By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Prestige Wrestling “Cascadia Wrestling Cup night two”
Replay available via YouTube.com
July 9, 2023 in Portland, Oregon at Kliever Armory
This was a 16-person, single-elimination tournament. This is a review of night two from July 9, 2023, featuring the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals.
* This is a large gym and the crowd is perhaps 200; it is perhaps slightly smaller attendance than night one, which featured the 8 first-round matches.
1. Jaiden defeated Travis Williams in a quarterfinal match at 12:02. Jaiden is in a black superhero outfit with blue trim; he’s the indy version of Hurricane Helms. Jaiden (the babyface!) twisted his left ankle at 3:00 and started to untie it. However, Travis jumped on it and began targeting it. (We are so used to seeing the heel pretend to have an injury, so this felt fresh.) Jaiden hit a twisting Canadian Destroyer at 6:00. Williams hit a top-rope back suplex for a nearfall. Williams mocked the ‘superhero pose,’ and he applied a Figure Four. Jaiden hit a top-rope elbow drop as Williams was lying on the ring apron, then a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall at 10:00. Jaiden hit a modified One-Winged Angel for the pin. Really good opener.
2. Alan Angels defeated Randy Myers in a quarterfinal match at 10:07. Angels wore Sonico’s mask, which he stole after beating Sonico a night earlier. Again, Myers comes across as an effiminate Joker, with green hair and white facepaint. Angels stomped on Myers on the floor and was in charge early. In the ring, Angels hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker for a nearfall at 5:00. He hit a German Suplex, then an enzuigiri. Myers hit a Flatliner for a nearfall at 9:00. The ref got bumped, allowing Angels to hit a low blow kick, a roundhouse kick to the head, and a frogsplash for the pin. Ok match; it felt like an extended squash and I never once thought Myers was winning here.
3. Judas Icarus defeated Nicole Matthews in a quarterfinal match at 11:10. Matthews is a bit taller than Judas, and they opened with mat reversals. She hit a dropkick at 2:00. They traded mid-ring forearm shots. He picked her up and suplexed her stomach-first for a nearfall. He hit some kicks to the back and was in charge. She applied a Fujiwara Armbar. He stomped on her fingers. She hit a Northern Lights Suplex at 8:00 and she applied a cross-armbreaker, then a crossface, but he scrambled to the ropes. Matthews hit a spinning faceplant for a nearfall at 10:00 and she was shocked it didn’t get her the win. He hit a couple of clotheslines to score the pin.
4. Cody Chhun defeated Daniel Makabe in a quarterfinal match at 10:02. I saw Makabe for the first time in the first round; he has Alex Shelley’s haircut and he’s a mat wrestler, but a bit rotund. Chhun went for a dive off the ropes, but Makabe caught the arm and applied a submission hold, with Chhun reaching the ropes at 3:00. Makabe kept Chhun tied up for several minutes and remained in charge. Chhun hit a DDT and applied an armbar. Chhun hit a stunner out of nowhere for the pin. Just like Angels’ match… while this was slightly more competitive, I never once thought Makabe was winning here.
5. Drexl, Artemis Spencer, Amira, and Drake Kwon defeated Guillermo Rosas, Ethan HD, Kris Brady, and Liiza Hall at 11:50. Everyone in this match except Kwon lost in the first round on Saturday; Sonico is the only first-round loser missing here. Drexl and Liiza started and he gave her a paper cut between her fingers. Spencer hit a top-rope corkscrew dive onto everyone on the floor; he clearly banged the back of his head upon landing and he clutched it. Brady hit a flip dive over the ropes onto everyone at 2:30. Ethan hit a Bailey-style Triangle Moonsault to the floor, and we had a “this is awesome!” chant. Back in the ring, Amira and Rosas squared off, and they are roughly the same height. Amira hit a double suplex on Rosas and Hall at 5:00.
Kwon entered and hit a bulldog powerslam; he’s bigger and thick, on par with Ethan HD in size. Ethan hit a running Shooting Star Press on Artemis at 8:00, then a dropkick into the corner on three opponents. Drexl grabbed Ethan and Rosas in the groin, and he bit at Kris’ groin. Liiza hit a Death Valley Driver on Amira. Rosas hit an Angle Slam on Amira. Brady hit a running Samoan Drop on Artemis, but he missed a double-jump moonsault. Artemis hit a top-rope Phoenix Splash for a nearfall at 11:30. Drexl hit a piledriver on Ethan HD for the pin. Fun scramble and a good use of the first-round losers.
