By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Alpha-1 Wrestling “Watch the Throne 7”
February 4, 2024 in Hamilton, Ontario at the KOC Hall
Available via YouTube.com
This is apparently this promotion’s first show since August 2021.
* A video package talked about Ethan Page starting Alpha-1 Wrestling in 2011. The video clips showed old footage of wrestlers such as Orange Cassidy, MJF and Eddie Kingston from prior shows. I had no idea where Hamilton is located; it is just south of Toronto on the west end of Lake Ontario, so if you are entering from the United States either through Buffalo or Detroit, it is a shorter drive than going to Toronto.
* This is a ballroom and we have chandeliers hanging from the ceiling near the ring. The crowd is maybe 300-400. Reed Duthie (who provides commentary for St. Louis-based Glory Pro Wrestling) is on solo commentary.
1. “Fight or Flight” Gabriel Fuerza and Vaughn Vertigo defeated “PME” Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia at 4:16. I’ve seen Fuerza and Vertigo compete in C*4 Wrestling. PME competes in the Midwest; I just saw them on a Glory Pro Show. PME attacked before the bell. Philly hit a uranage for a nearfall at 2:30. Fuerza hit a double Lethal Injection. Vertigo hit a Swanton Bomb to pin Tenaglia. Good action, but all these guys are experienced pros, so why so short?
* Shane Sabre came to the ring and high-fived Vertigo and Fuerza. He said he was asked to team up with Space Monkey again, and he said “screw that!” He would much rather team with Fuerza and Vertigo, and those three are going to “take over this reborn Alpha-1.” (What is the fixation with taking over promotions? It has never made sense to me.) Ethan Page came to ringside and he got a nice pop. He belittled the heels, and he called out Alexandro Del Bruno, who wore a suit and certainly isn’t dressed to wrestle. Page then introduced Scotty Oshea. Page thanked the crowd for coming and said it’s amazing that they are all here. He unveiled a gorgeous new title belt, and the crowd applauded when they saw it.
* Ethan Page joined Reed Duthie on commentary.
2. Joshua Bishop defeated Juntai Miller, Ethan Price, Kubes, Derek Dillinger, and Steve Brown in a six-way elimination match to win the A-1 Outer Limits title at 6:48. Miller is tall with long black hair (think Damian Priest) and wore a mask over his mouth. Price comes from Glory Pro Wrestling and he’s currently a tag champ there. Dillinger is a rotund guy I’ve seen often in Cleveland-based AIW. My first time seeing Steve Brown, who is easily 400 pounds, and he has the A-1 Outer Limits title belt. Bishop and Brown traded forearm strikes. Duthie wondered if the ring could handle all this weight. Dillinger hit a sunset powerbomb into the corner on Kubes. Price hit a German Suplex on Dillinger and that popped the crowd.
Kubes hit Bishop with little effect; Bishop responded with a loud chop and a fallaway slam. Bishop tossed Kubes over the top rope to eliminate him at 3:14 and the match continues. Bishop hit a chokeslam to pin Price at 4:05. Bishop hit a double clothesline. Bishop tossed the massive Brown at 5:22 to eliminate him, guaranteeing we have a new champion. Dillinger hit a second-rope Bubba Bomb on Bishop. However, Bishop hit a Black Hole Slam to pin Dillinger at 6:07! That leaves just Juntai and Bishop. They traded punches. Bishop then hit a Razor’s Edge to pin Juntai to win the match. Bishop had all five eliminations!
* Duthie interviewed Bishop in the ring. Bishop wants more serious challengers.
* The next match was going to be a singles match. However, Max Caster hit the ring before the bell. Max cut a rap saying “it’s good to be here in Hamilton.” He made a comment about he’s “freaky on the mic like Vince McMahon,” and that drew a heated, MIXED reaction. He made a comment that Dan the Dad wants to finish his story but Max is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. It was then announced the next match would be a three-way!
