Well it's Day 2 and already got lots of fun tweets from fans and colleagues letting me know how much I might not be able to withstand 30 straight days of wrestling. Well we're off to a great start so far. After listening to a good dose of the Tobolowsky Files starring Stephen Tobolowsky which you can check out @ http://tobolowskyfiles.com I am ready for another night of EVOLVE. EVOLVE 6 Aries vs Taylor is on the meny tonight fans so let's get into it.
Drake Younger 3-0 vs Silas Young 0-1
I've said it numerous times. The AAW heavyweight champ Silas Young deserves to be looked at again by the WWE. He was already under a developmental contract but I think he's improved a lot over the years. As I write this our senior editor is at an AAW show where he will defend his title against 4 other men and I do remember at the time looking forward to this match. As I said yesterday Drake Younger took my post-event criticism in stride and is not wearing those hideous calf length trunks. Ok so he didn't know nor care at this moment but let me be as delusional as I want.
Aries on commentary is basically saying everything I've felt about Young from the get go and even though he would probably be barely larger than Daniel Bryan in the WWE I think he deserves to be on a larger stage. Not to say EVOLVE isn't good enough and right now he's definitely serving his spot well with some great fan interaction that will get the crowd ready for the action coming later on.
So out of curiosity, we're being told that they can't use a chair on the outside but that slamming an opponents head onto the guard rail is acceptable? Fair enough. Great opening match that got the crowd ready for the action to come. Silas gets the win and moves up to 1-1.
AR Fox 0-0 vs Tony Nese 0-0 vs Scott Reed 0-0 vs Rich Swann 0-1
One of these men is in TNA while the others are still building their reputations. Swann & AR Fox have made huge strides in DGUSA and both men are top high flying talents. Haven't heard much from Scott Reed lately but he's an impressive talent and I doubt he'll be out of the lime light for long. Fox recently got to team with Sabu in DGUSA and I'm looking forward to checking out those iPPVs very shortly.
Pretty sure I mentioned my like for multi-man matches and this is no different. EVOVLE really knew how to show case their younger talent as I remember at the time wondering what AR Fox and Scott Reed would bring while I was at least familiar with the other 2 competitors. AR Fox just did a kick flip off of a ring post and killed himself on the steps. Looked like a fun spot and not sure what was supposed to happen as there really weren't any bodies close by but hey that makes him even more impressive. I've always said that EVOLVE reminded me of early ROH and the 4 ways in 2003-2005 in ROH just could not be beat by anything IMO. Worked well with decent story telling and really this is where you get to see the young talent you'll be cheering for in the future. Haven't been watching TNA lately but I'm hopeful for Nese that he will get his chance despite some asking me if it's Chris Masters instead of Nese but I digress.
If you asked me how many amazing innovative moves took place in this match I'd be hard pressed to name them all but it was great to watch and I'm glad to have the gift of looking back and realizing the men in this match are going to have some fun times ahead for them. AR Fox picks up the win over Scott Reed but all men looked great in this.
Did we really need 8-12 seconds of Drake Younger saying dammit under his breath…
Bobby Fish 0-4 vs Kyle O'Reilly 2-2
Didn't the commentators say last time that someone getting 4 losses probably would lead to them being gone? But Bobby Fish is good enough to weather that and he's a guy I think should really try to get more work state side. A hard hitting match that should be fun to watch. This is American Strong Style at some of its best and truth be told they don't have to convince me that they take this sport seriously or aren't influenced by MMA/ Puro Strong Style. One day I'll have to do a write up on the differences between the Strong Style and Kings Road Style in Japan or ask our good friends at http://PuroresuSpirit.com to do it. Bobby Fish picks up win #1 and good for him.
Super Smash Bros 0-0 vs Up In Smoke 3-0
Pretty sure I've seen this in CHIKARA and while I think this is for the crowd, I'm not really all that intrigued by this. Should still be a fun tag match and definitely brings in that CHIKARA interest. Insert mandatory Lenny Leonard stupified joke. This match really couldn't even keep my attention though I was posting AAW results so I guess that could have been the issue but really I wasn't paying much attention. Some might say that's blasphemy but really I have seen these guys in so many matches I just don't care. But this is another win for Up In Smoke as they go to 4-0. Remind me again as to why they split up?
Homicide 0-0 vs Jon Moxley 0-1
Really this is the meat & potatoes of why I wanted to buy this DVD and no doubt it will deliver. Relaxed rules MOFOs so in this one we can use chairs & guard rails. I will say I wish there had been more build up to this instead of just an in ring confrontation & some internet vids but that is nit picking it. Overall I'm happy for Moxley and have loved hist stuff in FCW which you can watch here weekly in full. No segmented Youtube vids here ppl. Just search for FCW on this site and watch them all.
Homicide to some is one dimensional and many wonder what the appeal is to me. He's a character. He has something about him that makes me feel that any time I see him in the ring I'm going to get my moneys worth whether it is in outside fun or just a feud that is going to come off as a bit more real than the rest of the show. Not sure really what it is but 'Cide has been a fav of mine since the first time I saw him in ROH with Boogalou and been a fan of the 187 since. He brings back those ECW flash backs with his battling into the crowd and utilizing weapons but in a way that makes sense to the match. Not the bastardized hardcore style of the WWE. A fun ending with Moxley getting the win after some great usage of outside tools. This kid will go far in the WWE… wait I've said that about Colt Cabana too.
Adam Cole 1-2 vs Ricochet 2-2
Another match where both men have come so far and both are making huge strides in their careers. It's a stylistic match of the high flyer vs ground warrior. I have always enjoyed these types of matches. Starting back from the 123 Kid vs Bret Hart to Samoa Joe vs Austin Aries. It can be a great match to bring fans back
from an intermission or to showcase the depth of talent. Either way both men in this match are guys to watch as the future of the indy scene. A fun match where Ricochet scores a win but damn if this match didn't show what these two men are capable of.
