By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, Impact Wrestling, ROH, MLW, GCW, and other notable live events. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
House of Glory “Brace For Impact”
Streamed on YouTube.com
January 6, 2024 in Queens, N.Y. at NYC Arena
House of Glory usually streams on the Premier Wrestling Network (which I don’t have. I can’t get them all!), but they opted to air this for free on Youtube. This room is packed with maybe 400 or so fans. The hard camera isn’t quite straight-on with the middle of the ring; this is the same room they always use but they usually have the hard camera set up on a different side of the ring, so it’s a bit weird. We do have commentary, but the volume suddenly goes up and down, which also is distracting. The middle school New York program “The Wrestling Club” are in attendance.
1. Encore defeated J Bouji at 12:07. These are both Black men. I’ve suddenly seen a lot of J Bouji in recent weeks and he reminds me of Reggie/Scrypts. Encore is muscular and a bit more like a young R-Truth. Encore hit a delayed vertical suplex and did some squats before dropping him. Impressive. Bouji hit a German Release supex at 3:30. He snapped Encore’s left leg in the ropes, and he began working it over. Bouji hit a suplex for a nearfall. Encore hit a top-rope superplex, and they were both down at 8:00.
Encore hit a series of punches and a Death Valley Driver, and he was fired up. He applied an ankle lock in the center of the ring. Bouji got a backslide and put his feet on the ropes for leverage for a believable nearfall at 10:30. Bouji hit a Rollins-style Stomp to the head for a believable nearfall. Encore hit a back suplex, then a uranage for the pin. Good opener.
* Encore got on the mic but he’s a bit hard to comprehend. He is looking forward to getting his hands on Ken Broadway. J Bouji attacked Encore from behind with a chair and was booed.
2. Joey Silver defeated KC Navarro, Jay Armani, and Daron Richardson in a four-way at 9:26. Silver wore a white jacket that has lights in it, and he tossed candy into the crowd. Richardson is scrawny and small; think Lio Rush’s body with Velveteen Dream’s hair. I always compare KC to Ace Austin in size and in-ring style. Richardson hit a dive through the ropes onto two guys, so Navarro hit a flip dive to the floor on all three at 1:30. In the ring, Armani unloaded a series of punches on Silver. Armani hit a low blow on Richardson. Silver put suckers in his mouth, then put them in the mouths of opponents at 6:00. We had a tower spot out of the corner with everyone crashing to the mat. Richardson hit a Wheelbarrow Suplex on Silver. KC nailed a Facewash, then a tornado DDT for a nearfall at 8:00. Richardson hit a springboard kick to Armani’s chest. Silver hit a stunner on Richardson and he got a pin. Just so-so action; at times it felt they were going at three-quarters speed.
3. Idris Jackson (w/Hilary Wisdom) defeated Raheem Royal at 14:10. Hilary (a man!) got on the mic and he ripped the crowd. Jackson and Royal are both Black men. I’ve seen Royal, dressed in green, a few times here in scrambles, and the commentators said this is Raheem’s first singles match in HOG. Raheem laid in some chops so Idris bailed to the floor. Raheem dove through the ropes and barreled onto Idris at 3:00. In the ropes, Raheem dove off the ropes but Idris caught him and powerslammed him. Idris hit a butterfly suplex for a nearfall at 6:00.
Idris took over and grounded Raheem. Raheem fired up and hit a clothesline, then a doublestomp as Idris was tied in the ropes for a nearfall at 10:30. Raheem hit a Pele Kick then a top-rope superplex, then a running Shooting Star Press at 13:00, but Wisdom pulled the ref out of the ring before Raheem could get a pin. Wisdom hit Royal with a big dictionary. Idris immediately hit a discus clothesline for the cheap pin. Okay action.
4. Nolo Kitano defeated Gringo Loco to retain the HOG Cruiserweight Title at 13:38. I was surprised to not see Loco’s name in ROH taping results but now I know why, because he was here instead. Nolo has two masked goons with him. Quick reversals and this match is immediately at a faster pace than the last few matches. The crowd taunted Nolo with a “new champ!” chant. Nolo hit an impressive corkscrew plancha to the floor at 2:00. Kitano took control in the ring. He hit a powerslam for a nearfall. The masked ninjas attacked Loco while Kitano distracted the referee. Loco hit a swinging sideslam for a nearfall at 5:30.
Loco hit a sit-out piledriver for a nearfall. The ninjas tripped Loco. Loco hit a twisting moonsault, then he nailed a flip dive to the floor onto the ninjas at 8:00. Kitano hit a spin kick to the head, then a springboard DDT for a nearfall. They fought on the ropes. Loco hit a top-rope Spanish Fly where they both crashed stomach-first on the mat, and he got a nearfall at 11:00. Loco nailed the Base Bomb/top-rope swinging powerbomb for a nearfall, but the re got pulled to the floor. Kitano hit a Frankensteiner, then a running swinging neckbreaker for the pin. Good match.
* Intermission wasn’t edited out.