6. Cody Chhun defeated Judas Icarus in a semifinal match at 10:13. An intense locked and good mat wrestling to open. They brawled to the floor at 4:00. Back in the ring, Icarus was in charge and he kept Chhun grounded. Chhun hit a stomp on the left arm at 6:00 and he began targeting it. He applied a Fujiwara Armbar, but Icarus reached the ropes at 7:30. Icarus hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall and he was livid he didn’t get the pin. He nailed a decapitating clothesline; he went for a second one but Chhun grabbed the arm, did a forward roll, and scored the pin. Good match.
7. Alan Angels defeated Jaiden in a semifinal match at 9:21. Jaiden has switched to black gear with red trim; his third outfit in three matches. He has his shoe off his left foot and the ankle is wrapped after “twisting it” midway through his earlier match in the show; it might as well have a target on it. Jaiden hit a basement dropkick early on but he was limping. He hit a spin kick in the corner at 1:30. Angels began twisting the left leg ad working over the ankle and knee. Jaiden hit a Canadian Destroyer at 6:00, and he peeled off his T-shirt. Angels went back to an anklelock. Jaiden hit Angels with a wrench! He nailed his modified One-WInged Angel for a believable nearfall at 8:30! Jaiden went for a sunset flip, but Angels sat down to block it, leaned forward and grabbed the ropes for leverage to score the tainted pin. Good match that ended too quickly.
8. “Midnight Heat” Ricky Gibson and Eddie Pearl defeated “The Hammer Brothers” Jack Hammer and Sledge Hammer at 8:56. My first time seeing the Hammer Brothers, who wore blue jeans, yellow hard-hats and orange safety vests. Sledge is BIG, like “Otis-plus big.” Gibson is bald, and Pearl has short, curly black hair, I always compare to heel FTR and mid-1980s heel tag teams. They worked over the smaller Jack Hammer. Sledge made the hot tag at 7:30 and beat up the heels. MH hit a high-low kick combo on Sledge for the pin. Sledge was barely in the ring then got pinned.
* The Cascade Cup trophy, which is perhaps 20 to 24 inches tall, was brought to the center of the ring ahead of the finals.
9. Cody Chhun defeated Alan Angels to win the Cascadia Cup at 21:02. Chhun has a significant height advantage, and he hit a shoulder tacklet at 2:00 that sent Angels to the floor to stall and regroup. Chhun kept Angels grounded and it frustrated Alan. Chhun charged at Angels but crashed shoulder-first into the corner at 6:00, and he clutched at his left shoulder. Angels immediately hit a Divorce Court armbreaker and was in charge, targeting the damaged arm. They traded chops; Angels hit another Divorce Court Armbreaker for a nearfall at 10:30.
Chhun nailed a top-rope superplex and they were both down. Chhun hit a Stinger Splash and some jabs, then a DDT for a nearfall at 13:30. Angels hit his roundhouse kick to the head for a nearfall. Chhun hit a superkick but he couldn’t hit the Clout Cutter. The ref got bumped at 16:30 and Angels immediately hit a low blow kick, so Chhun responded with a low blow punch. Midnight Heat jumped in the ring and began beating up Chhun! Guillermo Rosas ran in and made the save! However, MH beat up both C4. Angels hit a top-rope moonsault and the ref was thrown back in the ring and made a two-count; the crowd popped loudly for Chhun kicking out. Sonico came from the back! He’s been feuding with Angels for months!
Rosas and Chhun hit a high/low combo on Angels; Sonico woke the ref again, who made the two count. Angels once again got a rolllup and grabbed at the roped for leverage, but this time, Sonico kicked him off the ropes! Chhun immediately hit two consecutive Clout Cutters/springboard stunners for the pin. Chhun, Rosas and Sonico celebrated in the ring as Chhun was handed the trophy. Chhun got on the mic and talked about winning four matches in the tournament and said it was a tough battle. He thanked the fans as the show came to an end.
Final Thoughts: Chhun winning the cup was the right decision. Chhun is over as a babyface, and Angels is a great heel. Had you told me before the tournament started that these two would meet in the finals, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Sometimes the obvious call is also the right call. (See New Japan’s disastrous decision to crown Master Wato as this year’s BoSJ as an example of going outside the box and not going with the obvious winner.) Really, the only match outcome that surprised me the whole tournament was Makabe beating Artemis Spencer, as Spencer is clearly a vastly better talent. I really liked that Jaiden’s ankle injury in his first match was a factor in his second match; I like the long-term selling.
The main event easily gets best match, and I’ll go with Jaiden-Angels for second and Jaiden-Williams for third place. Most Prestige Wrestling shows are on IWTV, but again, this whole tournament is available on YouTube.com
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