This feels like a pretty modern review for this blog, to be honest
Kevin Owens vs CJ Parker
I loved Owens looking dominant right from the start, as the people seeing him for the first time need to see why he's been getting so much hype. The big flip dive looked great, certainly better than the shitty spin kick that gives Parker an opening. Owens gets to look great by kicking out of Parker's (nose-breaking) palm strike, and the finishing sequence of a vicious pump-handle neckbreaker and a pop-up powerbomb give Owens a mighty debut win.
Lucha Dragons vs the Vaudevillains
The big problem with the replacement Sin Cara is that, if he felt a bit sluggish compared to the original Cara, he looks positively leaden next to a livewire like Kalisto. Cara did take a nice bump when he was pulled to the floor by Aiden English. I like the Vaudevillains as wrestlers, but they don't really wrestle in the gimmick. In-ring, they don't really feel like old school wrestlers. Compare them to blog-favourite Tyler Bate, who wrestles a similar gimmick but throws in airplane spins and fun power spots to augment his character. This was still fun, and Kalisto is perfect off the hot tag, just non-stop movement. English heroically saving Gotch from a two-man dive was odd, especially as Kalisto pinned Gotch seconds later.
Baron Corbin vs Tye Dillinger
Fun squash, as Dillinger bumped nicely for Corbin. Corbin has a face off with Bull Dempsey post-match. Still got no idea what anyone seem in Bull Dempsey, and the idea that someone decided to release Martin Stone and keep Dempsey seems absolutely insane.
The Ascension vs Hideo Itami & Finn Balor
Balor's entrance felt so bigtime, and you can tell he's not long for NXT. I loved the big flapjack Konnor gave Itami to give the Ascension the advantage, and Itami trying to battle out of the corner from the mat made him look great. Viktor is certainly the less exciting half of the Ascension, and things dragged a bit when he was in control, but the hot tag to Balor heated things up to a fever that didn't subside. Balor hitting an enzuigiri to send Viktor from the top rope to the floor was terrific, and the pop on Itami's GTS tease will only be beaten by the day he actually hits it. Even though Balor and Itami HAD to win, I totally bought into the Fall of Man tease, before the double footstomp wins it for the faces. Really fun match.
Charlotte vs Sasha Banks
Love the fact that Charles Robinson is the referee for this match. I really liked the sense of hatred at the start, with some trash-talking and some nice strikes. Banks hitting some vicious knees to a prone Charlotte in the corner looked great. Bank grounding Charlotte with submissions makes sense due to the size difference between the two, and the strength difference does get played up throughout the match. Charlotte is able to escape a figure-four headscissors by using her strength to hit an electric chair on Banks. Banks nails a nice dive to the floor, but is turned inside out by a huge spear from Charlotte. Just to rub in her genetic superiority, Charlotte lands on her feet on a missed moonsault and instead hits a flipping senton in a terrific spot. The end sees the size and strength factor come to the fore again, as Bank is unable to superplex Charlotte, who instead hits the Natural Selection from the top rope to win.
Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn
All the build-up to this match really feels big time. Neville looks really great in the opening sections, dominating Zayn on the mat by working the arm and looking really crisp throughout. He even seems to be showing off slightly, until getting caught in a Zayn backbreaker sends him outside to regroup. Though small, Neville is a little ball of muscle and his offence has enough snap to it that it enables him to work as heel and Zayn to work from beneath. Zayn's main strength is his heart, so he needs to hang in there before being able to take over on offence. A lovely sequence ends with a Zayn flip dive to the floor, but Neville still feels like he's one step ahead. Every time Zayn gets some momentum, Neville is able to shut him off quickly. Eventually, Zayn starts getting more into the match, but his all-round decency nearly backfires as he checks on the ref following a bump, and gets nailed by a Neville reverse rana for a nearfall. We get another ref bump as the Helluva kick hits the official in the head, and we get a slightly melodramatic morality play as Zayn debates hitting Neville with the title belt. He doesn't, and nearly pays for it again as Neville rolls him up for two, but the Helluva kick in the corner is enough for the three count and the title for Zayn. Really great match up, good logical story-telling, and Neville looked fantastic throughout.
Saturday, 3 January 2015
Thursday, 1 January 2015
End of 2014 Round-Up Post
So, as is now tradition on the blog, this is a round-up of the best stuff reviewed on the site this year. However, due to some really terrible matches viewed this year, I've added a quick list of the worst matches I've sat through, as well as doing a separate list of the best matches I've seen live this year - previous years have seen live matches mixed with the taped matches, but I felt it better to separate them this year. Enjoy!
The Ten Best Matches Reviewed On The Blog This Year
10. Jeff Jarrett vs Christian Cage vs Sting vs Abyss vs Ron
Killings (Jeff Jarrett: King of the Mountain Disks 1 & 2)
The second of TNA’s King of the Mountain match, and they’d
improved the formula greatly from the first (not just limited to the fact that
they’d got the hook properly connected this time). Better bumps, better story,
great match.
9. Chad Malenko vs Jonny Storm (All Star Wrestling 14/03/01)
Proof that sometimes simpler is better. Worked in front of a
family-orientated All Star crowd, Malenko and Storm put on a fun little gem.
8. Low Ki vs American Dragon (ECWA Super 8 2001)
Would probably have been higher if not for Ki’s inconsistent
selling. Dragon was terrific here, with some lovely little touches and some
sublime chaining between moves. Only a few years into his career, and he’s
already something special.
7. Alex Shelley & Masato Tanaka vs Sonjay Dutt &
Dick Togo (Zero-One 18/03/2005)
Fun stunt-filled TLC match between two interesting looking
teams. Love the Togo hot-tag here and the end features a suitably nutty
collection of spots.
6. The Backseat Boys vs Nick Mondo and Ric Blade (CZW Cage
of Death 2002)
Considering the participants, you wouldn’t expect this the
be the more logically worked TLC to the above entry, but there is a solid
underlying story between the stunts. Mondo and Blade are risk-takers, but they
will hurt themselves to hurt their opponents, whilst the Backseats are a
regular team and their teamwork carries them through to a victory.
5. El Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas (Best of El Hijo Del
Santo Vol 1)
Wonderful hair-vs-mask match, and you can feel the real
desire to win from both guys throughout the match. Love the little things, like
Santo going for quick roll-ups to secure victory or the way Casas frantically
fights against the match-winning Camel Clutch.
4. Jeff Jarrett vs Kurt Angle (Jeff Jarrett: King of the
Mountain Disks 3 & 4)
Jeff Jarrett has always been Kurt Angle’s best opponent,
smart enough to work matches around Angle’s non-stop style. This was Jarrett’s
first match back after the death of his wife and was based around a story of
Jarrett trying to survive against the best wrestler in the company. A match
with a real feel-good ending.
3. Randy Savage vs Jim Duggan (WWF Mega Matches)
No carry job here, as a motivated-Duggan and the Macho Man
put on a little gem. Some lovely selling from Duggan throughout, making both
Savage AND Sherri look tough as nails. Some smoke-and-mirrors booking at the
end helps keep Duggan look strong and this is a really good match on a really
poor tape
2. Necro Butcher vs Toby Klein (Necro Butcher – Choose Death)
Great death match. Butcher takes some nasty looking bumps
and both guys trade vicious, hate-filled blows instead of setting up
overly-complex spots. The match ending Death Valley Driver onto an open chair
is suitably decisive.
1. El Hijo Del Santo vs Espanto Jr (Best of El Hijo Del Santo
Vol 1)
Violent, crimson-soaked brawl in another mask-vs-hair match.
There is so much I love in this match, from Santo’s long-period of
contemplation after losing the initial fall, to Espanto violently ripping at
the bloody mask of Santo. Some believable closefalls and some lovely dives make
this a deserved end-of-year winner.
The Five Worst Matches Reviewed On The Blog
5. Marty Jannetty vs Totoru (All Star Wrestling 14/03/01)
Reviewed at the start of the year, if you’d told me this
stall-fest filled with abysmal comedy would only just make my worst 5 of the
year, I might have cancelled the blog
4. Hell’s Belles vs Benji & the Smoke (WEW Celebrity
Ho-Down)
I’d like to be able to pin all the blame for this mess on
Benji, who clearly had no business being in a ring, but this squash main event
is terrible even when the more competent Smoke is having to zombie-sell for the
Belles
3. Veronica Caine vs Lizzy Borden (XPW Freefall)
A Buck Naked match, where the aim was to rip off all your
opponents clothes. This was never going to be good, especially with two non-trained
wrestlers in there, but adding a screwjob finish that only added to the
untrackable heel/face divide on this show made it unbearable.
2. Valerie Elizabeth Wyndham vs Francine (WEW Celebrity
Ho-Down)
Another match between two barely-wrestlers. All the moves in
this match looks terrible, and bonus shit-points are earned by the presence of
the PWO (sigh…the Pussy World Order) in Wyndham’s corner who contribute
absolutely nothing to the match.
1. New Jack vs Vic Grimes (XPW Freefall)
There’s a returning theme of non-wrestler’s in this list,
but these two were actual pro-wrestlers, with years of experience between them,
and they put out this scaffold mess. They wander about, hit some weapon shots
then arbitrarily decide to climb the scaffold from which New Jack nearly kills
Grimes by hurling him well away from the tables designed to break his fall.
Terrible AND incredibly fucking stupid.
5. Kris Travis vs Jack Jester (House of Pain: Evolution 9)
4. The Hunter Brothers vs Mark Andrews & Pete Dunne
(Southside Wrestling Menace II Society)
3. The Henchmen vs the Hunter Brothers (Triple X Wrestling
Clusterfuck III)2. Joseph Conners vs Dave Mastiff (House of Pain: Evolution 9)
1. Zack Sabre Jr vs Pete Dunne (Triple X Wrestling Clusterfuck III)
Absolutely sublime match, with every little movement and hold meaning something. Triple X have really pushed Dunne as a lead face this year and, though he didn’t pick up the win here, the quality of the match and the nature of the loss really elevated him in defeat. This was a bit special
Saturday, 13 December 2014
CZW Apocalypse 2004
Ah, my beloved 2004 CZW. Why I love you, I'm still not quite sure...
