By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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ETU “Just Gettin’ Warm”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
December 16, 2023 in Newark, N.J. at Heart Ballroom
There are chandeliers in this ballroom, but they are high up, so no risk of anyone striking them. Notably, several top talents from North Carolina have made the trek to this show. This is a dark, small room and attendance is packed at 200. The hard camera is in a second deck, giving us an unusual angle into the ring. Jack Solomon and Righteous Jesse provided commentary.
1. Brayden Toon defeated Adonis Stone, Yoya, and Steve Pena in a four-corner survivor match at 8:28. This was my first time seeing Stone, who looks a bit like WWE’s Reggie/Scrypts. I haven’t seen much of Cambodian heritage Yoya this year but he’s always entertaining. I don’t recall if I’ve seen Pena before, but he’s much taller than the rest of them; the announcers say he’s 6’5″. I have compared Toon to Kevin Owens and he hit a running Shooting Star Press. Pena hit a Mafia Kick on Stone. Wow, he’s big. Pena hit a chop that leveled Stone. Toon hit a dive to the floor on everyone at 5:00.
Stone climbed up onto a platform on the second deck and hit a crossbody block to the floor on the other three! In the ring, everyone hit superkicks on the massive Pena. Yoya hit a Poison Rana on Toon. Pena hit a German Suplex. Toon hit a Swanton Bomb and a running knee. Toon hit a standing powerbomb on Yoya, then a Death Valley Driver to pin Yoya. That was a blast. Toon continues to impress. I will reiterate my comparison to Kevin Owens because of his agility for carrying a bit of a gut.
2. Janai Kai defeated Christina Marie at 7:22. I don’t think I’ve seen Christina before, but she carries herself with the poise of Marina Shafir. She’s in a black top and camouflage pants. She attacked Janai as Kai was removing her ring jacket. Kai hit a snap suplex for a nearfall. Marie hit a chop block at 2:00 and began targeting the left knee, and the crowd rallied for Janai. Marie hit a dropkick for a nearfall at 4:00, but the crowd started chanting “Kai is gonna kill you!” Kai hit a headbutt and they were both down. Kai placed Marie on the second rope and hit some stiff kicks to the back. Kai hit some spin kicks, with the final one to the head, to score the pin. Satisfying match; Marie held her own.
3. “Killionnaire’s Club” J Bouji and Pretty Boy Smooth defeated “Shook Crew” Bobby Orlando and Bryce Donovan at 10:40. Orlando is the dork with his stuffed goat, and Donovan looks like a tall Nick Jackson. Orlando and Bouji opened. Donovan and the ridiculously tall Smooth entered at 2:00. Orlando re-entered but he hit a low blow on Smooth. He couldn’t bodyslam the big man. The KC extensively worked over Bobby. Orlando hit a Lungblower on Bouji and he made the hot tag to Bryce at 7:00. Bryce hit a Black Hole Slam. Donovan hit a chokeslam on Bouji. Orlando hit a Doomsday Device clothesline for a nearfall at 10:00. Bouji hit a low blow on Donovan. Smooth hit a chokeslam on Orlando, and Bouji covered Bobby for the cheap pin.
4. Jimmy Lloyd defeated BK Westbrook at 8:33. BK is one of the NC guys who made the trek here and I always compare him to heelish Adam Cole. This was supposed to be Joey Janela in this match, but Lloyd was the last-minute replacement. Jimmy charged in and they immediately brawled. Lloyd hit a dive to the floor and they brawled at ringside. The commentators said Janela is having an eye issue and is having difficulty with his vision. Hope that clears up! BK took control in the ring. BK hit a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 4:00. Lloyd got a snake-eyes on the top turnbuckle.
Lloyd hit a Helluva Kck in the corner. BK hit a standing neckbreaker. He applied a sleeper to slow Lloyd down, then he hit a jumping knee in the corner. Lloyd hit a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall but BK got a foot on the ropes at 7:00. BK hit his inverted Angle Slam, then a Lionsault for a nearfall. They traded rollups. Lloyd hit a superkick, then a swinging piledriver for the pin.
* In an un-advertised surprise, AEW’s Santana hit the ring and got a huge pop. He’s healthy and ready to fight anyone at anytime. He made a challenge for March 10 against someone known by three numbers, “187.” The crowd chanted “187!” which of course, is Homicide. So, don’t expect Santana at AEW in Texas later; he’s not gonna make it!
5. “Miracle Generation” Dustin Waller and Kylon King defeated “High Flying Star Machines” Bojack and Diego Hill to retain the IWTV Tag Team Titles at 12:43. This match is entirely why I tuned in. MG are top 10 indy tag team. I always compare Diego to Cedric Alexander-meets-Wes Lee, and Bojack is the massive 350+ pound man. This is MG’s 27th title defense. Bojack and Kylon opened; Kylon couldn’t budge the big man. Bojack hit a Pounce at 2:00 and he tagged in Diego; Waller also tagged in. Diego and Waller traded quick offense and had a standoff. Waller hit a 619. Kylon entered and hit a Spinebuster for a nearfall at 4:00. Kylon slammed Waller onto Diego, and they worked over Diego.
