By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Glory Pro Wrestling “Ascend” (Episode 52)
Taped August 25, 2024 in St. Louis, Missouri at South Broadway Athletic Club
Premiered September 22, 2024 via YouTube.com
Reed Duthie was on solo commentary. The crowd is maybe 250.
1. Ethan Price vs. Lil Evil. I believe this is Lil Evil’s Glory Pro debut; he’s a top-tier talent in New Texas Pro, and I’ve loosely compared him to Homicide. Ethan is the short powerhouse. Quick standing switches to open. Price hit a springboard clothesline for a nearfall at 2:00. They brawled at ringside, and Evil whipped Price into the guardrail. In the ring, Evil hit a DDT for a nearfall at 5:00. Price hit a German Suplex and fired up. He hit an Angle Slam at 7:00. Evil applied a Fujiwara Armbar. Price hit a Death Valley Driver for the pin. Solid match.
Ethan Price defeated Lil Evil at 8:21.
* We had a flashback from The New Guys vs. The Premiere, from Episode No. 50. The match ended in a double count-out, with both teams fighting at ringside. (When the episode first aired, the ending somehow got cut off; I admittedly never checked to see if they reloaded it to fix it.) We then went to a backstage segment, where The Premiere complained about the ref, and they declared themselves the No. 1 contenders. The New Guys attacked them.
2. Rahim De La Suede (w/Cinko) vs. Xavier Walker. Xavier is much taller and visibly stronger; think EJ Nduka. Rahim charged at Xavier but he ricocheted off him and fell to the mat, and he rolled to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Rahim hit a series of punches. A chop just angered Xavier, and Xavier clotheslined him to the floor at 3:30. He followed to the floor and hit some loud chops. Cinko distracted Xavier, allowing Rahim to hit a dive through the ropes. In the ring, Xavier hit a delayed vertical suplex at 6:00 and a leg drop.
Rahim hit a missile dropkick. Xavier hit a bodyslam and some clotheslines. Rahim hit an enzuigiri, but Xavier cut him in half with a spear for a believable nearfall at 9:00. They went to the floor, where Xavier picked up Rahim and ran him back-first into the guardrail. He slammed Rahim onto the ring apron at 10:30. In the ring, the ref got pushed into the way. It allowed Rahim to hit a second-rope flying Flatliner for the pin out of nowhere. Good match but I don’t know why they had a talent like Xavier lose here.
Rahim De La Suede defeated Xavier Walker at 10:59.
3. Vert Vixen vs. Laynie Luck in a tournament match. Two top-tier indy talents here. Laynie is from the Chicago area. Both have been on AEW/ROH TV. Duthie said the winner of this match will face Heather Reckless, who previously advanced to the semifinals. Standing switches and a feeling-out process to open. Laynie tied up the legs on the mat and had her ‘hog-tied.’ Laynie hit a huracanrana at 4:00 that sent Vert to the floor. Laynie splashed butt-first on her on the apron. Back in the ring, she hit a kick to the side of Vert’s head for a nearfall. Vert hit a stiff kick to the spine and got a nearfall, and she tied up Laynie’s arms while planting her knee in Laynie’s back.
Vert hit a flying back elbow for a nearfall at 6:30. Vert mounted her and hit repeated punches to the face, and she jawed a bit at the fans. Vert tied her in the Tree of Woe and hit a basement dropkick to the face at 9:00. Vert locked in a Sharpshooter and she dragged Laynie to the center of the ring, but Luck escaped and applied a Crippler Crossface, with Vert reaching the ropes to break it. Laynie hit a discus clothesline and they were both down. Laynie nailed a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 11:00.
Vert hit an enzuigiri and a German Suplex. Laynie hit her own German Suplex and they were both down. They traded rollups. Laynie threw a superkick. Vert hit a Blue Thunder Bomb out of the ropes for a nearfall at 13:00. Laynie hit a discus forearm strike, then a Package piledriver for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it, and so did Reed Duthie. Laynie hit a flying stunner off the ropes and scored the pin. A really good match between two top-notch talents. Duthie said it was the “hardest-fought” first-round match.
Laynie Luck defeated Vert Vixen to advance at 14:10.
Final Thoughts: An entertaining episode. This has been a good woman’s tournament with a match a week, but I would have loved an on-screen graphic to show the brackets. Laynie and Vert are experienced pros and it showed here. Not surprising that the local talent (Price, Luck) beat the Texas-based visitors (Lil Evil, Vert Vixen). I like Xavier Walker — he’s got the look, the size — so I find it frustrating to see him lose to a much smaller, scrawnier, opponent. That’s not meant as a knock on Rahim, but just acknowledging that Xavier’s size is so much bigger, it should have helped carry him to victory.
Last week had the huge Jake Parnell-Dan the Dad-Kody Lane-Rohit Raju match. I would have liked to have seen some sort of follow-up on that. It is the big blind spot in Glory Pro — keep the storylines of the stars in front of fans. Even if you don’t have a backstage segment, like they did with the Premiere-New Guys, at least show us a quick highlight package of that match. It’s what they built toward for months, so keep the story moving forward. That criticism aside, this is a good episode.
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