By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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MCW “Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup 21”
Streamed on FITE TV
July 27, 2022 in Joppa, Maryland at RJ Meyer Arena
*A vdeo package aired of numerous well-known wrestlers, with footage from AEW to a variety of independents. Lighting is really good and the crowd is perhaps 500 or more. We have two play-by-play announcers. This is a big factory building with a high ceiling, so no issues for high-flyers (they can reach up and touch the ceiling from the top rope).
1. Rich Swann defeated Myles Hawkins in a tournament match at 8:21. My first time seeing Hawkins; he has the look and swagger similar to Carmelo Hayes. Hawkins attacked Swann with a dropkick as Swann was still dancing to Lionel Richie. Hawkins dominated early. Rich fired back with a hard kick to the back at 3:30 as Hawkins was seated on the mat. They brawled to the floor so Rich could chop Myles in front of the fans, then he hit a running boot to the face as Myles was seated in a chair at ringside.
In the ring, Myles hit a Meteora double kneedrop for a nearfall at 5:30, then a Frankensteiner out of the corner. They hit simultaneous Mafia Kicks and were both down. They traded rollups, with Swann suddenly getting the three-count. Good, competitive battle and a great way to open the show.
* Backstage interview with Breaux (pronounced “Bro”) Keller, who was wearing sunglasses with his hair in a bun; at first glance, I thought it was Joey Janella.
* We had another backstage segment with a Black wrestler named Tim Spriggs, who got in the face of Alex Devine, a smaller, thinner Black man. The match was made for them later on this show.
2. Jack Evans defeated Breaux Keller in a tournament match at 7:08. Yes, Breaux is totally channeling heel Janela in look and style. So good to see Evans back in action; he suffered what I assume was a concussion or a stinger at a GCW show that caused him to miss out on the Ultimate X match at the Impact PPV the next day. They traded some high-flying reversals with Evans catching him with a kick to the jaw. Breaux fired back with a neckbreaker over his knee. and he was in charge early.
Breaux hit a high back suplex for a nearfall at 3:00. Evans fired back with a springboard moonsault-back-elbow. Evans hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor, and they were both down at 5:00. Evans then hit a springboard flipping senton for a nearfall in the ring. Evans did a cartwheel and hit a spin kick to the head. Evans then hit a top-rope 450 splash for the pin. Good match.
* Backstage with “Miami Mike Walker,” who looks like a jock in a generic Miami sports jersey (no specific team or sport). His match tonight is against Flip Gordon; Flip is a last-minute replacement, and Miami Mike is not happy about it.
“The Sigma Males” of LDJ & Steven Fuerte (w/Zayda Steel) came to the ring, wearing white button-down shirts and tan khakis. They have chairs set up in the ring, so this is like Miz’s talk show/interview segment. They brought out a short, heavyset Black man; I didn’t catch his name. Black Wallstreet hit the ring along with a woman, so all six brawled.
* Backstage segement with Alec Odin, half of the tag champions. However, his partner, Pat Brink, is injured and unable to compete. He has a replacement tag partner, Samuel Shaw, formerly known as Dexter Lumis!
3. Flip Gordon defeated “Miami” Mike Walker (w/Hellfire Maguire) in a tournament match at 9:44. In that generic jersey, Walker just screams “indy worker.” Gordon competed in this tournament in 2016 and reached the finals. Flip grounded him immediately, then he hit some deafening chops. Walker came back with a second-rope superplex, but only got a one-count, at 3:00. Flip hit a springboard missile dropkick. The crowd was hot.
Flip went for a cover, but Maguire pulled the referee out of the ring at 6:30 to stop the count. Flip hit a top-rope moonsault press for a believable nearfall. Gordon hit a Pele Kick and was fired up. Maguire hopped on the ring apron, but Walker accidentally hit him, and Gordon rolled up Walker for a nearfall. Gordon nailed a TKO stunner for the pin. Good match. I am pleased that all of the first three matches had the better, more well-known wrestler going over.
* Moses and Mandy Leon were interviewed backstage. They aren’t jealous of Demarcus Kane and Gia Scot, Moses said.
