By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Epic Pro Wrestling “Jamie Iovine’s Ante Up 2”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
June 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California at Don Quixote Nightclub
This did not air live at the time and was recently uploaded to Triller+.
* The show opened with Vinnie Massaro backstage, talking about facing Jamie Iovine later. Massaro said he doesn’t like ‘D-list’ celebrities coming into his world.
* To the venue where sadly there are maybe 60 people in attendance. Jordan Castle and Darwin Finch provided commentary. This venue has a high scaling and it appears the ring is awkwardly squished in the middle of an indoor mall.
1. Matt Vandagriff, Damian Drake, and Chris Nastyy defeated Brandon Gatson and “Doomfly” Delilah Doom and Eli Everfly at 16:19. Vandagriff had a good showing against Mike Bailey a year ago and he’s the star of this match. He opened against veteran Gatson. Doom and Eli hit stereo dives to the floor at 4:30. Gatson hit a Sasuke Special to the floor on his opponents. Matt hit a dive to the floor. In the ring, Vandagriff hit a snap suplex on the much smaller Delilah at 7:30 and his team worked her over.
Eli finally got the hot tag at 12:30 and hit a tornado DDT on Vandagriff. Nastyy and Drake hit stereo 619s. Nastyy hit a frog splash for a nearfall at 14:00. Nastyy was thrown into the corner onto his teammates, essentially giving them a Bronco Buster. Delilah began chopping all of her opponents. Vandagriff hit a 450 Splash to pin Delilah. Okay match; Delilah is so much smaller her offense just isn’t believable at all. This could have been a bit shorter and tighter, too.
* A video package aired of Royce Isaacs and Ray Rosas arguing in the ring, then Rosas attacking Royce. (I didn’t see this show.)
2. Jada Stone defeated Zara Zakher at 9:25. Jordan Castle noted these two fought recently at the New Japan student showcase event. There is an authentic toughness to Zara; I’ve said this before, but she feels like a female version of AEW’s Shane Taylor. Jada is shorter, thinner and has long black hair with orange braids. An intense lockup to open. Zara knocked her down with a shoulder tackle, and Castle reiterated that Zakher only has been wrestling a year but has shown great poise. Jada applied a crossface at 2:00.
Stone hit a running double knees to the face for a nearfall, then a Sling Blade for a nearfall and she got booed! (I’m used to Jada being the babyface; I think this is the first time I’ve seen her try being a heel.) She hit a Stinger Splash. Zara hit a snake-eyes and a clothesline, then an enzuigiri, then a hard Spinebuster for a nearfall at 6:00. Stone hit a Northern Lights Suplex, then a faceplant for a nearfall. Zara hit a German Suplex for a believable nearfall, then a Shining Wizard for another nearfall. Zara hit a hard clothesline. Stone got an inside cradle for the pin out of nowhere! Good action: these two really have gelled.
* Jamie Iovine spoke backstage and he said he’s going to force himself to hurt Vinnie Massaro. Iovine said he’s making it a no holds barred match, too!
3. Adrian Quest defeated Arez at 11:03. Arez was a last-minute replacement for the Beast Mortos. Quest is a regular in the Los Angeles area and is probably best known for his matches in New Japan Strong during the pandemic era. We got a “both these guys!” chant before they locked up. Some lucha reversals early on, and Quest hit a huracanrana. Arez hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall at 3:00. Arez dove through the lower ropes and barreled into Quest. Back in the ring, Quest hit a flying back elbow, then an Asai Moonsault at 5:00!
Arez hit another dive to the floor. In the ring, Arez nailed a top-rope doublestomp for a believable nearfall. He tied Quest up in a pretzel on the mat. Quest hit a Frankensteiner at 8:30. He hit a modified Code Red for a nearfall. Arez nailed a Pele Kick and a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. This crowd is into this match. Quest hit a huracanrana for a nearfall. Aez hit a variety of kicks and a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 10:30. Quest hit a German Suplex and a tornado DDT, then a top-rope Phoenix Splash for the pin. Really good action; these guys busted their butts before fewer than 100 fans.
* Outside, Ray Rosas said he was ready for all challengers, because will win.
4. Shane Haste defeated Richard Holliday at 12:41. Holliday is based in the northeast so this is a bit of a surprise. Right on cue, Castle noted that Richard is from Connecticut. Haste isn’t in this year’s NJPW G1 Climax, so he’s free to do this show. An intense lockup to begin and Hast is a bit bigger but they are pretty similar. They fought on the floor. In the ring, Holliday flipped Haste off the top rope to the mat at 4:00. He stomped on Haste and was in control.
Holliday hit a spinebuster and kept Haste grounded. Haste hit a huracanrana at 7:30 then a rolling cannonball, then a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Holliday hit a stunner for a nearfall at 9:30. He hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall and they were both down. Haste nailed a uranage for a nearfall. He put Holliday on his shoulders, slammed him to the mat, and scored the pin. Good action.
* Royce Isaacs spoke outside, saying he asked for a match with Rey Horus, and he vowed to beat him. He then bad-mouthed Ray Rosas, saying he showed his lack of character by attacking him from behind.
5. Royce Isaacs defeated Rey Horus at 11:37. Isaacs is much bigger with a clear muscle mass advantage than the masked luchador. This is Rey’s debut here. Royce slowed him down in a headlock early on. Royce held Horus in his arms and repeatedly did squats at 2:30, before hitting a fallaway slam for a nearfall. He hit a delayed vertical suplex. They went to the floor, but Royce hit some chops and remained in charge. Royce hit a flip dive over the ring post to the floor on Isaacs at 5:30. Jordan noted there isn’t any padding on the floor, either. In the ring, Isaacs hit a Surprise Kick to the arm.
