By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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West Coast Pro “For the Coast”
Streamed on YouTube.com
May 18, 2024 in San Francisco, California at United Irish Cultural Center
This show aired live and free on YouTube. The crowd was maybe 300. James Kincaid provided commentary. The in-ring mic went in and out all night; it was really bad during any promo or introductions.
1. Alpha Zo defeated Adam Priest at 10:26. Zo appeared on the Prestige show that aired Thursday; he is thicker and larger than Priest. I always compare Priest to Jaime Noble, as they are short mat-based gatekeepers, and he’s usually in the Georgia/NC/Tennessee indies, so this is a new place for him. An intense lockup to open. Zo hit a shoulder tackle that sent Priest to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Zo hit a backbreaker over his knee at 2:30, then an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. As I noted in my review from Thursday, Kincaid praised Zo’s weight loss and improved conditioning.
Priest hit an eye poke to take control, and he twisted the left leg on the mat. He dropped Zo with a European Uppercut at 6:30. Zo hit a backbody drop onto the ring apron and the crowd was behind Zo. In the ring, Priest hit a German Suplex, but he missed an enzuigiri. Zo fired back with a swinging back suplex and they were both down at 9:00. Priest hit a piledriver for a nearfall. Zo nailed a decapitating clothesline for the pin. I doubt these two have met in the ring before, but they meshed well.
2. Zara Zakher defeated Maya World at 8:22. Zara is still just a rookie, but she’s a powerhouse; she also competed on the Prestige show Thursday. She was supposed to face Takumi Iroha. Texas-based Maya just appeared at Wrestling Open in Massachusetts a week ago, so she’s literally been coast to coast. An intense lockup on the mat, and Zara has the clear muscle mass advantage. Maya applied a modified Tarantula in the ropes at 1:30. Zara hit a German Suplex and a hard clothesline in the corner, and she grounded Maya. She hit an enzuigiri at 3:30 for a nearfall.
Maya fired back with her own German Suplex, then a discus elbow for a nearfall. Zara did a backflip to avoid a clothesline, then she hit a stunner and got a nearfall at 6:00. She hit a jumping knee. Maya hit a suplex for a nearfall. Maya applied a crossface. Back on their feet, she hit a superkick and a faceplant move for a believable nearfall at 7:30. Zara hit a pump-handle powerbomb move for the pin. That was really good and Zara is definitely one to watch.
3. “Los Suavicitos” Danny Rose and Ricky Gee (w/Adrian Quest) defeated “C4” Cody Chhun and Guillermo Rosas to retain the WCPW Tag Team Titles at 15:17. Chhun’s AEW Rampage match was airing about the same time. The Los Angeles-based Suavicitos are heels in northern California. Cody and Gee opened with standing switches. Rose and Rosas, the shorter men on each team, entered at 2:00 and they traded forearms. Chhun slammed Rosas onto Rose. C4 hit a series of team moves. Rosas hit a rolling cannonball in the corner at 7:00. Los Suavicitos began working over Rosas and kept him grounded.
Gee hit a Vader Bomb, then he slammed Rose onto Rosas for a nearfall at 10:30. Cody finally got the hot tag and hit some dropkicks and did a Spinaroonie to his feet. He hit some jab punches, then a DDT for a nearfall. LS hit a doublestomp move on Cody for a nearfall at 13:00. All four fought in the ring. C4 hit team superkicks. A bat was brought into the ring but the ref confiscated it. Rosas hit a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. C4 hit their front-and-back kicks for a believable nearfall. Gee hit Cody in the head with the bat while the ref was distracted, then scored the cheap pin. The crowd booed this outcome.
4. Aaron Solo defeated Ishmael Vaughn at 7:45. Vaughn is tall and comparable to EJ Nduka and I’ve really been impressed with him. Solo cut a promo and berated him, so Vaughn hit some punches and a rolling cannonball, then a delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall at 1:00. Solo mounted him and hit some punches. He backed Vaughn into a corner and hit some hard chops, the a dropkick for a nearfall. Vaughn fired up and hit some clotheslines and a Mafia Kick. He hit a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 4:00. Vaughn hit a top-rope corkscrew splash for a nearfall. Solo hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. Vaughn hit a spear for a nearfall at 6:00. Solo tripped Vaughn as he climbed the ropes. Solo hit a spin kick to the head and a snap suplex for a nearfall. Solo hit a DDT for the pin. That’s an upset in my eyes.
5. Rey Horus, Aramis, and Taiga defeated Bestia 666, Canis Lupis, and Bryan Keith at 16:49. Two new faces for me. Taiga has a Tiger Mask-style hood. Lupis wore a shiny gold outfit with a tall feathered crown. Horus is in red tonight, while Aarmis is in black. Keith and Taiga opened with an intense lockup and some basic reversals. Lupis and Aramis entered at 4:30 and traded faster lucha reversals and they traded rollups. Horus and Bestia entered at 6:30 and kept up the fast-paced action. Horus hit a satellite head-scissors takedown. Lupis tagged back in and his team began working over Rey Horus.
