NOW:  The Best of the Vegas 8 2011

9/23/11 and 9/24/11

Match #1:  Mike Quackenbush vs. Arik Cannon

The crowd is solidly behind Quackenbush as they begin with some chain wrestling.  Quackenbush succeeds at frustrating Cannon on many different occasions.  Quackenbush snaps off an armdrag and kicks Cannon from the apron.  Cannon runs out of the way to avoid a dive.  Quackenbush back drops him to the outside and follows with an asai moonsault to the floor.  Cannon snaps Quackenbush’s neck across the top rope and connects with a running dropkick.  He takes control until Quackenbush finds the energy to attempt a nice pinning combination for a two count.  Cannon quickly stops his momentum with a neckbreaker.  Quackenbush dodges a moonsault and connects with a basement dropkick.  Cannon delivers a hard right hand and hits Total Anarchy for a nearfall.  Quackenbush ducks another punch and hits the Black Tornado Slam for a two count.  Cannon leaps off the middle rope and dropkicks Quackenbush’s left leg.  Cannon adds the Glimmering Warlock for the win at 16:47.  The interactions between both men during the match were the highlight for me.  You could just tell that they were having fun out there and the mat wrestling transitioned into an enjoyable finishing stretch.  The crowd seemed unfamiliar with their offenses and personalities but they ended up getting behind Quackenbush and booing Cannon by the end of the contest.  ***¼

Match #2:  Sammy Savard, Charlie Midnite, and Trick Daddy vs. The Savage, The Piranha, and Flyin Ryan

Savard and Savage stare each other down but Savard decides to bail.  Ryan snaps off a nice armdrag on Daddy and clotheslines Midnite.  Savard enters the match and cuts off Ryan.  Savage finally gets into the ring at the same time as Savard and clotheslines him.  Piranha starts biting Midnite because I’m assuming that’s what piranhas do.  Ryan finds himself in the wrong corner and the heels isolate him.  He dodges a few strikes from Savard and makes the tag.  Piranha cleans house with a series of body slams.  Savard hits a backbreaker on Piranha and lays in a knee drop.  The heels now work him over until he collides with Savard when they both attempt clotheslines.  Savage tags into the match and hits a powerslam on Midnite.  Ryan goes up top but Savard crotches him on the top rope.  Midnite hits a DDT on Ryan for the victory at 16:39.  There wasn’t enough action in this match to fill six minutes, let alone sixteen.  The crowd graciously stuck with the action but there was honestly not much to see here.  Ryan and Savard showed a little promise while Daddy looked capable but wasn’t in the ring for very long.  The match just completely lacked any energy.  These six men are apart of another tag team match later on this disc and I’m hoping that they are able to improve upon this outing.  *½

Match #3:  Arik Cannon vs. Mr. Inkredible

This was a first round match in the tournament.  They shove each other and Inkredible shows off his power advantage.  They trade control of a wristlock and Inkredible snaps off a few armdrags.  He hits a powerslam.  Cannon pulls Inkredible’s bandana over his eyes and sneaks in a few cheap shots.  Cannon connects with a basement dropkick and takes over.  A fan at ringside gets into a verbal confrontation with Cannon and accidentally spills her beer.  He inadvertently chops the ringpost but quickly regains control with a thumb to the eye.  Cannon spends too much time arguing with the fan and Inkredible throws him into the crowd.  Inkredible brings a kid into the ring and the kid double stomps Cannon.  Amazing.  Cannon connects with a dropkick and yells at the kid.  He takes control once again until Inkredible wins a strike exchange.  Inkredible hits a neckbreaker but Cannon responds with one of his own.  Cannon connects with chops and punches in the corner.  He hits an exploder into the turnbuckles and Inkredible falls to the floor.  At ringside, Inkredible blocks a charge and hits an overhead suplex onto the floor.  Both men barely beat the count.  They trade punches and forearms on their knees.  They get to their feet and Inkredible finds a second wind.  He hits a spinebuster for a one count!  Cannon is fired up and slaps Inkredible.  They exchange strikes once again.  Both men connect with stiff punches.  Cannon lays in a couple of boots but gets flattened by a lariat.  Inkredible hits a uranagi for the win at 26:24.  I think opinions will be pretty split on this match, as reflected by the crowd response.  This match took awhile to get going and a lot of the fan interactions weren’t fully captured on the DVD.  However, once these two settled down and started trading strikes, I thought the match picked up significantly.  Since most of the match was strike-based, there will be those that get invested in the action and those that will just scoff at the thought of it.  I enjoyed the contest for what it was and Inkredible looked great in victory.  ***