CKNY vs Blackout
This is Cory Kastle and Niles Young vs Sabian and Joker of the Blackout. CKNY are accompanied by Jude, but Ruckus just beats him to the back. This is a perfectly acceptable little opener, with some nice quick movements to start, ending with stereo dives by CKNY. I like the nastier side of Blackout here, with Sabian holding Young's long hair whilst kicking him in the spine, or Joker grinding his wrist tape into Young's face. Young gets the hot tag after Joker misses a diving headbutt. CKNY are a fine pretty boy face tagteam, though sadly in the worst possible promotion for a team like that to get cheers. Blackout manager Robbie Mireno stops Young on the top rope to prevent a double team Killswitch, and Blackout finish Kastle with the Joker Driver and a senton. Solid stuff.
Rick Feinberg vs Jon Dahmer
Even though Feinberg seems to have have toned down the gay stereotypes of his gimmick, you still know he's got no chance here. Dahmer offers to lie down for him to start, but kicks out at two and just destroys Feinberg. There is a brief Feinberg comeback, but he gets caught with a powerbomb from the top rope and Dahmer finishes with the Move of 1000 Maniacs.
DJ Hyde vs Jude
Bit of a size difference here. I love Hyde reversing a Jude choke into a big Northern Lights suplex. Jude botches something on the outside, so nails Hyde with a chairshot to the head before overshooting on a top rope moonsault. Aside from that, it's pretty much all Hyde, as he nails a nutty German suplex and a Blue Thunder Driver for the easy win. Hyde looked pretty great here.
Ruckus vs Derek Frazier
I always say this about Frazier, but his haircut was terrible. He does put in a good showing here though, with a nice agressive streak. He takes it to Ruckus early with some nasty looking strikes and a few throws to the guardrails. Ruckus' offence is a bit more pony, with some milky kicks and a shitty looking moonsault from the apron. Only a flipping neckbreaker from Ruckus looks especially hurty. The end sees Sabian put Ruckus' foot on the rope following some more vicious Frazier kicks, and Joker shoulderblocks Frazier to the torso, leaving him prone to a half Nelson driver for a Ruckus win.
Nick Berk vs Emil Sitochi
Sitochi wisely understands the crowd he is wrestling for and hits an early tope to win over the fans. Berk is a bit more solidly built, so his offence looks pretty good on Sitochi. Love his hiptoss into a backbreaker, and his big lariat looks great. I only saw a few Sitochi matches on his 2004 US tour, and he always came across as a smooth performer. He has some swanky armdrag variations and a few fun snapmares too - not a phrase you often get to say. Sitochi misses a missile dropkick and Berk locks in the Texas 2K2 for the tap. Fun little match.
Alex Shelley vs Roderick Strong vs Dan Maff vs B-Boy
This is an elimination match to become number one contender to the Iron Man title. Only 2 guys are allowed in at once, which gives a fun bit of psychology, where it makes sense for guys to not be tagging into the match. Strong is soon stooging for some Maff chops, which establishes the big man as the powerhouse of the match. The match soon ends up like a tag match, with Strong and Shelley teaming up against Maff and B-Boy. This works by giving it a face-in-peril section, as S&S take over on B-Boy. It soon, predictably, breaks down to all four guys in the ring, and B-Boy hits a Shining Wizard on Strong to eliminate him. Maff's size and power advantage lets him dominate again, but Shelley is able to reverse a burning hammer into Shell-Shock for three. B-Boy and Shelley exchange some near falls, before Shelley locks in the Border City Stretch. B-Boy manages to reverse this to his own stretch variation for a tapout.
GQ vs Chris Cash
These two trained together, so they should be able to work well. It's a ladder match, but with pinfall rules. There are some slightly milky strikes by both guys, but also some really sick bumps. There is a sick running powerbomb to the turnbuckles by GQ and then a few nasty powebombs onto a ladder. I did enjoy the way they teased and built up a splash mountain onto a ladder as a big spot. A load of chairs get set up outside the ring, leading to a top rope superplex to the floor. Cash only gets two from a top rope Cash Flow, but he hits a second, sloppier version from a ladder onto another ladder for the win. This is probably the best GQ match I've seen, even if large parts of this were sloppy or didn't really work properly (a bit near the end sees Cash and GQ seemingly make up before GQ nails a superkick, to minimal reaction). The big bumps were suitably horrific looking and both guys get a strong crowd reaction at the end, so you have to say it did a job.
Brad Bradley vs BJ Whitmer
This is a first round match in CZW's Extreme Strong Style tournament. Fans don't really seem into this match, and a Bradley chinlock does nothing to win them over. Aside from a typically awful strike exchange in the middle (hate them!), there is nothing particularly strong style about this match, as Whitmer pretty much grounds Bradley by working the left knee. It's all logical and tells a good story, but it's pretty dull to watch. Indeed, it's Bradley who excels, clubbing Whitmer frantically to try and get a breakon a legbar. Bradley shows more guts than brains by hobbling his way to a plancha on Whitmer. The end is quite cool, with Whitmer going for the exploder, Bradley trying to break it and Whitmer hitting him in the face THEN hitting the exploder to win. Nothing wrong with this match, but it is pretty dull.
Chris Hero vs Jimmy Rave
This is for Rave's Iron Man title, which has a twenty minute limit. This...isn't as good as I was hoping it would be. I like both guys, but this is a bit of a mess. The first half of this has some goofy, but fun, matwork, and I did love some of Hero's fakeout work. Stuff like going for an eyepoke off a roaring elbow, or going for a figure four before just stomping on Rave instead. But a lot of this is just Hero (the heel) making Rave (the face champ) look like a total chump. A sequence of Hero locking on various cravates requires Rave to just stand there like a berk whilst Hero contorts around him. The second half of the match is just them exchanging finishers with both the Hangman's Clutch and the Dusk to Dawn Crossface getting ropebreaks, and Rave's running knee and the Hero's Welcome both getting two counts. With both guys having killed all their finishers, Hero gets a fall off a backslide, where both guys are clearly in the ropes. I did like Rave going for desperation rollups, knowing there is only a minute left, but then Hero runs to the back. Rather than waiting and taking the countout to tie the falls, Rave runs into the back with him as the time runs out and both guys are counted out. This means Hero is the new champ, but what a disappointing way to get there.
The Messiah, Adam Flash & Sabu vs Nick Gage, the Wifebeater & Trent Acid
This is an elimination tables match. Big brawl starts things off, and this is pretty fun to start, though you can see Messiah having to slow down his offence to allow Wifebeater to keep up. It's also useful to have heel manager Dewey Donovan involved, as he can set up weapons for the heels to allow the match to flow better. He sets up a few chairs in the ring, ready for Flash to superplex Gage onto them in a fun spot. Acid and Sabu work quite a fun section in ring together, especially for two guys who can be pretty sloppy. Messiah sunset flips Wifebeater through a ringside table, but this is somehow deemed a double elimination as Messiah also went through the table. Gage must be a total idiot, as he learns nothing from this and piledrives Flash through a table, which again eliminates both men. So, please note, if you go through the table with your opponent, you seem to be eliminated too, even if it's clearly your attacking move. Sabu and Acid face off for a bit, before the Messiah returns to help Sabu (clearly Acid's partners couldn't be arsed) and Sabu crashes Acid through a table and is declared the winner, despite the fact that he clearly went through the table with Acid. These rules make no fucking sense and ruined a potentially decent match.
CKNY vs Blackout
This is Cory Kastle and Niles Young vs Sabian and Joker of the Blackout. CKNY are accompanied by Jude, but Ruckus just beats him to the back. This is a perfectly acceptable little opener, with some nice quick movements to start, ending with stereo dives by CKNY. I like the nastier side of Blackout here, with Sabian holding Young's long hair whilst kicking him in the spine, or Joker grinding his wrist tape into Young's face. Young gets the hot tag after Joker misses a diving headbutt. CKNY are a fine pretty boy face tagteam, though sadly in the worst possible promotion for a team like that to get cheers. Blackout manager Robbie Mireno stops Young on the top rope to prevent a double team Killswitch, and Blackout finish Kastle with the Joker Driver and a senton. Solid stuff.
Rick Feinberg vs Jon Dahmer
Even though Feinberg seems to have have toned down the gay stereotypes of his gimmick, you still know he's got no chance here. Dahmer offers to lie down for him to start, but kicks out at two and just destroys Feinberg. There is a brief Feinberg comeback, but he gets caught with a powerbomb from the top rope and Dahmer finishes with the Move of 1000 Maniacs.
DJ Hyde vs Jude
Bit of a size difference here. I love Hyde reversing a Jude choke into a big Northern Lights suplex. Jude botches something on the outside, so nails Hyde with a chairshot to the head before overshooting on a top rope moonsault. Aside from that, it's pretty much all Hyde, as he nails a nutty German suplex and a Blue Thunder Driver for the easy win. Hyde looked pretty great here.
Ruckus vs Derek Frazier
I always say this about Frazier, but his haircut was terrible. He does put in a good showing here though, with a nice agressive streak. He takes it to Ruckus early with some nasty looking strikes and a few throws to the guardrails. Ruckus' offence is a bit more pony, with some milky kicks and a shitty looking moonsault from the apron. Only a flipping neckbreaker from Ruckus looks especially hurty. The end sees Sabian put Ruckus' foot on the rope following some more vicious Frazier kicks, and Joker shoulderblocks Frazier to the torso, leaving him prone to a half Nelson driver for a Ruckus win.
Nick Berk vs Emil Sitochi
Sitochi wisely understands the crowd he is wrestling for and hits an early tope to win over the fans. Berk is a bit more solidly built, so his offence looks pretty good on Sitochi. Love his hiptoss into a backbreaker, and his big lariat looks great. I only saw a few Sitochi matches on his 2004 US tour, and he always came across as a smooth performer. He has some swanky armdrag variations and a few fun snapmares too - not a phrase you often get to say. Sitochi misses a missile dropkick and Berk locks in the Texas 2K2 for the tap. Fun little match.
Alex Shelley vs Roderick Strong vs Dan Maff vs B-Boy
This is an elimination match to become number one contender to the Iron Man title. Only 2 guys are allowed in at once, which gives a fun bit of psychology, where it makes sense for guys to not be tagging into the match. Strong is soon stooging for some Maff chops, which establishes the big man as the powerhouse of the match. The match soon ends up like a tag match, with Strong and Shelley teaming up against Maff and B-Boy. This works by giving it a face-in-peril section, as S&S take over on B-Boy. It soon, predictably, breaks down to all four guys in the ring, and B-Boy hits a Shining Wizard on Strong to eliminate him. Maff's size and power advantage lets him dominate again, but Shelley is able to reverse a burning hammer into Shell-Shock for three. B-Boy and Shelley exchange some near falls, before Shelley locks in the Border City Stretch. B-Boy manages to reverse this to his own stretch variation for a tapout.
