Warrior Wrestling 24 results: Vetter’s review of KC Navarro vs. Brian Pillman Jr. for the Warrior Wrestling Title, Fuego Del Sol, Nick Wayne, and Blake Christian vs. Myron Reed, Zach Wentz, and Dante Leon, Davey Richards vs. Tom Lawlor, Mike Bennett vs. Beast Man, Miranda Alize vs. Heather Reckless, six-way scramble

This was an afternoon show at Malcom X College, a block from the United Center, so fans could attend both this show and AEW/NJPW’s “Forbidden Door.”

Joe Dombrowski and Veda Scott provided commentary. This building is on par with a middle school gym, with only six or seven rows in the risers, and the crowd is perhaps 400-600. Veda Scott announced that her husband, Mike Bailey, had travel issues and couldn’t make it to the show to face Warrior Wrestling champion KC Navarro, and he was being replaced by Brian Pillman Jr.

1. Miranda Alize defeated Heather Reckless at 12:13. Reckless just wrestled at AEW’s Milwaukee show last Wednesday. Basic reversals to start and they brawled to the floor at 3:30. Alize dominated in the ring. Reckless hit a belly-to-back suplex at 9:30, and she applied an ankle lock on the mat. Miranda hit the Go To Sleep knee strike for a believable nearfall. Alize applied the Miranda’s Rights crossface. Reckless hit a DDT, but she missed a moonsault. Miranda hit a running neckbreaker and a Shining Wizard. She then re-applied the Miranda’s Rights, and Reckless quickly tapped out. Solid match, with the crowd firmly behind the Chicago native Reckless, but the veteran Alize getting the win.

2. Mike Bennett defeated Beast Man at 10:24. If you don’t know Beast Man, think Ivar from Viking Raiders; the announcers describe him as “350 pounds plus.” He wears a cave man outfit with a large bone in his hand.  Dombrowski said Beast Man seems to get larger every time he sees him. Bennett couldn’t budge him with a shoulder tackle. Beast Man flew at Bennett, sending Bennett crashing to the floor. They brawled on the floor, with Beast Man slamming Bennett’s back into the ring post at 3:30. Beast Man hit a crossbody block as Bennett was sitting on a folding chair, and the crowd chanted “holy shit!”

In the ring, Beast Man missed a second-rope frogsplash, and Bennett immediately hit a spear but only got a one-count. Beast Man hit a sit-out chokeslam for a nearfall at 6:00. Bennett hit a superkick, but he couldn’t get the big man up for a suplex. Beast Man nailed a rolling cannonball into the corner for a nearfall. Bennett nailed a German release suplex and a roaring forearm to the jaw for a believable nearfall. Beast Man caught Bennett in his arms and hit a splash for a nearfall. He argued with the referee, then got his bone from the corner. Bennett avoided being hit by the weapon, and he hit another roaring forearm to the jaw for the pin. Good match.

3. Gringo Loco defeated ASF, Ninja Mack, Alpha Wolf, Dragon Bane, Golden Dragon in a six-way scramble at 13:14. The winner gets the number one contender’s medallion for a future Lucha Championship title shot. This can be cashed in like the Money in the Bank briefcase. This is going to be a sprint. Alpha Wolf is thicker and he flattened the diminutive ASF with a shoulder tackle. Golden Dragon did an Undertaker Old School ropewalk. Lots of huracanranas and flips. ASF hit a flip dive to the floor on Loco, caught his head, and hit a huracanrana to the floor, at 4:30.

Ninja Mack hit his corkscrew senton. Alpha Wolf hit a flip dive to the floor on two opponents, earning a “holy shit!” chant. In an awkward spot, ASF did a flip but landed back-first on the top rope, but he still managed to recover and jump off the apron to the floor, at 7:30. Loco hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. ASF hit a Canadian Destroyer. Gringo and Alpha Wolf hit simultaneous moonsaults, then two others hit Shooting Star Presses, and everyone was down at 10:30.

Alpha Wolf nailed a flipping powerbomb move on ASF that looked dangerous, and he got a nearfall. ASF and Dragon Bane hit simultaneous dives to the floor, and Dragon Mack did his multiple cartwheels into a flip to the floor. That was insane. Loco and Mack fought on the top rope, with them crashing to the mat and Loco getting the cover and the pin. That match was fun, but admittedly more sloppy than I expected, as there were some awkward landings and mis-timed spots. I don’t mean to sound overly critical, because it was highly entertaining.

* Wrestling journalist/podcaster Denise Salcedo got in the ring. Frank the Clown got in the mic and boasted about how many Warrior shows he’s been on. I find him highly annoying and don’t see how he adds anything to their shows. He made a challenge to Rikishi, who will appear at their summer “Stadium Series.”  He then began yelling at Denise and demanded she apologize to him. (For what?) She slapped his face. This brought out Maria Kanellis. Frank bailed; Maria and Denise hugged. An exceptionally bad segment; if they wanted to make me excited for the Stadium Series show, they failed.

