By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Demand Lucha “Luchapalooza”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
April 27, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario at Parkdale Hall
This show aired live on IWTV. The crowd is in the 300-400 range. This is some sort of ballroom; we have multiple chandeliers visible.
* The show opened with a highlight package. When we head to the building, the video is a bit grainy and pixelated.
1. “Los Medicos” (w/Nurse Novacaine) defeated “The Mane Event” Jay Lyon and Midas Black for the Royal Canadian Tag Team Titles. The Mane Event had blink-and-you’ll-miss-it action in MLW’s Battle Riot earlier this week. Los Medicos wear generic masks and white doctor scrubs, and they are the heels. Nurse Novacaine is dressed like WCW-era “Miss Hancock” Stacy Keibler, in glasses and small skirt. She grabbed Lyon’s foot as he went to the ropes early on, allowing Los Medicos to take control.
Midas finally got a hot tag at 7:00 and actually picked up the heavier Medico and hit a Death Valley Driver, earning a pop. Nurse Novocaine hopped in the ring and hit a TKO stunner on Midas for a believable nearfall. Mane Event hit their team X-Factor Faceplant. However, a Medico hit a swinging sideslam on Midas for the pin. Okay opener.
* Sam Adonis hit the ring and started talking about how tall and handsome he is.
2. Sam Adonis defeated Drago Kid at 9:24. Adonis is a legit 6’4″ and Drago Kid is maybe 5’0″ and Adonis easily shoved him to the mat. Drago Kid is clearly quite young and wore a red mask and pants, and he hit a head-scissors takedown, then a dive through the ropes to the floor. Drago Kid went for an Asai moonsault but Adonis caught him. Adonis whipped him into a ring post at 4:00 and beat him up on the floor.
In the ring, Drago Kid hit a huracanrana, then a Code Red for a nearfall at 8:00. DK jumped off the top turnbuckle and hit a huracanrana on the floor; it wasn’t perfect but it worked. In the ring, Adonis hit a standing powerbomb and a Death Valley Driver for the pin; the camera shifted at the last moment and didn’t catch the third arm falling. Really bad camera work at the finish to a decent big-man little-man match.
* Adonis grabbed the mic and made an open challenge to any Mexican. He was informed he would be facing Brian Cage on June 29; Adonis was livid, reiterating that his challenge was to any Mexican.
3A. Space Monkey defeated Freddie (w/Los Medicos) at about 6:00. Freddie wore a black singlet and mask and he’s a bit thick. Space Monkey wore his “Planet of the Apes” inspired monkey mask, and I’ve seen him a few times in Midwest indies. If SM wins, he gets five minutes in the ring with one of the Medicos. They immediately brawled to the floor. In the ring, Freddie hit a powerbomb for a nearfall at 4:30. My feed froze. When it returned, Space Monkey was beating up one of the Medicos, so presumably he won. Too bad my feed froze; I can’t say if this good or bad.
* (NOTE: the quality of the stream was substantially better when the feed returned!!)
3B. Space Monkey defeated Los Medico (w/Nurse Novacaine) via DQ. Nurse Novacaine gave the Medico a flask of green liquid and he drank the potion. Medico peeled off his shirt and revealed he’s quite muscular, and he beat down Space Monkey. Nurse Novocaine beat up the ref and took off his referee shirt. She pointed at a fan in the crowd, handed him the shirt, and ordered him to go into the ring. (Obviously the fan is a plant.) Space Monkey was going for the pin, so Nurse Novacaine jumped in the ring to break it up, causing the DQ. This was decent silly humor stuff.
4. Seraphis defeated Jordan Oliver, Ultra Violette, and Evan Greenaway, in an intergender four-way at 11:44. There were four tables set up in the corners of the ring. Seraphis is a big, thick man in a black mask. I’ve seen Viollette before in New York’s House of Glory, and she’s solid in the ring. Oliver is one of my favorite indy wrestlers today; I knew he was on this show in an unadvertised match, and I’m a bit disappointed he’s in an intergender four-way. Oliver is 6’2″ so Seraphis might be 6’4″ and 320 pounds. Greenaway is a chubby kid in a full body outfit. Jordan, Violette and Evan spoke on the floor, trying to figure out how to take out the big man.
Violette hit multiple blows on Seraphis, but he swatted her to the mat. She hit a huracanrana on Seraphis. Seraphis hit some Stinger Splashes on each of his male opponents. Seraphis chokeslammed Greenaway off the second rope and through a double-decker door bridge for the pin. Messy four-way and a waste of Oliver’s talents.
5. Mega Medico (w/Nurse Novacaine) defeated Gangrel at 12:15. I really have no idea if this Medico is one of the same guys who already wrestled; they are all wearing generic white medical scrubs. I just saw Gangrel wrestle a few weeks ago on a Black Label Pro show, and he seems a bit thinner and healthier than a few years ago; he carried a wine chalice of ‘red fluid’ that he sprayed up in the air before entering the ring. Medico attacked before the bell. Gangrel hit a body slam at 1:30. They brawled to the floor. In the ring, Medico choked Gangrel in the ropes and was in charge.
Nurse Novacaine also choked Gangrel in the ropes when the ref was distracted. Medico hit a rolling cannonball in the corner at 6:30. Gangrel hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Nurse Novacaine hopped on the ring apron, opened her shirt collar a bit, and offered her neck to Gangrel. When he stepped forward to bite her, she hit him with a clipboard. Medico hit a Black Hole Slam for the pin! I didn’t expect that! They continued to brawl after the bell, with Gangrel hitting a DDT on Medico.
6. Gringo Loco defeated Arez and Komander in a three-way at 11:33. This was one of just two matches announced in advance on IWTV’s website. Loco got on the mic and called himself “the fastest rising star on the indies today.” It started as just two wrestlers, but as soon as the bell rang, Komander came out to turn this into a threeway. (I stop and restart my watch, as they didn’t even have a chance to lockup.) The bell rang and Komander immediately hit an armdrag, then a corkscrew plancha to the floor on both opponents. In the ring, they traded quick moves and had a standoff.
Komander hit a head-scissors takedown on both men. Everyone kipped up at 2:00 and the crowd was going nuts. Arez tied Loco up in the ropes. Loco did his quick stomps on each opponents’ back at 4:30, then he hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Komander hit a double-stomp on Loco’s back, then a moonsault on Loco for a nearfall at 7:00. Loco hit a Clout Cutter on Arez. Arez hit a tilt-a-whirl lungblower over his knees on Loco. Arez nailed a top-rope doublestomp on Loco’s chest for a nearfall at 10:30.
Loco nailed a top-rope Spanish Fly to pin Arez. Komander spent the last several minutes of the match on the floor, so I hope he’s okay.
Final Thoughts: A great main event, and made the show worth checking out. These are three of my favorite luchadors going today, and they certainly click in the ring. Adonis-Drago Kid was fun and earned second-best.
Gangrel’s match was what you’d expect from him at this point. The Mane Event always deliver. Jordan Oliver is a top 10 indy talent in 2023, but you’d never know it from him being booked in this four-way; not his fault, but the match just wasn’t designed to showcase his talents.
With so many masked wrestlers I’ve never heard of before, I wonder how many of them are really ‘luchadors.’ I wouldn’t be surprised if any of them were wrestlers I’ve seen before that donned a mask for the night.
Check out this promotion at twitter.com/DemandLucha
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