By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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ETU “No Half Speed”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
December 29, 2023 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
This was part of the 11-show “Wrestival” event. The crowd was maybe 100-150. Dylan Hales and Jack Solomon provided commentary.
1. “Above the Rest” Tristen Thai and Gabriel Skye defeated Davey Bang and August Matthews at 9:11. Chicago-based Bang and Matthews made the trek for this event. Skye and Bang opened and traded deep armdrags. Matthews and Thai entered and traded mat reversals. Bang hit his moonsault to the floor while August hit a dive through the ropes at 6:30. In the ring, Skye and Bang traded stiff forearm strikes. Bang set up for the Spears Tower but Skye caught him with a kneestrike. Thai flipped Bang in the air, with Skye nailing another kneestrike to the jaw for the pin. Very good opener.
2. Brandon Kirk, Dezmond Cole, Landon Hale, and Yoya defeated Brooke Havok, Sabin Gauge, Sam Holloway, and Alan Angels at 9:08. This is an unadvertised bonus match. Havok wore a Celtics jersey to show she’s a babyface. Sabin is another Chicago-based wrestler. Holloway is like Julius Creed; really tall and likely has an amateur wrestling background. I’ve seen him in Cleveland-based AIW and he’s really talented. Angels came out last and was booed. Sabin and Yoya opened; they are probably the smallest member of each team. Angels and Kirk — the captain of each team — entered at 1:00. Brooke and Dezmond traded offense. Finally, Hale and the massive Holloway fought at 3:30, with Sam hitting some loud chops.
Sam hit a massive dive over the top rope onto all seven. This kid is really talented; the announcers just said he’s 6’9″ which is probably a bit of an exaggeration but he’s BIG. In the ring, Hale hit a backbreaker over his knee on Brooke at 6:00. Hale and Gauge hit dives to the floor. In the ring, Hale hit a stunner. Brooke hit a DDT on Landon. Kirk nailed a pump-handle piledriver on Brooke! Yoya hit a tornado DDT on Holloway. Angels entered and hit some eye pokes and was booed. Dezmond hit a Swanton Bomb to pin Gauge. That was really good, non-stop action. The commentators said the “four newcomers all brought it.”
3. Joshua Bishop defeated Kevin Blackwood at 10:21. Of course, both of these two have appeared at the recent MLW TV tapings. Kevin stalled on the floor at the bell, as he’s much shorter. Bishop hit a fallaway slam at 2:30, then another one. Blackwood hit a top rope superplex, and they were both down at 6:00. Blackwood hit some stiff forearm strikes and a Helluva Kick, then a running knee to the jaw for a nearfall. Bishop nailed a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall at 8:30. Blackwood hit a doublestomp to the back, then a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Bishop placed Kevin’s feet on the top rope and hit a DDT. Bishop then hit a chokeslam but only got a one-count at 10:00. Bishop hit a Razor’s Edge overhead powerbomb for the pin. That was really good; these two showed why they both are in MLW now.
4. Ichiban and “Miracle Generation” Dustin Waller and Kylon King defeated “High Flying Star Machines” Diego Hill and Bojack and BK Westbrook at 15:35. I am really looking forward to this one, as I think highly of all six of these guys. BK and Kylon opened and they traded rollups. Diego and Ichiban traded quick reversals at 2:00 and had a standoff. Waller then squared off with the massive Bojack; his teammates jumped off the ring apron so he couldn’t tag out. Bojack immediately hit a massive shoulder tackle to drop Dustin. Funny. Ichiban’s team alll dove onto the HFSM on the floor. In the ring, Diego and Bojack hit some team moves on Kylon.
Ichiban hit a top-rope double crossbody block at 6:00. The Machines began working over Ichiban, with Bojack hitting a massive senton. Waller finally made the hot tag at 10:00 and hit a flip dive to the floor on the HFSM, then a springboard flying clothesline on Diego in the ring. Kylon hit a German Suplex on Diego. Diego hit his spin kick in the corner on Kylon. Kylon but an enzuigiri on Bojack, and Ichiban’s team hit stereo superkicks on Bojack at 12:30. Waller hit a Code Red on Bojack for a nearfall. Diego and BK hit stereo dives to the floor. Diego hit a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, Bojack hit a massive clothesline on Ichiban, and BK immediately hit a Shooting Star Press on Ichiban for a nearfall at 14:00.