GQ vs Chris Cash
These two trained together, so they should be able to work well. It's a ladder match, but with pinfall rules. There are some slightly milky strikes by both guys, but also some really sick bumps. There is a sick running powerbomb to the turnbuckles by GQ and then a few nasty powebombs onto a ladder. I did enjoy the way they teased and built up a splash mountain onto a ladder as a big spot. A load of chairs get set up outside the ring, leading to a top rope superplex to the floor. Cash only gets two from a top rope Cash Flow, but he hits a second, sloppier version from a ladder onto another ladder for the win. This is probably the best GQ match I've seen, even if large parts of this were sloppy or didn't really work properly (a bit near the end sees Cash and GQ seemingly make up before GQ nails a superkick, to minimal reaction). The big bumps were suitably horrific looking and both guys get a strong crowd reaction at the end, so you have to say it did a job.
Brad Bradley vs BJ Whitmer
This is a first round match in CZW's Extreme Strong Style tournament. Fans don't really seem into this match, and a Bradley chinlock does nothing to win them over. Aside from a typically awful strike exchange in the middle (hate them!), there is nothing particularly strong style about this match, as Whitmer pretty much grounds Bradley by working the left knee. It's all logical and tells a good story, but it's pretty dull to watch. Indeed, it's Bradley who excels, clubbing Whitmer frantically to try and get a breakon a legbar. Bradley shows more guts than brains by hobbling his way to a plancha on Whitmer. The end is quite cool, with Whitmer going for the exploder, Bradley trying to break it and Whitmer hitting him in the face THEN hitting the exploder to win. Nothing wrong with this match, but it is pretty dull.
Chris Hero vs Jimmy Rave
This is for Rave's Iron Man title, which has a twenty minute limit. This...isn't as good as I was hoping it would be. I like both guys, but this is a bit of a mess. The first half of this has some goofy, but fun, matwork, and I did love some of Hero's fakeout work. Stuff like going for an eyepoke off a roaring elbow, or going for a figure four before just stomping on Rave instead. But a lot of this is just Hero (the heel) making Rave (the face champ) look like a total chump. A sequence of Hero locking on various cravates requires Rave to just stand there like a berk whilst Hero contorts around him. The second half of the match is just them exchanging finishers with both the Hangman's Clutch and the Dusk to Dawn Crossface getting ropebreaks, and Rave's running knee and the Hero's Welcome both getting two counts. With both guys having killed all their finishers, Hero gets a fall off a backslide, where both guys are clearly in the ropes. I did like Rave going for desperation rollups, knowing there is only a minute left, but then Hero runs to the back. Rather than waiting and taking the countout to tie the falls, Rave runs into the back with him as the time runs out and both guys are counted out. This means Hero is the new champ, but what a disappointing way to get there.
The Messiah, Adam Flash & Sabu vs Nick Gage, the Wifebeater & Trent Acid
This is an elimination tables match. Big brawl starts things off, and this is pretty fun to start, though you can see Messiah having to slow down his offence to allow Wifebeater to keep up. It's also useful to have heel manager Dewey Donovan involved, as he can set up weapons for the heels to allow the match to flow better. He sets up a few chairs in the ring, ready for Flash to superplex Gage onto them in a fun spot. Acid and Sabu work quite a fun section in ring together, especially for two guys who can be pretty sloppy. Messiah sunset flips Wifebeater through a ringside table, but this is somehow deemed a double elimination as Messiah also went through the table. Gage must be a total idiot, as he learns nothing from this and piledrives Flash through a table, which again eliminates both men. So, please note, if you go through the table with your opponent, you seem to be eliminated too, even if it's clearly your attacking move. Sabu and Acid face off for a bit, before the Messiah returns to help Sabu (clearly Acid's partners couldn't be arsed) and Sabu crashes Acid through a table and is declared the winner, despite the fact that he clearly went through the table with Acid. These rules make no fucking sense and ruined a potentially decent match.
Saturday, 22 November 2014
Best of El Hijo Del Santo Vol 1
Within the pro-wrestling, lucha libre remains a bit of a blind spot for me. Indeed, in the 4+ years this blog has run, I've only reviewed one lucha show. I decided to rectify this blindspot by easing myself in with the IVP "Best of El Hijo Del Santo" series, which at only $3 per disk seems a nice way into the world of lucha. By starting with one of the best known luchadors of the 80's-modern day, I'm hoping to learn a bit more about the main stars of lucha, the style and come to grips with how it works. Here goes nothing...
El Hijo Del Santo & Atlantis vs Fuerza Guerrera & Lobo Rubio
Loved the opening matwork here, especailly Santo's dedication to holding Rubio down with a headscissors. Atlantis and Guerrera also work a really fluid mat section. A little frustration seems to be setting in with Guerrera and Rubio, as the technicos are a little to good for them. Santo hits a beautiful spinning armdrag on Guerrera. The first fall goes to Santo and Atlantis, as Santo hits a rolling senton from the top on Rubio, held in place by Atlantis who pins him.
The second fall has Atlantis outsmarting the rudos, sending them crashing into each other. The aggression really gets amped up by the rudos, who aren't able to outwrestlethem, so go for more punches and nasty impact moves. They seem to be working over each opponent in turn, weakening both. Both technicos take nasty spills to the floor and the rudos win the fall by countout.
The rudos start the third fall by diving onto the already-downed Atlantis. Momentum shifts again as Santo fires back on Guerrera with a big punch to a loud cheer and, as soon as all four are in the ring, the technicos are able to outwrestle their opponents again. The ending sees a bit of poetic justice, as Santo and Atlantis both hit sublime dives to the floor and win the decisive fall the way the rudos won the second, by countout.
El Hijo Del Santo vs Black Shadow Jr
This starts off with some lovely matwork. It felt like the proverbial game of human chess, as you could sense both guys trying to think of a counter as soon as they were getting put into holds. It felt like Santo just about has the upper hand, so it was no surprise when Shadow decided to heat things up a little, nailing two bulldogs and an inverted crab/double-underhook for the first fall.
Shadow wisely stays on the arm to start the second fall, but things start to speed up again, this time with Santo nailing two flying headscissors in succession. Shadow misses a corner charge and gets nailed with a Swanton to give fall two to Santo.
The third fall starts with a bang, as Shadow nails a pescado on Santo. Shadow then takes a nasty bump to the floor before Santo hits a suicide dive. We return to the ring in time for Santo to hit a snapmere from the top and lock in the Camel Clutch for the submission victory. Altogether decent, but felt a little rushed after the opening matwork.
El Hijo Del Santo vs Espanto Jr
This is a mask-vs-mask match, and takes place is a very darkly lit arena. The first fall ends pretty quickly in favour of Espanto, who tries to remove Santo's mask during the early going before settling for an early submission.
The start of the second fall is golden, as Santo kneels on the floor outside for quite a period of time. Partly through obvious discomfort, but also with the sense that he knows that he's only one fall away from losing his mask. Dozens of kids come up to him as well with reassuring pats on the shoulder, which only adds to the scene. As soon as Santo does get back in the ring, Espanto is right back on him, locking in a half crab then a stump puller to try and earn a submission. He's also vicious in going for the mask again, ripping at it to leave it half-hanging off the face of Santo. Santo is able to fire back with some kneelift and, as Espanto gets sent to the floor with an insane bump, Santo flies right out after him. Back in, a senton evens up the scores.
There are a few cuts in the third fall, but they don't take away from the majesty of what is to follow. Santo goes for a pair of bulldogs, but is just sent to the mat on the second one. Espanto is getting more desperate, and nails him with a chair outside the ring, then gnaws at cuts on Santo (due to the exposed flesh where the mask is ripped) as blood gushes down Santo's face. A senton misses and we cut to Santo ramming his head into the ringpost from the apron. Espanto comes SO close with a roll-up before getting sent from the ring. Espanto follows with an amazing suicide dive taking him off the screen, as he appears to leap into infinity. Santo returns fire with a huge dive from the top rope and inside, the Camel Clutch picks up the win for Santo. Man, this was SO much fun, a really heated, gory lucha brawl, and the effort and story told really put over the match stip.
El Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas
Another stipulation match, this time with Santo putting his mask up against the hair of Casas. The first fall is pretty brief, but features a nice feeling out process, and I really dig some of the headscissors' by Casas. Casas gets the first fall early with a moonsault press and a La Majistral cradle for the pin.
1-0 up, and Casas is acting pretty cocky, as he is all over Santo. Casas nails him with some lovely punches, but Santo is able to suddenly come back with a kneelift and lock in a surfboard for the submission to equalise.
The third fall sees Casas in control early again after a Santo flurry, and you sense him getting his swagger back. He has to be held back by the referee as he goes for Santo's mask. Santo gets some nearfalls off a few desperation rollups, before a swank cartwheel elbow down him again. A Santo suicide dive rams Casas into the steel railings, before Casas slips off the top rope attempting a dive. Santo takes advantage with a top rope senton for two and tries the Camel Clutch, which Casas frantically fights off. You feel the match slipping awat from Casas, as Santo takes him out with a top rope dive to the floor. Inside, Santo is able to stop a Casas comeback with a second rope electric chair, before lockingin the Camel Clutch (again fought by Casas) for the win. Another really fine, heated match, and I loved the two embracing in the ring before Casas' haircut.
El Hijo Del Santo, Super Astro & Blue Demon Jr vs All Star, Rocky Star & Fuerza Guerrera
Curious bout this, as it's billed as a team match as above, but all six guys seem to be fighting each other with the match having battle royal elimination rules. Of course, this does mean we get to see some ludicrous bumps on the eliminations. Astro gets thrown out by All Star, and then Blue Demon is hurled out with a big backdrop. Guerrera chucks Santo out and the two Stars team up to eliminate Guerrera. This leaves both Stars in the ring and referees come in to declare them both winners, even though they seem to want to fight each other. I assume something is said on commentary to explain that is lost in translation to myself.
