February 16th, 2018
Pre-Show Match: Fullers House (Josh Fuller and Mack Buckler) vs. The Gator Pit (Isaiah Frazier and Brendan Luthor) (w/ Coach Gator)
Fuller takes out Coach Gator with a slap before the opening bell. That was aggressively rude. The Gator Pit showcase some double team offense on Fuller. Fullers House use some underhanded tactics to allow them to isolate Luthor. Frazier tags in to the match and hits a running powerslam on Fuller. Buckler catches Frazier with a senton but inadvertently lariats his own partner. The Gator Pit hit an atomic drop-uppercut combination on Fuller for the win at 7:34. Luthor seemed to have tweaked his knee at some point during the match. This was a fine pre-show match, with Fullers House coming off as a bit sloppy. I anticipate the Gator Pit being in some more substantial matches in the coming months, so that will be a better gauge. *½
Opening Match: 2018 Men’s Commonwealth Cup Qualifier: Beau Crockett vs. Bobby Shields vs. Sage Philips vs. Dominic Garrini vs. Breaux Keller vs. Graham Bell
John Kermon was originally supposed to be in this match but Cain Justice attacked him during his entrance. Crockett, Shields and Garrini land cheap shots at the opening bell. Keller hits a nice springboard double DDT on Crockett and Garrini. Philips hits a wheelbarrow bulldog on Keller and follows with a dive onto all of his opponents. Keller adds a nice dive over the top rope. Bell walks up the ropes and lands a moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Crockett hits a spear on Bell. Keller plants Crockett with a falcon arrow but falls victim to a spike piledriver from Garrini. Philips rolls up Garrini for the victory at 7:04. Garrini attacks Philips after the match. This was an extremely fun spotfest that didn’t overstay its welcome. It was my first time seeing both Keller and Bell, but they would be welcome additions to the roster. Everyone received a chance to stand out and this worked out really well for what it was. **¾
Match #2: 2018 Women’s Commonwealth Cup Qualifier: Jordynne Grace vs. Laynie Luck vs. Isla Dawn
Luck and Dawn team up on Grace before having the inevitable disagreement about who should get the pinfall. Grace hits a double suplex but falls victim to a saito suplex from Dawn. Dawn traps Luck in a dragon sleeper but Grace is able to break up the hold. Luck connects with double knees in the corner on Dawn for a nearfall. Luck follows with a springboard crossbody but Dawn won’t stay down. Grace plants Dawn with a spinebuster and hits a pumphandle driver on Luck. Grace hits a vader bomb on Dawn for a two count. Luck catches Grace with a blockbuster. Dawn hits an air raid crash on Luck for a nearfall. Grace powerbombs Dawn onto Luck for the win at 6:43. There’s only so much you can do in six minutes, but these three really brought it. There was rarely a dull moment here and much like the opener, everyone looked good. **½
Match #3: 2018 Men’s Commonwealth Cup Qualifier: Alexander James vs. Jaxon Stone
Stone connects with a dropkick after mocking James’ bow. He follows with a brainbuster. James slides under a leapfrog and stomps away at Stone’s left arm. James settles down and works over the left arm. Stone attempts a comeback but James catches him with a rope-assisted cutter. Stone creates some space with a lariat and a yakuza kick. He hits a nice fallaway slam for a nearfall. James responds with an arm-capture brainbuster for the victory at 11:16. James did a solid job of working over the left arm in interesting ways and Stone’s subsequent selling was excellent. This was a fairly simple match in terms of structure, but the crowd had no problem getting behind Stone. I anticipate 2018 being a big year for James, as he’s been flying under the radar for quite some time. ***
Match #4: Faye Jackson vs. LuFisto
LuFisto attacks Jackson during her entrance. They trade shots around ringside. LuFisto slams Jackson’s right arm against the ringpost. She takes control in the ring until Jackson fights back with a samoan drop. Both women are down. Jackson connects with corner punches but has trouble with her injured arm. Jackson hits a running hip attack in the corner for a two count. LuFisto finds an opening to apply an armbar for the win at 7:24. This was a spirited brawl that really showcased the hostility between these two women. LuFisto capitalizing on Jackson’s emotions to wrestle a smarter match in no way made Jackson look weak and it also leaves open the possibility of another match down the line. **¾
Match #5: The Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude and Rob Killjoy) vs. The Hooligans (Devin and Mason Cutter)
The Hooligans attack before the opening bell and both teams brawl around ringside. Killjoy launches Lude into the Hooligans sitting on a chair. The Hooligans put Lude in a shopping cart and ram him into Killjoy. They slam Lude across the edges of two propped chairs. Killjoy creates some space with a double dropkick and lands a dive to the floor. In the ring, the Ducklings double team Mason until Devin breaks it up. The Hooligans hit a chokeslam on Killjoy followed by an assisted moonsault. Everyone trades punches in the center of the ring. Killjoy catches Devin with a jumping knee strike and a german suplex for a nearfall. Devin fights back with a nice bulldog. Killjoy hurricanranas Mason off the middle rope into Devin. The Ducklings hit Launchpad McQuack on Devin for the victory at 10:59. Both teams brought some incredibly unique offense to the table and the ways in which their offenses interacted made for an entertaining showcase. The Ducklings remind me of the Briscoes about ten years ago in that they manage to make their matches diverse and interesting regardless of opponents. Still, the Hooligans were really good here as well. ***¼