Johnny Gargano 3-2 vs Jimmy Jacobs 4-1
As I'm watching what should be a fun match Gargano is vying for the AAW pro title match (check out those live results from AAW Windy City Classic VII here) and Jacobs is in ROH again involved in one of the best storylines of 2011 w/ Steve Corino vs Kevin Steen. While Gargano may be in PWP's Fave Five of podcast guests, Jacobs is a man who we have had sounds bites from on numerous podcasts as well and both men are really coming into their own. Gargano just recently won the Open the Freedom Gate title in DGUSA. Jacobs on the other hand is doing some good stuff but he is far from the ROH title scene. But he's showing his diversity here with already going high flying where I'm sure we would have gotten a DAANNGGERRROUUSSSS! from a certain Chris Lovey commentator who I miss for some odd reason.
Jacobs really did used to do moves that sacrificed a lot on his body and on his way back up from being in one of the most controversial storylines in indy history (The Age of the Fall) to a decent feud between himself, Austin Aries, & Tyler Black to leaving ROH on what many considered to be bad terms. This Jimmy Jacobs seems more focused on telling a story in the ring about being an underdog and that is really what he is. Against most opponents he tends to be the smaller and quicker man in the match even though against Johnny Gargano I can't really say he's the quickest of the two. Gargano has come such a long way from this time period but even back then you could tell the man was going to make it big. He reminded me a lot of Alex Shelley at this time. Just a quick guy who had an innovative move set when he wanted to pull it out but at the same time could really get under the skin of the fans just by being cocky and free spirited. If Impact Wrestling really wanted to take their X Division to the next level, Aries vs Shelley vs Gargano would be a money feud IMO. Really enjoyed this match that I have to say up to this point and possibly even beyond has to be considered within the top 10 matches in EVOLVE history. Great roll up reversal by Gargano who shows that he can eek out a win out of every situation but no shame on Jacobs who like always fought his heart out.
Austin Aries 0-0 vs Chuck Taylor 4-1
Finally Chucky T makes it to the main event after IMO being unjustifiably taken out of the co-main event of the last event. These two men can really do some great exchanges right off the back, both being on the slimmer side. Nothing wrong with that as they show here they can be in the main event of any wrestling show and give the fans their moneys worth alone. The pace that these two guys are working at, even if they only had a 10 minute match I'd feel would pay for at least half of the $15 DVD price.
The way these two heels can get under each others skin is beyond awesome. For those fans who like that “southern” style of wrestling these two men combine it with hybrid wrestling like few others. They can tell a story alone with their facial gestures and really can go in the ring. Truly I have to say that these two talents would not look out of place on a Pro Wrestling EVO event which for my money right now are the crown princes of story telling/southern style of wrestling. Cheap plug be sure to check out my DVD reviews of Best Show in Town & #FollowTHIS coming this week to PWP as part of this blog series & actual DVD review.
Aries was trained by Eddie Sharkey, the same man who trained The Legion of Doom and to a degree it shows. Lots of know-how when it comes to knowing when to showcase the goods during a match and how to time that into the match without making it seem out of place. Aries is truly what Impact Wrestling needs and what the X Division needs. Chuck Taylor should be a champion in any promotion he goes to and he can definitely carry the load when it comes to giving main event calibur matches. I'd say he should be in Impact Wrestling but damn if they wouldn't just waste him as jobber fodder. If this match was to take place as a main event of a Destination X ppv it would not look out of place and the replay buys alone I think would actually be well worth checking out. Obviously buy rates of iPPVs is not known but I would be willing to bet that EVOLVE 6 with this main event and the buzz it created at the time should at least have been surprisingly good.
It is always interesting to me the fans that decry WWE & Impact Wrestling and yet when they have the chance to support a great product such as EVOLVE/DGUSA/ROH on iPPV they ultimately decide to try to pirate it. What does that really do for the promotion fans? I'm not trying to get on my high horse here, but I will say we here at PWP are proud supporters of the indy scene #SupportIndyWrestling which is why sometimes our DVD reviews come a bit late but it is because we pay for our DVDs. We pay for our iPPVs. We truly want these promotions to do well and provide us with the entertainment that the talent and promotion want to give us. Sure we're not saying buy everything they put out. Heck support them 6 times a year. At a general $20 – $15 per iPPV that is really only $90 – $120 every year that I'm sure you can find somewhere. If not go to live events, show support by reading our websites and leaving comments to let the promotions know that you're at least paying attention. We appreciate it and we know that the indy scene definitely appreciates it.
Now that the little rant/soap box preaching is done we can get back to this match where the in ring exchanges alone so far were worth the $15 I paid for this DVD. But enough of me stating the positives of which there are plenty. I do have to say that one thing about EVOLVE that could improve, and which they might have improved on since I haven't seen 7-9 yet is the commentary. Nothing against Lenny Leonard. The man is great. But a secondary guy is generally a good thing to have. A color commentator can help bring out the storyline aspects of the match that a play by play guy can't always focus on. Go the PWG route like you did earlier in the DVD and have a wrestler come to the booth who knows what to push and what to point out. But that is small criticism for a DVD that has really been great and a product that knows what it is and who it is catering to. EVOLVE is really the PWG of the east coast/mid west and I'm hoping the project doesn't just get enveloped by DGUSA and forgotten. Aries wins an excellent match and I'm beat just watching this final match.
Overall an awesome show and Event 2 is done. On to day 3 tomorrow with EVOLVE 7. Thanks for following and as always leave a comment and/or send me a tweet @CGSTONG