By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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ETU “Summer Madness 2”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
July 24, 2024 in Ridgefield Park, N.J. at KOC Hall
This show was just released on IWTV. This is a familiar venue for wrestling, and the crowd is maybe 200. Jack Solomon and Alyssa Marino provided commentary.
1. Sam Holloway defeated Brayden Toon, A-Game and Yoya in a four-way Rey del Estilo first-round match at 8:26. Holloway is the tall, athletic wrestler from AIW in Ohio who I have compared to Julius Creed and I think he’s a top rising indy star. I’ve compared the rotund Toon to Kevin Owens for the way he flies and moves around the ring; he has lost a LOT of weight in the past year so that comparison is quickly fading. Yoya is a short Cambodian. I’m least familiar with A-Game, who I have only seen once or twice and this is his EtU debut. Holloway easily tossed Yoya around the ring. A-Game powerbombed Yoya onto the ring apron at 3:30. Toon hit an Asai Moonsault on A-Game. Sam flew over the top rope onto all three, earning a “holy shit!” chant.
In the ring, Toon hit a running knee to the back of A-Game’s head for a nearfall at 5:30. Yoya hit some Yes Kicks on Toon. Toon responded with some kicks to the spine on Yoya. A-Game hit a German Suplex on Toon. A-Game hit an Angle Slam on Sam, then a German Suplex for a nearfall at 7:30. Holloway hit a chokeslam to pin A-Game. A good opener and the right man won.
2. Dezmond Cole defeated Alec Price, Rico Gonzalez and Derek Dillinger in a four-way Rey del Estilo first-round match at 11:33. This is a heckuva grouping. Dezmond and Alec opened with the other two on the apron. (This is weird as the other match was treated like tornado rules with all men legal.) The hefty wide-bodied Dillinger entered at 1:00 and faced the diminutive Rico. Rico hit a clothesline that didn’t drop him. Rico hit a Lionsault. Dezmond hit a stunner on Price at 3:30. Dillinger hit a faceplant and a senton on Dezmond for a nearfall. Dillinger hit a sideslam on Dezmond for a nearfall, then a hard uranage.
Dezmond hit a German Suplex on Dillinger and they were both down at 6:00. Rico hit some basement dropkicks on Dillinger. Price hit a half-nelson suplex on Rico at 7:30. Dezmond hit some flying forearms on Dillinger, then a Michinoku Driver, then he hit a rolling guillotine legdrop for a nearfall. Rico hit a crossbody block. Price hit a top-rope doublestomp and suddenly everyone was down. Price hit a springboard spin kick. Rico dove through the ropes onto two guys at 10:00. Dillinger hit a senton on the apron. Dezmond nailed a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, Rico hit a piledriver move on Price. Dillinger hit a Bubba Bomb on Rico. However, Dezmond immediately hit a Swanton Bomb on Dillinger for the pin. Tremendous action from four top-notch indy talents.
3. Janai Kai defeated Rachel Armstrong at 4:37. I just watched Rachel in a show from Chicago days ago; she’s really getting booked all over the eastern half of the country. Kai tied her up on the mat. Rachel hit a headscissors takedown. Kai hit some roundhouse kicks in the corner, then a stiff kick to the spine for a nearfall at 2:00. Janai hit a running kick to the face. Rachel hit a flying forearm and a STIFF kick that might have hit the chin or throat. Janai responded with a Mafia Kick that dropped Rachel at 4:00, then a snap suplex. Janai hit a Helluva Kick in the corner for the pin. For the time given, that was pretty good.
4. “Killionaires Club” J Bouji and PB Smooth defeated “Fresh Air” Junior Benito and Macrae Martin at 13:17. Smooth is really tall, perhaps 6’7″ or so, and I’ve seen the KC a few times in the New York indies. Fresh Air is a top Canadian tag team. The Miracle Generation (Kylon King and Dustin Waller) emerged from the back before the bell, with chairs, and sat down to watch! They aren’t booked tonight! Macrae locked up with the smaller Bouji to open. Macrae slammed teammate Benito onto Bouji for a nearfall at 2:00. Macrae hit a delayed vertical suplex on Bouji, dropping him on his stomach. In a funny spot, Smooth dragged Bouji over so he could tag himself in. He hit a chokeslam on Macrae and stomped on him.