Match #6: Logan Easton LaRoux vs. Wheeler YUTA
YUTA frustrates LaRoux after a few opening exchanges on the mat. YUTA snaps off a few armdrags and hits a senton. LaRoux irish whips him hard into the turnbuckles and takes control. YUTA blocks a charge and hits a back body drop. He comes off the middle rope with a hurricanrana and lands a dive to the floor. Back in, YUTA lands a flying crossbody and applies a figure four. LaRoux is able to reach the bottom rope. He catches YUTA with a missile dropkick but finds himself back in the figure four. LaRoux scratches at YUTA’s eyes to break the hold. They trade strikes and LaRoux goes back to the eyes. YUTA once again synchs in a figure four and transitions into a crossface. LaRoux throws the referee into YUTA and hits an ace crusher for the win at 11:18. What a fun match. The crowd wanted nothing more than to see LaRoux tap out and LaRoux dug into the bag of tricks to scrape by with a victory. The action was designed to make YUTA look strong and they succeeded in doing that. These two had excellent chemistry together and I wouldn’t mind seeing YUTA get his win back in a rematch at some point. ***½
Match #7: Tim Donst vs. Jake Parnell
Donst has brought two individuals to help him in mission to be safe in the ring. Donst frustrates Parnell by getting the better of an opening exchange. Donst misses a top-rope splash but his safety helmet breaks the fall. Parnell fails to understand the benefits of wearing a safety helmet. Donst hits a DDT and connects with an elbow drop. Donst is doing a lot of offense that makes Parnell look incredibly stupid in his debut. Parnell lands a dive onto Donst and his safety advisors. He takes control in the ring until Donst hits an ace crusher. Donst follows with a short brainbuster onto the apron. He hits a superplex and then sends Parnell into turnbuckles with a suplex for a nearfall. Parnell answers with a sliced bread. He adds another sliced bread but this time on onto the floor. Parnell connects with a flying double stomp for a two count. Donst recovers with a butterfly piledriver for the victory at 16:09. Donst’s “safety first” gimmick has easily won over the crowd but it’s gotten so overwhelming at this point that it’s taking away from the action for me. Sixteen minutes felt long given that I didn’t see a real discernible story to guide the action. Parnell looked solid in his debut but all of the focus was on Donst here. **¼
Match #8: The Carnies (Kerry Awful and Nick Iggy) vs. Pow Meow (Allie Kat and Christi Jaynes)
Awful challenges Kat to a shoulder block battle while not taking her very seriously. Kat is eventually able to take Awful to the canvas. Jaynes shows the crowd how flexible she is and Iggy fails to copy mimic her. Pow Meow catch Awful with a series of sentons. Some timely double teaming allows the Carnies to work over Jaynes. She connects with a flying double stomp on Awful, dives onto Iggy, but can’t make the tag. Awful cuts her off with a gutbuster. Jaynes lands a springboard crossbody onto the Carnies and finally makes the tag. Kat catches Awful with a seated senton and Iggy with a corner cannonball. She follows with a shining wizard to Awful. The teams stare each other down and trade strikes. Awful and Kat hit stereo piledrivers and then go back to battle. They trade body slams and collide on stereo headbutt attempts. Jaynes hits a spanish fly off the middle rope on Iggy for a nearfall. The Carnies hit a forced destroyer on Jaynes. Awful accidentally boots Iggy but recovers with a back suplex on Kat. Kat surprises Awful with a quick rollup for the win at 19:38. I certainly liked the idea of this match in theory, but the execution wasn’t fully there. Nineteen minutes was asking for a lot and although they filled the time with some quality stuff (the Kat/Awful intensity was great), the action dragged at a certain point. Note that none of my complaints here have anything to do with Pow Meow not “belonging” or any nonsense like that. Intergender professional wrestling is tremendous and more promotions should embrace it. **½
Match #9: Arik Royal vs. Gunner Miller
They have an intense lockup and stare each other down. Unsurprisingly, no one is budging during a shoulder block battle. Royal gains enough momentum to take Miller down and make him retreat. Miller chop blocks Royal’s left leg and takes over. At one point, he spears Royal off the apron and nearly into the crowd. Royal hits a desperation powerslam and both men are down. Royal hits a series of exploders along with a back suplex. Miller answers with a spinebuster. Royal finds an opening to hit Space Jam for a two count. Miller delivers a low blow behind the referee’s back and hits a jackhammer for the victory at 18:43. The duration of these final three matches meant that I was a bit burnt out by the main event. You’ll notice there wasn’t a ton of play-by-play for a nineteen-minute match and that’s because it felt like not much happened. Miller’s early leg work never came into play down the stretch and the low blow finish was rather deflating given the match duration. Defeating Royal still feels like a big deal, but Miller’s win here didn’t feel as earned as LaRoux’s at the Commonwealth Cup. **
-Show Grade: C+
–You Need to See:
–You’d Enjoy Watching: LaRoux/YUTA, Ducklings/Hooligans, James/Stone
–You Should Avoid: