By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Garden Pro Wrestling “Welcome to Eden”
Streamed on FITE TV
July 23, 2022 in Newark, New Jersey at The Heart Ballroom
This show was held at the same time as the ROH Death Before Dishonor. It was the debut show for this promotion. With a headliner match of Josh Alexander vs. Konosuke Takeshita, it should draw some attention.
The hard camera is pointed down toward the ring at an awkward angle from a second level. The crowd is perhaps 200, packed into a very small room. Veda Scott and Jordan Castle provided commentary. We have good on-screen graphics with a countdown clock; this looks identical to what was used at the Terminus show on Thursday. For a new promotion, they have an attractive logo on the mat.
Not sure the budget for this show, but there are a lot of West Coast-based wrestlers here in New Jersey.
1. Alan Angels defeated Kevin Blackwood in a first-round tournament match at 12:02. They traded hard forearms early, and the crowd was behind Angels. Blackwood hit some kicks. Angels unloaded a series of punches in the corner. They hit simultaneous clotheslines. Angels hit a Spanish Fly out of the corner, then a frogsplash for a nearfall at 10:00.
Blackwood came back with a Mafia Kick and a Snow Plow driver for a nearfall, then a top-rope double stomp for a believable nearfall. Blackwood went for a move off the ropes, but Angels caught him with a superkick. Angels applied the Rings of Saturn double-arm submission hold, and he hit some elbow strikes to the head, and Blackwood taped out. Really good opener. They shook hands afterward. Angels spoke on the mic but I couldn’t understand him.
2. Baliyan Akki and Heather Monroe defeated Jai Vidal and Dark Sheik in an intergender match at 11:19. My first time seeing Akki, who is playing the snooty male model role. A quick Internet search shows he was born in India. Monroe and Sheik opened. Akki entered and leveled Vidal with a chop at 3:00. Vidal repeated rammed Akki’s head into the mat. Monroe and Akki began working over Vidal. Akki hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 6:30.
Sheik made the hot tag and hit Helluva Kicks on her opponents, then her catapult leg drop into the ring. Sheik and Vidal hit simultaneous dives to the floor at 8:30. Sheik hit a top-rope leg drop on Monroe. Vidal and Monroe traded stiff forearms and chops (absurd because he is so much bigger than her.) She hit a modified bearhug stunner move on Vidal to score the pin. The live crowd liked this more than I did.
3. Titus Alexander defeated Calvin Tankman in a first-round tournament match at 14:09. Titus, one of several West Coast talents here, wears his baseball jersey to the ring and is the arrogant jock, and I recently compared him to Ethan Page in looks and character. Tankman is a legit 350 pounds or so, and much bigger than Titus. Titus rolled to the floor at the bell and stalled. In the ring, Titus hit a basement dropkick and celebrated at 4:00. This allowed Tankman enough time to get on his feet and level him with a hard chop.
Titus tried a dive to the floor, but Tankman caught him and tossed him into the ring post. They brawled on the floor, with Tankman hitting chops in front of the fans, and encouraged fans to hold Titus’ arms so he could chop him. In the ring, Tankman gave him a hip-toss across the ring at 7:00. However, Titus avoided a Stinger Splash, and he immediately hit a chop block on Tankman. They traded mid-ring forearm shots, and Tankman hit a Y2J-style back elbow shot that dropped Titus at 10:00.
Titus hit a Lethal Injection/handspring-back-
4. Jordan Oliver, Charlie Tiger, and Griffin McCoy defeated Austin Luke, Reid Walker, and Marcus Mathers at 15:00. Oliver, of course, has been a standout this year and has to be a candidate for most improved wrestler. I saw Tiger at the recent Jersey Championship Wrestling show on Youtube, and seen Mathers several times this year, but I don’t know McCoy, Luke or Walker. These are six white guys that all have similar body sizes. Mathers and Oliver, easily the best two workers here, traded good, quick reversals early.
