By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Battleground Championship Wrestling “A Tribute to the Extreme”
Streamed on FITE.TV
December 17, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena
This show was completely sold out. Joe Dombrowski provided solo commentary.
* Bill Alfonso and Tod Gordon thanked the fans for coming. The sound is shockingly poor; I’ve seen numerous shows from this venue by many promotions, so I know this usually isn’t an issue.
1. Bully Ray defeated Matt Cardona at 12:31. Cardona got on the mic and boasted about his accomplishments, saying he retired Tommy Dreamer. (Worth pointing out he also competed a day earlier in Los Angeles; the travel schedule of top indy workers is insane.) Bully Ray came out to a hero’s welcome, and he was carrying a barbed wire-covered bat. A short clip of Terry Funk aired on the screen; he doesn’t look in good shape. Cardona hit a low blow from behind to start the match, then a Fameasser for a nearfall just seconds in.
Bully Ray gave him a backbody drop through a table. They brawled on the floor, with Bully Ray beating him up with weapons, from crutches to canes. Cardona hit him with a cheese grater at 4:30 and got booed. Bully Ray was bleeding heavily from his forehead. Bully Ray hit a low blow, grabbed the cheese grater, and used that on Cardona’s head. Bully Ray grabbed the barbed wire bat at 7:00 and grinded that into the forehead, too. Cardona got angry and slapped the ref. Bully Ray hit the bionic elbow, and had the referee do D-Von’s “Wasssup!” headbutt to the groin. Funny.
Of course, he then shoved the ref and told him to get the tables. Bully Ray hit a spinebuster through the table for a believable nearfall, and the crowd booed the kickout. Cardona hit a huracanrana out of the corner; considering who was involved in that move it looked ok! Bully Ray hit a powerbomb through a table for the pin.
2. The Philadelphia Playboy vs. Frankie Street-Tough ended in a draw at 4:00. PP handed out red roses and wore a mask that made me think of El Generico. (Whatever happened to that guy?) No one knows who these two are, so somebody better come out and beat the crap out of both of them. Sure enough, at the 3:30 mark, 911 came to the ring. A big guy got in the ring and chokeslammed Frankie Street-Tough, then the Philly Playboy. Dombrowski said he believes this guy is the son of 911. He’s on par in size with Mike Knox or Killian Dain.
3. Vampire Warrior (w/James Mitchell) defeated Al Snow (w/Head) at 3:54. Vampire Warrior is also known as Gangrel. Dombrowki referenced Snow as the guy who “took 17 years to become an overnight sensation.” Gangrel had a goblet of blood; he stalled on the floor. Gangrel attacked him from behind and he tied up Snow on the mat. This is going to be ugly. Snow hit a bodyslam. He lunged at Mitchell and swung head. Vampire Warrior used this distraction to get a rollup for the pin. Ugh.
* Shane Douglas (w/Francine) hit the ring and they got a nice pop. Douglas wore a yellow Pittsburg Penguins T-shirt and I didn’t think he was wrestling.
4. “The Pitbull Revolution” Craig Steele, Gary Wolfe, and Traxx (w/Jazz) defeated “The New Triple Threat” Shane Douglas, Wrecking Ball Legursky, and Ray Jaz (w/Francine) at 8:30. Traxx is bald and wears a deep singlet; every time I see him I think of Ryback. Jaz and Traxx started; good to start with guys under the age of 50. Traxx hit a flying shoulder tackle on Legursky. Douglas tagged in at 3:00 and kept Traxx grounded; he tagged out after 30 seconds, having basically just twisted Traxx’ neck. Embarrassing. Legursky missed a Vader Bomb, and Traxx finally tagged out to Wolfe at 5:30.
Francine choked Wolfe in the ropes, earning a pop. Douglas hit an elbow across Wolfe’s head. Wolfe hit a double clothesline on Legursky and Jaz. A woman hopped in the ring and hit Douglas with a low blow. Wolfe hit a clothesline and pinned Douglas. That was embarrassing for most of these guys on many levels.
