By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Freelance Pro Wrestling “Storm Grayson & The Legend of the Mexican Dragon”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
April 14, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois at Logan Square
This is a small, ornate room with a high ceiling, but it is absolutely packed with 200 or so fans. Dave Prazak and K-Mei provided live commentary, and this was a legit in-advance sellout…
1) Shazza McKenzie defeated Shane Black, El Torero, Mojo McQueen, Trevor Outlaw, and Brandon Gore in a six-way scramble at 6:06. Black is dressed like a lifeguard; he wrestles barefoot. Torero is dressed like a bull, like Black Taurus. McQueen is Black, big, and he’s a scary Papa Shango-like character. Outlaw is the guy who is a cross between Josh Woods and Marty Scurll, and he’s a hated heel. Shazza, the Australian who just relocated to the U.S., is the only woman in this match. Gore wrestled on an AEW Dark in Minneapolis. Everyone jumped on McQueen first.
Torero and Shazza were suddenly alone in the ring and traded good offense, until he tossed her onto everyone on the floor. Torero then hit a flip dive onto everyone at 3:00. Shane hit a top rope dive onto everyone. McQueen hit a Black Hole Slam in the ring for a nearfall. Shazza hit a stunner on Mojo, and everyone worked together to toss him to the floor. (Of course, this is not a battle royal.) Outlaw hit a Cody-style swinging faceplant. Outlaw set up for a Cross Rhodes on Shazza, but she escaped, rolled him up, and got the shocking pin. Prazak told a story throughout the match that Outlaw is on a losing streak, so that continued here.
2. Devon Moore defeated Koda Hernandez at 8:12. Koda is average height with short black hair. Moore has the exact same look and flamboyant style of Sonny Kiss. They brawled on the floor; there isn’t a lot of room in front of the guardrails. Koda was in charge and was booed. He hit some rolling suplexes for a nearfall at 4:30. Monroe hit a running cannonball and a fisherman’s neckbreaker move for a believable nearfall. Koda got a loaded sock, but Devon kicked it away before being hit by it. Devon then hit a spinning top-rope crossbody block for the pin. Ok match with great heat.
3. GPA and Laynie Luck defeated “Bussy” Effy and Allie Katch in a mixed tag match at 13:41. GPA and Luck act like wrestling royalty. The women started, then GPA and EFFy squared off at 3:00. Effy hit his Doink-style Whoopee Cushion buttdrop and a gut-wrench suplex. Some comedy stuff here, with Allie ‘proposing’ to Laynie. The heels began working over Katch in their corner. Effy got in and hit a TKO stunner on Luck at 7:30. Effy rubbed his crotch in GPA’s face. The heels beat down Effy.
Katch got in and hit her running buttbumps and rolling cannonballs in the corner on each opponent. She hit a double Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall at 10:30. GPA applied a Sharpshooter on Katch, but Effy walked up to GPA and kissed him on the mouth! “That’s one way to break up a submission hold!” Prazak said. Allie then kissed Laynie on the mouth. Effy hit a top-rope double blockbuster for a nearfall. GPA dove to the floor on Effy. In the ring, GPA hit a top-rope crossbody block on Katch for a nearfall. Katch went for a piledriver, but Laynie turned it into a sunset flip for the pin; GPA held onto Laynie’s arms for leverage so Allie couldn’t kick out.
4. Bryan Keith defeated Kevin Ku to retain the Freelance Legacy Championship at 10:05. This should be hard-hitting. Ku is apparently a last-minute replacement; Prazak didn’t say who bowed out. The crowd is hot before they locked up. Ku is deceptively large. They began trading LOUD chops at 1:30. Ku began targeting the left knee. Ku hit a kneedrop to the back of the head as Keith was draped over the top rope. Keith hit a decapitating clothesline, and they were both down at 5:00. Keith hit a T-Bone suplex.
Ku hit a Saito Suplex, then a running clothesline in the corner. Ku nailed a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall lat 7:30. Keth nailed a stunner for a nearfall. Keith hit a Tiger Driver for a believable nearfall, and both men were down. Ku hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Keith nailed a running knee to the collarbone for a believable nearfall. Keith immediately hit a second Tiger Driver for the clean pin. That was excellent, hard-hitting stuff.
* Intermission. I wasn’t watching live, so I’m pleased this was edited out and the action resumed immediately!
5. “The Bang Bros” Davey Bang & August Matthews defeated “Los Macizos” Ciclope & Miedo Extremo” and “Hustle and the Muscle” Rohit Raju & Karam in a three-way to retain the Freelance Tag Team Titles at 11:50. Raju and Karam just lost their Glory Pro tag titles in the St. Louis area, and Los Macizos recently lost their GCW tag titles. The Bang Bros are Chicago-based and were cheered. All six brawled at the bell. Karam is muscular, far bigger than anyone else in this match. Ciclope hit a basement dropkick on Karam at 2:00, and Miedo slammed Ciclope onto Karam.
