By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Revolver “Another Friday”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
May 17, 2024 in Dayton, Ohio at Calumet Center
This is the small gym they always use and it’s packed to capacity at maybe 400-500 fans. Bork Torgelson and Veda Scott provided commentary. I always say that Revolver shows feel like a TNA house show, with their heavy use of current or former TNA wrestlers.
* Jon Moxley hit the ring and said “there is no place better to be on a Friday night than a pro wrestling show.” He really didn’t say anything noteworthy but it’s always great to see him.
1. Myron Reed defeated Mike Bailey at 13:40. They shook hands at the bell and we got a “holy shit!” chant before the first punch was thrown. Bailey hit a dropkick; Myron hit a dropkick, traded more quick offense and had a standoff at 2:00. Myron hit a kip-up enzuigiri and a Lungblower move to the chin. He hit a superkick for a nearfall. He went for a plancha but Bailey kicked him on the way down. Bailey hit a baseball slide dropkick at 4:00. He hit his flying double knees to Myron’s back as Myron was lying across the top rope. Bailey went for a cross-armbreaker, but Myron reached the ropes. Myron nailed a Mafia Kick at 6:30.
Reed put Bailey’s feet on the top rope and hit a Flatliner for a nearfall, and we got a “this is awesome!” chant. Bailey hit a second-rope missile dropkick, then an axe kick to the back of the neck, then a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 8:30. Myron hit an enzuigiri. They hit simultaneous spin kicks to the head and both collapsed. They got up, hit simultaneous boots to the sternum, and both collapsed again at 10:00. Bailey nailed his Speedball kicks to the ribs and thighs. Myron hit his Stundog Millionaire, and Mike rolled to the floor to regroup. Myron dove over the top rope onto Bailey.
Bailey hit his Triangle Moonsault to the floor at 11:30. He hit his moonsault kneedrop on the apron. He went for the Ultima Weapon but Reed caught his head and hit a stunner. Reed hit his stunner where he dives over the top rope, snatches Bailey’s head, and they crash to the floor, earning a “holy shit!” chant. In the ring, Bailey hit the Green Tea Plunge (mid-ring Spanish Fly), then a moonsault kneedrop and a superkick. Reed hit another stunner, then a springboard 450 Splash for the pin! A very good match and a mild upset.
* On the video screen was a message from “Blackheart” Lio Rush, who said, “I’m watching you Myron!” and he cackled. Bork wondered what happened to Lio.
2. Alex Shelley (w/Rich Swann) defeated Trent Seven to retain the Wrestling Revolver Title at 13:19. Shelley wrestled in Los Angeles less than 24 hours ago, and he’s a massive heel here. He got on the mic but the crowd drowned him out with profanities. Trent spoke but the echo is bad and I can’t comprehend him. Shelley attacked from behind to kickstart the match. Trent hit some loud chops, then a series of punches in the corner. The referee ejected Swann at 2:00. They brawled to the floor, where Seven accidentally chopped the ring post. Seven dove through the ropes onto Shelley, but he immediately clutched at his left knee upon landing on the floor.
As they got into the ring, Shelley hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip in the ropes at 4:00. They brawled to the floor and into the crowd. They got back into the ring but Seven couldn’t put weight on his injured leg, and Shelley kicked at it and targeted it. Shelley locked in a Figure Four Leglock at 7:00. Shelley hit an enzuigiri. Seven hit a short-arm clothesline and they were both down at 9:30. Alex seet up for Shellshock but Trent blocked it, so Shelley hit a Superkick and a fisherman’s brainbuster move for a nearfall.
Seven hit a piledriver for a believable nearfall. Seven hit a Burning Hammer, but in the process, the ref got bumped at 11:00! Seven got a visual pin but we have no ref! Shelley got a rollup for a nearfall. Shelley got the title; the ref took it so Shelley hit the ref! He called for Rich Swann to return, but Rich accidentally superkicked Shelley! Trent hit a pump-handle side slam on Swann! Shelley hit Seven with the title belt, then he nailed the Shellshock twisting face plant for the cheap pin. Good action; Shelley has been a good champion here, and he’s a great heel.
* The heels kept beating up Seven, until Mike Bailey returned to the ring for the save.
3. Ace Austin (w/Gia Miller) defeated (Madman) Fulton, Geoffrey John, Brett Ryan Gosselin, Landon Hale, Rickey Shane Page, and Brayden Lee in a scramble at 8:41. This is a debut here for BRG; he’s usually on the East Coast. Likewise, Hale is a regular in the New England scene, and he just had a great match with Mustfa Ali in Georgia. Geoffrey always wears a babushka (scarf) over his head. Brayden had a really good showing last month; I’ve seen him a few times in Chicago-based AAW. Gia once again is wearing something she borrowed from Scarlett. BRG dove onto Fulton to open the match, but Fulton caught him and bodyslammed him. He quickly tossed everyone over the top rope to the floor; if this was a Rumble it would already be over!