The heels began working over Macrae. PB hit some LOUD chops at 6:00. Macrae finally hit a Lungblower to PB’s chest at 8:30, and Benito got the hot tag and hit a tornado DDT on Bouji. Benito hit a dive to the floor. In the ring, Benito hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Bouji for a nearfall. Bouji hit a stunner on Benito for a nearfall at 10:30. PB and Macrae traded blows, and Macrae hit a spinning heel kick to the head, then a spinebuster. Benito hit a frogsplash for a nearfall. Bouji hit a Pele Kick on Macrae. However, Fresh Air hit a team stunner for a nearfall, but Miracle Generation pulled the re from the ring at 13:00! Benito rolled to the floor and jawed at the Miracle Generation! It allowed Bouji to hit a springboard stunner on Macrae, and PB to slam Macrae for the pin! Good action.
* Miracle Generation jumped in the ring and stomped on Fresh Air! Alyssa Marino was irate at this assault! Kylon got on the mic and boasted that they have been the IWTV Tag Team champions for more than 500 days. Waller said “all of this started a little over a year ago” and he blamed Fresh Air for starting this feud. They have a title match coming up in C*4 Wrestling on Aug. 16!
5. Brandon Kirk defeated Joshua Bishop to become No. 1 contender for the Key To The East Title at 8:44. An intense lockup to open, and Kirk rolled to the floor to regroup. Bishop has a clear height and muscle mass advantage. They brawled to the floor and Bishop hit some loud chops in front of the fans. Kirk kicked the ropes as they re-entered the ring at 5:00. Bishop hit a release suplex. Bishop hit a sideslam for a nearfall at 8:00, then a chokeslam for a nearfall. Bishop charged into the corner and nearly ran into the ref. Kirk got a rollup with his feet on the ropes for leverage. Adequate; I guess I had hoped for more here.
6. Kasey Catal defeated Hyan at 9:03. They took turns playing to the crowd then shook hands. Hyan is the top star from Texas, while Kasey competes in a lot of hardcore matches against men; she is married to Kirk (from the previous match.) Kasey almost immediately was having issues with her top, which was distracting her. She fell to the floor, and Hyan hit a running kick to her chest. In the ring, Hyan hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 3:30. Kasey hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Hyan hit a spear into the corner at 6:30. Kasey hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. Hyan hit another spear. She set up for a faceplant, but Kasey rolled her up for the pin out of nowhere. Solid match.
7. Mike Santana defeated Matt Makowski at 17:21. Alyssa noted that both men suffered similar knee injuries at about the same time and both have come back strong. An intense lockup and standing switches to open, then reversals on the mat. Santana hit a shotgun dropkick at 2:30 that dropped Matt to the floor. Santana hit some chops at ringside. In the ring, Santana hit some rolling suplexes for a nearfall. Santana hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 5:30 and he kept Matt grounded. Matt went for a cross-armbreaker, and he switched to a modified Fujiwara Armbar, but Santana reached the ropes. Matt hit some kneedrops on the left elbow and targeted it.
Matt applied a Boston Crab, but Santana again reached the ropes at 8:00. Santana hit a German Suplex, then an enzuigiri. He nailed a rolling stunner for a nearfall at 11:00. Santana hit a Buckle Bomb, then a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Santana set up for his discus clothesline but Matt blocked it, and Matt hit some kicks and a running knee for a nearfall at 12:30. Mat hit a standing powerbomb and another running knee for a nearfall. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees. Santana hit a Mafia Kick and a German Suplex; Matt hit his own German Suplex. They hit simultaneous clotheslines and were both down. at 15:30.
They got up and Matt hit some punches to the gut. They traded rollups. Matt again avoided the discus clothesline. Santana again went for the rolling stunner, but Matt caught him and locked in a cross-ambreaker! Nice! Santana immediately reached the ropes at 17:00. Santana CLOCKED him with the discus clothesline to score the pin. That was stellar. A top-notch, must-see indy match. Makowski is quickly becoming one of my favorite indy guys, and Santana is having a stellar 2024 wherever he goes.
* Santana got on the mic and praised EtU for putting together this show and this match. “Keep doing what you’re doing,” he told Makowski. They shook hands as a show of respect. The commentators (rightfully) gushed about this moment. “What a match,” Solomon said. Alyssa added: “What an honor of a match to watch.”
