By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Dreamwave Wrestling “Nothin But A Good Time”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
June 17, 2023 in La Salle, Illinois at the KOC Hall
This venue is small but it is sold out with maybe 200 people present. Worth noting that AEW’s Collision is a 95-minute drive away at the same time.
1. Colt Cabana and Hartenbower defeated “The Four Star Heroes” Chris Castro and Mike Knicks at 8:40. Hartenbower’s scheduled teammate was Mike Bennett, who bowed out to compete at AEW’s ROH taping, so Cabana is a surprise replacement. Hartenbower, who is bald and looks a lot like Josh Alexander, started solo, but Cabana ran in 30 seconds into the match. Castro is rotund. Hartenbower hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall at 7:00. Hartenbower hit a double spear and scored the pin.
2. B3cca defeated Kaia McKenna at 10:00 even. B3cca got on the mic; she’s the ‘international pop star’ and she is going to sing for us. But she is tired of the comparisons to Taylor Swift, and she doesn’t want the fans to mention Taylor. Kaia wore a tiara to ringside and she’s the babyface. The heel commentator was disappointed we didn’t get to hear a song. Kaia hit a sideslam. B3cca hit a top-rope missile dropkick at 4:30. Kaia hit a Thesz Press and some punches to the face, then she applied a Koji Clutch at 8:30. B3cca got a backslide with a bridge for leverage for the clean pin. That was solid.
3. Connor Hopkins defeated Stephen Wolf at 12:28. Hopkins is a heel who reminds me of heelish Matt Taven. Wolf is blond with dark roots, and he has a good physique. Hopkins worked the leg early on, and he applied a Figure Four Leglock at 6:00. Hopkins applied a half-crab. Wolf went for a top-rope frogsplash, but Hopkins got his knees up at 11:30. All of a sudden, two wrestlers ran to ringside — one distracting the ref and the other hitting Wolf. It allowed Hopkins to hit a Jarrett Stroke faceplant for the tainted pin. Solid but never reached a third gear.
4. “Seduce and Destroy” Aaron Xavier and Bucky Collins defeated Axel Rico and Marco Cordova at 5:51. S&D had opponents who didn’t make it to the show, so they have replacement surprise opponents. Collins is chubby. Xavier has a good physique. Rico has big, poofy hair like No Way Jose. Powder was thrown in Rico’s eyes; the heels kicked Rico and got the cheap pin. Blah.
* The Brooklyn Brawler and “Nasty Boys” Jerry Sags and Brian Knobbs waddled to the ring (sorry, waddled is the accurate word) and they joined Rico and Cordonva to beat up Seduce and Destroy. One of the heels went to “Pitty City,” getting his faced rubbed in an armpit. The commentary team said Dreamwave returns here Aug. 4 and Aug. 5 for back-to-back nights.
5. Bobby Orlando defeated Victor Iniestra at 8:20. Orlando is the dork who carries his stuffed goat to the ring; I haven’t seen him in the Midwest before. His schtick is really similar to Colt Cabana’s ha-ha style. The sides of Victor’s head are shaved but he has long black hair in a ponytail; he has a lot of the look of El Hijo Del Vikingo, and the commentators really put him over. Orlando got in some early offense, so Victor headed to the back, but Bobby went and got him and dragged him back to the ring. Victor kicked the ropes as Bobby was on the top rope, causing Bobby to get crotched at 4:00. That allowed Victor to seize control. Orlando hit a standing neckbreaker, then he leapt off the ropes and hit a stunner for a nearfall at 6:30. Orlando hit a top-rope elbow drop for the pin. Decent.
6. “Wasted Youth” Dyln McKay and Marcus Mathers defeated “The Hype” Hunter Holdcraft and 12-Gauge to retain the Dreamwave Tag Team Titles at 12:23. WY are the talented East Coast duo who have wrestled a lot recently in GCW and now appearing frequently in the Midwest. 12-Gauge is short with dark hair, and he wore black-and-white pants, while Hunter wore a black singlet. 12-Gauge and Mathers opened. Dyln and Hunter entered at 1:30. Mathers hit a senton on Hunter for a nearfall at 4:30. McKay hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall.
12-Gauge hit a 619, then a top-rope crossbody block, on Mathers for a nearfall at 7:30. Hunter hit a powerbomb on Dyln, and 12-Gauge immediately hit a diving forearm to the back of Dyln’s neck for a nearfall. Mathers dove through the ropes to the floor. Mathers hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly. 12-Gauge hit a doublestomp to the head. Mathers hit a Swanton Bomb at 10:30, and suddenly everyone was down, and we had a “This is awesome!” chant. Mathers hit a stunner on 12-Gauge. McKay hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press on 12-Gauge, then a dive through the ropes, barreling into Hunter. Mathers immediately hit a top-rope 450 Splash on 12-Gauge for the pin. A really good match.