Match #4:  Lumberjack Match: Libby Sparks vs. Rose Thorn

Thorn tries to retreat to the floor after losing a shoulder block battle but the lumberjacks send her back into the ring.  Sparks attempts a sharpshooter but Thorn pushes her off.  Sparks throws Thorn to the outside where the lumberjacks attack.  Back in, Thorn hits a facebuster for a nearfall.  A mistimed spot occurs where Sparks is late to kick out of a pin attempt.  Thorn catapults her and applies a boston crab.  Sparks sneaks in a rollup for the victory at 6:44.  This was not good.  Sparks was extremely sloppy and didn’t look like she belonged in a wrestling ring.  Thorn did her best but couldn’t overcome Sparks’ awkwardness.  ½*

Match #5:  Elimination: Sammy Savard, Charlie Midnite, Benny Blades, and Trick Daddy vs. The Savage, Venom, The Piranha, and Flyin Ryan

Let’s see if this match is an improvement upon earlier.  Blades is taken out during his entrance.  Ryan connects with a dropkick on Midnite and Piranha adds a body slam.  Piranha tries to cover Midnite’s back and his team tries to explain the problem to him.  Daddy and Savard double team Ryan and the heels work him over.  Ryan misses a dropkick and Savard applies an armbar to eliminate him.  Venom utilizes his power advantage against Savard and throws Midnite and Daddy around the ring.  Daddy superkicks Venom but falls victim to a torture rack gutbuster.  That sends Daddy packing.  Savard avoids a charge from Venom and hits an overhead suplex to eliminate him.  Piranha begins to bite Savard.  Savage enters the match but gets caught by a knee to the gut.  The heels work over Savage until he tags in Piranha.  Savard hits a butterfly suplex on Piranha to eliminate him.  Midnite hits a neckbreaker on Savage, who responds with a fallaway slam.  Savage splashes Midnite to send him packing.  We’re down to Savard and Savage.  They stare each other down and exchange strikes.  Savage military presses Savard from the top rope and pounces him.  Savage covers for the win at 20:17.  This was about exactly on par with the previous six-man tag match except longer.  If anything, I can appreciate that the match came down to Savage and Savard, as that encounter was built to on the previous night.  *½

Match #6:  Benny Blades vs. Penance

This was a first round match in the tournament.  They begin with some chain wrestling and find themselves at a stalemate.  Penance attempts a quick rollup to no avail.  Blades tries a few of his own.  He hits a delayed vertical suplex and dropkicks Penance to the floor.  Blades follows out with a dive.  He chops Penance around ringside but gets sent shoulder-first into the ringpost.  In the ring, Penance continues to work over the left shoulder until Blades comes back with a flurry of offense.  Penance kicks away at his shoulder and hits an armbar.  Blades blocks a top rope hurricanrana and connects with a diving headbutt.  They trade punches and Blades hits a spear.  He follows with an inverted facebuster for a nearfall.  Penance’s manager low blows Blades behind the referee’s back.  Penance lands a frog splash for the victory at 12:32.  These are two NOW talents that I would be interested in seeing more of their matches.  Penance did a good job of focusing his attack on Blades’ shoulder and the limb work actually came into play throughout the course of the match.  The interference leading to the abrupt finish holds this contest back a bit, but these two put in solid performances.  **¾

