By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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West Coast Pro Wrestling “Kid Zombie”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
June 9, 2023 in San Francisco, California, at The State Room
The show is named after a WCPW fan who recently died. The crowd is 350-500. Veda Scott and James Kincaid provided commentary. The main event is a No. 1 contender’s match between Starboy Charlie and Vinnie Massaro.
* WCPW champion Titus Alexander hit the ring and was loudly booed. He got on the mic and said he was disappointed he doesn’t have an announced match. But, he booked one!
1. Titus Alexander defeated ‘Starboy Larry’ to retain the WCPW Title at 1:33. This short, black-haired man wore suspenders, just like Starboy Charlie. Alexander hit a dropkick and a Gotch-style piledriver for the pin. Titus said he barely broke a sweat, so he has another match lined up!
2. Titus Alexander defeated Vincenzo Mozzarelli to retain the WCPW Title at 0:50. They traded a few forearm shots, with Titus getting the better of the exchange. Titus hit a roaring elbow and scored the pin.
3. Titus Alexander defeated JT Thorne at 3:27. Thorne is the first-ever graduate from the WCPW Academy. I’ve seen him before and he’s not ‘camera-ready.’ He was at ringside, and Titus belittled him, then he attacked him to start the match. (The commentary team noted that Titus didn’t call this a title match, so I won’t here either.) Thorne hit a spinebuster for a nearfall at 2:00 that popped the crowd. Titus beat him up and got a nearfall, but he pulled up JT before pinning him. Titus then nailed the Sweet Time Driver/Michinoku Driver for the pin.
4. Kevin Blackwood defeated Artemis Spencer at 10:00. This is Artemis debut; he wrestles a lot in Defy and in the Pacific Northwest, and his look is a cross between Jaime Noble and Curtis Axel. Spencer hit a 619 for a nearfall at 2:00. Blackwood hit a German Suplex, a dropkick in the corner, and some Yes Kicks to the chest, then a doublestomp for a nearfall at 4:30. Spencer fought back with a spin kick and a Lungblower for a nearfall. They traded kicks. Spencer hit his Spinal Tap top-rope twisting press for a nearfall at 9:00, but Blackwood got his foot on the ropes. Blackwood hit a shoulder tackle on the knee, a top-rope doublestomp, and he applied a Texas Cloverleaf, and Spencer tapped out. Good match.
5. Vert Vixen defeated Rachael Ellering at 12:16. Ellering, formerly of Impact Wrestling and NXT, just debuted in ROH. Vixen is steadily improving and a fixture on the West Coast. They opened with good mat reversals, and Ellering hit a senton for a nearfall at 4:30. Ellering hit a gutwrench suplex for a nearfall. Vert fired back with a Helluva Kick and a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 7:00. She applied a Sharpshooter, but Ellering reached the ropes.
They traded chops, and Ellering hit a sideslam for a nearfall at 9:00. She hit another sideslam for another nearfall. They traded rollups. Vixen hit a rolling stunner, then a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Vert hit a running kick, then a fisherman’s bodyslam for the pin. Good match; both women looked good here.
6. Beef vs. Calvin Tankman went to a no contest/double pin at 13:02. This is Beef’s debut here; he is a cross between Sami Callihan and MLW’s Ricky Shane Page, and he has a giant tattoo on his chest. They immediately brawled, and Tankman hit a powerslam on the ring apron. Tankman dove through the ropes onto Beef at 3:30, and they brawled on the floor. Beef hit a flying crossbody block. Tankman hit some stiff forearm shots as Beef was leaning against the ringpost at 6:30. Calvin charged at Beef, but he moved, and Tankman crashed into the ringpost.
Beef hit a top-rope elbow drop to the floor; in the ring, he got a nearfall at 8:00. They traded more forearm shots. Tankman nailed his pop-up spinning back fist! He hit a short-arm clothesline for a believable nearfall. Beef hit a back suplex for a believable nearfall at 11:30. Beef hit a crossbody block as Tankman was in the ropes. Calvin hit a second-rope superplex, but as they landed, their legs became intertwined, and all four shoulders were down! The ref counted a double pin. The match was officially ruled a no contest. Good match.
7. Kevin Knight defeated Bryan Keith at 13:04. They opened with standing switches, and Knight hit a springboard back elbow for a nearfall at 3:00. They brawled on the floor. In the ring, Bryan applied a Figure Four Leglock. Knight hit a dropkick at 6:00, and they were both down. Knight hit a Stinger Splash, a jump-up dropkick, then a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Knight hit his leaping splash for a nearfall. Knight became angry and hit an Exploder Suplex and an enzuigiri, then a suplex into the corner for a nearfall at 8:30.
Knight hit a D’Lo Sky High powerbomb for a nearfall. He hit a series of forearms that had little effect. Knight hit another leaping dropkick, and we have a “This is awesome!” chant going. Knight went for his leaping DDT but Keith blocked it. Knight went for a springboard move, but Keith caught him with a kneelift to the chest for a nearfall. Knight hit a jump-up Frankensteiner out of the corner, then he nailed the jumping DDT for the pin! That’s a nice, mild surprise. In a show of respect, Keith tipped his hat after the match.
