By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Glory Pro Wrestling “Ascend” episode four
Premiered September 28, 2023 via YouTube.com
Taped July 30 in St. Louis, Missouri at Casa Loma Ballroom
Reed Duffy provided solo commentary. I’ve noted this before, but the lights are low over the crowd and lighting in the ring is so-so.
* The show opened with footage from the June 24 show, when Mason St. Goods turned on Chris Hendrix and hit a clothesline on his tag team partner.
1. Mike Outlaw, Rahim de la Suede, and Mason St. Goods defeated Chris Hendrix and “Philly & Marino Experience” Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia at 10:44. PME are the tag champs, but the titles aren’t on the line in a six-man tag. Outlaw’s team are all thin, muscular Black men. Hendrix hit a dropkick on Rahim. Collins (think Joe Gacy) entered at 1:30 and hit some punches. The heels began working over Tenaglia in their corner. Hendrix finally made the hot tag at 7:30 and he cleared the ring. He hit a nice springboard crossbody block, then a Meteora on St. Goods.
The ref separated them and got shoved; Duffy wondered if we were going to get a DQ. Everyone was in the ring as the ref had lost control. Collins hit a decapitating clothesline at 10:00 and was fired up. PME hit their team X-Factor faceplant move, and they tagged in Hendrix. However, Hendrix missed a 450 Splash. Outlaw got a rollup on Tenaglia, grabbed the trunks for leverage, and scored the cheap pin. Good action; I don’t mind the tag champs losing in a non-title match as they were clearly cheated, and it sets up for a future title match.
* Footage aired from Episode 3 of the feud between Jake Something and Warhorse.
2. ATM defeated Jabari King at 3:25. This is my first time seeing King; he’s a BIG Black man (think Keith Lee!). ATM is a smaller Black man; think Kofi Kingston. King hit a running crossbody block, then a big overhead release belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall, then a T-Bone suplex for a nearfall at 2:00. King charged but ATM moved, and King crashed shoulder-first into the corner. ATM hit a second-rope doublestomp on the back, then a superkick to the jaw for the pin. Sure, I expected the established ATM to win, but King sure looked good here.
* “Big Strong Boy” Ethan Price was lifting weights in a gym. His partner, Moses the Deliverer, walked up and said he hasn’t been able to reach him, and he wondered what was wrong. Price said he hasn’t had a pinfall in a long time, and he was upset at Moses for ‘stealing the pin’ for their team. They wound up agreeing to having a one-on-one match!
3. Kenny Alfonso defeated Rohit Raju at 12:47. Raju is a 15-year veteran now. Raju is thin and appears young, think NXT’s Malik Blade and Edris Enofe. Mat wrestling to open, and the crowd was behind Kenny. Kenny hit a dropkick at 2:00, then a second-rope missile dropkick. Raju slammed Kenny face-first and began stomping on him. Raju hit a snap suplex at 4:30 and grounded Alfonso. He hit a running penalty kick and an elbow drop for a nearfall, then he applied a Muta Lock. Alfonso hit some punches and was fired up. Alfonso went for a handspring-back-move but Raju caught him with a dropkick to the stomach and scored a nearfall at 6:30.
Raju hit some Yes Kicks to the chest but it just made Alfonso angry. He got up and they traded kicks. Kenny hit a handspring-back-stunner for a nearfall at 8:30, and he applied an STF submission, but Rohit reached the ropes. Raju nailed a leaping neckbreaker for a believable nearfall. Raju put Kenny’s feet on the ropes and he hit a swinging neckbreaker at 11:00. Raju hit a leaping Flatliner for a believable nearfall, and he looked incredulous he didn’t win there. They began trading forearm shots. Alfonso avoided a running penalty kick, and he rolled up Raju for the clean pin! That was a really good match.
* Kenny extended his hand, but Raju walked away without shaking it.
Final Thoughts: So, with four episodes in the book (12 total matches), the entire show from July has now aired. Glory Pro Wrestling held a show last Sunday afternoon, so I presume some of those matches will be used for next week’s episodes. Reed acknowledged that the next show will be in a different venue. While I would like to see better lighting, there is a lot to like about Glory Pro. More than any other promotion I check in on, GPW has more ‘big men’ who are 6’1″ or taller, 240 pounds or greater, with the prevalent WWE main-event style. That’s not meant as a criticism, just an acknowledgement that they have fewer tiny ‘flippy wrestlers’ than many other promotions. Again, this show is free on YouTube. The main event is worth checking out, and I really liked what I saw in my first time seeing Jabari King.
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