By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Chicago Style Wrestling “Over Like Clover”
March 15, 2024 in Franklin Park, Illinois at American Legion Post 974
Available for streaming via Independentwrestling.tv
The crowd was maybe 300-350 and it’s packed. The lighting was decent.
* TJ Steel, the heel general manager, hit the ring to open the show and was booed. He proclaimed he isn’t the bad guy, the crowd is. He said the women’s champion, Shelley Benson, has an ankle injury and is off the show. Thus, the first match will be a No. 1 contender’s match for the women’s title.
1. Aminah Belmont defeated Maggie Lee, Veda Scott, Skye Blue and Lili La Pescadita in a five-way at 10:50. I just saw Belmont for the first time last week; she is Black and has big poofy hair. I haven’t seen Lili before; she has a Tasha Steelz look to her. The commentators said Lili recently competed in an NWA show that was recorded in Chicago. A rare match for Veda, who I’m so used to hearing on commentary. Maggie, the tall, curly redhead, is a babyface here; I’ve only seen her as a heel in Dreamwave, Glory Pro, etc. Skye Blue came out last and she is acting like the spooky heel character she portrays in AEW. Maggie is listed online at 5’11” and that seems accurate as she is a head taller than some of the other women in this match.
Skye Blue choked Veda in the ropes. Maggie hit a Blockbuster. Aminah and Lili traded forearm strikes in the ring as others fought on the floor. Veda hit a tornado DDT on Aminah at 6:00. She suplexed Maggie onto Skye, then she hit a German Suplex on Aminah. Aminah hit a fadeaway stunner on Veda. Maggie hit a powerbomb on Skye for a nearfall. Maggie hit a running knee to the side of Veda’s head, but she missed a top-rope moonsault. Skye hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Maggie at 8:30, and Maggie collapsed in pain. Officials ran down to check on her; Skye looked disinterested and uncaring as Maggie was helped from the ring. Veda tied Skye in a crossface. Lili hit an enzuigiri on Skye. Chris Miller walked to ringside and he got in the ring! Lili slapped him and hit a Samoan Drop on him! The distraction allowed Aminah to hit an Unprettier faceplant on Lili for the pin!
* Backstage, we saw Skye Blue kick out Maggie Lee’s injured leg! Skye gave a mischeivous smile afterward.
* Doom Montgomery had an open challenge for a death match. He is covered in blood (paint?). I don’t like death matches, but a bit of a surprise it would be second on the show. Usually you want that on last because they often tend to be messy. He has short black hair; I don’t think I’ve seen him before. Axel Rico, a short Latino man with long curly hair, hit the ring to accept this match He said his opponent isn’t here, so he’s available. OKAY, this match isn’t a death match… Doom wants one in the future.
2. Axel Rico defeated Doom Montgomery at 8:50. Doom is much taller and thicker than the smaller Rico and he dominated early on. Axel hit a dropkick but Doom otherwise dominated. The crowd was fairly quiet. Rico hit a running knee for the pin. Neither man admittedly did much to impress me.
3. Iniestra defeated Missa Kate to retain the CSW Metra Division championship at 11:13. I’ve seen Kate wrestle a couple times this week; she is a regular in NWA and she has a tough persona, comparable to NXT’s Arianna Rizzo. Iniestra came out second, and he had the belt over his shoulder. He pointed at her and laughed; he’s clearly not taking this seriously. They are roughly the same height. She immediately hit some forearm strikes but he shoved her to the mat. He slammed her head onto the top turnbuckle and whipped her into the corner. (This is why I don’t like intergender matches, because this is how a legit match would look.)
Kate hit a huracanrana that sent him to the floor. She hit a baseball slide dropkick at 1:30. She had fans hold Iniestra’s arms while she chopped his chest. He slammed her on the ring apron. He slammed her head on a turnbuckle again, and she collapsed to the floor at 3:30. He grounded her in the ring. He shoved the ref; she immediately hit a low blow. She put up her hair (a sign she is serious now!) and she hit a series of forearm strikes and an enzuigiri for a nearfall at 6:30. She hit the Three Amigos rolling suplexes (and threw in a hip swivel.) She slipped on the ropes and rolled to the floor. (Good recovery by both of them, as Iniestra just stood and laughed at her.)
She suplexed him onto the ring apron and they were both down on the floor at 9:00. She hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. He got up but was still selling the low blow. She slammed his head into the second turnbuckle and hit a kneestrike to the back of his head for a neafall at 10:30. Two masked people walked to ringside, which distracted her. He grabbed her, hit a Gory Bomb, and scored the pin. Compelling and entertaining match, despite my objections to intergender action. The masked people carried her to the back! What is going on?
