Of all the Wrestling is promotions, the two that have established the strongest in ring presence are Wrestling is Respect and Wrestling is Art. Want proof? This show was main evented by two guys who stole the show at National Pro Wrestling Day and had never main evented against each other before. Can you imagine even a year ago Drew Gulak and Frank O’Rourke/Biff Busick main eventing anywhere? I don’t care what show. These are two of the most physical, technically proficient wrestlers going on the scene right now. I could watch them wrestle 100 times and not get tired of it. They add new wrinkles every time they wrestle and portray what they do as a more realistic battle than a typical independent wrestling match. You could hear the heightened inflection and overall enthusiasm in Mike Quackenbush’s voice as he was calling the action. He called this one of his favorite matches of the year on Twitter. I’m not willing to go as far, but this was a tremendous way to cap off the show. Gulak once again used the GuLock to put O’Rourke away. I would presume a future match takes place where O’Rourke finally counters the hold and gets a win. That would be a perfect way to cap off their rivalry.
Another match I really enjoyed featured a man who is really on a roll. Green Ant is having great matches everywhere he goes and is being rewarded with a singles push. He’s gone over both Eddie Kingston and Mike Quackenbush in the span of just over a year. A brand new finishing hold has given him the reputation as a big time submission wrestler. On this night, he took on a fast rising star in the Shard. It’s weird to think these two men wrestled a million times under various connotations last year, yet this was their first singles match. They incorporated some technical wrestling and a lot more striking than the main event but had what could easily be considered the second best match of the show. Even though this doesn’t completely follow Chikara canon, it’s awesome that Green Ant got to win with the Texas Cloverleaf once again. Awesome and common sense.
The Shard was also involved in the penultimate match of the night as his tag team partner took on Delirious. For whatever reason, the crowd did not respond to the action presented to them. I guess Delirious went a bit too cartoony, and Jigsaw is still adjusting to being a heel. He’s been able to behave as a heel within tag team matches against Mike Quackenbush and with Shard. This was a tougher sell, and it showed. Jigsaw needs to use more subtle heel tricks in singles matches. That would put him over the top. Still, I enjoyed enough of the match to say it was good, but I definitely had higher expectations given their experience level and amount of times they’ve been in the ring together. It’s worth mentioning Delirious said he would be bringing a tag team partner to the next Respect show after Shard became involved. I’m hoping for Hallowicked and an Incoherence reunion.
Unfortunately, we lost the chance to see really two strong rematches. Green Ant against Mike Quackenbush being one and Ophidian versus Gran Akuma being the other. What we got instead was Gran Akuma wrestling Rhett Titus, someone I would consider to be a suitable replacement. Titus at least has history with Wrestling is Respect’s predecessor. A fine first time bout here even though there seemed to be some clunkiness early on. Titus embraced his Addicted to Love persona over whatever he is in SCUM. Because it’s Wrestling Is, Titus behaving like more of a cartoon character isn’t the worst thing because of the context. Titus did not go over the top, and this was a pretty watchable affair.
A bit of a disappointment had to be Jervis Cottonbelly against Mark Angelosetti. They didn’t get time in the opening slot, and there were some ugly moments. Angelosetti recovered a noticeable botched roll-up quite well and showed some excellent veteran presence through the awkward spot. I think these two are capable of more and would love to see a rematch. Cottenbelly in particular should be used more within the Wrestling is and Chikara universe to put on solid wrestling matches and put people over.
There wasn’t much else to speak of on the rest of the show. Veda Scott and Terra Callaway had a match which was deleted off the DVD because of a serious injury suffered by Callaway. She tore multiple ligaments in her knee on an apparent dive attempt. I’m usually not in favor of hiding matches or cutting things, but there’s nothing to be gained from showing such a bad injury. Devastation Corporation jobbed out to Baltic Siege in a match that was just there. Sidney Bakabella wasn’t in the building, so there were miscommunication spots and the team didn’t seem cohesive like per usual. And hey, this was Pro Wrestling Respect history being the first tag team match in the history of the company. In the final match to discuss, Oleg the Usurper (also one of Bakabella’s men) lost and looked like a geek against Grizzly Redwood. Not much to say here except this wasn’t completely forgettable and Oleg thought he won the contest multiple times. Even after knocking himself out, he woke and thought he won. Given he won against Dasher Hatfield the night before, albeit in a different Wrestling is promotion, I question the thinking here.
For the right price, this was a solid show. Don’t expect anything life changing but Wrestling is Respect is establishing a reputation for good matches and a solid core of wrestlers.
Grade: B-
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Taped from Boonton, New Jersey
Commentators: Bryce Remsburg, Leonard F. Chikarason, Mike Quackenbush, Gavin Loudspeaker, and Green Ant
Quick results, times, and ratings:
-Mark Angelosetti defeats Jervis Cottenbelly via pinfall after the Flea Flicher/6:12/**1/4
-The Baltic Siege(The Estonian Thunderfrog and Latvian Proud Oak) defeat The Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive and Max Smashmaster) after Thunderfrog crucifix pins McMassive/5:34/*1/2
-Green Ant defeats The Shard by submission after the Texas Cloverleaf/12:01/***1/4
-Rhett Titus defeats Gran Akuma via pinfall after an implant DDT/7:56/**3/4
-Not in SCUM mode but more of “Addicted to Love” mode. Titus in full 80s heel mode.
– Grizzly Redwood defeats Oleg the Usurper by pinfall/6:14/*1/2
-Jigsaw defeats Delirious via pinfall with a roll-up and handful of tights/12:24/***
-Drew Gulak defeats Frank O’Rourke by submission via the GuLock/15:35/***1/2
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