There were a lot of fans that were there in the rain and the cold (including my poor, freezing wife that I somehow convinced her to join me). We began the night with Keith Roberts, James Hawke & Kody Kox hyping up the night.
First match: Lou Sterrett vs. “Jiggle-O” James Johnson
This was my first time to see Sterrett. I believe he’s been around a while. He has a nice, simple persona that differentiates himself. Johnson works great as a face and was in his element here against Sterrett. Sterrett had some nice stiff chops to start the night. It was an engaged crowd most of the night. Sterrett impressed me, good facials. Johnson really had some exciting work. It was a nice solid opener.
Winner: Johnson
“The Jersey Jackass” BC vs. Frankie Fisher
The previous show BC lost a hair vs. career match. So he had on a long blond wig in the vein of Molly Holly after she lost her hair vs. hair match at Wrestlemania XX. This was the comedy match. BC carried himself well in it. Perhaps he has his place as a comedy wrestler. Frankie is so good at comedy matches. He realized his role and kept the crowd in it. My wife even laughed at the wig. A boy in the front row got to slap BC. The story was nice as the story was BC trying to not be revealed as bald. The crowd really loved it, and Frankie got the pin.
Winner: Frankie
Frankie keeps on stepping up his work.
Third match: Angel Blue vs. Delilah Doom
I’d call Angel Blue one of the top heels in women’s wrestling, and probably one of the best in all of Texas, male or female. A teen fangirl got up to cheer her on her way in, and Angel crushed her with words I can’t say because my mom might read this. This was my first time to see Doom. First impression is that she is really cute. I totally swooned, probably my biggest new crush (Sorry, Machiko) in wrestling. (For anybody thinking I’m creepy, you haven’t seen my wife watching Arrow.) She reminded me of a cross between Addy Starr and Veda Scott. The crowd really got into her, chanting for her and supporting her. It is difficult to shine when you are working against such a bright star as Angel.
Winner: Angel
I’d like to see more Delilah as time goes on. Her look is just distinct enough to differentiate her from everyone else. And to all the major companies: SHIMMER, Shine, WSU, AIW, it’s time to give Angel a shot.
Fourth match: Mace (c) w/Claudia vs. Kenny Steele
Kenny looks enthusiastic and so athletic. Should he ever harness all his raw talent, there should be no stop for him. Mace and Claudia came out so focused and so intense. Before the bell, Zero the Antihero and Carlos Esquivel attacked Mace while Kenny laid on the top turnbuckle. They finished and wrapped him up for Kenny. But Claudia interfered with the ref while the crowd counted til about 16. Mace was able to kick out. Then he killed Kenny, the crowd summoning one of my favorite chants, “You killed Kenny.” Either Mace is really great at making his moves look really stiff or he brutally destroys his opponent.
Winner: Mace
I would have liked to have seen Kenny get more offense. Mace is looking strong for Murdoch, but I think Kenny didn’t look very credible as a contender for a belt he’s already held.
Fifth match: Diamond Dave w/”The” Code Greyson vs. LLP
The Code is incredible on the mic. Last time I heard him, he was doing announcing. Tonight he introduced his wrestler Diamond Dave. He looks generic and there is really nothing to separate himself from any other wrestler in the world, especially with his name. But then he starts in the ring. He is an incredible feast of the eyes to watch. (Reminds me a lot of how I feel about the Young Bucks) LLP didn’t really get a showcase but he held his own. There was all kind of flippy floppy stuff.
Winner: Dave
The best reaction was Code’s after the match, like “I told you all how awesome he was.” Mrs. Ruff let me know I needed to put in my blog about space heaters. We really should have tried bringing our own. It was really cold that night. At least inside the building the wind was neutralized.
Sixth match: Steven Kirby w/Nigel Rabid & Kevin Cross vs. Jerome Daniels
I love this Steven Kirby heel transition. He is such a totally different character, persona, ring style, facials, everything. My wife even remarked that Cross was huge. Jerome has such a calm coolness. This match had no flippy floppy stuff. It was a slugfest between two guys who had no love lost. Great drama with the arm breaker. Frankie Fisher came out to neutralize the threat of Nigel and Cross. Nigel is one of my favorites to watch because he understands the crowd dynamics and works so hard to get them back into it. This match was better than it was on paper. It turned out to be one of my favorite matches of the night.
Winner: Daniels
After the match, Haiden came out and started a beatdown. Matt Palmer came to the rescue. Looks like we might have a feud building between the Rabid Empire and Frankie, Palmer and Jerome possibly.
Seventh match: Scott Murdoch (c) vs. Ben Wylde w/Viktor Tadlock
I’m really liking Murdoch’s title reign. He’s really taking on all comers and comes out of them looking like a believable champ. It was great to see Ben in a semi-main event role. This match didn’t have the length I felt it deserved, but Ben held his own in there. Props to Tadlock who did great in his corner. Murdoch looks ready to move to the next level in a worldwide company. Mace and Claudia came out to interfere, distracting Ben. Murdoch’s powerbomb came out of nowhere to get the pin.
Winner: Murdoch
After the match, Mace teased cashing in his prospects championship (which works a lot like the WWE’s Money in the Bank). Murdoch got on the mic and said that even though he had a match, he was willing to take him on now. Mace acted like he was going to, but as he backed away, Murdoch “triple dog dared” him, starting a “Triple Dog Dare” chant. Mace got in the ring, Murdoch speared him and there was a skirmish. But as soon as Mace could, he got out of there. Then Claudia got in there and Murdoch gave her a powerbomb. Ok, this is where I have a problem. I’ve seen Claudia have competitive matches against guys in that very building. So intergender matches have been ok. But tonight Claudia takes a powerbomb and all of a sudden, MPX does not condone violence against women. Decide what role you want women to play and stick with it.
Main event: Matt Palmer vs. Gregory James vs. Paul London
Matt & Greg have had a series of matches that is legendary. I’ve seen wrestlers phone it in in the indies (let’s just say the biggest offender’s name rhymes with Maven). Paul London is not one of those wrestlers. He came in through the crowd, shook everybody’s hands who wanted to. Then he really brought it strong. Greg did the heel sit-outside-and-let-the-faces-fight thing. Greg and Palmer would do their thing followed by London getting in the mix. There was a series of stiff super kicks all three traded that hurt to watch. That was probably the best part of the match for me. As soon as the fans started chanting “Awesome match,” Nigel, Cross & Haiden came out to interfere. Greg took the interference and stole one of the biggest victories of his career, a pin over Paul London.
Winner: Gregory James
Greg snuck out of there like the snake he is. After the match, Jerome came out to save London and Palmer. Paul London took the mic and put over Palmer and Jerome and the crowd. He legitimately looked like he loved being there and would be back.
All in all… As I said earlier, I’ve seen wrestlers look like there’s any other place in the world they’d rather be. Then there are the good ones: Athena, Funaki, Ophidian, Jerry Lynn, AJ Styles, Jazz, Su Yung. I’d definitely put London in the good category, probably near the top of the nicest former WWE guys.
Consequences was a really killer show. It was really hard to top that overall. But tonight was about starting their new mini-story lines for their next big show. They are doing a sensational job of building up Mace for a feud with Murdoch. Angel Blue reminded me incredible she was in the ring. Diamond Dave really blew me away in the ring. Kirby-Daniels was a really good match that became bigger than I thought it was going to be. And of course the main event totally delivered. The best praise I can give it is my wife, who loves wrestling because it gets me out of the house, enjoyed it tonight.