McCoy and Luke got in and traded good offense. Oliver and Mathers got back in, with Oliver hitting a nice sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 9:00. However, Oliver missed his Cloud Cutter. The referee has completely lost control, with wrestlers diving on each other everywhere. This has been a fun, messy match. Tiger nailed a spear on Mathers at 12:00. Four guys traded forearm shots in the ring. Mathers hit a stunner on McCoy. Walker hit an impressive top-rope Swanton Bomb on all five guys gathered on the floor at 14:30. There is a 15-minute time limit here, but the onscreen clock has vanished. Two guys hit a team chokeslam move, and their teammate made the cover. I had it at 15:00 even, so to heck with the time limit; purely coincidence it ended when it did.
5. Taya Valkyrie defeated Trish Adora to retain the Reina de Reinas title at 14:11. This match is 20-minute time length. Adora, a tall Black woman, really impressed last summer in ROH’s women’s title tournament, and I think she is among the top unsigned female talents. They shook hands to start and opened with mat reversals. Adora hit a Northern Lights Suplex at 4:00. Valkyrie hit her baseball slide German Suplex. They fought on the floor, and Adora hit Valkyrie’s head against the ring post. They continued to trade chops in front of the fans.
They finally re-entered the ring at 8:00 and continued trading stiff forearm shots, and Taya hit a spear, and they were both down. Adora hit a Stinger Splash and a running butt splash in the corner, then a powerbomb for a nearfall at 10:30. Adora hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. Taya hit a running butt splash in the corner, then a running double knees to the face for a nearfall. Adora nailed a Mafia Kick and a senton splash for a nearfall at 13:00. Taya tried to tie up the legs, but Adora fought out. Taya hit her double-arm Implant Buster faceplant for the clean pin. The really good match you’d expect from these two.
6. Bryan Keith defeated Effy in a tournament match at 10:06. I’ve seen a bit of Keith this year in the Missouri-area indies. He is a muscular Black man, and he wears a cowboy hat and Mexican baja sweater to ringside. Keith unloaded some hard chops early. Effy tied him up in a Tajiri-style Tarantula in the ropes. They traded blows on the floor. In the ring, they traded rollups at 3:30. Effy hit a Northern Lights Suplex and a Whoopee Cushion buttdrop for a nearfall.
Effy gave him the middle finger, but Keith bit it. Keith bit his nipple at 6:00! Effy applied a Dragon Sleeper in the middle of the ring, but Keith powered out. Keith nailed a neckbreaker over his knee at 8:00. Effy came back with a Helluva Kick in the corner, then wrapped his leg behind Keith’s head and slammed him down to the mat. Keith hit a second-rope superplex. Effy hit a Famouser Legdrop for a nearfall. Keith nailed a sit-out powerbomb for the pin. That was good and topped all expectations.
* Keith was interviewed mid-ring. He put over Effy, but he warned Titus Alexander he will bring the fight in round two. The interviewer said Alan Angels will face the winner of the next match in the tournament.
7. Robert Martyr defeated Davey Richards in a tournament match at 17:11. I don’t know Martyr; he is the “Poisoned Youth” in green trunks and a fairly generic look with short black hair. They are both 5’8″ but Richards has far more muscle mass. Mat reversals early with Richards tying him in knots. Richards worked over the elbow and wrist and was dominating. They rolled to the floor, where Richards hit a spin kick to the chest at 4:30. Back in the ring, Richards tied up the legs in a modified Texas Cloverleaf.
Richards hit another spin kick to the chest at 8:00. and this has been a completely one-sided beatdown. Martyr hit a belly-to-belly overhead suplex, then he dove through the ropes onto Richards. In the ring, Martyr hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 10:00. Richards hit a double stomp to the chest, and they were both down. They traded more forearm shots. Richards did a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes, but he missed a top-rope double stomp. However, Richards applied the Noble Trailer Hitch leg lock on the mat at 13:00, and the crowd taunted Martyr to tap out, but he reached the ropes. Just like in the six-man tag, the on-screen countdown clock magically vanished.