5. Carlos Ramirez defeated Krule to retain the HOG Crown Jewel Title at 8:16. Again, Krule is essentially Kane as he’s tall, bald and wears a mask, and he had a decent run in MLW. Ramirez is every bit as tall as Krule. Ramirez hit a dive to the floor, and they brawled at ringside. In the ring, Carlos hit a second-rope elbow drop for a nearfall at 2:30. Krule slammed Ramirez face-first to the mat. Ramirez hit a German Suplex. Krule hit a chokeslam over his knee at 6:30. Ramirez hit a standing powerbomb. Ramerez hit a swinging powerbomb move for the pin. Decent big-man match.
* Diamond Virago came to the ring. My first time seeing her but she’s essentially doing a prima donna gimmick like Adrianna Grace in NXT. She spoke on the mic.
6. Kamar Kouture defeated Diamond Virago at 4:57. Both women appear short with hair half-way down their backs; Kamar’s hair is a bit more reddish-brown. Kamar hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 3:00. Virago hit a spear for a nearfall, then a butterfly swinging slam for a nearfall. Diamond grabbed the mic and started to speak! However, Kamar hit a Dragon Suplex for the pin. This felt like a Young Lion’s match… not bad, just safe and basic by two newcomers.
7. “ABC” Chris Bey and Ace Austin vs. “The Mane Event” Jay Lyon and Midas Black went to a time-limit draw at 20:00. The ABC came out first. Bey and Lyon opened. Ace and Midas tagged in at 3:00. I feel it’s worth reiterating that Ace has put on some good muscle mass in recent months. Lyon went for his dive to the floor, but the ABC cut him off. Ace hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall at 6:00. Bey raked Midas’ back and the ABC worked Midas over and kept him in their corner. Ace hit some hard knee shots to the spine. Midas finally hit a spinning heel kick to the head and they were both down at 11:00. Lyon finally made the hot tag and he hit some chops and punches on Bey.
Jay went for the Lionsault, but Bey got his knees up. The ABC now began working over Jay. Ace pulled out a card and give Lyon a paper cut between his fingers at 15:00. Lyon hit a dive to the floor. Midas hit a dive through the ropes, then a dive while launching off Lyon’s back. In the ring, he hit German Suplexes on Ace, then a twisting suplex on Ace for a nearfall at 17:00. ABC hit stereo kicks to Lyon’s head. Bey hit a neckbreaker on Midas and Ace made the cover for a nearfall. Midas and Bey traded punches. Lyon speared Bey to the floor at 19:30 and all four were down on the floor. Bey and Midas got back into the ring, but we were told we had a 20-minute draw. A really good match that protected both teams. They shook hands afterward.
* A masked man attacked Midas Black and hit a jumping Tombstone Piledriver. Lyon chased him off. He ripped off the mask and it’s Charles Mason!
8. Mike Santana defeated Josh Alexander to retain the HOG Title at 23:42. Alexander wrestled in Portland, Ore., on Friday so this is a coast-to-coast 5ish-hour flight for him to make this show. They stared at each other across the ring and had a feeling-out process. Santana began shoving Josh at 3:00. They traded shoulder tackles, and Santana hit a dropkick that sent Josh to the floor. Mike dropped Josh face-first onto the ring apron, then he nailed a dive through the ropes onto Josh at 5:00. In the ring, Santana hit the Three Amigos rolling suplexes.
Josh hit a back suplex and took control. He nailed a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 8:30. They traded chops in the corner. Josh went for a Chaos Theory rolling German Suplex, but Santana blocked it, and Mike hit a stunner at 13:30, and they were both down. Santana nailed a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Josh hit a forward Finlay Roll but Mike trapped him and got a nearfall! Santana hit a Brainbuster for a nearfall at 16:00. They fought on the ring apron and traded forearm strikes. Santana nailed an Asai Moonsault to the floor. In the ring,
Santana missed a top-rope doublestomp and sold that he tweaked a leg upon landing. Josh saw it and he immediately applied an anklelock on the left leg. Josh hit a German Suplex, then a second one, then a third for a nearfall at 19:00. Josh missed a top-rope moonsault. They hit stereo clotheslines and were both down. They got up and traded more forearm strikes. Santana nailed a Buckle Bomb, then a discus clothesline for a nearfall at 22:30. Josh hit a standing powerbomb. He set up for the C4 Spike piledriver, but Santana rolled through it and got a rollup for the flash pin! That was fantastic, absolutely fantastic.
Final Thoughts: That was a stellar match to close out the show. Santana is just so sneaky good; we’ve always seen it in tag matches but I’ve been so impressed when he’s been able to go out and show what he can do in a singles match. (A stellar singles match against Mike Bailey in Chicago for Warrior Wrestling comes to mind.) Worth reiterating that Josh is coming off a hard-fought match against Timothy Thatcher in Portland just 24 hours earlier. They ABC-Mane Event match is also well worth tuning in for. Kitano-Loco was good for third place.
I’ve really liked what I’ve seen of Encore and Ramirez on some past shows here, too. But I will acknowledge we had some matches here with some clearly newer wrestlers that went at three-quarters speed. I will reiterate that this show is free, and those top three matches are worth tuning in for, even if you opt to fast-forward over the rest.
Be the first to comment