By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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House of Glory “Final Warning”
January 25, 2025 in New York, N.Y. at NYC Arena
Streamed on the TrillerTV+
JD from New York, Jason Solomon, and Hilary P Wisdom provided commentary. HOG was in Chicago last weekend, but they are back in their familiar venue in New York. They once again drew maybe 400-500 fans. Kurt Angle was here for autograph signings and a seminar.
1. “Cold Blooded Killers” Raheem Royal and Jay Armani vs. “The Mane Event” Jay Lyon and Midas Black for the HOG Tag Team Titles. Lyon and Midas have “not been on the same page of late. Midas dove onto the heels as they walked to the ring. TME hit stereo kicks on Raheem for a nearfall, and Lyon hit a Lionsault for a nearfall at 1:30. The crowd chanted for Armani to “pull your pants up!” as they always sag off his butt. Lyon dove through the ropes onto everyone; all four dove into the ring at the nine-count at 4:00. They traded blows while on their knees, then while standing. CBK hit a doublestomp-and-slam combo on Midas for a nearfall, but Midas got a foot on the ropes.
One of the heels got a chair, but Midas cut him off, and they fought over who had control of it. Midas accidentally hit the ref with a chair! TME hit the Grand Finale (team X-Factor) but we had no ref! A second ref came in and counted the pin at 6:50! New champs! They celebrated with the belts, but I’m dubious. Yep, the original ref disqualified Midas for accidentally hitting him with the chair.
Raheem Royal and Jay Armani defeated Midas Black and Jay Lyon via DQ at 6:50.
* The commissioner came out and told TME they deserve another title shot, and it will be at the next event in a best-of-three falls match. Charles Mason came out and he wants TME to put up something too — he wants TME to put their tag careers on the line! Lyon accepted! Midas was shocked that Lyon accepted so quickly without them conferring first. Intrigue!
2. KC Navarro vs. Phumi Nkuta. Navarro came out first; the crowd booed him so he got on the mic and berated them. Nkuta is now 2-0 after his win last week; again, he’s a short shootfighter who is perhaps 5’3″. KC belittled him, noting that Nkuta is even shorter than he is. (Also, the ‘h’ is silent so it is pronounced ‘Poo Mee’) Nkuta threw a roundhouse kick at the bell that sent KC to the floor to avoid it. KC got in, slapped Nkuta, and immediately rolled to the floor again at 2:30. He got back into the ring, but Nkuta CLOCKED him with one knockout punch! The ref checked on KC and called for the bell! I don’t mind this at all. The commentators wondered if that was the fastest match in HOG history.
Phumi Nkuta defeated KC Navarro at 2:47.
3. Daron Richardson vs. Mantequilla for the HOG Cruiserweight TItle. Mantequilla has been out with an injury. The crowd was all over Daron. Daron avoided a move and playfully slapped Mantequilla on his head. Mantequilla hit a slingshot senton at 2:00, and they traded armdrags. They fought on the floor, and Daron accidentally chopped the ring post at 4:30. In the ring, Daron stomped on Mante and kept him grounded. Daron hit a flapjack at 7:00 and was in charge. The crowd chanted “Who’s your barber?” at Daron (his poofy hair always reminds me of Velveteen Dream.)
Daron hit a wheelbarrow German Suplex for a nearfall at 9:30. Mante hi a chokeslam for a believable nearfall. Daron tied him up on the mat, but Mante reached the ropes. Mante avoided a Code Red and he hit a superkick, but he was limping. Daron hit a spear on the leg, and he applied a half-crab at 12:30 in the center of the ring. Mante kept trying to crawl to the ropes, but he passed out from the pain. Good action. Amazing Red ran into the ring, and Daron immediately bailed to the floor and went into the crowd.
Daron Richardson defeated Mantequilla to retain the HOG Cruiserweight Title at 13:02.
* Red got on the mic and berated Daron. He shouted for the crowd to hold onto Daron, and the fans did! Red dragged Daron back over the guardrail and beat him up.
4. J Bouji vs. Jarett Diaz vs. JJ Doze vs. Dante Griffith vs. Jodi Aura vs. Joey Silver in a scramble. The winner becomes the new No. 1 contender. Diaz looks a lot like Trey Miguel, and he’s a heel. Griffith looks like 1999 Edge; it’s almost a tribute gimmick. Silver threw candy to the fans. Silver attacked Bouji at the bell and they went to the floor. Doze hit a huracarana. Diaz hit a powerslam. Jodi hit a doublestomp. Meanwhile, Bouji and Silver were fighting on the elevated entrance ramp, and Joey tossed him to the floor at 2:30. Dante tied up Doze in the ring. Dante hit an enzuigiri on Diaz, and he tied up Diaz!
Joey and Bouji finally got back into the ring and fought, with Silver hitting a monkey flip at 4:30, then a bulldog for a nearfall. Bouji hit a Pele Kick and they were both down, and the other four finally got back in. Diaz dumped opponents to the floor and celebrated, and he hit a flip dive onto everyone at 7:00. Jodi and Doze fought on the top rope, and Jodi hit a Falcon Arrow onto the other four on the floor, rightfully earning a “holy shit!” chant.
In the ring, Diaz hit a Cross Rhodes, but Jodi hit an impressive missile dropkick, going three-fourths of the way across the ring. Bouji hit a curbstomp on Dante at 10:00. Joey shoved candy in Bouji’s mouth and tossed him to the floor. We had a tower spot out of the corner that earned another “holy shit” chant. Bouji hit a springboard stunner and pinned Dante. Good action.
J Bouji defeated Jarett Diaz, JJ Doze, Dante Griffith, Jodi Aura, and Joey Silver in a scramble to become No. 1 contender at 11:07.
* Zilla Fatu is apparently not cleared to wrestle… he was supposed to face Rhino. It apparently was announced earlier in the day but I hadn’t seen that.
5. Idris Jackson (w/Hilary P. Wisdom) vs. Rhino. A loud “ECW!” chant at the bell. Rhino competed in HOG once before, in 2015! They locked up and Rhino is clearly much thicker. He tossed Idris to the floor. They traded blows at ringside, and Rhino suplexed him on the hardwood floor at 4:00. He slammed Idris on the ring apron and remained in charge. Hilary grabbed Rhino’s ankle, and he hit Rhino with a book, allowing Idris to take control. Idris worked the left arm, and the crowd rallied for Rhino. Rhino grabbed Idris off the top rope and slammed him to the mat at 9:00. Idris accidentally crashed into the ref! He hit a low blow on Rhino and was booed. Idris pulled out a chain and struck Rhino with it. The ref woke up and made the three count. Pretty paint-by-numbers, basic action. Too bad Zilla couldn’t make it.
Idris Jackson defeated Rhino at 10:56.
* Rhino got up and hit a Gore on Wisdom after the bell. Carlos Ramirez hopped in the ring and fought Idris, but Idris and Hilary scrambled to the back. Carlos got on the mic and taunted Idris and told him that they aren’t done fighting. We then headed to a 20-minute intermission.
6. Ricky Starks vs. Charles Mason. Mason is a heel here and he came out first. A nice pop for Starks, who used his usual AEW entrance music. Standing switches early on. They brawled to the floor, and Starks whipped Mason into a guardrail at 4:00. In the ring, Mason hit some chops and he took control. He whipped Starks hard into a corner and got a nearfall at 7:30, and he hit some clotheslines. Starks hit a flapjack at 10:00 and a Gory Bomb for a nearfall. He hit a DDT for a nearfall. Mason hit a shotgun dropkick and his rolling Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 12:00.
Starks hit a spear for a nearfall. They fought in the corner, and Mason bit him! He hit a DDT for a nearfall at 14:30. Starks hit a spear, but Mason applied a front guillotine choke! Mason applied a rear-naked choke. This crowd was hot and were all over Mason. Starks hit a spear, but Mason went flying backward into the ref! Mason hit a Tombstone Piledriver at 17:00 for a visual pin but we had no ref! Mason got a chair, but Santana ran to ringside and took it! Starks nailed the Roshambo faceplant off his shoulders for the pin. Good action.
Ricky Starks defeated Charles Mason at 18:00 even.
7. Mike Santana vs. Kenta for the HOG Heavyweight Title. Kenta stalled in the ropes but they eventually locked up and they traded open-hand slaps to the face. Santana hit a shoulder tackle and Kenta rolled to the floor at 3:00 to regroup. Back in the ring, Kenta hit a Mafia Kick and celebrated, and he hit a roundhouse kick to the chest; Santana invited him to hit more! They fought to the floor, and Kenta whipped him into the guardrail at 6:30. Santana hit a dive to the floor and more-or-less overshot Kenta and landed awkwardly at 8:00, but he hopped up and seemed okay.
Back in the ring, Santana hit some loud chops, then a senton. Santana hit two suplexes but couldn’t complete the ‘Three Amigos.’ They fought to the floor, where Mike accidentally chopped the ring post at 11:30. Back in the ring, Kenta hit some chops and was in charge. Kenta hit some stiff kicks to the spine, and he tied up the arm on the mat, and twisted Mike’s wrist and fingers; Mike got a foot on the ropes at 16:00. Kenta applied a sleeper on the mat but Santana powered up to his feet. Santana hit an enzuigiri.
Santana hit a second-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall at 19:30. Kenta hit a flying clothesline for a nearfall. Kenta hit a DDT from the ring apron to the floor at 22:30, and they were both down. Santana was slow to get up but got back in before a count-out. Kenta hit a Helluva Kick then a basement dropkick in the corner, then the top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 24:30. Santana hit a pop-up stunner for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes, and Santana hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 26:30. More forearm strikes, and they traded Mafia Kicks.
They hit stereo clotheslines; Santana hit a second clothesline for a nearfall at 28:00. Kenta avoided Spin The Block and he tied up the arm on the mat and applied a crossface, but Mike eventually got to the ropes. Kenta hit a Tiger Suplex and a running knee for a nearfall at 30:00. Kenta went for Go To Sleep but Santana blocked it! They traded more open-hand slaps. Santana again missed Spin The Block. However, just seconds later, Santana hit it for the pin! I didn’t expect a match that long, and this built very nicely. “What a war!” JD said.
Mike Santana defeated Kenta to retain the HOG Title at 31:32.
* Santana got on the mic but I really couldn’t understand him. The crowd gave a loud “Thank you, Kenta!” chant. Santana put over Kenta, saying how many hours he has spent watching Kenta matches.
Final Thoughts: An excellent main event, and as I noted, I didn’t expect going into this that it would top 30 minutes. Santana has been so incredibly good for the past two years, not just in TNA or in HOG, but any indy that is lucky enough to get him booked. Starks-Mason was good for a distant second. The scramble was fun and takes third.
If I had a complaint, it’s that I thought Kurt Angle would at least make an appearance, being as he did the afternoon training session. Now to be clear, I don’t think they advertised he would be on the show, but I guess I expected that. I get it that injuries and illnesses happen… but Zilla sure misses a lot of shows. The opening tag match was disappointing, largely because it ended so quickly, just as it was starting to gain steam. Also missing on this night was a women’s match. Megan Bayne has been a good champion here and I hope whatever commitments she has in AEW doesn’t stop her from coming here and defending her title.
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