3. Rohit Raju defeated Dan the Dad and Max Caster to retain the Zero One Gravity Title at 7:49. Max and Dan beeat up Rohit to open. Max and Dan ‘scissored’ fingers, but Max hit a suplex at 1:30. Rohit hit a twisting neckbreaker and he was loudly booed. Dan and Max traded punches, and Max ‘scuffed’ Dan’s shoes, which made Dan made, so Dan took off his button-down shirt and he hit some jab punches. Dan removed his belt and he whipped Max across his back at 7:00. Rohit crotched Max around the ring post, and he tied Max’s legs around the post! Rohit hit a running knee to pin Dan. The commentators said there was nothing Max could do because he was tied up.
4. Daniel Garcia defeated Alec Price at 13:54. Hopefully these guys get more time than the first three matches! An intense lockup to open and a feeling-out process. Garcia dropped Price with a shoulder tackle at 2:00. They sped it up and Price mockingly did Garcia’s dance moves. Garcia hit some punches, teased that he was going to dance, but didn’t (yet!). Price hit a second-rope crossbody block. Price hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 5:00. He hit a flying European Uppercut in the corner and was in charge. Garcia shoved Price off the top rope and Alec fell to the floor. In the ring, Garcia hit several Dragonscrew Legwhips, and he kicked at the damaged knee, then he hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 7:30.
Price hit an enzuigiri, then a half-nelson suplex for a nearfall. Price hit his series of kneestrikes in the corner, then his top-rope leg lariat at 9:30. He went for his Surprise Kick, but Garcia ducked it and Daniel applied an ankle lock! Garcia switched to a half-crab, and he turned it into an STF and the crowd taunted Alec to tap out, but Alec reached the ropes. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees and the crowd was into this. They got to their feet, and Price hit a Rebound Lariat, then a dive to the floor on Garcia at 12:00. Price hit a top-rope doublestomp as Garcia was tied in the Tree of Woe, then he hit another doublestomp for a nearfall.
The crowd started chanting “You can’t beat him!” and Price shouted at them. Garcia hit a clothesline, then a swinging neckbreaker, then a second one, then a third. Garcia finally danced, then he hit the piledriver for the pin. That was really, really good.
5. Jody Threat defeated Laynie Luck at 13:38. Ethan Page noted that these two are 1-1 in recent matches and this is a tie-breaker. Laynie was just on AEW/ROH TV two weeks ago. Standing switches early on. Threat went for a half-crab, but Laynie escaped and rolled to the floor at 3:00. Jody hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall, and Laynie ‘called for a timeout.’ Laynie hit a clothesline to the back of the head. Laynie hit a Helluva Kick for a nearfall at 6:00, and she remained in charge. She slapped Jody several times, and that made Jody angry, with Threat hitting several forearm strikes.
Jody hit a series of clotheslines, then double knees to the back, then a German Suplex at 9:30 for a nearfall. She applied a half-crab, then a Snow Plow for a believable nearfall. Laynie hit a hard boot to the side of the head for a nearfall at 12:30, then a Death Valley Driver for a believable nearfall. Laynie came off the top rope, but Jody caught her with a headbutt! Jody immediately hit an F5 Slam for the pin. That was really good, but I never doubted that the Canadian Threat was winning.
6. The Blade (w/Ortiz) defeated Kody Lane at 12:09. Lane is another regular at Glory Pro Wrestling; he wore all-pink tonight and is a heel here. I always compare him to Juice Robinson, and he was recently on ROH TV. Ortz came to the ring and got on the mic but was barely audible; he has an opponent for Kody… it is AEW’s The Blade! Blade stormed to the ring, hit Lane with the mic, and they immediately brawled to the floor. Duthie said Blade is a 23-year pro; I didn’t realize it was that long. In the ring, Lane hit a huracanrana at 1:30, then a senton. Blade hit a snap suplex into the turnbuckles, and he grounded Lane on the mat. He hit a series of hard chops in the corner at 5:00.
