By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Reality of Wrestling “Last Stand Rumble”
Taped March 9, 2024 in Texas City, Texas at Walker Texas Lawyer Arena
Streamed April 28, 2024 on the YouTube.com
The lighting was really good and the crowd was maybe 300. The ring looked clean and professional.
I’m a sucker for tournaments and Rumbles. I have heard a few names who are in this match, so I decided to check it out. I’ve only seen a bit of RoW so I am unfamiliar with most of their talent. The winner will be No. 1 contender for any title of their choosing. No on-screen graphics so I will undoubtedly spell some names wrong, although I can see them on a video screen in the background.
1. The Last Stand Rumble. Clay Roberts is No. 1 (think Oney Lorcan) and Dylan Flehr is No. 2; he does an okay Ric Flair impersonation. Jay Knight is No. 3 at 1:30; he’s a Black high-flyer. Ayden Christiano is No. 4; he’s a bruiser with a mohawk. He hit some LOUD chops on Dylan. Johnny Lyons, another “Nature Boy” is No. 5 at 4:00, so we have rapid-fire entrants. The Boogeyman is No. 6 and the crowd POPPED. “I don’t like this,” a commentator shouted. He slithered out of the back in full Boogeyman gear. All five guys cowered in one corner, not wanting to approach him. Boogeyman tossed Lyons. Flehr eliminated himself! Boogeyman eliminated himself at 7:00 to chase Flehr and Lyons to the back.
Jacob Johnson, a tall Black man is No. 7, and they said he’s from Deep South Wrestling from Alabama. Hoka, a Tongan, is No. 8, and it’s his RoW debut, too; he hit a Samoan Drop seconds into his time in the match. No. 9 is The Rocket, also known as Josiah John, and he apparently almost won last year; he is a good-sized Black man. Jay Alexander is No. 10 at 11:00, and he is comparable to Bron Breaker. He tossed Jay Knight. Dexx Factor Dixon is No. 11, and he’s a thicker Black man. He tossed Ayden. Mike Anthony is No. 12 and he’s a bald Black man, comparable to Jay Lethal.
Chandler Hopkins is No. 13 at 15:00; he’s a cowboy and has had multiple AEW TV matches. Josiah “Rocket” was tossed. Hopkins tossed Hoka. Najasism is No. 14; he’s also debuting and he’s a shorter Black man from Deep South. He tossed the taller Jacob Johnson. Terron Beckham is No. 15 at 18:00, and he’s a muscular Black man. He traded punches with Dexx Factor, and Terron wound up clotheslining them both to the floor. I see five in the ring. Max Castellanos is No. 16; at first glance I thought it was Xyon Quinn. Jay Alexander was tossed. Beau Amir is No. 17 at 20:30 and he’s a TALL Black man; he might be 6’9″ or so. He easily tossed around Najasism and gave him a Gorilla Press to the floor.
Gaspar Hernandez is No. 18 and he’s a tall, muscular Latino, and he stood toe-to-toe with Amir (Beau is still taller.) Everyone remaining attacked the two big guys. Gaspar clotheslines Amir over the top rope at 23:00! Gaspar tossed two more guys, including Chandler Hopkins. Eli Knight, from Florida’s Culture Inc., is No. 19. I’ve written several times that he has the prettiest Shooting Star Press going today. Quentin Wynters is No. 20; he’s a Black man similar to Rich Swann and they said he was in a recent student showcase, so he’s new, too. Maven is No. 21 and the crowd went nuts for him, too. This is his RoW debut; one of the commentators pointed out how Maven once eliminated the Undertaker from a Rumble. He hit some punches and a dropkick; a shoe flew off on that dropkick. He got a “you still got it!” chant.
No. 22 is Inferno Tiger at 28:00; he’s masked like Lince Dorado. Maven quickly tossed Tiger! Wynters hit a dropkick to eliminate Maven and was LOUDLY booed. They said Tiger was only in for 11 seconds, which is a record short time. No. 23 is Cam Cole; he’s an average-sized white man and made me think of Alex Riley. No. 24 is Mason Madden and he got a nice pop, too. He hit a chokeslam on Eli Knight; this is his second Last Stand match. He still has his sunglasses on. Castellanos was tossed. I see six in the ring. “Fat Jitsu” K. Toomer is No. 25. He is a Black man probably 400 pounds but he hit some quick kicks and he tossed Roberts at 32:30, who had started at No. 1.
No. 26 is Javier Bernal from NXT! Eli Knight got tossed. Madden was selling a knee injury in one corner. Bernal hit a crossbody block on three guys. No. 27 is Will Allday, who also has had multiple AEW TV matches; he shook Bernal’s hand but then superkicked him. He hugged Cole and that popped the crowd. No. 28 is Zilla Fatu at 36:30. He hit a Bubba Bomb on Cole. He hit a Samoan Drop on the massive K. Toomer! No. 29 is Tito Lincoln and he’s a tall Black man; they said he’s from Florida. The commentators agreed this is the largest bunch of men to be in a Last Stand Rumble. No. 30 is Zack Mason, who earned this spot, and he entered at 39:00.
Mason Madden was eliminated. Tito got the big Toomer over. I’m seeing seven men left. Someone else was tossed. Allday and Bernal fought on the ring apron and both fell to the ground, so we’re down to four. Zilla Fatu and Zack Mason traded hard chops in the center of the ring, while Tito and Gaspar Hernandez fought in the corner. Gaspar tossed Tito at 43:30. He clotheslined Zack to the floor! Zilla went over the top rope but held on! However, Gaspar hit a Mafia Kick to send Zilla flying to the floor.
Gaspar Hernandez won a Last Stand Rumble at 44:25.
The broadcast team said Hernandez had seven eliminations to win the match. Booker T was shown standing in the aisle and applauding him.
Final Thoughts: A fun Rumble and they clearly drew on a lot of guys from outside their promotion. With Maven, Javier Bernal, Mason Madden and The Boogeyman, they had a nice mix of star power, too. Zilla Fatu has an ‘it factor’ to him, even though he didn’t win. My big takeaway is the sheer size of a lot of these guys, and this felt like it was well-booked to give several people some big spots.
Maven losing his shoe was pretty great. Can’t wait to hear him talk about it on his channel!