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
Violence X Suffering “Arrival”
February 23, 2024 in Queens, New York at the Elk’s Lodge
Streamed on the TrillerTV+
The venue is a small room and the crowd was maybe 150, but it feels like most of them are far from ringside. Jordan Castle, Nick Knowledge, and Julius Smokes were on commentary.
* Lio Rush came to the ring. He said he wants to be in the VXS title picture. Dante Leon came to the ring to argue with him. “Did you come out here to announce your eighth, ninth, tenth retirement already?” Leon asked him. Lio belittled Dante, saying he’s in the main event while Dante is in the opener.
1. Dante Leon defeated Andrew Everett at 8:22. A quick glance at the lineup tells me we probably had a car with 4-5 N.C. talent make the trek north to this show, including Everett. Right on cue, Castle said Everett made a 10-hour drive for this show. We have an onscreen clock; it started 10 seconds late but it’s there. Leon hit a superkick, then a dive through the ropes onto Everett. Everett hit a springboard spin kick at 2:30, then a corner moonsault to the floor on Leon. In the ring, Everett hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall. Leon hit a spin kick to the head. Everett hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 5:30. He hit a Lionsault Press, then a chokeslam for a nearfall. He missed a top-rope 450 Splash. Leon hit a Canadian Destroyer, then the Sol Ruca style flipping stunner out of the corner for the pin out of nowhere. Good opener.
2. Kaitlyn Marie defeated Delmi Exo at 10:37. Kaitlyn is another North Carolina talent; she has lost a lot of weight in the past year, but she’s still bigger than Delmi. Kaitlyn hip-tossed her across the ring. Delmi hit a snap suplex and a running back elbow in the corner at 2:00, then a shotgun dropkick in the corner for a nearfall. Kaitlyn hit a senton, then a rolling splash for a nearfall. Kaitlyn missed a buttdrop. Delmi hit running double knees to the back. Kaitlyn hit a German Suplex at 4:30, then some running buttbumps in the corner and a rolling cannonball.
Kaitlyn hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. She applied a leglock around Delmi’s waist; Delmi reached the ropes at 6:00. Delmi hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. Kaitlyn regained control and she yelled at fans, which got her booed. Delmi fired up and hit a series of forearm strikes, then a stunner at 8:30 for a nearfall. Delmi hit a baseball slide dropkick that sent Kaitlyn from the apron to the floor. Kaitlyn hit a DDT out of the ropes, then a Death Valley Driver, then a Vader Bomb for the clean pin.
3. Jackson Drake defeated Terry Yaki at 13:43. More Southern talents here. Jackson is white and scrawny. Yaki is Black with some brown streaks in his hair and he also recently did a NOAH tour in Japan. Yaki got on the mic but he was hard to comprehend. Good mat reversals early on. Drake hit a gut-wrench suplex for a nearfall at 2:30. They brawled to the floor. Yaki dropped Drake crotch-first on the guardrail; he got a nearfall in the ring at 5:00. Drake tied up Yaki’s legs on the mat. Yaki applied a half-crab at 7:00 and was booed. Drake hit a Chaos Theory/rolling German Suplex for a nearfall at 8:30, but he began untying his boot, indicating he has a swollen leg.
They traded forearm strikes on the mat. Drake hit a seeries of kicks. He hit a Shining Wizard, then a Tombstone Piledriver at 10:00. However, he sold pain in his knee, was slow to make a cover, and only got a nearfall. Drake hit a dive through the ropes onto Yaki. However, Terry immediately hit a flip dive to the floor on Drake. Drake hit a DDT out of the ropes, then a twisting slam for a nearfall. Drake hit a huracanrana ad they began trading rollups. Yaki hit an enzuigiri. Drake hit a Canadian Destroyer, then an F5 Slam for the pin. That was low-key good stuff. The commentators made a big deal of this being Drake’s first victory in VXS.
* We had a video segment of Little Guido and his son, Dom Denaro. Denaro has apparently “stolen Sami Callihan’s car” and Guido is livid at him for bringing this problem to their family. Some of the dialogue feels familiar; they have to be spoofing a movie or film that I feel like I’ve seen but not recalling which one. (It was very much like the D’Angelo family stuff we’ve seen lately in NXT.)
4. Sami Callihan defeated Little Guido (w/Dom Denaro) at 7:27. Guido got a hero’s welcome, and he still is in great shape. Callihan got on the mic and said “never in a million years did I think I’d be back in this shit-hole.” Sami immediately got a glossy picture and gave Guido a paper cut between his fingers, then across his lips. They brawled on the floor. In the ring, Callihan hit a Mark Henry slam for a nearfall at 4:00. He hit an inverted DDT for a nearfall. Denaro tried to distract Sami, and it allowed Guido to hit a flying axe kick for a believable nearfall at 6:30. Guido began arguing with his son, apparently ordering him to leave. It allowed Sami to hit a low blow, then a Death Valley Driver for the pin. Okay action.
