By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, TNA, MLW, ROH, GCW, and other notable live events. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
Action Wrestling “Dean~!!!”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
April 4, 2024 in Williamstown, New Jersey at H2O Wrestling Center
They are one of the many promotions that brought their top stars to the Philadelphia area for WrestleMania weekend shows. Google Maps shows this venue is about a 30-minute drive southeast of Philly. This is the training center, and while it’s packed in here, the crowd is maybe 150. I’ve read some really positive comments about this show so I decided to check it out.
* There are a whopping 12 matches on this show. As I quickly saw, every match was fast-paced because they were keeping them short so everyone had some time in the ring.
1. Alex Kane defeated Colby Corino to retain the Action Wrestling Title at 7:39. Standing switches and some comedy with Colby keeping a headlock in place. Kane hit some crossface blows. Corino hit some clotheslines in the corner at 5:30, then an Air Raid Crash for a nearfall. Kane hooked Corino’s neck and he nailed a back suplex for the pin out of nowhere. Much shorter than I expected.
2. O’Shay Edwards and “Amboss” Robert Dreissker and Laurance Roman defeated “The Good Hand” Suge D, Kevin Ryan, and The Wall at 9:37. The Good Hand are the heel faction that run with Alex Kane in Action Wrestling. As his name suggests, The Wall is much taller than his teammates; he usually is just at ringside interfering in the shows I’ve seen. I saw Dreissker for the first times a couple days ago and he’s a short German powerhouse. O’Shay is Black and bald; you may recall he was in ROH at the end of the Sinclair era. O’Shay hit a nice delayed vertical suplex on Kevin Ryan at 3:00. The Good Hand worked over the shorter, bald Roman in their corner. Dreissker hit a Death Valley Driver on Ryan for a nearfall at 8:00. Dreissker hit a fallaway slam. O’Shay then hit a top-rope moonsault for the pin. Good action.
3. “Violence is Forever” Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku defeated “The Ugly Sucklings” Rob Killjoy and White Mike at 6:36. VIF have been GCW Tag Team champions for a while now.All four brawled at the bell. I always describe the Ugly Sucklings as Duck Dynasty hillbillies and they are quite popular with the Action crowd, and they worked over Garrini opened. Ku hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 4:00. White Mike swung Ku around by his neck before covering him for a nearfall. Ku hit a Dragon Suplex on Mike. ViF hit a team powerbomb move on Killjoy for the pin. That was fast-paced.
* A dirty mat was put down over the relatively clean mat. Time for a hardcore match?
4. Tank and Jaden Newman defeated Tom Lawlor and 1 Called Manders in a “Gypsy Joe Rules” match at 8:18. All four brawled at the bell. Lawlor wore ‘shooter’ gloves as he punched the bigger Tank. They brawled to the floor. Tank and Manders sat down across from each other and drank cans of beer, but Lawlor attacked Tank from behind. Manders repeatedly punched Tank’s forehead until Tank was bleeding, and they hit repeated headbutts at 5:00. In the ring, Tank went for a Figure Four on Lawlor. Newman hit a running boot on Manders while Tank hit a Russian Leg Sweep, and they pinned Manders. Solid brawl.
5. Brayden Toon, Rico Gonzalez, and Bobby Flaco defeated Hoodfoot, Danny Demanto, and Isaiah Broner at 7:54. Toon’s team is the Action Wrestling squad while Demanto operates this school in New Jersey. Demanto’s team is MUCH bigger and thicker. The tiny dork Flaco tried a crossbody block to open the match, but Broner and Hoodfoot caught him. Broner entered and hit a Black Hole Slam. He no-sold blows from Flaco, and Demanto’s team took turns beating up Flaco. Demanto hit a senton at 5:00. Toon finally tagged in and hit an enzuigiri on Hoodfoot. Broner speared Flaco through a wood board in the corner. Toon hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor. Flaco nailed a top-rope flying stunner on Broner for the unexpected pin!
6. Dr. Cerebro defeated Gringo Loco at 17:19. I don’t think I’ve seen Dr. Cerebro before; he is masked and wore white, and he’s much shorter than Loco. Mat reversals and a feeling-out process to open. Cerebro applied a modified Figure Four at 2:30. They did some comedy where Cerebro rejected a handshake. Loco hit a huracanrana at 5:30. Cerebro hit a dive through the ropes, and that popped the crowd. Cerebro slammed Loco’s head into the ring post and took control in the ring. Loco hit a handspring-back-elbow for a nearfall at 9:30. Loco hit a top-rope moonsault for a nearfall. He nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 11:00 and they were both down.
Cerebro tied Loco on the mat and snapped the left arm backward. He began targeting the damaged shoulder. Cerebro got a chair and struck him with it, and the ref called for the bell for a DQ at 12:59, but they kept brawling. It was immediately announced it was being re-started as a no-disqualification match. (I never stopped my stopwatch and there was no break in the action.) Loco hit a second-rope Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 15:30. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Loco nailed a top-rope Spanish Fly for a believable nearfall, and this crowd was hot. Cerebro hit a superkick onto a chair that Loco was holding. Cerebro tied up one arm and one leg into a modified bow-and-arrow, and Loco tapped out. That was a great match. Fans pelted them with money.
* Avery Good, who is “the director of the IWTV Championship Committee,” hit the ring and got on the mic. He said he made a mistake when he stripped Krule of the IWTV title last summer. He admits he was wrong to do that. Avery showed off a new IWTV championship belt, and the winner of the next match will get it!
7. Krule defeated “Warhorse” Jake Parnell for the IWTV Heavyweight Title at 15:02. Worth reiterating that Parnell is in all black clothing and so dark and sinister now; he’s no longer the red-and-yellow rocker who “rules ass.” Krule wrestles as Mads Krugger in MLW and he’s very much like a masked Kane. Parnell couldn’t Irish Whip the big man, so he hit a series of forearm strikes and an enzuigiri, but Krule hit a sudden side slam for a nearfall at 1:00. Parnell hit a clothesline as Krule was on the ring apron, and they brawled on the floor. Parnell hit a series of LOUD chops that Krule basically no-sold. Krule chokeslammed him on the ring apron at 3:30, but Parnell hit a flip dive through the ropes onto Krule, earning a “holy shit!” chant.
Both rolled back into the ring to avoid a countout, and they traded more chops. Krule hit a release suplex at 6:00. Parnell hit a suplex and they were both down. Krule hit a back suplex. Parnell avoided a chokeslam and hit an Exploder Suplex, then a running knee in the corner for a nearfall at 8:00. Krule nailed a chokeslam-backbreaker over his knee for a believable nearfall; that looked devastating! Parnell hit a running powerbomb for a nearfall at 10:30, and the crowd started a “Warhorse!” chant. Parnell hit a top-rope elbow drop, then a second one. He went to the top rope for a third one, but Krule got up and met him on the ropes. Krule hit a second-rope hiptoss to the mat, and they were both down at 12:00.
Krule accidentally clotheslined the referee, literally knocking him out of his shoes! Krule hit a chokeslam on Warhorse. Avery Good got in the ring and hit Krule with a chairshot to the back. Krule grabbed Avery, but Adam Priest jumped in the ring and hit a series of chairshots to Krule’s back! A second ref was in. Warhorse hit another top-rope elbow drop for a believable nearfall! Good grabbed this second ref and whipped him into a wall. Good handed Parnell a chairshot and ordered him to use it. Warhorse shoved Good, refusing to use it! Krule threw a FIREBALL at Parnell’s face! Krule then hit a Road to Valhalla-style faceplant to pin Parnell. A busy final segment but was really good.
* “The Octopus” Jonathan Gresham hit the ring! He’s the first-ever IWTV champion and he stood across from Krule. Krule grabbed Gresham by the throat but they were separated before any more violence occurred. Good post-match surprise. Intermission was edited out.
8. Matt Makowski defeated Arez at 6:21. Matt is the mat-based shoot fighter who faced Charlie Dempsey at the Bloodsport event, and Arez is one of my favorite luchadors. They traded quick lucha moves early with Matt hitting a huracanrana! The commentators said that Matt “knows lucha.” Arez hit a dive to the floor. Back in the ring, they traded forearms, and Arez hit his series of kicks. Matt applied a crossarm breaker at 4:30. Arez hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. Arez missed his one-footed Lionsault. Makowski appeared to be going for a Chaos Theory/rolling German Suplex, but he turned it into a crossarm breaker, and Arez quickly tapped out. Really good for a match so short.
9. Slim J defeated Adam Priest at 11:28. Slim J applied a crossarm breaker in the first minute, and Priest rolled to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Slim J hit a dropkick, sending Priest to the floor again. Priest hit a neckbreaker in the middle rope at 3:00. Priest now was in control and he tied up Slim J on the mat. Slim J applied a Fujiwara Armbar but Priest escaped. Priest hit a Brainbuster for a nearfall at 5:30. Slim J hit a head-scissors takedown. Priest hit a jumping piledriver for a nearfall.
