After the Season One finale of Enjoy Wrestling’s Canned Heat, I was left wanting more. With the ending that the finale left off on, there surely had to be a greater story to tell. Luckily for me, Season Two was green-lit and on June 17th, Canned Heat would return to YouTube. Emanating again from the stunning Clement in Pittsburgh, PA we would once again see some of the best talent on the indies collide in the Enjoy ring.
The Season Premiere starts off with a recap of the events of Season One. Lee Moriarty’s Enjoy Cup win was cut short as Mr. Grimm took out Lee, stole his trophy and handed it over to David Lawless. Now, there is a new prize in the game, which will be revealed and awarded to the winner of a Battle Royal titled “The Enjoy Odyssey” on the Season Finale.
Derek Dillinger (w/ Ziggy Haim) vs Jayce Karr
After unmasking Edith Surreal and running solo for Season One, Ziggy Haim brought in her partner in The Production, Derek Dillinger. His first opponent in Enjoy: the also debuting Jayce Karr, who had just begun his career through the pandemic. I was much impressed with Jayce’s quick, yet hard hitting brand of offense. For much of the early match, Jayce had Derek running laps around the ring to keep up with him; using the powerhouse’s own size against him. Ultimately, the numbers game would creep up after being taken out on a dive and a single Chokeslam by Dillenger was all she wrote.
Before the action continued, Season One standout Shawn Phoenix would come to the ring to address the crowd. Phoenix had separated his AC Joint but promised that he would return to Enjoy. Then came video game journalist-turned wrestler Commander Sterling, who took the opportunity to relish in Phoenix’s pain. After laughing off Phoenix and announcing they had chosen two competitors to replace him in the Enjoy Odyssey, Sterling laid down an absolute digital homicide on Phoenix with a devastating Chokeslam. Enter Mr. Grimm and David Lawless, who joined in on the beat down, further hurting Shawn’s injured arm before the Enjoy locker room hit the ring to ward the trio off. Enjoy Cup winner Lee Moriarty then took to the mic to call out David Lawless and told him to bring his trophy.
Allie Katch vs MV Young
Pre-match, Allie Katch is asked about the her change from Kat to Katch. In turn, Allie emphasizes that it’s irrelevant and focuses on the match at hand as a professional wrestler. She lays out the real fact that all cult leaders of the past have fallen and that she will make this match real and knock off MV Young.
The early onset of this match feature much crips wrestling on the mat with lots of great counters and skill shown. As the course of the match progressed, things got a lot harder hitting and a lot more intense. One of the most impressive spots in this match was MV hitting a Superplex and rolling through for a second one; only to be countered into a DDT by Allie and both being wiped out. In the end, MV would come hot off of a Boston Crab reversal and hit a Running Knee for the victory.
Post-match, MV took to the mic; first speaking of how close he came to beating Lee Moriarty for the Enjoy Cup in Season One. He then emphasized how important it is to him to become a champion in Pittsburgh. In closing, MV made a statement to the Enjoy roster; that he’s here to “…fuck yinz up.”
Final Thoughts
The Season Two premiere kept much of what I thought made Season One so great. The ratio of in-ring action to run time still left me satisfied, yet ready for more next week. In the category of new editions, we have Veda Scott joining the commentary booth with the returning Rich Bocchini. Veda brought a great presence to the booth and I greatly enjoyed her perspective as an in-ring competitor. Probably my favorite new edition is the animated match graphics that bring out nostalgia of the Ruthless Aggression Era. With PWPonderings as a proud sponsor of Season Two I look forward to seeing what else Enjoy brings to the table as the season rolls on!
