Indy Wrestling Express

Thanks very much to Tony from http://www.shiningwizards.com for another great review. This one is from Pro Wrestling Syndicate: Refuse 2 Lose 2012, which took place on Friday the 4th of May. I’ll hand you over to him: 

I went to the PWS Refuse to Lose show in Rahway Friday night with my friend Pete and his nine year old son Pete. Here is what went down.

We arrived at the building around seven or so. There was a line for Bret Hart out the door, which meant he was there, which was a good thing. However, if he wasn’t there I was hoping we could all get his number and call him. But I’m glad he showed up. There were a few wrestlers in the lobby taking photos and selling stuff. Pretty much the same guys from last the show in March…however…there was one…one Wrestler that I didn’t remember seeing at the last show. Surrounded by fans…it was Virgil. This made me happy. For some reason I always got a kick out of Virgil. So that was a treat. Anyway, onto the show.

There were a few Prelim matches with some guys I didn’t catch the names of, but they were all pretty good. Pat Buck was in one of them, I believe it was a tournament match of some sort. He won and slapped little Pete’s hand which made him happy. Later on in the night Bret Hart bopped little Pete in the head which made Pete and I happy.

The REAL show began around 8:15 with Reality Check hitting the ring and Jay Lethal cutting an awesome heel promo. He makes a great heel. However, I thought it would be pretty damn cool if he was Black Machismo King and wore a crown while playing a heel. But either way Jay does the heel bit well. Even Red looked like a cocky arrogant SOB flipping off the crowd. Somewhere in a warehouse Don West Wept.

First match was QT Marshal V. Mike Dennis. Marshal reminded me of an old school heel wrestler you would see in the NWA. And he was a solid wrestler. Dennis picked up the win in a decent match.

Next up, Bret Hart comes out and does a little promo in the ring putting over the PWS and saying how great it was to be in a locker room with guys like Demoliton and Jannetty again. He looked good. Nice Ovation for Bret. Glad he was there.

A Tag Team Gauntlet match was next. Enhancement Talent were out first, and out next were…well the wrong music played first…but then….HERE COMES THE AX HERE COMES THE SMASH!!! Holy crap, the crazy thing is that most of the kids in the crowd were probably not even born yet when Demolition were together. But they were over HUGE. And I’m not going to lie, Ax looked good and Smash looked thinner than the last time I saw him. They made quick work of Enhancement Talent and finished them off with a Hart Attack. Next team was Mark Modest and Mark Matrix. The Demo got themselves DQ’D when they threw the ref around. What is it with these 80′s WWF tag teams hating on PWS ref’s. First the Powers of Pain, then Demolition. It would be funny if they had the Rock and Roll express there next show just kick the ever living crap out of one of the ref’s. Anyway, next team in was the Phat Pack…who were fat. But they were awesome. I like these guys. They take out the Marks and then they quickly destroy a team called Grave Encounters. The right team won this match and the crowd ate it up.

Dan Maff V. Red was next. These two know how to pace a match. Great stuff. Red hits a reverse Frankenstiener (I will always call it that) on Maff and it looked sick. The end saw Kevin Matthews (Who looks like a star) bop Maff on the head with a chair while the ref wasn’t looking. Red gets the win, and Maff looks hurt. Luckily this time he was okay. Unlike in March when he was REALLY hurt.

Here comes my favorite match of the night. Hardy V. Colt…V….TEDDY HART!!! First off, Matt is in great shape. And Teddy Hart! I have never seen this kid work live but I have seen some tapes. A lot of people say he’s hard to work with or whatever, but damn this kid can go. He took some crazy bumps to the outside. One bump looked pretty sick. He landed on the top of the guard rail. And PWS uses these pointy looking guard rails, so it looked pretty painful. Fun match…everyone worked great. Hart gets the win over Colt with the Canadian Destroyer. Looked awesome. Colt has balls to take that move. On a side note, Hardy told Colt to do the flying off the back Hardy splash into the corner. Colt stalled but finally agreed. First time he ran AROUND Matt…second time he jumped on Matt’s back and Hardy just flattened on the mat. Funny stuff.

One Warrior Nation was out next to take on Helter Skeltor. I enjoy OWN. Crowd gives him hell but damn I like the guy. OWN flips off the crowd after a nothing match.

