By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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New Texas Pro Wrestling “Five Year Anniversary Show”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
October 8, 2023 in Pasadena, Texas at Campbell Hall
This show was released on IWTV a few days after it took place. I admittedly watched this for two matches. The ring announcer said this is at a convention center, but it looks like a large pole barn. Steven Stellar provided commentary. The crowd is perhaps 150.
1. Stephen Wolf defeated Erik Lockhart and Max Heights in a ladder match at 10:43. A contract in a black bag hung from the ceiling. Stephen has dark hair with blond on top. Heights wore sunglasses and immediately gave me heelish Ethan Page vibes. Lockhart has long stringy hair and a good physique, and he’s the lone babyface of the three. I’ll put all three guys at about 5’10” and 180-190 pounds. They quickly brawled to the floor and fought over getting a ladder, and Max hit a flip dive to the floor at 2:00. Wolf hit an Asai moonsault. In the ring, the heels took turns working over Lockhart.
Lockhart tried to climb the ladder but was pushed off at 8:00. A heel manager hopped up and put handcuffs on Lockhart’s left ankle and connected him to the ladder!!! The heel manager helped push Max up the ladder, but Wolf made the save. Lockhart somehow hopped and moved the ladder over while still connected to it, but he couldn’t quite reach up to the contract. Wolf climbed the ladder on the opposite side and pulled down the contract right in Lockhart’s face. This was a really creative finish.
2. “The 8th Day” Father Oday and Brother Tracy defeated JJ Blake and Terrale Tempo to win the New Texas Pro Tag Team Titles at 12:07. I admittedly am not a fan of the use of Christian zealots as heels. Blake is a Black cowboy in a white shirt and blue jeans and reminds me of country singer Neal McCoy (Google it! I’m not wrong!). Tempo also is Black with a thick beard. The babyfaces beat up the thin, curly-haired Oday early on. Brother Tracy entered at 3:00 and he wears black with a Stone Cold black vest. The heels began working over Tempo in their corner. Blake finally made the hot tag at 9:30 and he beat up the heels. He nailed a dive over the top rope onto all three. The 8th Day hit a team stunner move on Tempo for the pin! New champions!
* The heels left with their tag titles. Tempo picked up Blake and hit a swinging Flatliner on his partner! He left him lying in the ring. That’s quite a turn of events.
3. Izzy James defeated Barrett Brown at 12:00. Izzy reminds me of Enzo Amore. Barrett, with his long curly brown hair, looks like Joey Janela. They traded rollups early on. Izzy is much taller. They fought to the floor at 5:00. In the ring, Brown hit a clothesline for a nearfall. Izzy hit a springboard back elbow for a nearfall at 7:30. Izzy hit a double-underhook flipping powerbomb for a nearfall at 9:00. They hit simultaneous Mafia Kicks and were both down. They got up and hit simultaneous clotheslines. Barrett hit a superkick; Izzy hit a discus clothesline. They wrestled on the mat when Izzy flipped his body and weight over on Barrett’s head and shoulders and got the fluke win! Okay match.
4. Danni Bee (w/Charity) defeated Raychell Rose to retain the New Texas Pro Women’s Title at 10:28. Raychell wore a tiara and I always compare her to Britt Baker in heel style and mannerisms. Danni is much shorter and she dove through the ropes onto Rose early on. Rose took control in the ring. She hit some kneelifts to the jaw as Bee was tied in the ropes and scored a nearfall at 4:30. Bee came back with a running buttbump in the corner for a nearfall. They traded forearms. Rose hit a swinging backbreaker over her knee at 8:00, then an Angels Wings faceplant (almost a Pedigree) for a believable nearfall. Charity hopped on the ring apron, but Racyhell collided with Charity! Bee hit a German Suplex and a running knee to the side of the head for a believable nearfall.
Charity got in the ring. The ref got bumped. Charity knocked down Raychell; she handed Bee the title belt and she encouraged Bee to hit Rose with it! Bee looked conflicted, unsure of what to do… but then she hit Raychell with the belt and scored the cheap pin to retain her title. Charity and Bee jumped on Rose and beat her down some more. The commentators were shocked that Bee just did that.
* An injured Mysterious Q hobbled to the ring. He’s big and muscular and wears a mask; think Preston Vance while he was masked. He told the fans that he got injured in his last match against Kody Lane. He had an MRI and he tore his MCL and lateral meniscus, and will be having surgery, and will be out six to eight months. He actually lifted his mask to keep talking. He said he was ready for a match against Lee Moriarty and to take the next step forward… but he is now injured, and this match will have to wait for another day. “This injury won’t ruin me,” he vowed. “I will be back.” He came off very likable.
5. Lee Moriarty defeated Kevin Blackwood at 12:18. This has a big fight feel as they opened with intense reversals. Blackwood hit a series of forearm shots. Lee snapped Blackwood’s left arm and began to kick at it and work it over. He snapped Blackwood’s fingers at 4:30, Pete Dunne-style. Blackwood hit a German Suplex and a dropkick into the corner for a nearfall at 6:30. Lee hit a Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall. Blackwood hit a Heluva Kick, but he missed a top-rope doublestomp at 8:30. Kevin hit a spinning back fist, then a Cameron Grimes-style Cave-in stomp to the chest, and they were both down.
