By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Melbourne City Wrestling “Anniversary Weekend, Night 1”
February 12, 2024 in Thornbury, Australia at Thornbury Theatre
Streamed on the TrillerTV+
I am a huge fan of Buddy Matthews’ work, and that got me to watch this show.
* A nice video package aired that highlighted all the matches on the show.
* To the arena! This is an ornate ballroom or theater, and the crowd is maybe 600 (roughly 200 each on three sides of the ring, and the stage on the fourth side.) The ring is really well lit, even with the lights low over the crowd; this looks really professionally shot. A guy named Jarvis hit the ring and was loudly booed. At first glance, he’s giving me smarmy Bo Dallas vibes. He boasted about his 2023 and said they should call him “the breakout star.” He is making an open challenge!
1. Mitch Waterman defeated Jarvis at 6:49. Waterman reminds me of long-haired, young NXT-era Baron Corbin, and he hit a huracanrana and a dropkick. Jarvis got a rollup with a handful of tights for a nearfall at 2:00. Jarvis choked him in the ropes and was in charge. This crowd is LOUD and hot, actually drowning out the commentary. Waterman hit a moonsault for a nearfall at 5:30. Jarvis hit a Lethal Injection for a nearfall. Waterman hit a hard back elbow for the pin. Good opener.
2. Rocky Menero defeated Robbie Thorpe at 11:01. My first time seeing Thorpe, who is from England and he’s exactly like Zack Sabre Jr., except dark black hair instead of blond, and he was booed. My first time also seeing Menero, who is bald, muscular and from Italy; he reminds me of former NXT wrestler Danny Burch. Standing switches and mat reversals early. Thorpe suddenly twisted and snapped Menero’s neck at 5:00, and he choked him in the ropes. He applied a crossface and kept working the neck. Rocky hit a suplex and they were both down at 10:00. The referee got bumped in the corner; Menaro tapped out but the ref didn’t see it. (That is backward booking.) Rocky hit a low blow, made a jackknife cover, and got the pin! Bizarre finish with the babyface tapping out but no ref, then cheating to win. Solid mat-based action throughout, though.
3. Tommy Knight defeated Adam Brooks at 11:06. Smarmy Adam Brooks toured the U.S. a lot in 2022-23, he looks like a mix of Alexander Hammerstone and Adam Copeland’s current look. (I watched a fantastic match he had in Deadlock Pro with Konosuke Takeshita in May 2022, and he regularly competed there.) My first time seeing Knight, who is BIG, bald and a bit rotund; think Big Damo/Killian Dain without all the body hair!) Brooks hit some clotheslines on the much larger Knight but couldn’t knock him down. They brawled on the floor at 3:00. Brooks repeatedly slammed Knight’s hand on the ring apron. In the ring, Knight hit a bodyslam and a massive senton at 5:00.
Brooks hit a doublestomp on Knight’s arm and some LOUD chops. Knight repeatedly stomped on Brooks and kept him grounded. Brooks hit a Lungblower to the chest at 8:00, then an enzuigiri, then a second-rope Lungblower to the chest, then dropkicks into the corner. Knight hit a running Stinger Splash in the corner that flattened Brooks at 9:30. Brooks hit a powerbomb out of the corner for a nearfall, but he missed a Swanton Bomb. Knight hit a hard lariat for a believable nearfall. Knight hit a spear, then a brainbuster for the pin; Brooks had put a foot on the ropes but Knight pulled it back off before the ref saw it. I admittedly expected Brooks to win here. Brooks argued with the ref, showing that he had a foot on the ropes.
4. Nick Legstrong vs. Emman Azman ended in a draw at 6:33. Legstrong has huge floppy hair and reminds me of the first time I saw Mike Awesome in ECW. He wore a white sweatband that just looks ridiculous; that hair is just so much I wonder if it’s a wig! Right on cue, a commentator said it IS a wig. Also my first time seeing Azman, who is of Asian heritage and much smaller. Delta was announced as the guest referee; she definitely is making me think of Rhea Ripley, with some scary makeup, her shaved sides of her head but long, braided red hair. She has some title belts; she is taller than Azman. Azman hit a Divorce Court armbreaker at 1:00 and he immediately worked the left arm. Legstrong stomped on Azman’s left leg and worked it over.
Legstrong applied a Figure Four Leglock at 3:30, and he got a nearfall. Azman escaped but was selling the pain in his legs. Nick shoved Delta, so she shoved him back harder and he was profusely apologizing to her. Nick splashed Emman into the referee at 6:00 and she was angry! Delta speared Azman, then she hit an F5 slam on Nick, and the crowd popped. Both men were knocked out on their backs and not touching each other; she counted to three, and this was declared a draw. She was definitely the star of the match.
