By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Dreamwave Pro Wrestling “Follow Your Hart”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
October 14, 2023 in La Salle, Illinois at the KOC Hall
As the name of the show implies, the special guests tonight are none other than Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Madusa. Once again, this tiny room is packed with maybe 250 fans. Gage Bright and Kyle provided commentary. Lights are on so no issues with lighting.
* The commentators told us that 12-Gauge (one-half of the tag champions) is injured, so we are having a four-way to crown interim tag champions.
1. “Wasted Youth” Marcus Mathers and Dyln McKay defeated “Seduce and Destroy” Bucky Collins and Aaron Xavier and “ZZE LLC” Victor Iniestra and J Fowler and “Country Air” Zack Hendrix and Doc Simmons in a four-way elimination match for the interim Dreamwave Tag Team Titles at 10:33. WY and CA worked together as the babyface teams, while the heel teams actually have the same manager. SandD worked over Mathers extensively early on. Mathers finally hit a swinging neckbreaker at 5:00, but he couldn’t tag out. We had quick pinfalls at 6:09 and 6:18 respectively, leaving us with just Wasted Youth vs. ZZE LLC. (The two pins happened too quickly for me!)
Fowler hit a Canadian Destroyer. Seduce and Destroy returned to the ring! One commentator pointed out that they have the same manager, but SandD accidentally hit the ZZE LLC! McKay hit his Shooting Star Press, then a dive to the floor. Mathers hit his 450 Splash for the pin. Wasted Youth have regained the tag titles! Solid opener and the right team won.
* Bret Hart was introduced. He came to the ring in blue jeans and a long sweater; he couldn’t look less dressed up for this if he tried. He thanked the fans for supporting Dreamwave Wrestling. He said it was a big honor to be back in Illinois. He mentioned the infamous match against Steve Austin being fought in Chicago. He jokingly said he hopes people have forgiven him about “all the nasty things I’ve said about Americans,” which drew laughter. A nice short speech with no storyline built into it. He took his time walking around ringside, shaking hands with everyone in the front row. So cool.
2. Vic Capri (w/Shelly Benson) defeated Warhorse at 7:27. Capri is the two-decade pro; I always compare him to Davey Richards for their short, wide, muscular bodies. I wouldn’t have been surprised if this had been the main event, either. They traded shoulder tackles with neither man going down. They did a bit of a pose-off, with Shelly doing some sexy dancing, too. They both banged their heads across the top turnbuckle to show how ‘tough’ they are. Warhorse hit a baseball slide dropkick to the floor at 4:30, then he slammed Capri back-first on the apron. Warhorse put his feet on the ropes for leverage on a pin attempt but the ref saw it. Capri hit a T-Bone Suplex for a nearfall. Capri went for a Sliced Bread but Warhorse escaped and WH hit a hard clothesline. Warhorse hit a top-rope elbowdrop for a nearfall at 6:30. He went off the top rope again, but Capri got a foot up to block it. Capri hit a Sliced Bread out of the corner for the pin. Good match but much shorter than I anticipated.
* Val Capone came out and did special ring introductions for the women’s match, and she joined commentary for just this next match
3. Maggie Lee defeated Ivy Malibu, Shazza McKenzie and Heather Reckless in a four-way at 7:43. Maggie has long curly blondish-orange hair and of average size; I saw her compete here in a six-way women’s match in August. Ivy Malibu is new to me; her blonde hair goes all the way to her rear (think Liv Morgan in looks) and she wore bright pink and she’s clearly quite athletic, doing the splits as she got in the ring. Heather is about 4’10” and has wrestled several times on AEW TV. Shazza and Maggie are the heels. Shazza hit a suplex for a nearfall. Val noted that newcomer Ivy is only 5’0″, which checks out seeing her next to Heather. Val said Ivy just started wrestling in July!