4. Brandon Scott defeated Killian McMurphy in a tournament match at 5:21. Killian looks like NXT-UK’s Joe Coffey, with wild, untamed hair and beard. Scott is billed as from Robbinsdale, Minnesota, near where I grew up., and the birthplace of several top wrestlers. Scott has short black hair and a generic look. Scott hit some armdrags, and Killian rolled to the floor and called for a timeout. They brawled at ringside.
Scott hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread #2 flipping faceplant at 4:00. Several wrestlers came to ringside to distract the referee. A chair was slid into the ring. Scott hit a Cloud Cutter on McMurphy, with McMurphy’s head landing on the folded chair, for the pin. The heels then attacked McMurphy for losing. Passable match before the interference. Scott then hit McMurphy with a chairshot to the back, and it is clear that Scott has joined the heels. “Brandon Scott has double-crossed the MCW faithful!” a commentator shouted.
* Backstage segment with Flip Gordon, who listed off some of his memorable matches in this promotion, such as facing Lio Rush. He vowed to win the Shamrock Cup.
* Video showed a wrestler breaking his neck after landing on his head during a rollup. Painful video to watch. Kekoa apparently vacated his world title, giving it to the son of RJ the Bruiser, in a gesture of goodwill. A quick Google search shows that RJ the Bruiser died of leukemia in November 2020, at age of 44. His son looked somewhere between age 8 and 12.
5. Ken Dixon defeated Kekoa to retain the MCW Title at 8:34. The announcers talked about how personal this feud has become. Kekoa is “the Hawaiian Warrior.” Dixon is bald with a long beard. The stood toe-to-toe and glared, before an intense lockup. Dixon hit several suplexes early. Kekoa’s fighting style and strikes make me think of Ricky Steamboat. Kekoa hit a spear, when someone jumped in the ring at 3:00, and the referee called for the bell. However, the referee decided the match “must restart.” Someone else hopped in the ring, too. Then, a third man got in the ring. The referee then decided the match was a double disqualification at 4:50.
So, the wrestlers agreed to make this a No-DQ match, and the bell re-started. The referee got bumped, and a whole bunch of wrestlers hit the ring. Kekoa hit a flip dive to the floor on everyone. In the ring, Kekoa hit a superkick for a believable nearfall. Kekoa hit another superkick and a frogsplash, but once again, the referee was pulled out of the ring at 8:00. It allowed Dixon to hit an F5-style faceplant for the pin. The crowd loved the wild, crazy interference but this was disappointing to me.
* Backstage with Amber Rodriguez, a Black woman with long dreadlocks, somewhat like NXT’s Kayden Carter. Gia, a taller Black woman approached her and they argued.
6. “The Trade” of Robert Locke & Eric Martin (w/Portia & Hawkins & Brandon Scott) defeated Alex Odin & Samuel Shaw to win the tag team titles at 10:52. The crowd taunted the heels. Shaw is still playing the same silent psycho role. Shaw hit a bulldog and several punches to the face. Odin, who is muscular in blue trunks, overpowered the heels. Odin hit a delayed vertical suplex at 4:00. Shaw entered and hit a Hogan legdrop.
The heels snapped Shaw’s throat over the middle rope, and they began to work him over. Odin finally made the hot tag at 9:00 and he hit a Stinger Splash in the corner on one heel, then a Mafia Kick on the other heel. Shaw hit a double chokeslam move. Portia, a blue-haired girl in a tiny black outfit, hopped on the ring apron to cause a distraction, so Shaw just picked her up, put her over his shoulder, and carried her to the back, with her fighting and screaming. However, this left Odin by himself. The heels hit a team slam out of the corner on Odin to score the pin.
* Backstage interview with Action Andretti. Joey Janela came up and argued with Andretti. Jack Evans also walked in on the conversation and they all argued.
7. Tim Spriggs defeated Alex Devine at 1:46. Devine is small, not quite as small as Leon Ruff or Cheeseburger, but in that same vein. Spriggs is bigger and cockier, and reminds me of a young MVP. Spriggs tackled him immediately and was in charge, and he taunted his smaller opponent. Spriggs locked on a Dragon Sleeper headlock and held it on until Devine passed out. I didn’t expect this was going to be such a squash. Spriggs and his entourage celebrated in the ring over Devine’s prone body.