RSP brought two tables into the ring and they were set up in the corners. Fulton and RSP hip-tossed BRG into one board, but then RSP hit a Death Valley Driver to send Fulton through the other board at 1:30! Hale hit a Lungblower on Ace, then a moonsault to the floor. Suddenly it was just BRG and Fulton in the ring, and Fulton chokeslammed him over the ropes onto several guys on the floor. They did a six-way tower spot out of the corner and suddenly everyone was down at 5:00. RSP tossed Gosselin across the ring. Geoffrey John hit a top-rope double stunner.
Hale hit a backbreaker over his knee on Brayden, then a mid-ring Spanish Fly. BRG hit a clothesline on Hale. Ace hit a springboard spin kick on BRG. Fulton hit snake-eyes on Ace, then he put Ace in a Boston Crab at 8:00, but Brayden hit a superkick to break it up. Brayden hit a top-rope corkscrew press to the floor on four guys. Brayden went for a top-rope Shooting Star Press on Fulton, but Fulton caught him and chokeslammed him! However, Ace nailed The Fold flipping overhead neckbreaker out of nowhere to pin Fulton! That was a well-timed finish and good action throughout.
4. Ethan Page defeated Damian Chambers (w/John E. Bravo) at 7:49. Chambers attacked from behind. Ethan hit a flying shoulder block from the apron to the floor at 1:30. In the ring, Chambers hit a leaping DDT for a nearfall, and he grounded Page. Page hit a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall at 5:30. Page set up for the Ego’s Edge but John E Bravo hopped on the apron and distracted him. Chambers hit a neckbreaker over his knee. They fought on the top rope, where Page bodyslammed him to the mat. He hit a stunner for a believable nearfall at 7:30, then the Ego’s Edge for the pin. Good match. Chambers sure doesn’t win a lot, but he looks good.
5. Rich Swann (w/Alex Shelley) defeated Jake Crist at 12:00. Again, Crist is now age 39 but in his best shape in years and certainly much thinner than his Impact run. Bork said this was supposed to be a tag, but Swann’s partner Matthew Palmer canceled, so Crist’s partner Ace Austin moved to the scramble. Swann stalled on the floor at the bell. In the ring, Jake applied a leglock around the head and he kept Swann grounded. They sped it up and Jake hit a leg lariat at 3:00, sending Swann back to the floor. Swann hit a running kick to the face as Crist sat on a chair at ringside. He went for another, but Jake caught him with a superkick at 6:00.
Crist hit a flying forearm in the ring, then an Asai Moonsault to the floor at 9:00. He hit a tornado DDT into the ring for a nearfall. Swann hit a Mule Kick. They traded roundhouse kicks. Swann missed a 450 Splash. Crist nailed a second-rope fadeaway stunner for a nearfall. Swann hit a Poison Rana, then a second-rope frogsplash for a nearfall at 11:00. Shelley hopped on the apron and he distracted the ref. Swann hit a low blow punt kick, then the Lethal Injection for the cheap win.
* The heels now stomped down Crist and attacked him with a chair. Swann placed it around his ankle to ‘Pillmanize’ it, but Navaeh (Jake’s wife and former TNA wrestler) ran into the ring with a kendo stick and chased them off. However, the heels returned and they ‘Pillmanized’ Navaeh’s ankle! The crowd LOUDLY booed this action.
* Intermission. They showed Charles Mason vs. Steve Maclin from the WrestleMania weekend show in Philadelphia. I know I write this every show, but I LOVE that they air an old match at intermission, rather than leave a blank screen. That said, I’m not watching live, so I fast-forwarded over the match I’ve already seen.
6. Brent Oakley (w/The Pledge) defeated Steve Maclin (w/Killer Kelly) in a no-DQ match at 11:01. Oakley is one of the scrawny Alpha Sigma Sigma frat guys. Oakley got on the mic and admitted they’ve been assholes, but he somehow got the crowd to cheer for him. The cameras showed that Steve Maclin was beating up Oakley’s teammate backstage, then Steve ran to ringside to start the next match, and they brawled on the floor and into the crowd. They finally got in the ring, where Steve hit a backbreaker over his knee at 4:00, and he stomped on Brent and was in complete control of the match. (He is much larger and thicker than the scrawny Oakley.)
Maclin hit a decapitating clothesline at 7:30. He tied Brent in the Tree of Woe. The Pledge hopped in the ring, so Maclin speared him. It allowed Oakley to hit a spinebuster. Oakley hit a Hogan Legdrop at 9:30, then a powerslam. Kelly hopped in the ring and begged Oakley to stop hitting Maclin. Maclin hit a low blow uppercut for a nearfall, but The Pledge pulled the ref to the floor. Maclin swung a chair at The Pledge; the chair ricocheted off the top rope and back onto Maclin’s head. Oakley immediately rolled up Maclin for the flash pin! The crowd went nuts for the upset victory.
* Trey Miguel had flight issues, so we have a mystery partner for the next match!
