By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Defy Wrestling “For the Glory”
Replay available via Defy YouTube Page
July 19, 2024 from Seattle, Washington at Washington Hall
This show aired live and free on youtube. The building was packed with maybe 600 fans. The lighting was merely okay. It definitely got dark in spots from the ringside cameras. Rich Bocchini and Ethan HD provided commentary.
* Max Caster announced earlier in the day he would not be able to make it to Seattle for the show, so Anthony Bowens will need a new partner for his tag match later.
1. “C4” Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas defeated “Sinner & Saint” Judas Icarus & Travis Williams (w/Evan Rivers) and “Bollywood Boys” Harv Sihra & Gurv Sihra in a three-way tag to win the Defy Tag Team Titles at 13:31. Bocchini noted S&S have been signed to TNA. The Bollywood Boys are champions as we begin. Cody and Gurv opened; everyone else was on the ring apron. Rosas tagged in at 3:00 and hit some shoulder tackles. S&S began working over Rosas. Bocchini reiterated this is not an elimination match. Williams tied up Rosas on the mat. Gurv Sihra got a hot tag and battled Judas, and he repeatedly rammed Icarus’ head into the top turnbuckle as fans counted along.
Harv tagged in and hit a top-rope flying elbow on Judas at 8:30. Cody entered and hit a DDT on Icarus for a nearfall. Harv Williams made a blind tag, and he hit a piledriver for a believable nearfall at 11:00. Guillermo hit a double spear and he was fired up. The Bollywood Boys applied simultaneous Sharpshooters. Cody hit a springboard double stunner at 13:00. C4 hit high/low kicks on one of the Sihras, and scored the pin! New champions! Good energy in this opener. The Sihras presented the belts to C4 and those four hugged; the heels had already vanished to the back.
2. Man Like Dereiss defeated Evan Rivers at 17:39. Brit star Dereiss has been in the U.S. a lot this year for GCW but this is his Defy debut; I always compare his looks to a young Shelton Benjamin, and he has similar athleticism. Rivers is a slimy guy with a reddish mullet, and reminds me of Zicky Dice, and he’s a regular here. They traded shoulder tackles and Rivers worked the left arm. Dereiss hit a shotgun dropkick. The commentators talked extensively about a Dereiss storyline in GCW involving Viva Van; entertaining if you know it, but they may lose casual viewers. Rivers tied him up in an Octopus on the mat and kept Dereiss grounded. Dereiss finally hit a suplex at 8:00 and they were both down.
Dereiss hit a blow to the kidney, then a German Suplex, then he hit a Blockbuster for a nearfall, but he missed a top-rope doublestomp. Rivers hit a flip dive to the floor at 11:00. Dereiss hit a superplex and they were both down. They got up and traded blows. Rivers choked Rivers with wrist tape, and he hit some Yes Kicks. Dereiss hit a flying crossbody block for a nearfall at 14:30; I don’t think that move worked the way they wanted it to but they rolled with it. Rivers hit an enzuigiri. Dereiss hit a stunner for a nearfall. Rivers hit a running powerbomb and a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall at 16:30. Dereiss hit a superkick, then the top-rope 450 Splash for the pin. A really good match that topped my expectations.
3. Sebastian Wolfe defeated Coco Flash at 8:07. I’m fairly unfamiliar with Wolfe but he got a nice pop. He has a short, trimmed beard and dark hair. I think I’ve seen Coco just once; he has long straight black hair and similar tribal tattoos on his chest to the Usos. Coco dove through the ropes onto Wolfe at 2:00, but Wolfe slammed Flash onto the ring apron, and they brawled at ringside. In the ring, Wolfe hit a Tiger Driver/butterfly powerbomb for a nearfall at 5:30. Coco hit a Stomp to the head for a nearfall. Coco went for a springboard move, but Wolfe cut him in half with a devastating spear for the pin. Solid match.
* Midnight Heat came to the ring. Eddie Pearl got on the mic and mockingly said “LISTEN!” and he was loudly booed for his mimicking of Max Caster. He reminded fans that Caster isn’t here. A video aired from Max, who said Midnight Heat’s promo “was the worst of the year, it had me bleeding like Trump from his ear.”
4. Anthony Bowens & Randy Myers defeated “Midnight Heat” Ricky Gibson & Eddie Pearl at 10:54. Myers is the effeminate Joker-style character with lime green hair and white face paint. Gibson and Myers opened. Bowens jumped in at 2:00, but MH beat him up. MH went for double knee strikes but Bowens caught both of their legs, and Anthony hit some punches. Myers tagged back in at 4:00 and hit some punches. MH began working over Myers in their corner.
