By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Pro Wrestling Revolver “Cage of Horrors”
Replay available via FITE.TV
July 1, 2023 in Clive, Iowa at Horizon Events Center
Matt Rehwoldt, Veda Scott, and Borg Torkleson provided commentary. Rehwoldt also did remote commentary for Impact Wrestling’s Australia shows over the weekend. With Impact on tour, a lot of wrestlers who have appeared on Revolver shows in recent months were not here, so this lineup is vastly different. This venue is a giant fieldhouse and they once again drew perhaps 800.
* The show opened with a black-and-white video of Mance Warner, 1 Called Manders and Matthew Justice ready for their Cage of Horrors match against the Rascalz. This was probably shot after the show last month, as Mance was covered in blood. (With it in black-and-white, it could have been paint and we’d never know the difference.) A very well done video.
1. Gringo Loco defeated Alan Angels, Bryan Keith and Cole Radrick in a four-way at 7:58. Angels is a last-minute replacement for El Phantasmo, who had a family emergency. Rehwoldt talked about the recent success of Loco. Radrick hit a huracanrana on Loco. Angels hit a huracanrana on Keith. Loco hit a handspring-back-elbow. Keith hit an Exploder Suplex on Loco at 3:00. Angels dove through the ropes onto Keith. Radrick hit an Asai Moonsault onto two opponents. In the ring, Loco hit a stunner on Radrick for a nearfall. Angels hit an enzuigiri on Loco, then a Sliced Bread on Radrick.
Angels nailed a frogsplash on Radrick for a nearfall at 5:00. Keith hit a Tiger Driver on Angels for a believable nearfall. This is a sprint. Radrick hit a springboard stunner on Keith. Loco hit a top-rope Spanish Fly on Radrick, then a flip dive to the floor on the other two at 7:00. Radrick and Loco fought on the ropes, and Loco hit his swinging powerbomb to the mat for the pin. That’s exactly what an opener should be — fast, fun, energetic, and got the crowd going.
2. Marina Shafir defeated Rachel Armstrong at 4:29. I’ve seen Rachel at least once before in Indiana-based Black Label Pro; she is a short woman with big hair like Willow Nightengale. Marina has destroyed her competition here in short order in recent months. Shafir came out to a hip-hop song; this isn’t her AEW entrance. I’ll use Veda’s words… she looked completely stoic. Marina immediately grabbed the left leg and hit some kicks, and they traded intense holds on the mat, with Marina tying up the left arm.
Marina picked up Rachel and slammed her to the mat; she is really towering over the shorter Armstrong. Armstrong hit a top-rope 450 Splash for a nearfall at 4:00! She went for a top-rope crossbody block, but Marina hit a hard kick to the gut as she came down. Marina put Rachel on her shoulders, as if going for a Death Valley Driver, and she squeezed Rachel’s head toward her knees, and Rachel tapped out. That’s a new submission hold. Marina kept beating on Rachel after the bell, until Jessicka Havok ran to the ring. Marina left without any physical confrontation.
3. Matthew Palmer, JT Energy, Blair Onyx, and “Man Scout” Jake Manning defeated Damian Chambers and Alpha Sigma Sigma in an eight-person tag at 12:20. I have never seen JT Energy before; he’s tall and and bald in a deep singlet, and he held a spray fan to cool down. All eight brawled at the bell. Blair began spewing blood and it terrified all her opponents. She hit a double Flatliner, then a double Muta Lock. Palmer’s team started doing the YMCA dance; this is over-the-top silly. JT and one of the ASS guys did a spin-off. We had a silly multi-person submission spot.
Chambers hit a Flatliner on Palmer at 4:30, and the heels worked over Palmer. Manning left ringside and returned with a pop-up tent at 8:30. Manning finally made the hot tag and he beat up the ASS. He threw all the heels inside his pop-up tent, and all eight crammed into it. “It’s a clown car,” Veda said. They did a tower spot with everyone crashing onto the tent. Manning then pinned ASS’s pledge. Cartoonish; just not my cup of tea, but the crowd enjoyed some of the comedy.
* Alex Shelley appeared on screen “via satellite.” He praised Kevin Blackwood. Both Shelley and Blackwood “represent Prestige Wrestling as part of their ongoing feud with PWR.” Shelley said he had to “go as far away as Australia to get the f— away from you people.”
4. Jake Crist defeated Kevin Blackwood to retain the PWR Heavyweight Title at 10:12. Crist beat Steve Maclin at the last show to win the title, so this is his first title defense; true story, his mom died the same day he won the title. They locked up and Kevin immediately complained that Crist pulled his hair. Crist hit a back suplex. Crist hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor at 2:30. Blackwood hit a running knee to the side of the head as they fought on the floor.