8. “Los Suavecitos” Danny Rose and Ricky Gee defeated “The Infantry” Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo at 9:03. Rose and Gee look similar but Danny is shorter. He started against Dean. The heels worked over Bravo. Dean finally made the hot tag back in at 7:30, and he hit a Tiger Bomb for a nearfall. They hit a team doublestomp on a head. Bravo went for a Sunset Flip, but Gee blocked it and sat down, and Gee reached out and grabbed Rose’s hands for leverage to score the cheap pin out of nowhere!
* Immediately after the match, Adrian Quest hit the ring and joined Rose and Gee in a beat down. Alpha Zo (think a shorter mini-Calvin Tankman) hit the ring for the save. Our next match was immediately underway!
9. Alpha Zo defeated Adrian Quest at 10:26. Zo hit a clothesline and they brawled on the floor, and he threw Quest into the rows of chairs. Quest hit a clothesline on the floor at 2:30. In the ring, Quest hit a DDT for a nearfall. The crowd taunted Quest with expletives. Zo hit a clothesline to the back of the head, then a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 8:30. Quest fired back with a Lungblower move to the chin, then a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. Zo hit a backbreaker over his knee and a stomp to the head. He hit a swinging back suplex for the pin! Solid match.
10. Nicole Savoy defeated Nicole Matthews at 12:34. Savoy was retired for a year but returned last month for the “Queen of Indies” show and I really hope she keeps wrestling. Matthews, much like Mike Bailey, is a Canadian who was banned from entering the U.S. for five years but she now can legally return and wrestle; she was in a Mae Young Classic and she is taller and thicker than most opponents, including Savoy. They opened with intense mat wrestling. We had an ugly leapfrog spot; the crowd was quite forgiving. (Glad we didn’t hear a ‘you f’d up’ chant.) They went to the floor at 4:30 and continued to brawl.
In the ring, Matthews hit a backbreaker over her knee, and a loud chop to the chest, and the crowd was loudly booing her. Matthews applied a half-crab, but Savoy reached the ropes at 7:30. Savoy hit a running shoulder tackle, and they were both down; Savoy got a delayed nearfall. Savoy hit a running knee to the chin, and she applied an STF at 10:00 but Matthews escaped. They fought in the ropes in the corner, where Matthews hit a Spider German Suplex to the mat; she followed that with a top-rope moonsault for a believable nearfall. However, Savoy hit a German Suplex with a bridge for the pin! Really good match.
* A ring announcer told us that at an upcoming show, a Jeff Cobb vs. Black Taurus match has been canceled, as Taurus had to back out. So, Jeff Cobb needs a new opponent. Alpha Zo came to the ring. Out came WCPW matchmaker Chris Hero, who agreed to give Zo the match!
11. Vinnie Massaro defeated Starboy Charlie in a No. 1 contender’s match at 16:08. I’ve seen Massaro a few times; he reminds me of an older Hugh Morrus, with his singlet trying to hide a massive belly. Charlie is the popular teen in his awful bib overalls. They traded mat reversals early on. Titus joined commentary at 4:00. Basic offense, with Charlie hitting a Thesz Press and some punches at 9:00, then he applied a crossface on the mat. Charlie went for a second-rope corkscrew splash, but Vinnie got his knees up to block it.
Vinnie hit a brainbuster for a nearfall at 11:30. They traded forearm shots. Charlie hit a Poison Rana and a shotgun dropkick, then he hit his second-rope corkscrew splash for a nearfall at 14:00. Massaro hit a second-rope Pedigree for a believable nearfall. Charlie hit a spin kick to the head for a nearfall. Vinnie fired back with a decapitating clothesline, then a pumphandle sit-out powerbomb for the surprising pin.
* Adrian Quest and Los Suavecitos immediately hit the ring and attacked Charlie! Massaro, who had already left the ring, returned and helped Charlie. Kevin Knight also hit the ring to make the save. The heels all left. Now, Massaro was the only person in the ring… but Titus snuck in the ring, holding his WCPW title, and he nailed Vinnie with it. He stood over Charlie, with the belt raised high, as the show faded to black.
Final Thoughts: A solid show; it felt like it was missing some star power, such as Nick Wayne, Mike Bailey, and some good lucha action, etc. I’ll go with the hard-hitting Knight-Keith for best match and a nice surprise upset. Beef-Tankman earned second-best, even with the unsatisfying draw. Savoy-Matthews was really good for third, ahead of Blackwood-Spencer for honorable mention.
By my personal ratings, the main event was only the sixth-best match. But, I admittedly am not a fan of Massaro and never got into it. I just don’t see ‘it’ in him; Massaro is just too round and a bit too cartoonish with the over-the-top Italian gimmick. I know he recently appeared on AEW Elevation, but I don’t see a promotion from the Midwest or East Coast be willing to spend money to fly him in. So, I’m not sure why he’s in WCPW’s top tier.
I want to point out that Bryan Keith, Kevin Blackwood, and Nicole Matthews just wrestled on a Deadlock Pro Show in North Carolina a few weeks ago that I just reviewed. I write this often, but it is just amazing the schedule for the top-tier, in-demand indy wrestlers.
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