By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Prestige Wrestling “The Things We Carry”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
December 30, 2022 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
Alyssa Marino and the boisterous Jordan Castle provided commentary; he reminds me of Don West. Marino also is quite knowledgeable, and I like their work together. The crowd was in the 350-450 range. This show was part of a “Wrestival” in the Northeast; as Marino and Castle talked about the multiple shows that took place over this weekend, and frequently mentioned other matches from those events.
1. (Alan) Angels defeated Alec Price at 14:01. Price is the tall, lanky Massachusetts native, so he’s wildy popular here. Alan Angels is going by just “Angels,” and he is much shorter than Price. Some basic mat holds early, and they opened up into trading hard chops at 3:00. Angels took control, as Castle explained that Angels was supposed to be facing KC Navarro, and Price is a last-minute replacement. Price ducked a discus lariat and got a rollup for a nearfall. Price nailed a springboard tornado DDT, then a dive over the top rope to the floor at 8:00.
In the ring, Price hit a stunner for a nearfall. Angels got an inside cradle for a nearfall. This time, Angels nailed the discus lariat for a believable nearfall. They began trading stiff forearm shots. Angels nailed a German Suplex, so Price hopped up and hit his own. Price hit a standing powerbomb and an Air Raid Crash for a believable nearfall at 12:00.
Price got a rollup, but the ref got bumped in the kickout. Price slammed Angels’ face on the top rope for a visual pin, but we had no ref. Price went for his running mule kick, but Angels hit a low blow uppercut. Angels then nailed a spin kick to the face for the pin. “Not like this,” Castle said in disgust. An excellent opener between two top-notch rising stars on the indy scene.
2. “C4” Cody Chhun and Guillermo Rosas defeated “Brick City Boyz” J. Cruz and Victor Chase at 8:58. C4 are based on the West Coast, so surprising to see them here. Chhun looks like NXT’s Boa. The BCB wear identical black-and-purple singlets; Chase is Black and Cruz is Latino, and I’ve seen them at least once before. The shorter Rosas and Chase started. The BCB began working over Rosas; these two have good size on them. Chase bodyslammed Rosas. Chhun made the hot tag at 6:00 and he beat up on the BCB.
Chhun jumped off the ropes, but Cruz caught him and hit a German Suplex. BCB hit a team piledriver on Chhun, but Rosas made the save. Chhun hit a Clout Cutter on Cruz, and Rosas immediately hit an Angle Slam. C4 then hit high-low kicks to score the pin. Decent tag match.
3. Anthony Henry defeated Robert Martyr at 16:17. Henry is so quietly good, having a really strong post-NXT run. Martyr has a thin mustache; he’s getting booked all over the East Coast, but I haven’t seen the ‘it factor’ in him yet. Henry is far more muscular, and he tied up the left arm early on. Martyr hit an overhead release belly-to-belly suplex at 4:00 and was fired up. Henry somehow has a cut on the middle of his spine, and he’s bleeding down the middle of his back.
They brawled to the floor at 5:30. Henry nailed a hard kick to the back as Martyr sat on the hard wood floor, and the crowd popped for the sound of that kick. He hit another one. “That kick was even harder; I didn’t think it was possible,” Jordan Castle said. Henry powerbombed Martyr onto the side of the ring apron at 7:30. Back in the ring, Henry nailed a spin kick to the chest that leveled Martyr. Martyr tried to fire back with some chops, but they seemed to just annoy Henry.
Henry kept laying in the stiff kicks, with Martyr selling the blows (which looks like it is easy to sell those!) Henry hit a brainbuster for a nearfall. Martyr applied a modified half crab, but Henry reached the ropes at 13:00. They traded forearm shots. Henry hit a jumping piledriver for a believable nearfall, and the crowd popped for the kickout. Henry hit another spin kick, then he nailed a Gotch-Style piledriver for the pin. Marino and Castle put over Martyr’s efforts in the loss.
* Henry got on the mic and said “my foot hurts from kicking you in the face.” He praised Martyr for keep getting up. He left. Martyr got on the mic and said he’s only 21 but has been wrestling since his first match at age 14. (You’d think he would have hit the gym once, then!) He said he loves this sport and got a bit emotional.
4. Bobby Orlando defeated Kris Brady at 6:53. My first time seeing Brady; he wore bib overalls and has Wardlow’s haircut, including the small ponytail on top of the head. I have seen Orlando before; he has a reddish-brown beard and he carries his stuffed goat to ringside and he’s cartoonish, and he wears his Hot Topic gear. Brady hit a jumping DDT for a nearfall at 4:00. Orlando hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall. Brady hit a superkick and a buckle bomb, then a Samoan Drop. Brady hit a nice double-jump moonsault for a nearfall. Orlando leapt off the second rope and hit an Athena-style stunner, then a top-rope elbow drop for the pin. Adequate match.
5. Kevin Blackwood defeated Anthony Greene at 13:30. Like Anthony Henry, Greene is having a nice post-NXT run. I like Blackwood’s style style. An intense lockup, and they brawled to the floor. Greene accidentally chopped the ring post at 2:30. Back in the ring, Blackwood hit a second-rope missile dropkick, then a T-Bone suplex for a nearfall. Greene worked the left leg. Blackwood hit a running punt kick and a brainbuster for a nearfall at 6:30.
