By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Revolver “Cage of Horrors 3”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
June 22, 2024 in Dayton, Ohio at Horizon Events Center
This venue is a fieldhouse in suburban Des Moines and they always draw really well here. Attendance is just over 1,000 and no that’s not embellishment. Bork Torgelson and Veda Scott provided commentary. I’ve noted this before — Wrestling Revolver shows often feel like a TNA house show, with their usage of a lot of current or former TNA wrestlers.
* The show opened with a backstage segment with Mike Bailey, who is taking on Alex Shelley tonight.
1. Jake Something (w/Jessicka Havok) defeated Crash Jaxon at 5:34. Jaxon has just returned from breaking an arm in a prior WR match. Crash hit a powerbomb at the bell and nearly got a pin! Jessicka grabbed Crash’s ankle, allowing Jake to take over. Jake hit a dive over the top rope onto Crash at 1:30. In the ring, Jake kept Crash grounded. Crash dropped him with a headbutt at 4:00. Jake hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall. Jake hit an Into the Void (Black Hole Slam) for the pin. Really good and it felt like they got a lot in for this being so short.
2. Marina Shafir defeated (Madman) Fulton in an intergender match at 8:09. Marina carried her Defy Women’s Title! It goes without saying he absolutely towers over her with a significant height, overall size and strength advantage. She hit some kicks and hit a judo takedown. He dropped her with one punch to the gut. She hopped on his shoulders and ripped at his nose, and they flipped over the ropes to the floor at 1:30. However, he swung her into the cage walls at ringside! In the ring, she applied a leglock around the neck. Fulton hit a running boot and was back in charge, hitting some more body blows.
Fulton hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall at 5:00. She gave him the middle finger; he punched her and got a nearfall. She got a hair-mare and applied the Mother”s Milk sleeper hold to her chest, but he was able to stand up and slam her back-first into the corners, then slammed her to the mat to finally escape it. She again applied the Mother’s Milk submission hold; he got close to the ropes but passed out! I found that highly implausible but yet still fun to watch. I’m really surprised Fulton isn’t a mainstay on the indy scene.
3. Rich Swann and Matthew Palmer defeated Jake Crist (w/Bobby) and Ace Austin (w/Gia Miller) at 10:30. Again, Palmer has abandoned his goofy 1800s carnival medicine man gimmick. All four brawled at the bell. They went to the floor, where Bobby and Gia got some blows in on the heels. In the ring, Jake hit a leg lariat on Palmer. Palmer pretended like Bobby tripped him; the ref bought the lie and ejected Bobby and Gia. Swann now tripped Jake Crist, allowing Palmer to hit a swinging back suplex, and the heels began working over Jake.
Palmer hit a Razor’s Edge on Crist, with Swann snatching Crist’s head for a neckbreaker at 6:00. Nice combo spot. Ace got a hot tag, and he clotheslined Palmer to the floor. Crist powerslammed Palmer into the turnbuckles. Swann nailed a spin kick to Crist’s ear. Swann leapt off one corner, but Jake leapt off the opposite corner, caught Rich’s head, and got a nearfall. Ace was about to get a pin but Alex Shelley pulled the ref from the ring. Shelley beat up Crist on the floor. In the ring, Palmer and Swann beat up Austin. Swann then covered Ace for the cheap pin. Good action.
* The heels kept beating up the babyfaces, so Gia Miller returned to the ring. However, Alex trapped her arm in a folded chair and stomped on it to ‘Pillmanize’ her arm! The crowd loudly booed this development.
4. Samuray Del Sol and Lince Dorado defeated August Matthews and Davey Bang to retain the Wrestling Revolver Tag Team Titles at 12:19. I swear, no team ever successfully defends these belts. The Chicago-based Bang and Matthews are making their Revolver debut. They all shook hands as this is a babyface matchup, and Lince and Bang opened and traded offense while tied in a knuckle lock. I noted this a week ago, but Bang looks a lot different with his new shorter haircut. Dorado hit a huracanrana but Bang rotated and landed on his feet. Nice.
Matthews and Del Sol tied up at 2:30. The luchadors hit stereo flip dives to the floor. In the ring, Del Sol stood on LInce’s shoulders and hit a splash on Matthews at 5:30. Bang hit a double back elbow. Bang hit his moonsault to the floor while Matthews hit a flip dive to the floor at 7:00. In the ring, Bang hit an axe kick on Dorado. (Bork called it the Spears Tower; that was NOT the Spears Tower!) Bang and Matthews hit their top-rope team doublestomps on their opponents’ backs for a nearfall. Matthews hit a Blockbuster and they were all down at 9:00.
Lince hit a double Lethal Injection. He went for a springboard move but Bang caught him with a dropkick! Bang nailed the Spears Tower (Veda called it right!) for a believable nearfall. Dorado hit a Tiger Suplex for a believable nearfall and we got a “lucha!” chant. Dorado nearly hit Del Sol with a belt by accident, then he hit Matthews with the belt! Dorado then hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press to pin Matthews. Good action, and the champs actually retained! Veda speculated there could be trouble between the champs because of that near-strike with the belts.
