May 6th, 2018
United Glory Tag Team Championship: Everett Connors and DJZ (c) vs. The Workhorsemen (James Drake and Anthony Henry)
Besides the confusion at the end, this was a really good opening match. The Workehorsemen have been killing it wherever they go, ever since becoming regulars on the EVOLVE roster last year. Connors and DJZ are a thrown together team, after Connors won the tag titles with Elgin… But we all know what happened there. Interesting choice for this match to open the show, but it worked. The crowd was involved, DJZ got a good hot tag, and the closing stretch was really great. Drake and Henry work so well together, and can pull off some insane moves. What costed them the match was a misunderstanding, with Henry not knowing that Drake was legal. They then proceeded to go for one too many dives, which allowed DJZ to get out of the way, and hit the big DDT on James Drake to pick up the win. Hopefully this isn’t the last of The Workhorsemen here in Glory Pro, as both men delivered big time.
Winners: Everett Connors and DJZ
Match Rating: ***1/4
Airwolf vs. Jimmy Jacobs
The winner was never in doubt, but Jacobs didn’t get as much of a pop as expected. This was his first time in Glory Pro, and I wouldn’t be shocked if we see him more often. Airwolf was the winner of “Gateway to Glory”, which made him the Resurgence Champion, and also getting this match against Jacobs. The crowd didn’t really buy into the near falls, and the match was more of doing move after move, with no real story. That said, this wasn’t a bad match, and was quite an improvement from any of Airwolf’s performances back in March. After the match, Jacobs got on the mic and put Airwolf over, and the two hugged it out.
Winner: Jimmy Jacobs
Match Rating: **3/4
Kylie Rae vs. Savanna Stone vs. Rahne Victoria vs. Shotzi Blackheart
One of Elgin’s goals for Glory Pro was to introduce a Women’s Championship in 2018. There has been quite a few women’s matches, but they have never been the greatest. Savanna Stone and Kylie Rae are two of the chosen ones, and the stars of this match. Victoria and Blackheart were fine, but aren’t two that I’d build the division around. Overall, this was a fine little match, they got some time, but the finish came off as flat, and the crowd didn’t care a ton. Good win for Kylie, as she’d be the perfect first champion, if there ever is a championship for the women.
Winner: Klyie Rae
Match Rating: **1/2
Hakim Zane’s Open Challenge
Hakin Zane is coming off of a loss for the Crown of Glory Championship, back at Gateway to Glory. He came into this match expecting Darby Allin, but an injury forced Allin off the card. Instead, Hakim issued a challenge to the greatest talent in the back… Only for SPACE MONKEY to accept! This match was fun at times, but definitely went too long. There was no reason for this one to go 11 and a half minutes. Space Monkey captured the crowd, and the absolute despise for him from 1/2 of commentary was great. Hakim Zane has some potential, and needed this win to rebound from his big loss back in March. Overall, a fun match at times, some good spots, but would’ve been better with a few minutes trimmed off.
Winner: Hakim Zane
Match Rating: **3/4
Jeff Cobb vs. Moose
Easily the best thing on the show so far. Just two big lads doing their thing, with an invested crowd, how much better can it get? There were lots of great exchanges in this one, with some good brawling on the outside as well. Really back and forth match, with neither getting the advantage until the very end, where Jeff Cobb hit the Tour of the Islands to pick up the win. Awesome match, and there’s still tons yet to come. After the match, the crowd showed their respect for Moose, and the two took it all in. No one will be upset if you continue to bring these two in, even though I prefer Cobb over Moose. At times, Moose can be an inconsistent performer, but thankfully that wasn’t the case here tonight.
Winner: Jeff Cobb
Match Rating: ***1/2
No New Friends vs. Besties in the World
Sadly, this wasn’t the tag match I expected, but it definitely wasn’t bad. It started off slow, with No New Friends dominating 2 on 1. Once we got to the hot tag, things broke down a bit, but still never reached the next level. It was a little disappointing, but the ending surely brought things back up. When The Besties looked prime to win the match, KLD pulled the referee out of the ring, which allowed for MIKE OUTLAW to make his way ringside, in a No New Friends hoodie, and then take out the Besties, leaving Danny Adams to pick up the win. The match went a bit long, and was quite slow at times, but had a good closing stretch, with a very intriguing ending. KLD got on the mic afterwards, and said that while he was busy being a loser in Kansas City, the one man by his side the entire time was Mike Outlaw. These three are going to face the nWo in October, so take that as you will.