5. Spencer Slade defeated Joe Keys at 10:17. Keys was a rookie at the end of the ROH Sinclair era. Spencer Slade wore head gear like Josh Alexander and he’s a cocky jerk; I don’t recall seeing him before. (A quick search of Dot Net records shows I saw him in an IWC show in October 2022 in a multi-man match.) Intense mat reversals to open and Spencer hit a snap suplex at 2:00. He hit a jumping knee to the chin for a nearfall, and he kept Keys grounded. Slade applied a Texas Cloverleaf at 5:00. Slade’s manager stomped on Keys on the floor. Keys hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 5:30.
Keys hit a Go To Sleep-style knee strike for a nearfall, but the manager put Slade’s foot on the ropes to break the count. Slade hit a German Suplex, then another, then a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall at 8:30. Keys went for another Go To Sleep-style move but Slade blocked it and applied an anklelock. Keys hit a spear. Slade hit a Cradle Shock-style slam for the pin. Solid action.
6. Casanova Valentine and Colby Corino defeated “Above the Rest” Tristan Thai and Gabriel Skye at 12:13. I don’t know Casanova Valentine at all; he’s a big man like WWE’s Ivar. Colby wore his NWA Junior Heavyweight title. AtR attacked Colby from behind! (I’m used to seeing them as babyfaces!) Casanova hit the ring to make the save. Colby hit a Swanton Bomb. He hit a Tiger Driver on Thai at 1:30. Skye hit a top-rope flying double knees on Corino, and AtR worked over Corino. They hit front and back kicks on him. (The on-screen clock is way behind mine, as I started the stopwatch when AtR attacked Colby.)
Skye hit a Northern Suplex at 6:30; Colby hit a brainbuster on Gabriel and they were both down. Skye hit a German Suplex. Thai hit a neckbreaker. Casanova finally got the hot tag and he hit a Saito Suplex at 8:00. Colby hit a top-rope doublestomp on Skye, and Valentine made the cover for a nearfall. Skye hit a running knee. Thai flipped Skye onto Valentine. Thai hit a German Suplex. Valentine applied a Claw on the top of Thai’s head and slammed him to the mat. Colby put Skye on his shoulders and flipped him forward to the mat for the pin. Good match.
7. Myron Reed defeated Akira at 16:09. Akira brought a dog to ringside and apparently no one in New York had ever seen a dog before, as they nearly trampled each other to get a chance to pet the pup. They pounded fists, showing this is a babyface matchup. Standing switches to open. Akira slammed him to the mat and hit a series of stiff kicks to the spine at 4:00. Myron kipped up and hit an enzuigiri. He hit a slingshot guillotine leg drop for a nearfall. Akira applied a half-crab. Myron hit a Lungblower to the chest. Akira hit an enzuigiri. He draped Myron over the top-rope and hit a doublestomp to his head at 7:00. Akira began twisting Myron’s left wrist and fingers. Myron nailed a Flatliner for a nearfall at 9:00.
Myron hit a superkick, then a slingshot Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. He hit an enzuigiri. Reed went for his stunner from the apron to the floor, but Akira caught him and applied a sleeper; they fell to the floor and the ref began counting them out. In the ring, Akira hit a Mafia Kick at 12:00. Myron hit a stunner, then a Helluva Kick. Akira did a snake-eyes, tossing Myron face-first onto the top turnbuckle.
Akira hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Akira put his own arms behind his back and let Myron hit some forearm strikes. Akira hit a spinning back fist. Myron hit a superkick. Akira hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall, and he applied a front guillotine choke, then he hit a stunner at 16:00. Reed hit his kip-up Stunner, then an Air Raid Crash for the pin. That was really good and easily best match of the show so far.
8. Lio Rush defeated Arez at 17:03. Lio is on a great run after taking off the last few months of 2023 due to illness; he’s just come back motivated and fresh. They shook hands then had an intense lockup and feeling-out process. They traded offense while in a knuckle lock. Lio did his mis-direction offense. Lio nailed a dive through the ropes to the floor at 4:00. They traded chops in front of the fans. Lio slammed Arez back-first on the ring apron. In the ring, Arez hit a Lungblower move for a nearfall at 6:00. Arez ran up Lio’s back, and he tied up Rush on the mat. Arez hit a DDT for a nearfall at 9:30.
They traded quick offense and both men were down. Lio hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 12:00. Arez hit an enzuigiri and his one-footed Lionsault Press for a nearfall. He hit a series of kick kicks and kept Lio grounded. Arez hit a Pele Kick at 15:00, then a jumping sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Rush hit a spear, then the Final Hour stunner out of the ropes. He then nailed the Rush Hour frogsplash for the clean pin. Another very good match.
* Lio got on the mic and thanked Arez. They shook hands and fans chanted “both these guys!” Arez got on the mic and thanked the fans.
* We went to a recorded segment outside, and it’s Jordan Oliver! He called out Lio Rush! Oliver said if there is a belt on the line, he’ll be back to take it.
Final Thoughts: Some really good matches here. Lio-Arez narrowly tops Reed-Akira for best match, while Drake-Yaki is a distant third, ahead of the show-opener Dante-Everett. No intergender matches, no death matches; the Sami brawl was fine and wasn’t disgusting.
The lighting was okay. It was a bit darker than I’d prefer, but it wasn’t hard to see, either. The worst part of the show was Julius Smokes, who is brutally awful on commentary. They also mixed in some Spanish commentary, which became distracting to the point I just tuned the sound down.
Be the first to comment