* On the video screen, heel Alan Angels complained that he’s not booked tonight. He said he is bringing Judas Icarus and Travis Williams, the Prestige Tag Team champs, and they are “going to make some noise.”
5. “RED” Steve Maclin and Alex Colon (w/Killer Kelly) defeated “Alpha Sigma Sigma” Brent Oakley and The Pledge in a Frat House Street Fight at 17:35. I have not yet warmed up to these Frat boy characters, even though they’ve been competing here for a while. A door with beer bongs glued to it was brought to the ring. Oakley said they have been bad guys in the past but announced they are “transferring to the University of Iowa. Go Hawkeyes!” I don’t think the crowd was suddenly going to cheer them. He explained that if you go for a pin but are unsuccessful, you have to take a shot of alcohol. They all chugged a beer at the bell, then spun in circles and I’m sure some of them are legit dizzy.
Oakley hit a top-rope dive to the floor onto everyone at 2:00. Colon and Maclin got a nearfall so they took a shot. ASS got a nearfall; RED got a nearfall, so the ref jumped in and demanded they all take shots. Wow the crowd is into this. More brawling after the drinks. Maclin got a chair and struck the ASS kids with it on their backs. He cracked a chair over Pledge’s ankle at 6:00. Pledge was helped to the back! RED now worked over Oakley. He was handed a bag and he hit the heels with it. He dumped it out and it was ping-pong balls! “What even is this match?” Bork said. Colon powerbombed Oakley onto them for a nearfall at 9:00 … so they have to take another shot! Maclin wasn’t pleased by this.
Oakley decided to um, consume alcohol not in his mouth, and the crowd cheered this raunchiness. Maclin tied Oakley in the Tree of Woe and used a funnel to pour alcohol down his throat. “This is water-boarding!” Bok shouted. Maclin speared Oakley through a board in the corner for a nearfall. The ring was covered in debris now. Brent got a bat covered in tacks and he hit the heels with it. Oakley hit a double shotgun dropkick to send both heels through the door at 15:30. Killer Kelly hoped in the ring to block Oakley from attacking RED further. Pledge returned to the ring! However, he hit a low blow punt kick on Oakley! Bork was shocked by this! Kelly kissed Pledge on the cheek, and he stomped on Oakley. Maclin and Colon leapt off of opposite corners and hit elbow drops onto Oakley, who was lying on a door bridge, for the pin.
* Intermission. They showed the excellent Mike Bailey-Marina Shafir match from a prior show. (I didn’t time it, but wow this was a long intermission.)
6. Gringo Loco defeated Lio Rush and Myron Reed in a three-way to retain the Remix Title at 12:45. Lio came out in his spooky “Black Heart” look that I’ve previously described as a mix of Boogeyman and Papa Shango, and he drank black liqud from a plastic heart. (I previously noted it is just too similar to what Jonathan Gresham is doing now, too.) Quick reversals by all three to open. Lio hit a standing powerbomb on Myron at 3:00. Gringo hit a standing moonsault on Rush for a nearfall. Loco nailed a Buzzsaw kick on Myron, then a flip dive to the floor on Reed. Lio hit a tornado DDT on the thin mat at ringside. In the ring, Lio hit a Poison Rana on Gringo. Gringo and Reed traded overhand chops, and Myron hit a superkick and a stunner.
Rush hit a dive through the ropes onto Myron at 8;00. Reed hit a stunner on Rush in the ring. Rush hit a Poison Rana on the floor on Reed. Gringo hit a Spanish Fly on Rush for a nearfall, but Reed hit a 450 Splash to break it up. Reed grabbed the plastic heart! He opened it and drank from it! (Why would you do that?) He fired up for a second but then got sick and collapsed. The crowd chanted “You f—ed up!” Myron ate something from the plastic heart. Loco hit a springboard stunner on Lio and he scored the pin. Really good action; I have no desire to see Lio do this Black Heart gimmick but he sure is committed to it. Lio arried Reed to the back. “He’s abducting Myron Reed!” Bork shouted. “No one knows where he’s going!”
7. Paul Walter Hauser defeated Danhausen via DQ at 6:22. Hauser, the Emmy-winning actor, has now been on several Revolver shows. Bork ranted and complained and was a bit over the top in his dislike of Hauser. Danhausen cursed Hauser at the bell. Hauser is rather portly in his singlet; he hit a a clothesline and a side slam for a nearfall. Danhausen hit some punches in the corner and a bulldog. They brawled to the floor and Paul hit some chops. As they got in the ring, Danhausen hit a low blow kick, and he stomped on Paul and kept him grounded. He hit a DDT for a nearfall at 5:00, and he got his jar of teeth.
Hauser cut him off and hit a Russian Legsweep and a Kokeshi falling headbutt for a nearfall. Kayla Cassidy walked to ringside and flirted with Hauser. It allowed Damian Chambers to sneak in and hit Hauser, causing the DQ. He got on the mic and complained about not being booked this month. He said the fans instead got a “D-list celebrity.” He demanded the match be restarted!
