The thing that really started to occur to me while watching this particular C4 show was the idea that this is a local promotion meant to entertain the fans of Eastern Ontario. Anyone comparing this group to PWG is pretty much off their rocker because not only is the match quality not even close to the standards of what happens in Reseda month after month ( as you’ll see in a couple days in my Ten review), but to make the comparison sets unreasonable high standards for C4. It’s simply not fair to ask any promotion to be PWG. The best thing for C4 to try and do, and for fans to appreciate them or not, is to see them as their own enitity.
C4 loves telling their stories and trying to get a lot of heat on their heels. In a way, I admire their willingness to so differentiate between the heels and babyfaces and to emphasize storytelling over star ratings. On the other hand, I feel their propensity to emphasize storyline over match quality hurts them and also leads to eye-rolling finishes which ultimately will turn certain independent wrestling fans away from the product.
The DVD began with some bonus footage of 3.0 killing time after the tag title match, which actually took place later on the DVD. Time needed to be killed because the top rope had broke off. I have no idea why this was included on the DVD because 3.0 made some comments directed at some of the fans and wrestlers which could be deemed offensive. Given that there were children in the building, the un-PG language seemed particularly unnecessary. If this was my company, no way does this get included on any DVD. After the promo, we got two perfunctory pre-show matches as The Rush and Chris Cruise (not the former WCW commentator) beat Pat Skillz and Billy Gibson. There were a lot of movez in the match but not much else. Marcus Marquez beat Lucky in a more basic match. Neither guy looked terrible, and this seemed to serve its purpose.
Onto the real show as Sebastian Suave once again picked up a victory thanks to a low blow and modified Michinoku driver on Sexxxy Eddy. You probably have heard Eddy’s name recently because of all of the Kevin Steen shoot interviews as he’s the guy who drank his own blood in CZW. There was none of that in this match, but this was a decent way to open the show. My problem with the match had nothing to do with the execution of moves or storytelling but the ending. The low blow has become such a popular trope these days on the indies, all of its effectiveness is gone. C4 actually broke out this ending again on this show and has propensity for doing it once a show, usually involving the Authority. All you’re establishing with fans is matches don’t end until a referee stupidly looks away and something illegal happens behind their back. This is the crime of so many promotions. Interference and screwjobs are fine… if they’re used sparingly. Once it becomes a pattern, I lose a lot of interest and want to stop reviewing your company’s shows.
Not much could be done in the next match given the top rope broke. Unfortunately, there were four teams involved, and instead of a match that got a lot of time, we got four minutes of movez and finishers. I’m not sure why the ropes couldn’t simply be repaired while some sort of brawl took place on the outside or the match could have simply been stopped and re-started later. Checkmate retained in an abbreviated contest. I wish this could have gotten more time. Can’t ding the wrestlers too hard for having to readjust plans on the fly, but this certainly wasn’t what I would have hoped for.
There was a Montreal show which again was not released through Smart Mark Video, so I may have missed a couple storyline points. However, Twiggy’s new gimmick of being sexist continued with a win in a rematch from the January show against Addy Starr. This was portrayed as the ending of a feud. Well, if that’s the case, I didn’t buy for a second that Starr ever had a chance of winning this. Twiggy dominated much of the match and worked the leg. He locked in the figure four leglock (which he calls the Manhandle… a fantastic idea if you ask me) to get the victory. Solid psychology. Not a great match by any stretch. Afterward, Twiggy brought out an Intergender championship, really just a toy belt purchased at a local store. His idea is essentially recycling the old Andy Kaufman gimmick done in 1982 by wrestling and beating women. Given the accepted nature of intergender matches and the number of talented female workers, this could be a great chance to resuscitate a 30-year-old angle. As long as it’s modernized and tweeked, this could be a fun part of shows and not repetitive or redundant.
Michael Von Payton was supposed to wrestle Franky the Mobster on this night, but due to the latter no-showing, we got Darkko instead. Darkko (first name not Donnie) Darkko is a Kane/Undertaker knock-off, and he obviously needs a ton of work. Instead of the low blow trope, we got the old “someone distracting a wrestler and causing them to lose” trope. Darko won with a chokeslam off the top rope on Payton. Von Payton appeared to be doing all he could to maintain the pace and tone of the match, but this was only going to hit a certain level regardless. Rahim Ali was the man who distracted Von Payton, and a career versus career match was signed for the next show between the two men.