Greene applied a single-leg crab, but Blackwood reached the ropes. Blackwood hit a double stomp to the back; he came off the top ropes but Greene caught him with a superkick. Greene hit a springboard Unprettier for a believable nearfall at 9:30. Blackwood hit a Death Valley Driver for a believable nearfall. Greene hit a second-rope twisting suplex for a nearfall. Blackwood hit some spin kicks. Greene went for his springboard Unprettier, but this time Blackwood blocked it. Blackwood hit a top-rope double stomp onto Greene’s shoulders for the pin. Wow, that was really good.
6. Akira defeated Atticus Cogar at 16:47. Akira, the death match specialist with a Mohawk, just signed with Major League Wrestling. I’ve seen Cogar a handful of times in the past in GCW; he wears all black. They traded stiff forearm shots. Cogar pulled at his nose and mouth. Akira hit a flip dive to the floor at 5:00. Cogar slammed something across Akira’s forehead and Akira was instantly gushing. Yuck; this is really gross. In the ring, Akira hit an overhead suplex into the turnbuckles.
They brawled back to the floor. Cogar dropped Akira back-first on the ring steps. Akira’s whole face is covered in red. Akira flipped Cogar off the ring apron and onto a table at 11:00. In the ring, Akira hit some Kawada Kicks to the face, and he bodyslammed Cogar onto an open chair. Cogar hit several unprotected chair shots to the head. That is just stupid and reckless. Akira stabbed Cogar in the forehead with his keys and Cogar’s face was covered in blood, too. Akira applied a sleeperhold on the mat, and Cogar passed out. That was gross, disgustingly, unnecessarily bloody and violent. But a lot of the crowd liked it.
* A short break as the ring was cleaned and mopped. A lot of blood loss.
7. Willow Nightengale defeated Jody Threat at 8:20. Jody Threat has flaming red hair; she’s probably best known for taking that beating from Athena on AEW Dark a few months ago, leading to Athena’s heel turn. An intense lockup, and they brawled to the floor, and traded chops while fighting amongst the fans. They grabbed alcoholic drinks and began chugging at 3:30. They bumped chests but Jody fell to the ground. Back in the ring, Willow hit a German Suplex, so Jody hit her own.
Willow hit a spinebuster for a nearfall. Jody hit a spear in the corner, then a top-rope Whoopee Cushion, and another spear. Jody nailed an F5 faceplant off her shoulders for a nearfall at 7:30. Willow hit a nice Doctor Bomb gutwrench powerbomb for the pin. Good match.
8. “The Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin defeated “The American Wolves” Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards at 16:54. The AW wore identical darkpurple pants. The MCMG came out second, and they each had a couple belts on them. The crowd chanted “All these guys!” before the bell. Shelley and Richards opened with intense standing switches. Shelley kicked at Edwards’ left arm and began working it over. Sabin entered at 2:30 and also began targeting the left arm.
Edwards and Shelley began brawling on the floor. In the ring, the AW began working over Shelley. Richards applied the Jamie Noble Trailer Hitch leglock at 6:00. Sabin tripped Richards as Davey ran the ropes, allowing the MCMG to get back on offense. Shelley hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Edwards. Shelley applied a Figure Four Leglock; Richards tried to make the save, but Sabin put a Figure Four Leglock on him! Richards hit a suplex on Shelley, then some spin kicks to Sabin’s chest at 11:00. Richards hit a Saito Suplex on Sabin. Jordan Castle said it is 1:20 a.m., as there have been shows all day.
Richards went to an anklelock on Sabin, while Edwards put Shelley in a half-crab. Sabin hit a running stunner on Davey at 14:00. Shelley put Edwards in a Border City Stretch, then he hit a Flatliner into the middle turnbuckle. They all got up and traded forearm shots. The AW hit simultaneous Mafia Kicks. Richards hit a pop-up spin kick to the chest. The Guns hit a team swinging faceplant on Richards, with Sabin making the cover, for the clean pin. That was stellar.
* Shelley got on the mic and noted that not only is he Impact and New Japan Strong tag title champs, he’s the Prestige Wrestling heavyweight title. He offered Chris Sabin a title match in the future. Sabin accepted. All four posed in the ring with all of their arms raised.
Final Thoughts: There was no way any match but the main event was going to be named best match. I am sure they have fought numerous times before, but this was fun because I certainly hadn’t seen it in a few years, certainly not since Richards returned to the wrestling scene.
Angels-Price had a really good opener and that earned second best. I’ll go with Blackwood-Greene for third place, with Henry-Martyr for honorable mention. While I’m still not seeing anything unique or special in Martyr, he sure is getting a lot of opportunities against some of the best indy wrestling talent out there, as I recently saw him face Davey Richards in a different promotion.
I can certainly do without the violence and blood loss of that Akira-Cogar match, but the crowd enjoyed the mayhem. I wouldn’t have minded a longer women’s match to see what they can do.
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