Diego nailed a step-up enzuigiri in the corner for a nearfall on Kylon. Bojack entered and hit a chop so hard it knocked Kylon to the floor. In the ring, Bojack flipped Diego onto Kylon for a nearfall. Diego hit some Three Amigos rolling suplexes for a nearfall at 7:00. Kylon again couldn’t pick up Bojack on a German Suplex attempt, and the HFSM kept Kylon in their corner. Waller made the hot tag and he hit a back elbow on Diego at 9:00, then a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Kylon hit a German Suplex on Diego, and MG hit a team slam on Diego for a nearfall. MG hit jumping knees to Bojack’s chin.
BK Westbrook appeared at ringside at 11:00! Bojack hit a running Stinger Splash on Waller, and Diego hit a spin kick to the jaw. Bojack nailed the Bojack Bomb/sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall! Diego missed a Christopher Daniels-style Best Moonsault Ever. Bojack accidentally hit BK. Kylon finally hit the German Suplex on Bojack! MG hit running knees on Bojack. Kylon hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor on Diego. In the ring, Waller hit the Mamba Splash/frogsplash on Bojack for the pin. That was fantastic.
* Waller got on the mic and asked the crowd if they liked it. The crowd responded with a “that was awesome!” chant. Waller challenged the three of the HFSM to a six-man tag match at the Wrestival later this month, and MG will get Ichiban to team with them! BK got on the mic and said they just made the worst mistake of their lives.
6. Rickey Shane Page defeated John Wayne Murdoch at 10:18. No interest in this one. They actually traded some mat wrestling early on. Page hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall, then a frogsplash for a nearfall at 8:30. Page hit a backbreaker over his knee, got a rollup, and scored the pin. Acceptable. Maybe it’s because we have a death match in the main event, but they didn’t do anything violent, as I had expected them to do.
7. Kushida defeated Brandon Kirk at 11:01. Kirk often wrestles in hardcore matches; he reminds me a bit of Steve Corino. A nice pop for Kushida. The commentators said Kushida hand-selected Kirk as his opponent. They traded mat reversals early on, and Kushida tied him in a knot. They fought to the floor, and Kushida hit a Flatliner onto a hard chair at 5:00. (These are not folding chairs; these have some weight to them.) In the ring, Kirk pulled Kushida face-first into the corner and took control of the offense. Kushida finally hit a Pele Kick at 8:00, then a series of spin kicks and a flying crossbody block.
Kirk flew off the ropes, but Kushida caught his left arm and applied a Fujiwara Armbar; Kirk scrambled to the ropes. Kushida hit a dropkickk on the damaged arm. Kirk hit a Death Valley Driver, and they were both down at 9:30. Kushida applied the Hoverboard Lock but Kirk escaped. Kushida went for a handspring-back-move but Kirk caught him with a German Suplex. Kushida hit a basement dropkick and a Small Package Driver for the pin. That was a blast. The crowd chanted for Kushida. They shook hands and bowed.
* We went to a pre-taped video where Marcus Mathers said he promised last year he wasn’t going to have another death match. He said he brings it at every show, whether there are 5 people or 500 in the crowd. He vowed he was leaving Ken Broadway “in a pool of your own blood.” An intense segment and well-shot. Back to the arena, the ring crew put a “disgusting mat” down (that’s what the commentators called it, not my words!) because we’re getting ready for the death match. Barbed wire was set up looping around the ropes on just one side of the ring.
8. Marcus Mathers defeated Ken Broadway in a death match to retain the Key to the East Championship at 25:52. Both of these two are ultra-talented but I don’t know if death matches are really their thing. They charged at each other at the bell. Marcus set up for a dive to the floor, but Broadway cut him off. Broadway got a barbed-wire board from under the ring, but Mathers dove onto it, pushing the barbed wire side onto Broadway at 2:00. They brawled at ringside. Marcus got light tubes from under the ring, which I abhor. In the ring, Broadway hit a second-rope uranage, slamming Marcus across two open chairs for a nearfall at 6:00. Broadway cracked a light tube across the back, and Marcus was immediately bleeding. Gross.
Broadway tossed Mathers into a pile of thumbtacks and got a nearfall at 9:30. Mathers hit a suplex onto the debris. Mathers used a staple gun to staple dollar bills to Ken’s forehead at 13:00. Broadway slammed Mathers through a barbed-wire board in the corner for a nearfall at 19:30. Mathers hit a top-rope Spanish Fly into light tubes for a nearfall at 22:30. Ken threw a bundle of light tubes at Marcus, then he hit a top-rope superplex onto the thumbtacks and debris for a nearfall. Broadway’s teammate got in the ring but accidentally hit Ken with a bundle of tubes. Marcus powerbombed Broadway into light tubes in the corner. Marcus then hit a Gotch-style piledriver for the pin. Gross. Just not my thing. They shook hands and hugged.
Final Thoughts: High Flying Star Machines vs. Miracle Generation was fantastic. Sure, I wish it had gone longer, but it was just breathlessly good. I’m thrilled we’ll get to see more of this in just a few weeks. Kushida-Kirk was really good, topping all my expectations, and earns second place. The fun show-opening scramble worked for me and earns third. Janai Kai always looks good and gets honorable mention. If you like death matches, you’ll like the main event. I’m a big fan of both men and would have just preferred a regular match without that level of violence.
Road warriors: I again want to point out the dedication of these wrestlers when it comes to travel. If Bojack, BK, and Diego left from Jacksonville, N.C., which is nearly a nine-hour drive, approximately 562 miles, to Newark, N.J. And the match was incredible.
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