By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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House of Glory “Beware the Fury”
Streamed on FITE TV
May 19, 2023 in Queens, N.Y. at NYC Arena
This show is available on Fite+. It appears we have a good crowd in the 500 range.
1. Nolo Kitano (w/Ninjas) defeated Jodi Aura at 9:58. Jodi is a Black man who is thin with dreadlocks; think a taller Lio Rush. He apparently is the top wrestler in the HOG’s sister promotion. The way the commentators are speaking, it sounds like it is the NXT to HOG’s WWE. Kitano, a Black man who wears a karate outfit, hit the ring before Jodi could speak. Nolo has several masked ninjas who kept interfering early on. They brawled at ringside. In the ring, Nolo was in charge; this was a basic beatdown.
Jodi finally hit a slingshot suplex at 5:30, and they were both down. Jodi hit a doublestomp to the back for a nearfall, and they were both down. Nolo hit a spin kick to the face, then a Tiger Bomb for a believable nearfall. Jodi fired back with a rolling stunner for a believable nearfall. The ninjas kept interfering, so Jodi dove through the ropes on them. He got back in the ring, but Nolo spit liquid, spraying it on Jodi’s face. Nolo then got a rollup for the tainted pin. Okay match. I like Jodi’s overall look.
* A video aired of Detective James, from the HOG Police Department. He’s been taking shortcuts of late…
2. Blackmon (w/The Black Hand) defeated Detective James at 7:01. The Black Hand look like militants; think Farooq’s Nation of Domination, but surprisingly, they are the babyfaces. The crowd booed when Det. James tried to speak and tell the Black Hand “they don’t have a permit to be out here.” Basic brawling back and forth early on. James wears his flak jacket like D’Lo Brown. The ref ejected the Black Hand at 5:00. James hit an enzuigiri and a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 6:30. James missed a 450 Splash and Blackmon immediately hit a clothesline for the pin. Basic.
* HOG returns June 16 with El Hijo Del Vikingo in action.
3. Ken Broadway and Encore defeated “The Brick City Boyz” Julio Cruz and Victor Chase at 6:29. Encore is a Black man who reminds me of a young party animal Ron Killings and I’ve been impressed with him. Broadway also is Black with more of a swagger, and he is more like Swerve Strickland. This should be interesting. Cruz is white; Chase is Black, and they wear black-and-yellow that reminds me of WCW’s High Voltage. The BCB attacked before the bell. Encore hit a flip dive to the floor. Broadway dove through the ropes on the opposite side of the ring. The BCB began working over Encore in their corner.
Broadway made the hot tag at 4:00 and he hit some punches and got a nearfall. Cruz hit a Northern Lights Suplex, with Chase getting a nearfall. Broadway hit a German Suplex on Chase for a believable nearfall. Encore hit a swinging uranage/Rock Bottom for the pin. Good match; I see a lot of promise for both Broadway and Encore.
4. Charles Mason defeated Jake Something to retain the Crown Jewel Title at 18:45. Jake still has the huge wrap on his right thigh. I write this every time now, but the comparison to Mike Awesome is so appropriate, and he just towers over Mason, not only in height, but muscle mass. Mason, the Messiah/cult leader figurehead, applied a sleeper early on but Jake easily reached the ropes. They brawled out of the ring and up onto a stage. Mason spit fluid at Jake and hit a back body drop onto the stage at 4:30. Charles dragged the ref back to the ring and ordered him to begin counting so he could win via count-out. Jake dove in before being counted out.
Charles took control with a basic beatdown. Jake nailed a spear in the corner for a nearfall at 10:00. Charles hit a piledriver for a nearfall, and he went to a rear-naked choke. Mason nailed a rolling Death Valley Driver for a believable nearfall, but he missed a Swanton Bomb at 13:30. Mason went back to the rear-naked choke, but Jake backed into the corner to break free. Jake hit a huracanrana but Jake rolled through and nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. The crowd came alive for that spot. Both men were down. “These two can’t keep up with this pace,” a commentator said.
