June 9th, 2018
Opening Match: Semifinal Round: Fred Yehi (w/ Stokely Hathaway) vs. Tracy Williams
They trade control on the mat. Yehi hits a shoulder tackle but misses a stomp. Williams even tries a stomp to no avail. Yehi is able to connect with a stomp and goes after Williams’ fingers. Yehi connects with a basement dropkick and takes control. Williams fights back with a back suplex and a nice DDT. Yehi rams him into the turnbuckles and hits a dragon suplex for a nearfall. He adds a powerbomb but Williams won’t stay down. Williams connects with a lariat and hits a death valley driver. Yehi anticipates a splash and traps Williams in the koji clutch. He transitions into a crucifix pin for a two count. Williams locks in a crossface but Yehi escapes. Williams sneaks in an Oklahoma roll for the win at 10:22. These two knew each other extremely well and delivered an engaging opener. The finish made sense in context, as the only likely way a match between these two ends in ten minutes is if someone gets caught by a rollup. Given their place on the card, this was a fun exhibition. ***
Match #2: Semifinal Round: Dominic Garrini vs. Sage Philips
Philips dives onto Garrini during his entrance. Garrini slams Philips onto the apron and they brawl around ringside. In the ring, Garrini blocks a slingshot flatliner with a knee strike and takes control. They trade slaps and Philips hits a german suplex. Garrini answers with a regalplex for a nearfall. Philips catches him with a double stomp out of the corner. Garrini hits a nice TKO for a two count. Philips responds with two butterfly DDTs for the victory at 5:48. It’s nice that they referenced Garrini’s attack on Philips a few months ago. This was a spirited brawl that didn’t overstay its welcome, although I think they have a better, longer match in them. Again, given their place in context of a larger tournament, this was well-executed. **½
Match #3: Semifinal Round: Homicide vs. Wheeler YUTA
YUTA hangs onto a side headlock and snaps off a few armdrags. Homicide traps him inside the ring skirt and lays in a few strikes. Homicide rolls a chair into YUTA’s legs but the referee stops him before he can inflict more damage with the chair. Homicide hits a backbreaker and takes control. YUTA fights back with a springboard dropkick and lands a dive to the floor. Back in, Homicide hits an ace crusher but falls victim to an olympic slam. YUTA connects with a flying elbow drop for a nearfall. Homicide hits an alabama slam and applies a kneebar, but he’s too close to the ropes. YUTA connects with an enzuigiri and hits a rydeen bomb for a questionable three count at 8:24. YUTA’s spunkiness played much better with Homicide’s viciousness than Beau Crockett did on Night 1. These two were on their way to a good outing before the abrupt finish. Given what happened later in this show, the awkward three count seems to be intentional for storyline purposes. **½
Match #4: Semifinal Round: Arik Royal vs. PCO
They start the match cautiously and neither man budges on a shoulder tackle attempt. Royal snaps off a hurricanrana but PCO catches him with a powerslam. PCO lays in a few kicks and hits a senton. Royal back drops him to the floor and they brawl around ringside. At some point, both men take their straps down during a chop exchange. PCO hits a back suplex across the apron. He reenters the ring so he can land a dive to the floor. Back in, PCO hits a michinoku driver and connects with a series of stomps. He lands a top-rope moonsault and a frog splash for a huge nearfall. PCO goes back up top but Royal cuts him off with a powerbomb. Royal hits a pounce for the victory at 10:04. The charming thing about PCO is that he could have believably won this tournament and it wouldn’t come off as phony at all. His career resurgence is truly something to behold. I enjoyed this PCO match a bit more than his outing against Nick Gage on Night 1. Royal did a great job here and I’ve yet to see a less than memorable PCO match. ***¼
Match #5: Women’s Commonwealth Cup Final Round: Jordynne Grace vs. Allie Kat
They exchange quick pin attempts to no avail. Kat sends Grace to the floor with a shoulder tackle. Kat gives chase but gets dropped face-first onto the apron. Grace takes control until Kat finds an opening to target her left leg. Kat applies a half crab and even hits a senton onto the left leg. Grace gets her knees up to block a second senton. They trade lariats and fall to the canvas. Grace military presses Kat off the top rope and hits a vader bomb for a nearfall. Kat responds with a german suplex and a shining wizard. She follows with a piledriver for a two count. Grace synchs in a bearhug to become the 2018 Women’s Commonwealth Cup Champion at 11:32. Grace has definitely been the most outstanding wrestler in the NOVA Pro women’s division. This match had the appropriate level of physicality to put over the notion that both women really wanted to win. I wish they would have done more with the leg work, as it could have led to some great nearfalls for Kat. Still, these two worked well together and delivered a worthwhile final match in the tournament. ***
