By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Deadlock Pro Wrestling “Victory Lap”
September 24, 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina at C3 at The Venue/The Johnson Room
Available via DPWondemand.com
The show opened with an outside scene where the tag champs approached their manager, Chris Danger, and said they were looking for him. Danger said they had an easy match tonight, then he blew them off and walked away. The champs were confused. Intriguing open.
A video montage opened the show and was set to Godsmack’s “The Enemy.” I have said this before, but DPW does a great job with all the little things, and that includes an excellent opening video.
John Blood and Anthony Douglas provided commentary. This is clearly a ballroom, with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, but a curtain was erected to make the room feel smaller. The attendance is perhaps 250. and fans are packed in, with very little room between the crowd and the ring. But, the lighting and sound is really good.
1. Shun Skywalker defeated SB Kento and Jack Evans in a three-way at 11:23. This was supposed to be a tag match, but Andrew Everett canceled his appearance, so this became a three-way. I don’t know either of these Japanese guys, but I’ve read good things about Shun. The commentators say that Kento is 22, and they praised Shun’s background in Dragon Gate. Shun wears a black mask, similar to Bushi, while Kento does not.
Quick reversals early, and the Japanese guys have agreed to work together. Kento unloaded some hard chops on Evans. Evans hit a springboard double blockbuster at 7:00, and they were all down, as the crowd chanted, “fight forever!” Evans hit a fisherman’s suplex on Shun for a nearfall. As what always happens, the heels began to argue when one broke up the pin attempt on Evans, and they started to fight. Kento hit a Death Valley Driver on Evans for a nearfall, but Shun made the save. Shun hit a butterfly powerbomb for a nearfall.
Evans hit a standing corkscrew moonsault for a nearfall, but he missed a 450. Shun hit a moonsault kneedrop on Evans for a believable nearfall at 11:00. He immediately followed that up with a spinning Blue Thunder Bomb on Evans for the pin. That was really good and lots of fun.
* A video package aired for Raychell Rose, set to a rap song. Shazam tells me it is “Boss Bitch” by Doja Cat. No, I’ve never heard this before. But it’s a really good video highlight reel.
2. KZT defeated Sumie Sakai at 8:44. KZT is a Japanese woman; I’ve not seen her before, and she’s a babyface, high-fiving fans at ringside. With a splash of red in her hair, I’ll describe her as the female version of Hiromu Takahashi. The commentators say this is actually a first-time-ever matchup but they have trained together. This is Sakai’s debut in DPW, but the crowd clearly knows her ROH work. Mat reversals to open, but Sumie started doing some heelish tactics and got booed.
Sumie tied up the legs as if going for a Texas Cloverleaf, but instead did a seesaw move. KZT began working the left arm, and she applied a sleeperhold at 6:30. Sumie hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. KZT fired back with a second-rope German Suplex. KZT mounted her and applied a modified Fujiwara armbar, and Sakai tapped out. Good match.
3. “The NDA” Chance Rizer and Patrick Scott (w/Chris Danger) defeated “Waves & Curls” Jaylen Brandyn and Traevon Jordan to retain the DPW Tag Titles at 10:53. The commentators acknowledge that the Rhode Island-based Waves and Curls (think Street Profits!) have made their way all the way to the Carolinas for this match. Danger spoke on the mic but the crowd drowned him out. The crowd is totally behind the newcomers, who posed with the tag titles and made the NDA livid. W&C hit a team head-scissors takedown move. W&C hit a team Lungblower move for a nearfall at 4:00.
Jaylen hit a dive over the top rope onto the champs. The heels hit a slingshot suplex for a nearfall on Jaylen, and they took over control of the offense. Traevon made the hot tag at 8:00 and cleaned house. He hit a nice spin kick to the chest and running clotheslines in the corner. The NDA hit a Lungblower and clothesline combo for a nearfall, then a team Styles Clash move for a believable nearfall at 10:00. Waves and Curls hit a Doomsday crossbody block, but Scott snuck in the ring, got a jackknife cover, and scored the pin out of nowhere. Good match.
