By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, TNA, MLW, ROH, 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
Glory Pro Wrestling “Ascend” (episode 23)
Premiered February 11, 2024 via YouTube.com
Taped December 30, 2023 in St. Louis, Missouri at Delmar Hall
The lighting is exceptionally poor in the ring, particularly from the hard camera. Seriously, why not just leave the lights on.
* In prior episodes, Dak Draper has spoken that he was paid to take out Laynie Luck.
1. Dak Draper defeated Dan the Dad, Laynie Luck, and Kody Lane in a four-way at 10:00. All four of these wrestlers have appeared on AEW TV at one point or another, including Laynie and Kody just a few weeks ago. Dak rolled to the floor and he vanished in the shadows; this is disappointing. It appears this match is just two at a time with tags for the other two. Kody and Laynie opened and she tried a shoulder tackle but she fell to the mat. She hit a huracanrana. Dak entered and tossed Laynie to the floor, and I just don’t see the point in having a guy that big beat up on a woman that small. Dan got in at 3:00 but paused to take a drink of coffee before locking up with Dak. Dan hit a top-rope crossbody block.
Dak hit a spinning back suplex on Laynie. Kody hit a senton on Dak at 5:30. Dak hit a double missile dropkick on the guys. Laynie snuck in and hit a superkick on Dak. Dak slammed Laynie for a nearfall. Dan hit a DDT on Dak. Kody hit his one-footed Lionsault. Kody and Dan began to argue and shove each other. Kody hit a Death Valley Driver on Laynie for a nearfall, but Dan pulled him off her! Dan and Kody shoved each other some more. Dak hit a sit-out powerbomb on Kody for a believable nearfall at 9:00. Laynie hit a Canadian Destroyer on Kody, then she dove to the floor on Dan. She got in the ring and tried a sunset flip on Dak, but Dak blocked it, sat down, and pinned her. Good action, but again… Dak is 6’4″ and significantly bigger than her.
* A camera outside caught Shazza McKenzie giving Dak Draper a payout!
2. Xavier Walker defeated Mike Outlaw at 8:36. Again, Xavier is around 6’6″ and reminds me of former NXT wrestler EJ Nduka. OUtlaw attacked at the bell, but Xavier hit a clothesline. He hit a suplex at 2:30, and he set up for a chokeslam but Outlaw avoided it. Outlaw hit a springboard back elbow and some punches. Xavier hit an Alabama Slam and they were both down at 6:00. They got up and traded punches. Outlaw missed a top-rope move, and Xavier hit a swinging neckbreaker. Outlaw’s teammates distracted the ref. However, Xavier hit a “left hand of God” punch on Outlaw, then he finally hit the chokeslam for the pin. Decent WWE-style big-man match.
* A nice video package aired of last week’s Warhorse-Jake Something match. Warhorse won the title but he left it in the ring, as he had a match the next day where if he lost, he had to retire. A backstage segment with Warhorse aired but it was practically inaudible. Really disappointing how bad this segment was… once they saw the audio didn’t turn out, they should have just not aired it.
3. Ethan Price and Moses the Deliverer vs. “PME” Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia ended in a double pin draw at 13:08; Price and Moses retain the United Glory Tag Team Titles. Ethan and Mose just won these belts in a three-way even though they seemingly had never won a tag match before. This is a babyface matchup. I always compare Philly to Joe Gacy, and with his curly blond hair, Tenaglia looks a bit like Kenny Omega. Price and Tenaglia opened, and Marino hit some deep armdrags. Moses hit a double dropkick at 3:00. Philly got in and hit a spinning heel kick on Price for a nearfall. Price speared Marino in the corner. Marino hit a snap suplex on Price for a nearfall at 5:00.
PME began working over Price in their corner. Price hit a powerslam on Marino and they were both down at 7:00. They got up and traded punches while holding onto each other’s wrists. Moses made the hot tag and he hit German Suplexes on Collins. Philly hit a double Sliced Bread, then a senton on Price for a believable nearfall at 10:30. Price hit a Death Valley Driver move and suddenly all four were down. They all got up and traded punches. Marino hit a superkick on Moses, and Price hit an enziguri on Collins. Price hit a top-rope superplex on Marino, but as they landed, we had a double-pin as both men’s shoulders were down. Thus, it is a draw, and the tag champions retained.
* Price got on the mic and said their first title defense didn’t go the way they wanted it to. He said PME is a great tag team and they deserve a rematch. Tenaglia got on the mic and asked for a best of three falls match. Moses accepted the request.
Final Thoughts: I want to be clear that the quality of wrestling was really good. The tag match was entertaining. I like all 10 wrestlers who were in competition on this show, even if I hate seeing an intergender match with such a vast size and strength difference. I always praise Glory Pro for having so many guys who are 6’1″ or taller and have the look of a ‘WWE wrestler.’ I wouldn’t watch these shows if I wasn’t a fan of the in-ring work.
However, this show has never “looked” worse. The lights are just way too low. Wrestlers are constantly in the shadows, especially if they leave the ring. A backstage segment was completely inaudible with lots of background noise speaking over Warhorse. As good as the wrestling was… this was a rough watch this week. This is episode 23, so we’re on our sixth taping (roughly four episodes per taping.) So, how did it get this bad all of a sudden? I can’t stress enough… just leave the lights on next time. I just watched a very entertaining Dreamwave show where the lights were on. I don’t mind seeing the fans in the background, I prefer it over not being able to see much at all. I commented on it last week for the Warhorse-Jake Something match, but it just seemed worse this week. I presume we’ll have two more weeks of episodes with this lighting, but I do hope changes are made.
Be the first to comment