By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Defy Wrestling “Death Rider”
Replay available via Wremix.tv
July 29, 2023 from Seattle, Washington at Washington Hall
This show was released, for free, on Thursday. Rich Bocchini and Ricky Gibson provided commentary. This room is jam-packed with 400-600 in attendance; Bocchini said it was standing-room-only. The ring is well-lit but it is far too dark when they brawl to the floor.
1. Clark Connors defeated Guillermo Rosas, Evan Rivers and Ethan HD in a four-way at 17:40. Rivers has a young DDP mullet and looks a bit like El Phantasmo or Zicky Dice. Ethan replaced KC Navarro, who had flight issues. Clark refused to shake hands and put his hand in his shorts instead, drawing boos. Rosas and Ethan traded shoulder tackles. Connors hit a spear at 3:30, then a dive off the ring apron to the floor. Everyone brawled to the floor and it is dark and hard to see. Guillermo and Connors teased throwing each other out a window. Heel Gibson on commentary suggested that Ethan HD canceled Navarro’s flight so he could take KC’s spot.
In the ring, the three heels began working over Rosas, drawing heavy boos. Ethan hit a stunner. Ethan and Rivers teased working together but couldn’t get on the same page. Rosas got in the ring and hit a series of chops on Ethan. Clark nailed a spear on Rosas at 11:30. In a nice spot, Rivers leapt onto someone’s back and hit a superplex out of the corner, and suddenly everyone was down at 13:30.
All four got up and brawled. Rosas hit a superkick and he was fired up, and he hit clotheslines in the corners on each heel. Rosas hit clotheslines on each heel on the floor. In the ring, Rosas hit a double back suplex, showing off some power. Rivers hit a stunner on Rosas, then an impressive top-rope moonsault. Connors hit his No Chaser spike DDT on each man, pinning Rosas. (Bocchini called them brainbusters, but it is called “No Chaser” in NJPW.) Connors made lewd hand gestures at the crowd as he celebrated his win.
2. Vert Vixen defeated Billie Starkz to retain the Defy Wrestling Women’s Title at 15:15. An intense lockup to open and standing switches, finally a standoff at 4:00. Billie hit a suplex and a running basement dropkick for a nearfall. Vert hit a Helluva Kick at 7:00 and a running forearm in the corner. Billie hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall. Vert hit a superkick to the jaw. Billie hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 10:00. She hit a hard kneestrike to the jaw for a nearfall, then a Gory Bomb for a nearfall.
Vert nailed a Sabin-style Cradle Shock slam for a belivable nearfall at 11:30. She dove through the ropes twice onto Billie, then she hit a stunner in the ring, and a Blue Thunder Bomb for a believable nearfall. They traded Mafia Kicks. Billie nailed a roundhouse kick for a believable nearfall at 14:00, then a Tombstone Piledriver for a nearfall. “The fans are on their feet!” Gibson said. Billie went to the corner, but Vert met her there, and Vert hit a superplex and a brainbuster for the pin. “That was incredible!” Bocchini said. I agree. Top-notch women’s match there. They bowed at each other, then hugged, as fans shouted “please come back!” at Billie.
* Backstage with Vert Vixen, she said she’s exhausted, after beating Maki Itoh a day earlier, then her win here against Starkz. She is ready for her next challenger.
3. Cody Chhun defeated Titus Alexander, Travis Williams, and Schaff in a four-way at 13:36. Williams is the mat wrestler who reminds me of Zack Sabre Jr. Schaff has appeared on AEW TV too; he’s a cross between Jake Something and Braun Strowman. Chhun is the tall, thin Asian man who reminds me of NXT’s Boa, and Cody just won a 16-man tournament here last month. Schaff hit a uranage on Titus at the bell; he just towers over everyone. He hit a rolling cannonball in the corner on Williams, then one on Chhun, then a flip dive over the top rope onto everyone. However, he missed a summersault off the ring apron at 2:30 and crashed onto some open chairs. Ouch! In the ring, Titus hit an impressive dropkick on Chhun. Williams hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Titus at 5:00.
Williams hit a pair of dives to the floor. He went for a third but Schaff caught him by the throat. Then Schaff caught Chhun by the throat with his left hand! Titus did a flip dive over the top rope onto all three at 7:00, and the crowd loudly chanted, “Defy!” In the ring, Schaff hit a fallaway slam on Titus that launched him all the way across the ring. He began chopping everyone. They did a tower spot out of the corner, with Titus crashing down hard from the top, and they were all down at 10:00, with the fans chanting, “Holy shit!” “What are they saying, Rich?” Gibson said. Cody and Schaff tied up; they are the same height actually, but Schaff has a clear muscle mass advantage. Titus nailed a running knee to Schaff’s jaw.
Cody clotheslined himself and Titus to the floor. Rivers hit the ring and gave Williams a title belt. Williams hit Schaff in the face with it and got a nearfall. Schaff was livid! Titus hit a German Suplex on Schaff, and Schaff rolled to the floor. Chhun hit a Clout Cutter on Titus at 13:00. Chhun hit a brainbuster on Williams and he was fired up. He hit a swinging Lungblower to Williams’ chest and scored the pin. I loved this. Everyone got a chance to shine; Schaff looked like a beast but was on the floor as the match came to a close. Cody and Schaff spoke quietly in the ring and shook hands; Schaff left the ring so Chhun could soak up the cheers alone.
* By winning the four-way, Chhun will face Clark Connors in this mini-tournament at the next Defy Wrestling show on Aug. 12. Literally as soon as I wrote that sentence, Connors ran into the ring and speared Chhun and was heavily booed. Clark set up for another move, but Guillermo Rosas made the save to chase off Connors.
