opponents, and look utterly badass in the process, taunting Cage and Pentagon and battling against the odds. Low Ki recovers enough to get into the matched, and one-legged Low Ki, with Homicide’s bandana tied around his leg to offset the pain, headbutting Drago manages to look even more of a hardcase than his team-mates. Kingston’s character work here is excellent, selling every minor outrage as a personal insult. Ki gets isolated, but everything breaks down when Homicide and Kingston come to the aid of their injured comrade. After a big finisher train, Ki hits Drago with a shotgun dropkick and a top rope stomp to win. Lots of fun here.

Zack Sabre Jr vs Trent Baretta

Interesting bout here. Liked the early stages, where Baretta is ever so hesitant to lock up with Zack, so pokes him in the eye to take control. There’s a bit where ZSJ has to lie on the mat for ages after a back elbow so Baretta can hit some terrible comedy move, but then this leads to angry ZSJ just working the shit out of Trent’s neck. Baretta then misses a charge in the corner, jarring his elbow, and he’s really in the ring with the worst possible man for that. Zack does some lovely arm work, including kicking the arm when tied up in the railings, and I love the way he ground his elbow into Trent’s spine to force him to the mat to take more punishment. Baretta’s selling of the arm is inconsistent, and Zack actually sells a neck injury more, suffering a Jig’N’Tonic and a cradle piledriver, both for two counts. In the end, ZSJ ties Baretta up on the mat and gets the submission. Baretta didn’t feel in the same ballpark as Zack offensively, which made it harder to accept 50/50 strike exchanges toward the end, but this was still fine.

Trevor Lee & Andrew Everett vs The Besties In The World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett)

This is for the AAW tag titles, held by Fitchett and Vega. Probably the weakest match on the card, unfortunately, just a bit too unstructured and sloppy. It starts with a dance-off, which is never a good sign, and features too much comedy nonsense. A plethora of those double team moves where through some convoluted machinations a wrestler ends up hitting a big move on his partner that never look good. Lee is very much the standout here, loved him running the ropes and suddenly switching direction to hit a baseball slide dropkick at a different angle. He even makes a double rana look decent. Everett hits a big insane dive over the ring post which also looks good. Ultimately, this isn’t very interesting and the end sees Fitchett unrealistically reposition himself to take Everett’s match-winning shooting star press.

Sami Callihan vs Chris Hero

Callihan is the defending AAW champion here. Loved Hero hitting a senton right off the bat here, giving him an early advantage over the winded Sami. Really like how Sami isn’t able to get any sustained offence in the match unless he cheats, only for his sudden cockiness to back fire – he fakes an injury to sneak attack Hero, only to celebrate and get punched in the chops. He takes advantage with an eyepoke, but again takes his time attacking and again Hero takes control. Any time Sami takes over, Hero is only one strike from recovering. It’s not until Sami takes out Hero’s leg that he’s able to get sustained control. A vicious chair shot to Hero’s leg looks nasty, and Hero’s size means that a leg injury is the best way to keep him down. Hero keeps firing back with elbows and kicks, but his leg gives out on another elbow attempt, and Sami has him in trouble. Hero hits a big piledriver, but isn’t able to cover, and Sami is actually in the perfect position to grab Hero’s leg and lock in a Stretch Muffler for the victory. Really good stuff.