By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Defy Wrestling “Primolucha”
Replay available via Wremix.tv
October 13, 2023 from Yakima, Washington at Yakima Valley SunDome
Rich Bocchini and Josef Samael provided commentary. The ring is lit fairly well while the fans are in the shadows so it’s hard to estimate crowd size.
1. Guillermo Rosas, Super Crazy, and Juventud Guerrera defeated Miles DeVille (w/Tara Zep) and “Midnight Heat” Eddie Pearl and Ricky Gibson at 11:26. Juvy and Gibson started with the commentators talking about what a legend Juvy is, as he tied Pearl up on the mat. Juvy hit a spin kick to the side of Gibson’s head at 4:00. Super Crazy tagged in and tied up Gibson, and almost immediately tagged out to Rosas. The heels began working over Super Crazy in their corner. Deville reminds me of a very young CM Punk, or a young Matt Taven, with his stringy hair reaching his shoulders.
Juventud tagged back in at 8:30 and hit some DDTs and was fired up. Rosas tagged in and hit a series of shoulder tackles, then a German Suplex on each of MH, then a bulldog and clothesline combo. Zep hopped on the ring apron to distract Rosas, but Deville accidentally superkicked Zep! Rosas immediately hit a brainbuster on Deville for the pin. Basic but entertaining.
* A short clip aired of Vert Vixen talking about getting into wrestling by first watching “Total Divas,” and getting hooked.
* Ricky Gibson joined commentary; Bochhini pointed out that he’s likely there to scout the Bollywood Boyz, who are the Defy Tag Team champions. One of the BB got on the mic and said “we came to dance and we came to fight.
2. Schaff won a nine-man BMF battle royal at 13:43. While they called it a battle royal, this is a WWE-style Royal Rumble. The “Bollywood Boyz” Harv and Gurv Sihra came to the ring together and fought two new guys, Coco and Shoog., so we started with four in the ring, not two. (The new guys’ names weren’t shown so I likely spelled them wrong.) Artemis Spencer is #5 at 2:00; Bocchini said he’s been out with an injury. Thiccy Ricky is #6 and his boots have tassels. Gibson said he would love to see Harv and Gurv fight each other. Sebastian Wolfe is #7 at 5:30 and he hit some spears. Curry Man is #8, but the heels immediately beat him up. No one has been eliminated yet. Schaff entered at #9 at 9:30 and the big man immediately clotheslined someone to the floor. He did a gorilla press to toss Thiccy Ricky, too.
Bocchini said that Gabe Kidd stole Schaff’s belt at the UK show in late August. Curry Man got tossed and the crowd booed. Two others got tossed, and just like that, it’s just four left: Schaff, Spencer and both BBoyz at 11:30. Harv was tossed, then Gurv, so it’s just Artemis vs. Schaff. Gibson pointed out how the crowd was really split. They traded punches and chops. Schaff dropped Spencer throat-first across the top rope, and Spencer fell to the floor for the final elimination.
* A video package aired of a lucha match that occurred earlier in the night. The action looked decent and not sure why it wasn’t included in this show. (This show is clocking in at 2:35 so it’s not like adding one more match would have made this super-long.)
* Backstage, Schaff cut a swear-filled promo, demanding that Gabe Kidd come to Defy Wrestling and fight him. He said he’ll see him October 27. Also on the Oct. 27 show will be Mike Bailey vs. Judas Icarus, Sanada vs. Cody Chhun, Viva Van vs. Nicole Matthews, Bollywood Boyz vs. Illa Tribe, and Artemis Spencer vs. Nick Wayne. (That show will be the night before the NJPW show in Las Vegas, so Sanada and Kidd will be in the U.S. for that show.)
3. Vert Vixen defeated Nicole Matthews, Karisma and Liiza Hall in a four-way to retain the Defy Women’s Title at 10:43. I haven’t seen Karisma, and Bocchini said this is her Defy debut on Wremix; she wore soft pink-and-blue and she’s maybe a bit shorter than average and definitely smaller than Matthews. Matthews attacked Vixen before the bell. Hall hit a dive to the floor on two. Karisma immediately hit a top-rope dive onto all three opponents, earning a “holy shit!” chant at 1:00. They got back into the ring and had some creative tie-ups. Matthews bent Karisma backward over her knee and tied up her smaller opponent. She hit some spin kicks to the chest at 4:00 as Karisma was tied in the ropes.
