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
North Shore Pro Wrestling “Golden Opportunity XIV”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
June 15, 2024 in Quebec City, Quebec at Pavillon de la Jeunesse
I tuned in for matches with Shelton Benjamin, Stu Grayson and Kenta. At first glance, the only other names I confidently know are Benjamin Tull and Kristara. I’m pretty sure everyone else is new to me. I wasn’t fully confident where Quebec City is. It is northeast of Montreal and directly north of Maine.
* The show opened with a video package set to French dialogue, BUT THERE IS ENGLISH COMMENTARY. To the arena, where the ring announcers spoke in French as well. The lights are low but the ring is exceptionally well-lit or an indy show. This appears to be a hockey arena with several hundred fans in attendance. The male ring announcer did both English and French introductions.
1. “Untouchables” Matt Angel and Marko Estrada defeated “Le Pacte” Alex Silva and Kevin Blanchard at 11:50. Blanchard wore DC’s Joker-style face paint. Silva is thicker and tattooed; think a taller Josh Woods. Angel is thinner and younger with short dark hair. Estrada is shorter, muscular and bald. Silva hit a hard clothesline at 4:00 and I will again state my Josh Woods comparison. Le Pacte worked over Angel early on. Angel hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly at 6:30. Estrada got the hot tag and cleared the ring. He hit a uranage on Silva. Blanchard hit a Razor’s Edge into the corner. Blanchard hit a top-rope doublestomp on Angel’s back for a believable nearfall, but Estrada made the save. Estrada hit a piledriver on Blanchard at 11:30. Angel hit a frogsplash on Blanchard, then Estrada hit a frogsplash on Blanchard for the pin. Good action from four guys I’ve never heard of before.
* I just want to add here I’m impressed with the quality of the production, from the camera work, the visibility in the ring, and the commentary. I briefly contemplated just watching a couple of the matches from the big stars, but I’m pulled in by what I saw in that first match, and not just the wrestling, but the overall product.
2. Shawn Martel defeated Keven Martel at 9:58. This is a father vs. son match! Keven is age 52 with blondish hair that is graying. Shawn is early 20s and in good shape, with short curly brown hair. Shawn got on the mic and spoke in French at Keven, telling his dad he has his own gear now. Keven spoke on the mic and was loudly booed. He said that no one wants to see him fight his son, and he told his son to shake his hand and they can leave. (No, I don’t speak French; the commentators are doing a decent job translating.) Keven brought Shawn’s sister to the ring; she appears to be 15 or so. The bell rang and we’re underway, with Keven tying up his son on the mat.
Shawn hit a cannonball in the corner for a nearfall at 4:00. Based on what they are saying, this family is related to Rick “The Model” Martel. Keven hit a Sunset Flip powerbomb to the floor, and they both struck Shawn’s sister. Keven shoved his sister; she shoved him back and that got a pop. In the ring, Shawn hit a second-rope superplex. Keven applied a Boston Crab at 8:30. The daughter again tried to talk to her dad. Keven turned around and was hit by Shawn’s Superman Punch! Shawn applied his own Boston Crab! Keven tapped out! Decent match.
* Keven got on the mic and told his son that everything he’s done in the past year was to try to get Shawn to quit. He sees now that Shawn is a good wrestler and he told Shawn he needs to carry the Martel family name going forward. All three hugged. “A feel-good moment,” a commentator said.
3. Michel Plante (w/Gilles Poisson) defeated Michael Style at 14:20. Style has dark hair that is graying and he is perhaps in his early 40s, and I’ll make a Roderick Strong comparison. He seemed angry as he spoke in French. Plante wore a pink Andre-style one-strap singlet with wet slicked hair that is thinning. Style stalled on the floor and demanded silence. Basic wrestling early on, and Style hit a snap suplex at 5:00. Plante hit a top-rope crossbody block. They traded forearm strikes. The ref got bumped and Style hit a low blow mule kick at 12:00.
Style pulled a woman into the ring, but she hit a tornado DDT on him. Plante applied a Claw to Style’s head, and he tapped out, but the ref was on the floor, admonishing a heel manager, so Poisson hit the heel manager, which got a pop. Plante hit a spear and a guillotine leg drop for the pin. This was acceptable; it stayed in first gear far too long but it was a crowd-pleasing final three minutes.
