By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Northern Federation of Wrestling “Showcase 2”
Streamed on IWTV.com
December 1, 2023 in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA at the KOC Hall
This show featured some of my favorites from the Northeast — Jordan Oliver, Marcus Mathers and Alec Price — plus a lot of other recognizable names, so I decided to check this out. I have seen multiple shows from this venue, and I like that the lights are on. Unfortunately, this is a really small crowd, maybe 50-75. (I don’t know how you rent the building and pay the talent with a gate this small.)
1. Shayne Stetson defeated Ellis Taylor and Mike Skyros in a three-way to retain the ICW Northeast Title at 11:09. This was my first time seeing Skyros and Stetson. Stetson has a similar look to Will Ospreay, while Skyros is similar to NWA’s Odinson but not as muscular. Somehow this match wasn’t listed on the IWTV match lineup. Skyros hit a seres of chops in the corner and a spinebuster on Stetson for a nearfall. They did a tower spot out of the corner at 8:30 and everyone was down. Stetson hit a TKO stunner. Taylor hit a superkick for a believable nearfall at 10:30. Stetson pulled a weapon out of his trunks, hit Skyros in the head with it, and scored the pin.
2. Nick Robles defeated RJ Rude at 7:05. Robles wore his colored sunglasses and jean jacket; he looks like a 1960s rocker, and with his curly hair, has a passing resemblance to Jungle Boy Jack Perry. The lanky Rude, who I compare to a young Chuck Taylor, has become a regular in Wrestling Open in Massachusetts. Rude hit a Lionsault for a nearfall at 4:30, then a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall. Robles hit a Tiger Driver, then a Rocker Dropper legdrop for the pin.
3. Garrett Holiday defeated Griffin McCoy to retain the Immortal Championship Wrestling Northeast Championship at 10:53. My first time seeing Garrett, who has slick black hair, and I’ll compare him to AEW’s Matt Menard. Griffin, who recently debuted on MLW, attacked from behind to begin the match, and he was in charge in the ring. Holiday hit a spinebuster for a nearfall at 6:30. Griffin hit a dropkick into the corner, then a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 9:00. Holiday hit a clothesline and a snapmare faceplant for the pin. Ok match.
4. TJ Crawford defeated Marcus Mathers and Landon Hale in a three-way to become No. 1 contender for the NFW Championship at 15:40. All three are regulars at Wrestling Open and this looks promising on paper. TJ rolled to the floor and sat in one of the (many available) front row seats, letting the two babyfaces open with a good exchange. (Mathers and TJ also have recently debuted on MLW TV.) Marcus hit a pair of dives to the floor at 3:00. Hale hit a huracanrana on Crawford. Marcus hit a top-rope twisting crossbody block on Crawford, then a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall at 7:00. Hale hit a springboard dropkick, and he tossed TJ onto Marcus in a corner. Hale nailed a Lungblower on Mathers for a nearfall. Crawford hit a clothesline on Hale. Mathers hit a stunner on TJ at 9:00.
Crawford hit a Stundog Millionaire. Hale hit a Lethal Injection on Mathers, then a mid-ring Spanish Fly on TJ. Hale hit a Lionsault and suddenly all three were down. Nice. They all traded punches while on their knees. TJ hit a Dragon Suplex, then a twisting suplex, on Hale for a nearfall at 12:30. Mathers hit a Helluva Kick on TJ, then a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Marcus got a Victory Roll on Hale for a nearfall. Hale hit a Poison Rana on Mathers, then a Sabin-style Cradle Shock for a believable nearfall. Crawford rolled up Hale, grabbed the ropes for leverage, and scored the cheap pin at 15:20. This apparently is an elimination match; I missed that. T immediately hit a spin kick to the head and a sit-out powerbomb to pin Marcus. Really good action throughout.
* Intermission was edited out.
5. Cerin Rahne defeated Chael Connors at 8:38. I don’t know either of these two. Cerin looks like a Forgotten Son motorcycle rider, and he jawed at the crowd. Connors is short and bald; he was literally putting on his boots and ring gear as he came to the ring. They began shoving each other, then they shoved the ref at 3:00, so the ref shoved each of them and got a pop. Basic offense; this isn’t bad but they didn’t do anything noteworthy, either. One of Rahne’s teammates tripped Connors, allowing Rahne to hit a twisting reverse suplex, dropping Connors face-first, for the pin. Forgettable; your basic popcorn match.