Meanwhile, Hall put Vert in a Boston Crab. Nicole put Karisma in an ankle lock and she glared at Hall. Matthews powerbombed Hall and Vixen out of the corner for a nearfall at 6:30. Karisma hit a swinging Flatliner on Matthews. Hall hit a TKO stunner on Vert. Matthews hit a short-arm clothesline on Karisma. Vert’s top, at her neckline, came loose and she rolled to the floor, presumably to re-attach it. (This happened to her at the Revolver show a week ago! Get new gear!) In the ring, Hall hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall.
Matthews missed a moonsault and crashed stomach-first, and Hall immediately hit a Shining Wizard on Matthews. Karisma hit a moonsault on Matthews for a nearfall but the others broke up the pin. Vert and Hall stood toe-to-toe and argued, then they beat up Karisma. Matthews hit a twisting neckbreaker. Vert hit a brainbuster on Matthews. Vert nailed a Chaos Theory rolling German Suplex on Hall for the pin. A very good women’s match.
* Matthews spoke backstage, saying she is being disrespected by not getting a one-on-one match against Vert. She noted that she wasn’t pinned in the four-way. She then discussed her upcoming match against Viva Van, saying Viva isn’t coming into her home and winning.
4. Masato Tanaka defeated Bryan Keith at 10:30. Both of these two competed at West Coast Pro in San Francisco the next night. A nice ovation for ECW legend Tanaka. They shook hands at the bell and traded good mat reversals. Keith nailed a Mafia Kick at 3:30. They got up and traded chops, and Keith hit a hard headbutt. Tanaka nailed a tornado DDT at 6:00. Keith hit a leaping headbutt to Tanaka’s jaw, then his Diamond Dust flipping stunner, then a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Tanaka hit his own Diamond Dust flipping stunner at 7:30.
Tanaka hit a top-rope superplex, but Keith held on and hit a suplex, so Tanaka hit a brainbuster, so Keith hit an Exploder Suplex, then a suplex into the corner, and they were both down at 9:00 Great sequence. Keith nailed the Tiger Driver powerbomb for a believable nearfall, and he was stunned he didn’t get the win. Tanaka hit some forearm shots and a diving forearm, but Keith kicked out at one! Tanaka hit a second diving forearm for the pin. Fantastic. Keith tipped his hat at Tanaka, then they got on their knees and bowed at each other as a nice show of respect.
* Keith spoke backstage saying, “even in defeat, the Bounty Hunter comes out on top.” He said he took Tanaka to his limit in losing, but he takes pride in the match. “I live to fight another day.”
5. Gringo Loco defeated Arez and Galeno Del Mal in a three-way to retain the Primolucha Title at 15:55. If you haven’t seen the luchador Galeno, he is just massive; I have compared him to Batman’s foe Bane. Al Leung joined Bocchini on commentary. Arez and Gringo hit a team double team to drop the big Galeno. Del Mal hit Stinger Splashes on each. Leung pointed out how Gringo Loco fought in Tokyo a day ago. Arez hit a huracanrana at 3:00, then an Asai moonsault on Galeno. They brawled to the floor, where Galeno bent Arez over the guardrail and hit some hard chops at 5:30. In the ring, Loco hit a double armdrag. He nailed a flip dive to the floor on both at 7:30. Loco hit a springboard moonsault.
Loco slammed Arez onto Galeno and got a nearfall on Del Mal. Del Mal nailed a powerbomb on Arez for a nearfall, and everyone was down at 10:00, with the crowd chanting “This is awesome!” Del Mal hit a double spear. In an INSANE spot, Arez stood on Loco’s shoulders and hit a superplex on Del Mal! Loco hit a springboard fadeaway stunner on Arez and everyone was down at 13:30. Galeno hit a dropkick that sent Loco flying. Galeno hit a flip dive to the floor that popped the crowd. (Online, he’s listed at 6’5″ and 297 pounds. The height might be embellished an inch or two, but the weight is probably legit.) Arez hit a one-legged Lionsault. Loco hit a top-rope Canadian Destroyer, then a piledriver to pin Arez. Fantastic. Fans pelted them with money as a sign of appreciation.