Karam and Raju began beating up Los Macizos. Karam hit a Stinger Splash on both Bang Bros at 4:30. Bang hit a swinging slam on Karam for a nearfall. Matthews hit a flip dive to the floor on Los Macizos. In the ring, Bang hit a rolling Death Valley Driver on Miedo at 7:00. Ciclope hit a double Northern Lights Suplex on the Bango Bros. We had a tower spot out of the corner, with Ciclope crashing halfway across the ring. Karam hit a double chokeslam on the Bang Bros at 9:00. Miedo snuck up behind Karam and hit a release German Suplex, and suddenly all six men were down.
Miedo and Ciclope hit kicks on Karam. Ciclope hit a Doomsday Clothesline on Raju for a nearfall at 11:00. Bang hit a Poison Rana on Miedo. Bang nailed his team spear move on Miedo. The Bang Bros hit simultaneous 450 Splashes on different opponents for the pin. That was really, really good.
6. Shane Mercer (w/James Russo) defeated Sorta Incredible Iverson at 7:04. I have never seen Iverson before; He wore a pink cape and carried a Captain America shield. So, he’s an adult who thinks he’s a super hero. I always compare Mercer to Brian Cage, because he is so strong but can keep up with the fast, smaller guys. A few months ago, I saw Mercer throw Marko Stunt at least 10 feet onto several people (obviously plants) in the crowd. Iverson dove through the ropes onto Mercer, then he ran off the stage and dove onto Mercer.
In the ring, Mercer took control and hit some hard chops, then a release suplex at 3:30. Mercer stood behind Iverson and hit some crossface blows. Mercer picked Iverson up and hit a military press. Prazak kept talking about how Mercer could throw Iverson into the third or fourth row. Mercer tried to hit some stomps, but Iverson blocked them with his Capt. America shield. Iverson hit a Superman Punch. Mercer hit a Jackhammer-style powerslam for a nearfall at 6:00, but he pulled Iverson up before the three-count! Mercer then hit the “moonsault and battery” second-rope fallaway slam for the clean pin.
* Heel manager James Russo, dressed in a blue button-down shirt and tie, got on the mic and boasted about Mercer’s size and strength. Craig Mitchell hit the ring and speared Mercer. A dozen wrestlers from the back hit the ring to separate Mercer and Mitchell. The crowd chanted, “Let them fight!” Mercer picked up a security guard and tossed him onto Mitchell. Good pull-apart brawl.
7. Storm Grayson defeated Nick Wayne to retain the Freelance Championship at 20:58. Grayson has long black hair and a good physique; he reminds me of a young Adam Rose. He’s competed a lot in Warrior Wrestling in the past year, and he lost to Veer Mahaan on WWE Main Event last year, too. Prazak talked about how Wayne is already under AEW contract, and is slated to face Swerve Strickland within days after turning 18 this summer. A nice pop for both men. They opened with standing switches. Wayne hit a head-scissors takedown at 2:30. Grayson countered with his own head-scissors takedown and dropkick. They brawled to the floor, trading chops in front of the fans.
In the ring, Wayne hit a clothesline and was in charge. Grayson hit a top-rope missile dropkick at 8:30 and was fired up. Wayne hit a mid-ring Frankensteiner. Grayson hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, and they were both down. Wayne hit a handpsring-back-stunner, then a Northern Lights Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall at 10:30, and the crowd was rallying for him. Grayson hit a superkick; Wayne hit a superkick. Wayne hit an enzuigiri; Grayson hit a clothesline, and they were both down at 12:30, and the crowd started a “this is awesome!” chant.
They traded headbutts while on their knees. They got to their feet and traded forearm shots. Grayson hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a believable nearfall. They fought on the ring apron, and Grayson hit a spin kick. Wayne flipped Grayson onto the apron, with Grayson falling to the floor. They fought on the floor, with Grayson hitting a running elbow from the apron onto Wayne as Nick was lying on an open chair; Wayne barely got back in the ring before behing counted out at 17:30. In the ring, Wayne hit a Code Red for a believable nearfall.
Wayne hit some forearm strikes and Grayson looked groggy. Grayson hit a superkick; Wayne hit a superkick. Wayne seet up for the Clout Cutter, but Grayson kicked him in the back, then hit an Angle Slam, then a running V-Trigger kneestrike to the side of Wayne’s head for the clean pin. That was really, really good.
Final Thoughts: I don’t think I can add anything new about how great Nick Wayne is. At 17, he had the crowd fully invested in that entire match. Easily best match of the show. Ku-Keith was really good and earned second best, with the three-way tag taking third. Those three matches were significantly better than the rest of the show, which was often comedy stuff that worked for this crowd.
This show is available today on IWTV. Freelance Wrestling returns May 12. Several of these wrestlers are headed to the GCW show on Saturday.
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