4. Colby Corino, Diego Hill, Donnie Ray, and Mason Myles defeated BK Westbrook, Zoey Skye, Jaden Newman, and James Ryan at 14:55. Diego Hill, a Black man who is a cross between Wes Lee and Cedric Alexander, is the rising star here. Westbrook’s team are the heels. Strange to see the natural heel Colby as a babyface; he started against Newman, and they traded multiple Japanese armdrags. Zoey entered at 4:00; she’s muscular, athletic with white and black hair, and she traded good offense with a guy. Diego tagged in for the first time at 5:00 to fight BK Westbrook. Diego hit a spin kick in the corner, and an announcer talked about how crisp his offense is; I entirely agree.
Donnie Ray — think young Cameron Grimes — hit an Asai moonsault onto several guys. Zoey hit a DDT on the ring apron. Diego hit an impressive corkscrew press onto everyone at 9:00, and the crowd chanted “holy shit!” In the ring, Zoey hit a Doomsday clothesline. BK Westbrook hit a Shooting Star Press. Westbrook hit a low blow mule kick when the ref was out of position. Colby hit a Styles Clash on Zoey, but she was’t legal, at 13:30. Diego hit an awesome Pele Kick, put Newman on his shoulders, and hit an airplane spin into a powerbomb. Cool. Colby Corino hit a second-rope Air Raid Crash for the pin. Some really good action, with some clunky spots, but overall really entertaining.
* A video package aired with Lucky Ali, who badmouthed B-Boy, making fun of him for being an “indy legend.”
5. Lucky Ali defeated B-Boy at 9:09. Ali jawed on the mic, but B-Boy cut him off with a slap to the face to start the match. They immediately brawled to the floor, where B-Boy unloaded some hard chops. As they re-entered the ring at 3:30, Ali hit a chop block, and B-Boy collapsed in pain. Ali cranked on the left knee. Ali hit a senton for a nearfall at 6:30. B-Boy caught him with a stunner and a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall, and they were both down. B-Boy nailed a headbutt, and went for a back suplex but Ali escaped and hit a running forearm to the back of the head for the pin. That was a good match but surprisingly short.
6. “The Workhorsemen” Anthony Henry and JD Drake vs. “Violence is Forever” Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku went to a time-limit draw at 20:00. They stalled, and at 1:51, the ref rang the bell again to get them going, so I restarted my clock too. Henry (NXT’s Asher Hale) and Ku started with good chain wrestling. Garrini and JD let each other hit deafening chops, then clotheslines, and the crowd was loving this. Ku hit a knee strike to Drake’s face at 5:00, and VIF took over. Garrini hit a senton for a nearfall.
Henry tagged in and hit a hard kick to Garrini’s back at 9:00. This action is stiff and the blows are loud. At 10:00 even, the ring announcer told the crowd we had ten minutes remaining in the time limit, and you could audibly hear the disappointment in the crowd, as she essentially told all of us we were going to have a draw. Henry hit a butterfly suplex on Ku. Drake made the hot tag at 12:30 and hit a Boss Man slam on Garrini. Drake has blood on the bridge of his nose. He hit a senton on Ku for a nearfall.
Garrini nailed a standing powerbomb on Henry, and he turned it into a Boston Crab. However, Drake entered and chopped Garrini’s unprotected chest. Henry hit a sit-out powerbomb on Garrini for a nearfall at 17:00. Drake accidentally clotheslined Henry. Ku hit the (RedDragon) Chasing the Dragon kick/suplex combo. Drake applied a Texas Cloverleaf at the same time Henry applied an anklelock, but Ku and Garrini both reached the ropes. Garrini and Ku each applied submission holds, but each opponent held until the time limit expired. Really good match.
* The NDA and Chris Danger came out and taunted the two teams. Drake told the NDA that he and Henry want another title shot.