But wait…it’s not over. Here comes the team of Pure Black. One of which is about 500 pounds and looks like Shirley from What’s Happening. This guy is awesome…he hits a top rope moonsault killing Mr. Helter and the crowd just goes nuts. They chant one more time…soooo he hits another in a different corner…the crowd chants again…so he hits a third. At this point, some officials and Teddy Hart scrape up this mess of a wrestler off the mat and take him to the back. The big guy who did the moonsaults is named Lucifer Darkside. How bad ass is that?

Kevin Matthews and Devon Moore are out next to take on the Young Bucks. Jesus, Kevin Matthews looks like a guy you would see on the top of the card in the WWE. He can talk, he has a great look and he can wrestle. And the Bucks are just so fluid with their moves. Good match. Matthews and Moore get the win. I wonder if Pat Buck is related to the Young Bucks.

Jerry Lynn V. Marty Jannetty was next. Marty put in a nice effort, but you can tell that it’s been a long time since he had to try and keep up with someone like Jerry Lynn. The match was decent, and Lynn won with a cross body reversal. After the match, Lynn told the crowd that he asked for this match and he was glad he got it. Thank you Jerry and Marty chants broke out. My buddy Pete had a tear in his eye.

Moving right along, we get Adam Cole, V. Brian XL V. Samuray Del Sol (WHO IS AMAZING!!!! Think Sin Cara but botch free, faster, and flashier) V. Zema Ion (TNA GUY who is fantastic) V. Two guys from Teddy Hart’s wrestling School. So it was a six man match with what I think were Lucha Rules. Anyway…fast paced action and great dive spots. This Del Sol is terrific! Del Sol picks up the win in the end with a springboard rana into a pin. (Like Rey used to do when he…you know, did moves and wasn’t suspended) I believe he pinned Brian XL.

Here come the ladies. Jillian Hall (Who looks to be in great shape) and her partner Reby Sky (Who I believe to be Matt Hardy’s lady friend) V. Maria Kanellis and Brittney Savage. Pretty much the usual Ladies Match. I was busy texting a picture someone took of Virgil and I to a few people so I wasn’t really paying attention.(I have a pretty good Virgil Story I’ll share on the next show) Reby and Jillian get the win.

At this point it was getting pretty late. Pete had to get up at five in the morning for work the next day and his son had to get up at eight for baseball practice, so we left. However Sami Callihan beat Lethal in the Main Event to retain the PWS title in what I hear was a great match.

All in all a much more enjoyable show than the Super Show in March. Hell, I even enjoyed One Warrior Nation. I would have loved to see the main event but people had to get up the next day. People and their stupid responsibilities like work and sports. This show was organized, it flowed, and the matches were great. Nothing pissed me off (Like the hardcore match from the March show). I’ll continue showing my support for these Rahway Rec. Center Shows, and I highly suggest you do the same. Thank you PWS for washing that horrible disgusting taste that the Extreme Reunion Show left in my mouth last week. And it’s always great to sit with Vicious Vin during these shows. Hopefully we will have him on the Shinging Wizards Podcast soon! See ya!

We here at Indy Wrestling Express are very happy to present CZW: Best Of The Best XI!

* The free pre show will begin at 7:30pm EST, and last for half an hour.

* The pay per view will begin at 8pm EST. This will cost $15 to watch. You should be able to pay without even leaving this site, but if that doesn’t work, head over to http://www.hybrident.tv

* This is an official stream, CZW asked us to be one of the hosts.

(The stream was here)

You can find the full list of matches here:

http://indywrestling.tumblr.com/post/20843796922/czwbestofthebestxi

This show will be broadcast on live online pay per view this Friday (April 13th), at 8pm EST. You can pre-order now at WWNLive.com

The card: 

Low Ki vs El Generico

Finlay vs Sami Callihan 2

Johnny Gargano vs AR Fox

Chuck Taylor vs Samuray Del Sol

Super Smash Brothers vs The Scene

Bobby Fish vs Alex Reynolds

John Silver vs Cheech

Josh Alexander vs Chuck Taylor mystery man (Taylor is starting a new stable)

Here is a video hyping Low Ki vs El Generico, featuring a backstage confrontation between the two:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVMetVSOsLw

Thoughts: Three potentially excellent top bouts, any of which could headline, with a solid undercard. Taylor vs Del Sol is particularly intriguing. Unfortunately we won’t have any live coverage of the show here, but we will have the results, and I plan to catch the show on demand so I should have a review up within a few days. 

