Prestige Wrestling: Alive! took place on November 12th, 2023 at the Hawthorne Theater in Portland, Oregon. The event can be watched on IWTV and on Prestige Wrestling’s YouTube channel.
Pretty cool opening as they start with the fans chanting “Prestige” while around the ring slapping the mat. The announcers are Jordan Castle and Cody Von Whistler.
Opening Contest: Kris Brady vs. Drake Kwon
Kwon comes off as a big deal with his entrance and presentation. Kwon has the advantage early, while Brady tries to escape and dance. Dropkick by Brady stuns Kwon and a slingshot splash connects for only a one count. Brady charges the corner but gets slammed into the buckle. Exploder suplex by Kwon and a kick to the back. Brady tries a quick rollup that gets one again and Kwon quickly comes back with a uranage for two. Kwon with the Vulcan Neck Pinch, which thankfully Brady fights out of and gets a twisting DDT. Brady charges but gets caught with a running spinebuster for two. Diving headbutt by Kwon gets two. Flying forearm by Brady finally gets Kwon down. Kind of an awkward reverse crossbody from Brady gets a two count. Kwan gets a running boot and then hits the Soulgrinder (emerald flowsion) for the win. Totally fine opener to get Kwon his first win in Prestige. **
Post-match, DREXL appears and takes out both men with a chair.
Match Two: Flamin’ Aces (Zaye Perez and Spencer Scott) vs. The Hammer Brothers (Jack Hammer and Sledge Hammer)
Crowd is firmly behind the Aces. The Hammer Brothers immediately give off early 90’s WCW vibes and I enjoy it. Jack Hammer and Spencer Scott start. Rolling senton by Jack gets two and tag made to Sledge, who indeed sledgehammers Scott down. Sledge, who is approaching Haystacks Calhoun level of giantness, bodyslams Scott and the brothers get a double team wheelbarrow splash. Perez tags in to help his partner and gets a Blue Thunder Bomb on Jack for two. Side Russian Legsweep by Perez followed by a suplex/senton combo as Scott comes back in for two. Scott hammers away in the corner but gets powerbombed down by Jack. Perez in and gets a Jackhammer from…Jack Hammer. Sledge tags in and takes both Aces out including destroying Perez with a sidewinder slam. All four men in now as the Aces hit double superkicks to try and stay alive. Sledge gets a pop-up cutter on Perez, but Scott immediately hits a Lionsault. Jack gets a pumphandle powerslam. Wheelbarrow cutter attempt by the Brothers goes awry and gets two. Scott tries to fight back but the Brothers hit the Diesel Hammer Piledriver for the win. Fun action. **½
Match Three: Jaiden vs. Jordan Cruz
Jaiden using Bonnie Taylor – “Holding Out for a Hero” is awesome. Cruz is huge and looks like a cross between a young Bobby Roode and Jake Something. Cruz uses his power advantage early as Jaiden relies on speed and agility to take down Cruz. Corner forearm smash and a stunner by Jaiden as he goes up. Cruz meets him there with a jumping knee strike and drills a superplex for two. Cruz locks in a cravat, which Jaiden manages to fight out of but receives a shining wizard for his troubles. That gets two. Suplex attempt reversed by Jaiden and he gets a Code Red for the near upset pin. Unprettier headlock driver by Jaiden gets two. Enzuigiri and another Code Red attempt is blocked by Cruz and he drills Jaiden with a corner air raid crash for two. That looked brutal. Jaiden escapes a suplex with a kick, but Cruz gets a flatliner for a close two. Corner clothesline by Cruz, but a second is avoided by Jaiden with a sliced bread. To the top again where Cruz is pushed off, hurting his knee on the landing, and a superhero splash onto the knee of Cruz. Jaiden locks in a kneebar which Cruz escapes. German suplex, knee strike and No More Sorrow all hit, but on the injured knee of Cruz and he can’t cover. Another No More Sorrow attempt is reversed into a stacked pin by Jaiden for the win. ***¼ Really good big guy/little guy match here. Post-match Cruz is pissed and his No More Sorrow on Jaiden to a chorus of boos.