7. Masha Slamovich, Zachary Wentz, and Crash Jaxon defeated “The Unit” JT Dunn, Jessicka Havok, and Jake Something at 11:49. Jaxon was a mystery partner. It was his first match in about a year, after breaking both bones in an arm on a dive to the floor. The crowd POPPED for Crash’s appearance. He might be 350 or so pounds. Dunn (I always compare him to Tony Nese) opened against Masha, and she hit some deep armdrags and a dropkick. The heels began working over Masha in their corner. Masha dropped Dunn face-first into the middle turnbuckle at 5:00. Zachary tagged in and hit a superkick. Jake got in and he slammed Wentz face-first to the mat.
Wentz hit a handspring-into-a-kneestrike. Crash tagged in at 7:30 and hit some clotheslines with his right arm (his left arm is still heavily wrapped.) Jessicka and Masha traded forearm strikes at 9:00. Jessicka went for a chokeslam but Masha blocked it. Masha hit a twisting dive through the ropes onto Jessicka. Jake and Crash entered the ring and they traded forearm strikes at 10:30. Zachary hit a doublestomp on Jake’s back, then a springboard stunner. Crash hit a pop-up powerbomb on Jake for the pin! Good action and the crowd was so happy to see Crash return.
* The heels were going to keep beating up the babyfaces, but promoter Sami Callihan hopped in the ring. However, Dunn and Jake beat him up, too. Jon Moxley returned to the ring! He peeled off his jacket and got in the ring! It was just Moxley and Dunn in the ring, as JT wasn’t aware his partners had bailed! He turned around and realized he was in trouble. Moxley kicked him in the stomach and hit a Death Rider double-arm DDT. Sami got on the mic. Again, the mic is really hard to comprehend, but Sami “fired” JT Dunn.
8. Mance Warner vs. 1 Called Manders vs. Matthew Justice in a three-way, no-DQ match ended in a draw at 18:03. Mance has turned on his Second Gear Crew teammates in GCW and here, leading to this thee-way between long-time faction teammates. Mance came out first, then Manders. Mance struck Manders with a chairshot to the back to start the match, and he jabbed Manders in the gut with it. Justice finally hit the ring, and the bell rang at 1:00. Justice threw a chair at Manders, making clear he’s not going to join Mance in beating up Manders. They all brawled to the floor. They threw a lot of boards in the ring. Justice and Manders were working together to beat up Mance.
Mance hit a trash can lid over Manders’ head at 6:30. Justice hit a second-rope double shoulder tackle. Justice brought guardrails into the ring and slammed them on Mance, then he hit repeated chairshots on the guardrail that was lying on Mance at 10:30. Mance hit a hard UNPROTECTED chairshot over the top of Justice’s head, and that is just not warranted. Justice speared Manders through a board in the corner, but Manders made the save. So of course, Manders and Justice now traded forearm strikes.
Justice slammed door shards over Manders’ unprotected head. Justice speared Manders for a nearfall at 15:00. Manders hit a Bulldog Powerslam on Mance through a board bridge, but Justice made the save by tossing a guardrail on them. Justice hit a Death Valley Driver on Manders onto the guardrail in the corner, then a frogsplash for a nearfall, but Mance pulled the ref to the floor. Mance grabbed a screwdriver and was about to jab it on the ref, when the bell rang and a dozen officials ran into the ring and pulled Mance off them. So… we have another no DQ match that ends in a non-finish. Bad GCW booking is bleeding over here. Sigh…
9. Atticus Cogar defeated Alex Colon in a death match at 25:05. I’ve only seen Cogar a few times in GCW, and that was a few years ago. There were cooking skewers all over the ring and I have tuned this out. I have said I can handle hardcore matches when a feud builds up to it… but I don’t think Cogar has ever been in Revolver before and I don’t think there is an issue between Cogar and Colon, so why are they hitting each other with cooking skewers and staple guns? Colon was bleeding from the forehead.
Colon hit a brainbuster onto a pile of thumb tacks for a believable nearfall at 16:00. Cogar hit a DDT onto a horizontal board bridge. Rickey Shane Page hit the ring; he’s in the same faction as Colon. Cogar hit a top-rope superplex for a nearfall. RSP pulled the ref to the floor. The Alpha Sigma Sigma guys ran to ringside and threw powder in Colon’s eyes. Cogar hit an Air Raid Crash onto a board covered in cooking skewers for a nearfall at 23:30. He repeatedly jabbed skewers into the back of Colon’s head until the ref stopped the match; I’m not sure if the ref stopped it or Colon submitted.
Final Thoughts:The show started really strong with that Bailey-Reed match, which earns best of the night. I’ll go with Shelley-Seven for second and Swann-Crist for third. The return of Crash Jaxon was a pleasant surprise and that match takes honorable mention. The scramble was a lot of fun, too, and it’s great to see Landon Hale and Brett Ryan Gosselin make the trek to the Midwest to be part of it. Some really good action here.
I admittedly didn’t like the back half of the show at all. Game Changer Wrestling has no disqualifications, yet Mance Warner has had six or so this year since turning heel, rather than coming up with a satisfying, clean finish. The same thing is now happening here in Wrestling Revolver. I have nothing good to say about the main event, and nothing good to say about wrestlers taking or receiving unprotected blows to their head. For those who like hardcore matches, you’ll probably really enjoy those last two matches, but I did not.
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