- Lee

I’m very pleased to announce that Indy Wrestling Express will be one of the websites hosting CZW: Best Of The Best XI, as it airs live on IPPV this Saturday! At 7:30 PM EST, the free half hour pre show will begin, then the main show will begin at 8. The main show will cost $15, which you can pay without even leaving this site!

Here’s the full line up: 

Best Of The Best Tournament:

Bracket #1: Sami Callihan vs Drake Younger vs MK McKinnan vs Trent 7

Bracket #2: Chuck Taylor vs Johnny Gargano vs Samuray Del Sol

Bracket #3: ACH vs Lince Dorado vs A.R Fox

Bracket #4: Alex Colon vs Willie Mack vs Greg Excellent

Non tournament matches:

CZW Wired TV Championship: Jake Crist (c) vs Dave Crist

Ultraviolent Encounter: “Bulldozer” Matt Tremont vs D.J. Hyde

There will also be a contract signing between Drew Gulak and Danny Havoc.

Thoughts: This is a great move by CZW, and I’d like to thank them very much for giving us this opportunity. This is set to be a great wrestling show, that should showcase how there is so much more to CZW than violence in 2012. 

Even if you don’t want to fork out the money for the pay per view, be sure to stop buy for the free pre show, that should give you a good taste of the current CZW product. If you have any questions, feel free to ask on on Twitter @IWEnews, or via email at indywrestling@hotmail.co.uk

- Lee

The following is taken from the latest CZW press release:

Read More

This show will be broadcast on live online pay per view on the 13th of April. You can pre-order now at WWNLive.com

The card: 

Low Ki vs El Generico

Finlay vs Sami Callihan 2

Just announced: Johnny Gargano vs AR Fox

Just announced: Chuck Taylor vs Samuray Del Sol

More matches will be announced soon, featuring Bobby Fish, the Super Smash Brothers and more. 

Thoughts: Two potentially awesome main events backed up by another two potentially great matches. This could turn out the best EVOLVE show to date. 

- Lee

Dragon Gate USA: Mercury Rising 2012 took place in Miami on Saturday night (March the 31st).

Warning: Spoilers ahead! 

THE GOOD

Match of the night: The main event (Low Ki, Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk defeated PAC, Ricochet & Mochizuki)

This was awesome. Did you expect anything else? It was the match of the weekend for me, these guys put on a hell of a show. Tozawa and Hulk continued to show off their ever-increasing fluidity as a team, Low Ki and PAC continued to produce greatness, I got to see Mochi and Low Ki lock up (well, I say lock up, I mean kick each other very hard), Ricochet was impressive as always, everything about it simply ruled.

I liked how it wasn’t just random teams in an exhibition, PAC and Low Ki played off their friendly rivalry throughout, while Tozawa and Mochi played off their considerably less than friendly rivalry too, which led to Tozawa avenging his solo loss to him the previous night with the straight jacket german suplex and the pinfall. Of course, there’s also the bigger picture of Tozawa and Hulk being bitter enemies to all since they’re in Mad Blankey. 

These were two dream teams for me, and their match more than lived up to my high expectations.

Open The Freedom Gate title match (Johnny Gargano retained against Masato Yoshino)

A thrilling second title defence for Gargano. These two have great chemistry, which they showcased with dazzling exchanges throughout. This was the best solo performance I’ve seen from Yoshino in quite some time, while Gargano continues to excel. 

Chuck Taylor Invitational (Chuck Taylor vs El Generico vs CIMA vs Rich Swann vs Samuray Del Sol vs Lince Dorado - Generico won)

This was an unexpected gem.  El Generico’s shock arrival was executed perfectly (his music hit right after Taylor declared “I hate luchadores!”), it lit the already hot crowd on fire, I totally marked out, and the match was an absolute blast to watch. Swann and CIMA delivered as always, the returning Dorado showed off some very impressive moves, as did Del Sol, who also displayed a surprising amount of charisma (as soon as he pumped his fists the “Lu-cha! Lu-cha!” chants erupted). Generico was as great as ever, and the barefoot Taylor showed that he is a natural heel, with a ton of heat after turning the previous night. 

Super fast paced with crazy flips, dives and all the other action you’d expect from these guys, this was a lot of fun. 

