-Welcome to my first ever Clash Wrestling DVD review. Technically. it’s CLASH Wrestling (which stands for Collective League of Adrenaline, Strength, and Honor), but it’s a lot easier to simply type Clash. Although the name is pretty awesome. In looking for a new promotion to review, it’s only fitting I choose this promotion since they are based in the Midwest and use some of the same talent as AAW. I apologize in advance for my lack of storyline knowledge and any errors I make in this or any other future Clash review. Over the next five or six weeks, I’ll be posting a different Clash wrestling DVD review. Without any further adieu, let’s get the ball rollingwith the first night of the NPCI tag team tournament.
-Taped from Livonia, Michigan
-Your hosts are various wrestlers, producers, and managers who have some involvement with this tournament.
All eight matches on night one are first round matches in the 2010 NPCI tag team tournament.
-Aeroform (Louis Lyndon & Flip Kendrick) vs. Hybrid Wrestling (Marion Fontaine & Billy Taylor)
Match in Five Words or Less: LUCHA AEROFORM!
Match Summary/Analysis: Fontaine and Taylor attack before the bell rings. All four men are members of the Hybrid Wrestling roster. Things settle down as Lyndon and Taylor go back and forth. Fonatine in and Aeroform double team him. You can definitely see a lucha influence in this contest from Aeroform. Slingshot double dropkicks and Fontaine is in trouble. Blind tag to Taylor. Airplane spin by Fonatine. Both men are dizzy. Taylor spins him around and hits a flatliner for two. Heat segment on Lyndon. Taylor and Fontaine don’t look nearly as smooth as Aeroform while doing their double team. Says a lot about experience and working as a team I’d say. Sunset flip by Lyndon. Spin kick by Fontaine gives his team the advantage once again. Fontaine stands on his partner and chokes Lyndon in the corner. That was tremendous. Lyndon comes back with a series of kicks in the corner. Taylor cuts him off. Charge met with a kick. Lyndon climbs across the ropes and tags in his partner. Kendrick takes on both men. Tornado DDT on Taylor gets two. Death valley driver by Taylor for two. Exchange between Lyndon and Fontaine. High knee strike and a spin kick sends Fontaine out of the ring. Palm thrust by Lyndon sends Taylor down. Lyndon dives on Fontaine. Kendrick hits the 450 splash to get the win. Solid opener. Aeroform got to showcase themselves, and they’ve really improved their stock since I first saw them back in Dragon Gate USA.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Aeroform/10:28/***
-Night-Life (Dave Manzo & Jack Night) vs. Hallowed Souls (Jacob & Donnie Hallows)
Match in Five Words or Less: Not So Hallowed Anymore
Match Summary/Analysis: I’m guessing Jacob and Donnie are brothers based on them having the same last name. That’s just a guess mind you. For the second straight match, one team attacks the other before the bell. In this case, it’s the Hallowed Souls. They take over the bigger Night. Some good work from Hallowed Souls as they try to end the contest quickly. Double clothesline leads to the hot tag. Punches for everyone! He causes Donnie to kick Jacob. Belly-to-belly suplex. Double teams on both Souls. Souls gain the advantage and get a double stomp/flatliner combo for 2.5. Headbutt by Night. Wheelbarrow into a legdrop by Night-Life gets them the win. Brisk but okay match.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Night-Life/4:43/**
–Bump N Uglies (Bubba Mackenzie & Josh Movado) vs. 3.0 (Shane Matthews & Scott Parker)
Match in Five Words or Less: Name Tags
Match Summary/Analysis: BOO YA! Another quick start. Uglies roll over 3.0. Bodyslams take them down. Matthews and Parker hug it out. Parker rolls in the ring by himself. Matthews says he’s scared. Atomic drop and a shoulder block by one of the Bump N Uglies. Parker whiffs on a crossbody. Splash to the back. The other Bump N Ugly hits a vertical suplex. Continued double team by the team with no names. Kick to the back by Matthews. Leaping kick by Parker. Heat segment. Double clothesline leads to a hot tag. Sloppy dropkicks on 3.0. Jabs to the face of both men. Hand stand into a splash gets two as Matthews breaks the count. 3.0 takes control. Big boot by one of the Bump N uglies leads to a double bulldog spot for the win. Sad 3.0 couldn’t advance, but this was another short contest that didn’t expose either team.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Bump N Uglies/6:58/*1/2
-Victorious Secret (Cameron Salem & Mason Conrad) vs. Mena Libra/”Sassy” Stephie vs. “Caveman” Tyler Elkins/Austin Manix
Match in Five Words or Less: Fabulous