* Joey Mayberry came to the ring. He’s billed as “Dad Bod Demi God” but he appears to be quite effeminant. He’s the special referee for the next match.
4. Eric Schultz and Jax Johnson defeated Marsche Rockett and Steve Boz via DQ at 9:30. Rockett wrestles in NWA as “Carnage” in the Blunt Force Trauma team. Boz is quite muscular; I think I’ve seen him just once or twice. I don’t know their opponents at all. Jax is Black (think Kofi) and Eric is white and dressed like Irwin R. Schyster (white shirt, suspenders and tie.) Eric and Rockett opened. Boz hit a suplex on Schultz, sending him to the floor. Rockett and Boz worked over the smaller Jax. Boz hit a swinging faceplant on Schultz for a nearfall at 6:00. Marsche hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Jax hit an enzuigiri on Boz. Rockett hit a stunner on Jax for a nearfall. However, CSW owner TJ Steel, who was at ringside, ordered Joey Marbury to call for the bell and disqualify Rockett and Boz! Joey reluctantly did so. The heels beat up Rockett and Boz some more.
5. “Warhorse” Jake Parnell defeated Rafael Quintero at 16:54. Warhorse got on the mic and ordered the crowd to be quiet as he speaks. Being as we’re in Chicago, with the way he has his hair pulled back tight and those sunglasses… he kind of reminds me of Steve “Mongo” McMichael. I haven’t seen Quintero before; he is billed as from Mexico, and he has wild crazy hair. Quintero set up for a dive to the floor, but Warhorse cut him off with a forearm at 4:30. He beat up Quintero on the floor. In the ring, Parnell stayed in charge, hitting a Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall at 7:30. Quintero nailed a dive through the ropes. In the ring, Quintero hit a doublestomp and was fired up.
Parnell hit a clothesline to the back of the head and a running knee in the corner for a nearfall at 10:30. They traded forearm strikes and chops. Parnell applied a sleeper, but Quintero broke free. Quintero hit an enzuigiri and they were both down. Parnell hit some back suplexes and a short-arm clothesline, then a Rebound Lariat for a nearfall at 13:30. He applied a crossface, but Quintero reached the ropes. Quintero hit a rolling Death Valley Driver. Two guys came to ringside (again!) to distract Quintero, then they left. Quintero hit a buzzsaw kick for a nearfall at 15:30. He nailed a German Suplex with a high bridge for a believable nearfall. However, Quintero missed a frogsplash. Warhorse applied a sleeper on the mat; Quintero writhed on the mat before tapping out. This was seriously good and topped all my expectations.
* Backstage, Swoggle approached Adam Stallion. They saw someone else off-screen and were impressed…
6) Swoggle, Cypher, and Adam Stallion defeated Solomon Tupu, Jay Marston, and Shain Boucher at 8:56. I just saw Tupu last week and I came away impressed; I compare him to Bronson Reed in looks, but not quite as round. Outside of Swoggle, I don’t know the other four in this match. Cypher is tall and wore Joker-style facepaint; it’s white and black but scary. Swoggle came out last and got a nice pop. Stallion is short and scrawny. Shain has short hair slicked back, appears to be a good heel, and reminds me of a young Jimmy Rave. Swoggled entered at 1:30 and the crowd taunted Shain with a “Swoggle’s gonna kill you!” chant. Cypher picked up Swoggle and used him as a battering ram. Swoggle bit Tupu’s butt. The heels worked over the scrawny Adam Stallion. Swoggle got a hot tag at 7:30 but Tupu hit a hard clothesline! Cypher’s size makes me think of PCO or Abyss. He chokeslammed a heel; Swoggle immediately covered the heel for the pin. Of the four I didn’t know, Shain stood out.
7. Gringo Loco defeated Heather Reckless in an intergender match at 13:17. Reckless is talented and been in a lot of AEW TV matches, but she’s also 4’9″ and maybe 110 pounds. I just don’t see the point of having two intergender matches; why couldn’t Reckless just face Missa Kate? The bell rang but then she grabbed the mic and “apologized for calling him old.” She handed him a present, but it was a road cone or hat that read “Old AF.” They finally locked up at 2:00, and she hit a head-scissors takedown. He dropped her with a shoulder tackle. She hit a shotgun dropkick that staggered him, then a top-rope huracanrana.
Heather hit a huracanrana on the floor that I have to acknowledge looked terrible as Loco over-sold it. Reckless hit a top-rope moonsault and turned it into a tornado DDT at 4:30. In the ring, he hit a swinging sideslam for a nearfall. He hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall at 8:00. However, he missed a top-rope moonsault. She hit a top-rope Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Loco nailed a second-rope Blue Thunder Bomb for a believable nearfall at 10:00, and the commentators went nuts when she kicked out.