6. Charlie Tiger defeated Jordan Oliver and Juni Underwood in a three-way at 8:49. I’m not shy in proclaiming Oliver is a top 10 indy talent in 2024. Tiger is similar to Cameron Grimes before Cameron lost weight. I’ve only seen Juni two or three times and he is solid; he has short black hair pulled back in a ponytail. They all traded punches early. Juni hit a dive to the floor on Tiger at 2:00, then a dive to the floor on Oliver. In the ring, Tiger hit a back suplex on Oliver for a nearfall. Oliver hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Tiger at 5:00, then one on Juni. Oliver hit a second-rope double Clout Cutter for a nearfall, and he tied Juni in a Figure Four Leglock and Juni had great expressions of pain selling the hold. Juni hit a basement dropkick as Jordan was tied in the Tree of Woe at 7:30. Oliver hit his Cleopatra stunner. Tiger shoved Oliver to the floor, and he hit a Jay Driller on Juni for the pin. Good match that needed a few more minutes!
7. “Vlog Bro University” Dante Drago and Jack Tomlinson defeated “The Rep” Dave McCall and Nate Carter to retain the NFW Tag Team titles at 13:54. Drago has dark black hair and he’s short; I’ve seen him a couple times at Wrestling Open; he came out by himself holding both tag titles. The Rep are Black men and I’m pretty sure I’ve not seen either before. Tomlinson snuck up behind The Rep and attacked them, and they brawled on the floor. In the ring, The Rep hit standing powerbombs at 2:00, and they began working over Tomlinson. I’m still unclear which team are babyfaces; that’s a problem. But being as Tomlinson is going for the hot tag, it’s clearly them. The Rep then began working over Drago. Tomlinson finally made the hot tag at 11:00, and he hit a top-rope flying clothesline for a nearfall. Tomlinson wound up getting a rollup for the pin. Okay action.
8. Alec Price defeated Channing Thomas to retain the IWTV Title at 12:56. Channing is the slimy Joey Ryan-meets-Rick Rude heel in his Hugh Hefner robe, and I think he’s a great heel. Good mat reversals early on. Channing hit a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall at 4:30. He hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Price dove over the top rope onto Channing at 7:30. In the ring, Price hit a half-nelson suplex, then a second-rope flying legdrop for a nearfall. Channing avoided the Surprise Kick, and he hit a fisherman’s buster for a nearfall. Price hit his running kneestrikes in the corner at 10:00. Thomas hit an Angel’s Wings faceplant for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes at 12:00. Price hit a Rebound Lariat, then a running knee to the face, then a top-rope doublestomp to the head for the pin. That was really good.
9. Ryan Clancy defeated Brett Ryan Gosselin in a no holds barred match to win the NFW Title at 14:37. BRG also just debuted on MLW TV and I will reiterate that he looks like Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys. He wore a fur jacket and strutted to the ring. They brawled to the floor at 1:00, and Clancy chopped him in front of the fans. BRG bodyslammed him on the wood floor. Ouch! They went down a narrow flight of stairs. Back at ringside, BRG threw chairs into the ring, and he was in control as they brawled in the ring. Clancy finally got a chair and cracked it across BRG’s back at 7:00.
He placed a chair over BRG’s groin and hit that chair with another chair, and got a nearfall. BRG hit an Unprettier faceplant onto a folded chair for a believable nearfall at 9:30. They traded punches. BRG hit a superkick. Clancy hit a backbody drop onto a ladder in the corner, then a Tiger Driver for a believable nearfall at 11:30. Clancy set up multiple open chairs in the ring, and he placed BRG on them. However, Gosselin lunged at the ropes, causing Clancy to fall and be crotched in the corner. Clancy dropped BRG face-first across the open chairs. Clancy immediately hit a top-rope frogsplash for the pin! New champion! The crowd celebrated the title change.
Final Thoughts: Boy I wish the crowd was larger than this. I enjoyed the show. The top three stars delivered, the guys I know from Wrestling Open were good, and the handful of guys I’d never seen before were fairly solid. Even the newbies in the popcorn match were decent. But I know that some people will really be turned off by seeing a crowd this small. I am likely generous in saying the crowd is 75. I just don’t know how you rent the building and pay 23 wrestlers, the refs and cameramen and commentators, on a gate that small.
Price-Channing narrowly earns best match. The Crawford three-way takes second place. The main event was good stuff and it didn’t veer into a disgusting hardcore match; neither man bled. The Oliver three-way gets honorable mention. Despite the small crowd, that’s a good four matches to build around. My biggest critique is they really needed to book a women’s match. There is enough talent out there they could have added one.
Honoring those who travel: Marcus Mathers and Alec Price wrestled Thursday at Wrestling Open in Worcester, Mass. They headed here to New Jersey on Friday, then Hartford, Conn., on Saturday for GCW, then Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sunday. Furthermore… these two were slated to fight each other on Monday, but Price was sick and withdrew. I just applaud those who spend hours in the car to wrestle before fans… even on a night when it is a small, diehard bunch.
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