Ichiban hit an enzuigiri on BK, then a Canadian Destroyer. Diego hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly on Ichiban. Waller hit a Lethal Injection on Diego. Bojack hit a pop-up forearm strike on Waller. Kylon hit a big German Suplex on Bojack! Ichiban hit a top-rope flying leg lariat to pin BK. That was good stuf and a really, really good finishing sequence.
* In a pre-taped segment, Alec Price spoke outside, talking about being the IWTV champion but not getting any respect. He has made an open challenge!
5. Alec Price defeated J Bouji, Traevon Jordan, and Tommy Vendetta in a four-way to retain the IWTV Heavyweight Title at 9:49. Bouji (think Reggie/Scrypts) came out first; he is solid but not on Price’s level and fans started to chant “We don’t want you!” However, he is not the only competitor in this match! Tommy Vendetta also hit the ring. Traevon Jordan hit the ring to a huge pop; he’s the taller member of Waves and Curls; think Private Party. Bouji hit a German Suplex. Traevon did some of his comedy with Bouji. Vendetta hit a double powebomb out of the corner at 5:30.
Price hit a half-nelson suplex and a Rebound Lariat on Vendetta. Jordan nailed a fireman’s carry, then a sit-out powerbomb, on Price for a nearfall. Bouji hit a springboard stunner on Vendetta for a nearfall at 7:30. Vendetta hit a second-rope piledriver on Price for a believable nearfall. Price hit a superkick on Vendetta, then he dove to the floor onto the other two opponents. In the ring, Price hit his springboard Blocbuster and his Surprise Kick/step-up mule kick on Vendetta for the pin. Good match, but even with three challengers, I never thought Price was in danger of losing here. J Bouji and Traevon fought their way to the back!
* Price got on the mic and said he’s going into an absolute war tomorrow night.
6. “Violence is Forever” Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini defeated “Fresh Air” Macrae Martin and Junior Benito at 12:11. Garrini and Benito opened and Dominic has a massive overall size advantage. Macrae tossed Benito onto Ku at 3:00. ViF began beating down on the smaller Benito. Macrae tagged in and hit a fallaway slam on Ku at 6:30, then a swinging Boss Man Slam for a nearfall. On the floor, Garrini tossed Benito head-first into the ring post. In the ring, Macrae hit a spin kick to Ku’s ear. Garrino jumped in and hit a fisherman’s suplex on Macrae.
Ku hit a Lungblower to Junor’s stomach, and Garrini immediately hit a hard clothesline. ViF hit a doublestomp-and-Air Raid Crash combo for a believable nearfall at 9:30. Fresh Air hit a team Stunner move for a nearfall. Ku and Macrae traded overhand chops. Ku hit a punt kick on Macrae, and ViF immediately hit Chasing the Dragon/spin kick-and-brainbuster combo to pin Benito. A good tag team match.
7. Marcus Mathers defeated Rickey Shane Page to retain the EtU Key to the East title at 13:36. The commentators noted Mathers successfully had his 10th defense a day ago and this is title defense No. 11. RSP has a clear size advantage. RSP dropped him with a big shoulder tackle; a commentator noted that Page has been wrestling about as long as Mathers (age 20!) has been alive. Mathers hit a dropkick. RSP grounded him with a chinlock on the mat. Mathers hit a stunner at 6:00.
RSP hit a superplex and they were both down. RSP hit a gutwrench powerbomb and a DDT, but Mathers rolled to the floor to avoid being pinned at 9:30. In the ring, RSP hit a frogsplash for a nearfall. Mathers nailed a German Suplex at 11:00, so RSP rolled to the floor. Mathers hit a second-rope moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Mathers nailed a powerbomb for a nearfall. Mathers hit a top-rope superplex, and we got a “This is awesome!” chant. Mathers nailed a top-rope 450 Splash for the pin. Good match.
Final Thoughts: This was a really, really strong indy show. I’ll go with the big six-man tag for best match, ahead of Bishop-Blackwood, which takes second. I’ll narrowly take the main event for third, but I really liked both the Fresh Air and Above the Rest tag matches. The bonus eight-person tag was fun. While I’m glad Alec Price was on the show, a trio of lower-level guys didn’t click for me. I think I would have just preferred a one-on-one encounter with Traevon Jordan. This will definitely be considered among the best top-to-bottom shows of the Wrestival.
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