By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Future Stars of Wrestling “Moment of Truth”
Replay available via FITE.TV
July 30, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada at FSW Arena
The venue is quite small. GCW has run joint shows with FSW from this training center when they’ve been in Las Vegas. There are banners of top graduates, such as Killer Kross and Eli Drake, hanging on the walls. Sadly, the crowd was maybe 50 people. Joe Defalco and Jay Black provided commentary.
1. Jordan Oasis defeated Matt Vandagriff and Jarrett Diaz in a three-way at 9:16. Vandagriff (think Juice Robinson-meets-Angelico) is the clear top talent at FSW; he had a really good match with Mike Bailey here a year ago. Oasis is a bit taller, bald, with a full beard. Diaz is slender but muscular. Oasis hit a suplex on Matt, and Oasis hit a backbreaker over his knee on Diaz at 6:00. Diaz hit a Clout Cutter, then a flip dive to the floor. Oasis grabbed the top rope, causing Diaz to fall and be crotched in the corner. Vandagriff hit a flipping piledriver. Diaz hit a top-rope elbowdrop on Matt for a nearfall at 9:00. Oasis hit a hard clothesline to the back of the head to pin Diaz. Good, fast-paced opener.
* The commentators said Jai Vidal (and I presume Kenny King, Chris Bey and Ace Austin, too) flew overnight from the Impact taping in Chicago to make it to this show.
2. Jai Vidal defeated Nic Zander at 0:22. Zander is white with two long braids with colors mixed in (think Lance Archer’s hairstyle), and he seems the same height as Vidal. Jai stalled and refused to get in the ring. Someone snuck up behind Zander and hit a low blow uppercut. Jai jumped in the ring, set up for a Styles Clash, but he turned it into a powerbomb move for the pin. Pointless.
3. “Billionaire Boys Club” Devin Rino and Jordan Cruz defeated Remy Marcel and Graves at 11:15. Cruz has appeared on New Japan Strong and he’s got a great physique. Rino is bald and has a good physique too. Remy wears a white T-shirt with gun holsters and looks like the Hitman video game. Graves is a big man with a beard; think a thinner Viking Raider Ivar, and he was a mystery partner. Cruz and Graves started, with Graves hitting a bodyslam. Graves hit a BIG plancha at 4:00; that is a big man crashing down on his opponents. Rino and Cruz hit a team suplex on Graves and they worked him over. Remy finally made the hot tag at 9:30 and he bodyslammed one heel onto the other. Graves hit a sideslam on Rino for a nearfall. Rino and Cruz hit an inverted Magic Killer slam, dropping Marcel stomach-first to the mat for the pin. Okay match; pretty standard tag action.
4. Viva Van defeated Gypsy Mac at 7:16. Viva wore her FSW title, and a commentator said it is her 359th day as champion. Mac has long, black hair and seems like a ‘party girl.’ Mac hit a fisherman’s suplex and some kicks. Viva hit an Electric Chair slam, falling backward, to score the pin. Solid. Viva Van, who just competed at AAA Triplemania, just carries herself like a star.
5. Gregory Sharpe defeated Jakob Austin Young via ref stoppage to retain the Nevada State Championship at 10:22. Jakob (think Drew Gulak) in looks and mat-based style) had a handful of appearances in New Japan Strong. Sharpe is a Black man with a messy, full beard and dreadlocks, and he has a deranged look. I’ve been impressed with both of them in the past. They brawled at the bell. Young hit a missile dropkick; he leapt off the ropes but collapsed at 2:30 with a left knee injury. The ref tried to hold back Sharpe, but Gregory targeted it and stomped on it. Sharpe hit a running basement dropkick for a nearfall at 6:30. Sharpe applied an anklelock on the mat, but Young reached the ropes at 9:00. Sharpe hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, and he applied an anklelock on the mat. The referee stopped the match; Young did NOT tap out. Good match with a really flat finish.
6. Mazzerati and Rachelle Riveter defeated Brittnie Brooks and Taniya at 7:12. Mazzerati and Riveter are Black; Mazzerati has blue-ish hair and has a look of Kiera Hogan. Brittnie is white, blonde and wore pink; she has her Barbie look going for her. Taniya is Black with long curly hair. I don’t think I’ve seen either Brooks or Taniya before. Rachelle and Brittnie locked up to open. The heels began working over Taniya in their corner. Taniya hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 4:00. Brittnie hit an inverted DDT and she was fired up. Mazzerati hit a Northern Lights Suplex on Brittnie for a nearfall. Riveter and Mazzerati hit a Team 3D on Taniya for the pin. Basic tag match.
