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
ETU “One Time for the One Time”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
March 3, 2024 in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey at The Mecca
Attendance was maybe 150-250. The lighting was okay. I’ve seen multiple shows from this venue.
* EtU announced early in the day that shoot fighter Matt Makowski is ill and off the show; he is being replaced by Joey Janela. A quick glance at the lineup shows I am familiar with everyone on the show.
1. Marcus Mathers defeated Joey Janela to retain the Key to the East Championship at 20:04. That is one heckuva last-minute replacement; Joey is from N.J. and got a nice pop. Mat reversals early. Mathers hit a head-scissors takedown and a dropkick at 3:30. Janela slammed him back-first on the ring apron. Back in the ring, Joey hit a running back elbow and was in charge. They traded punches at 8:00. Marcus hit a second-rope stunner and a German Suplex. He hit a double-jump crossbody block for a nearfall. Janela hit a bodyslam at 10:00 and was back in charge. Mathers popped up and hit his own series of bodyslams. Joey hit an inverted DDT for a nearfall. Mathers hit a huracanrana and another stunner.
Joey hit a Razor’s Edge for a nearfall at 12:00. Marcus hit a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron, then a flip dive to the floor onto Joey! In the ring, Marcus went for a 450 Splash but Joey got his knees up at 14:30. Joey hit a clothesline, but Mathers hit a brainbuster and a penalty kick to the chest. Joey hit a buzzsaw kick, then the package piledriver for a believable nearfall. They got up and traded more chops and forearm strikes. Mathers hit a Helluva Kick, then a second-rope Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall at 18:30. Joey hit a top-rope superplex, but Mathers held on and hit a twisting suplex. Mathers nailed a top-rope 450 Splash for the pin. Great, great opener.
* Mathers got on the mic and put over Joey as one of the best in the world. He then called out Dragon Kid to a match at the EtU-Dragon Gate show that is part of WrestleMania weekend.
2. “Killionaires Club” P.B. Smooth and J Bouji defeated Tommy Vendetta and Malcolm Monroe III at 8:56. Smooth is a really tall Black man, and I compare Bouji to WWE’s Reggie/Scrypts. PB and Bouji attacked before the bell. MM3 and Vendetta are from the Detroit area but routinely head to the East Coast to compete. Bouji hit a nice dropkick on MM3. The KC worked over Vendetta (think Mark Briscoe) in their corner. Smooth leaned Vendetta over the ropes and hit Sheamus-style blows to the chest and got a nearfall at 4:00. MM3 finally got the hot tag at 6:30 and he hit a running kick on PB. MM3 hit a modified Go To Sleep, then a stunner on Bouji. Vendetta put Malcolm on his back and they did a team rolling cannonball in the corner. Nice spot. PB tossed Bouji, who hit a stunner. Smooth threw Bouji onto Malcolm for the pin. Good action.
3. Yoya defeated Jimmy Lloyd at 5:52. Yoya is the short Cambodian and he has a mystery opponent. Lloyd is much taller and thicker, and he worked over Yoya in the corner. They brawled into the crowd. Lloyd dropped him back-first on the apron at 3:00. Lloyd hit a piledriver move in the ring for a nearfall. Yoya got a rollup out of nowhere for the pin. This didn’t meet my expectations. Lloyd was shocked he had gotten beaten.
4. Janai Kai defeated Zayda Steel at 6:49. I’m a big fan of both of these women, who are both making in-roads in MLW. The crowd chanted “You’re gonna get your f—in’ head kicked in!” at Zayda. The bell rang but Steel still had her sunglasses on, and she bailed out of the ring and ran, with Janai chasing her around the ring. Steel tried to dive on her, but Kai caught her with a kick. In the ring, Janai hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 1:30. She hit some roundhouse kicks and a Sling Blade clothesline for a nearfall. Zayda slapped heer in the face and celebrated; Kai responded by tackling and mounting her and punching her in the face.
Zayda hit a running neckbreaker. She hit a faceplant move for a nearfall at 3:30. She hit some stiff kicks to the spine, but Janai just smiled. Kai hit a hard clothesline and leg sweep, then a buzzsaw kick. Janai hit a running kick as Zayda was against the ropes for a nearfall at 5:00. Zayda hit a Lungblower to the chest out of the corner for a nearfall. Zayda came off the top rope, but Janai caught her with a kick and they were both down. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees. Janai hit a Helluva Kick in the corner for the pin out of nowhere. I really enjoyed that.
5. Danny Demanto defeated Ken Broadway in a no holds barred match at 17:43. Demanto is the rotund, white brawler. Broadway is an athletic Black man; he competed on the House of Glory show a night earlier. A bunch of weapons, from chairs to a board with cans on them, were in the ring. This isn’t my style of wrestling. Demanto almost immediately shoved Broadway off the apron and through a door set up on the floor, and they brawled on the floor. In the ring, Demanto had two plastic coat hangers and he ‘fish-hooked’ Ken’s mouth at 5:00. Demanto stabbed short skewers into Ken’s forehead and top of his head. He slammed Ken and got a nearfall.