El Hijo Del Santo & Fuerza Guerrera vs Rocky Star & All Star
Intereting match here, as neither side seems to like their partner. Santo does not seem impressed with the heeling of his partner and conversely Guerrera wont tag in Santo as he gets worked over by Rocky Star. Star then works over Guerrera, and Santo now wont tag into the match. All Star works over Guerrera and puts him in a submission hold whilst simultaneously trying to remove his mask, causing Guerrera to submit for the first fall
The second fall kicks off with Rocky Star trying to do the same to Santo, who elbows his way free and tries to take off Rocky's mask. Guerrera ends up in the ring with All Star and everything breaks down. At one point, Rocky Star seems to be trying to unmask his own partner. Santo also gets involved, and All Star is a bloody mess at this point. In the ring, a rana by Santo on Rocky Star looks to even the scores, but the referees give the fall (and the match) to the star team. Replays appear to indicate DQ for Guerrera throwing All Star into a ring post. Santo is furious and whips off Guerrera's mask himself, throwing it into the crowd. Plenty of chaotic fun.
El Hijo Del Santo & Atlantis vs Fuerza Guerrera & Lobo Rubio
Loved the opening matwork here, especailly Santo's dedication to holding Rubio down with a headscissors. Atlantis and Guerrera also work a really fluid mat section. A little frustration seems to be setting in with Guerrera and Rubio, as the technicos are a little to good for them. Santo hits a beautiful spinning armdrag on Guerrera. The first fall goes to Santo and Atlantis, as Santo hits a rolling senton from the top on Rubio, held in place by Atlantis who pins him.
The second fall has Atlantis outsmarting the rudos, sending them crashing into each other. The aggression really gets amped up by the rudos, who aren't able to outwrestlethem, so go for more punches and nasty impact moves. They seem to be working over each opponent in turn, weakening both. Both technicos take nasty spills to the floor and the rudos win the fall by countout.
The rudos start the third fall by diving onto the already-downed Atlantis. Momentum shifts again as Santo fires back on Guerrera with a big punch to a loud cheer and, as soon as all four are in the ring, the technicos are able to outwrestle their opponents again. The ending sees a bit of poetic justice, as Santo and Atlantis both hit sublime dives to the floor and win the decisive fall the way the rudos won the second, by countout.
El Hijo Del Santo vs Black Shadow Jr
This starts off with some lovely matwork. It felt like the proverbial game of human chess, as you could sense both guys trying to think of a counter as soon as they were getting put into holds. It felt like Santo just about has the upper hand, so it was no surprise when Shadow decided to heat things up a little, nailing two bulldogs and an inverted crab/double-underhook for the first fall.
Shadow wisely stays on the arm to start the second fall, but things start to speed up again, this time with Santo nailing two flying headscissors in succession. Shadow misses a corner charge and gets nailed with a Swanton to give fall two to Santo.
The third fall starts with a bang, as Shadow nails a pescado on Santo. Shadow then takes a nasty bump to the floor before Santo hits a suicide dive. We return to the ring in time for Santo to hit a snapmere from the top and lock in the Camel Clutch for the submission victory. Altogether decent, but felt a little rushed after the opening matwork.
El Hijo Del Santo vs Espanto Jr
This is a mask-vs-mask match, and takes place is a very darkly lit arena. The first fall ends pretty quickly in favour of Espanto, who tries to remove Santo's mask during the early going before settling for an early submission.
The start of the second fall is golden, as Santo kneels on the floor outside for quite a period of time. Partly through obvious discomfort, but also with the sense that he knows that he's only one fall away from losing his mask. Dozens of kids come up to him as well with reassuring pats on the shoulder, which only adds to the scene. As soon as Santo does get back in the ring, Espanto is right back on him, locking in a half crab then a stump puller to try and earn a submission. He's also vicious in going for the mask again, ripping at it to leave it half-hanging off the face of Santo. Santo is able to fire back with some kneelift and, as Espanto gets sent to the floor with an insane bump, Santo flies right out after him. Back in, a senton evens up the scores.
There are a few cuts in the third fall, but they don't take away from the majesty of what is to follow. Santo goes for a pair of bulldogs, but is just sent to the mat on the second one. Espanto is getting more desperate, and nails him with a chair outside the ring, then gnaws at cuts on Santo (due to the exposed flesh where the mask is ripped) as blood gushes down Santo's face. A senton misses and we cut to Santo ramming his head into the ringpost from the apron. Espanto comes SO close with a roll-up before getting sent from the ring. Espanto follows with an amazing suicide dive taking him off the screen, as he appears to leap into infinity. Santo returns fire with a huge dive from the top rope and inside, the Camel Clutch picks up the win for Santo. Man, this was SO much fun, a really heated, gory lucha brawl, and the effort and story told really put over the match stip.
El Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas
Another stipulation match, this time with Santo putting his mask up against the hair of Casas. The first fall is pretty brief, but features a nice feeling out process, and I really dig some of the headscissors' by Casas. Casas gets the first fall early with a moonsault press and a La Majistral cradle for the pin.
1-0 up, and Casas is acting pretty cocky, as he is all over Santo. Casas nails him with some lovely punches, but Santo is able to suddenly come back with a kneelift and lock in a surfboard for the submission to equalise.
The third fall sees Casas in control early again after a Santo flurry, and you sense him getting his swagger back. He has to be held back by the referee as he goes for Santo's mask. Santo gets some nearfalls off a few desperation rollups, before a swank cartwheel elbow down him again. A Santo suicide dive rams Casas into the steel railings, before Casas slips off the top rope attempting a dive. Santo takes advantage with a top rope senton for two and tries the Camel Clutch, which Casas frantically fights off. You feel the match slipping awat from Casas, as Santo takes him out with a top rope dive to the floor. Inside, Santo is able to stop a Casas comeback with a second rope electric chair, before lockingin the Camel Clutch (again fought by Casas) for the win. Another really fine, heated match, and I loved the two embracing in the ring before Casas' haircut.
El Hijo Del Santo, Super Astro & Blue Demon Jr vs All Star, Rocky Star & Fuerza Guerrera
Curious bout this, as it's billed as a team match as above, but all six guys seem to be fighting each other with the match having battle royal elimination rules. Of course, this does mean we get to see some ludicrous bumps on the eliminations. Astro gets thrown out by All Star, and then Blue Demon is hurled out with a big backdrop. Guerrera chucks Santo out and the two Stars team up to eliminate Guerrera. This leaves both Stars in the ring and referees come in to declare them both winners, even though they seem to want to fight each other. I assume something is said on commentary to explain that is lost in translation to myself.
El Hijo Del Santo & Fuerza Guerrera vs Rocky Star & All Star
Intereting match here, as neither side seems to like their partner. Santo does not seem impressed with the heeling of his partner and conversely Guerrera wont tag in Santo as he gets worked over by Rocky Star. Star then works over Guerrera, and Santo now wont tag into the match. All Star works over Guerrera and puts him in a submission hold whilst simultaneously trying to remove his mask, causing Guerrera to submit for the first fall
The second fall kicks off with Rocky Star trying to do the same to Santo, who elbows his way free and tries to take off Rocky's mask. Guerrera ends up in the ring with All Star and everything breaks down. At one point, Rocky Star seems to be trying to unmask his own partner. Santo also gets involved, and All Star is a bloody mess at this point. In the ring, a rana by Santo on Rocky Star looks to even the scores, but the referees give the fall (and the match) to the star team. Replays appear to indicate DQ for Guerrera throwing All Star into a ring post. Santo is furious and whips off Guerrera's mask himself, throwing it into the crowd. Plenty of chaotic fun.
Sunday, 26 October 2014
TNA Turning Point 2009
Another TNA DVD sent to me by Lovefilm. This show is from that period where Hulk Hogan was just about to come in and "shake things up", so because they didn't yet know the longterm direction of the company, they just put on a load of good matches instead. No surprises to learn this led to a pretty good show
Homicide vs Amazing Red
This is for Red's X Division championship, and the initial stages are all about Red using his speed to dominate Homicide, until he gets turned inside out by a Homicide clothesline. Homicide is tougher than Red, and uses this to control. Loved the big backbreaker, which looked super effective on the tiny Red, and the nasty streak of Homicide is shown via trash talking and kneeling with his leg over Red's throat (always a favourite spot). This does cost him, as Red is given time to recover and nail a springboard cutter. A cutter attempt by Homicide is blocked and Red hits a SSP straight away, again showing the speed advantage. Homicide gets two after catching a moonsaulting Red with a cutter, which doesn't quite connect cleanly, sadly. Red shoves Homicide down on a top rope rana attempt, and nails the Code Red from the second rope to win. Good logical match to open things up.
ODB, Sarita & Taylor Wilde vs Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky & Lacey Von Erich
The problem with this match is that two-thirds of the heel team aren't very good. Madison Rayne and Sarita do get to work a nice sequence together, but I suspect that it's because Madison is the only Beautiful Person who can keep up with her. The fans are all over poor Lacey every time she gets in the ring, offering up "You Can't Wrestle" chants as soon as she steps in between the ropes. ODB ends up alone with all three members of the BP in the ring, but takes them all out easily, finishing Rayne with a TKO.
The British Invasion vs the Motor City Machineguns vs Beer Money
Triple threat tag with only two men allowed in the ring at once. I like the smarts of the British Invasion here, allowing the two face teams to square off, waitng for the right moment to strike. It doesn't pay off, as the MCMG are all over Doug Williams when he blind tags in, and only the interference of Magnus allows him to turn the tide and make Sabin face in peril. I like the fact each team only tags in their own partners, meaning the outside team has to be more creative in finding ways into the match. Things, predictably, break down and the Invasion get quadruple teamed. The MCMG are soon out of the match, as a missed Sabin plancha and a big German suplex to Shelley put them down for the rest of the match. The end sees a classic Russo swerve, as Kevin Nash comes to the ring to seemingly stop Eric Young trying to interfere in the match, but he instead nails James Storm with a title belt, distracting Robert Roode for the Invasion to hit their double-team diving uppercut for the win. This was fine, but should have been better considering who was involved.
Tara vs Awesome Kong
This is a steel cage match from the period where Tara would come to the ring with that stupid spider. Ideally, the build-up to this match would have seen Kong squash the bug, like Earthquake squashing Damian. I liked the fact this match started with Tara taking the fight to Kong, not with dropkicks or clotheslines, but with punches right to the face. Kong hit the cage attempting the backfist, and Tara worked over the hand until Kong took over. They made use of the cage well, as Kong dominated Tara by first splashing her against the cage, then swinging her into the cage wall. Tara managed to regain control after reversing a second Kong suplex into a DDT. I enjoyed the scene where both ladies were sat on the top rope punching each other. Really good ending here, as Tara powerbombs Kong off the top turnbuckle for a two count, before deciding to climb out. At the top of the cage, however, she changes her mind and nails a Thesz press from the top of the cage to win. Really fun ten minute match.