Maggie hit a snap suplex on Ivy at 3:30, then a standing powerbomb. They did a tower spot out of the corner and everyone was down. Reckless hit some running boots in the corner on each opponent. Reckless hit a Spanish Fly on Lee for a nearfall at 6:30. Shazza hit a back suplex. Ivy hit a swinging powerbomb. Maggie hit a top-rope moonsault (nearly overshooting) on Ivy for the pin. Decent little match. Lee is a heat magnet. Ivy is so athletic it really hides how green she is.
* Jordan Kross hit the ring. He has Mike Bailey’s mullet but he’s young and really scrawny. He seems to keep winning his matches in Warrior Wrestling but hasn’t done much to impress me. Jordan made an open challenge. Hunter Holdcraft came out, dressed in his college/amateur wrestling singlet. Hunter’s partner, 12 Gauge, is injured, as noted in the first match where new (interim) tag champs were chosen.
4. Hunter Holdcraft defeated Jordan Kross at 3:51. Mat wrestling to open. Hunter reminds me of a young Chas Betts (Chad Gable) when I would see him wrestle in the MN indies as a teen. Jordan hit a chop and celebrated and did some jumping jacks. He dove off the apron to the floor but Hunter caught him, walked up the ring steps and got back into the ring, then hit a running powerslam for a nearfall at 2:30. “This is the most emasculating thing I’ve ever seen,” a commentator said. Hunter hit some German Suplexes. Hunter applied a Dragon Sleeper, and Jordan tapped out. That went exactly the way it should have; Jordan is just too scrawny, and I prefer him here as a heel, rather than the clueless babyface who inexplicably wins in Warrior Wrestling. Absolutely nothing wrong with having a short squash match.
5. Hartenbower defeated “Those Damn Coyotes” Brooks Berna and Damien Deschain in a handicap blindfold match at 4:04. I always compare Hartenbower to Joshua Alexander in looks. Hartenbower wore a black hood/blindfold but the heels did not. They attacked him with a steel chair and the commentators were livid, calling this a “mugging.” The heels hit a high-and-low shoulder tackle and chop block for a nearfall at 3:00. Hartenbower suddenly hit a double spear and pinned them both. Meh. The crowd liked it.
6. Stephen Wolf defeated Connor Hopkins, Davey Vega, Richard Holliday, and Mike Bennett in a five-way at 10:27. I just watched Wolf beat Bryan Keith to win the New Texas Pro title, ending Keith’s 600+ day reign; he was a heel there but he’s a high-flying babyface here. Hopkins got on the mic and called himself the future of Dreamwave, so Bennett grabbed him and hit a piledriver to start the match! Wolf hit a dropkick. Holliday put Wolf in a Torture Rack at 2:00 and spun him repeatedly, striking Hopkins. Bennett hit a superkick on Holliday. Heels Hopkins and Vega began working together as they beat down on Bennett. Wolf hit a top-rope crossbody block at 4:30.
Wolf went for a dive to the floor but Hopkins hit a kneestrike to cut him off. Hopkins flipped Wolf off the ring apron onto the other three on the floor. Wolf hit a flip dive over the ropes onto everyone at 6:30, drawing a huge pop. In the ring, Holliday hit a twisting suplex off the top rope on Wolf for a nearfall. Bennett hit a spear on Vega, then a Death Valley Driver for a believablle nearfall at 9:00. Hopkins hit a running knee to the back of Bennett’s head. Bennett hit a German Suplex on Hopkins. Hopkins hit a rebound lariat and a T-Bone Suplex on Bennett. Wolf hit a flipping slam on Hopkins, then he dove onto the floor. Wolf then nailed a top-rope frogsplash to pin Hopkins. That was fun and Wolf really stood out here.
7. Christian Rose defeated Jason Hades to retain the Dreamwave Title at 16:48. Rose has the blond mullet and he’s Dolph Zigller-meets-Zicky Dice. Hades is much, much shorter and with his sunglasses on and his whole presentation, he’s like a mini-LA Knight. They traded some standing reversals, but then Hades launched a series of chops. Rose snapped the fingers, Pete Dunne-style. They brawled on the floor and toward the back. Rose nailed a powerbomb onto the edge of the ring at 4:30. OUCH! In the ring, Rose was in complete control.