Arik Cannon vs AR Fox (Fox won via DQ)

Fox has some spectacular offence, and Cannon worked well as a base for him to show it off, while also providing some good action himself. I loved the finish, with a flying chair coming out of nowhere and wiping out Fox as he attempted his Lo Mein Pain finisher from the top rope. 

Bobby Fish vs Jon Davis (Fish won)

A very enjoyable opener. Fish tried, and ultimately succeeded, to counter his opponent’s power with his grappling skills. The styles clash worked very well here. I look forward to seeing more of Fish in DGUSA. 

Sami Callihan vs Sabu (Sabu won)

This was more a hardcore match than an unpleasantly violent deathmatch, which works for me. It was good for what it was, with Sami losing nothing in defeat, since it took Fox’s Lo Mein Pain (he interfered to get vengeance on Sami for interrupting that very move with the flying chair in his match with Cannon) and Sabu’s Arabian Facebuster through a table to put him away. 

The Scene vs Los Ben Dejos (The Scene won)

The Scene showed a couple of cool double team moves, and the debuting Ben Dejos did well, so this was fine as the post-intermission match. 

The crowd

Again, this hot crowd added a lot to the show. 

Commentary

Lenny Leonard cut out the swearing and the other crudeness, which was a significant improvement over the previous night. Colt Cabana joining him on colour commentary was a nice surprise, but Arik Cannon again showed the most potential in that role. He (Cannon) toned down his swearing and joking too. Did they read my review of Ultimate Gate or something? 

Overall show

I ordered both DGUSA shows and WrestleMania this weekend, and this was my favourite of the three. Aside from the Chuck Taylor invitational, Ultimate Gate arguably had a stronger undercard, but this show just seemed to flow better to me. 

Three fantastic matches, backed up by some other pretty good bouts, this was very entertaining from start to finish. I’ve read some other reviews that mentioned how DGUSA feels so much fresher and exciting than its immediate competition ROH right now, and I have to agree. I’d certainly recommend ordering it on demand over at WWNLive.com.

THE BAD

I can’t think of anything that was bad. That may have been different if Dreamer was booked again, but fortunately he was nowhere to be seen. 

THE QUESTIONABLE

Low Ki closing promo

It sufficed as a show closing speech, but I was hoping we were going to get some more development with Low Ki. His reason for aligning with the heels was never really addressed, so I was hoping we’d see him either turn heel, or show he was still babyface by stopping a Mad Blankey post match attack or something. Saying that, it is nice to see a main event end with no post match shenanigans. 

Taylor attacks Gargano

Chuck Taylor attacked his new nemesis Gargano after the champion’s successful defence. It made sense, but it didn’t come off that well to me for some reason. I guess I would have rather seen Taylor attack him verbally, so Gargano could leave looking strong rather than being carried out. 

Agree? Disagree? Let me know at indywrestling@hotmail.co.uk, or on Twitter @IWEnews

- Lee

The show took place last night (March 30th) at the Deuville Resort Hotel in Miami. You can read my live coverage (including full results) here:

http://indywrestling.tumblr.com/post/20194641193/otuglive

THE GOOD

Match of the night: Akira Tozawa vs Masaaki Mochizuki

This was a great match. Mochizuki dominated Tozawa with kicks and submissions, before Tozawa took it to the next level with his dives, which led to them going to war in an absolutely electrifying stretch. The closing sequence was brilliant, with Mochi having to throw his two finishers in succession at Tozawa to put him away.

This was an important win for Mochizuki. In the past, he has been brought into DGUSA as a sort of special attraction, putting over their top guys like Davey Richards and BxB Hulk. Now he seems to be becoming a regular, so a win over their number two guy really puts him over in the eyes of the fans. At the start of the match, most of the crowd were cheering for heel Tozawa. By the end, these people loved Mochi. Another reason he had to win is that I think Tozawa’s eventual singles victory over him has to happen in Japan.

As I mentioned yesterday, Tozawa and Mochi are my two favourite wrestlers at the moment, so I loved seeing them get such a great reception. Both of them put in outstanding performances.

Ricochet & Masato Yoshino vs Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor

The absence of CIMA didn’t harm this match, as Yoshino was fantastic. He’s the kind of guy who is good in singles matches, but great in tag team bouts. Ricochet was the star of the show in my opinion though, everything he did was so crisp and awesome. Gargano put in a solid showing too, he has great chemistry with both of his opponents. This was a great main event, definitely a fine example of DGUSA tag team action for those who were watching for the first time.