Rhino & Team 3D vs Hernandez, D'Angelo Deniro & Matt Morgan
The face team aren't really showing much unity to start, as Deniro manages to distract Hernandez, which causes him to get attacked at the bell. Deniro then blind tags in to further upset his partner, but as he takes down Brother Ray and pummels him in the face, the resulting pop highlights him as the most over guy in the match. A Rhyno/Morgan section is surprisingly good and hard-hitting, before Deniro becomes face-in-peril. This was quite nicely done, as Deniro shoved Hernandez out of the ring to save him from the 3D, but this meant he got hit with a double-team neckbreaker. The heat section on Pope is pretty dull and a bit too restholdy, but things really hot up in the finishing stretch after he makes the tag. I loved the insane Hernandez dive to the outside, which looked great. The end saw Hernandez have Rhino up for the border toss, only for Devon to nail him in the ribs with a chair, allowing Rhino to hit the same ribs with a gore for three. Considering the participants, this was surprisingly good.
Scott Steiner vs Bobby Lashley
This has been built up by Steiner trying it on with Lashley's wife Krystal, and with Steiner coming to the ring with a picture of Krystal etched onto the crotch of his tights, you'd think this would be a really violent brawl. However, despite the no DQ stipulation, it never quite heats up as you'd like it too. Lashley looks good early on, with a nice T-bone suplex, but you never feel the hate. I did like Steiner taking control following 3 low blows. A top rope Frankensteiner looks off, thanks to Lashley almost sliding to the mat as Steiner gets into position. They brawl backstage, which heats things up a bit. Lashley suplexes Steiner through a table, but misses a spear into a big wooden crate. Even at this point, we get a bit too much wandering round and not enought violently beating, despite Steiner bleeding. The end sees Steiner nail Lashley in the head with a pipe to win, but this was a bit of a letdown.
Desmond Wolfe vs Kurt Angle
Can't help but feel a little underwhelmed by this match. I really like the initial parts, with Wolfe working over the arm of Angle in a number of ways, but things go slightly downhill when Wolfe gets over confident and Angle comes back into it. Angle hits an overhead belly-to-belly then SIX rolling Germans, which undoes all the good arm work done by Wolfe. No point in Wolfe trying to make Angle submit due to his arm if he's able to throw you over his head six times in a row with no worries. Wolfe does keep returning to the arm as his point of focus, though he mixes it up a bit to focus on Angle's neck with a DDT and the Tower of London, which gets him too. Angle clotheslines him down with the bad arm, making another Wolfe armbar pretty pointless. He's even able to get Wolfe up for a tombstone at one point, albeit one that Wolfe manages to reverse. Angle in turn reverses this into an anklelock, then counters a Wolfe reversal to lock in a side triangle choke for the immediate tap. Some of this was really good, especially some of the early matwork, but the non-selling of the arm really hurt it.
AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe
The crowd is hyped for this one. Really dug the early signs of familiarity, with Daniels breaking up a Joe attacking sequence midway through, and Styles knowing when to stop a Daniels dive to maximum effect. Styles and Joe both make elementary mistakes by locking in submission holds early, which leave them prone to attacks by the third man, whilst Daniels is smart enough to use a submission hold to tie up both men. There are, predictably, some really exciting sequences. I loved Joe kicking out AJ's leg to send him crashing onto the apron, which in turn leaves him prone for a Daniels suicide dive. I also loved Joe catching Styles from a Daniels monkey flip, then powerbombing him onto Daniels. What was great is that it really felt like guys actually trying to win, not just hitting pretty looking spots. The familiarity between the three means that it's logical for guys to have a counter for their signature moves. The is pretty logical, as the only way AJ can win is by taking out both guys at once - Daniels hits the BME on Joe, but AJ springboards in with a 450 to both men to pick up the pinfall on Joe. Really great main event.
Homicide vs Amazing Red
This is for Red's X Division championship, and the initial stages are all about Red using his speed to dominate Homicide, until he gets turned inside out by a Homicide clothesline. Homicide is tougher than Red, and uses this to control. Loved the big backbreaker, which looked super effective on the tiny Red, and the nasty streak of Homicide is shown via trash talking and kneeling with his leg over Red's throat (always a favourite spot). This does cost him, as Red is given time to recover and nail a springboard cutter. A cutter attempt by Homicide is blocked and Red hits a SSP straight away, again showing the speed advantage. Homicide gets two after catching a moonsaulting Red with a cutter, which doesn't quite connect cleanly, sadly. Red shoves Homicide down on a top rope rana attempt, and nails the Code Red from the second rope to win. Good logical match to open things up.
ODB, Sarita & Taylor Wilde vs Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky & Lacey Von Erich
The problem with this match is that two-thirds of the heel team aren't very good. Madison Rayne and Sarita do get to work a nice sequence together, but I suspect that it's because Madison is the only Beautiful Person who can keep up with her. The fans are all over poor Lacey every time she gets in the ring, offering up "You Can't Wrestle" chants as soon as she steps in between the ropes. ODB ends up alone with all three members of the BP in the ring, but takes them all out easily, finishing Rayne with a TKO.
The British Invasion vs the Motor City Machineguns vs Beer Money
Triple threat tag with only two men allowed in the ring at once. I like the smarts of the British Invasion here, allowing the two face teams to square off, waitng for the right moment to strike. It doesn't pay off, as the MCMG are all over Doug Williams when he blind tags in, and only the interference of Magnus allows him to turn the tide and make Sabin face in peril. I like the fact each team only tags in their own partners, meaning the outside team has to be more creative in finding ways into the match. Things, predictably, break down and the Invasion get quadruple teamed. The MCMG are soon out of the match, as a missed Sabin plancha and a big German suplex to Shelley put them down for the rest of the match. The end sees a classic Russo swerve, as Kevin Nash comes to the ring to seemingly stop Eric Young trying to interfere in the match, but he instead nails James Storm with a title belt, distracting Robert Roode for the Invasion to hit their double-team diving uppercut for the win. This was fine, but should have been better considering who was involved.
Tara vs Awesome Kong
This is a steel cage match from the period where Tara would come to the ring with that stupid spider. Ideally, the build-up to this match would have seen Kong squash the bug, like Earthquake squashing Damian. I liked the fact this match started with Tara taking the fight to Kong, not with dropkicks or clotheslines, but with punches right to the face. Kong hit the cage attempting the backfist, and Tara worked over the hand until Kong took over. They made use of the cage well, as Kong dominated Tara by first splashing her against the cage, then swinging her into the cage wall. Tara managed to regain control after reversing a second Kong suplex into a DDT. I enjoyed the scene where both ladies were sat on the top rope punching each other. Really good ending here, as Tara powerbombs Kong off the top turnbuckle for a two count, before deciding to climb out. At the top of the cage, however, she changes her mind and nails a Thesz press from the top of the cage to win. Really fun ten minute match.
Rhino & Team 3D vs Hernandez, D'Angelo Deniro & Matt Morgan
The face team aren't really showing much unity to start, as Deniro manages to distract Hernandez, which causes him to get attacked at the bell. Deniro then blind tags in to further upset his partner, but as he takes down Brother Ray and pummels him in the face, the resulting pop highlights him as the most over guy in the match. A Rhyno/Morgan section is surprisingly good and hard-hitting, before Deniro becomes face-in-peril. This was quite nicely done, as Deniro shoved Hernandez out of the ring to save him from the 3D, but this meant he got hit with a double-team neckbreaker. The heat section on Pope is pretty dull and a bit too restholdy, but things really hot up in the finishing stretch after he makes the tag. I loved the insane Hernandez dive to the outside, which looked great. The end saw Hernandez have Rhino up for the border toss, only for Devon to nail him in the ribs with a chair, allowing Rhino to hit the same ribs with a gore for three. Considering the participants, this was surprisingly good.
Scott Steiner vs Bobby Lashley
This has been built up by Steiner trying it on with Lashley's wife Krystal, and with Steiner coming to the ring with a picture of Krystal etched onto the crotch of his tights, you'd think this would be a really violent brawl. However, despite the no DQ stipulation, it never quite heats up as you'd like it too. Lashley looks good early on, with a nice T-bone suplex, but you never feel the hate. I did like Steiner taking control following 3 low blows. A top rope Frankensteiner looks off, thanks to Lashley almost sliding to the mat as Steiner gets into position. They brawl backstage, which heats things up a bit. Lashley suplexes Steiner through a table, but misses a spear into a big wooden crate. Even at this point, we get a bit too much wandering round and not enought violently beating, despite Steiner bleeding. The end sees Steiner nail Lashley in the head with a pipe to win, but this was a bit of a letdown.
Desmond Wolfe vs Kurt Angle
Can't help but feel a little underwhelmed by this match. I really like the initial parts, with Wolfe working over the arm of Angle in a number of ways, but things go slightly downhill when Wolfe gets over confident and Angle comes back into it. Angle hits an overhead belly-to-belly then SIX rolling Germans, which undoes all the good arm work done by Wolfe. No point in Wolfe trying to make Angle submit due to his arm if he's able to throw you over his head six times in a row with no worries. Wolfe does keep returning to the arm as his point of focus, though he mixes it up a bit to focus on Angle's neck with a DDT and the Tower of London, which gets him too. Angle clotheslines him down with the bad arm, making another Wolfe armbar pretty pointless. He's even able to get Wolfe up for a tombstone at one point, albeit one that Wolfe manages to reverse. Angle in turn reverses this into an anklelock, then counters a Wolfe reversal to lock in a side triangle choke for the immediate tap. Some of this was really good, especially some of the early matwork, but the non-selling of the arm really hurt it.
AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe
The crowd is hyped for this one. Really dug the early signs of familiarity, with Daniels breaking up a Joe attacking sequence midway through, and Styles knowing when to stop a Daniels dive to maximum effect. Styles and Joe both make elementary mistakes by locking in submission holds early, which leave them prone to attacks by the third man, whilst Daniels is smart enough to use a submission hold to tie up both men. There are, predictably, some really exciting sequences. I loved Joe kicking out AJ's leg to send him crashing onto the apron, which in turn leaves him prone for a Daniels suicide dive. I also loved Joe catching Styles from a Daniels monkey flip, then powerbombing him onto Daniels. What was great is that it really felt like guys actually trying to win, not just hitting pretty looking spots. The familiarity between the three means that it's logical for guys to have a counter for their signature moves. The is pretty logical, as the only way AJ can win is by taking out both guys at once - Daniels hits the BME on Joe, but AJ springboards in with a 450 to both men to pick up the pinfall on Joe. Really great main event.
