What’s going on wrestling fans. I’m here with PWP’s first review of Vanguard Wrestling All-Star Alliance first iPPV Num3ers Game 2.0 which was taped Saturday December 10th 2011 in Markham, IL. They are the most current sponsor to PWPonderings.com and we hope you will give this iPPV a look. At only $9.99 it is reasonably priced and as always you, the wrestling fan, are given a top quality product so let’s get this review out of the docks.
We have the opening video from Vanguard Wrestling All-Star Alliance and the first thing I generally notice is the quality of the video. The sound quality on my computer is damn good and I’m using stock speakers so I’m sure this is probably impressive on a better sound system. This was their first iPPV and the opening shot of the fans is great. Always a good way to show the excitement of the crowd and really the audio is already better than some live iPPVs. Lets get to the opening contest.
Frontline Medalist 4 Way match: VWAA Frontline Medalist Jordan Pryde vs Ali Bumaye vs VWAA Hardcore King Ben Cruise vs Freek
We are given a small video skit of Jordan Pryde having to wear some sort of glove. Right off the bat the VWAA Frontline Medalist is treated like a star and honestly he comes off as one. The audio commentary is a tad hard to hear behind the music but I do get the idea that we are in for a great four way match.
Freek is getting worked over first by champ Jordan Pryde but after a few chops Freek bites the “Iron Hand” of Jordan Pryde but is then thrown out of the ring by Ben Cruise. Ben Cruise is left in the ring with Bumaye who runs the ropes and is able to take Cruise off of his feet with his great huracanrana and arm drag but Cruise quickly regains control by just slamming Bumaye to the mat. Ali Bumaye though gains control again and takes Cruise to the corner and performs the flip double kick similar to Christian’s in WWE. Jordan Pryde comes in standing in front of Ali Bumaye and across from Freek and is of course taken to school getting knocked back and forth between the two assumed high flyers of the match.
One thing I just noticed is the timer in the background which of course is a nice touch and brings a sort of urgency to the match. So far a fun basic match that is getting the crowd into the action. Jordan Pryde though takes off his black glove to reveal the silver glove given to him in that opening video but he is belly-to-belly suplexed by Freek who is then taken out fy Cruise. Cruise though is then about to ace crushed by Bumaye but is hit in the face by Jordan Pryde. Bumaye tries to hit a move on Pryde but ends up getting knocked out by the Jordan Pryde who gets the three by what seems is a loaded glove. Somehow the ref allows this but that is the opening match.
Thoughts: A fun and simple match to open the show. None of the men here did anything too flashy and it got the crowd into the event. Not sure if there were any dark matches to this event but the crowd came alive with this match and it was obvious that even though I’ve never heard of any of the participants, their fans were invested and I think I could get into this too.
A VWAA video package introducing John E. Kash who is going to face the man he beat for the belt Joe Firoz & Old School Brawler Rick Walsh later in the night.
Our next match is a Towel Match Born to Wrestle Thomas Sinclair w/ Dr. Louis Pinder vs The Definition Isaias Velazquez. A good video of the history is shown and even though I’ve never seen VWAA before this is a great way to show what is going on. This is basically a match where a corner man has to throw in the towel for his man to end the match.
Towel Match Born to Wrestle Thomas Sinclair w/ Dr. Louis Pinder vs The Definition Isaias Velazquez w/ Ivan Manson
Thomas Sinclair kind of has a sort of Socialist-esque type character though with a patriotic spin. It’s interesting if not really PC but still an intriguing character. Ivan Manson comes out with The Definition and it is told that he is no longer a wrestler with VWAA and his seconding Isaias is obviously a surprise and a good one for many of the fans. A good match that had some great psychology and great ring work from the two men involved. Worth the $9.99 alone IMO as this match could have headlined any show and given the crowd their moneys worth. U did have some play by play for this and after thinking about it I really think you should get this iPPV just for this match alone. At only $9.99 you will be getting some awesome quality wrestling product and you really should see some of this for yourself.