Match #6: Alexander James vs. Jimmy Jacobs
They begin with a feeling out process until Jacobs learns that James considers himself to be a prince. They debate the merits of a relationship and there’s a glory hole joke in there somewhere. Jacobs takes a cheap shot to the crowd’s delight and lands a dive to the floor. He connects with an elbow drop off a chair at ringside. Jacobs throws a garbage can at James’ head out of nowhere. James is able to take over in the ring until Jacobs becomes enraged over a broken tiara. Jacobs hits a spear and reigns down punches. He delivers a low blow behind the referee’s back. James applies a top wristlock but Jacobs escapes and hits an ace crusher. James avoids the Contra Code and goes back to the top wristlock for the win at 11:17. They did an admirable job of balancing comedy and seriousness. This matchup looked a bit odd on paper in terms of a non-tournament match, but they managed to make the action fun. I don’t know if this is a match I’d ever want to revisit, however. **¾
Match #7: NWA World Heavyweight Title: Nick Aldis © vs. Isaiah Frazier (w/ Coach Gator)
They trade control of a wristlock. Aldis headstands out of a headscissors but Frazier shows off how he can escape a headscissors as well. Frazier lands a crossbody and connects with a dropkick. Aldis answers with a delayed vertical suplex and takes control with a michinoku driver. Frazier back drops out of a sleeper hold and both men are down. Frazier catches Aldis coming off the top rope with a dropkick. He follows with a slingshot flatliner for a nearfall. Aldis hits a powerbomb and locks in a cloverleaf to retain his title at 11:00. Even though Aldis was never going to lose, the crowd actually bought a title change and got behind Frazier. The action was rolling along until the somewhat abrupt finish. Aldis never tried working over Frazier’s leg, so the cloverleaf felt out of place. I think this match raised Frazier’s stock in the eyes of the NOVA Pro crowd, though. **½
Match #8: No Disqualification: The Carnies (Nick Iggy and Kerry Awful) vs. Nick Gage and “Safety First” Tim Donst
Gage does not want to team with Donst. Donst’s safety crew helps him connect with an elbow drop on Iggy. Gage tries to go up top but the safety crew stops him. Iggy lands a dive onto Gage and the safety crew. In the ring, the Carnies isolate Gage until Tim Donst returns as his former self. Donst brings a trash can to the ring and starts busting out the weapons. Gage and Donst hit a superplex on Iggy and then send him into the turnbuckles. Awful spikes Gage with a piledriver but Gage quickly responds with one of his own. Gage hits a chokebreaker on Awful, sending him to the floor. Iggy lands a dive onto Gage. Donst brings thumbtacks into the ring. Donst and Awful tease sending each other into the tacks. The Carnies powerbomb Donst onto the tacks. Awful piledrives Donst onto the tacks for the victory at 10:48. Gage and Donst come to blows after the match and Gage agrees to return to NOVA Pro to fight Donst. Beau Crockett also turns on the Carnies and leaves the faction. This was more about storyline advancement and the progression of Donst’s character in NOVA Pro. Gage certainly adds a new dynamic to the promotion and he would have a ton of fresh matchups. **¼
Match #9: Final Round: Elimination: Tracy Williams vs. Sage Philips vs. Wheeler YUTA vs. Arik Royal
Everyone gangs up on Royal at the opening bell. Royal hits an exploder on Williams before falling victim to the numbers game again. Philips hits a double slingshot flatliner on Williams and YUTA. Everyone trades strikes and falls to the canvas. Royal hits Space Jam on Williams to eliminate him at 5:17. Philips rocks Royal with a flurry of forearms and punches. YUTA superkicks Royal but he won’t stay down. YUTA low-bridges Royal to the floor and follows out with a dive. Philips adds a dive of his own. In the ring, YUTA hits a rydeen bomb on Philips for a two count. Philips catches YUTA with a sliced bread from the middle rope. Royal pounces Philips out of the tournament at 9:07. YUTA and Royal trade strikes. They battle on the apron and Royal hits Space Jam. He follows with an uppercut and a powerbomb for a nearfall. YUTA avoids a pounce and hits a dragon screw leg whip. YUTA applies an STF and transitions into a leg submission. YUTA goes back to the STF to become the 2018 Men’s Commonwealth Cup Champion at 15:44. No one could have predicted YUTA winning, but I prefer using this year’s tournament to establish someone new, since Royal’s credibility is already extremely high. This was a very solid four-way, with enough time between the eliminations to breathe. I appreciated YUTA having an actual strategy to defeat Royal and it actually led to a tense final two minutes of the match. A fun way to end the tournament. ***½
Homicide attacks YUTA after the match, complaining about his loss to YUTA earlier in the night. Homicide destroys the trophy and declares himself the winner of the tournament.
-Show Grade: B-
–You Need to See:
–You’d Enjoy Watching: main event, Royal/PCO, Grace/Kat, Williams/Yehi
–You Should Avoid: