By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Santino Bros Wrestling presents “California Love”
Replay available via FITE.TV
March 30, 2023 in Los Angeles, California at Ukrainian Cultural Center
“The Collective” is a series of ten wrestling shows, led by Game Changer Wrestling, held over WrestleMania weekend, with all the events at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Most of the shows have a specific theme (there is a lucha show, a show highlighting Black wrestlers, and another featuring the LGBTQ community.) This venue can probably hold 600, and I think nearly every one of the 10 shows are sellouts.
“The Santino Brothers Wrestling presents California Love” is the first show of the Collective, and it took place at 1 p.m. CST Thursday, March 30. I am assuming that everyone on this card is a California-based wrestler. Slice Boogie, who we’ve seen in Major League Wrestling, is on commentary.
1. Kidd Bandit defeated Eli Everfly at 7:31. Everfly is a high-flyer who wears a bug mask to the ring but he takes it off as he enters; I’ve seen him in GCW scrambles on prior West Coast shows. Bandit is dressed like a scary kids’ doll, ad they are a hero in the LGBTQ community and uses they/their pronouns. Eli immediately attacked and he hit a moonsault to the floor. The commentary team said Everfly taught Bandit, but they’ve never had a match before. Everfly butterflied the arms and hit a Canadian Destroyer at 6:00 for a nearfall. Bandit put Eli on their shoulders and hit a One-Winged Angel move over their knee for the pin; the referee awkwardly stopped at two, then counted to three. Ref blew the finish but it was an alright opener.
2. Ray Rosas defeated Big Dick Hoss, Koto Hiro, El Premohenio, Alec Tomas, Richie Coy in a six-way scramble at 7:58. I have never seen any of these six guys before. Hoss is a mean cowboy with a cowbell; he’s essentially “Outlaw” Ron Bass for those old enough to remember him, and he’s 300+ pounds, and he’s built like A-Train. HIro wore a white Lucha outfit; he’s from Japan. Premohenio is from Spain; he has long black hair. Tomas is Armenian, with short black hair and he had an Armenian flag over his shoulders. Richie is flamboyant and reminds me of Impact’s Jai Vidal. Ray Rosas is older and has long black hair and a long beard. Tomas hit a nice Tiger Bomb for a nearfall at 6:00.
Hoss nailed a standing powerbomb. Koto hit Hoss with a Kendo Stick, as everyone began working together to take down Hoss, hitting five simultaneous kneestrikes to his head. Tomas hit a Blue Thunder Bomb. Rosas hit an Asai Moonsault onto several opponents. Rosas nailed a top-rope elbow drop to pin Premohenio. Decent scramble; I’d like to see more of all six.
3. Tyler Bateman defeated Raunchy Rico (w/Damian Arsenic) at 8:52. Rico wore a Mexican flag over his shoulders; he’s thick with long curly hair, someone like Santos Escobar. Arsenic, his heel manager, told fans to use soap. Rico got on the mic and went back and forth in English and Spanish. Bateman, of course, has had runs in ROH and New Japan Strong and looks like a deranged carnival worker. Arsenic interfered early on, allowing Rico to take control. A weird match because Bateman looks so deranged, it’s hard for him to get babyface sympathy, and the crowd was definitely quiet here, as this match moved at a slower, methodical pace. Rico hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 8:00. Bateman nailed a Tombstone Piledriver for the pin. So-so match.
4. Lucas Riley and Dom Kubrick defeated Cameron Gates and The DKC at 14:29. I only know DKC from his New Japan Strong run. Gates has long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and he has a giant tattoo on his back; he reminds me of Dolph Ziggler. Riley and Kubrick wore identical metallic blue & black pants and are of average size. Kubric has a beard; Kubrick looks a bit younger and is clean-shaven. Dom and DKC opened with quick mat reversals, and this looks more like the modern indy style I love to watch. Riley hit a running Shooting Star Press on Gates at 2:30.
Gates hit a nice faceplant move on Kubrick and got a nearfall. Dom hit a nice spinning neckbreaker on DKC for a nearfall at 6:00. Dom hit a nice German suplex for a nearfall. DKC and Dom Kubrick traded chops at 10:00. Dom missed a moonsault and over-rotated, landing hard on his back and butt. Gates made the hot tag and hit a slam on Riley for a nearfall, and suddenly everyone was down at 11:30.
In a nice spot, Riley gave DKC a monkeyflip, with Dom catching DKC and hitting a powerbomb, and the move popped the crowd. We got our first “This is awesome!” chant of the show. DKC hit a Doomsday legdrop on Riley for a believable nearfall. Dom and Riley hit superkicks on DKC, and Riley hit a stunner on DKC for the pin. This was so far-and-away better than the prior matches on the show.
* After the match, Cam was clearly livid at DKC for having gotten pinned. They hugged. Big Dick Hoss returned to the ring. Cam attacked DKC from behind, and Hoss joined in beating down DKC, as the crowd booed the heel turn.
5. Bad Dude Tito defeated Matt Vandegriff at 8:34. I have seen Vandegriff just once, against Mike Bailey, in one of the Las Vegas shows that took place around last year’s AEW PPV that weekend, and he’s a decent high-flyer with a look similar to Nick Jackson. Tito of course has competed in New Japan, and I recall some commentators have aptly compared him to Dr. Death Steve Williams; he has a few inches of height advantage but a significant muscle mass advantage. They opened with good mat reversals. Matt hit a flip dive to the floor at 2:30.
However, Matt injured his leg as he re-entered the ring, and Tito immediately targeted it. Vandegriff hit a missile dropkick at 6:00, then a flip dive to the floor on Tito. In the ring, Vandegriff came off the ropes but Tito cut him in half with a spear for a nearfall. Vandegriff hit a sideslam for a nearfall. Tito hit a German Suplex, then a dive through the ropes. He dragged Matt back into the ring and hit a hard clothesline, then a top-rope frogsplash for the clean win. The final two minutes were pretty decisive. Good match.
6. Delilah Doom defeated Heather Monroe and Johnnie Robbie in a three-way women’s match at 12:58. Monroe is a blonde woman and wore a fur jacket similar to Taya Valkyrie. Johnnie has long, curly black hair and a red outfit; I haven’t seen her before. Delilah has dark black hair and she’s the Inner City Champion and she looks like she just stepped out of a 1970s aerobic workout videotape. Early in the match, Heather applied a Camel Clutch in the ropes on Delilah. Robbie hit some strikes and a running knee on Doom for a nearfall at 2:30. The commentary team said Robbie just started in 2021, but has appeared in the WOW promotion.
Johnnie hit a Death Valley Driver move at 5:30. Monroe hit a nice Tiger Suplex on Johnnie. Johnnie hit a lungblower on Doom, and all three women were down. Doom hit roaring elbows on each woman, then a double stunner at 7:30, then a double 619, and she was fired up. Doom hit a dive through the ropes. In the ring, Doom nailed a Widow’s Peak neckbreaker on Monroe. Johnnie hit a butterfly backbreaker over her knee, then a German Suplex for a nearfall on Monroe.
We had a tower spot out of the corner. Monroe bodyslammed Robbie onto Doom and got a nearfall at 11:00. Doom got a modified Victory Roll to pin Johnnie Robbie. Decent women’s action. Ray Rosas (who won the scramble in the second match) got in the ring and beat up Delilah Doom! He got on the mic and he blamed the crowd for why he chose to beat her up. He said he took a well-deserved break to heal his body, and the crowd forgot all about him. He then put a full nelson on Doom on the mat until referees came in and forced him to break the hold.
7. Che Cabrera (w/Damian Arsenic) defeated Willie Mack to retain the Santino Bros Title at 16:31. Cabrera had a handful of NJPW Strong matches as well, and he’s got a good physique, and he is wearing a young-Scott Steiner style singlet. I guarantee I’ve seen more Willie Mack matches than everyone else on this show combined. An intense lockup to begin. Willie hit a head-scissors takedown at 3:30, then a running leg lariat, and Che bailed to the floor to regroup. Mack hit a hard chop as Che was seated on a fan. In the ring, Che hit a flying shoulder tackle for a nearfall, and he took control of the offense.
Che hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall at 7:30. Che hit a series of forearm shots, but it got Mack fired up. Mack nailed a spin kick to the head, and they were both down at 10:00. Mack hit a flying back elbow, a Mafia Kick, and his running cannonball in the corner, then a Samoan Drop. Mack nailed his standing moonsault for a believable nearfall at 12:30. Che fired back with a Death Valley Driver. He put Mack’s feet on the top rope and hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall.
Mack hit a pop-up forearm and an Exploder Suplex, then a flip dive to the floor, and they were both down on the floor at 15:00. Mack climbed the ropes, but Damian Arsenic sprayed him with water to distract him. It allowed Che to hit a Frankensteiner, then a running knee. Che hit a Jackhammer for the pin. Good big-man match.
* Raunchy Rico returned to the ring and helped Che in a post-match beatdown. Bateman made the save, but Damian Arsenic hit a low blow kick on Bateman. Slice Boogie left the commentary table and hit Arsenic with a chairshot to the back and a piledriver.
Final Thoughts: A lot of brand new faces to me, and there was more good than bad. The main event was really good, not great, but good, and I’ll give that a slight edge for best match. I really liked the DKC tag match, and was really impressed with Riley and Kubrick. I will give Vandegriff-Tito third best.
The scramble was the fun mess I’ve come to love, but I would really want to see more of everyone in that match in regular singles matches. Bandit is still relatively new to wrestling; they have such great personality and the sort of look that people want to cheer. The in-ring work still needs improvement, but wow, what a babyface. Bateman-Rico was the only misfire, not because it was bad, but because I didn’t buy Bateman as a babyface, and neither did this crowd.
The show clocked in at about 2 hours, 20 minutes. Learn more about this promotion at santinobros.net
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