* A clip aired of a podcast with Gringo Loco talking about his love for lucha libre.
6. Cody Chhun, Ultimo Dragon, and Nick Wayne defeated Judas Icarus, Travis Williams, and Evan Rivers at 16:18. Cody and Williams started with standing reversal. Icarus and Wayne entered at 2:00 with a quicker exchange. Rivers hit a clothesline to the back of Wayne’s head, then a suplex for a nearfall. Bocchini talked about AEW’s storylines, about Wayne turning on Darby Allin. Chhun made the hot tag at 5:30 and hit dropkicks on the heels and did a Cody-roonie. Rivers hit a faceplant on Chhun for a nearfall, and the heels worked over Cody in their corner.
Ultimo Dragon entered at 10:30 and cleared the ring and got a nice pop. Wayne immediately entered and hit a stunner. Williams hit an enzuiguri on Wayne. Wayne hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Williams hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall on Cody at 13:00. Dragon re-entered and hit some quick kicks on Rivers. Wayne hit a Dragon Suplex and a Code Red. Rivers hit a stunner on Cody and suddenly everyone was down. Rivers hit a moonsault on Cody, as Cody was being held by Icarus and Williams, for a nearfall at 15:30. Cody and Wayne hit superkicks and a team Wayne’s World stunner on Rivers. Dragon got the magistral cradle to pin Rivers. Fun match although Dragon really wasn’t in it much.
7. Swerve Strickland defeats El Hijo Del Vikingo at 17:00 even. A feeling out process to open; Swerve towers over the 5’5″ Vikingo. They had a standoff at 2:00. VIkingo tied him in a knot but Swerve escaped. Vikingo hit a basement dropkick. Bocchini spoke about how Kenta beat Nick Wayne for the Defy title and wondered when Kenta would be back to defend it, adding that a Swerve win would likely make him a top contender. Vikingo hit a spin kick that sent Swerve to the floor at 5:00. Vikingo then hit a dive to the floor, and they brawled at ringside. They wound up going over the guardrail and far from ringside; this is a massive gym. Vikingo leapt off the bleachers and hit a huracanrana on Swerve on the floor!
Vikingo picked up a trash can and hit Swerve with it at 7:30. They got back into the ring, with Vikingo hitting a frogsplash for a nearfall. He hit a superkick and a cool bulldog move. Swerve hit a Lungblower move out of nowhere and they were both down at 9:30. Vikingo hit a swinging uranage and another superkick. Vikingo hit an impressive 450 Splash for a nearfall. Vikingo hit his Poison Rana out of the corner at 12:30, then a top-rope Shooting Star Press for a believable nearfall, and they were both down. Swerve caught Vikingo coming off the top rope and he nailed a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron.
Back in the ring, Swerve missed a top-rope doublestomp. Vikingo hit a pair of superkicks. Swerve nailed a decapitating clothesline, then a step up kick to the side of the head. Swerve nailed a top-rope doublestomp to the collarbone for a believable nearfall at 15:00 and the crowd chanted “Defy!” Vikingo applied a modified Triangle Choke but Swerve stood up and got to the ropes to break the hold. Vikingo came off the top rope but Swerve caught him with a low blow, with the ref out of position! Swerve nailed a flipping powerbomb for the pin! I didn’t see that coming. Outside of Kenny Omega, I can’t think of anyone else who has pinned Vikingo in the United States this year.
Final Thoughts: Another fantastic show, and I’ll again stress this is free, so if you don’t know the best of the Pacific Northwest indy scene, here is an opportunity to check them out. The main event easily earns best match. Considering that was a first-time-ever singles match, they absolutely clicked and had an amazing match. Vikingo skipped his neat springboard moves tonight, but the fans still saw a lot of his athleticism that makes him so special.
I love some great lucha, and the three-way earns second best. Galeno is just a beast and the crowd pops when he nails a flip dive to the floor. I’ll go with Tanaka-Keith for third-best as that was really hard hitting. The special appearances of Ultimo Dragon, Super Crazy and Juventud Guerrera were fun, but they admittedly didn’t do anything mind-blowing that would have the crowd chanting “you still got it!” Like I said, so much to like here, and well worth checking out.
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