By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Defy Wrestling “Heathens”
Replay available via Wremix.tv
June 24, 2023 from Portland, Oregon at Wonder Ballroom
This show was released, for free, on Thursday. Rich Bocchini and Ethan HD provided commentary. There are short commercial breaks between matches. This room is packed with maybe 600 people and the lights are low.
* The show opened with a nice video package showcasing the matches on the show.
1. “The Bollywood Boyz” Gurv and Harv Sihra defeated “The Second Gear Crew” Mance Warner and Matthew Justice to win the Defy Tag Titles at 14:15. The crowd loudly chanted “Bollywood!” before the bell. All four brawled at the bell. Justice hit a flip dive to the floor. Both SGC guys threw chair at their opponents’ heads; I really hate that. They kept brawling on the floor, and Warner is already bleeding from his forehead. Justice got thrown down a flight of stairs! In the ring, the BB dropped Mance head-first on an open chair at 4:30.
Justice hit a flying crossbody block on the Boyz; the commentators wondered where he came from. Justice hit a Van Terminator coast-to-coast dropkick for a nearfall at 7:00. The Boyz got a cricket paddle from under the ring, and used it on a chair, sending the chair into Mance’s groin at 9:30. The Boyz hit a Demolition-style team top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall. The SGC hit a team chokeslam move for a nearfall at 11:00.
One of the Boyz hit a second-rope superplex, sending Mance onto an open chair at 13:30, drawing a “holy shit!” chant. The Boyz applied simultaneous Sharpshooters, and the SGC tapped out! New champions! A solid brawl and the crowd was into this from the start.
2. Cody Chhun defeated Arez at 10:10. I’ve made this comparison before, but Chhun reminds me of NXT’s Boa, as they are both lanky Asian men. Good mat wrestling to open and Arez hit a moonsault to the floor at 3:00. In the ring, Chhun hit a one-legged dropkick and a Stinger Splash, then a DDT for a nearfall at 5:30. Arez tied up Chhun’s arms in the ropes, then a series of kicks and a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 7:30. They traded forearm shots and Cody hit a jumping knee to the chin.
Arez hit a series of kicks in the corner, then a one-legged moonsault and a superkick. Cody nailed a brainbuster for a nearfall at 9:30. Chhun hit a springboard stunner for the clean pin. That was really good and the crowd was into it throughout.
3. Schaff won a WWE-style Royal Rumble to retain the Pacific Northwest Title at 12:17. Schaff is #1, and he is Jake Something-meets-Braun Strowman in looks and size; he’s appeared on AEW TV before. Eddie Pearl and Levi Cooper got in; the commentators wondered who is all in this match. Sebastian Wolfe is #4. Ricky Gibson (Pearl’s “Midnight Heat” partner!) jumped in at 4:00. Miles Deville is #6. Curry Man is #7 (again, this is not necessarily Christopher Daniels), and he beat up almost everyone.
Wolfe was eliminated at 8:00; he’s the first one out. Deville got tossed; he and Wolfe brawled at ringside and to the back. Curry Man eliminated Pearl. Cooper and Gibson eliminated Curry Man, leaving three. Schaff hit a double clothesline, and he tossed Gibson at 10:30. Schaff and Levi traded punches on the ring apron. Schaff hit a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron, with Levi rolling to the floor to be eliminated. Schaff wins the seven-man match. (They called it a battle royal, but it was Royal Rumble rules.)
4. Viva Van and Vert Vixen defeated Amira and Tara Zep at 13:51. Zep has half of her face painted, similar to Thunder Rosa, and she’s covered in tattoos; this is my first time seeing her, and Ethan HD said this is her Defy debut. Viva Van oozes star power. Vert and Amira started. Amira hit a Russian Legsweep for a nearfall at 3:30 on Viva. Van fired back with a spin kick to the jaw. Amira went to the corner, but Zep refused to tag in! Vert Vixen tagged in and hit a Flatliner on Amira for a nearfall at 5:30.
Tara ran in, hit a forearm shot, and ran right back out. Vert and Amira traded chops. Tara finally made a blind tag and almost stole a pin on Vert. Viva beat up Tara on the floor. Tara hit a crossbody block from the apron to the floor at 9:30. Viva hit a forward summersault roll from the apron to the floor. Vert dive through the ropes onto her opponents.