5. “Parea” Eli Theseus and Gabriel Aeros defeated “The Natural Classics” Stevie Filip and Tome Filip to retain the MCW Tag Team Titles at 11:06. I’ve seen both of these teams on shows when U.S. talent have toured Australia in the past couple of years. Parea are muscular and they both remind me of EC3. The Filip brothers look a bit like Adam Rose, and a bit like a young TNA-era Chris Harris. Tome and Eli (who has a beard) traded shoulder tackles; this match feels like a big deal, as one commentary said they may be the best two tag teams in Australia. Stevie made the hot tag at 5:00; he hit a dropkick and a moonsault, then a double Blockbuster for a nearfall.
The Filip brothers began working over Theseus. Aeros hit a frogsplash for a nearfall at 8:00. Stevie hit a Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. Eli hit a Superman Punch, and Parea hit a team neckbreaker move for a nearfall, but Tome made the save. Stevie hit a Lungblower on Aeros. Aeros hit a Mafia Kick and Eli quickly hit a spinebuster for the pin. That was really good and it’s clear why these teams are considered the top-tier in Australia.
6. Slex defeated Buddy Matthews to win the MCW Title at 27:22. Slex had a run in the ROH Sinclair era, right before the pandemic. He’s bald and always wears a suit jacket and sunglasses, and gives off a ‘Wall Street arrogant tycoon’ vibe. Buddy has been champion for 657 days! (Of course… how often has he defended it??) Right on cue, a commentator said the last title defense was in July. An intense lockup early on and good reversals. At 4:00, Slex paused the match and had the ref check on his eye; this is well done but it is slowing the match down. Buddy slammed Slex on the ring apron, then a top-rope flying Meteora for a nearfall at 5:30.
Buddy now sold he has injured his knee and he rolled to the floor and was hobbled by it. I don’t understand this; they are destroying the pacing of this match. Buddy was about to leave the ring because of his ‘injury’ and he fist-bumped Slex, but then Slex hit a DDT! He began beating up Buddy at ringside, then he took him up onto the stage next to the ring, and slammed him knee-first through the commentary table at 11:00. Back in the ring, Slex continued the assautl on Buddy’s left knee. Buddy hit a Go To Sleep-style kneelift at 13:30, and Slex rolled to the floor. They traded forearm strikes and kicks on the ring apron.
Buddy hit a DDT out of the ropes at 15:30. He hit a series of kicks. Slex hit an enzuigiri. Buddy hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, but he sold the pain in his knee. Slex got a rollup with his feet on the ropes for a nearfall at 17:30, then he got a Poison Rana and a clothesline for a nearfall. Slex left the ring and got the title belt. However, Adam Brooks jumped on the apron and confiscated it, and he argued with Slex. However, moments later, Slex shoved Matthews towards Brooks, and Adam hit Buddy with the belt! Slex jumped on Matthews and got a nearfall at 20:00. Slex mounted Buddy and hit some punches. Brooks handed Slex a chair; when the ref tried to confiscate it, Slex shoved the ref.
Buddy hit a Stomp on Slex’s head, shoving it onto a folded chair, and he got a nearfall. Buddy hit another Stomp to Slex’s head for a nearfall, but Brooks pulled the ref from the ring to stop the count. Slex hit a springboard spin kick to the head, then he put Buddy on his shoulders and hit a swinging powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 22:30; I thought that was it. The crowd chanted “This is awesome!” Brooks again tried to interfere. Slex went for another springboard spin kick, but Buddy caught him with a kneestrike. Buddy hit his swinging Death Valley Driver move for a believable nearfall, but Slex got a foot on the ropes. Slex hit a low blow, then a Tombstone Piledriver, and he applied a sleeper on the mat.
A new ref, general mananger Rocky Menero, checked on Buddy, but Buddy powered out of the sleeper before his arm fell a third time. Buddy hit another kneelift, and another Death Valley Driver for a nearfall, but Menero refused to make the three-count! The crowd was shocked by this betrayal from the general manager! Buddy chased Menero, allowing Slex to hit a spin kick for a believable nearfall. Slex hit a Riptide pumphandle slam, but Buddy quickly kicked out, ahead of a quick-count from Menero. Slex hit another Slexecution spin kick to the head, and the original ref woke up and made the three count. New champion! THe crowd LOUDLY booed all this interference. The Parea ran to the ring to save Buddy from a post-match beatdown.
* Buddy got on the mic and made a challenge for the show the next night.
Final Thoughts: I enjoyed this show and I’m glad I saw it on the Triller+ lineup. I’ve always been a huge fan of Buddy Matthews and it was great to see him treated like a top-tier, main event talent. Sure, the finish got a bit busy and a bit overbooked with every twist and turn possible, but the crowd loved it. The tag title match was fun and earned second best, even though it wrapped up way too quick. Of those first four matches, the only person I had seen before was Brooks, but I liked what I saw. While she didn’t wrestle, Delta certainly has a presence to her. The venue looks great and the crowd was hot. Perhaps the biggest negative was the commentary was sometimes too quiet and drowned out by this crowd.
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