* Afa Jr. (f.k.a. WWE’s Manu) and Beast Man hit the ring, and Afa berated Shane Douglas. This led to the next impromptu match…
5. Beast Man and Afa Jr. defeated Luigi Primo and Little Guido (w/Tommy Rich) at 7:56. I have only seen Primo wrestle once before, on a Warrior Wrestling show, and he looked terrible. Primo and Beast Man started with comedy, and Beast Man took a bite of the raw pizza crust. Wow, this is just bad. Afa entered and nailed a superkick that dropped Primo at 3:30. Each of the big men hit a rolling cannonball in the corner on Primo, and they took turns working Primo over. Guido made the hot tag at 6:30 and unloaded a series of chops on Afa Jr. Beast Man hit a chokeslam on Guido, and Afa immediately hit a frogsplash for the pin. Meh.
* Afa Jr. got back on the mic and kept berating the crowd, until Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” hit, and the fans chanted, “You f**ked up!” Sandman came out and hit each of them with a Singapore cane, then celebrated with many a beer.
* BCW owner Tim Embler hit the ring and said that WWE sent him a “legal letter” two days earlier and that D-Von Dudley wasn’t allowed to be at the show. Embler said he was not allowed to say “three little letters” (ECW) because it is their property. He vowed (threatened?) that he would make this Extreme show an annual event. He said the next show in March will feature an eight-man tournament with John Morrison, Tony Nese, Matt Cardona and others. The show also will have the Nasty Boys in action.
Intermission
* Jerry Lynn was introduced. He talked about the first time facing Rob Van Dam, and that they clicked in the ring and always had something special. “He’s one of the most gifted athletes I’ve ever been in the ring with,” Lynn said. “That’s what makes him so special.” RVD then came to the ring. He said he had the most fun in his career in ECW. Any reference to WWE brought boos. He talked about seeing ECW TV and being blown away by the rambunctious crowds, prior to debuting. He said he was grateful for getting a Hall of Fame induction. A banner was then unveiled, showing he is in the 2300 Arena “Hardcore Hall of Fame.”
6. Facade (w/Dani Mo) defeated Breaux Keller, Danny Miles and Vinny Mac in a four-way at 6:15. This was billed as a “futures match,” and all four came out together. Breaux is pronounced “Bro;” I’ve seen him at least once before. Facade, of course, wears lime green and has been wrestling for two decades, so unclear why on earth he’d be in a “futures match.” Miles also has been wrestling for several years,, so calling this a “futures match” only makes sense when you realize many of the competitors in this show are 50 or older. Raven sat on the entrance ramp. Facade hit a huracanrana from the apron to the floor. Miles hit a gutbuster over his knees on Facade.
Breaux hit an X-Factor faceplant for a nearfall. Vinny Mac got a rollup with his feet on the ropes; when Dani Mo pointed it out, he called her a “skank” and shoved her off the ring apron. Facade hit a top-rope spinning kick onto a chair in Mac’s hands, hitting Mac in the face. Facade then pinned Mac. Raven got on the mic and berated each wrestler with pointed barbs as they walked to the back. Dombrowski said he’s the “Simon Cowell” of the 2300 Arena.
* A video from Tommy Dreamer appeared on the screen. He said how much he loved everyone in the building.
7. Super Crazy defeated Juventud Guerrera at 10:42. Juvy, age 48, got on the mic and said, “Finally, the Juice has come back to Philadelphia!” He looks to be in really good shape. However, he suddenly started swearing at the fans and got heavily booed. He removed his mask before the bell. Super Crazy finally hit him to start the match. They brawled to the floor, and Juventud jabbed him in the ribs with a chair. In the ring, Super Crazy hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee at 5:00.
Juventud hit one chair into another chair against Super Crazy’s groin. Juvy got a table. Super Crazy tied him in a Tajiri-style Tarantula in the ropes. Juventud hit a powerbomb through a table for a believable nearfall at 8:30. Super Crazy hit a running dropkick onto a chair over the face. However, he missed a top-rope moonsault. Juventud walked toward him, and Super Crazy grabbed him, rolled him up, and scored the pin out of nowhere. Adequate match; nowhere near what they could have done 15-20 years ago, obviously, but passable for the nostalgia.