Prestige Wrestling World Champion Alex Shelley is out next, unable to compete tonight due to a calf injury. He’s been champion for 611 days, so he seems to be getting the Roman Reigns push here in Oregon. He promises to defend his title at the January event but is interrupted by Alan Angels. Angels is pretty over as a heel, and complains about veterans like Shelley taking the spotlight away from guys like him. Shelley slaps him and dares Angels to attack, but Angels backs down to end the segment.
Match Four: Brothers Divine (Danny and Brendan Divine) vs. Midnight Heat (Ricky Gibson and Eddie Pearl)
Prestige debut for the Brothers Divine. Danny starts with Gibson as they exchange headlocks early. Divine hammers away on both of the Heat sending them scurrying to the outside. Brendan tags in for some double teaming as the Brothers maintain the advantage. Double suplex as Danny is back in and gets a two count. Gibson goes to the eyes and tags Pearl as the heels take over. Basement dropkick by Pearl gets two. Gibson knocks Brendan off the apron and the heels do some more shenanigans. Gutwrench/elbowdrop combo gets two on Danny. Pearl plays to the crowd and misses a corner charge and Danny is able to make the hot tag to Brendan who cleans house. Powerslam by Brendan followed by Divine Intervention, but Gibson breaks up the pin. Backslide/legdrop combo gets the pin for the Midnight Heat. Perfectly good old-school tag team match. **¾
Match Five: Daniel Makabe vs. Vinnie Massaro
Massaro coming out to Dean Martin and handing out breadsticks rivals Undertaker for best entrance of all time. The announcers hype up Makabe as a technical wrestling expert. Some mat wrestling exchanges to start as they break even and shake hands. Takedown by Makabe and a light slap to the face, but they still are getting along. More mat wrestling as Massaro is able to hold his own. Massaro goes for Sicilian jiu-jitsu and lands a dropkick. To the outside as they walk through the crowd and exchange chops. Massaro misses a chop and hits the ringpost and Makabe goes to work on the now injured hand. Double clothesline has both men down.
Makabe blocks a chop and stomps the injured hand. Massaro gets a t-bone suplex for two and fires up. A burning hammer attempt is blocked and Makabe gets the Makabe Lock in. Vinnie manages to stretch to the ropes to force a break. STO by Massaro and he locks in a choke but Makabe makes the ropes. Punches are thrown now with Makabe getting the Big Unit Punch and a headbutt. Armbar attempt is countered with a rollup by Massaro for two. Snoring Elbow connects for Massaro and he gets the three count. **½ This was technically sound but felt a little slow.
Match Six: Amira vs. Rose
Rose with the Papa Roach entrance really getting the crowd behind her. Tie up and Rose gets a side headlock takeover. Rose gets some pin attempts to no avail and they stand off. Amira with an arm drag and corner splash, followed by a cannonball for two. Rose gets a rana and some kicks to retake control. Another kick is ducked by Amira as she lands some strikes of her own. Back suplex by Amira but Rose manages to get Eat Defeat. Amira comes back with a nice DDT as DREXL makes his way into this match. The ladies team up to attack but DREXL double clotheslines them down for a no contest. **¼ Match was enjoyable until the interference. Amira tries to fight back against DREXL but gets piledriven for her troubles.
Match Seven: Randy Myers vs. Evan Rivers
Randy Myers is known as “The Weirdo Hero”, so we’ll see where that goes. Myers has 20 years in the business, while Rivers is a few years in. Myers gets a slap after some shenanigans and bites the fingers of Rivers followed by an armdrag. Rivers does not appreciate the kiss of the hand and does his own lucha armdrag, sending Myers to the outside. Myers with a tope suicida to turn the tide, but a running dropkick is countered with a dragonscrew onto the apron by Rivers. Another dragonscrew on the way in as Rivers works on the left leg. Myers tries a few quick pin attempts but only gets two. Rivers goes back to the leg to regain control. Texas Cloverleaf powerbomb into the Cloverleaf hold itself but Myers is able to make the ropes to break. Kneebreaker by Rivers but a suplex is reversed into an inverted faceplant type move. Rivers charges the buckle and misses where Myers gets a bulldog to the knee (the injured one) for two.