Bowens got a hot tag at 8:30 and hit a series of punches, then a legdrop on Pearl and a suplex on Gibson for a nearall. It must really be warm in there because Bowens is glistening. Bowens hit a second-rope leg drop on Gibson, and Myers covered Gibson for the pin. Pretty standard stuff but great crowd heat. Bowens and Myers ‘scissored’ hands after the bell and that got a big pop, and Bowens cut a short promo, vowing a return.
5. Marina Shafir defeated Amira to retain the Defy Women’s Title at 11:20. Shafir beat VertVixen recently for the belt. She wore her red outfit that she also wore at ROH Death Before Dishonor. A feeling-out process early on and intense standing switches. Amira hit a rolling cannonball off the apron to the floor. It’s really hard to see them on the floor. Shafir slammed her back-first on the ring apron at 3:30. Amira repeatedly slammed Shafir’s back into the ring post. Marina swung Amira head-first into the ring post at 6:00! Amira hit a head-scissors to the floor.
They finally got back in the ring at 7:30, but Shafir applied a sleeper. They traded rollups. Amira hit a dropkick, then a German Suplex for a nearfall. Amira hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 10:00. Marina hit a Mafia Kick, then a Lungblower move to the chin, and she locked in Mother’s Milk submission hold, and Amira passed out. Good match and obviously much longer than most of Shafir’s matches. Amira is still so new to wrestling but continues to look good when given the opportunity.
6. Artemis Spencer defeated Mark Haskins in a no-DQ match at 22:03. UK’s Haskins was a regular at the end of the ROH Sinclair era; I’ve only seen him a few times since the pandemic. I have always compared Spencer’s look to Curtis Axel; he’s gotten a bit thick around his middle. They jawed at each other before locking up. They shook hands but then Haskins hit a flying knee. Haskins hit the referee at 3:30, then Haskins and Spencer traded punches. Haskins dove through the ropes onto Artemis. Ethan HD said Haskins spent “18 hours on the plane, contemplating how he could hurt Spencer.” They continued to fight on the floor and I will re-state how poor lighting is outside the ring.
Spencer hit a running kick as Haskins was seated in a chair at ringside at 7:00. They brawled up onto the stage. Spencer hit a moonsault off the stage onto Haskins at 9:00 and that drew a “holy shit!” chant. They got back into the ring, with Haskins in charge. Mark choked him with a shirt. He kicked the referee again and was loudly booed! Haskins stomped on an elbow, slamming the arm onto a folded metal chair at 11:00. He hit a chairshot across Spencer’s back, then one to the skull.
They traded forearm strikes in the ring. Haskins crashed face-first onto an open chair at 13:00. Spencer hit repeated Yes Kicks to Haskins’ chest. Spencer hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor. Spencer hit a flipping senton from the ring onto Haskins on the floor at 16:00 and that popped the crowd. In the ring, they brawled on the top rope, and Artemis hit a top-rope senton onto Haskins; he made a cover for a visual pin but we didn’t have a ref! Haskins hit a low blow, then a pump-handle powerbomb for a nearfall at 18:00. Haskins was livid and again stomped on the ref. “Absolutely disgusting,” Bocchini said.
Spencer hit a Lumbar Check, and we got a new ref who made a two-count. Spencer missed a top-rope Phoenix Splash. Haskins hit a Falcon Aow for a nearfall, then a top-rope doublestomp for a nearfall. He hit a second one for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it. Haskins hit a Rebound Lariat and they were both down at 21:30. Artemis hit a flipping piledriver (think Chuck Taylor’s Awful Waffle) for the pin. That was a really good match that built nicely. Haskins got on the mic and implied we’ll be seeing a lot more of him here.
Final Thoughts: I really wish the lighting had been better because the wrestling was top-notch, and I fear that fans tuning in to see this on youtube will be turned off by the poor lighting in the corners of the ring and on the floor. Any time the wrestlers went to the floor, the visuals were a mess. All that said, I really liked the wrestling here. The main event delivered. Haskins was brutal, and his repeated viciousness towards the refs was great, especially with the indignant reaction from the crowd. I’ll go with the three-team tag opener for second, with Dereiss-Rivers for third. I feel like Rivers gets out-shined behind regular teammates Icarus and Williams, so it was nice to see him step up here in a big singles match.
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