4. Loue O’Farrell defeated Kristara to retain the NSPW Junior Heavyweight TItle at 12:54. Kristara is the first wrestler on this show I’ve seen before! She’s a regular in C*4 Wrestling, and she’s a good babyface. Loue has a tiara on her head and she has a throne, too. She appears to be of average size with shoulder-length black hair, and she jawed at fans on the way to the ring. Loue hit a dive to the floor at 2:00. Kristara hit a dive of her own. In the ring, Loue applied a half-crab and was booed.
Loue kept Kristara grounded and kicked at the sore knee. She hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall at 6:00. Kristara hit an enzuigiri. Loue hit a German Suplex and they were both down. Loue hit a top-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall at 8:00, and she applied a Dragon Sleeper. Kristara hit a fisherman’s suplex with a high bridge for a believable nearfall. Loue hit an F5 slam for a believable nearfall. She rolled to the floor and grabbed her title belt and the timekeeper’s hammer. She swung the hammer but the ref confiscated it. It allowed Loue to hit Kristara with the title belt. She celebrated even though the match wasn’t over yet. She made a cocky cover but Kristara kicked out at 10:30, and Loue threw a temper tantrum on the mat.
Loue shoved the ref! He turned toward Kristara, and Loue hit a low blow uppercut on the ref! Kristara hit a buzzsaw kick and an enzuigiri but we didn’t have a ref! Kristara went to the floor and got the ref up. A tall woman in shiny black named Vlada hit the ring and attacked Kristara! She pulled Loue onto Kristara, and she snuck out of the ring. The ref made the count to hand Loue the tainted win. Good action. The commentators wondered if Vlada and Loue are teammates now.
5. “South Shore Wrecking Crew” Giovanni and Jack Saunders and Tom LeBlond defeated “L’Union” Claude Maloon and Keith Alexander and Stephen Sullivan and “Wonderboys” Dylan Donovan and Leon Saver and Yann Pike (w/Martin Girard) in a three-team match to win the NSPW Tag Team Titles at 13:16. Yes, each team has three members even though these are for tag titles. L’Union were champs entering this match. Most of these nine are in good shape but many of them have gray in their beards and clearly in their 40s or older. I saw Saver compete against Mustafa Ali back in January, but don’t know anyone else. Most of the nine guys fought at the bell, but one chickenshit heel raced to the back.
The L’Union tag champs wore black trunks with yellow trim and they dominated early. They brawled over the guardrail and into the crowd; it’s clear this is a hockey arena as the plexiglass boards are still up. However, this was really hard to see as they battled in the shadows. “There is a ring for this,” one commentator said. One of the guys leapt off a second level onto maybe six guys below him on the floor at 8:30, earning a “holy shit!” chant. They finally returned to the ring. Dylan Donovan hit a Death Valley Driver on a BIG guy and that popped the crowd, and a commentator said it was “the most impressive move of the night.”Stephen Sullivan hit a Black Hole Slam and suddenly everyone was down at 12:30. Someone hit a running boot for the pin out of nowhere; the commentators certainly didn’t see that as the finish. Just okay, with the one big dive spot.
6. Stu Grayson defeated Shelton Benjamin and Mike Marston in a three-way at 8:18. Marston has to be in this one to eat the pin, right? He’s a cowboy with a thick mustache in a black hat and Stone Cold-style black vest, and he’s heavily tattooed. Shelton came out last to his “Ain’t No Stopping Me Now!” theme and a huge pop. Quick reversals by all three at the bell. Stu hit a huracanrana on Marston at 1:30. Shelton hit a big German Suplex on Stu. I want to reiterate how great Shelton looks right now, even at age 48. Marston hit a running knee to Shelton’s jaw.
Stu hit a slingshot senton. Marston hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Stu for a nearfall at 4:00. Shelton and Marston hit simultaneous clotheslines on each other; Stu hit a double Pele to drop them both, and everyone was down at 6:00. Marston hit a top-rope diving headbutt for a nearfall. Shelton climbed the ropes and flipped Stu to the mat and that got a nice pop. Stu hit a backbreaker over his knee on Marston for the pin. That was really good action but much shorter than I hoped for. Shelton came up behind Stu and appeared ready to attack him, but they shook hands.
* The ring announcer told the crowd that Stu Grayson is now a “full-time wrestler” for NSPW, and that got a nice pop.
7. Kenta defeated Zak Patterson at 19:48. Kenta apparently was replacing Matt Riddle in this match. Think of Zak as a taller EC3 with Will Ospreay’s haircut, cocky and arrogant as he strutted to the ring to Survivor’s “Burning Heart,” and he flexed in the ring. Kenta wore his Bullet Club T-shirt and I’m unclear if either will be a babyface in this one. Kenta hit some shoulder tackles that didn’t budge Zak. Zak hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 2:00. They went to the floor, where Kenta rammed Zak back-first onto the edge of the ring. In the ring, Kenta hit a neckbreaker for a nearfall. Back on the floor, Zak threw Kenta into the guardrail and celebrated and was booed.