* Backstage with Killian McMurphy, he vowed to get revenge on his former teammates and Brandon Scott. Another backstage segment with the Mecca, Brian Johnson, who vows he will take over MCW.
8. Moses and Mandy Leon defeated Demarcus Kane and Gia Scott at 3:20. Kane and Scott attacked from behind as Moses and Leon walked out of the curtain. They all fought at ringside. Moses and Leon hit simultaneous spears. Mandy Leon then nailed a pumphandle bodyslam on Gia Scott for the pin. That was shockingly short.
* Portia, the blue-haired girl kidnapped by Samuel Shaw, is tied up backstage and she was screaming to be freed. Funny.
* A video package aired showing prior SSMC winners, ranging from Ruckus to Lio Rush to Adam Cole to Joey Matthews and Christian York.
9. Flip Gordon defeated Action Andretti, Joey Janela, Jack Evans, Rich Swann, Flip Gordon, Brandon Scott in a six-way elimination match to win the 2022 SSMCup at 27:28. Janela and Andretti started, with the other four at each corner. Andretti hit a Lionsault Press at 3:00. Flip tagged in and he tied up Andretti. They avoided each other’s kicks and strikes and had a standoff. Swann and Scott entered at 6:30 and traded quick offense. Evans tagged in and locked up with Scott, and Evans hit a flip kick.
Janela hit a top-rope elbow drop to get a nearfall at 9:30. He hit a Death Valley Driver on Andretti on the ring apron. In the ring, Janela hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker on Andretti. Janela and Scott were tagging in and out to work over Andretti. Janela nailed a Death Valley Driver while standing on a table at ringside at 13:30; he rolled Andretti in the ring and made the cocky one-foot cover for a nearfall.
Swann finally made the hot tag and beat up the heels. Gordon hit a missile dropkick. Janela hit a German Suplex. Janela and Scott celebrated together, but Janela nailed him with a stiff forearm shot. Andretti hit a DDT on Janela, and they were both down; they got up and traded forearm chops and open-hand slaps. Evans hit a Michinoku Driver. Janela hit a jumping piledriver on Evans to pin him at 17:22.
Andretti and Janela continued to exchange blows. Andretti hit a TKO stunner on Janela to pin him at 18:48. Scott hit a Lungblower to the chest on Andretti for a nearfall. Scott got a chair but the referee took it. Andretti hit a moonsault for a nearfall; the referee was out of position, or it certainly would have been a pin. Scott hit a low blow and a Cloud Cutter to pin Andretti at 21:22. Swann hopped in the ring and hit two spin kicks to the jaw, then a stunner, to pin Scott at 21:42. We are down to just Flip Gordon vs. Rich Swann. They stood toe-to-toe and traded slaps. The crowd was hot as these two beat on each other.
Swann nailed a jumping DDT for a nearfall. Flip applied a Torture Rack on his shoulders, flipped Swann to the mat, and he applied a Crippler Crossface move, but Swann eventually reached the ropes at 25:00. Swann got a sunset flip for a nearfall, and they traded rollups. Swann nailed a TKO stunner for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it. Swann missed a 450 Splash, and Flip followed it up with a springboard stunner move for the pin. That was really good, especially when we got to the final two.
* Flip Gordon held the title above his head, and he put on the title. He posed with Shamrock family members. He got on the mic and said, “Was that unreal, or what? Yesterday at 10 a.m. I wasn’t even booked for this show. I’m on a mission right now to prove I’m the most unreal wrestler in the world, and winning the Shamrock Cup is a hell of a way to start.”
Final Thoughts: If Tony Khan really, truly restarts Ring of Honor with some sort of weekly show, he absolutely must bring back Flip Gordon. I am truly stunned that he has fallen off of Khan’s radar. When you look at age and athleticism, he’s the top ROH guy from 2021 not being used this year by a major promotion.
I enjoyed the main event. It was laid out well, with everyone getting a chance to shine. Of the undercard matches, Hawkins made a very good first impression. Tim Spriggs looked good too, but his match was too short to see what he’s really about. I would want to see more of Kekoa and Killian McMurphy, too.
The show clocked in at just under three hours.
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