By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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New Texas Pro Wrestling “Texas Indie Showcase 4”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
June 23, 2024 in Pasadena, Texas at Campbell Hall
The venue is a pole barn or large gym, with perhaps 300-400 fans in attendance. This show once again is headlined by the husband-and-wife pair of Stephen Wolf and Hyan facing each other. There are a lot of faces here I don’t know or have seen just one or two times. Lights are low but the ring is fairly well-lit; actually it is much better than 90% of indies that have the lights low over the crowd.
1. Caine Carter defeated Chris Carter to retain the PWF Ascension Title at 8:26. Chris is white and wore a black T-shirt and blue denim jacket; he’s fairly scrawny. Caine is Black and he wore white trunks; he snarled at a kid in the front row so he’s the heel. On the floor, Caine repeatedly rammed Chris’ back into the ring. Chris whipped Caine into the rows of empty chairs. In the ring, Caine regained control. Chris hit some huracanranas and a spin kick for a nearfall at 5:30. Caine hit a second-rope twisting back suplex for a nearfall. Chris hit a springboard stunner for a nearfall at 7:30. Chris went for a Shooting Star Press, but Caine got his knees up to block it. Caine applied a crossface, and Chris tapped out. Decent action.
2. Casey Blackrose defeated Rob Love to retain the Unified 210 Heritage Title at 7:41. Rob is a bit thicker with a long, black beard. Blackrose wore purple pants. Casey hit a backbreaker over his knee on a heel manager, then a plancha to the floor on Love at 2:00. In the ring, Love was in charge for severa minutes. Casey hit a backbreaker over his knee and a senton for a nearfall at 5:30. Casey hit a Lungblower to the back for a nearfall. Love hit a stunner for a nearfall. Casey hit a running knee for a visual pin, but the heel ref hopped on the ring apron to distract the ref. Love got the title belt but he accidentally hit his manager! Casey immediately hit another Lungblower to the back for the pin. Solid.
3. Jak Calloway and Zae Carter defeated Prince Ly and Dre Hendrixx at 10:47. Ly reminds me of WCW’s Prince Iaukea (yes, I’m old.) Dre is a tall Black man. Zae just returned from a knee injury. Jak is white; Zae is Black. Jak and Dre opened. Zae entered and knocked Ly down with some shoulder tackles. Ly and Jak traded chops on the floor at 3:30. Dre attacked Jak from behind on the floor; his team began working Jak over on the floor. Zae got in, but the heels quickly had him grounded. Dre hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall at 7:30. Jak got in and hit a clothesline to the back of Ly’s head for a nearfall. Jak hit a double-arm DDT on Ly, and Zae nailed a spear on Ly for the pin. All four looked good.
4. Mysterious Q defeated Danny King at 7:22. I’ve seen the muscular, masked Q before and he got a big pop. The commentators said he’s back after 10 months ‘on the shelf.’ King wore blue-and-purple pants and he’s much smaller. Q hit a chop that leveled King and sent him reeling to the corner. King kicked out Q’s left knee and worked it over. Q hit a Helluva Kick at 6:00, then an airplane spin into a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall, but a heel manager stopped the count. Q hit an impressive corkscrew plancha to the floor on both heels. In the ring, Q hit a stunner for the pin. That got hot late and wrapped up suddenly.
5. Tatum Manning defeated The Tommy Becker in an MPX showcase at 11:23. Tatum is tall and has sparkly blue pants; he shook hands with all the ringside fans. Becker has slicked, wet hair and he jawed at the fans; he reminds me a bit of AEW’s Matt Menard but with long hair. Tatum is much taller and he hit an enzuigiri. Becker beat him up on the floor, and Tatum writhed in pain on the floor and sold a knee injury; he even had a fan help him to his feet. Tatum got back into the ring at 4:00, but Becker immediately slammed Tatum’s knee onto the mat and kept him grounded. Tatum applied a crossface on the mat, but Becker got his feet on the ropes at 8:00.
Becker applied an anklelock and Tatum screamed in pain. Manning hit a Lungblower move to the chin. He climbed the ropes, but Becker hit the top rope, causing Tatum to fall and be crotched, with his leg caught in the ropes. Becker kicked at the damaged knee and reapplied the anklelock, and dropped to the mat, with Tatum teasing he would tap out but he escaped. Tatum untied his boot to relieve the pressure. Tatum reached up, grabbed Becker and rolled him up for the flash pin out of nowhere. I really liked this; this match was billed as a “showcase,” which I took to mean “rookies-in-training,” but these two didn’t have a rookie vibe to me.