* Backstage, Chhun talked about winning his match. He was angry at Clark Connors, saying he became “dirty and downright atrocious.”
* Ethan HD joined Rich Bocchini on commentary. On a recent Defy Wrestling show, Curry Man came face-to-face with Christopher Daniels. Point being, they aren’t necessarily the same person.
4. Curry Man defeated Miles DeVille (w/Tara Zep) at 14:47. DeVille has shoulder-length curly blond hair. Zep is heavily tattooed. You can see a bit of hair out of the back of the mask, so this is NOT the bald Christopher Daniels. Curry Man did his silly dancing and got cheers. Zep stood on the ring apron and jawed at Curry Man. CM hit some rolling suplexes. They went to the floor, where DeVille hit a snap suplex at 3:00 onto the thin mat. CM suplexed DeVille onto the floor and he danced. In the ring, DeVille hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall, and he choked CM in the ropes. Zep choked CM, too. DeVille hit an enzuigiri at 7:00.
DeVille did a tight-rope walk but fell and got crotched. CM shoved Zep’s head into DeVille’s groin to cause more pain. CM hit some quick kicks and a senton for a nearfall at 11:00, with the fans chanting, “King of spice!” DeVille hit a running knee for a nearfall. Curry Man hit a Death Valley Driver for a believable nearfall at 12:30. DeVille hit a swinging neckbreaker, but he missed a top-rope moonsault, landing hard on his stomach. They traded rollups. CM hit a neckbreaker over his knee, then an Angel’s Wings, but he picked DeVille up at the two-count! Curry Man applied a Koji Clutch in the middle of the rin, and DeVille tapped out. The announcers agreed this Curry Man has a different physique than Christopher Daniels but the same moveset.
5. “The Bollywood Boyz” Harv Sihra and Gurv Sihra defeated “The Billington Bulldogs” Tom Billington and Mark Billington to retain the Defy Wrestling Tag Team Titles at 19:25. The Bulldogs had a handful of matches in MLW late last year or early this year; they are both quite scrawny and admittedly didn’t impress me then. Tommy has long hair, while Mark has Will Ospreay’s haircut with the bulk of hair on top of his head. A huge pop for the BBoyz, who controlled the action early on. One of the Billingstons hit a back suplex at 4:00. Mark Billington hit a dive to the floor at 6:30. One of the Billingtons hit a DDT onto the thin mat on the floor, and they worked over Harv Sihra. Harv finally hit a superplex at 12:00 and both men were down.
Gurv made the hot tag and he worked over the Billington Bulldogs. Harv tagged back in and hit the Demolition-style team elbowdrop, and everyone was down. Tommy hit a hard clothesline at 15:30, then a piledriver onto the ring apron, with them crashing to the ground. Tommy hit a top-rope diving headbutt in the ring for a nearfall at 18:30. The timing of this match is just off. Mark, who had been down on the ground for several minutes, hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Tommy set up for a package piledriver, Harv got a rollup for the pin. I like the Bollywood Boyz, but these Billingtons need a lot of work.
* A backstage vignette, where the Sihra brothers said they’ve been doing this for 17 years, they love this business, and they made an open challenge.
6. Jon Moxley defeated Artemis Spencer at 17:15. I always compare Artemis’ facial features and beard to Curtis Axel. Moxley came out to “Wild Thing,” and this crowd was hot! Standing switches to begin. Moxley went for a cross-armbreaker. They switched to trading forearm shots at 2:00. Spencer hit a dropkick and a big slap to the face, sending Moxley to the floor to regroup. Spencer hit a flip dive to the floor onto Moxley. Spencer hit a slingshot senton to the floor onto Moxley at 4:00. They brawled into the shadows. Moxley hit a DDT onto the floor. Spencer was bleeding on his forehead. In the ring, Spencer hit Moxley with a chair. Moxley hit a release suplex, tossing Artemis onto the open chair for a nearfall at 6:30.
Moxley bit at the bloody forehead. Spencer applied a cross-armbreaker in the ropes, but Moxley fought free and shoved Artemis to the floor. In the ring, Moxley hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall at 8:30, and he tied up Spencer’s arms on the mat, and he locked in a Fujiwara Armbar, then a rear-naked choke, then a half-nelson suplex at 11:30. Spencer hit a spin kick and fired up. Moxley hit a decapitating clothesline. Artemis hit a Tiger Suplex at 13:30 and a basement dropkick. Moxley dove through the ropes onto Artemis, and they were both down on the floor.
Back in the ring, Moxley hit a stunner; he left the ring and got a folding chair. Artemis hit a drop-toe-hold, sending Moxley onto the chair. Artemis hit a 619 on Moxley, who had a chair over his head. Artemis hit a piledriver for a nearfall at 16:30, then a top-rope corkscrew splash. However, Moxley rolled Spencer over and hit a series of elbow strikes to the side of the head, until the referee called for the bell.
* Moxley got on the mic and he put over the crowd, and he said he hopes they understand how magical Defy Wrestling is.
Final Thoughts: A show that started hot and lost steam in the middle before a strong finish. The Chhun four-way earned best match, as I could have easily seen Chhun or Schaff win, but also both Williams and Titus could have stolen a win. The main event earns second best, even though I never once thought Moxley was losing. Moxley brought great fire, diving through ropes and taking some stiff blows. Starkz-Vert Vixen was really good for third place. If you don’t watch indy wrestling, your only experience with Vert Vixen is probably watching her lose on AEW Dark, which is really too bad, because I’d put Vert in a top tier of unsigned women in the U.S. I’m not convinced the Billington Bulldogs are in this position if they didn’t have a famous name…
Again, this show is free. There was just one commercial at the beginning, and the rest of the show aired without ads.
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