8. Dezmond Cole defeated Sam Holloway to win the Rey Del Estilo finals at 7:11. Sam’s heigh advantage is really notable, and he hit a blow that dropped Cole in the first minute, then some chops. Sam hit a double-underhook suplex that tossed Dezmond into the turnbuckles for a nearfall at 1:30. He hit a hard bodyslam for a nearfall. Dezmond hit a stunner, but Sam just picked him up and rammed him back-first into a corner. Cole hit a second-rope corkscrew press and they were both down at 3:30. Cole hit a Lionsault Press, then a Shining Wizard for a nearfall. Sam hit a massive shotgun dropkick, then an overhead release suplex for a nearfall at 5:30. Holloway hit a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall. Cole hit a superkick, then a brainbuster, then a spin kick to the head, then a Swanton Bomb for the pin. For the time given, that was a great match.
9. Marcus Mathers defeated Titus Alexander to retain the Key To The East Title at 21:30. Titus is the top-notch West Coast talent who has competed a lot in Japan in the past year and he’s had a handful of AEW/ROH matches. Mathers just turned 21 and he’s had a handful of MLW matches. A feeling-out process and a standoff at 1:30. Titus hit a shotgun dropkick, then a dive to the floor on Marcus, and he paused to flex, earning some boos. He whipped Mathers back-first into the guardrail. Solomon noted that Titus is just 23 as well. In the ring, Mathers hit his modified Swerve-style House Call kick to the head at 6:00. Marcus hit a bodyslam for a nearfall and he was fired up.
Marcus came off the ropes, but Titus caught him with a dropkick to the face for a nearfall! The commentators talked about how this is Titus’ EtU debut and a lot of the East Coast hasn’t seen him yet. Titus hit a high back suplex at 8:30. He began jawing at the female ref, which angered the crowd. Mathers hit a second-rope crossbody block, then a German Suplex for a nearfall. He nailed a Shellshock face plant for a nearall at 12:00. Titus hit a top-rope crossbody block and a brainbuster for a nearfall, and the crowd rallied for Mathers. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Mathers hit an Ospreay-style heel hook kick to the face, then a Poison Rana, but Titus popped up, hit a clothesline at 15:30, and they were both down.
Titus hit a Lethal Injection, and they traded rollups. Mathers hit a Canadian Destroyer, but Titus rolled to the floo to avoid being pinned. Mathers immediately hit a flip dive to the floor onto Titus! In the ring, Titus nailed the Chaos Theory (rolling German Suplex) for a believable nearfall at 19:00. Titus hit a hard knee to the side of the head, then another. Mathers hit an enzuigiri. Mathers avoided the Michinoku Driver and hit a pop-up stunner, then a Tiger Driver, then the 450 Splash for the pin. Another stellar match. Mathers has now been EtU KttEast champion for a year.
* Mathers got on the mic and put over Titus, and Titus left. Brandon Kirk then got in the ring and talked about how he’s known Marcus since Mathers was 17, and he’s proud of him, and they hugged. However, two masked guys got in the ring, and the lights went out! They came back on, and Brandon watched as the two masked guys beat up Mathers! (This was right out of the scene when Adam Cole turned on MJF last year, almost identical.) Kirk then called Mathers an “egotistical prick” who “walks all over people.” Under the masks were Matt Makowski and Gabriel Skye! Kirk said he wants his title match! Austin Luke ran in to make the save, but then Luke clotheslined Mathers, too! Makowski, Skye and Luke stomped on Mathers. They tied him up, upside down, from the top rope with Mathers’ hanging outside the ring!
Final Thoughts: EtU saved the best matches for last. I’ll narrowly go with Santana-Makowski for best match ahead of Mathers-Titus, but wow, those are two top-notch indy matches and if you have IWTV, they are must-see viewing. The Holloway-Cole match takes third. The rest of the show was solid. Both four-ways to open the show were good. Perhaps my biggest complaint is that both Armstrong-Kai and Bishop-Kirk needed a few more minutes to be memorable. A really good roster here; A-Game is the only one I really didn’t know, as everyone else here are regulars up and down the East Coast. A really good sign-off to the show as Kirk’s group beat up the champion, leading to Kirk’s title match.
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