By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Focus Pro “Larger Than Life”
January 11, 2025 in Braintree, Massachusetts at Widowmaker Brewing
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
Braintree is located on the south side of Boston. This is a good-sized brewery, and there is a crowd of about 100, mostly standing. Lighting is good. Drew Kazu and Bo Douglas provided commentary.
1. Seabass Finn vs. Diego Alvarez. I don’t think I’ve seen Diego; he wears a T-Shirt that reads “guapo” (handsome) and he’s a smug and cocky narcissist. Again, Finn is a good mat-based wrestler and I hate the gimmick. He quickly out-wrestled Diego, who rolled to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Diego dropped him with a shoulder tackle at 2:30, did a hip swivel, and drew boos. Finn hit a second-rope crossbody block. Diego’s heel manager choked Finn in the ropes. Diego hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 6:00. Finn hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker, then a Northern Lights Suplex.
They traded punches, and Finn hit an enzuigiri and a running buttbump, then a second-rope diving European Uppercut, then a German Suplex for a nearfall at 9:30. Diego hit a running knee and a DDT for a nearfall. The heel manager interfered again so he got ejected. They traded rollups. Diego got a backslide, put his feet on the ropes for leverage, and scored the tainted pin. Solid opener.
Diego Alvarez defeated Seabass Finn at 12:14.
2. “Hard Work Heroes” Barnaby Combs and Aaron Cademia vs. “Delta House” Dante Drago and Nick Robles for the Focus Pro Tag Team Titles. I don’t know HWH; Barnaby is Black and older, with gray hair in his goatee, reminding me of Mo from Men on a Mission. Cademia is white, short and chubby. No on-screen graphics, but I eventually found their names after an online search. Robles is the clueless 1980s rocker; I’ve seen him and Drago in several Northeast indies. Barnaby hit some bodyslams. Dante hit a dropkick on Cademia at 5:00 and celebrated, and the heels worked over Aaron. Cademia finally hit a German Suplex at 10:30. Barnaby entered and hit a spear on Dante for a nearfall. Dante hit a DDT for a nearfall. The champs hit a Hart Attack clothesline for the pin. I didn’t like this at all; If HWH are serious about this, they need to find a gym.
“Hard Work Heroes” Barnaby Combs and Aaron Cademia defeated Dante Drago and Nick Robles to retain the Focus Pro Tag Team Titles at 14:16.
3. Austin Luke vs. Kennedi Hardcastle in an intergender match. I’ve noted before that the long-haired Luke reminds me of Pac, and of course, he has a significant height and an overall size advantage. She slapped his face to open the match, then a huracanrana that sent him to the floor. In the ring, he kept trying to bodyslam her, but Kennedi held on. She hit some chops at 1:30. He slapped her and she fell to the mat. She tied him up on the mat and kept Luke grounded, and she hit a bulldog.
Luke applied a Boston Crab at 4:30, but she reached the ropes. He missed a frogsplash. She hit a running knee and applied a headlock on the mat, but he reached the ropes. They got to their feet and traded forearm strikes. She spun him to the mat and applied a Crossface. Luke nailed a Go To Sleep pop-up knee strike and scored the pin. Certainly watchable.
Austin Luke defeated Kennedi Hardcastle at 7:18.
4. Leo Sparrow vs. Stan Stylz. Sparrow just had a blink-and-you’ll-mss-it AEW Rampage tag match last month; he came out wrapped in plastic wrap. Stylz is muscular but he hasn’t done much to grab me in matches I’ve previously seen. Stylz ripped off his tear-a-way pants and threw them at Leo. Sparro kept Stan grounded. He hit a bodyslam for a nearfall at 4:30. Stylz got whipped cream in his hands, but Sparrow knocked it away. Sparrow missed a moonsault. Stylz hit a Pedigree for a nearfall at 8:00. Stylz sprayed whipped cream into the ref’s mouth, then gave him the Heimlich Maneuver. Sparrow hit Stylz with the whipped cream can, hit a DDT, and scored the pin. I didn’t like this one, either.
Leo Sparrow defeated Stan Stylz at 9:22.
5. DJ Powers vs. “A-Game” Joseph Alexander. I’m a big fan of teenage heel Powers; I’ve compared him to NXT’s Kale Dixon and a young Johnny Morrison. A-Game is a decent babyface, similar to NJPW’s Kevin Knight, and he applied a half-crab early on. Powers took control and kept A-Game grounded. A-Game hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. He applied a half-crab and Powers submitted! Geez, this was one of the matches I was looking forward to the most, and it was over far too quickly.