Lane hit some Mafia Kicks and a spear into the corner, then a doublestomp to the gut. They brawled again to the floor, away from the ring, and over by the commentary booth and merchandise tables. Back in the ring, Blade hit a Doctor Bomb/gutwrench powerbomb for a nearfall at 8:00. Lane hit a slingshot senton for a nearfall, then a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Blade hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall at 12:00. He hit a hard clothesline for the pin. A good hard-hitting brawl.
7. “Sad Buds” Rickey Shane Page and Brett Michael David defeated Cheech and Eric Caime to win the A-1 Tag Titles at 7:48, with Justin Sane as special referee. I don’t think I’ve seen Sane before; he’s a Black man with a short beard, similar to Cedric Alexander. He spoke on the mic, but again, this is inaudible. Caime and Cheech came to the ring; again Cheech is looking more and more like Sonjay Dutt these days. This brought out Rickey Shane Page and Brett Michael David, who is a brawler dressed similarly to RSP. We have an impromptu tag title match! Sad Buds both wore blue plaid checkered shirts. Cheech kept BMD grounded. BMD missed a moonsault at 4:30. RSP made the hot tag and he beat up Cheech, and he hit a Swanton for a nearfall. BMD hit a 450 Splash for the pin. New champions! Just so-so match.
* Caime beat up Cheech after the match and left his partner lying on the mat.
8. Shane Sabre defeated Mark Wheeler (w/Jessie V) and Space Monkey to win the A-1 Alpha Male Title at 11:07. Wheeler entered the match as the champion. I’m so used to seeing these two team up. While the Space Monkey gimmick is just too silly to be main event, he is a decent wrestler. Wheeler has short black hair and a good physique and he’s the champion entering the match. SM and Wheeler immediately brawled while Sabre rolled to the floor. SM dove through the ropes onto his former partner and they brawled on the floor. In the ring, Wheeler hit a snap suplex on Space Monkey at 1:30, and he’s far bigger and more muscular than SM. Wheeler and Sabre hit simultaneous clotheslines and suddenly all three were down. This is going at a fast pace. Space Monkey hit a monkey flip, tossing Wheeler onto Sabre at 3:30.
Sabre hit a uranage on Space Monkey for a nearfall. Wheeler hit a superkick on Sabre for a nearfall, then a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 6:00. Sabre and Wheeler brawled on the floor. Wheeler hit a superkick on Sabre. Space Monkey hit a Lionsault Press. He powerbombed Sabre off the apron and onto an open chair on the floor at 8:30! Ouch! (These are not metal folding chairs and that looked like it hurt a lot!) In the ring, Space Monkey whipped Wheeler with his tail and got a nearfall. Wheeler hit a Superkick on Space Monkey. SM hit a stunner on Wheeler and he got a nearfall but Jessie V pulled the ref from the ring at 10:00. Either Fuerza or Vertigo appeared at ringside and shoved Space Monkey off the top rope. Sabre hit a double spear on both opponents, and he pinned Space Monkey. Okay match but I came away impressed with Wheeler.
* Sabre celebrated in the ring with Vaughn Vertigo and Gabriel Fuerza. Ethan Page got in the ring and confronted him. I truly have no idea what Ethan said to them, even with my laptop at full volume. I did hear that he’s bringing in Miracle Generation for the next show here on March 24.
Final Thoughts: An entertaining show. I personally loved Alec Price vs. Daniel Garcia and that’s easily best match. Blade vs. Kody Lane was really good, even though the winner was never in doubt, and that takes second. Laynie-Jody was a really good women’s match and takes third, with the main event earning honorable mention. The tag title match just didn’t click for me; I am not a big fan of Rickey Shane Page and the two guys new to me in that match didn’t really impress me either. I enjoyed watching Joshua Bishop plow through smaller guys in his match, and it being so short didn’t bother me.
Production is solid. The lighting was good and sound was good, although hearing the mic was a challenge often. The chandelier was distracting in the background, but it’s not over the ring (even though it appears to be from the hard camera view.) I do like Reed Duthie on commentary. Ethan Page has a dorky sense of humor (you could see that when he produced some of his videos right before he left Impact Wrestling for AEW), and that came across in his color commentary.
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