By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, Impact Wrestling, MLW, ROH, GCW, and other notable live events. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
C*4 Wrestling (Capital City Championship Combat) “Fury”
Replay available via Independent.TV
June 30, 2023 in Ottawa, Ontario at Preston Event Centre
The show debuted on IWTV on Tuesday, July 4. I love this building. It’s bright and new with a second deck and they have a legit crowd of 600-700 here. This show is built as “the season finale,” although they have a show announced for August.
* The show opened with a backstage video with heel Vaughn Vertigo saying he was going to take Cecil Nyx out. Good promo.
1. Cecil Nyx defeated Vaughn Vertigo in a street fight at 10:14. Vaughn came out first, but Cecil attacked him from behind on the floor. Cecil is bald, taller and chubby. Vaughn’s face reminds me of Dalton Castle, but he has longer hair. The used chairs and boards. Nyx hit a backbreaker over his shoulder at 5:00. Vertigo speared Nyx through a board set up in the corner, then he hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall. Vertigo dumped out a bag of thumbtacks, drawing a “holy shit!” chant. Nyx hit a backbody drop, sending Vertigo into the pile of thumbtacks.
They fought in the corner, where Vertigo hit a huracanrana, sending Nyx into the thumbtacks. Vertigo hit a top-rope Swanton Bomb for a believable nearfall at 9:00. Cecil hit a Death Valley Driver across six open chairs to score the pin. Satisfying brawl that didn’t get too gross.
2. Isaiah Broner defeated Sheldon Jean at 7:50. Jean has gotten a little run of late in Impact Wrestling. Broner, a bald Black man, wore a Denver Broncos jersey and he is much thicker than Jean; I’ve seen him a handful of times in Midwest indies. Broner hit a spear and an F5 for a nearfall in the first minute. The smaller Jean is the heel here and he barked at the crowd while taking control of the offense. Broner hit a DDT and they were both down at 5:00. Broner hit a swinging slam for a nearfall; it was an awkward landing. Sheldon hit a standing neckbreaker but made a cocky pin attempt for a nearfall. Broner hit a northern clothesline to the back of the head, then a regular clothesline for the pin. Solid.
3. Jody Threat and Kristara defeated Veda Scott and Dream Girl Ellie at 9:48. Just saw Kristara for the first time last week; she’s a Black woman in MN Vikings purple and gold; she and Jody are the babyfaces. Veda got some decent heel heat. Ellie is a blonde wman in orange gear: I know I’ve seen her before but admittedly can’t place where. The commentators talked about Jody Threat’s “well-deserved” Impact Wrestling contract. The heels worked over Kristara extensively early in the match. Veda hit a German Suplex at 6:30. Veda hit a Death Valley Driver on Veda, tossing her onto Ellie. Kristara hit a Mafia Kick on Veda for a nearfall at 9:30. Veda hit a stunner. Jody hit a spear on Ellie, then an F5 faceplant slam for the pin. Decent match, and the crowd was fully into this.
4. Alexia Nicole defeated Vanessa Kraven to retain the C*4 Underground Title at 8:54. Kraven is 6’0″ and appeared in the first Mae Young Classic. Alexia had the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it match on Dynamite a week ago, and she is nearly a foot shorter. Kraven immediately knocked her down with a kick, then grabbed her by the hair and tossed her all the way across the ring. Kraven stayed in controll with a backbreaker over her knee, then a senton for a nearfall at 3:30. Alexia fired back with a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall.
Nicole hit a running Meteora double knees for a nearfall. Kraven hit an overhead belly-to-belly release suplex, then a rolling cannonball in the corner for a nearfall at 6:30. Nicole hit a Lungblower for a nearfall. Kraven hit a sit-out powerbomb move for a believable nearfall, and she was getting irritated she hadn’t put Nicole away yet. Nicole hit another Lungblower, then a piledriver for a believable nearfall. Nicole got a rollup out of nowhere for the pin.
5. Puf and Pretty Ricky Willdy defeated “Violence is Forever” Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku to win the C*4 Tag Titles at 12:56. Puf is insanely over but he’s listed at 418 pounds, he just looks unhealthy to be in the ring. (He was the heavy guy in the gym during AEW Dynamite that MJF was making fun of.) I’ve made the comparison before, but Willdy reminds me of a young Jimmy Hart. Puf dove between the ropes onto ViF to start the match! In the ring, ViF was quickly in charge of working over Willdy.