Match Summary/Analysis: Libra and Elkins start…well no. Elkins leaves the ring quickly. Victorious Secret can’t decide who should be in the ring. They’re a fabulous team if you know what I mean. Flamboyant is another of describing them. Stephie and Libra are the first female team to ever compete in this tournament. Feeling our process. Salem even dances with Libra… literally. That doesn’t last long. Ladies double team Salem. My hunch is Salem wouldn’t like that regardless of the context. Conrad tries and fails. Conrad ends up in a 69 position and has seen enough. To the corner he goes. Conrad makes Stephie… dizzy? He rams her feet into Elkins. Accidental punch to the face of a girl. Secret works over Elkins. Mannix is sent bronco bustering into his partner. Work on Mannix now. Nice leg drop by Mannix. Clothesline . Salem hits a jawbreaker and tags his partner. Conrad goes on offense before eating a seated spimebuster. 1-2-no. The rather portly Elkins tags in and grabs a full nelson. Team work by Elkins and Mannix. Mannix enziguris Salem right off the apron. Backcracker by Conrad. Salem isn’t on the apron, so he has to tag Sassy Stephie. Girls take over on Mannix. Libra takes Mannix in the corner. Series of double teams. Blind tag by Victorious Secret. Elkins hits a spear on Stephie. Vicorious Secret take advantage with a double team neckbreaker on Mannix to get the win and advance. A fine little bout where the right team won and the thrown together team did the job. Even though the girls weren’t a part of the decision, they controlled the match every time they were in the ring.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Victorious Secret/10:38/**1/4
–Power Rangers (White & Blue) vs. Team Inter-Species (Bastion Snow & Twiggy)
Match in Five Words or Less: Go Go Power Rangers!
Match Summary/Analysis: This is just a lawsuit from the Disney Corporation waiting to happen. I was thinking of calling them Billy and Tommy, but then I figured most of the audience reading this wouldn’t even get my joke. Twiggy and Snow represent ISW. Announcers make a Rita Repulsa joke ten seconds in. Twiggy takes quick control of Blue Ranger. Clothesline off the top. Dropkick on Twiggy. Headscissors on Snow. Double team by the Power Rangers. Knee to the back by Twiggy. Team Inter-Species work over Blue Ranger. “Let’s Go Rangers” chant from some of the kids in the crowd, most of whom weren’t born at the time the show premiered in 1993. Running senton misses for Snow, but he recovers to get a pin. Blue Ranger nearly gets a tag but settles for a DDT. White Ranger with strikes for both team Inter-Species. Foreram sends Snow down. Crossbody gets two as Twiggy breaks the count. Double kick by Power Rangers. Thrust of fists send Twiggy in the corner. Snow sent into his partner. White Ranger low bridged. Double team senton into a running senton. 1-2-Blue Ranger kicks out. Twiggy superkicks his own partner. Blue Rangers superkicks him in the back of the head. Electric chair into a splash (fittingly called the MegaZord) gets another victory over evil by the Power Rangers.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Power Rangers/8:57/**
-Wreck N Roll (Wreckingball & Will Vendetta) def. Koshur Klub (Sean Tylerstein & Joseph Schwartz)
Match in Five Words or Less: Oy Vey, Wreckingball Is fat
Match Summary/Analysis: I’ve got a million jokes for this match, but I don’t want to offend fat people since Wreckingball is in the match. What? You thought I had jokes about the Koshur Klub? I’m offended. Nice exchange by Vendetta and Tylerstein. A bit of stalling before some dancing. There you go. Test of strength leads to a stalemate. Schwartz helps his partner out. Wreckingball gets the advantage for his team. He is truly an enormous man. Tylerstein and Vendetta continue wrestling on their partner’s shoulders. Kosher Klub chop Wreckingball down. Double dropkick on Vendetta. Wreckingball sends the Kosher Klub colliding into each other. Splash misses. Schwartz misses one of his own. Shot to the midsection by Wreckingball. Double team by Wreck N Roll. Blind tag and a bulldog by Tylerstein. Vendetta gets worked over. Snap headscissors by Vendetta. Koshur Klub cuts the ring off again. Vendetta suplexes Schwartz into the corner. Wreckingball with a bodyslam on Tylerstein. Running dropkick in the corner. Why wouldn’t he just use all that mass to splash Schwartz? He does try a charge but is met with a boot. Leg lariat off the second rope for two. Irish whip in the corner. Clothesline on both Koser Klub members. Big splash. Tylerstein out of the samoan drop. He comes off the ropes but Wreckingball hits the maneuver. Schwartz goes for a bodyslam. Big kick . Shining Wizard by vendetta. Cravat driver by Tylerstein. Wreckingball hits a big splash to break the count and finally gets the three count. Of all the new teams who I’ve never seen before, Kosher Klub impressed me the most. They put together a lot of good-looking offense and looked smooth throughout the contest. Vendetta also came across like a decent wrestler with good fire. Wreckingball… well, he sure does try hard. Decent contest.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Wreck N Roll/12:44/**1/2
