By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Deadlock Pro Wrestling “Spark”
Available free via YouTube.com
July 9, 2023 in Greensboro, N.C. at Firestar Performance Center
Deadlock Pro Wrestling released the one-hour “Spark” today for free on YouTube. It includes three matches and previews the DPW show coming up this Sunday. Chris Danger and Rich Bocchini provided live commentary.
1. Oliver Sawyer defeated Grant Watts at 8:05. I don’t think I’ve seen either man; they are young, white and average sized. Sawyer wore black-and-green trunks while Watts wore blue. They traded a lot of chops; both their chests were turning splotchy red. Watts hit a mousetrap double-arm slam for a nearfall at 6:30. Sawyer hit a buckle bomb and scored the pin. Acceptable match; it felt like watching an NJPW Young Lions matchup.
* A backstage promo with “The Workhorsemen” JD Drake and Anthony Henry, who showed off their DPW Tag Team Titles. They are facing Kevin Knight and Kevin Blackwood on Sunday.
* Another backstage promo with “Violence is Forever” Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku, who just lost their titles to Workhorsemen. They are facing the “Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin on Sunday.
2. Andrew Everett defeated Labron Kozone at 15:11. Kozone is a muscular Black man; he looks a lot like how JTG is looking these days, with short dreadlocks. Everett has been in TNA/Impact and just appeared on ROH on Thursday, and he’s doing a gimmick where he wears Andre the Giant’s one-strap singlet and he thinks he’s 7’4″. For a guy with a bit of weight in his middle, he has a pretty Shooting Star Press. Standing switches to start. Everett hit a belly-to-belly overhead suplex for a nearfall at 6:30. They traded stiff forearm shots. They hit a headbutt with an awful thud sound.
Kozone hit a running European Uppercut in the corner. Everett hit a springboard spin kick for a nearfall at 9:30. Kozone pulled Everett off the top rope and hit a sit-out powerslam for a nearfall. Everett hit a moonsault press; he set up for a chokeslam but Kozone turned it into a DDT at 12:00. Kozone hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall, then a decapitating short-arm clothesline for a believable nearfall. Everett hit an enzuigiri, then the chokeslam for a nearfall. Everett nailed a top-rope moonsault for a nearfall at 13:30. Everett went to the top rope but Kozone ran over and nailed an uppercut. Everett hit a top-rope chokeslam to the mat, then he hit his pretty Shooting Star Press for the clean pin. That was really good.
* Everett got on the mic and put over Kozone as one of the best wrestlers in the Carolinas. They shook hands. Everett then turned his attention to BK Westbrook, who he claims “stole my gold.” He vowed to take it back. However, he faces Bryan Keith this Sunday.
* A commercial aired that listed the rest of the lineup for Sunday’s show, including Calvin Tankman vs. Shigehiro Irie vs. Jay Malachi in a three-way and Emi Sakura vs. Killer Kelly.
3. Lio Rush defeated Jay Malachi at 18:17. A huge pop for Rush. Jay always wear purple pants; he’s tall and thin and make me think of the Velveteen Dream. A knucklelock to open. Malachi hit a dive over the top rope at 2:00, landing far from the ring. In the ring, Lush did his mis-direction offense off the ropes, then he barreled through the ropes onto Malachi, and they fought on the floor. In the ring, Jay caught him with a hard dropkick at 4:30. “Both of these men possess incredible agility,” Bocchini said in the understatement of the year. Lio took control of the offense, and he beat down on his taller opponent. Lio hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 7:00.
Rush hit a clothesline to the back of the head, then a side suplex for a nearfall, and he kept Jay grounded. Jay missed a Superman Punch and Lio hit a kidney punch. Jay hit a spin kick to the jaw and they were both down at 9:30. Malachi nailed a springboard clothesline for a nearfall. LIo hit a clothesline into the corner and a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall at 11:00, and he was frustrated he didn’t get the pin. Lio hit some punches and was acting more heelish. They avoided each other’s kicks until Jay hit a spin kick; Lio hit his own spin kick and they were both down at 14:00.
They traded forearm shots while on their knees. Malachi hit a stunner. Rush hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall, then a spear. Jay fired back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 16:00. Lio hit a running splash, and he went to the top rope. However, Jay met him there and hit a spin kick to the head, then a top-rope Spanish Fly for a believable nearfall at 17:30. Lio hit his quick series of punches. Malachi hit the Superman Punch. Lio hit his stunner out of the ropes, then the Final Hour frogsplash for the clean pin. That was incredible. Lio got on the mic and talked about traveling all over the world to wrestle, and he put over Malachi. “I had to come here and test myself against the very best,” Lio said. Lio raised Malachi’s arm as the show came to a close.
Final Thoughts: I’m a big fan of this promotion, and the last two matches here were stellar; this is a good showcase for them. Their champion, Lucky Ali, appeared on ROH TV on Thursday. They have a nice mix of Carolina-based talent (Bojack, Diego Hill, Colby Corino, Jay Malachi) and frequently bring in some big name talent from Japan. A reminder this preview is free on Youtube, if you want to get a taste of what this promotion is about. Check out this promotion at deadlockpro.com. They also have some really good matches on their free YouTube page.
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