Puf made the hot tag at 4:30 to a massive pop, and he hit a running Stinger Splash on Ku. Ku fired back with a dropkick. Ku tried to put Puf on his back but his body gave out and he collapsed. Willdy and Garrini traded mid-ring chops and forearm shots. Ku hit a top-rope doublestomp as Garrini was holding Ricky and he got a nearfall at 8:00. Puf again made a hot tag and he hit some chops on each opponent. Ku hit a flying kick to Puf’s face, then a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a believable nearfall.
Puf hit a short-arm clothesline on Garrini, then a senton! Willdy hit a top-rope elbow drop on Garrini for a nearfall, but Ku made the save. Puf and Willdy kissed their opponents on tehir mouths at 10:30 to distract them! They then hit stunners for nearfalls. Ku hit a stuffed piledriver on Willdy for a believable nearfall. Puf put Ku on his shoulders, and Willdy hit a bulldog to the mat for the pin! That’s a huge upset in my eyes, and the crowd went nuts for the title change! “The Cinderella story has come true!” a commentator shouted.
* Puf got on the mic and told the crowd how much he loves them, and they celebrated with the belts.
6. Kevin Blackwood (w/Hayley Dillon) defeated Brent Banks to retain the C*4 Title at 18:53. Banks is a Black man with short hair. Blackwood got some cheers with the boos; he’s been a good heel champion here. He got on the mic and ripped into Canada. They had an intense lockup to open and this has a ‘big-fight feel’ to it. They brawled to the floor at 5:00 and traded chops in front of the fans; a fourish-year-old boy got to chop Blackwood to massive cheers. Funny. In the ring, Blackwood hit a kneestrike for a nearfall at 8:30, and he kept Banks grounded. Blackwood hit a top-rope superplex, but Banks immediately hit a brainbuster, and they were both down at 10:30. Banks hit a dropkick and was fired up.
Banks nailed a dive through the ropes; in the ring, Banks hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall at 12:30. Blackwood fired back with a second-rope missile dropkick and a German Suplex, then a running knee to the side of the head and a suplex for a nearfall. Blackwood missed a top-rope doublestomp at 14:30, and he collapsed to the mat selling an ankle injury. Banks hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, but Hayley got in and pulled Banks off; the commentary team said this is no-DQ. Hayley hit a second-rope Lungblower on Banks; Banks hit a uranage on Hayley, sending her to the floor. Blackwood hit a top-rope doublestomp on Banks for a believable nearfall at 16:00.
They began trading overhand chops, and Blackwood caught him with a spin kick to the head. Banks hit a running Flatliner, then a springboard stunner for a nearfall, but Hayley hopped in the ring again and stopped the ref from counting. She went to slap Banks; he put her on his shoulders, but Blackwood hit a low blow, a Helluva Kick, and a top-rope doublestomp to the collarbone on a standing Banks for the pin. Blackwood and Hayley celebrated in the ring.
7. Evil Uno and Myung-Jae Lee defeated Mike Bailey and Trent Seven at 21:34. I’ve seen Lee here before; he has long straight black hair, and he got a nice babyface pop. Lee and Bailey started with an intense lockup, they sped it up, and had a standoff and bowed at each other. Nice. Uno and Seven entered at 1:30 and they traded shoulder tackles. Seven hit some LOUD chops that dropped Lee. Seven hit a flip senton on Lee, and Bailey hit a kneedrop to the chest on Lee. Bailey hit a Vader Bomb-style kneedrop on Lee at 7:00, and his team kept working Lee over.
Seven and Lee fought on the floor; Seven accidentally chopped the ring post. Evil Uno made the hot tag at 9:30 and he beat up Seven. Bailey got back in and hit a running Shooting Star Press on Uno at 11:30, and he traded chops and kicks with Uno, and they both tossed the ref to the floor to continue their fight. Lee hit a spin kick to Seven’s head as everyone was now in the ring. Bailey hit his Speedball kicks to Uno’s ribs and thighs.
Lee and Seven got back in the ring, with Lee hitting a German Suplex and a running knee at 15:00. Seven countered with a spinning sideslam for a nearfall. Seven and Bailey hit front-and-back kicks on Lee for a believable nearfall. Uno hit a DDT on Bailey on the ring apron. Uno and Lee hit a Chasing the Dragon brainbuster-and-kick combo on Seven for a believable nearfall at 17:00. Lee hit a second-rope missile dropkick. Bailey nailed his Triangle Moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Seven hit a Tiger Driver powerbomb on Lee for a nearfall. Lee hit a DDT on Seven. Bailey hit his moonsault kneedrop on Lee. Uno hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Bailey. This was all rapid-fire offense.