Chuck Taylor’s heel turn was well timed and perfectly executed too. Someone else pointed out the brilliance of him snapping when CIMA offered Gargano respect, when the whole reason Ronin began was because CIMA didn’t respect them.

PAC vs Low Ki

This seemed like the final quarter was missing. It had the illusive “big match feel”, it built up perfectly, they did everything right, from the crisp mat wrestling to the well placed highspots, this seemed like the match of the year in the making. However, it ended before its time. It’s not that it wasn’t long enough, they went around twenty five minutes, but it just hadn’t built up to that breaking point yet, the crowd weren’t losing their minds and it didn’t seem like the dramatic climax this would-be-masterpiece needed.

Do you remember in Star Wars, when the X Wing fighters were cruising up to the Death Star for the final battle? Imagine if the Death Star just blew up right there, so they just turned round and went home. That’s what this was like. It was frustrating because it was so awesome, but it stopped just before going to the place everyone wanted it to go at the end. This was still one of the best matches I’ve seen this year, but I’m frustrated because it was so close to being one of the best matches I’ve seen in years.

Rich Swann vs AR Fox

This was a hell of an opener. High flying and fast paced action galore, as Swann and Fox tore it up. These are the kind of matches that Fox needs to be having, he’s a hell of an athlete, and doesn’t need to be breaking his back on guardrails to get over. This set the crowd alight, and gave first time viewers at home at first class impression of the action that this company delivers.

BxB Hulk vs Sami Callihan

I thoroughly enjoy any match where I get to see Hulk kick people and do Mouse (a move where he runs up his standing opponent leading to a backflip). The heel vs heel dynamic was a bit weird, the crowd weren’t sure who to get behind, but they still seemed to enjoy it. It was a solid match, and the development with Von Eerie aligning with Mad Blankey (at the end) was cool.

Samuray Del Sol vs Johnny Vandal

Del Sol looked good in his pay per view debut, and Vandal got to hit some good moves too.

Bobby Fish

Bobby Fish was very impressive in his tag match against the Scene. It’s a shame about everyone else (in the match).

The crowd

What a hot crowd! They really added a lot to the show. Their investment is a testament to the work of the wrestlers.

Video quality

I hooked my laptop up to my 59 inch TV, and I didn’t expect the quality to be very good. How wrong I was, the stream looked great! To anyone who watches shows on their computers, or doesn’t watch them because they don’t want to sit in front of their computer for hours on end, hooking it up to your TV is the way to go.

Overall show

A strong outing for DGUSA, in front of what is probably the biggest pay per view audience they’ve ever had. Mochizuki and Tozawa stole the show, while the other matches that I listed ranged from very good to great. I’d definitely recommend ordering it on demand over at WWNLive.com

THE BAD

Tommy Dreamer

The great opener led to a talking segment which set up the main event, then it was time for some more Dragon Gate action. Instead, we got Tommy Dreamer. His wrestling wasn’t offensively bad, but his misogyny spots (kissing the girls of the Scene’s entourage, piledriving one of them, spanking another) were beyond awful and outdated. This was the last thing DGUSA needed to showcase in front of such a big audience. I know you love ECW Gabe, so do I, but please don’t bring Dreamer back.

THE QUESTIONABLE

Sabu & Jon Davis vs Arik Cannon & Pinkie Sanchez

It was what it was. I liked the finish, with Sabu taking Cannon out with a leg drop through a table, while Davis finished Sanchez with 5 Seconds Around The World, but that was the only memorable part. I just don’t enjoy watching Pinkie Sanchez.

The Scene

The Scene are talented guys, but they don’t seem to fit in this promotion. I’m actually quite a fan of Scott Reed, but they’re DGUSA matches do very little for me. The addition of a female entourage has at least added something interesting to their act, I suppose. 

Commentary

Lenny Leonard is decent on play by play, and Arik Cannon showed flashes of greatness on colour commentary. However, there was just way too much crudeness. Leonard’s comments whenever women are with heels are just awful, they make the promotion seem anything but classy. They totally distract from the match as well, and are just generally unpleasant. Much like Dreamer’s antics, this was the kind of thing that DGUSA should not have had on such a big show.

Cannon joked around and swore too much, but he could be a good commentator if he cuts that out.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know at indywrestling@hotmail.co.uk, or on Twitter @IWEnews

- Lee