By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Limitless Wrestling “Vacationland Cup”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
August 26, 2023 in Yarmouth, Maine, at Yarmouth Amvets Post #2
This show features an eight-person tournament with a four-way finale. This is a very good sized crowd, possibly 500-600. The lights are on, so lighting isn’t an issue. Johnny Torres was lead commentator; Alyssa Marino would join later in the show.
1. Dezmond Cole defeated JT Dunn in a first-round match at 11:32. Cole is the Ricochet clone, while Dunn reminds me of Tony Nese. Standing switches to open. Dunn snapped Cole’s neck across the top rope at 1:30, then Cole nailed a flip dive to the floor. Dunn hit his own dive to the floor. In the ring, Cole hit a dropkick for a nearfall. Dunn hit some chops and he took control and kept Cole grounded.
Cole hit a Michinoku Driver at 6:30 and a Hogan Legdrop for a nearfall. Cole hit a German Suplex and a shining wizard for a nearfall at 8:00. Dunn hit a dropkick for a nearfall. They fought on the top rope in the corner and Dunn hit a doublestomp as Cole was tied upside down in the Tree of Woe, scoring a nearfall at 10:00. Cole hit an enzuigiri and a Poison Rana. He went for a Swanton bomb but Dunn got his knees up to block it. Dunn nailed his “Death By Elbow” roaring elbow for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it. Cole nailed a Swanton Bomb for the pin. Fantastic opener.
* Dunn got on the mic and told the crowd he missed them, and he declared this “the house that Dunn built.”
2. Channing Thomas (w/Sidney Bakabella) defeated Ichiban in a first-round match at 7:29. Again, Thomas is Bobby Roode-meets-Joey Ryan and he’s just slimy. Channing attacked Ichiban from behind, and the crowd loudly booed. Ichiban hit some deep armdrags and a dropkick. Channing dumped Ichiban over the top rope to the floor. Channing slammed Ichiban’s head into the ringpost; in the ring he got a nearfall at 2:00. Channing applied a modified Torture Rack, but Ichiban escaped and got an armdrag. Ichiban hit a superkick at 4:00 and a handspring-back-elbow, then a missile dropkick. Ichiban hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall, a superkick and a nice Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall at 6:30. Channing nailed a piledriver out of nowhere for the clean pin. In my eyes, that’s a mild upset.
3. B3cca defeated Aaron Rourke in a first-round tournament match at 11:13. These two have been teaming of late. B3cca is the pop star and she’s in a white full-body outfit that looks like something Britney would have worn. Rourke is openly gay and has his hair and makeup on one side of his face, looking like a younger Malakai Black. They shook hands before an intense lockup. B3cca is of average size and weight, so it’s a bit absurd of a matchup that she can match him. They traded quick reversals and had a standoff at 1:00. She hit a running basement dropkick. Rourke hit a dropkick for a nearfall. He hit a hard chop in the corner; she fired back with her own chops. Rourke hit a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 4:30.
Rourke applied a reverse Texas Cloverleaf but she escaped. B3cca hit a German Suplex and a running stunner for a nearfall. She hit a running kick in the corner, then a running knee to the side of his face for a nearfall at 6:30. She hit a huracanrana. She hit a Tower of London stunner for a believable nearfall. Rourke hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 9:00, then a split-legged moonsault for a believable nearfall. He missed a top-rope moonsault. She hit a second-rope Clout Cutter. She leapt off the ropes but he cut her in half with a spear! Ouch! She hit a DDT! She hit a piledriver in the ropes at 11:00, then the top-rope 450 Splash for the pin. Despite my objections to intergender action, that was great. She just comes across as TV ready, as we’ve seen her now on MLW.
* B3cca got on the mic and declared she is winning the tournament. She put Rourke over.
4. Alec Price defeated Kevin Blackwood in a first-round tournament match at 13:35. Intense lockup and good reversals early. Blackwood hit a shoulder tackle. Price went for his step-up mule kick but Blackwood avoided it and he bailed to the floor at 2:30 to regroup. Back in the ring, Price hit a second-rope crossbody block. Blackwood hit a German Suplex and a basement dropkick, and he applied a mid-ring Octopus. Blackwood hit a high back suplex for a nearfall at 6:30. Blackwood hit some stiff Yes Kicks to the chest. Price hit an enzuigiri and a doublestomp to the chest. Price hit his series of kneestrikes in the corner.
Price nailed a springboard DDT for a nearfall at 8:30, then his dive over the top rope onto Kevin. Blackwood hit a DDT out of the ropes, a spinning back fist, and a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. They traded kicks. Price nailed a second-rope diving back elbow; he went for the mule kick but Blackwood caught him and hit a Buckle Bomb. Blackwood nailed a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall; the commentator speculated Blackwood didn’t get all of the move. They traded more forearm shots at 12:30. They avoided each other’s big moves, and Price hit a half-nelson suplex, then a second-rope flying legdrop. Price then nailed the Surprise Kick/step-up mule kick to the head for the clean pin. That was fantastic.
5. Rip Byson defeated Beef to win the Limitless Wrestling Title at 19:19. Byson has a thick black beard and has a passing resemblance to Brodie Lee, but much shorter. The commentators said he’s leaving for a Japan tour soon. Beef is a wide body with a big tattoo on his chest, and I always compare him to MLW’s Ricky Shane Page. An intense lockup to open and they brawled to the floor. Back in the ring, they traded more forearm shots. They went back to the floor at 5:30 and brawled in front of the crowd. Beef hit a bodyslam on the floor! Ouch!