7. Jungle Kyona defeated Maya Yukihi at 14:46. Just saw Kyona for the first time a few weeks ago, but this is my first time seeing Maya. The commentators say this also is a first-time-ever singles meeting. Kyona wore red and looks similar to Hikaru Shida, while Maya wore white and blue. Good reversals early and they brawled on on the floor. In the ring, Maya cranked on the left arm and she was in control. Kyona applied a single-leg crab at 7:00. Maya hit a running kneestrike to the jaw in the corner, and she applied a head-scissors lock.
Maya hit a running knee to the head at 9:00, then a top-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall. Kyona fired back with a stiff forearm and several shoulder tackles. They fought on the top rope, where Kyona hit a headbutt. Maya hit a second-rope superplex, but Kyona hopped up and hit a clothesline. They began trading stiff forearm shots at 12:00. Kyona hit a short-arm clothesline and a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall, and the crowd chanted “that was three!” For an awesome finish, Kyona picked her up for a (Samoa Joe) Muscle Buster, but she dropped straight down, rather than the way Joe does it, which is more of a landing on the back. That allowed Kyona to score the pin. That was awesome stuff.
8. BoJack defeated Jay Malachi to retain the DPW Title at 18:28. Malachi, a Black man, just had a good match on AEW Elevation this week. BoJack has long black dreadlocks and he is perhaps 350 pounds. Jay charged at him, but he just bounced off BoJack. BoJack caught him and hit a backbreaker over his knee at 1:30. BoJack whipped him across the ring, and he hit a Bulldog Powerslam on the ring apron, and Malachi sold the pain. In the ring, BoJack hit another backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 4:30 and he dominated the action.
Jay hit a Superman Punch at 8:30 and an overhand chop. BoJack hit a Blue Thunder Bomb. Malachi went for a top-rope crossbody block, but BoJack hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee. Jay hit a stunner, but BoJack immediately rolled to the floor. Malachi immediately dove through the ropes, barreling his body into BoJack, at 12:00. Jay then hit a springboard dive onto BoJack, who was standing 10 or more feet away from the ring, and that popped the crowd. In the ring, Malachi hit a top-rope elbow drop, then a frogpsplash for a nearfall.
Malachi hit a superkick and an enzuigiri, then a stunner and a cloud cutter for a believable nearfall at 16:00, and the crowd chanted, “this is awesome!” Malachi went for another cloud cutter, but BoJack dropped him with a forearm to the back. BoJack hit a decapitating clothesline for a believable nearfall, and the commentators popped for the kickout. BoJack nailed a forearm shot to the face in the corner. Malachi nailed a top-rope stunner for a nearfall, but BoJack got a finger on the bottom rope at 18:00. Malachi went for a springboard move but BoJack caught him and hit a Razor’s Edge-style overhead powerbomb for the pin. That was great.
* Lucky Ali hopped in the ring and hit BoJack with a chair, while BK Westbrook attacked Malachi on the floor.
Final Thoughts: I have raved about Deadlock Pro before, and it still holds true — a great roster, with well-done backstage segments, good sound and lighting, and satisfying matches. I have a sense that BoJack is somewhat limited in the ring, largely because of his weight, but everything he does looks so good and so devastating. He’s been a great champion for this promotion to build around, and the main event deserved best match.
I love how DPW brings in top quality Japanese talent I don’t know. The Jungle Kyona-Maya Yukihi match earned second best, and I’d love to see more of both of them.
The first rule of having a time-limit draw on your show is make sure that every match has an announced time limit, with updates in each match of how much time is left. That is a must. When you don’t do that, and you suddenly start announcing the time left in just one match, you are telegraphing the outcome of the match. That isn’t just my opinion; it was based on the reaction of everyone in attendance, when the first warning came that we were 10 minutes in with 10 left. I’ll still give that third-best match, with the opening three-way earning honorable mention.
Nothing bad here at all, and my biggest complaint is that B-Boy-Lucky Ali could have gone longer. While I didn’t know everyone in the eight-person tag well, Zoey Skye held her own when in the ring, and she didn’t feel terribly out-of-place in there against male competitors.
The show clocked in at three hours even. Deadlock Pro has a lot of matches for free on their Youtube Page, and I recommend checking them out.
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