VWAA Tag Team Championship
Lineage (c) (Virgil Davis & Lee Valiant) w/ Jean Paul Vachon vs Incredibly Amazin’ (Amazin’ Kuan & Atlas J. Horn)
Incredibly Amazin’ comes out first and these two men are huge. Lineage comes out also and they aren’t popular. Amazin Kuan and Davis (son of Danny Davis) start out the match with some basic back and forth action. Both men are pretty big so power moves are on the menu. A powerslam of Kuan who does an impressive standing back moonsault but misses as Davis tags out to Lee Valiant. Valiant wants Horn though who is the bigger of Incredibly Amazin’ so not so sure how smart this is. Lee Valiant is cocky and really getting under the skin of Horn and the fans. Lee is apparently the son of Franky Valiant and yet not sure if they are even related to Jimmy Valiant but I digress here. A test of strength turns into an eye rake and Lee tries to knock Horn over but to no avail there. Lee is really trying to over power Horn but Horn hits an impressive belly to belly suplex on Lee and brings in Kuan. These two bigmen are channeling Men on a Mission from WWF days and it’s fun to watch them beat up the cocky young upstart in Lee Valiant. A high running knee by Kuan followed by a fun standing moonsault onto Lee gets him only a one count but this Kuan is so agile for a man his size and while that is said a lot, this is no hyperbole. This is truth. Davis and their manager Vachon take advantage of Kuan as the refs back is turned around but Lee gains the upper hand for a minute. Kuan fights back but the technically sound Valiant is able to use technique to take the big man down. Davis comes in and the numbers are working against Kuan for only a moment but a flying double shoulder block allows Kuan to tag in Horn. Horn hits some impressive power moves and a moonsault from the middle rope from Kuan onto Lee gets Incredibly Amazin the win and the VWAA Tag Team titles.
Thoughts: A simple match with not a lot of in ring work but still fun and Incredibly Amazin’ just reminds me of Monsta Mack and Danny Maff with some fun comedy thrown in. I’ll be interested to see where these two teams meet in the future.
VWAA Circuit Championship John E. Kash (c) vs Joe Firoz vs Old School Brawler Rick Walsh
OSB Rick Walsh is a big man who apparently has done almost everything in VWAA and I can see why. Joe Firoz is a crusierweight guy who has a lot of energy and really reminds me of Fire Ant from CHIKARA. John E. Cash comes out and he’s got the cockiness that shames the name that he’s playing on.
This is a three way one fall match and so it would seem the crowd really wants Joe to get the upset win. Walsh and Kash look like they are going to team up against the much smaller Firoz. Walsh holds Firoz for Kash as he takes the cheap shots over and over. Walsh on the other hand is also puttin a beating on the much much smaller Firoz and I have to say I’m not too sure as to this strategy but it is what it is. Kash is on the outside for the most part as Walsh just takes it to Firoz in the corner. Firoz is fiesty though and he tries to put on the offense but the much bigger Walsh just keeps gaining the upper hand over and over. An imperssive leap from Firoz to the top rope onto the championship on the outside though gets the crowd excited for Joe again. Walsh though again is just taking this kid apart once he enters the ring but Firoz takes advantage of Walsh wasting time and hits a splash but Kash breaks up the pin. Kash finally doing some work onto Firoz in the ring and this is a much more manageable opponent for Firoz. Kash and Firoz have some fun sequences including a not seen often horse collar suplex by Kash onto Firoz. Walsh breaks up the pin and is now beating on Kash. Walsh picks up Kash for a suplex and Firoz from the top rope hits a body block that takes down both men. Walsh breaks up the pin again saving this title for himself. Now Walsh is working over both men in the corner and to be honest the two men combined barely seem to be the same size as Rick Walsh. Firoz though gets a head of steam and after a counter that sends Walsh into the opposite corner starts hitting running Stinger splashes onto both Kash & Walsh. Firoz is able to hit a double knee code breaker onto Kash who is sent out of the ring but when he tries to do the same to Walsh he is met with a spiner buster type move and is subsequently pinned by Walsh who wins the VWAA Circuit Championship and Kash realizes he lost the title without even being pinned. Kash beating up on Firoz post match leads me to believe that feud isn’t over even though Freek makes the save. But out comes Pryde & Cruise alongside Bumaye and basically an entire roster of men including everyone who already wrestled on this card as we are getting a Battle Royal type match.