4. Davey Richards defeated Tom Lawlor at 18:09. Mat reversals to open, and they brawled to the floor at 3:30. In the ring, Lawlor cranked on the left arm and applied a key lock. Neither man was getting much of an advantage. Lawlor nailed a V-Trigger knee strike to the chest at 11:00. They fought in the corner, with Richards hitting series of headbutts, then a top-rope superplex, and they were both down at 13:00. Several of Richards’ students are at ringside and pounding on the mat, cheering him on.

Lawlor fired back several stiff forearm shots. There has been an intensity here and a believability to this action. Richards applied a leg lock on the mat, then an Angle-style ankle lock. Richards hit a punt kick to the chest at 17:00, but Lawlor hopped to his feet and they traded blows. Lawlor hit a pair of German suplexes and applied a Fujiwara Armbar. They traded quick rollups when Richards suddenly got the three-count. Really good intense, believable action. They shook hands and hugged afterward.

5. Myron Reed, Zach Wentz, and Dante Leon defeated Fuego Del Sol, Nick Wayne, and Blake Christian at 16:41. This was my first time seeing Wentz since his WWE release, and he had a wide smile, clearly happy to be back in a ring. Leon replaced Trey Miguel. Dombrowski said this is Wentz’s fifth match since his WWE release. Fuego and Leon traded quick reversals. Myron and Blake entered at 2:30. Wentz got in and traded good offense with Blake, and they worked over Blake. Nick Wayne made the hot tag to enter for the first time at 6:30, and he hit a nice Northern Lights suplex on Reed for a nearfall.

Wayne’s team was making quick tags and working over Myron Reed. Fuego hit a nice Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall. Wentz made the hot tag at 10:00. Wentz hit a running Shooting Star Press on Blake for a nearfall. Reed hit his dive over the top rope where he caught Blake’s head and did a stunner to the floor. In the ring, Myron hit a Poison Rana, and suddenly all six were down on the mat. Blake hit a flip dive to the floor. Fuego and Wayne hit simultaneous dives. In the ring, Wayne nailed a Swanton Bomb at 12:30 on Leon. The crowd chanted, “Fight forever!”

All six began trading blows in the ring. Fuego hit a Canadian Destroyer. Blake hit a Sliced Bread on Wentz for a believable nearfall at 15:00. They announcers joked that they had no idea who was legally in the match. Fuego nailed his Tornado DDT. Leon hit a spinning package piledriver on Fuego. Wayne hit a Code Red on Leon for a nearfall. Several quick moves occurred, with Wentz suddenly jumping on Blake to pin him. That was a blast.

6. KC Navarro defeated Brian Pillman Jr. to retain the Warrior Wrestling Title at 12:47. If you missed it, Navarro won the title in an impromptu three-way match a couple weeks ago when he cashed in his number one contender’s medallion, winning the title from Will Ospreay. I will repeat this, too — a heel KC Navarro is identical to a heel Ace Austin. Dombrowski reiterated the events of the title change, adding that it was Pillman who was pinned in that title match, not Ospreay.

Basic reversals, when KC suddenly slapped Pillman in the face, rolled to the floor, and got on the mic. KC told Pillman that he wasn’t good enough to get a title shot (however, Pillman actually is a former champion.) KC then said he doesn’t want to “wrestle lunatics, just like his dead daddy.” Pillman immediately hit a baseball slide dropkick to the floor, and he began pounding on KC. The announcers agreed that KC’s comments were “disgusting.”

In the ring, KC was in charge. He hit a double stomp to the chest at 5:30, and he grounded Pillman. Pillman hit a high belly-to-back suplex at 8:30. Pillman hit a Lungblower to the back for a nearfall. Pillman hit a second-rope double stomp, and they were both down at 11:00. KC ran into the ref, hit a low blow mule kick, and scored the tainted pin. The crowd booed. Blah.

* Navarro got back on the mic and said “I didn’t need my daddy’s name to help get me over,” before scampering to the back.

Final Thoughts: Blake Christian is great. Nick Wayne is great. Heck, all six guys in that match are really good. That match was a blast, and earns my pick for best match of the show.

The Richards-Lawlor match won’t be for everyone. There certainly wasn’t a lot to describe for the first 11 minutes, but that shouldn’t be taken as this was “boring.” Some people might find it not theatrical enough, but for fans of strong, mat-based work, this match will be a hit, and it earns second-best. Despite the scramble being messy at times, I’ll give that third place.

The main event left me cold. I was stunned, not in a good way, when Navarro won the title. Over the first five months of this year, this promotion was built around top stars Will Ospreay, Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Jonah and Blake Christian. Navarro, to me, is a mid-carder who hasn’t risen to the top-tier yet. This match was decent and would have fit in fine in the middle of the show. Did it feel like a main event, with a prestigious title on the line?? Unfortunately, I’ll say no. And Navarro didn’t impress me enough here to convince me he’s at that level.

While this building wasn’t particularly big, it had to be at or near a sell-out. Some people stood against the back wall, and as the cameras moved around the ring during the show, I didn’t see a lot of empty seats.

The show ran about 2-and-a-half hours.

I have noted this before, but if you are unfamiliar with Warrior Wrestling, check out their YouTube page. They have literally dozens of matches posted for free.