Back in the ring, Blackwood hit some chops and he was in charge. He hit a hard kick to Crist’s spine at 5:00, then a German Suplex. Crist hit a Death Valley Driver. Blackwood avoided a Sharpshooter, and he nailed a Brainbuster at 8:00. Blackwood hit his Cameron Grimes-style doublestomp to the chest, then a piledriver for a believable nearfall. Blackwood hit a top-rope doublestomp to the chest. Cris applied a Sharpshooter, and Blackwood tapped out! A good match, but the finish did seem to come out of nowhere; I definitely wish these two had been given more time.
5. Crash Jaxon (w/Rolan) defeated Madman Fulton (w/Matt Rehwoldt) in a Dog Collar Match at 11:50. Rehwoldt spoke on the mic and berated the crowd. Rehwoldt told them to get ready to witness “a blood bath.” They were connected with collars around their necks. The rotund Jaxon is a fan favorite. Torkleson said this is “Godzilla vs. King Kong.” They started with a tug-of-war, but then Crash charged at Fulton and slammed into him. Fulton hit a top-rope ax-handle with the chain wrapped around his fist. Crash hit a series of chops in the corner at 2:30, and he was bleeding from his forehead. Crash threw Fulton over the top rope, hanging him.
We had another tug-of-war, with Rehwoldt helping Fulton. They brawled on the floor, and Fulton whipped Crash across the back with the chain at 5:00. Fulton hit a Death Valley Driver onto a door set up on the floor, and they finally got back into the ring at 8:30. Fulton slammed him stomach-first to the mat. He pulled the chain so it crotched Jaxon. “That’s just good strategy from Fulton,” Borg said. Crash hit a Spinebuster, and they were both down. Rolan, Jaxon’s corner man, jumped in the ring and hit a frogsplash on Fulton, and he rolled Crash onto Fulton for a nearfall. Fulton got a schoolboy rollup for a believable nearfall. Crash headbutted Rehwoldt! Crash hit a chokeslam on Fulton, then a pop-up sit-out powerbomb for the pin. Good, hard-hitting big-man matchup.
* Intermission. I love that PWR shows old matches during intermission, and the bonus match today is Jon Moxley vs. Jake Crist from a couple months ago.
6. “The Unit” JT Dunn and Allie Katch (w/Phil Stamper) defeated Masha Slamovich and Jessicka Havok at 8:40. Masha hit a spin kick at the bell that knocked out Dunn! Masha and Jessicka beat up Allie. The Unit whipped Jessicka into a guardrail, and Katch hit a buttbump on her at 2:00. The Unit entered the ring and worked together to beat up Masha. Allie hit her rolling cannonball in the corner for a nearfall at 4:00. Dunn hit a Death Valley Driver on Masha for a nearfall.
Jessicka got back in the ring and picked each opponent up, setting up for a backbreaker over her knee, but she just dropped them. She hit a sit-out powerbomb on Dunn for a nearfall. Katch hit a piledriver in the ropes on Masha at 7:00. Katch got a chair and was about to use it when Sami Callihan hit the ring! He chokeslammed Dunn, and he stole the chair from Katch. Allie went for a low blow but he blocked it. Callihan accidentally hit Jessicka with a chairshot over her head! Allie jumped on Jessicka for the pin. “What the hell was that?” Veda asked. I was wondering the same thing.
* Rehwoldt rejoined commentary and he said the last half hour has been a blur for him (after the headbutt he took from Jaxon.)
7. Roderick Strong defeated Mike Bailey at 21:37. A huge pop for Strong, making his PWR debut. An intense lockup to begin and this has a ‘big-fight feel’ to it. Veda said these two fought once, but it was a decade ago. Bailey applied a headscissorslock at 2:30. Strong got free and applied a modified Camel Clutch. They brawled to the floor, where Strong hit a series of chops in front of the fans. Bailey fired back with a series of roundhouse kicks to the chest at 5:00. In the ring,, Strong hit his pop-up Lungblower to the chest. Strong snapped Bailey’s throat across the bottom rope at 7:30, and he was in charge.
Strong hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall, and he stretched Bailey on the mat. He rolled to the mat and jawed face-to-face with some fans. In the ring, Strong hit a high back suplex for a nearfall at 9:30. Bailey fired back with a second-rope missile dropkick, then a series of kicks and a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 11:30. Bailey applied a Trailer Hitch leglock, but Strong quickly reached the ropes. Bailey hit more roundhouse kicks in the ring; he set up for the Tornado Kick but Strong blocked it.
Strong hit another back suplex for a nearfall at 13:30, and he applied the Stronghold (Boston Crab), but Bailey reached the ropes. Strong fired back with a roaring elbow and an Angle Slam for a nearfall. The crowd started a “This is awesome!” chant. They traded rollups, and Bailey nailed a standing moonsault kneedrop at 15:30, then a spin kick for a nearfall. Bailey hit his Triangle Moonsault to the floor, and they were both down on the ground. They fought on the ring apron, where Bailey hit another moonsault kneedrop at 17:30.
