By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Deadlock Pro Wrestling “You Already Know 2024”
Available via DPWondemand.com
January 20, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina at NC State Fairgrounds
Rich Bocchini, Caprice Coleman and Veda Scott provided commentary. This is the second consecutive night of action for DPW, as they held “Live 4” on Jan. 20 with much of the same roster, but they were able to add some TNA guys who had wrestled in Florida on Saturday.
1. Labron Kozone and Bojack defeated BK Westbrook and Oliver Sawyer at 9:48. Bojack and Sawyer opened and the massive Bojack hit some loud chops. Kozone and BK traded offense. Kozone hit a T-Bone Suplex at 2:30, and he slammed BK onto Sawyer. The heels began working over Kozone in their corner. BK hit a stiff kick to the spine at 6:30. Bojack made the hot tag and he hit some shoulder tackles on the smaller Sawyer. BK came off the top rope, but Bojack hit a headbutt, then a Rainmaker short-arm clothesline for a nearfall. Sawyer hit a Canadian Destroyer on Bojack! Kozone tackled Sawyer and hit some punches. Sawyer hit a Dragon Suplex and a clothesline for a nearfall on Kozone at 9:30. Kozone fired back with an enzuigiri and a decapitating clothesline to pin Sawyer. That was a fun opener.
* Sawyer got a chair but Westbrook took it! Sawyer was surprised. It allowed Bojack to hit an Awful Waffle piledriver on Sawyer. The crowd cheered BK, who apparently just turned babyface by confiscating that chair.
2. Adam Priest defeated Andrew Everett at 8:29. Priest is the short gatekeeper I always compare to Jaime Noble in style. Everett had his TNA run and was recently on AEW TV, and fans chanted, “He’s a Giant!” at Adam as he walked to ringside. Priest attacked before Adam had removed his jacket, and he hit a snap suplex. Everett hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex but he sold a knee injury. Priest saw it and hit a football tackle on the damaged knee at 1:30, and he began working it over. Everett finally hit a top-rope missile dropkick at 6:00 and the crowd rallied for him. Priest hit a German Suplex, so Andrew hit his own German Suplex. Everett hit a massive chokeslam for a nearfall. Priest applied a half-crab, and Everett tapped out. Surprising finish to a decent match.
* BK Westbrook was interviewed backstage. He admitted he doesn’t know why he stopped Sawyer from using the chair. He said he’s grown in the past two years.
3. Nicole Matthews defeated Rachel Armstrong at 8:18. I always compare Armstrong to pop singer Corrine Bailey Rae. Matthews is a veteran (she was in the first Mae Young Classic) and she has the height and overall size advantage. Matthews immediately worked the left arm. She hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 2:30. She tied Rachel in the ropes and hit some spin kicks to the chest at 4:30 and this has been one-sided so far. Rachel hit a spin kick to the head, then some flying forearms. Rachel went for a Sliced Bread but Mathews avoided it.
Rachel hit a DDT for a nearfall at 6:30. Matthews hit a HARD clothesline, then a swinging neckbreaker for a believable nearfall; Nicole made a cocky cover, allowing for the kickout. Rachel hit the Sliced Bread, then a 450 Splash. However, as she went for the cover, Nicole grabbed her and got an inside cradle for the pin. Good match.
* Backstage, Priest said he’s sick of everyone making a joke about pro wrestling; he doesn’t get the joke of Everett pretending to be 7’4″. He’s all about being serious and winning.
4. Jake Something and Mike Bailey defeated Kevin Blackwood and Alec Price at 17:59. This should be fantastic. Price and Bailey opened, and Mike hit some deep armdrags. Jake and Blackwood entered at 2:00, and Blackwood hit some spin kicks to the thighs. Jake hit an enzuigiri! The heels bailed to the floor. Kevin hit a doublestomp off the apron to the floor on Bailey. Jake tossed Alec’s head so it hit Blackwood’s head! Price hit a second-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 4:00. Kevin kicked Jake, who no-sold it, and the crowd chanted “you f—ed up!” at Kevin. Blackwood hit some more kicks and got a nearfall.
Price tried to suplex Jake, but Jake escaped. Price was popped up but he hit a dropkick at 6:00. He came off the ropes but Jake caught him with a forearm strike. Bailey got the hot tag and he hit his Speedball Kicks to the thighs and ribs, then a running Shooting Star Press. Price hit a half-nelson suplex. Blackwood tagged in and hit a German Suplex on Bailey, then a flying forearm in the corner and a stalling dropkick for a nearfall at 9:00. Bailey and Blackwood traded roundhouse kicks to the chest and this was an awesome exchange and the crowd really popped for it. Bailey caught him with a superkick to the jaw for a nearfall at 10:30.
Bailey hit his moonsault kneedrop and they were both down. Jake and Price got back in and Jake put his arms behind his back, inviting Price to chop him. Alec hit one that Jake no-sold. Alec spun and hit another one. He tried some rapid-fire chops that didn’t work, so he hit some hard kicks! Price hit a springboard crossbody block but Jake caught him and hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall at 13:30. Kevin and Alec hit stereo kicks to Jake’s head. Price tossed Bailey to Kevin, and Kevin hit a hard kick. Blackwood hit a German Suplex on Jake. This has been tremendous. Jake hit a double chokeslam. Kevin hit a doublestomp on Jake’s back, then a Saito Suplex. Bailey hit another moonsault kneedrop.