Bailey hit his Ultima Weapon second-rope flip kneedrop on Lee, as Lee was lying across Seven’s shoulders, for a believable nearfall, but Uno made the save at 20:00. Seven accidentally clotheslined Bailey! Bailey hit his Tornado Kick on Lee. Bailey accidentally hit the Ultima Weapon on Seven! Uno hit a stuffed piledriver on Seven, with Lee making the cover to pin Seven. Tremendous action.
* C*4 Wrestling edits out the short breaks between matches anyway, and they edited out the break needed to set up the steel cage for the final two matches.
8. Joshua Bishop defeated James Stone in a steel cage match at 13:09. Stone is tall and bald with a beard (think Karl Anderson). Bishop is the young Sid Vicious clone with short, curly blond hair. Basic brawling early on. They climbed the ropes and took turns slamming each other into the cage wall. Stone cracked a chair across Bishop’s head at 2:00, and Bishop was bleeding from his forehead. Stone pushed Bishop’s head against the cage wall so the crowd could see the bloody forehead.
Bishop did a backbody drop, sending Stone into the cage, with Stone landing awkwardly at 4:30. Bishop picked up Stone and rammed him head-first into the cage. Bishop hit a flying elbow drop while using a folded chair for a nearfall at 6:30. Stone exited the cage door, went under the ring, and got some boards to slam them against Bishop. (Good; no stupid escape-the-cage rule here.) They used the board, but it didn’t break. Stone missed a Lionsault at 11:30 and they were both down.
Bishop is really, really bloody now, to the point it’s taken me out of the match. Stone hit Bishop unprotected with a chair across the head. Bishop countered with a swinging sideslam, then a Razor’s Edge onto the board set up in the corner for the pin. Decent brawl; the crowd liked it more than I did. I just object to this much blood and those unprotected headshots.
9. Benjamin Tull and Twiggy and “Tabarnak De Team” Mattieu St. Jacques and Thomas Duois defeated Stu Grayson, Junior Benito, Macrae Martin, and Shayne Hawke in a steel cage match at 20:29. Benito is a talented, thin Black man and I’ve been really impressed with him. Stu’s team came out first and they all that the black ‘war paint’ across their eyes and forehead. Martin is taller and thick; he reminds me of NWA’s Jay Bradley. I’ve liked what I’ve seen of TBT in their lumberjack-brawling style; all the heels wore black-and-red plaid lumberjack shirts. They all started brawling on the floor; no one is in the ring. Hawke was thrown head-first into the cage wall and was bleeding.
Benito and a couple of the heels entered the cage for the first time at 4:00, and they slammed Benito through a board set up in the corner. Stu also got powerbombed through a board in the ring, as we have lots of these cheap easily-broken doors in the ring. Macrae hit a moonsault at 9:30 and was fired up. He hit a spin kick into a chair, sending it into a heel’s head. Macrae hit a huracanrana off the corner, sending a heel onto a door bridge at 13:00. Tull threw a chair at Grayson’s head; I hate that.
Hawke hit a superplex for a believable nearfall at 16:00. Stu hit a couple of uranages and he was fired up. The smaller Twiggy tried some chops to no effect. Stu put Twiggy on his shoulders and hit a backbreaker over the knee for a believable nearfall at 18:00, but the other heels made the save. Everyone brawled back outside the ring! Benito climbed the cage and hit a flip dive off the top of the cage onto the other seven below, earning a “holy shit!” chant. In the ring, Benito hit a top-rope frogsplash. However, Twiggy jumped in the ring, grabbed Benito and rolled him up for the pin. That was a flat finish to a good brawl.
Final Thoughts: C*4 Wrestling is on fire. Seriously, other indy promoters must watch this HOT, packed crowd and can only be envious. They fill this building consistently. A loud crowd, fully into each match, just makes the show better. That Puf/Willdy match… was simply made better by a crowd that was fully invested into it.
I’ll go with the Bailey/Seven tag for best match of the night, with the main event second place, and Kevin Blackwood’s title defense for third. Some people will really love that Stone-Bishop match but as I noted, the blood loss was significant and gross. That Puf/Willdy match was well-laid-out and the crowd loved it. Heck, this crowd loved everything they saw. C*4 Wrestling can be found on IWTV. I presume, being as this is the “season finale,” they’ll be back in August with some form of a ‘re-set’ in storylines.
Be the first to comment