Keith re-entered and twisted Horus’ head and tugged on his mask. Keith hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 10:00. Rey hit an enzuigiri; he dove for a tag but his partners were yanked off the apron. Aramis got the hot tag at 12:30 and he hit a flying crossbody block on Keith. Taiga hit a running knee for a nearfall on Keith. Keith hit an Exploder Suplex into the corner. Aramis hit an enzuigiri on Lupis. Keith hit a hard kneestrike on Aramis. All six fought in the ring. Horus hit an impressive top-rope moonsault to the floor at 16:00. Aramis dove through the ropes onto everyone. In the ring, Taiga got a magistral cradle on Lupis for a nearfall, then a brainbuster to pin Lupis. Good action.
* Intermission.
6. Jeff Cobb defeated Vinnie Massaro at 11:17. I always compare Massaro to Hugh Morrus in body size. Cobb carried his NJPW TV Title, which was NOT on the line. These are two big guys! They traded shoulder tackles with neither man going down. Cobb hit a dropkick at 3:30 and posed. He hit a windup bodyslam, but he missed a standing moonsault. Vinnie hit his own bodyslam at 5:00. They traded forearms. Vinnie hit a running clothesline into the corner. Cobb hit a chokeslam and an Ilja-style H-Bomb forearm, then a standing moonsault for a nearfall at 8:30. Massaro hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. Cobb hit a short-arm clothesline and got a nearfall. Massaro hit his own clothesline for a nearfall. Cobb nailed the Tour of the Islands twisting powerslam for the clean pin. Solid match.
7. Naomichi Marufuji defeated Titus Alexander at 24:55. Fans threw streamers at 44-year-old Marufuji; I thought he was older than that. “The atmosphere here is electric in San Francisco,” Kincaid said. They shook hands at the bell and had an intense lockup. Kincaid said he’s “an icon who can still go.” Titus applied a leglock around the neck at 3:00. They both avoided each other’s kicks and had a standoff at 5:30. Titus hit a dropkick and celebrated, then got a nearfall. He applied a half-crab and cranked back on the leg, but Naomichi reached the ropes at 8:30.
They rolled to the floor and traded chops in front of the fans. Back in the ring, Naomichi was in control and he stomped on Titus. He hit a standing neckbreaker at 12:30. Titus nailed a Lethal Injection for a nearfall. Marufuji hit some Kawada Kicks to the forehead. Titus hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 15:30. Marufuji hit a dropkick and they were both down. They traded chops on the ring apron. Naomichi set up for a piledriver but he turned it into a faceplant on the ring apron, and Titus collapsed to the floor at 18:00. As Titus got in the ring, Marufuji hit him with a missile dropkick. Titus went for another Lethal Injection, but Naomich hit a kick and they were both down.
They got up and traded chops as we crossed the 20:00 during the exchange. Titus hit a superkick, and they traded kneestrikes, and were both down again. Titus nailed the Chaos Theory rolling German Suplex for a nearfall, then he hit the Sweet Time Driver/Michinoku Driver for a believable nearfall at 22:30, and the crowd thought that was it. They fought on the ropes. Naomichi hit a kneestrike for a nearfall. Marufuji hit some kicks to the face and scored a nearfall. He hit a hard kneestrike for the pin. Really good action throughout. “That was biblical,” Kincaid said.
* Titus got on the mic but again, it was hard to hear them.
8. Kevin Blackwood defeated Levi Shapiro to retain the WCPW Heavyweight Title at 14:10. Kincaid talked about how Levi is a WCPW original. Levi has the height and overall size advantage. Kevin attacked from behind and was booed. They brawled to the floor. Levi slammed Kevin back-first onto the ring apron at 2:00. Levi hit a dive to the floor and that popped the crowd. “What won’t Levi do tonight to win the championship?” Kincaid asked. Kevin suplexed Levi onto the hardwood floor at 4:00. In the ring, Kevin hit some stiff kicks to the spine. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Kincaid said this is Levi’s first-ever WCPW title shot.
Levi hit a powerslam at 7:30, then a discus forearm, then a swinging neckbreaker. He hit a second-rope elbow drop for a nearfall. He hit another powerslam. He came off the ropes, but Blackwood hit a kick. Kevin hit a top-rope back suplex at 11:00 for a believable nearfall. Kevin nailed a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a believable nearfall. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees. Kevin hit some hard kicks. Levi hit a hard clothesline at 13:00, then a spinning slap to the face, then a claw-to-the face suplex for the pin at 13:32, but the ref immediately saw Kevin’s foot on the ropes and ordered the match to continue. Kevin hit a Helluva Kick and a brainbuster for the pin. Solid match.
Final Thoughts: I get it; 90% of the time, I want the heavyweight title to be defended in the main event. But there was no way that Levi-Blackwood was going to top Marufuji-Titus. They definitely should have let the special attraction be the headliner. I won’t say it’s a must-see match, but it was really good. Again, it feels like I first saw Marufuji so long ago in ROH, it’s hard to believe he’s only 44. The lucha six-man takes second place. I actually really liked Zara-Maya so I’ll go with that for third. The mic issue was annoying and distracting. Lighting from the hard camera was really good, but it was spotty at times from the ringside cameras. If I was given this roster to choose the best matches possible, I would have put Cobb in the main event to take on Blackwood.
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