In the ring, Kenta hit a back elbow that dropped Zak at 5:00 and he hit a kneedrop to the forehead for a nearfall. Zak hit a rolling elbow for a nearfall. Zak hit a gut-wrench suplex. Kenta nailed a powerslam that popped the crowd at 8:00. Zak grapevined the leg on the mat and kept Kenta grounded. They got up and traded forearm strikes. They began trading Mafia Kicks, and Kenta hit a German Suplex, so Zak hit one. Zak nailed another rolling elbow. Kenta hit a running elbow (it looked a bit off) and they were both down at 12:00. Kenta hit some dropkicks in the corner.
Michael Style tried to interfere, but Kenta grabbed him and hit a DDT out of the ropes. Kenta hit a top-rope doublestomp on Style. Zak hit a short-arm clothesline on Kenta for a believable nearfall. Kenta set up for Go To Sleep but Zak blocked it, so Kenta hit a DDT, and they were both down at 15:00. Kenta hit a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a believable nearfall, and the commentators were surprised at the kick-out. Kenta hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall, but Style pulled the ref to the floor. A guy came out and beat up Style and chased him to the back.
Zak nailed a sit-out powerbomb but we didn’t have a ref! Zak hit a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall, as the ref was back in. Kenta dropped Zak with hard open-hand slaps to the face that made one commentator laugh at the sound. Kenta then nailed the Go To Sleep kneestrike for a believable nearfall at 18:30; everyone assumed it was over there. Zak was bleeding from his nose and the ref put on gloves. Zak gave Kenta the middle finger, so Kenta hit a running knee to the face. Kenta hit a second Go To Sleep for the pin. A really good match and I’m surprised Zak kicked out of the first Go To Sleep, which probably broke his nose.
8. Travis Toxic defeated Benjamin Tull and Pee Wee in a three-way TLC match to win the NSPW Title at 25:20. Tull is a rotund brawler and was the champion entering the match; like Kristara, I know him from his C*4 matches. Toxic has a shiny bald head, wears black, and he rode a skateboard down the entrance ramp to the ring; he did a flip and made a ‘super hero landing’ in the ring. Pee Wee is muscular and has full arm-sleeve tattoos and another on his upper back. Toxic powerbombed Tull onto a table that didn’t break at 2:00. Lots of basic brawling. Tull went for a Swanton Bomb but his opponent moved, and Tull crashed through a table in the ring at 8:30.
Tull hit a plancha to the floor on Pee Wee and a hard chairshot to the back. Two ladders have been erected in the ring. Pee Wee slammed Toxic onto a table at ringside that didn’t break. In the ring, Toxic hit a Jay Driller onto open chairs on Pee Wee at 12:30. Tull hit a swinging uranage on Toxic and he climbed the ladder but was cut off by “Golden Greg,” a heel manager. Toxic slammed Golden Greg through a table at ringside. Tull hit a Michinoku Driver on Tull onto a horizontal ladder at 18:00. Toxic hit a flip dive to the floor on Tull.
Toxic set up some tables on the floor, and he found an exceptionally tall ladder, which he also set up on the floor; a commentator pointed out he should be setting it up in the ring. Toxic climbed near the top of the ladder and hit a Swanton Bomb onto Tull, who was lying on the tables. “Move of the year in NSPW!” a commentator shouted. In the ring, Pee Wee and Toxic fought on the ladder. Toxic shoved Pee Wee off the ladder, with Pee Wee crashing through a table in the ring. Toxic then pulled down the belt to win the match. Fireworks went off along the roof and the crowd popped for the finish, as Toxic celebrated on top of the ladder with his belt.
Final Thoughts: A strong Kenta match here. I’ve written this before, but he just seems rejuvenated in his U.S. indy matches in the past year, and I’ve enjoyed them far more than anything he’s actually done in New Japan. The ladder match was pretty standard action for that type of match, and the crowd really liked Toxic. Some good bumps at the finish. The Shelton three-way was just far too short. I fully felt like we were at the midpoint of what I presumed was a 16-minute match that just ended. The show opener was really good, and I liked the women’s match too. I certainly see the possibilities for young Shawn Martel, too. I stated this up top, but the production value here was far better than I expected.
Be the first to comment