Moriarty hit a series of forearm strikes. Blackwood hit a Snow Plow driver for a nearfall, then he hit the top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 10:30. He hit a series of Yes Kicks as they fought on the ring apron, but it just fired Lee up. Lee hit a Flatliner for a believable nearfall, and he applied a Motor City Stretch, then he switched to a cross-armbreaker, and Kevin tapped out. A really good match and I wished they had gone even longer.
6. The Void won the Texas Contenders Series Battle Royal at 7:58. There appears to be 12-15 men in the ring and I don’t know most of them. I recognize Oli Summers; he was on the last show I watched from Texas. Clearly many of these guys are quite green. Kenny Calypso, a Black man, and the masked Void are the final two. They hugged, and Kenny Calypso purposely eliminated himself!! Void removed his mask and It is “Just Nick.” He is a bald Black man. By winning that battle royal, he gets a title shot, right now!
7. Just Nick defeated Shawn Hendrix to win the Texas Contender Series Title at 4:04. Nick dominated early on. Hendrix is cocky and dressed like a Young Buck with that sort of heelish demeanor. Shawn missed a moonsault. Nick hit an Adam Page-style Buckshot Lariat. He hit a second one for the pin. New champion! Just so-so overall.
8. Rudy Garza (w/Dan Miller) defeated Lil Evil to win the New Texas Lonestar Title at 13:29. Garza has a bit of heel smarminess, like heelish Angel Garza or Santos Escobar. Lil Evil is short and bald; I saw him on the last show I reviewed from Texas. Garza hit a bodyslam onto the thin mat on the floor at ringside at 3:00 and he grounded Evil on the mat in the ring. He applied a Camel Clutch at 6:30. Evil hit a suplex and they were both down. Evil hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 8:30.
Dan Miller tripped Evil; the ref saw it and ejected him. Garza hit a low blow with the ref distracted and hie hit some rolling suplexes for a nearfall. He applied a sleeper on the mat but Evil reached the ropes at 10:30. Evil hit a spear for a visual pin but the ref got bumped in the process. Dan Miller immediately returned to ringside, but Evil dove through the ropes onto him. A massive seven-footer Black man hopped in the ring and hit a big boot to Evil’s chest, then a huge chokeslam. He dragged a lifeless Garza onto Evil, allowing Garza to win the title. Okay.
9. Warren J defeated Zack Zilla in a tournament finale at 16:18. The winner gets a title shot. These two are teammates in Fly Def, and they remind me of a young Harlem Heat. “You got to believe there is no bad blood here,” one commentator said. Warren is a little bit smaller and he wore red pants, while the larger Zack wore red trunks. Friendly mat reversals for several minutes to open. They rolled to the floor at 6:30 where Zack hit some chops. In the ring, he backed Warren into the corner, hesitated, but then hit some punches to the head. Warren nailed a dive through the ropes, and they both crashed to the floor. Zack slammed Warren onto the ring apron at 8:30.
In the ring, Zilla was in charge and the commentators speculated on if these two will be able to keep tagging in the future after this one, or “if this is the beginning of the end of Fly Def.” Warren hit a dropkick to the face at 12:00. The crowd is watching quietly; this is good stuff but the crowd hasn’t gotten behind either of them. Warren hit a springboard DDT. Zack nailed a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 14:00. Warren hit a top-rope crossbody block, but Zack caught him and hit a suplex, then a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall, and the crowd came alive with a “this is awesome!” chant. Warren leapt off the ropes but Zack caught him with a clothesline at 16:00. Warren got a rollup out of nowhere for the pin! Good action and it stayed friendly. They shook hands afterward.
* By winning the match, Warren J gets a title shot against the winner of the main event.
10. Bryan Keith defeated Timothy Thatcher to retain the New Texas Pro Title at 16:13. Keith is the popular champion here but he is fairly short, and Thatcher towers over him. This Texas crowd is very pro-Keith. An intense lockup to open. Thatcher went for a half-crab but Keith immediately got to the ropes at 2:30. Keith hit a penalty kick to the chest and Thatcher rolled to the floor to regroup. They brawled on the floor. Keith suplexed Thatcher onto the concrete floor at 6:00. In the ring, Thatcher hit is own suplex for a nearfall. He hit some kneestrikes to the spine, then a European Uppercut to the back of the head at 9:30 and was booed.
Thatcher choked Keith in the ropes and was in charge. He tied up Keith on the mat. Keith hit an Exploder Suplex at 11:30. Thatcher applied a front headlock and slowed Keith down. He applied a Fujiwara Armbar at 15:30. Keith hit a kneestrike to the jaw, and a standing powerbomb for the pin! Good match. Keith’s two-plus year title reign continues!
* Stephen Wolf came out of the back with the contract he just won at the start of the show. He is cashing in RIGHT NOW!
11. Stephen Wolf defeated Bryan Keith to win the New Texas Pro Title at 00:20. He hit a back elbow for a nearfall, then a frogsplash for the pin. The announcers were shocked by this unexpected development
Final Thoughts: A good show and I’m glad I tuned in. I’ll go with Blackwood-Moriarty for best match, ahead of Keith-Thatcher, with the Fly Def battle for third place. That opening three-way was really good, and certainly nobody expected the show to end with Wolf winning the title.
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