Strong hit a backbreaker over the top turnbuckle! Bailey rolled to the floor, as they were both down. They fought on the ropes in the corner; Bailey set up for a sunset flip powerbomb but Strong blocked it. Bailey nailed a Frankensteiner, then the Tornado Kick at 20:30. Bailey nailed the Ultima Weapon second-rope flip kneedrop for a believable nearfall, and the commentary team was shocked Strong kicked out. Bailey set up for the Flamingo Driver but Strong fought free. Strong hit another pop-up backbreaker over his knees for the pin. That was an impressive match, a PPV-quality matchup between two top-notch competitors.
* A second intermission to set up the Cage of Horrors, which is a partial cage with weapons everywhere, barbed wire on top of the cage walls, and a scaffolding in the ring. Like a Wargames match, only one person starts for each team. PWR aired the previously mentioned Jake Crist match where he beat Steve Maclin to win the title.
8. “The Second Gear Crew” Mance Warner, 1 Called Manders, and Matt Justice defeated “The Rascalz” Myron Reed, Zachary Wentz, and Trey Miguel” in a Cage of Horrors match to win the PWR Tag Team Titles at 26:03. Manders and Reed started for their respective team. Veda said a hardcore match like this, she gives Manders the advantage. Manders hit some chairshots across the back. Mance Warner hit the ring at 2:00 sharp; we’ll see if these are even intervals. He hit some jabs on Reed. Miguel came out just seconds after 4:00, so they are doing a good job with timing, and all four fought in the ring. They took turns whacking each other over the head with a garbage can lid. Justice came out at 6:00, and Wentz entered at 8:00, so the “Cage of Horrors has officially begun.” (Again, much like War Games.)
Wentz hit a doublestomp on a weapon on Justice’s chest for a nearfall. Mance Warner CLOCKED Trey Miguel over the head with a garbage can lid. Miguel was clearly groggy; he was not just selling. He was helped to his feet. Wentz repeatedly jabbed Manders in the forehead with a spur at 11:00. Miguel hit a Meteora double knees, sending Manders through a table, for a nearfall. Miguel was unable to stand; he was seated on the mat and lots of whispering going on, and he was helped from the ring, so it was now 3-on-2. Wentz used a staple gun on Mance Warner’s face. Yuck. Wentz hit a doublestomp on Mance for a nearfall. We quickly have blood everywhere. Mance used the staple gun on Wentz’s groin at 15:30. Manders hit a Razor’s Edge on Reed through a table in the corner.
Wentz jabbed Mance in the head with a piece of metal, and Mance is bleeding heavily. Mance slammed an unprotected chairshot over Wentz’s head at 20:30; that will never be okay with me. Mance and Manders superplexed Wentz onto a pile of chairs; Justice immediately hit a frogsplash onto Wentz for a nearfall. Reed hit a flip dive to the floor. Wentz and Justice climbed the scaffolding and fought above the ring. Justice hit a DDT onto the steel platform.
The commentary team said Trey Miguel has been rushed to the hospital. Mance got shoved off platform and onto a pile of debris. Justice picked up Reed and hit a Death Valley Driver on Reed, sending them both off the scaffolding and through two tables set up in the ring, to score the pin.
* Manders got on the mic and said “I’ll be hurting tomorrow.” He thanked the fans for coming to watch SGC wrestle. Mance Warner got on the mic and said, “I love you sons of bitches.”
Final Thoughts: Strong vs. Bailey was tremendous. Just like Strong’s match against Kevin Blackwood a couple weeks ago in Prestige Wrestling, Roddy is clearly determined to have stellar matches on the indy scene. I’ll go with Crist-Blackwood for second best, and that impressive four-way opener for third place.
The Cage of Horrors is an acquired taste. I admittedly don’t like hardcore matches, and this was extra violent and extra bloody. The fact that Trey Miguel got injured bad enough to go to the hospital doesn’t help, either. Anyone who has read my reviews knows that I dislike watching Mance Warner because he is so dangerous and reckless, not just with his own body, but also with others in the ring. He throws chairs at others. Hopefully Miguel is okay, but I know I would never want to be in the ring with Mance Warner.
Imagine being the only bleeding patient in the ER waiting room, being told to your face that you’d be next to be seen. And then start getting skipped twice in a row afterward.
— Trey Miguel 🌹 (@TheTreyMiguel) July 2, 2023
Stealing PCO’s gimmick. pic.twitter.com/PPM5KjgJ96
— Trey Miguel 🌹 (@TheTreyMiguel) July 2, 2023
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