Winners: No New Friends
Match Rating: ***
MJF vs. Tyler Matrix
Danny Adams and KLD must see big things in Tyler Matrix, because he is constantly in high profile matches. Tonight was no different, and he ended up getting the surprise victory over MJF. Before the match, MJF but a promo and said that Matrix won’t get a single pinfall on him. Matrix got one right out of the gate, and that was our entertainment until the finish. This wasn’t that great of a match, more of MJF working down Matrix, until the big finish. Matrix did the same thing to MJF that MJF did to him, that being a poke to the eyes, and then stole a roll up to pick up the win. We’ll see where Matrix goes from here, with talent like Shane Strickland and Ethan Page booked for July’s event.
Winner: Tyler Matrix
Match Rating: **1/2
Knockouts Only: “Warhorse” Jake Parnell vs. Gary Jay
With these two battling all over the Midwest, it’s only fitting that Glory Pro gets a gimmick match for themselves. “Warhorse” Jake Parnell has become one of the top babyfaces in Glory Pro, and this was a much needed, big time win for him. The rivalry between Jake Parnell and Gary Jay seems to be over here in Glory Pro, but this was a great way to finish the feud. While I believe that their first match was the best of the series, this was a good and brutal match, with both men getting a lot in. Tons of good brawling, all over Wild Country. This was a Knockout Only match, but I expected more than just dropping the hand three times. That seemed like the lazy way out, when you look at how matches were worked at Matt Riddle’s Bloodsport over Mania weekend. In the end, it took two double stomp’s for Warhorse to finally defeat Gary Jay, and now Warhorse has a tough test ahead of him against Myron Reed at July show.
Winner: Warhorse
Match Rating: ***1/4
Ultimate Survival: Barackus, Curt Stallion, and The Boys From Jolleyville vs. Jake Something, Myron Reed, Paco, and Stephen Wolf
To describe this match in a nutshell, it’s WarGames without a cage. The first period lasts five minutes, and then new participants come in every 2 minutes. If Curt Stallion’s team wins this match, Stallion will receive a Crown of Glory Championship match at the next show.
You know the drill, the heel team won the coin toss, which resulted in Jake Something being double teamed by the Boys From Jolleyville. As things evened out, the match got more and more chaotic, but once it was 4 on 4, they toned things down a bit, and relied on 1-1 encounters in the ring, with everyone else resting on the outside. That aside, this was a fun match, with stars like Paco and Jake Something really getting to shine. Curt Stallion is really embracing his heel role, and the constant low blows and cheap shots bring him to the next level. Paco and Stallion stole the show, having an insane exchange of strikes and big moves, before Stallion nailed a low blow and sent him packing. This left Something and Stallion one-on-one, only for Stallion to nail a low blow, attack the injured knee, and then hit the running headbutt to pick up the win. Stallion will now get a Crown of Glory Championship match in July, and that match has tons of potential. There’s tons to go off of, and those two should absolutely kill it. Overall, this was WarGames without a cage, and while fun at times, it didn’t have that it factor to make this match great. Something was just missing.
Winners: Barackus, Curt Stallion, and The Boys From JolleyVille
Match Rating: ***1/2
Final Thoughts:
Glory Pro always features 2-4 great matches, sometimes going into 4* territory, if not higher. We’ve seen classics like Elgin/Riddle, Fenix/Reed, Marufuji/Dijak, and so many more. For this show, nothing exceeded ***1/2 stars, but that doesn’t mean it was a terrible show. There were lots of good matches, with the Tag Title, Cobb/Moose, Warhorse/Jay, and Ultimate Survival all worth your time. Most of the other things on the show served a purpose, and continued to bulid up stars like Kylie Rae, Hakim Zane, and Tyler Matrix. Otherwise, we now know that No New Friends is a three man group, with Mike Outlaw joining forces with KLD and Danny Adams. The big main event was set for July, that being Stallion/Something for the Crown of Glory. This was a great show to progress several storylines and it kept building up talent, which has always been the goal.
Show Rating: 6.8/10