Ken found a gusset plate and shoved that into Danny’s forehead; this is gross and just not for me. Demanto hit a snake-eyes on the top turnbuckle at 12:00. Demanto hit a piledriver for a believable nearfall. Demanto set up the board that has a punch of ripped-apart pop cans on it. (Seems unncessarilly dangerous to me.) Broadway suplexed them both onto the table for a nearfall at 14:30. Demanto hit a top-rope powerbomb for the pin. Just not for me; I think the crowd liked it.
6. Billie Starkz defeated Gabriel Skye in an intergender match at 11:48. The wrestlers are roughly the same height and they had an intense lockup to open. Skye hammerlocked her arm and hit a suplex for a nearfall at 4:00. Gabriel kept her grounded and worked the left arm. Billie hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 7:00. Skye hit a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall. Skye was on her shoulders and got a Victory Roll for a nearfall. He applied a Danielson-style Cattle Mutilation, but she got a foot on the ropes at 10:00 to break it.
Skye jawed at the fans and was booed. He kicked at her arm; she spit on him! She hit a kneestrike to the chin and a spin kick. He hit a rolling forearm. She hit a Tombstone Piledriver for a nearfall. Billie nailed the top-rope Swanton Bomb for a believable nearfall. They traded rollups. He landed face-first on the middle turnbuckle; she immediately got an O’Connor Roll for the pin! Good back-and-forth action.
7. Alec Price defeated Brayden Toon at 12:05. I always compare Toon to a young Kevin Owens; he’s a really athletic man for his size. Price competed in Massachusetts on Thursday for Wrestling Open, and St. Louis and Indianapolis over the weekend for GCW, so this is at least his fourth consecutive day with a match. Standing switches to open. Toon hit an enzuigiri in the corner, then a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 3:00. Price hit a springboard crossbody block and a jumping kneedrop to the head, and he was jawing at Toon. Toon held onto Alec’s left wrist and hit some hard chops. Price hit a rebound lariat for a nearfall.
Price hit a running knee. Toon hit a running neckbreaker and an Air Raid Crash for a nearfall at 7:30. Toon missed a moonsault but landed on his feet. Price nailed a half-nelson suplex for a nearfall. Price hit his running knees in the corner, then a second-rope flying legdrop at 10:00. Toon nailed a sit-out powerbomb, then a kneestrike to the back of the head for a nearfall. Toon nailed the Best Moonsault Ever for a nearfall. Price hit a superkick. Price leapt onto Toon’s shoulders and hit a modified Destroyer. Price then hit the Surprise Kick/step-up mule kick to the head for the pin. That was really good and I wish it had gone longer.
8. Brandon Kirk defeated Dezmond Cole in a No. 1 contender’s match at 8:46. Kirk is taller and wore jeans; he’s usually a hardcore wrestler but I’ve found he can go in the ring without that garbage stuff. I always compare Dezmond to Ricochet. Kirk hit some chops and was in charge early. Cole hit a dropkick that sent Kirk to the floor to regroup. Kirk hit a legdrop across the throat on the apron at 3:00, and he took control in the ring. Cole hit an enzuigiri. Kirk hit a decapitating clothesline. Cole hit a tornado DDT and they were both down.
Cole hit a suplex at 6:30 and was fired up. He hit a rolling guillotine leg drop for a nearfall. Cole trapped his head in the corner and hit a kick to the face, then a German Suplex, then a spin kick to the head for a nearfall, but Kirtk got a foot on the ropes at 8:00. Cole went for a Swanton Bomb, but Kirk got his knees up to block it. Kirk immediately hit a piledriver for the pin. Good while it lasted; this should have been much longer, though. Marcus Mathers came to the ring and pounded fists with Kirk, making clear these two are friends as they head toward a title match against each other.
9. Mike Santana defeated Homicide at 11:15. Santana is coming off a match against Pentagon the night before in House of Glory Wrestling. Homicide hit an Exploder Suplex in the opening seconds. They brawled to the floor, and they went over the guardrail and into the crowd. “They know each other; they like each other, and everything is fair between the ropes,” a commentator said. They got back in the ring, where Homicide hit an elbow drop for a nearfall at 4:30. Santana hit the Three Amigos rolling suplexes, but he missed a top-rope doublestomp. Homicide immediately hit a stunner for a nearfall. Homicide was now in charge.
Santana hit an enzuigiri, then a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 7:00, and we got a “this is awesome!” chant. Homicide applied a sleeper. Santana hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Homicide hit another stunner for a nearfall and he yelled at the ref. He hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 9:30 and again yelled at the ref. Homicide applied an STF on the mat, but Santana reached the ropes. Homicide dragged Santana back to the center of the ring and re-applied the hold, and he switched to a crossface. Santana got a rollup out of nowhere for the clean pin! Homicide was in disbelief. Good match. Santana got on the mic and put Homicide over, and they shook hands.
Final Thoughts: Not the first time I’ve seen EtU open with their best match. Janela-Mathers was really good and earns best match. I’ll narrowly go with Homicide-Santana over Price-Toon for second place. An entertaining Billie-Skye match takes honorable mention. For being so short, Kai-Zayda was really good too.
I know she wasn’t slated to be in action in North Carolina, but still a little surprised that Starkz was booked elsewhere opposite an AEW PPV. It just seems like that’s a night you’d be asked to keep your schedule cleared.
Be the first to comment