* Joel Gertner hit the ring. “There is no telling what he might say with a live mic,” Dombrowski correctly stated. Gertner said: “No one could keep me away from tonight, but there’s no place I’d rather be than home with family.” He talked about his first visits to the building and developing his gimmick. He pointed to men in the crowd and told them about how he had slept with their mom, or their sister. He has great (albeit crude) timing.
8. 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Rich Swann at 21:57. Swann had his never-ending ring intro and dance. I’ve seen 57-year-old Scorpio a handful of times this year on GCW shows, and he really shouldn’t be competing anymore. A dance-off to open, but when the ref tried to join in, he pulled his groin. Funny. They finally touched at 2:30 with an intense lockup. Scorpio worked the left arm. They sped it up with Swann hitting a dropkick at 7:00. Scorpio nailed a top-rope crossbody block and a dropkick.
Scorpio controlled the offense at that point, and he kept Swann grounded. Swann hit a running summersault from the ring apron to the floor at 11:00, with Scorpio crashing onto the cement floor (no mats or carpets.) Swann hit some spin kicks to the chest as they brawled on the floor. They went over the guardrails and fought amongst the fans. They finally got back in the ring, with Swann hitting a top-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall at 15:00. Scorpio hit a Death Valley Driver, and a second-rope moonsault for a believable nearfall. He hit a summersault leg drop, and he’s really working hard here.
Scorpio hit a top-rope twisting frogsplash for a believable nearfall. Swann fired up and hit a series of punches. Scorpio leveled him with a forearm shot at 19:30. Swann hit a huracanrana out of the corner for a nearfall. Swann nailed a spin kick to the head for a believable nearfall. Swann nailed his handspring-back-stunner for a believable nearfall. Swann nailed a second-rope 450 Splash for a believable nearfall. However, he missed a top-rope 450 splash. Scorpio immediately hit a top-rope corkscrew moonsault for the pin. That topped all expectations; Scorpio had as good of a match as he’s likely to have at this point.
9. Rob Van Dam (w/Bill Alfonso, Katie Forbes) defeated Rhino at 15:51. A huge pop for both me. They took turns playing to the crowd. They finally started trading blows at 3:00, and RVD hit a spin kick to the neck that dropped Rhino. Forbes checked on RVD and suggestively held him. RVD hit a spin kick off the second rope, then his rolling senton for a nearfall. They brawled to the floor and into the crowd and completely vanished from view. They finally returned to ringside at 8:00.
In the ring, Rhino had taken control of the offense. He hit a Gore into the corner at 10:30, and RVD sold the pain in his ribs. RVD hit another spin kick to the face, and they were both down. RVD hit a running dropkick onto a chair against Rhino’s body, then a split-legged moonsault for a nearfall at 13:30. Rhino charged at RVD but Alfonzo put a chair between them, and that hurt Rhino. Heath (Slater) hopped in the ring to assist Rhino, but the lights went out! “What the hell is going on in the arena?” Dombrowski asked. The crowd knew, chanting “Sabu!” The lights came on and Sabu was in the ring. Sabu hit Heath with a chairshot to the face. RVD then hit the Five-Star Frogsplash for the pin.
* Heath and Rhino immediately scampered to the back while Sabu, RVD, Alfonso, Katie Forbes and another woman celebrated in the ring. Blue Meanie, wearing a blue Santa outfit, hit the ring, and they tossed boxes into the crowd. (Unclear if there were actually presents in those boxes!)
Final Thoughts: Two very satifsying matches to close the show. I was so unimpressed with RVD when he appeared in Minneapolis for F1rst Wrestling a few months ago, but he worked hard here to deliver a good finale. Likewise, you see my comments, before the match began, questioning why Scorpio was competing here, but by the end of the match, I was giving it a thumbs up.
I tend to not like nostalgia shows; I really don’t need to see guys who were stars 20 years ago competing when it looks unhealthy or dangerous for them to be in the ring. Gangrel vs. Al Snow… I would be fine if these guys had just entered the ring, spoke, high-fived the fans, and left. They sure didn’t need to wrestle, because it was bad. Likewise, Little Guido was barely in the match, did absolutely nothing, before being pinned.
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