Wrestling is Heart’s debut show had some solid action but lacked, ironically enough, Heart. As someone who loved how fleshed out the characters were in the Class Wars show that the School of Roc produced, I was sorely disappointed to see that had seemingly been lost. Their second show had promise but I was weary of it taking place in Villa Park, IL. The School of Roc/Wrestling is Heart ran their first two shows in Lafayette, IN and seemingly had cut out a nice section of fans for themselves. Fans who, even if they don’t keep up exactly with every character, have enough wherewithal to play along and who could learn to appreciate (and in turn cheer and boo) the characters for who they are. Nevertheless, the card looked promising and I came into the show with cautious optimism.
Even though Arctic Rescue Ant could not make his scheduled bout with Green Ant, Drew Gulak as his replacement was more than welcome. These two had an excellent match the previous weekend at “Wrestling is Art” and it was a safe bet they would have another good match here. While this “third” bout was good, it didn’t reach the level of their previous encounters . It was the opening match and the crowd was a lot smaller so that’s to be expected. There wasn’t much to sink your teeth into outside of some good counter wrestling, but considering how good both participants are at that, the match was still enjoyable.
The one positive about the smaller crowd was it gave Christian Rose the ambiance to be a great heel in his match with Angelus Layne. He pulled off some typical heel troupes like misogyny and subterfuge (teasing bigger moves and giving them something cheap instead) which worked out well given the environment. The match only got five minutes so there really wasn’t much development to speak of, so it was just kind of there. Between this and his match with Buck Boulder at “Wrestling is Intense”, it would seem as if Rose is being primed to be a big time heel in those two companies. I’m OK with this as long as he’s programmed with guys who will play to his strengths. Layne didn’t get a chance to do much but was fine in her role.
Chuck Taylor and Jervis Cottonbelly had a “battle of the gentlemen” which was quite entertaining. The one thing these two are really good at is mixing in some good wrestling with their humor. That’s exactly how this match went down. Taylor had a lot of crowd interaction and stalling. Cottonbelly tried teach Taylor how to be a real gentlemen, such as holding the ropes for your opponent to get back in the ring, but obviously that backfired. Cottonbelly also felt guilty when he blocked Taylor’s charge and accidentally crotched him in the middle rope. The ending sequence was a really solid wrestling exchange that saw Taylor use a uranage to put Cottonbelly away. This was really fun and the dynamic of both competitors worked so well. They’re basically the antithesis of one another. I think they could have played it up more but I really enjoyed the match as it stands.
I had the pleasure of seeing The Daywalkers in their “debut” at Tag World Grand Prix 2013 in person. Their match with Zero Gravity was strange. Even though the Daywalkers won, it was Zero Gravity who got to shine and got the ovation. Thankfully their match against the Batiri was much more even, gave them more time to showcase their work as a team, and got them the ovation in the end. Their match on this show against Juan Francisco de Coronado and the Pride of Indiana (Devin Bliss & Chris Castle) was far and away the best they looked all weekend long. It was pretty much them in control the entire time and really getting to show not only how well they gel together but with Gangrel too. Chris Castle’s comeback was also full of energy and really crisp. Coronado was an odd choice as a teammate, but worked well in trying to hog the glory of the pinfall only for it to backfire. Bliss needs some help. He lacks any character or charisma, doesn’t stand out at all, and his offense tends to be a bit sloppy at times. While the action was really good by and large the finish confounded me. Gangrel got the pin over Corpnado after an implant DDT. Given that Gangrel may not be back after this weekend and that Coronado has been made to look dominant in most of the Wrestling Is companies, why Gangrel would be the one to get the glory of the pinfall and Coronado would be the one taking the fall is really perplexing. At the least the right team got the win and I really look forward to seeing more out of The Daywalkers. I think this new persona does a lot for them personality wise.
Speaking of Tag World, we followed up with a rematch from that show as Saturyne & Heidi Lovelace took on AC/DC (Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin). The two matches could not have been any more different (which is a good thing). The Tg World match saw both teams as Tecnicos with AC/DC reluctant to harm their female combatants. This time AC/DC were the Rudos and had your prototypical tag affair. I’m happy they didn’t play up any typical male vs. female troupes as that was already done with Rose and Layne. Both teams are good enough to do without them anyhow. Instead we got a fun, back-and-forth match where all four competitors got a chance to shine. Lovelace was able to score an upset victory on Corbin with a sunset flip which the crowd was genuinely surprised by and appreciative of. That goes to show just how well the teams played their parts. It’s hard to compare the two matches they had since they were so different, so I’ll just say I enjoyed them both for different reasons.
The Estonian Thunderfrog and Pittman had a fairly disappointing contest. I like both guys, but Pittman still shows rookie tendencies from time to time. He’s not as polished as others on the show have been, leading to a couple clumsy moments. He had the wherewithal to turn a crossbody that almost went wrong into a slam so kudos for that. It was just one of those matches where the crowd didn’t seem to care about either competitor and reacted as such. It also ended out of nowhere with Pittman hitting a Side Effect. There really wasn’t much rhyme or reason to action and it felt like it slowed down the show just before the main event. The Thunderfrog was going on his third straight day of wrestling so that may have had an effect too. Not the best outing from either participant.
The main event tag team match was destined for another crowd. If nothing else, this show portrayed just how much this company needs on the Lafayette, IN crowd at the Tippecanoe Fairgrounds. It’s not as if the crowd couldn’t figure out who to cheer or boo, but were unfamiliar and really had no true connection to anyone in the match. The match itself was fine but nothing outstanding, nor did it really do anything to advance anyone’s issues or characters. I think the deal with Dale Patricks is that he gets too excited and lets his emotions get the best of him in the matches, but they sure didn’t do much on commentary to portray that point. He mostly got mocked for it. The League looked more formidable than Roc and Patricks and it made for an awkward final moments. It was an underwhelming match but could have been better if the commentators knew what the story was (or if they bothered to care) and if the crowd were more familiar with the participants.
Overall: Even though it was in front of a less engaged crowd, the card from top to bottom may have been more well-rounded than the first show. Even though nothing approaced the best matches on the first show, the Daywalkers trios match, the opening bout, Taylor vs. Cottonbelly, and the Tag World rematch I say are worth taking into consideration when contemplating purchasing the show. I for one think it’s worth the $5, but I can see why some of the lesser matches may deter somebody away from it.
You can purchase this show as an SMVOD for just $4.99.
For more information on Wrestling is Heart, check out their website. You can also follow them on Twitter. Also check out my “Wrestling Is” Tumblr for information on all the Wrestling Is companies, which is also siphoned through the CHIKARA Special Twitter.
Results/Match times/Ratings
1. Green Ant pins Drew Gulak with a prawn hold at 8:49. **½
2. Christian Rose defeated Angelus Layne with “Ride The Lightning” at 5:15. *
3. Chuck Taylor puts away Jervis Cottonbelly in 9:43. **¾
4. Gangrel & The Daywalkers (Mathias Cage & Alexandre Barnabus Castle) defeated Juan Francisco de Coronado and the Pride of Indiana (Devin Bliss & Chris Castle) when Gangrel spun Coronado out into an Implant DDT in 8:28. **¾
5. Saturyne & Heidi Lovelace upset AC/DC (Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin) when Lovelace caught Corbin with a sunset flip in 11:59. **¾
6. Joe Pittman defeats The Estonian Thunderfrog with a spin-out Side Effect at 7:38. *
7. Billy Roc & Dale Patricks triumphed over The League (Reed Bentley & Tripp Cassidy)with Roc hitting a standing Shiranui onto Bentley in 14:53. **½