Jake hit a Pounce on Price and suddenly everyone was down at 15:30. Jake hit a sit-out powerbomb on Blackwood for a nearfall. The crowd chanted “Fight forever!” Bailey hit his Triangle Moonsault to the floor. Blackwood hit a doublestomp on Jake. Jake hit a standing release powerbomb on Blackwood. Bailey hit his Tornado Kick on Price, then the Ultima Weapon. Kevin hit a doublestomp oo Bailey! However, Jake hit a Blackhole Slam to pin Kevin. This was stellar, absolutely stellar.
* Backstage, Andrew Everett was still up at Adam Priest. He wants one more match. We then flipped to Rachel Armstrong who started to say it was her N.C. debut and Deadlock Pro debut. Nicole Matthews walked up and had a bottle of wine, which she emptied into the largest cup I’ve ever seen. Matthews said she’s coming back for the title.
5. Miyuki Takase defeated Lady Frost to retain the DPW Women’s Title at 10:57. I wrote this last week, but Takase’s red gear and overall look is similar to Hikaru Shida. A knucklelock and a feeling-out process. Takase hit a dropkick and she got some rollups, sending Frost to the floor at 1:30 to regroup. Back in the ring, Frost hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Takase applied a mid-ring Octopus stretch at 5:00. She hit a second-rope flying forearm for a nearfall. Frost did a handspring-into-a-cannonball in the corner. Frost nailed an Air Raid Crash for a nearfall at 7:30.
They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. Takase hit a second-rope missile dropkick and a spear for a nearfall at 9:00, then a forward Finlay Roll, but she missed a second-rope legdrop. Frost nailed a top-rope moonsault for a nearfall. Takase hit a headbutt. After a few attempts, she hit a twisting suplex for the pin. Good match but the winner was never in doubt.
* Backstage, Alec Price yelled at Kevin Blackwood and blamed him for their loss. Price challenged him to a match in February.
6. “Motor City Machine Guns” Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley defeated “Super Smash Bros” Evil Uno and Stu Grayson to retain the DPW Tag Team Titles at 15:35. Stu and Shelley opened with standing switches. Shelley dropped him with a shoulder tackle; Stu hopped up and hit a dropkick. Uno tagged in at 2:30, so Sabin also entered. Uno hit a running neckbreaker. Sabin hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Stu, then Shelley hit one, and they began working Grayson over in their corner. Shelley applied a Figure Four at 7:00. Sabin put one on Uno as well. Stu hit an enzuigiri and he made the hot tag.
Uno hit a German Suplex on Shelley. SSB hit front-and-back kicks on Sabin. Uno hit a Stinger Splash on Shelley, then somme chops. Grayson hit a top-rope elbowdrop for a nearfall at 10:30 but Sabin made the save. Grayson hit a Pele Kick on Shelley but he sold pain in his leg. Sabin got a hot tag and hit a missile dropkick on Stu. Uno hit a Mafia Kick on Sabin, then a top-rope Swanton Bomb for a nearfall. Sabin hit a top-rope double crossbody block, then a tornado DDT. Sabin nailed a dive through the ropes at 12:30.
In the ring, MCMG hit a dropkick-and-Flatliner combo on Uno for a nearfall. Sabin accidentally kicked Shelley in the corner! Stu hit a 450 Splash on Sabin for a nearfall at the same time Uno hit a rolling cannonball on Shelley. Sabin hit a running neckbreaker on Uno. They hit stereo kicks to Uno’s head. Shelley got a Crucifix Driver on Uno, and Sabin immediately got a jackknife cover on Uno to score the pin! I liked that finish. Every bit as good of a match as you’d expect. The Guns grabbed the belts and left, leaving the SSBros in the ring, who got a really nice “please come back!” chant. Stu kept selling his knee injury as he was helped to the back.
* A nice video package was put together to promote the main event.
7. Calvin Tankman defeated Colby Corino in a steel cage match to retain the DPW Heavyweight Title at 13:17. Again, this was filmed seven days earlier, so the time erecting the cage was edited out. We got a “Holy shit!” chant as they glared at each other. Colby tossed him into the cage wall, and he hit a dropkick as Calvin was against the cage. Colby hit a tornado DDT. Tankman put Colby on his shoulders and tossed him like a lawn dart into the cage wall at 1:30. He again tossed Colby into the cage and Colby had a bloody forehead. Tankman caught Colby coming off the ropes and he again smacked him head-first into the cage. Caprice mentioned he has wrestled Colby’s dad. Tankman set up for a piledriver at 5:30 but Colby escaped.
Colby hit a huracanrana that sent Calvin into the cage. Calvin was now bleeding. Colby wiped it on his body, earning a “you sick f—!” chant. Calvin nailed a powerbomb on the mat, then he powerbombed Colby onto the cage wall at 9:30. Colby hit a sunset powerbomb for a nearfall, then a DDT. Colby began climbing the wall and Caprice said he’s trying to escape. (I can’t put into words how much I hate “escape the cage” rules.) They fought on top of the ropes. Corino jumped off the top of the cage and hit a doublestomp to Calvin’s chest for a nearfall at 12:30. Tankman hit a top-rope Spanish Fly! He then hit the Rikishi Driver for the pin. A really good cage match. Yes, both men bled but that’s really expected in a cage match.
Final Thoughts: I’ve written this a few times now, but when I watch DPW, it’s like watching the 2003-06 Golden ROH era. Every match delivers. They are using the best of the best on the indy scene mixed with some good local N.C. talent. The Bailey/Something-Price/
This show is now up on the Deadlock Pro website. If you haven’t seen this promotion, check out their YouTube page, as they have several free matches available to give you a taste of what they are all about.
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