Reckless, who is a heel here, is getting a babyface treatment from this crowd. (Another reason to avoid intergender matches). She hit a huracanrana for a nearfall. He nailed a superkick to her jaw and they were both down at 11:30. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and she hit a Frankensteiner. She nailed a Poison Rana and a Buzzsaw Kick to his head. She went to the top rope, but he met her there and hit a Base Bomb/second-rope twisting powerbomb for the clean pin. All my complaints about intermatches aside, this was compelling and entertaining.
8. Joey Avalon and Sierra defeated GPA and Laynie Luck to retain the CSW Tag Team Titles at 11:26. Laynie has a damaged elbow she’s been nursing. These two teams have feuded across at least two promotions. Sierra is blonde and she’s thicker than Laynie. Avalon always carries a shovel with him; he’s much bigger than GPA. As Sierra walked around ringside before the bell, someone in the crowd struck Sierra with a chair! The person scampered out a side door while several referees and Avalon checked on her! THe bell rang with the men opening. GPA hit a chop that Avalon no-sold, earning a “You f—ed up!” chant. Avalon beat up GPA, who scampered to the floor to regroup with Laynie.
The heels began working over Avalon. Laynie focused on kicks on Avalon’s wrapped left elbow. Sierra returned to ringside at 6:30, got the hot tag, and hit a German Suplex on Sierra. She hit running knees in opposite corners on the heels. GPA hit a spear on Avalon for a nearfall, then a stunner. Laynie struck Sierra in the head with a title belt for a nearfall at 10:30. Avalon hit a backbreaker over his knee on Laynie. He applied a Fujiwara Armbar on her damaged elbow; she screamed in pain and tapped out.
9. Conan Lycan defeated Mike Bailey to retain the CSW Heavyweight Title at 21:40. Lycan is fairly muscular; he reminds me of NXT-era Baron Corbin with his long, stringy black hair. They tied up at the bell but the stronger Lycan easily shoved Bailey to the mat. Bailey hit a dropkick and some spin kicks to the thighs. Lycan hit an impressive standing moonsault at 2:00. They fought to the floor and traded chops in front of the fans. Lycan nailed a dive through the ropes to the floor on Bailey. In the ring, Bailey dropped Lycan stomach-first across the top rope at 4:30 and hit a kneestrike across his back. Bailey hit a Vader Bomb-style kneedrop to the chest at 6:30 and remained in charge. Bailey hit his Speedball kicks to the ribs and thighs, then his running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall.
Lycan hit an impressive swinging Flatliner at 9:00 and we got a “This is awesome!” chant. Lycan nailed a Buckle Bomb, then a rolling Death Valley Driver, but he missed a moonsault. Lycan nailed a powerbomb and they were both down at 11:00. They got up and traded chops. Bailey nailed a roundhouse kick to the chest. Lycan hit a swinging powerbomb off his shoulders for a believable nearfall at 14:00. Lycan flipped Bailey HARD stomach-first to the mat; I initally wasn’t sure if Bailey fully rotated but it appears he did and everyone was okay. Bailey hit a moonsault kneedrop at 15:30. He hit the Triangle Moonsault to the floor, then a moonsault double kneedrop on the chest on the ring apron.
Bailey set up for the Flamingo Driver but Lycan blocked it. (Our commentator had no idea what move Bailey was setting up for, which makes me think he’s not been watching Bailey wrestle.) Bailey nailed a top-rope Frankensteiner at 19:00 and some more superkicks. He set up for a Tornado Kick but Lycan caught him with a big shoulder tackle. Bailey hit the Tornado Kick, then the Ultima Weapon for a believable nearfall. Bailey again set up for the Flamingo Driver but Lycan escaped and hit a kneestrike to the chest, then a standing powerbomb. Lycan nailed a top-rope 450 Splash for a believable nearfall, then an Ospreay-style Stormbreaker/swinging faceplant off his shoulders for the pin. The crowd rightfully gave these two a standing ovation. After teasing he wouldn’t shake his hand, Bailey shook it and they hugged.
* Some of the heels hit the ring, but Lycan and Bailey fought them off, with Lycan hitting a flip dive to the floor on them.
Final Thoughts: If Mike Bailey is on an indy show, I guarantee I will at the very least watch his match. These two had a stellar main event. I know what to expect from Bailey, but Lycan really impressed, including a top-rope 450 Splash from a guy this big. Warhorse-Quintero was really good for second-best. Loco-Reckless takes third as it was well laid-out. I really don’t like when a woman stands toe-to-toe and trades forearm strikes when she clearly doesn’t have the size to do that. So, I like that Heather’s offense is built around hitting some kicks and huracanranas; it made this match look far more believable to me than some of the other intergender matches.
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