6. Eddie Martinez defeated Pac Ortega in a TWC showcase at 8:57. Eddie is the champion in blue and the crowd is behind him; Pac wore Acclaimed-style pink trunks and he is muscular. Eddie hit a dropkick and a running boot to the side of the head at 2:00. Ortega hit a German Suplex, then another, then a rolling cannonball into the corner at 4:00. Eddie hit a dive through the ropes at 7:00, then another, then a third. However, Pac powerbombed Eddie onto the ring apron. In the ring, Eddie hit a stunner and a running knee for the pin. That wrapped up out of nowhere. Wow; it felt like we were just at the midpoint of that match when it concluded.
7. Danni Bee (w/Charity King) defeated Kylie Rae to retain the New Texas Pro Women’s Title at 10:58. Kylie wore her yellow singlet and she had infectious energy, shaking hands with the fans in the front row. They stood toe-to-toe before the bell and it appears Kylie has an inch height advantage. An intense lockup to open. Bee dropped her with a shoulder tackle. Kylie applied a crossface, but Bee quickly reached the ropes at 2:00. Bee applied a rear-naked choke and kept Kylie on the mat. King hit Kylie from behind while the ref was out of position.
Bee hit a running buttbump at 5:30 for a nearfall. She hit a basement dropkick for a nearfall. Kylie hit a buzzsaw kick for a nearfall at 7:30, and she tied up Bee on the mat in a crossface and cranked back on her head. Bee went for a swinging neckbreaker, but Rae escaped and Rae re-applied the crossface. King hopped in the ring; Kylie released the hold and hit a superkick on King. Bee struck Rae in the head with the belt! Bee then hit a Cross Rhodes swinging faceplant for the cheap pin. A really good match.
8. Exodus Prime defeated Danny Orion, Shimbashi, and Lil Evil in a Borracho Pro showcase at 10:30. I’ve previously compared Exodus Prime to Elix Skipper or Caprice Coleman, and I’m a big fan. Orion wore his blue-and-black pants with his name on his butt. Shimbashi got a great pop and I’ve liked his matches, too. I’ve compared the short, bald Lil Evil to Homicide, and he’s talented, too. Orion leapt onto Evil to open the match. In the ring, Shimbashi hit a senton on Prime. Orion hit a German Suplex on Shimbashi at 1:00.
Evil hit a dropkick on Orion and a stunner on Shimbashi. Prime hit an Angle Slam. Prime hit a standing powerbomb on Lil Evil. Orion hit a tornado DDT on Exodus at 3:30. Shimbashi hit an enzuigiri. Shimbashi hit a Canadian Destroyer on Orion. Suddenly, all four were down at 5:00. They all traded blows while on their knees. Evil hit a Stundog Millionaire. Shimbashi hit a release suplex on Lil Evil. Orion dove through the ropes at 7:30, then a flip dive over the ropes. This has been really good.
Evil hit a sit-out powerbomb. Orion hit a Lionsault for a nearfall. Shimbashi hit a rolling Death Valley Driver. Evil applied a Rings of Saturn on Shimbashi, but he powered to his feet. Orion hit a spin kick that sent Lil Evil to the floor. Orion then hit a Swanton Bomb on Shimbashi for a nearfall. However, Exodus grabbed Orion and hit the Angel’s Wings/swinging X-Factor for the pin. That was absolutely great, non-stop action.
9. Father Oday defeated Jux X Nick in a “throw in the towel” match at 13:50. Oday wore a Greek God style angel-winged helmet and robe with big, gold shoulder pads; this is quite an entrance. Each wrestler has a corner man with the towel to throw in when their partner needs to give up. Nick is Black, bald and of average size. Nick hit a shotgun dropkick at the bell, then a dive through the ropes, and they brawled on the floor in the first minute. As is often the case, it was really hard to see as they brawled away from the ring. Oday got a HHH-style mallet and jabbed it into Nick’s stomach at 2:00. Nick sprayed a fire extinguisher in Oday’s face. In the ring, Nick put a trash can over Oday’s head, and he hit a Lionsault at 4:30.
Nick put Oday in a Boston Crab, and Oday tapped out, but his teammate wouldn’t throw in the towel! Oday threw a garbage can into Nick’s face, then he hit a Blue Thunder Bomb at 6:00. They fought on the second rope, where Nick hiptossed Oday onto six open chairs in the center of the ring, and they were both down at 10:30. Nick wrapped a chain around Oday’s throat; Oday flipped them through the ropes to the floor to escape, and they brawled more on the floor. In the ring, Oday set up the ring stairs and put Nick’s head on them Oday then struck Nick in the head (Con-chair-to) twice, and Nick’s partner threw in the towel. Violent but not bloody or disgusting.