Martyr applied a Fujiwara Armbar out of nowhere. Richards hit a Saito Suplex and a clothesline. Martyr fired back with a brainbuster, and they were both down at 15:30. (So much for that 15-minute time limt!) Richards has a bloody nose and he looked pissed. Richards applied an Angle-style ankle lock, and he nailed the top-rope double stomp to the chest for a believable nearfall. He went back to the ankle lock, but Martyr rolled out of it, and got a rollup for the pin. Good match, but the wrong man won. Veda Scott said “we almost had a time limit draw,” unaware we passed the 15-minute mark two minutes earlier.
* Martyr was interviewed mid-ring and was told he will have a second-round match on Aug. 27. The in-ring interviewer said it was a “coming out party” for Martyr. I disagree, from my view, it looked like Richards carried the whole match.
8. Miyu Yamashita defeated Billie Starkz and Janai Kai in a three-way at 6:52. Miyu got the streamer treatment from the fans. The crowd chanted “This is awesome!” before they even touched. They all hit kicks and knee strikes early. Starkz dove through the ropes at 4:00. In the ring, Miyu and Kai traded roundhouse kicks. Kai is a barefoot fighter and I love her whole look and style. They did a Tower of Doom spot from the corner, with Billie on top, crashing to the mat, and they were all down at 6:30. Miyu hit a spin kick to Starkz head for the pin. That was so much fun and I’m disappointed it was so short, as everyone wanted to see this keep going.
* A video package aired, showing clips and highlights of Alexander and Takeshita. We have ring intros… and they lost the signal to the building. Luckily, it came back before the bell!
9. Josh Alexander fought Konosuke Takeshita to a time-limit draw at 20:00. On-screen graphic says 20 minutes; we’ll see if this stays on the whole match or magically vanishes like two other times here. Konoskuke hit a plancha early on, and he tied up Josh on the mat. They began trading stiff forearms at 3:30. Alexander applied an ankle lock on the left ankle and he hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall at 5:00. Takeshita unloaded some hard chops, and Alexander took down his straps and invited Konosuke to hit more!
Josh twisted Konosuke’s leg around the ring ropes. Takeshita fired back with his leaping shoulder block, and they were both down at 8:00. Takeshita hit a DDT for a nearfall. Josh went back to an ankle lock, and he hit a crossbody block through the ropes to the floor at 10:00. In the ring, Alexander spun Takeshita to the mat for a nearfall. Alexander hit his forward Finlay Roll, but he missed a moonsaullt. Konosuke immediately hit a knee strike to the face, and they were both down at 12:00.
They traded more forearm strikes, and Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Takeshita snapped off a mid-ring Frankensteiner, then a flip dive to the floor at 14:30. Takeshita nailed a knee strike to the chest as they fought on the ring apron. In the ring, Josh hit a head-capture overhead suplex, then a devastating backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 16:30, and he went back to an ankle lock. Worth pointing out the on-screen clock has vanished.
Takeshita nailed a brainbuster for a nearfall at 18:00. The crowd was now on their feet. (The on-screen clock re-appeared). They hit simultaneous clotheslines. Josh again applied an ankle lock, and Takeshita was close to tapping out, when the time-limit expired, so we have a draw.
Final Thoughts: The fantastic main event you would have expected from these two. Takeshita’s summer 2022 tour has been fantastic. Unfortunately, he posted this week it is coming to an end in mid-August. Alexander always brings it, and these two had a stellar match before a crowd that was definitely less than 300 fans.
I will give Taya-Adora second-best, with Angels-Blackwood third-place. The six-man was fun and I really would want to see most of those guys a second time, as it was chaotic with a lot of new faces for me.
I can only assume Richards lost because he wasn’t available for the next show in August; if this had been a one-night, eight-man tournament, I have to believe he would have advanced. I don’t want to sound like I’m badmouthing Martyr, but I didn’t see enough from him here to declare him “one to watch.”
I always want to see a new promotion succeed, and that of course is the case here. But I have to wonder how much they spent on bringing talent in, and I can’t imagine it was a profitable debut in a building this small, with a tiny but passionate fan base. That said, it was an entertaining show.
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