We are now into Week Two into Paradigm Pro Wrestling’s UWFi Contenders Series; Paradigm’s attempt to add some new blood into their Heavy Hitters Championship division. Last week we saw shocking knockouts, stunning submissions and overall a pack of great fighters. This week, it seems that on paper we’ll be seeing much of the same hard hitting action that episode one brought. When the card boasts the likes of Matthew Justice, Aaron Williams, Bobby Beverly and Flash Thompson, you cannot go wrong with choosing to tune in; and that I did.
Match #1: Matthew Justice (0-2) vs Robert Martyr (0-0)
From early on, Robert Martyr seemed to be looking for a fight as he antagonized Justice at ringside during his entrance and paint-brushed his face in the opening moments. Justice would assert his dominance by grounding the nineteen-year-old, but find himself piggybacked just as soon. Matt Justice would slam his weight down on Martyr and take back control; slamming Robert to the mat again for a ref’s count. The young Martyr would trade palm strikes and chops with the veteran Justice, showing his true grit.
Robert Martyr would soon go absolutely feral; suplexing and jumping on Matt with elbows for a ref’s count. Coming off the mat, Justice saw red as he Speared Martyr and resumed pummeling him, until Martyr slipped into a Crossface Chicken Wing. Ultimately, Justice would hit Martyr with a Gutwrench Suplex, followed by a grounded knee to the side of the head for the knockout victory. Post-match, Justice and Martyr would shake hands in a respectful showing before Justice commended kids coming up like Robert. He would explain to J-Rose however he wanted to take on the guys on top; namely “…Chuck Liddell for all I f*ckin’ care.”
This was a red hot start to this week’s episode as two non-traditional wrestlers had a great scrap under more strict, traditional rules. I refer to them both as “non-traditional” as you are more likely to see Justice wrapping a chair around someone’s head than you are to see him pretzel his opponent a la Jonathan Gresham. Robert Martyr on the other hand, I am only familiar with through No Peace Underground and their No Ring Deathmatch shows; but here he did an excellent job asserting himself. He is certainly someone that I do see flourishing under UWFi rules if he continues to build up his game.
Match #2: Jeffrey John (0-0) vs Flash Thompson (3-3)
Flash is coming into this match after unsuccessfully challenging “Hoodfoot” Mo Atlas for the Heavy Hitters Championship last week. He began this match impersonating Anderson Silva at UFC 112 in the sense that he did not seem to care. Jeffrey John would force him to get serious as he caught Flash’s leg and palm-striked him to the floor. John would continue to push his will on Flash as he locked on a clinch, throwing knees and hitting a German Suplex for a ref’s count. Another clinch would come before John brought Flash to the ground; locking a Guillotine Choke before Flash slipped out. From Side Control, Flash clinched in a Kneebar before John reached for a rope break. One last clinch would result in Flash expertly rolling through to a Kneebar for the submission victory. Post-match, J-Rose would ask what was next for Flash, to which Flash said that it is time to get serious. He wants to take on anyone and he wants to do it under Terminal Combat: Paradigm’s new rule-set.
I thought that both of these guys came off looking great out of this one. Flash rebounding off of a major loss by showing just why he was a contender with his grappling IQ. Jeffrey John, however, deserves credit for seemingly pulling the fight out an otherwise lackadaisical Flash. On top of that, his clinch game is something that I hadn’t yet really seen in this series and it was great to see some variation in fighting styles. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where he will go further down the line in this Contenders Series.
Match #3: Ron Mathis (0-0) vs Aaron Williams (1-0)
Mathis started strong in this one as he was able to counter Aaron Williams into back to back slams to the mat. After slam number two, Aaron Williams would use his Bottom Position to try to lock in a Kimura which would be broken up by the ropes. On their feet, Williams sent Mathis to the ground with a Butterfly Suplex before Mathis slid out from underneath Aaron and gained Top Position. Mathis would then take his back and attempt a Choke on Williams before the ropes broke the hold. After a takedown gets a rope break, Williams would try once more and get Mathis on the ground, locking in a Triangle Choke for the win. Post-match, Aaron Williams zeroed in on Matthew Justice; saying that he’s gunning for his spot as the “UWFi Golden Boy.”
This was another match of two guys I have previously seen under bloodier circumstances clashing under traditional rules and again, I am very impressed. Mathis had a real scrapper’s mentality in this one as he would begin to rain blows down as soon as he got favorable positioning. And as for Williams, he came off as a true fighter by his stance and by his wrestling/submission acumen. This is a match I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing again on a Paradigm main card; be it a tournament or regular show.
Main Event: Don’t Die Miles (0-0) vs Bobby Beverly (2-1)
Pre-match we see a vignette of the events leading up to this; Beverly taking out Miles last January and then again last week. This match was an absolute shellacking of Don’t Die Miles at the hands of Bobby Beverly. Beverly must’ve watched Super Vader vs Bushido Tamura the other day because he slammed every single point out of Miles. To Miles’ credit, he did get a convincing comeback in, landing two Trouble in Paradises and a stiff running forearm to try and keep the former Heavy Hitters Champion down. In the end, one final boot from Beverly was all it took to drain Miles’ points. Post-match, Beverly took straight to ringside and confronted Mo Atlas, clearly wanting his belt back before walking off to close the show.
Final Thoughts & Superlatives
With another week of fights in the books, I will say with confidence that this is the best episode to date. Much of the card, sans the Main Event, felt like either competitor could’ve won. Even choosing this week’s Fight/Submission of the Night proved to be difficult due to the quality of action. Again, storylines were present and felt even better this week with not only new stories coming out of new competitors but also with the continuation of the previous week’s action. This episode has me more than excited to see how next week’s crop will filter into the overall equation. Finally, we come to my ultimate decisions for this week’s superlative awards:
Fight of the Night: Flash Thompson vs Jeffrey John
Performance of the Night: Bobby Beverly
Knockout of the Night: Matthew Justice
Submission of the Night: Aaron Williams