Monday, 13 October 2014
Necro Butcher - Choose Death
After that fucking terrible XPW tape I reviewed last time, it was nice to receive this Necro Butcher comp from Lovefilm. My XPW negativity may give them impression that I hate hardcore or deathmatch wrestling, but done well it's a type of wrestling I do really enjoy. Thankfully, Necro is better at it than most, and this is a largely fun set of matches.
Necro Butcher vs "Mean" Mitch Page
I've never seen Page before, despite watching a good few IWA-Mid South tapes in the early 2000's, so he was new to me. It was a good first impression, as I really dug this. Within a minute, Necro hurls himself without abandon from the top rope into Page and two rows of chairs. What I enjoyed is that this felt like a real fight, with the exception of Page hitting a Rocker Dropper onto a pile of lightbulbs. The bulk of the match was the two guys leathering each other with weapons or hurling the other into things, and there were no cutesy or over-complicated weapon set ups. I loved a big suplex by Necro into another row of chairs and the spectacular image of fans having to runs to avoid getting nailed with a ladder than Page hurled towards the Butcher. The end spots were goofy, but fun. First Necro set fire to his fucking leg before hitting a second rope legdrop. He only got two, probably because he had to put his leg out before going for the pin. Page ended up winning, after setting fire to a towel around his head and hitting a top rope flaming headbutt to win. Good stuff.
Necro Butcher vs Ian Rotten
I enjoyed this far less. I find I enjoy Ian more in his straight-up wrestling matches than his hardcore stuff. Ian is bleeding before the match even starts. To start off, they just exchange blows and strikes, which is pretty fun, before Ian waffles Necro with a tack-covered bat. This leaves an impressive looking sheen of silver tacks embedded in Butcher's head. Despite there being more weapons used than the Page match, this felt less violent, less like they were hurting each other to win a fight and more like they were moving on to the next weapon spot. They also included the hardcore spots I hate most, where guys mutilate their opponent rather than try and hurt them to win, like wrapping them in barb wire or trying to carve them with broken glass. Eventually, they just move onto the finish with no build-up, as Rotten clumsily powerbombs Necro neck first onto the edge of a flaming table. Not good.
Necro Butcher vs 2 Tuff Tony
This doesn't take long to heat up, with Necro getting slammed from the apron onto lightbulbs within two minutes. They recklessly exchange bulb shots in front of the crowd, before heading back in to allow Necro to pretend to staplegun Tony's penis. Butcher uses a nice tigerbomb (wrestling move!), before Tony hits an MK Ultra on some bulbs, which is somehow only a 2. We get a lovely shot in the crowd of a father carrying a small child, whilst in front of them 2 Tuff Tony powerslams Necro onto the ring steps. In the ring, Tony totally takes over and keeps hammering Necro with bulbs, including smashing a bulb in Necro's mouth. So nasty. This gives Tony time to set up a board with more bulbs and barbed wire outside the ring, but Butcher is able to reverse a suplex attempt. Butcher goes for his own suplex from the apron, pretty much misses the board but still picks up the win.
Necro Butcher vs Mad Man Pondo
This match is pretty lightbulb heavy, what with the ropes being covered with them. It gets pretty ridiculous really quickly as the ring is soon covered with broken glass, the match soundtracked by the crunching of glass as they try to move around the ring. Pondo spends a lot of time trying to create structures to throw Butcher through, with every successful move buying him more time to build a fancier structure. Highlights include a horrifically sloppy DDT from the top by Pondo onto a bridge of bulbs over two chairs, a bloodsoaked Butcher hurling Pondo from the top rope like a javellin into a bin full of lightbulbs and a nasty looking senton by Pondo through lightbulbs onto Butcher. The end sees Pondo set up his most ridiculous structure yet, with bulbs wedged between two ladders, barely staying up, before superplexing Necro's near lifeless body into it (not through it, due to lack of elevation) for the win. The camera zooms in on Necro's arm just spewing blood, with a big chunk of flesh hanging off as someone yells for an ambulance. A remarkable spectacle.
Necro Butcher vs JC Bailey
This is a CZW match, but because it's "unsanctioned", it's held in the basement of the arena with no fans present. There is a barbed wire cage set up, with a belt hanging above it, with the winner being the first man to grab the belt. Necro doesn't even wait for Bailey to get to the cage, battering him with some nasty strikes. Bailey is smaller than Necro, so relies on both his speed and some convenient weapons to get an advantage. Bailey ramming Necro with a shopping trolley with lightbulbs taped to the front is pretty choice. In the cage, Necro takes more punishment, until hitting a double powerbomb, first into the side of the cage (smashing some conveniently placed lightbulbs), then into the mat. Like the Mitch Page match, this feels like a real nasty fight, with the bare minimum of setting up of weapons as most are already in place. When Bailey does takes some time to set up a pane of glass over the Butcher, it backfires, as Necro hurls him off the top and smashes the glass. The end sees Bailey set a load of bulbs over Necro, hit a big senton from the top, then climb the cage to take the title. Lots of fun
Necro Butcher vs Toby Klein
This is fantastic. Again, as with the best matches on this disc, there was a minimum of setting up complex spots, and more beating the other man up. I loved the use of strikes here, as both guys were content to exchange blows, with a few brutal looking punch exchanges having a palpable feeling of hate. The weapons shots seemed nastier than usual too, with Klein hurling a bulky old PC monitor at Butcher's head, and later pouring salt all over the wounds of Necro. A powerbomb off the bleachers to the floor by Klein was also tough-looking. Necro pulled a few shocks out of the bag too, first reversing a sunset flip powerpomb attempt with an unlikely flying headscissors to the floor, then barely glancing Klein with an insane flip dive from the top rope. The end sees Necro lock in an Asiatic spike sleeper, but a ref bump means the ref misses the tapout. A schoolboy by Klein nearly wins the match in the most unlikely way possible, but he finally gets the job done for real with a death valley driver onto an open chair.
Necro Butcher vs Corporal Robinson vs Brandon Prophet
This is a triple threat, with the guys who don't get pinned going through to the next round of a tournament. We kick off with Corp beating Prophet with weapons. This does feel like an initiation for Prophet, especially as this is pretty much a handicap match. Corp and Necro never tangle here. We get three chairs set up for a three-way punch-out, with Corp and Necro's punches on Prophet looking more impressive than his attempts. The veterans take it in turn to drop Prophet onto chairs. Necro spits lemon juice into Prophet's wounds, which has to suck. Prophet is made to look super tough, surviving a few nasty shots (including a piledriver onto a VCR) and he gets a two count by hitting a fisherman's suplex on Corp onto the lightbulbs. However, Necro breaks it up, despite not being out of the tournament if Corp gets pinned, so you can tell it's Prophet vs the world. In the end, Necro nails Prophet with a load of punches and Corp hits Boot Camp through a box coated with lightbulbs and barbed wire. This finishes Prophet. Pretty good fun.
Necro Butcher vs Tank
The majority of this match is the two big guys exchanging big punches, which is pretty fun. We get the seated slugfest, before Tank beats up Necro outside the ring. Necro returns the favour by lobbing chairs at a downed Tank, before the two get into another kneeling slugfest. Inside the ring, Tank nails Necro with more light-tubes and keeps up the assault. He hits a 2nd rope stomp through light-tubes for two, but a second attempt gets the win. I loved the punching, but it dragged a bit towards the end.
Necro Butcher vs "Mean" Mitch Page
I've never seen Page before, despite watching a good few IWA-Mid South tapes in the early 2000's, so he was new to me. It was a good first impression, as I really dug this. Within a minute, Necro hurls himself without abandon from the top rope into Page and two rows of chairs. What I enjoyed is that this felt like a real fight, with the exception of Page hitting a Rocker Dropper onto a pile of lightbulbs. The bulk of the match was the two guys leathering each other with weapons or hurling the other into things, and there were no cutesy or over-complicated weapon set ups. I loved a big suplex by Necro into another row of chairs and the spectacular image of fans having to runs to avoid getting nailed with a ladder than Page hurled towards the Butcher. The end spots were goofy, but fun. First Necro set fire to his fucking leg before hitting a second rope legdrop. He only got two, probably because he had to put his leg out before going for the pin. Page ended up winning, after setting fire to a towel around his head and hitting a top rope flaming headbutt to win. Good stuff.
Necro Butcher vs Ian Rotten
I enjoyed this far less. I find I enjoy Ian more in his straight-up wrestling matches than his hardcore stuff. Ian is bleeding before the match even starts. To start off, they just exchange blows and strikes, which is pretty fun, before Ian waffles Necro with a tack-covered bat. This leaves an impressive looking sheen of silver tacks embedded in Butcher's head. Despite there being more weapons used than the Page match, this felt less violent, less like they were hurting each other to win a fight and more like they were moving on to the next weapon spot. They also included the hardcore spots I hate most, where guys mutilate their opponent rather than try and hurt them to win, like wrapping them in barb wire or trying to carve them with broken glass. Eventually, they just move onto the finish with no build-up, as Rotten clumsily powerbombs Necro neck first onto the edge of a flaming table. Not good.
Necro Butcher vs 2 Tuff Tony
This doesn't take long to heat up, with Necro getting slammed from the apron onto lightbulbs within two minutes. They recklessly exchange bulb shots in front of the crowd, before heading back in to allow Necro to pretend to staplegun Tony's penis. Butcher uses a nice tigerbomb (wrestling move!), before Tony hits an MK Ultra on some bulbs, which is somehow only a 2. We get a lovely shot in the crowd of a father carrying a small child, whilst in front of them 2 Tuff Tony powerslams Necro onto the ring steps. In the ring, Tony totally takes over and keeps hammering Necro with bulbs, including smashing a bulb in Necro's mouth. So nasty. This gives Tony time to set up a board with more bulbs and barbed wire outside the ring, but Butcher is able to reverse a suplex attempt. Butcher goes for his own suplex from the apron, pretty much misses the board but still picks up the win.