Jake hit a sit-out piledriver on the ring apron, with Mason rolling to the floor. Jake rolled him in the ring but only got a nearfall. Charles bit Jake’s face and he removed his belt. Jake took the belt away; as the ref confiscated it, Mason hit a low blow and an Air Raid Crash for a believable nearfall at 17:30. Jake hit a Stinger Splash into the corner on both Mason and the ref; he made a cover for a visual pin but the ref was out. Mason grabbed his title belt and hit Jake in the face with it, then covered Jake for the pin. The last eight minutes were really good.
* Intermission. No match from a prior show, so I fast-forwarded. We return with a gauntlet match; the commentators said they have no idea who is in the match.
5A. Mighty Montequilla defeated Alec Price at 5:07. Price has a slight height advantage and is certainly wrestling more around the country. Monte hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 3:30. Price hit a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Hard to believe one of these guys is losing in the first round of a gauntlet. Price came off the top rope, but Monte caught him and hit a chokeslam for the pin.
5B. Mighty Montequilla defeated Rahim Royal at 2:49. Royal is a Black man in bright red pants. Royal hit the ropes and awkwardly flipped over; some idiots chanted “you f**ked up” at him. Royal hit a dive through the ropes, then he immediately hit a flip dive over the top rope at 2:00. Nice. In the ring, Royal hit a 450 Splash for a believable nearfall. Monte hit a sunset flip out of nowhere for the pin.
5C. Mighty Montequilla defeated Ichiban at 3:35. Again, Ichiban’s mask reminds me of El Generico; he has a more traditional red one on tonight. Monte struggled to get to his feet after his first two matches in this gauntlet. Ichiban dropped Monte with a punch and he acted like he felt guilty about it. They traded chops. Ichiban hit a handspring-back-elbow into the corner, then a missile dropkick at 2:00, and he was fired up. Monte applied a Dragon Sleeper, but Ichiban turned it into a Michinoku Driver for a believable nearfall, and Ichiban argued with the referee. Monte hit a superkick, then a mid-ring huracanrana for the pin.
5D. Mighty Montequilla defeated Ben Ruten at 2:57. Ruten is tall and thick with long hair braids to his waist. Ruten charged at Monte in the corner and took control early on. Monte is clearly exhausted. Ruten dropped Monte across the top rope and got a nearfall. Monte dove off the top rope and hit an Athena-style stunner for the pin. Ruten kept beating up Monte after the match and was loudly booed.
5E. Nolo Kitano defeated Mighty Montequilla at 00:14. The babyface on the commentary team was irate that Kitano is getting another opportunity. Nolo nailed a running kneestrike in the corner, then a swinging faceplant for the pin.
5F. “Sweet Cheeks” Joey Silver defeated Nolo Kitano at 00:04 to win the HOG Cruiserweight Title. Kitano thought he won the title by beating Monte. However, Silver, dressed as a cameraman, snuck in the ring and removed his shirt. He rolled up Kitano for the pin. Silver is a white man with absolutely no physique, so this seems like a bad idea to me.
* Quick backstory: Brian XL and the Amazing Red are now heels, known as the “Bookers,” and they are the tag team champions. I certainly never expected to see Red as a heel, as he always had that Rey Mysterio babyface aura to him.
6. Ultra Violette defeated Miyu Yamashita to retain the HOG Women’s Title at 10:43. Miyu got a hero’s welcome. The commentators called her “the ace of Tokyo Joshi Pro.” Violette, with (obviously!) some purple in her hair, is improving but nowhere near the level of Miyu. Miyu hit a stiff kick to the spine for a nearfall at 2:00, and Violette went to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Violette hit a basement dropkick that really came up short. Ugh. Miyu hit some stiff spin kicks; Violette hit a dragon screw leg whip at 4:30. Miyu hit a variety of kicks for another nearfall.
Miyu applied a Cobra Clutch at 6:30. Violette hit a spinning back fist and a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. Brian XL walked to ringside and was booed. Miyu hit a Death Valley Driver for a visual pin, but the ref was arguing with Brian. Meanwhile, Amazing Red jumped in the ring and hit a Pele Kick on Miyu! Violette was unaware of what happened! She got a nearfall. Miyu kicked Brian XL, then she hit her Skull Kick on Violette for a nearfall, but Red pulled the ref from the ring! Brian XL jumped in the ring and nailed Miyu with a chairshot across the top of her head! OUCH!! Violette crawled over and made the pin. I really enjoyed this.