Rey hit a top-rope spinning frog splash. Royce hit a snap German Suplex at 7:30, then a series of clotheslines in the corner, then an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. He hit another German Suplex for a nearfall. Rey hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall at 10:00. Horus hit an armdrag off the ropes. Royce hit a Superman Punch and a twisting powerslam for a nearfall, then a leaping Tombstone Piledriver for the pin. Good match. I kept waiting for a Ray Rosas run-in that never materialized.
* Outside, Kevin Blackwood was upset that Ray Rosas has disrespected him by treating him like a stepping stone. Blackwood said he won their only ever prior match. He’s now living back in Buffalo, N.Y., but he’s excited to return to LA for this match.
6. Ray Rosas defeated Kevin Blackwood at 11:44. Blackwood has a handful of AEW TV matches under his belt and I’m a big fan. Rosas is older and he has a lot of gray in his beard; think an American version of Trent Seven. A feeling-out process early on. Rosas hit some shoulder thrusts into the ribs in the corner at 4:00, but he missed a Lionsault. Rosas hit a Samoan Drop and applied a Full Nelson on the mat at 6:30. Blackwood hit a German Suplex and a basement dropkick in the corner.
Blackwood hit another German Suplex. Rosas hit a Lungblower to the back at 9:30. He hit a top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall. Blackwood hit a doublestomp to the chest, then a stiff brainbuster for a nearfall at 11:00. He missed a top-rope doublestomp. Rosas flipped Blackwood so he crashed face-first onto the top turnbuckle. Rosas then hit a spear for the pin. Good, hard-hitting match.
* Rosas kept beating on Blackwood after the match, but Isaacs ran in for the save, so Rosas scurried to the back.
* Andrew Pesina joined Jordan on commentary.
7. Jamie Iovine defeated Vinnie Massaro at 12:41. Castle tried to tell me that Iovine is a big deal in pop culture but I really have no idea who he is. Dark-haired Iovine came to the ring doing his best Sandman impersonation, with a cigar in his mouth, a trash can in one hand and a kendo stick in the other. Google tells me that Iovine is “co-founder of NTWRK” but I have no idea what that is; presumably some tech company. He hit a second-rope elbow drop for a nearfall at 2:30. They brawled on the floor and Massaro hit him with a kendo stick.
They brawled around the floor and into the upper deck, and Massaro teased tossing Iovine over the guardrail. Back at ringside, Massaro hit a trash can blow to the head at 8:00. In the ring, Massaro hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. Iovine hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 9:30. Iovine put a trash can over Massaro’s head and hit it several times with a kendo stick. Massaro hit a Death Valley Driver onto a trash can for a believable nearfall at 11:30. Iovine slammed Massaro through a board in the corner for the pin. This show was built around this rich tech-bro getting a win over an established West Coast name. Blah. I’m sure Iovine is happy with how this turned out, but this style of match does nothing for me.
* Backstage, Jordan Cruz said he knows this main event match is a big test for him. Cruz has a great physique and he’s been in NJPW Strong and a few AEW TV matches.
8. Jordan Cruz defeated Tom Lawlor at 16:11. Lawlor also is making his Epic Pro debut. They immediately traded forearm strikes. Not sure if these two have fought before but they’ve definitely shared many locker rooms on the West Coast. Lawlor removed his shorts but he has smaller ones on. They rolled to the floor at 2:30 and traded blows. Lawlor hit a DDT on the ring apron and took control. Back in the ring, they traded more punches, and Lawlor hit a knee strike for a nearfall at 7:00. Cruz avoided a leaping spear into the corner.
Cruz draped Lawlor over the top rope and hit a second-rope leaping kneestrike to the back for a nearfall at 9:00. Lawlor applied a sleeper but Cruz escaped and immediately applied an anklelock! Lawlor reached the ropes. Cruz went for a Kamigoye kneestrike but Lawlor blocked it. Lawlor hit a jumping knee to the chin, and they were both down at 10:30. Lawlor hit a spear for a nearfall. Jordan hit a second-rope deadlift superplex! He hit a Sabin-style Cradle Shock for a believable nearfall at 13:00.
He came off the ropes but Lawlor caught him and applied a Triangle Choke! Cruz hit a powerbomb to escape, but Lawlor switched to a Fujiwara Armbar, but Cruz reached the ropes. Lawlor nailed a Tombstone Piledriver for a nearfall at 15:00 and Castle was shocked at the kickout. Cruz applied a hammerlock on the mat and Cruz teased tapping out, but he stood up and hit the No More Sorrow (neckbreaker over his knee) for the pin. That was a really good match.
* Cruz got on the mic, saying it was one of the biggest battles and tests he’s faced in his career.
Final Thoughts: A really strong main event and it earns best match. Quest-Arez is my style of action and that takes second, ahead of Haste-Holliday. Isaacs-Horus was good action, albeit a bit one-sided. Blackwood got a good match out of Rosas, too. Lots to like here. No, I didn’t care for the Massaro-Iovine match, and it doesn’t matter if that’s a rich guy buying his match or an unknown rookie; it was just a basic stand-up brawl that didn’t do much for me. And being as it was billed as “no holds barred,” it was shockingly tame. The opener was a bit unfocused. The women really looked good and needed a few more minutes to make that match memorable.
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