10. “Team New Texas Pro” Max Heights, Dustin Nguyen, Diego De La Cruz, and Jay Davis defeated “Team Inspire AD” Kari Jai Wright, Epydemius Jr., Houston Hendrix, and Ethan Hunter in an elimination match at 12:37. I have seen both of these Texas promotions, and they’ve been building toward this war. I’ve seen Wright the most; he’s a talented Black wrestler. Nguyen is the guy who wears a traditional Kung Fu garb and looks like he’s from a cheesy 1970s film. The masked Epydemius Jr. just appeared on the GCW shows held in Texas in June. All eight brawled at the bell. Everyone started leaping onto another. Cruz hit a Black Hole Slam on Epydemius at 2:00.
Kari and Dustin traded some fun karate-based offense. Kari came off the ropes, but Jay Davis cut Jai in half with a spear and got a pin at 3:39! We continued without a break. Ethan Hunter hit a 450 Splash. Epydemius Jr. hit a top-rope Phoenix Splash to pin Jay Davis at 4:45. Max Heights began working over Epydemius Jr. Teammates Max and Diego began arguing and aren’t ‘on the same page.’ Max hit a frogsplash to pin Epydemius Jr. at 7:40. Diego accidentally superkicked Max! Hunter rolled up Max for the pin at 8:01! (Diego made no attempt to save his ‘partner.’) Max (who was eliminated!) grabbed a title belt and hit teammate Diego in the face with it! Houston Hendrix jumped on the prone Diego and pinned him at 8:46.
So, it is just Hendrix and Hunter beating up Dustin. However, Dustin rolled up and pinned Hunter at 10:18, so it is now just Nguyen vs. the scrawny Houstin Hendrix. Even though he was eliminated, Ethan Hunter beat up Dustin Nguyen before the ref finally got him out of the ring. Hendrix went for a low blow but Nguyen blocked it, and Dustin hit a series of kicks. Dustin hit a snap German Suplex and a blow to the chest for the pin. That was fun.
11. Stephen Wolf defeated Hyan to retain the New Texas Pro Heavyweight Title at 18:07. I saw this husband-and-wife duo have a match against each other just a month or so ago. He does have the size and strength advantage and he carried two belts over his head. She hit a shotgun dropkick at the bell, a Falcon Arrow and a dive through the ropes to the floor, then a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall, and Wolf scrambled to the floor at 1:00 to regroup. They brawled on the floor, and he hit a loud chop. In the ring, he threw her head-first into a turnbuckle at 3:30 and he took over and kept her grounded.
She avoided a running knee and she hit a series of forearm strikes, then some clotheslines at 7:00. Wolf hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. She tied him in the Tree of Woe and hit a dropkick to his jaw at 10:00. He went for a top-rope frogsplash but she got her knees up to block it. She nailed a spear for a nearfall. She leapt off the second rope but he caught her and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 13:00. Hyan hit a bulldog and she was fired up. Wolf hit a running knee to her chest, then a top-rope Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 14:30; he jumped to his feet and argued with the ref about his count.
Hyan accidentally speared the ref! Wolf had a chair; he swung it but it hit the top rope and ricocheted onto his face. Suddenly, Hyan was the only one standing in the ring! She got the chair, and he begged for forgiveness. She set it down, but she hit a Beauty Sleep face plant. She went to the floor to revive the ref. KC Kreme and Danny King jumped on the ring apron and held her arms in the corner! It allowed Wolf to hit a running knee to her chest, then his flipping stunner. Wolf rolled the ref into the ring, who made the three-count. Good match and the crowd was fully invested in int.
Final Thoughts: I didn’t know what to expect with this show as I didn’t know hardly any of the wrestlers in the first half of the matches. I saw a lot of potential and it just reminds me that the more wrestling I watch, the more I realize how much talent is out there that just hasn’t gotten any exposure. All that said, this show was about the stars at the top of the card who all delivered. I’ll take that Exodus Prime four-way for best match, ahead of the main event. I enjoyed Kylie Rae-Danni Bee for third, ahead of the hardcore Father Oday match. The elimination match was too short; I felt like pinning Jai Wright early on was terrible. I do like that two guys ‘forced’ to be on the same team who already didn’t get along wound up causing each other to be eliminated. Again, while nothing WOWED me in the first five matches, nothing was close to bad, either.
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