7. El Hijo Del Vikingo defeated Arez, Aramis, and Laredo Kid in a four-way at 10:23. This was the match I tuned in for. Aramis wore a black-and-white outfit I haven’t seen before. All four in the ring with quick lucha reversals at the bell. Vikingo and Aramis hit stereo dives through the ropes. In the ring, Vikingo hit a double-jump armdrag at 1;30. Laredo hit a Michinoku Driver on Vikingo, then his moonsaults from the corner. Arez hit a sit-out powerbomb on Laredo Kid for a nearfall at 3:30, but Aramis made the save. Aramis hit a faceplant move on Arez for a nearfall.
Arez hit a Lungblower move on Vikingo. Aramis hit a Poison Rana on Arez. Vikingo hit a springboard-into-a-Crucifix takedown for a nearfall, and everyone was down at 6:00. This has been great lucha action. Arez and Laredo traded spin kicks. Arez hit an Asai Moonsault, going over the guardrail! Aramis dove through the ropes, also flying over the guardrail and onto opponents in the crowd. Laredo hit a moonsault where it looked like he landed on his head. It was a scary landing. Vikingo then hit a Shooting Star Press from the top corner onto everyone on the floor at 8:30, and the crowd was chanting, “holy shit!”
In the ring, Vikingo hit a series of forearms on Aramis. Laredo got back in the ring, so it appears he’s okay, and he hit a top-rope Spanish Fly on Aramis. Vikingo hit a top-rope Spanish Fly to pin Arez. That was a great lucha match, with everyone looking good. Some scary landings in there, but it appears everyone was okay.
8. Scotty 2 Hotty defeated Florida Man at 9:05. Florida Man wears sunglasses and the Hawaiian shirt. S2H comes out to his “turn it up!” song and got a nice pop. S2H partied in the crowd, danced in the ring, and took his time before the match finally got going. Florida Man attacked him and stomped on him. Scotty hit some hiptosses at 2:30, sending Florida Man to the floor. Florida Man set up a lawn chair in the corner. He swung the chair but Scotty ducked it. Scotty hit some punches. Scotty hit the faceplant and did The Worm (worst move of all time? What exactly is he hitting? A karate chop to the shoulder?) to score the pin. That was rough and far, far too long for how little they did.
9. Christian Rose defeated Vic Capri in a Last Man Standing match at 17:04. Capri is the short, muscular, 20-year pro who always reminds me of Davey Richards. Rose is an aging, blond heel who is Dolph Ziggler-meets-Zicky Dice. They immediately brawled to the floor. In the ring, Rose beat up Vic with a Singapore Cane. He bodyslammed Vic onto a steel chair at 4:00 and he snapped Vic’s fingers.
Vic finally got the cane, but Rose hit him with a chair. Vic finally hit him across the back with a cane at 11:00. Rose hit a piledriver, but Vic got to his feet before the 10-count. Rose immediately hit a Mafia Kick, and he grabbed Vic’s female valet! Vic hit a running knee to the side of the head, and the valet hit one, too, before she exited the ring. Several heels hopped in the ring and attacked the referee and Rose. Vic fought off the heels. Vic and Rose hit simultaneous clotheslines at 15:00 and were both down. Rose hit a forearm to the back of the head.
Earl Hebner hit the ring! He’s our new ref for the match. Rose pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to Hebner. However, Hebner knocked it away. As Vic stood up, he accidentally shoved Hebner, who fell to the mat. Rose clipped Capri from behind. Hebner bent over, picked up the wad of cash, and made a super-quick 10-count before Capri could get up. Hebner screwed Vic. He stood in the ring and celebrated with Rose and the heels.
Final Thoughts: I tuned in for the lucha four-way and it was everything I hoped for, and is easily best match of the show. Wasted Youth are still quite young, but they are so impressive in the ring; if they put on some muscle mass, they should really develop into stars. Their tag match was strong for second best. If you have IWTV and don’t want to watch this whole show, at least catch those two back-to-back matches.
The Earl Hebner surprise was fine; if he wants to cash in as the ref who “screws wrestlers out of wins” that’s his call. The main event itself was solid but wasn’t spectacular or must-see, either. I don’t want to sound like I’m bashing Scotty 2 Hotty, because he still looks great and is in-ring shape, but that match was just slow and lacked a lot of action. The fans were happy with it for the nostalgia that it was.
>his venue is small but it is sold out with maybe 200 people present. Worth noting that AEW’s Collision is a 95-minute drive away at the same time.<
Umm….and that's worth noting because…..
Why are you such an angry asshole? I actually feel bad for you, Angry Mike.