Hades hit a basement dropkick on the knee at 8:30, then a Code Red for a nearfall. Hades accidentally hit the ref! Rose hit a powerslam on Hades. Immediately, Those Damn Coyotes came to the ring and began stomping on Hades, and the crowd was livid. Marsche Rockett hit the ring and beat up TDC! He caught one of them coming off the ropes and hit a stunner. He picked up Berna, put him on his shoulders, and left. Hades and Rose were back in the ring. Hades hit a lungblower move for a nearfall at 11:30.
Rose hit a Muscle Buster for a believable nearfall. Hades applied a Sharpshooter but Rose reached the ropes. Rose hit a modified Go To Sleep kneestrike for a believable nearfall at 14:00. Hades got a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall. Hades hit a top-rope Lungblower for a nearfall. Rose hit a second modified Go To Sleep move for the pin. Good match; I never thought Hades was winning but he showed some good offense.
* Hartenbower climbed in the ring and stood across from Rose. They both picked up the belt, as if ready for a tug-of-war, but Hartenbower let go, and Rose scampered to the back with the belt. Hartenbower got on the mic and said he’s been here 12 years and has never had a one-on-one match for the title. “I’m done with the little coyotes. I’m ready for the big one,” he said.
8. Colt Cabana defeated Arik Cannon at 8:30. These two have shared the ring numerous times over the past two decades. Cabana was an unannounced surprise and his music popped the crowd. Arik attacked from behind to start the match. They brawled on the floor. In the ring, Cabana twisted the left arm and stomped on the wrist. Cabana hit a series of punches in the corner and Arik collapsed. Arik raked the eyes and hit a basement dropkick to the back for a nearfall at 4:30. They brawled back to the floor but they blocked each other’s suplex attempts. Back in the ring, Cannon hit a back suplex and he tied up the legs into an Indian Deathlock at 6:30. Cabana hit some Dusty Elbows to the head, and he made the Superman Cover for the pin out of nowhere. Solid match with great crowd reaction.
* Madusa came to the ring and held up the brand new women’s title. The winner will be the inaugural champion. She then jokingly asked, “Did y’all hide the trash cans?”, which drew some laughs. (If you don’t know the reference… Google it.) Val Capone again joined commentary.
9. Brittnie Brooks defeated Zayda Steel to become the inaugural Dreamwave Women’s Champion at 11:37. These two blondes are almost identical in size. Zayda wore metallic red and black and she’s the heel, while Brittnie wore Lakers purple-and-yellow. Brittnie hit a Thesz Press at the bell and some punches to the face. Brittnie hit some deep armdrags, sending Zayda to the floor. Brittnie set up for a dive but Zayda cut her off. On the floor, Zayda whipped Brittnie into the guardrail. In the ring, Zayda hit a kneestrike to the forehead at 3:00 and a series of punches, and she was in control, hitting a tornado DDT at 5:00.
Zayda went for a senton but overshot. Brittnie fired up and hit a clothesline for a nearfall. Brittnie hit a dive through the ropes. In the ring, she hit a Northern LIghts Suplex for a nearfall at 7:30, but Zayda got a foot on the ropes. They fell off the ring apron and both crashed through the time keeper’s table at ringside and both were down. They both got back into the ring before being counted out at 10:00. They stood forehead-to-forehead and traded forearms and both were down. Brittnie hit a Lungblower to the chest, then an inverted DDT for the pin! We have our first champion!
Final Thoughts: A solid show. Nothing spectacular, must-see, but an entertaining event. The appearance of Madusa before the inaugural women’s title match felt meaningful. I love Bret Hart and it’s always great to see him, but it didn’t really add much to the show, either. The women did a good job of putting together that main event, and I’ll give that best match of the night. The five-way was strong for second place, with Warhorse-Capri earning third. Hades-Rose earns honorable mention.
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