Battle Royal to determine the Final Entry into the 2012 Resolution Rumble
Too much action to even follow but a fun battle royal and can be seen as a fun extra on this iPPV. BACKWOODS BROWN is the winner of the battle royal.
Thoughts: A good match and no doubt this secondary title in VWAA has some fun talent fighting for it. Not much more to say as this was a pretty short and sweet match. The battle royal came out of no where and was a fun affair while it lasted. Since I am not too sure of the talent let’s just say it was fun to watch.
VWAAWrestling.com is the place for all your VWAA info and be sure to check them out on twitter @VWAA
VWAA Championship God of War Lamar Titan (c) vs God of Swag Cedric Keys
So here is the main event and this looks to be a fun match. Both men are portrayed very well and a good video package is put out to show what brought about this title match. Credric Keys is channeling Kanye West while the God of War Lamar Titan reminds me of Jay Lethal with a lot more attitude.
These two men are just beating on each other and from the first bell they are beating down upon each other. Titan is living up to his name as he’s relentless in his strikes while Keys though is pretty tough and is able to counter Titan to gain the upper hand. Lamar is wearing down Cedric though and this is more of a fight than a wrestling match. This match is the main event of the iPPV and I want to convey that these two men put on a fun spectacle with some great timing and good wrestling. This will be the match I don’t do much play by play for but believe me when I say that when I said the first two matches were worth the under $10 tag, this match makes it worth it even more. They put on a great match and any fan of puro wrestling or Ring of Honor would enjoy. These are two men I’m saying should be watched by all wrestling fans as they are very impressive here and no doubt they will end up in many more promotions and you’ll want to start following them here in VWAA.
The longest match I believe on this iPPV and rightfully so as it has been a great match with some good psychology. Cedric Keys is apparently the leader of a group called the Faceless who have been beating up Titan over the last month so this is a grudge match between them that just happens to have the VWAA championship on the line. But it’s obvious there is no love loss here. Credric at one point is working over Titan’s arm and for the rest of the match that arm is the focal point of attacks. These two men deserved to be in this spot and I’m excited to see more of them. Towards the end of the match both men are trading some fun kicks and Keys hits a rolling northern lights/neck breaker pin. Titan kicks out at two though and both men are spent. Cedric goes for a clothesline, Titan ducks and hits a springboard kick for a two count. Titan goes for his big boot & Cedric ducks that to hit a lung blower. Two count. Cedric hits a Russian Leg Sweep followed into a pinning combo/submission that has Titan’s arms under his legs but he’s pulling up onto Titan’s head. Titan turns it into a pinning predicament on to Cedric who has to release the hold to not be pinned. Titan puts Cedric into a STF and you can hear Titan telling Cedric to tap. Cedric makes it to the ropes but Titan is on the top rope. Cedric catches him and brings him down to the mat hard. Cedric is calling for something as he hits a running STO but it sends Titan to the outside as Cedric realizes he needs to bring Titan back into the ring to win the title. A two count as Titan is rolled back into the ring but Cedric is desparate here.The ending sequence to the main event was damn great and while I was asked to refrain from putting it in the review trust me when I say it’s worth the $10 alone. A great match that I have to give at least 3.5 – 4 stars.
Overall iPPV Thoughts: This iPPV started out with a fun but basic four way match and ended with a main event that is at least a 3.5 to 4 star event. A great iPPV with good matches and characters who are easy to get into and wrestling that is fun and exciting. I recommend this iPPV to anyone who has a spare $10 and I hope you get as hooked into this product as I am.
Be sure to check out Vanguard Wrestling All-Star Alliance at the following links:
http://www.facebook.com/VWAAWrestling
http://www.youtube.com/user/VWAAFrontline