7b. Paul Walter Hauser and Danhausen defeated Damian Chambers at 1:22. Danhausen cursed Chambers, then he cursed Kayla. Kayla hopped in the ring and accidentally hit a low blow on Chambers. Danhausen poured his jar of teeth down Chambers’ throat. Hauser hit a Flatliner move, and they BOTH covered Chambers for the pin and were BOTH declared the winners. “I don’t know what I just watched,” Bork muttered. An acceptable use of a celebrity. (At least he didn’t overstay his welcome like at the MLW Battle Riot.)
* Alex Shelley came out first for the next match. He got on the mic and was loudly booed. Rich Swann got on the mic and said Mike Bailey has canceled on the fans. Veda Scott said Bailey was at the airport for “14 hours” trying to get flights to get here. (Okay why didn’t they announce it before now?) They counted to 10 and Mike Bailey didn’t come out, but Ace Austin did!
8. Ace Austin defeated Alex Shelley (w/Matthew Palmer and Rich Swann) to win the Wrestling Revolver Title at 7:04. Ace hit a Fosbury Flop to the floor on all the heels. We got a ref and our match is officially underway! The crowd chanted profanities at Shelley, as Alex twisted Ace’s leg. He hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 2:30 and kept Austin grounded. Alex tied him in a Figure Four, but Ace reached the ropes. Palmer tripped Austin. Ace hit a running penalty kick on the apron.
Ace accidentally crashed into the ref at 5:30. Swann hopped in the ring but he accidentally kicked Shelley! Ace hit The Fold on Swann. He charged at Shelley, but Alex hit him with the title belt and got a nearfall. However, Jake Crist pulled the ref from the ring to stop the count! Ace Austin hit another Fold flipping neckbreaker for the pin! New champion! Bork went nuts on commentary and was really over the top. This title change felt like it only happened to make the fans “feel better” about not having seen Mike Bailey compete.
* A second intermission to set up the Cage of Horrors. They showed Matt Cardona vs. Paul Walter Hauser.
9. Mance Warner defeated 1 Called Manders and Matthew Justice in a Cage of Horrors match at 24:19. This is not a traditional cage; there are some walls, but also a lot of weapons and scaffolding. Justice and Manders immediately threw Mance threw a door in the corner. Justice then whipped Manders into a cage wall. Mance hit some low blows. Justice hit Mance over the head with a garbage can, and Manders used a staple gun on Mance’s arm. Yuck. He stapled Mance’s tongue, too. They brawled at ringside and took turns whacking each other with weapons. Mance was bleeding from his forehead and he jabbed a screwdriver into Manders’ head at 6:30.
Manders and Mance traded forearms; both are really bloody. Justice got the screwdriver and used it on his opponents. Mandershit a Bulldog Powerslam on Mance through a door in the corner at 12:00. Bork pointed out no one has even attempted a pinfall yet. Justice poured lighter fluid onto a door bridge. Mance beat up Justice and he poured more fluid and set it on fire. However, Manders powerbombed Mance through the flames and got a nearfall at 14:00. (As per usual, the flames went out instantly.)
They grabbed door shards and whacked each other over the head with them at 19:00. Justice slammed Manders through a door in the corner for a nearfall. Justice leapt off the scaffolding and hit a frog splash onto Manders for a nearfall; however, Mance hit a running knee to break it up. Mance got more lighter fluid and poured it on another door. He slammed Manders onto the fire-covered door for the pin.
Final Thoughts: I truly contemplated on Friday the idea of driving to attend this show; I had checked ticket prices on their website and did a Google Map search, but ultimately decided to pass. I’ll be blunt — I’m glad I didn’t go. Yes, flight cancellations happen and that’s unfortunate, but I checked the Revolver Twitter/X feed and there was no indication all day (that I could see anyway!) that Bailey was not going to make it to the show. It was THE match that nearly got me in the car. I just feel that once they knew he wasn’t going to make it, they should have shared that information. No, putting the title on Ace — in a match that didn’t even go eight minutes — doesn’t cut it, either.
I liked the Gringo three-way for best match, even though I feel Lio is so good in the ring, he doesn’t need to do this spooky stuff. (I really doubt we’ll see it in Rush’s AEW matches.) Del Sol/Dorado’s tag match takes second, with the Palmer/Swann tag taking third. Yep, an Alex Shelley match doesn’t make top three. Too short and felt it was thrown together in the ring.
I’m sure fans of hardcore matches enjoyed that main event but that’s just not for me… too much blood loss and hitting each other over the head with door shards does very little for me. The RED vs. ASS tag match makes no sense. Pledge had his ankle destroyed by RED and limped to the back. He returned… no-sold the limp and helped the guys who just hammered his ankle, as he helped set up a door bridge. It made about as much sense as Eric Bischoff, who had been powerbombed by Kevin Nash, to later join the NWO.
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