7. Kenny King (w/faction) defeated Bodhi Young Prodigy at 11:15. Three Black men joined Kenny King at ringside. Bodhi is a teenager who looks like he’s 12, perhaps 130 pounds, but has zero body fat; I’ve seen him a couple times now and he’s a great mat wrestler. Bodhi charged at King at the bell, and they brawled on the floor. Bodhi dove through the ropes and barreled onto King at 1:30. In the ring, Kenny hit a Black Hole Slam, and he kicked at the kid. King applied a Camel Clutch at 4:30. Bodhi hit a series of kicks to the spine.
Bodhi hit a top-rope diving Blockbuster for a nearfall at 7:30; if you imagine what Cody Rhodes looked like when he was 14, that’s Bodhi. Bodhi hit Lio Rush’s stunner out of the ropes for a nearfall. King hit a spin kick to the face for a nearfall. King hit a Dragon Suplex then a Tiger Driver powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 10:00. One of King’s friends handed him a title belt but the ref confiscated it. Bodhi hit a stunner. He went for a 450, but he landed on his feet. King got a rollup, leaned forward and grabbed the middle ropes for leverage, and scored the cheap pin. Good match. King’s faction partners jumped in the ring and beat down Bodhi after the bell.
* Video footage aired of Los Suavicitos, walking outside along a wall painted with a mural. I’ve seen them more frequently in West Coast Pro; Rose is shorter but they look a lot alike.
8. “Bullet Club” Ace Austin and Chris Bey defeated “Los Suavecitos” Danny Rose and Ricky Gee to retain the FSW Tag Team Titles at 10:17. Rose and Bey started, then Ace battled Ricky Gee. LS hit a series of quick team moves on Bey at 5:00, then they grounded him on the mat. Ace made the hot tag and beat up both heels, and he hit his modified Pedigree for a nearfall at 8:00. Ricky hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall on Ace. Bey hit a stunner, then a Plancha to the floor. Meanwhile in the ring, Ace hit The Fold/flipping neckbreaker for the clean pin. Good match.
9. Ice Williams defeated Hero Leu to retain the FSW Heavyweight Title at 22:02. I admittedly am unfamiliar with both of these guys, which is strange because I’ve seen most of the wrestlers on this show at least once before. Leu is Samoan or islander with a tattoo on his shoulder and chest quite similar to The Rock, and he wore a traditional islander wardrobe. Williams is a muscular Black man with his hair in shoulder-length dreadlocks; he’s big like EJ Nduka in size. Leu hit a chokeslam for a nearfall just seconds into the match, and he set up for a spear, but Ice rolled to the floor to regroup. They brawled on the floor. Leu charged at Ice, but Ice moved, and Leu crashed into a guardrail at 2:30, and he was immediately selling a right shoulder injury.
In the ring, Ice Williams was in charge and targeted the shoulder. He hit a dropkick for a nearfall at 5:00, and he hit a Lungblower move onto the shoulder. Hero hit a series of left-arm clotheslines (using the non-injured arm). Hero hit a spinebuster for a nearfall at 9:30. Ice hit a legdrop on the head for a nearfall. Hero put Ice on his shoulders and slammed him stomach-first to the mat for a nearfall at 12:00. Ice hit a dropkick on the knee. Ice hit a top-rope elbowdrop for a believable nearfall at 14:30. Ice hit a Samoan Drop and a Superkick for a believable nearfall. Hero hit a spinebuster and he set up for a spear again, but once again, Ice rolled out of the ring. Ice hit a springboard clothesline. Hero nailed a spear for a believable nearfall, and they were both down at 18:30.
Hero charged at Ice, but Ice moved, and Hero speared the ref! Hero immediately hit a chokeslam for a visual pin, but we had no ref. A heel manager came to ringside and handed Hero a ring, but Hero wound up fighting off a few heels until they overpowered him. Someone came out and fought the heels to the back, leaving just our two combatants. Ice Williams hit a superkick to the back of the head to score the cheap pin. A chaotic finish to what was a really good match.
Final Thoughts: An entertaining show. I won’t pretend there was anything must-see or mind-blowing good here, but I like this roster. They have a lot of guys that would fit well with the prevalent WWE style, as well as the smaller, quicker foursome who are in Impact Wrestling. Even with the overstuffed final two minutes, that was a really good main event, and I came away impressed with both men. Sharpe-Young earn second-best, Bey/Austin’s match takes third place. Viva Van has to be in the conversation among the top female unsigned wrestlers today. Check out FSW on Fite+.
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