Joseph Alexander defeated DJ Powers at 6:09.
6. Cheeseburger vs. Brian Bayside. Bayside must be a rookie; he wore pink one-piece gear and he’s quite rotund. They went to lock up, but instead Bayside swiveled his hips. Bayside collapsed on Cheeseburger for a nearfall at 4:00. Bayside hit a Stinger Splash. They switched up with Cheeseburger and the referee locking up, and Bayside acted as ref at 11:00, but then we resumed the match. Cheeseburger hit the Shotei palm strike and scored the pin. Ugh, I’ve not liked half of the matches so far.
Cheeseburger defeated Brian Bayside at 11:44.
7. TJ Crawford vs. Gabriel Skye. On paper, this might be the best match of the show. TJ rolled to the floor and stalled. I hadn’t heard the bell; TJ got in the ring and kicked Skye in the gut so I started my stopwatch at first contact. Skye hit a double-underhook suplex, but he missed a top-rope doublestomp and sold that he tweaked an ankle. TJ hit a Blue Thunder Bomb at 1:30. They traded chops. TJ hit a sideslam. They traded blows while on the ropes, and TJ collapsed to the mat at 5:30. Skye hit a second-rope missile dropkick, then a Northern Lights Suplex. He hit a running knee and a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall.
Crawford hit a springboard stunner. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. Skye hit a Tiger Suplex at 8:30, but Crawford got his feet in the ropes to break the count. TJ slammed him on the ring apron. TJ nailed the Silver Bullet spin kick to the head out of nowhere for the pin. Yes, that was really good.
TJ Crawford defeated Gabriel Skye at 10:16.
8. Lucas Chase vs. Milo Mirra. Milo’s whole gimmick is he uses a pogo stick to bounce to the ring. I like Chase, who recently turned heel in Wrestling Open, and he has a significant advantage in height, strength and ring experience. This should be a squash, really. Chase hit his Sheamus-style blows to the chest in the ropes and got a nearfall at 2:00. He hit some jab punches. Milo hit a back suplex and a springboard twisting senton. Chase hit a flying clothesline at 5:30. He hit a shoulder tackle that sent Mirra flying, then a spinebuster for a nearfall. Mirra hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Mirra tried to leap into the ring via his pogo stick, but Chase caught him with a stunner. Chase then hit a discus clothesline for the pin. Satisfying; the right guy won. Chase had a bloody nose as he left the ring.
Lucas Chase defeated Milo Mirra at 7:23.
9. Mani Ariez vs. Dezmond Cole for the Focus Pro Title. I saw Ariez for the first time a month ago when he won this belt, and I’ll compare him a bit to Mike Santana, and he has the size advantage. They locked up and traded intense reversals. Cole hit a huracanrana at 2:30, then a dropkick. They shook hands, and Cole hit a spin kick. Mani hit a second-rope missile dropkick, then a dive through the ropes onto Dezmond at 4:00. Dezmond hit a crossbody block, then a Michinoku Driver. Ariez focused on the left arm and kept Cole grounded. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Cole knocked him down with a legsweep at 10:00.
Cole hit a jump-up enzuigiri in the corner, then a second-rope superplex. He hit his rolling thunder guillotine legdrop for a nearfall. Cole trapped Mani’s head in the corner and kicked him in the face, then hit a German Suplex at 13:00. They got up and traded slaps to the face and chops. They traded rollups, and Mani got the pinfall!
Mani Ariez defeated Dezmond Cole to retain the Focus Pro Title at 14:31.
Final Thoughts: A good main event saved a very uneven show. I considered just watching the three matches that wound up being the top three on this show, and in retrospect, I probably should have, as there were several really bad matches here. So, the main event was best, ahead of TJ-Skye, and even though it was short, Powers vs. A-Game takes third.
Both Chase-Mira and Hardcastle-Luke were fine, but the other four matches were borderline unwatchable. I have liked what I have seen of Leo Sparrow before, but the stuff here against Stylz didn’t work for me. Stylz has a great physique but just has a long way to go as a wrestler. The Hard Work Heroes were bad; there is a reason I haven’t seen them in other Northeast promotions. So yes, I give this an overall thumbs down, but I did like three matches that are worth checking out.
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