Necro Butcher vs Mad Man Pondo
This match is pretty lightbulb heavy, what with the ropes being covered with them. It gets pretty ridiculous really quickly as the ring is soon covered with broken glass, the match soundtracked by the crunching of glass as they try to move around the ring. Pondo spends a lot of time trying to create structures to throw Butcher through, with every successful move buying him more time to build a fancier structure. Highlights include a horrifically sloppy DDT from the top by Pondo onto a bridge of bulbs over two chairs, a bloodsoaked Butcher hurling Pondo from the top rope like a javellin into a bin full of lightbulbs and a nasty looking senton by Pondo through lightbulbs onto Butcher. The end sees Pondo set up his most ridiculous structure yet, with bulbs wedged between two ladders, barely staying up, before superplexing Necro's near lifeless body into it (not through it, due to lack of elevation) for the win. The camera zooms in on Necro's arm just spewing blood, with a big chunk of flesh hanging off as someone yells for an ambulance. A remarkable spectacle.
Necro Butcher vs JC Bailey
This is a CZW match, but because it's "unsanctioned", it's held in the basement of the arena with no fans present. There is a barbed wire cage set up, with a belt hanging above it, with the winner being the first man to grab the belt. Necro doesn't even wait for Bailey to get to the cage, battering him with some nasty strikes. Bailey is smaller than Necro, so relies on both his speed and some convenient weapons to get an advantage. Bailey ramming Necro with a shopping trolley with lightbulbs taped to the front is pretty choice. In the cage, Necro takes more punishment, until hitting a double powerbomb, first into the side of the cage (smashing some conveniently placed lightbulbs), then into the mat. Like the Mitch Page match, this feels like a real nasty fight, with the bare minimum of setting up of weapons as most are already in place. When Bailey does takes some time to set up a pane of glass over the Butcher, it backfires, as Necro hurls him off the top and smashes the glass. The end sees Bailey set a load of bulbs over Necro, hit a big senton from the top, then climb the cage to take the title. Lots of fun
Necro Butcher vs Toby Klein
This is fantastic. Again, as with the best matches on this disc, there was a minimum of setting up complex spots, and more beating the other man up. I loved the use of strikes here, as both guys were content to exchange blows, with a few brutal looking punch exchanges having a palpable feeling of hate. The weapons shots seemed nastier than usual too, with Klein hurling a bulky old PC monitor at Butcher's head, and later pouring salt all over the wounds of Necro. A powerbomb off the bleachers to the floor by Klein was also tough-looking. Necro pulled a few shocks out of the bag too, first reversing a sunset flip powerpomb attempt with an unlikely flying headscissors to the floor, then barely glancing Klein with an insane flip dive from the top rope. The end sees Necro lock in an Asiatic spike sleeper, but a ref bump means the ref misses the tapout. A schoolboy by Klein nearly wins the match in the most unlikely way possible, but he finally gets the job done for real with a death valley driver onto an open chair.
Necro Butcher vs Corporal Robinson vs Brandon Prophet
This is a triple threat, with the guys who don't get pinned going through to the next round of a tournament. We kick off with Corp beating Prophet with weapons. This does feel like an initiation for Prophet, especially as this is pretty much a handicap match. Corp and Necro never tangle here. We get three chairs set up for a three-way punch-out, with Corp and Necro's punches on Prophet looking more impressive than his attempts. The veterans take it in turn to drop Prophet onto chairs. Necro spits lemon juice into Prophet's wounds, which has to suck. Prophet is made to look super tough, surviving a few nasty shots (including a piledriver onto a VCR) and he gets a two count by hitting a fisherman's suplex on Corp onto the lightbulbs. However, Necro breaks it up, despite not being out of the tournament if Corp gets pinned, so you can tell it's Prophet vs the world. In the end, Necro nails Prophet with a load of punches and Corp hits Boot Camp through a box coated with lightbulbs and barbed wire. This finishes Prophet. Pretty good fun.
Necro Butcher vs Tank
The majority of this match is the two big guys exchanging big punches, which is pretty fun. We get the seated slugfest, before Tank beats up Necro outside the ring. Necro returns the favour by lobbing chairs at a downed Tank, before the two get into another kneeling slugfest. Inside the ring, Tank nails Necro with more light-tubes and keeps up the assault. He hits a 2nd rope stomp through light-tubes for two, but a second attempt gets the win. I loved the punching, but it dragged a bit towards the end.
Wednesday, 1 October 2014
XPW FreeFall
Sometimes, I hate wrestling
Scott Snot vs Vinny Massaro
Ever wanted to hear a joke beaten into the ground? At the start of this match, commentator Kriss Kloss doesn't know who Massaro is, so only refers to him as "Spagettios" for the whole match, despite his name being announced by the ring announcer. This isn't very good, as Snot is pretty poor. A poor bump off a Massaro kick sees him getting booed, and his offence is weak, including a soft looking bulldog. Massaro is better, with non-flashy, but effective moves, and he nicely folds up Snot on a belly-to-back suplex. Snot gets 2 on a Tomikaze, but Massaro picks up the win with a swank pump handle pile driver.
Evan Karagias vs Psychosis
Karagias is brought out as the new client of heel manager Kevin Kleinrock as his other client, the prissy Preston Ascott III is injured. Despite this, Karagias wrestles like a face, hitting a plancha after Psychosis bails to the floor, whilst Psychosis wrestles like a heel, hitting a low blow to take over, then picking up Karagias at 2 on a pin. Baffling. They then switch rolls, with Karagias doing a sexy dance to rile the crowd. Decent German suplex by Karagias. This is pretty sloppy on the part of both however, they just don't seem to be in tune. Nutty bump from Psychosis, as he slingshots from the ring to the floor with an elbow drop. The end sees Kleinrock distract Karagias by offering him a chair as he goes to the top. This allows Psychosis to recover and throw him from the top, before hitting a top rope legdrop to win. A bit of a letdown, as I hoped Psychosis could get something out of Karagias.
D vs Pogo the Clown
D comes to the ring slapping hands with the fans...then cuts a promo slagging them off, as no-one in XPW fucking understands heels and faces in wrestling. Kriss Kloss seems shocked by the wrestling "skills" of Pogo, as he throws some shitty armdrags. Despite Pogo's ineptness, this turns into a presentable big-vs-little match, as all Pogo has to do is stand there whilst the more able D throws himself at the clumsy clown. Pogo is in control following a missed D splash, before the ring gets surrounded by a group of unknown guys. Pogo and D both wield chairs to protect themselves, before D "shockingly" turns on the man he's just been fighting. This is all set up for an invasion storyline with D's old SCCW promotion. Of course, Kloss being the worst commentator ever puts over the threat of this new union by referring to them as jobbers and backyarders. Match was watchable, almost solely due to D.
Kaos vs Angel
Kaos is defending his TV title here in a gauntlet, and is accompanied by his stablemates GQ Money and Veronica Caine of the Enterprise. Despite a little hesitancy between both guys, this is worked at a good pace and is a decent little match. A crossbody to the floor by Angel is particularly good before Kaos wins with a piledriver from a powerbomb position. What is less good is that Angel's "hardcore homo" gimmick allows Kloss to crack "hilarious" gay jokes on commentary.
Kaos vs Chris Hamrick
In a terrible display of booking, the heel is at a disadvantage due to having just wrestled. Hamrick uses his veteran skills and freshness to dominate before a trademark bump through the ropes. He then takes another, more nuts bump by flipping backfirst onto the floor when dropkicked off the apron. Kaos wisely works over the back by whipping Hamrick into the railings, but Hamrick recovers and in a big spot hits a Van Terminator across the ring to dropkick a chair into the face of Kaos, who is still on the floor outside. Hamrick is doing everything he can to make this match memorable. The top rope legdrop only gets two. GQ Money takes advantage of a ref distraction to knock Hamrick off the top rope, and Kaos nails a top rope gourdbuster for the win. Easily the most entertaining match of the card thus far.
Kaos vs NOSAWA
NOSAWA schools the exhausted Kaos for a bit, before Kaos decides to totally non-sell his previous matches, and bounds around the ring, springboarding hither and thither. This match is an utter mess, with outside interference and belt shots in front of the ref, who seemingly couldn't care less. Kaos gets a blockbuster to win this gauntlet.
Juventud Guerrera vs Mosco De La Merced
This match is set up by Juvi turning on his La Familia stablemates (Psychosis, Halloween, Damien 666 and Merced) to join Rob Black's Black Army faction. This is all Juvi early on, even getting the highspot with a big plancha. The face Merced does get his own spot to shine, with a nutty diving swanton to the floor. Juvi nails two powerbombs and a weak chairshot, but these two don't seem to be clicking. A swift Juvi Driver ends a total squash.
Veronica Caine vs Lizzy Borden
Fuck me, Kloss makes the WORST fucking noises every time he sees a woman, making groaning noises like a confused virgin. This is a buck naked lumberjack paddle match, with the aim being to strip your opponent totally naked. Both are heels, accompanied by heel stables at ringside (the Black Army for Borden, the Enterprise for Caine). Rob Black bans the Enterprise from ringside, before we get to this appalling match. Weak wrestling starts off before it devolves to it's natural state as a catfight. The bout clearly only exists for titilation, with the crowd knowing that Black being a pornographer means there is a very good chance of actually seeing someone naked. But no, as Borden is about to remove Caine's top, the lights go out to a big groan from the crowd and they come back on to find Caine gone. Terrible booking. Afterwards, GQ Money cuts a promo lambasting the crowd and taking credit for turning off the lights. So the feud between the two heel stables continues. WHO THE FUCK IS THE AUDIENCE SUPPOSED TO BE CHEERING FOR?!?!
Steve Rizzono vs a Monkey
So right after being part of a major heel angle as part of the Enterprise, Rizzono is facing...a man dressed as a monkey. I say this, but Kloss spends the entire bloody match yelling "Rizzono is facing a real monkey! An actual monkey from a zoo!" like an unbearable berk. This is another largely pointless match, with the monkey controlling with some weak offence before winning with a facebuster. Afterwards, Rizzono gets beaten to shit by a mysterious masked man.
Webb vs GQ Money
Webb is dressed like karate Elvis and, by virute of GQ Money being an appalling irritant, is the more sympathetic character. Money is not much of a physical threat to Webb, so sneak attacks to gain an advantage. Neither guy exactly carries themself like world championship material, but I thought Webb looked pretty decent in places. I really liked him chaining from a side-Russian legsweep into an armbar/headscissors. They don't quite click in the match, with awkward moments like Webb watching GQ position himself on the top rope and hitting a move on him, and not trying to counter it due to mistiming when he would turn around. Money misses a terrible looking spinny top rop legdrop and Webb goes to work. I liked the snap he put into a spinning uranage, before tapping GQ Money out with a rear choke. Afterwards, the Black Army cut off Money's thinning hair.