Slim J hit a hard clothesline and was fired up. He hit an enzuigiri. Priest hit a German Suplex at 9:00. Slim J hit a second-rope twisting double-arm DDT for a believable nearfall, then he switched to a front guillotine choke, but Priest refused to submit. Priest snapped Slim J’s face across a rope. Slim J hit a stunner for the pin. A really good match. Both are sneaky good and underrated, and they got a standing ovation.
10. “Wasted Youth” Marcus Mathers and Austin Luke defeated “Sinner & Saint” Judas Icarus and Travis Williams at 9:48. This is one of those matches that jumped out at me as I looked at the lineup. Sinner and Saint come from the Pacific Northwest, while Wasted Youth are local stars. I mentioned this already, but I believe Mathers had 10 matches over Mania weekend. Luke (think a taller Pac) and Williams (think a bald Sabre Jr.) traded fast-paced mat reversals. Mathers and Judas (think a shorter Mike Bailey) entered at 1:00 and they traded holds. WY hit team superkicks on the floor on Williams. In the ring, Icarus hit a release face-first suplex on Luke at 3:30, and S&S began working over Luke.
Austin hit a Poison Rana and made the hot tag to Mathers, who hit a fadeaway stunner and a German Suplex at 6:00. He hit a top-rope flying crossbody block for a nearfall, and the commentators talked about how “this is Marcus Mathers’ house.” He hit a Lionsault, and Luke hit a frogsplash on Williams for a nearfall. Williams hit a dive through the ropes onto Mathers. In the ring, Williams hit a German Suplex on Luke for a nearfall at 8:30. Williams and Icarus accidentally hit each other, and Luke hit a double clothesline on them. Luke hit a Go To Sleep-style kick, and Mathers immediately hit a top-rope 450 Splash for the clean pin on Icarus. That was really sharp for the time given.
* The gross old mat is down, which signifies we are having another gross street fight.
11. Mad Dog Connelly defeated Demus in a dog collar match at 9:12. I don’t know these two. Conelly is white with a short thick beard, and he already had the chain around his neck when he came to the ring. Demus is a really short luchador with white facepaint. Conelly rubbed the chain across Demus’ face and Demus was quickly busted open. They brawled on the floor. In the ring, Demus hit a Bulldog Powerslam and a senton for a nearfall, and he choked Connelly with the chain at 5:00. They kept brawling and both were bleeding. They took turns choking each other with the chain. Connelly applied a Triangle Choke, and Demus tapped out. I did not like this at all, but the crowd loved it.
* As this match began, the commentators noted it was 11:29 p.m. EST, and there had been several other shows here already.
12. Daniel Makabe defeated Timothy Thatcher at 16:37. Makabe always strikes me as looking a lot like Alex Shelley but a bit puffier, and he’s a good mat-based technician; he’s on a retirement tour, and the commentators said this is their final showdown. Standing switches as the commentators talked their history against each other over the years. They suddenly started trading stiff forearm strikes at 6:00, but went right back to the mat with Thatcher tying him up. Makabe applied a crossarm breaker. Thatcher switched to a half-crab at 10:00.
Makabe tied him in a Cattle Mutilation, then a leglock around Thatcher’s waist. Thatcher applied a leglock around the neck, then hard knee strikes to the spine at 12:00. They got to their feet and Makabe hit some European Uppercuts at 14:00. They traded headbutts, and both collapsed. Thatcher applied a Fujiwara Armbar. Back on their feet, Makabe hit two straight punches to the jaw and scored the pin. Solid mat-based match; others will like this a lot more than I did. The crowd was appreciative.
Final Thoughts: Well this show certainly had a little bit for everyone — some lucha, some hardcore, some mat-based action. I really enjoyed Loco-Cerebro for best match, then Sinner & Saint/Wasted Youth for second, and the short Arez/Makowski match for third. Krule-Parnell was really laid-out well and gets my honorable mention. With so many matches here, I have to also note Slim J-Priest was sharp, too.
None of the first five matches were bad, but this show kicked into a second level beginning with the Loco-Cerebro match. I have always said I’m okay with a hardcore match if there is a story behind it and it has built to that level of hatred. But I doubt there was any type of build to Demus-Connolly. I’m just uncomfortable with that level of blood loss.
Be the first to comment