Pumphandle slam attempt by Rivers is countered into a crossface by Myers. What looks to be an inverted ushigoroshi from Myers gets two. Rivers out to the floor but jumps back in with a rolling cutter and powerbomb. Clothesline to the back of the head gets two. Rivers goes right into a kneelock but Myers gets to the ropes. Pumphandle Driver by Rivers and a top rope moonsault misses. Myers hobbles up to the top rope but a crossbody is caught and rolled through by Rivers. Before he can do anything however, Myers cradles him for the win. **¼ Started slow and got better by the end. After the match Rivers attacks and hits another Pumphandle Driver.
Main Event: C420 (Cody Chhun, Guillermo Rosas and Sonico) vs. The Noise (Alan Angels, Judas Icarus and Travis Williams)
I didn’t have much exposure to Angels before his AEW run in the Dark Order, but I much prefer this version of him so far. Chhun and Angels start it off. Big shoulderblock by Chhun and a cradle gets a quick two. Double clothesline and double kip up for a stand off. Angels works Chhun into the corner but gets armdragged and dropkicked while Chhun tags Sonico. Angels wants no part of that so he tags in Icarus. Cradle and cruicifix by Sonico get a series of two counts. Icarus slaps him out of frustration but Sonico gets a low dropkick. Tag to Williams as he and Icarus double team Sonico for the heel takeover.
Angels comes in now with his team on the advantage to work over Sonico. Icarus continues to hammer away. Sonico manages to get over to the corner to bring in Rosas as he and Chhun take out all of the Noise to clear the ring. We start proper again with Rosas and Williams, but Icarus quickly tags in for a side russian legsweep/big boot combo from Sinner and Saint.
Angels in again and regains control over Rosas with a standing frogsplash. Triple teaming on Rosas where things now break down in the ring. Rosas avoids the double team of Sinner and Saint to tag Sonico, who enters with a big crossbody. Bulldog and front-kick gets two on Icarus when Angels interrupts. Angels then runs away to avoid Sonico as they seem to be building to Sonico finally getting his hands on Angels later in the match. Chhun with a nice snap suplex on Icarus for two. Sonico tags in for a double-suplex on Icarus. He goes for a springboard move but Angels trips him up to allow the tag to Williams. Back suplex gets two.
Angels comes in now with the advantage but Sonico fights back. Angels gets a dropkick and corner DDT for two. Sinner and Saint with a double team elbow for two. Sonico manages to get a springboard twisting crossbody to even the score. Chhun gets the tag and is a house of fire. Tornado DDT to Williams for two. Irish whip but Williams comes back with the Professional Lariat. Tags are made and we have the Sonico/Angels faceoff. They slug it out with C420 coming in to get the advantage, but the Noise come in to break up the pin on Angels. Angels reverses into a half and half suplex on Sonico. Sinner and Saint get an elevated German suplex for two.
Rosas runs in as do the rest of the teams which ends in Sonico hitting a dragon suplex on Angels. Powerplex by Sinner and Saint on Sonico, and Angels comes off the top with a splash but gets hit with a Cody Cutter by Chhun. That was really well timed. We get the 3 on 3 standoff and battle and the heels back off. Angels knocks Sonico off the top rope as we get a bunch of dives to the outside. The fight spills into the crowd which leads to a big spot where Sonico dives onto everyone off the balcony. Chhun and Williams back in the ring first where Williams gets a brainbuster. Sinner and Saint go for a double team but Rosas breaks that up with a spear. Icarus appears to double team Rosas, but Sonico mists Icarus allowing Chhun and Rosas to get hit an assisted powerbomb on Williams for the win.
Really entertaining main event. ***½ After the match, Sinner and Saint challenge C4 for the tag titles at Roseland 7 on January 5th.
Final Thoughts: Full disclosure this is my first review for Prestige, so I’m catching up on the angles and storylines, but this was a very enjoyable show. Even with some card changes and Shelley being injured the majority of the matches were solid to good, and they are building to the big Roseland 7 show on January 5th.
Upcoming Prestige Shows:
12/14/23 – Combat Princess USA
1/5/24 – Roseland 7
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