In the ring, Rip hit a series of Stinger Splashes and big boot for a nearfall at 13:00. Rip hit a chokeslam for a nearfall. Beef hit a back suplex at 17:00; a second back suplex got a believable nearfall. Rip hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall, then a short-arm clothesline for the pin! New champion! Good brawl; I didn’t write a lot as it was a lot of standard chops, punches and forearms, in and out of the ring, but it was entertaining and the crowd was into it.
* They wen to an intermission at 8:10 CST; I’m watching live. We went to a pandemic-era 2020 match of JD Drake vs. Alec Price vs. Dnaiel Garcia vs. Christian Casanova (Carmelo Hayes!!!). There are literally 20 people scattered at least six feet apart in the crowd, all wearing masks. The ref also wore a mask. This era already feels like a million years ago. Price has no facial hair and looks like a baby! This is an elimination match, as Drake was out first and Price was eliminated second, leaving Casanova vs. Garcia. Casanova hit a top-rope flying legdrop to win the title at 15:37. A really good match and while I knew Carmelo Hayes was an indy wrestler before being signed to NXT, this was the first time I’d seen one of his matches as Casanova. It sure would be hard to watch matches from this era with so few fans, though. We return to live wrestling at 8:36!
6. “The Mane Event” Jay Lyon and Midas Black defeated “Fresh Air” Martin Macrae and Junior Benito at 12:01. Okay I’m watching too much wrestling this week while my boys are gone, because this is the third time I’ve seen each team wrestle this WEEK. Fresh Air are Canadians who come to the ring in their blue track suits to “Jump Around!” Lyon and Macrae started, with Macrae hitting a sidewalk slam. Lyon hit a rolling cannoball on both, then a moonsault by leaping off Midas’ back at 3:00. Lyon dove through the ropes onto their opponents. Black hit a shotgun dropkick on Macrae and TME worked Martin over. Macrae hit an impressive modified Black Hole Slam at 7:00 on Midas. Benito made the hot tag and he hit a tornado DDT. Macrae hit a spin kick to Lyon’s face. Black hit an enzuigiri on Bentio. Macrae hit a Canadian Destroyer at 10:30. Black and Lyon hit their team X-Factor faceplant to score the pin. Good match.
* “MSP” Danger Kid and Aiden Aggro hit the ring! I personally haven’t seen them wrestle in months. They fist-bumped and the crowd chanted “Tag team wrestling!” TME and FA left. Aggro and DK talked on the mic. They called out “Above the Rest” (Tristan Thai & Gabriel Skye.) They challenged AtR to a match at the next show. Alyssa Marino joined commentary.
7. Ultra Violette defeated Damaris Dawkins at 7:56. I’ve seen Damaris just once before; she is a Black woman with long braided hair. UV carried her House of Glory Women’s Title. Dawkins hit some armdrags. Violette hit a snap suplex at 3:30. They traded rollups, and Violette hit a basement dropkick as Dawkins was in the ropes, and she was acting arrogant and heelish. She tied up the left arm. Dawkins hit a suplex. Ultra Violette tied Dawkins in knot on the mat, and Dawkins tapped out. Okay.
8. Channing Thomas (w/Sidney Bakabella) defeated Alec Price, B3cca and Dezmond Cole in a four-way elimination match to win the Vacationland Cup at 11:41. All four brawled at the bell, with Cole and Price pairing off, and they brawled to the floor. In the ring, B3cca hit a huracanrana. Price hit a second-rope crossbody block on B3cca. Channing sat down in the front row, with Sidney checking on him. B3cca hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall on Channing at 3:30. Channing hit a spear on her, sending B3cca to the floor. Cole hit a back suplex. Price hit a half-nelson suplex. Price hit his series of kneestrikes in the corner on Cole. Channing hit a hard back elbow on B3cca.
B3cca hit a doublestomp on Channing for a nearfall. He hit a hard clothesline on her at 6:30. The signal briefly was lost, less than 10 seconds. The men did a tower spot with Cole on top. B3cca hit a 450 Splash, but Channing grabbed her, hit a piledriver, and pinned B3cca 8:39. The match continued without a break. Price hit a springboard spin kick on Dezmond. Cole hit a second-rope superplex on Price, then he hit a flip dive to the floor on Channing. In the ring, Dezmond missed a Swanton Bomb at 10:30. Cole avoided Alec’s Surprise Kick, and he got a rollup on Price for the pin at 10:48! I am shocked, as I thought Price was winning this. Price (even though he had been pinned) nailed the Surprise Kick on Cole! The crowd loudly booed Price for hitting Cole. Channing climbed on Dezmond Cole and pinned him! That was a shocking turn of events.
* Sidney Bakabella got on the mic. He said that by winning the cup, Channing has earned a title shot… and he wants it right now! He taunted Rip Byson, who ran to the ring. We have an impromptu bonus main event!
9. Channing Thomas defeated Rip Byson to win the Limitless Title at 2:59. Byson hit a series of clotheslines in the corner. Channing hit a piledriver at 1:00 but Rip kicked out! The commentators stressed that no one has ever kicked out of the piledriver. Byson hit a Burning Hammer, but Bakabella hopped on the ring apron to distract the referee. Rip yanked Sidney into the ring, ripped off Sidney’s shirt, and hit a series of chops. However, Channing hit a Tiger Driver on Rip for the pin! New champion!
Final Thoughts: A really entertaining show. I’ll go with Price-Blackwood for best match, the four-way for second, and Cole-Dunn for third. Channing exudes a great heel persona; he’s someone you definitely want to boo. The crowd was hot and most of the matches worked for me. The women’s match was a step below average but not terrible. Meanwhile, B3cca continues to have amazing matches and she’s really come into her own.
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