Match #7:  The Devil Dogs and Scarlett Bordeaux vs. The Covenant and Rose Thorn

Call me a bad reviewer, but I cannot find the individual names of the wrestlers on each team.  So bare with me during play by play.  The Devil Dogs control early on by out-wrestling the Covenant.  Bordeaux and Thorn eventually square off.  A member of the Devil Dogs gets caught by a knockout kick and the heels isolate him.  He fights back with a samoan drop and makes the tag.  The Devil Dogs and the Covenant brawl around ringside while Bordeaux and Thorn wrestle in the ring.  The bell randomly rings and the referee calls for a disqualification, although I can’t make out the announcer’s words.  The whole match lasted around 12:00.  This had better in-ring action than the previous tag team matches but a lot less structure.  Once again, the crowd stuck with them somehow and this match could have been serviceable with a decent finish.  *¾

Match #8:  Darin Corbin vs. Mr. Inkredible

This was the finals of the tournament.  Corbin is the current reigning NOW Heavyweight Champion.  Inkredible unleashes a flurry of offense and hits a powerslam.  Corbin retreats to the floor but Inkredible gives chase.  He lays in a few chops around ringside.  Back in, Corbin gets taken down by a thesz press.  He avoids a leg drop from Inkredible and connects with a double stomp.  Corbin takes control, working over the left leg.  Inkredible uses his good leg to connect with an enzuigiri and follows with a german suplex.  Both men are down.  They exchange strikes and Inkredible hits a spinebuster for a nearfall.  He charges at Corbin but his leg gives out.  Corbin hits a uranagi for a two count and brings a steel pipe into the ring.  The referee takes it away.  Corbin throws his title belt at Inkredible and falls to the mat, faking as though Inkredible hit him with it.  The referee sees Inkredible with the belt and calls for the bell.  The referee ends up listening to the crowd and restarts the match!  Corbin hits the Ginger Snap for a nearfall.  He comes off the top rope but Inkredible catches him with a uranagi to win Vegas 8 2011 at 14:52.  Although the in-ring action wasn’t spectacular and they had to reach into the bag of tricks, Inkredible’s win genuinely felt like a big deal.  The crowd loved him throughout the entire tournament and I have to think that he was the right choice.  He’s not the most explosive wrestler but he knows how to tell a story in the ring.  This was a somewhat satisfying end to the tournament and I’d assume Inkredible will receive a title shot against Corbin in the near future.  **¼

Match #9:  Darin Corbin vs. Mike Quackenbush

This was a second round match in the tournament.  Quackenbush showcases his offense early on and generally just frustrates Corbin.  Corbin tries to use Quackenbush’s offense against him to no avail.  Quackenbush hits an atomic drop, sending Corbin to the outside.  In the ring, Corbin finds an opening to jump Quackenbush and takes control.  Quackenbush fights back with a knockout kick but runs into a sledge.  Corbin regains control until he misses a top rope leg drop.  Quackenbush connects with corner punches and hits the BTS for a nearfall.  Arik Cannon appears at ringside.  Quackenbush lands a swantan but gets punched by Cannon.  Corbin hits the Ginger Snap for the win at 15:45.  The match started out well with the crowd getting behind Quackenbush making a fool out of Corbin.  However, once Corbin took over, nothing much happened.  The finish was effective insofar as it built up a Quackenbush/Cannon contest on Night 2.  I wish they would have shown this match before the eventual Quackenbush/Cannon match, which was the first bout shown on the disc.  **½

Overall:  Before giving my thoughts, I want to note that this DVD is the best of the Vegas 8 2011; the entire tournament isn’t shown.  I have to question the inclusion of some of the matches on this DVD, especially the multi-man tags and the women’s match.  Without knowing anything else about the tournament, I would have just included all of the tournament matches as well as the Quackenbush/Cannon encounter.  Two out of the nine matches hit three stars, with Arik Cannon being involved in both contests.  Due to the underwhelming match quality, I cannot give this DVD a recommendation.  However, there are definitely some good points about Northern Outlaw Wrestling.  The crowd was fantastic and stuck with the competitors throughout every match.  Mr. Inkredible, the winner of the tournament, definitely has promise as shown during his match with Cannon.  When push comes to shove, the non-tournament matches (excluding Quackenbush/Cannon) brought the quality of this DVD down.  The tournament itself had a good mix of talented NOW regulars and established independent wrestling names.  I just wish that more of the tournament matches had been included.