Just over a year before their epic 30 minute encounter at Absolution VIII, Michael Elgin and Josh Alexander seemed positioned to put on a classic in Canada. That is until Kevin Steen came in and ruined the fun roughly five minutes into the bout. Steen’s opponent was also unable to show, so he slotted himself in to make this a three way match. This was as good a match as you could hope or want from this three. In total, there was a ton of action, and they did all they could with the time given. The crowd was definitely feeling how awesome this match was. You can tell C4 really wants to push Alexander since he defeated Elgin clean as a sheet after two butterfly drivers. This is honestly one of the few matches I’d say is worth going out of your way to see based on what I’ve seen so far from C4. After the match, Selezyia Sparx offered Alexander a spot in The Authority. He politely turned them down and tried to beat Sparx up. Sebastian Suave and Tabernek De Team came out to beat Alexander up. This led naturally into the next match as Uno and Mike Bailey made the save.
Bailey and Uno appeared to have their match against St. Jacque and DuBois won. Of course the referee was distracted, so TDK took advantage and got the win. The match was fine, but the these endings are so repetitive that it makes me enjoy the matches less.
Main event time as Stu Grayson defended his championship successfully over three other men. Scotty O’Shea, Jae Rukin, and Brent B were the unsuccessful challengers. Grayson at least has a solid submission hold to win his matches, but again C4 relies on overbooking to compensate for deficiencies in talent. The action was generally okay, but the way this company chooses to tell its stories clearly aren’t for me, and I’m not sure how many more shows I’m going to review. In this case, O’Shea was oh so close to coming away with the win after an overhead suplex and cannonball. Grayson kicked out, caused a collision with the official, and then won with his submission. Of course Suave shoved O’Shea’s leg away from the rope.
I’m glad the fans in attendance seem to enjoy and embrace the talents. I’m happy for the talents who get work on a monthly basis and have the potential to work with guys like Kevin Steen, Michael Elgin, and Josh Alexander. I’m happy for anyone who enjoys C4 as a company because apparently what they’re doing isn’t for me. I’ve got a few more shows already purchased which I’m going to review for PWP, but I don’t forsee this becoming a permanent part of my reviewing rotation. If the match quality and technical aspects of shows were more consistent, I could see recommending the company to other fans.
Grade: C-
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-Taped from Ontario, Canada
-Commentators: Adam B. and Mike Rotch
-The Rush and Chris Cruise defeat Pat Skillz and Billy Gibson. Rush pinned Skillz with a flapjack out of a firemen’s carry./5:48/*1/2
-Marcus Marquez defeats Lucky by pinfall with an STO/7:11/*3/4
-Sebastian Suave (w/Selezyia Sparx) defeats Sexxxy Eddy by pinfall with a modified Michinoku driver./12:23/**3/4
-C4 Tag Team Championship: ) Checkmate (Christopher Knight and Lionel Bishop retain over 3.0 (Scott Parker and Shane Matthews) vs. Johnny Wave and Alex Vega vs. The After Party (Cecil Nyx and Chaz Lovely). Bishop hit a rana on Vega right into a Bishop powerbomb./3:58/N/R
-Twiggy defeats Addy Starr by submission with the figure four leglock/8:17/**
-Darkko defeats Michael Von Payton by pinfall after a chokeslam/7:26/*1/2
-Josh Alexander defeats Kevin Steen and Michael Elgin. Alexander pins Elgin after a second butterfly driver./16:13/***1/2
-The Authority (Mathieu St. Jacque and Thomas DuBois) defeated Mike Bailey and Player Uno by pinfall./11:10/**1/2
Uno snaps and attacks St. Jacque. Uno falcon punches the referee.
-C4 Championship: Stu Grayson (w/Selezyia Sparx) (champion) defends successfully over Scotty O’Shea, Jae Rukin, and Brent B by submission. Grayson choked O’Shea out./11:57/**
For more information on C*4, including upcoming shows and a shop to buy DVDs directly, check out their website. You can also buy their DVDs, MP4s, and online streams at Smart Mark Video.
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