-Too Sweet (Bryce Benjamin & Joey Marx) vs. Beyond Wrestling (“MDogg20” Matt Cross & Jefferson Saint)
Match in Five Words or Less: Sweet
Match Summary/Analysis: Saint and Cross get into an argument even before the match begins. Denver Colorado is on commentary, so this match already has something going against it. 🙂 J Benjamin is a former AAW tag team champion and has a rather infamous departure that I may try to talk about on a future review or podcast. Benjamin starts out quickly on Saint. Dropkick sends him outside the ring. Cross and Marx in next. Quick takedown and some actual basic mat work ensues. Pace picks up as Marx hits a series of armdrags. Big boot by Cross. Saint tags in and loses the advantage. Standing shooting star press by Marx. Saint goes to the eyes and works a headlock. Rake of Marx’s back. Beyond Wrestling take advantage. Even though Saint and Cross haven’t tagged much, they work the heat segment better than anyone else up to this point. That’s a compliment to both guys. Waistlock reversals. Marx sends Saint across the middle rope and kicks it. Ouch. Marx rolls him over. Superkick by Benjamin into a roll-up by Marx gets the three count. Not a four star match or anything but very solidly worked. Saint and Cross showed good team work. Benjamin and Marx also appear to be a Zero Gravity type team with a lot of speed and innovative offense.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Too Sweet/9:48/**3/4
-The Better Halves (Tommy Treznik and Gavin Quinn) vs. Zach Gowen & Petey Williams
Match in Five Words or Less: What An Ending
Match Summary/Analysis: Gowen and Quinn begin. Gowen fights out of a headscissors to hit a dropkick. Treznik enters . Williams joins him. Williams controls with some basic stuff before transitioning into a dropkick. Treznik catches Williams’ leg and hits a back elbow. Headscissors by Williams. Treznik and Quinn console each other. Quinn reenters but doesn’t fare any better against Williams. Double team by the babyfaces. Gowen meets a charging Quinn with a boot. Treznik trips him. Heat segment on Gowen. Nice Arabian press by Quinn. Jawbreaker by Gowen. Hard clothesline by Treznik sends Gowen down hard. That looked nasty. Quinn in particular shows a smoothness and ring presence that a lot of the other guys on the roster don’t necessarily have. You can also see why Treznik is one of the people being brought in by AAW. Williams hot tag. Series of clotheslines. He is placed on the top rope. Crossbody on Treznik. Shoulderblock and lungblower on Quinn. Dropkick to Treznik’s head. He calls for the Canadian Destroyer. Treznik counters but is sent up and out of the ring. Bodyslam on Quinn. Tag to Gowen. Treznik with a chairshot to the head on Williams. Gowen hits a moonsault. Referee is pulled out of the ring. Treznik hits a modified sleeper slam. Quinn is put on top of Gowen. Another referee is out to make the count. 1-2-NO! Treznik nails the second referee. Shouldn’t that be a DQ? Quinn punches his partner in the face. Gowen rolls Quinn up, but there’s no referee. Treznik hits Gowen with his own cane. The first referee comes back in to finally count three. At least one of the announcers is indignant about the cheating by Treznik and Quinn. It’s quite refreshing to hear. Mr. One Trick Pony finally hits the Destroyer on Quinn. This was a solid match with an ending that was hard to completely except.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Better Halves/11:00/**3/4
Line of the Night: Nothing struck me on this show.
Finish of the Night: Benjamin and Marx have a great tag team finisher and got to use it on this night.
MVP: Kosher Klub were the best performers on this show and carried Wreck and Roll to a watchable match.
The Verdict: All of the tournament matches across both nights are spread across three disks. I’ll offer a full assessment in the night two review. This was a short show where all the matches didn’t feel drawn out, and there was some solid wrestling for the most part. I’m looking forward to getting to night two based on the teams that did advance.
For more information on Clash Wrestling, check out their website for updates on future shows and information on their mobile phone application. To purchase their DVDs for just 15 dollars (even less when a sale is going on), go to Smart Mark Video. For updates of 140 characters or less, check out Clash’s twitter account. Finally, check out their facebook for videos, updates, and comments from fans.
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