7. “The Mane Event” Jay Lyon and Midas Black defeated “The Motor City Machine Guns” Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley at 18:04. Again, Mane Event just appeared in MLW a few weeks ago, and I always compared the masked Lyon to Evil Uno, as they are both better high-flyers than their plus-sized weight would suggest. Shelley and Midas started with standing switches. Sabin and Lyon entered at 2:00, with Sabin hitting a second-rope crossbody block. The MCMG began working Lyon over in their corner. Midas entered and hit a doublestomp on Sabin’s chest, and Lyon hit a moonsault on Sabin.
Lyon nailed a dive through the ropes onto both MCMG. Back in the ring, Sabin hit a missile dropkick on Midas at 5:30. Shelley hit a dragon screw leg whip on Midas, and the Guns were in charge. Shelley applied a Figure Four at 10:00. Lyon finally made the hot tag and hit some kicks on both MCMGuns. Midas hit a spear and Lyon got a nearfall on Sabin at 12:30. The Guns hit simultaneous baseball slide dropkicks to the floor, then Sabin hit a dive through the ropes onto both TME. In the ring, Sabin hit another missile dropkick for a nearfall.
Midas hit a 619, and Lyon hit a Lionsault, then Midas hit a top-rope frogsplash for a believable nearfall. Midas hit a DDT. Sabin hit a stunner on Lyon at 17:00, and the Guns hit their quick team offense moves. TME hit their team X-Factor move on Sabin for the clean pin! Wow, I didn’t expect that.
8. Matt Cardona (w/Steph De Lander) defeated Jacob Fatu to win the House of Glory Title at 15:23. Cardona has his Macho Man crown and glasses on, but no robe; he does have a title belt. SDL got on the mic and talked about them being in Queens, and she said she’s the queen. Cardona got on the mic and bashed the crowd, saying people like them are why he moved to Orlando. He vowed he was winning the HOG title. The match finally started but Cardona stalled on the floor. In the ring, Fatu hit a huge backbody drop, and Cardona rolled to the floor again at 3:00. SDL and Cardona started to head to the back, but Fatu cuaght them and hit a double-noggin-knocker on the stage.
They brawled back to ringside, with Fatu in charge. Fatu set up for a frogsplash in the ring, but SDL jumped in and covered Cardona! Fatu grabbed her and set up for a Samoan Drop but Cardona hit a low blow kick at 6:30. Cardona was now in charge of the offense. He hit a Lungblower for a nearfall at 9:30. They brawled around ringside again. Fatu nailed a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall. Fatu hit a moonsault for a nearfall at 11:30. SDL hopped on the ring apron and argued with the ref. Cardona hit the Rough Rider flying legdrop for a believable nearfall. “That was dangerously close!” a commentator said.
Cardona hit a Facewash in the corner and he gave a middle finger to the crowd. Fatu hit a pop-up Samoan Drop, then a moonsault for a nearfall, but SDL pulled the ref to the floor at 14:00. Cardona hit a chairshot across Fatu’s back. SDL got a title belt but she accidentally hit Cardona! The crowd chanted “you f—ed up!” at her. Fatu hit a Samoan Drop on SDL. Fatu set up for a moonsault, but Cardona shoved him, causing him to get crotched in the corner. Cardona immediately hit another Rough Rider flying legdrop for the pin. The crowd loudly booed this outcome.
* Cardona grabbed the mic. “I did it!” He said he’s taking the HOG title from New York to Orlando, Florida, drawing more boos.
Final Thoughts: The stars delivered. I’ll go with the MCMGuns vs. Mane Event for best match with a nice surprise finish. I really enjoyed the flow of the Miyu-Violette match, so I’ll go with that for second, just ahead of the main event. Jake Something-Charles Mason was really, really good for honorable mention.
HOG has some good up-and-comers, notably Ken Broadway and Encore.
I’m not a big fan of gauntlets for matches like this… too many short matches that make a wrestler look bad. Someone gets in the ring and faces Montequilla, who has already wrestled a couple of matches, and that wrestler loses in three minutes? That doesn’t help anyone. And the finish was really flat with a guy who (I’ll be blunt) doesn’t even look like a wrestler winning the match with a rollup in four seconds. Blah all around.
If you don’t want to watch the whole show, check out the top four matches. Check out all House of Glory shows on Fite+.
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