The Sandman vs Supreme
This was set up by an earlier heel promo by Sandman, proclaiming himself a big star, before Supreme challenged him to fight for the Deathmatch title. Sandman is avoiding the hardcore style, so goes to the mat with a headlock on Supreme. I've commented in the past how I liked the way Supreme built towards barbed wire spots, but here he just hurls Sandman in the first few minutes. Sandman is happy to go outside to stall, so Supreme baseball dropkicks him into some more barbed wire outside the ring in a decent spot. Sandman starts using weapons himself, setting up a bed of thumbtacks that he ends up getting slammed into himself. Supreme goes up top, but the Enterprise, all fully recovered from their very recent beatings, interfere. A sloppy looking three-man cutter onto the tacks gifts Sandman the win. Not very good.
New Jack vs Vic Grimes
Right, this match is probably the most famous in XPW history, and not for the right reasons. This is the FreeFall match, a scaffold 40ft in the air with 12 tables stacked in the ring (four tables high, three tables across) with the aim being to through your opponent from the scaffold to the ring. So the story goes, New Jack hadn't forgiven Grimes for the incident at ECW Living Dangerously 2000, which left him temporarily blinded, and plotted him revenge for this match. Of which more later...
The match itself is largely awful, just two guys hitting each other with the odd weapon shot or walking around the ring punching each other. It features a lot of my least favourite hardcore match feature, the "weapon that will make you bleed and scar you, but isn't going to win you the match". Stuff like staple guns, forks or, in this case, pizza cutters, which I'm sure would really hurt, but would mutilate the opponent rather than incapacitate him. Hate that stuff. Eventually, they stop fighting and decide to slowly climb opposite sides of the scaffold. They brawl for a bit more up there, before Jack brings out a tazer. After a few tazer shots, he throws Grimes off the balcony, sending him off course so he only just grazes one of the top tables and bounces off the top rope in a truly horrifying scene. Honestly, Grimes was very lucky not to be seriously hurt or even dead, and it's really uncomfortable to watch. In a way, the perfect metaphor for this horrific show.
Scott Snot vs Vinny Massaro
Ever wanted to hear a joke beaten into the ground? At the start of this match, commentator Kriss Kloss doesn't know who Massaro is, so only refers to him as "Spagettios" for the whole match, despite his name being announced by the ring announcer. This isn't very good, as Snot is pretty poor. A poor bump off a Massaro kick sees him getting booed, and his offence is weak, including a soft looking bulldog. Massaro is better, with non-flashy, but effective moves, and he nicely folds up Snot on a belly-to-back suplex. Snot gets 2 on a Tomikaze, but Massaro picks up the win with a swank pump handle pile driver.
Evan Karagias vs Psychosis
Karagias is brought out as the new client of heel manager Kevin Kleinrock as his other client, the prissy Preston Ascott III is injured. Despite this, Karagias wrestles like a face, hitting a plancha after Psychosis bails to the floor, whilst Psychosis wrestles like a heel, hitting a low blow to take over, then picking up Karagias at 2 on a pin. Baffling. They then switch rolls, with Karagias doing a sexy dance to rile the crowd. Decent German suplex by Karagias. This is pretty sloppy on the part of both however, they just don't seem to be in tune. Nutty bump from Psychosis, as he slingshots from the ring to the floor with an elbow drop. The end sees Kleinrock distract Karagias by offering him a chair as he goes to the top. This allows Psychosis to recover and throw him from the top, before hitting a top rope legdrop to win. A bit of a letdown, as I hoped Psychosis could get something out of Karagias.
D vs Pogo the Clown
D comes to the ring slapping hands with the fans...then cuts a promo slagging them off, as no-one in XPW fucking understands heels and faces in wrestling. Kriss Kloss seems shocked by the wrestling "skills" of Pogo, as he throws some shitty armdrags. Despite Pogo's ineptness, this turns into a presentable big-vs-little match, as all Pogo has to do is stand there whilst the more able D throws himself at the clumsy clown. Pogo is in control following a missed D splash, before the ring gets surrounded by a group of unknown guys. Pogo and D both wield chairs to protect themselves, before D "shockingly" turns on the man he's just been fighting. This is all set up for an invasion storyline with D's old SCCW promotion. Of course, Kloss being the worst commentator ever puts over the threat of this new union by referring to them as jobbers and backyarders. Match was watchable, almost solely due to D.
Kaos vs Angel
Kaos is defending his TV title here in a gauntlet, and is accompanied by his stablemates GQ Money and Veronica Caine of the Enterprise. Despite a little hesitancy between both guys, this is worked at a good pace and is a decent little match. A crossbody to the floor by Angel is particularly good before Kaos wins with a piledriver from a powerbomb position. What is less good is that Angel's "hardcore homo" gimmick allows Kloss to crack "hilarious" gay jokes on commentary.
Kaos vs Chris Hamrick
In a terrible display of booking, the heel is at a disadvantage due to having just wrestled. Hamrick uses his veteran skills and freshness to dominate before a trademark bump through the ropes. He then takes another, more nuts bump by flipping backfirst onto the floor when dropkicked off the apron. Kaos wisely works over the back by whipping Hamrick into the railings, but Hamrick recovers and in a big spot hits a Van Terminator across the ring to dropkick a chair into the face of Kaos, who is still on the floor outside. Hamrick is doing everything he can to make this match memorable. The top rope legdrop only gets two. GQ Money takes advantage of a ref distraction to knock Hamrick off the top rope, and Kaos nails a top rope gourdbuster for the win. Easily the most entertaining match of the card thus far.
Kaos vs NOSAWA
NOSAWA schools the exhausted Kaos for a bit, before Kaos decides to totally non-sell his previous matches, and bounds around the ring, springboarding hither and thither. This match is an utter mess, with outside interference and belt shots in front of the ref, who seemingly couldn't care less. Kaos gets a blockbuster to win this gauntlet.
Juventud Guerrera vs Mosco De La Merced
This match is set up by Juvi turning on his La Familia stablemates (Psychosis, Halloween, Damien 666 and Merced) to join Rob Black's Black Army faction. This is all Juvi early on, even getting the highspot with a big plancha. The face Merced does get his own spot to shine, with a nutty diving swanton to the floor. Juvi nails two powerbombs and a weak chairshot, but these two don't seem to be clicking. A swift Juvi Driver ends a total squash.
Veronica Caine vs Lizzy Borden
Fuck me, Kloss makes the WORST fucking noises every time he sees a woman, making groaning noises like a confused virgin. This is a buck naked lumberjack paddle match, with the aim being to strip your opponent totally naked. Both are heels, accompanied by heel stables at ringside (the Black Army for Borden, the Enterprise for Caine). Rob Black bans the Enterprise from ringside, before we get to this appalling match. Weak wrestling starts off before it devolves to it's natural state as a catfight. The bout clearly only exists for titilation, with the crowd knowing that Black being a pornographer means there is a very good chance of actually seeing someone naked. But no, as Borden is about to remove Caine's top, the lights go out to a big groan from the crowd and they come back on to find Caine gone. Terrible booking. Afterwards, GQ Money cuts a promo lambasting the crowd and taking credit for turning off the lights. So the feud between the two heel stables continues. WHO THE FUCK IS THE AUDIENCE SUPPOSED TO BE CHEERING FOR?!?!
Steve Rizzono vs a Monkey
So right after being part of a major heel angle as part of the Enterprise, Rizzono is facing...a man dressed as a monkey. I say this, but Kloss spends the entire bloody match yelling "Rizzono is facing a real monkey! An actual monkey from a zoo!" like an unbearable berk. This is another largely pointless match, with the monkey controlling with some weak offence before winning with a facebuster. Afterwards, Rizzono gets beaten to shit by a mysterious masked man.
Webb vs GQ Money
Webb is dressed like karate Elvis and, by virute of GQ Money being an appalling irritant, is the more sympathetic character. Money is not much of a physical threat to Webb, so sneak attacks to gain an advantage. Neither guy exactly carries themself like world championship material, but I thought Webb looked pretty decent in places. I really liked him chaining from a side-Russian legsweep into an armbar/headscissors. They don't quite click in the match, with awkward moments like Webb watching GQ position himself on the top rope and hitting a move on him, and not trying to counter it due to mistiming when he would turn around. Money misses a terrible looking spinny top rop legdrop and Webb goes to work. I liked the snap he put into a spinning uranage, before tapping GQ Money out with a rear choke. Afterwards, the Black Army cut off Money's thinning hair.
The Sandman vs Supreme
This was set up by an earlier heel promo by Sandman, proclaiming himself a big star, before Supreme challenged him to fight for the Deathmatch title. Sandman is avoiding the hardcore style, so goes to the mat with a headlock on Supreme. I've commented in the past how I liked the way Supreme built towards barbed wire spots, but here he just hurls Sandman in the first few minutes. Sandman is happy to go outside to stall, so Supreme baseball dropkicks him into some more barbed wire outside the ring in a decent spot. Sandman starts using weapons himself, setting up a bed of thumbtacks that he ends up getting slammed into himself. Supreme goes up top, but the Enterprise, all fully recovered from their very recent beatings, interfere. A sloppy looking three-man cutter onto the tacks gifts Sandman the win. Not very good.
New Jack vs Vic Grimes
Right, this match is probably the most famous in XPW history, and not for the right reasons. This is the FreeFall match, a scaffold 40ft in the air with 12 tables stacked in the ring (four tables high, three tables across) with the aim being to through your opponent from the scaffold to the ring. So the story goes, New Jack hadn't forgiven Grimes for the incident at ECW Living Dangerously 2000, which left him temporarily blinded, and plotted him revenge for this match. Of which more later...
The match itself is largely awful, just two guys hitting each other with the odd weapon shot or walking around the ring punching each other. It features a lot of my least favourite hardcore match feature, the "weapon that will make you bleed and scar you, but isn't going to win you the match". Stuff like staple guns, forks or, in this case, pizza cutters, which I'm sure would really hurt, but would mutilate the opponent rather than incapacitate him. Hate that stuff. Eventually, they stop fighting and decide to slowly climb opposite sides of the scaffold. They brawl for a bit more up there, before Jack brings out a tazer. After a few tazer shots, he throws Grimes off the balcony, sending him off course so he only just grazes one of the top tables and bounces off the top rope in a truly horrifying scene. Honestly, Grimes was very lucky not to be seriously hurt or even dead, and it's really uncomfortable to watch. In a way, the perfect metaphor for this horrific show.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)