In the ring, Amira hit a double suplex and that earned a pop. Tara hit a top-rope crossbody block. Vert and Van hit a team stunner move on Tara for a nearfall at 12:00. Amira hit a Samoan Drop. Vert hit a flying kick on Amira. Viva hit a standing powerbomb on Tara, while Vert and Amira brawled on the floor. Van put Tara on her shoulders and fell backward into an Electric Chair for the pin. Solid match.
5. Gringo Loco defeated Aramis and Laredo Kid in a three-way to become the inaugural Primo Lucha Champion at 12:37. The fast reversals you’d expect out of the gate. Loco hit a double armdrag spot at 2:00. Aramis came off the top rope, but Loco caught him with a dropkick for a nearfall. He tore at Aramis’ mask and got booed. Aramis hit a satellite DDT at 4:00. Aramis jumped and landed on Loco’s shoulders, and he jumped backward onto Laredo Kid. Neat spot. Aramis hit a Sliced Bread move, and as he came over, he crashed onto Loco as well, and they were all down.
Aramis hit a tornado DDT on Gringo. Laredo hit a tornado DDT on Aramis, and everyone was down at 6:30. Loco hit a flip dive to the floor on Aramis. Laredo leapt off a nearby stage and hit a huracanrana on Loco. Aramis nailed a top-rope flip dive onto both men, who were standing quite far from ringside, at 8:30. In the ring, Aramis did an Airplane Spin before dropping Laredo to the mat for a believable nearfall, and the crowd chanted, “This is Awesome!”
Gringo hit a top-rope stunner on Laredo, then his reverse Angle Slam, dropping Aramis stomach-first to the mat for a believable nearfall at 10:00. Loco missed a top-rope Phoenix Splash. Laredo nailed a top-rope 450 Splash onto both opponents for a nearfall. They all fought on the ropes in the corner, with Laredo hitting a Sunset Flip powerbomb, but Gringo immediately hit a Canadian Destroyer on Laredo. However, Gringo hit his spinning powerbomb to the mat on Aramis for the clean pin. A non-stop sprint and almost everything looked really good here. Top-notch lucha action.
6. El Hijo del Vikingo defeated Komander at 14:46. The crowd was hot and going nuts before they tied up. An intense lockup to start; Bocchini noted that Vikingo is 26 and Komander is 24. Quick reversals and a standoff at 2:00. Vikingo hit some LOUD chops and a flying clothesline into the corner, then a dropkick for a nearfall at 4:00. He hit a spin kick to the face and was in charge. Komander hit a springboard dropkick. Vikingo hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall at 6:00.
Komander hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Komander hit some stiff kicks to the spine. He tugged on Vikingo’s braid, earning some boos. Komander hit a nice Lungblower move for a nearfall at 8:30. Komander hit a Poison Rana. Vikingo hit a springboard crucifix driver, and they were both down, and the crowd chanted, “Lucha!” Vikingo jumped off the top corner, bounced off the top rope, and hit a missile dropkick to the other side of the ring. (He didn’t land this move a day earlier.) Vikingo hit a twisting springboard press for a nearfall, then a twisting dive to the floor at 12:00.
In the ring, Vikingo nailed a frogsplash for a nearfall, and the crowd chanted, “Fight forever!” Komander got a rollup for a nearfall out of nowhere, then a sunset flip bomb for another nearfall. Komander walked the top rope and hit a springboard Shooting Star Press for a nearfall, but Vikingo got a foot on the ropes at 14:00. Vikingo hit a twisting uranage and a superkick, then a top-rope Shooting Star Press for the pin. Komander tried to kick out but was a fraction of a second too late.
Final Thoughts: This was a top-notch indy show, led by the top two matches. I give the slight edge to the three-way, as there was some mystery over who would win the match. Komander and Vikingo have fought a lot recently, including in ROH, and I’ve still yet to see Vikingo lose in the U.S. Both of these matches had the ‘potential’ for botched/missed spots, but these guys are so good, and everything just looked spot-on tonight. Chhun vs. Arez earns third place.
I want to reiterate the crazy travel schedule of the top, in-demand indy talent, as Arez, Vikingo, Komander and Gringo Loco all wrestled a night earlier for GCW in Chicago. I will also reiterate this show is streaming for free and I highly endorse it, if for nothing else, the top two matches.
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