By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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West Coast Pro “King of Indies”
Streamed on YouTube.com
November 16, 2024 in Pacifica, California at West Coast Pro Academy
This show was finally released for free on Youtube on Saturday, Nov. 23. Unfortunately, I already know who reached the finals and who won it, but that hasn’t deterred my desire to watch this.
The show was held at their training center; they had to find an alternate venue at the last minute and this is an awkwardly long-but-narrow building with room enough for just one row on two sides of the building. Overall, the crowd is maybe 150 with almost all of them on just one side of the ring. James Kincaid provided commentary.
* Skayde was supposed to be on the show but he missed his flight.
1. Titus Alexander vs. Arez in a first-round tournament match. Basic reversals early on and a standoff at 2:00. Titus hit a dropkick for a nearfall. Arez dove through the ropes onto Titus. (The front-row fans are too close for them to do that!) In the ring, Arez ran up Titus’ back, and he kicked Titus in the back. They traded LOUD chops. Titus hit a top-rope crossbody block at 6:00. He hit a brainbuster. Arez hit a Pele Kick. Titus hit a Death Valley Driver move and both were down. Arez nailed a sit-out powerbomb at 8:30 for a believable nearfall. Titus hit a Lethal Injection for a nearfall. Arez missed a running Shooting Star Press. Titus hit a Shining Wizard, then the Chaos Theory rolling German Suplex and scored the pin.
Titus Alexander defeated Arez at 11:00 to advance.
2. Shun Skywalker vs. Oni El Bendito in a first-round tournament match. Shun is a Dragon Gate star, dressed head-to-toe in gear; I wasn’t aware he made a U.S. appearance recently. I have compared Bendito’s look and overall size to WCW-era La Parka; he is a bigger guy under that lucha outfit, and he’s in white with red trim today. Quick lucha moves to open. They went to the floor and Shun began climbing over chairs into the crowd to avoid Bendito. They got back into the ring with Bendito in charge; Shun went back to the floor and hid behind fans. In the ring, Bendito went for a move off the ropes, but Shun caught him with a dropkick at 4:30. Shun hit a stiff Helluva Kick. Shun hit a flipping powerbomb move for a nearfall. Bendito hit an enzuigiri. Shun hit a stiff Mafia Kick. Bendito hit a kip-up stunner for a nearfall at 7:30. Shun hit a suplex. He hit a moonsault kneedrop to the chest and scored the pin.
Shun Skywalker defeated Oni El Bendito at 8:20 to advance.
3. Calvin Tankman vs. Timothy Thatcher in a first-round tournament match. Thatcher immediately hit some European Uppercuts and he twisted the left ankle. Tankman hit a hip-toss across the ring at 2:00. He hit a headbutt and was in charge, hitting a splash to the mat for a nearfall, and he kept Thatcher grounded. They brawled to the floor. Back in the ring, Thatcher stayed focused on the left leg, and he applied a half-crab at 8:30, but Calvin reached the ropes. They got up and traded more stiff blows, with Thatcher hitting more European Uppercuts. Calvin hit a pop-up spinning back fist, then the Tankman Driver (sit-out piledriver) for the pin. Every bit as hard-hitting as you would expect.
Calvin Tankman defeated Timothy Thatcher at 10:28 to advance.
4. Starboy Charlie vs. El Cucuy. Cucuy (boogeyman in Spanish) is a really heavy masked luchador; I’ve seen him before. Cucuy seemed to want to spend more time playing to the crowd than fighting. Charlie hit a huracanrana and a dropkick at 2:00 to send Cucuy to the floor, then Charlie dove onto him. (This side of the ring actually has an aisle and room to dive!) In the ring, Cucuy hit a massive senton and some chops. He hit a Dragon Suplex at 5:30 and was in charge. Charlie hit a spinning heel kick and a kneedrop to the chin. He hit a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 7:30.
Cucuy hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall. However, he missed a top-rope moonsault. Charlie hit a Poison Rana for a nearfall at 10:30, and he peeled off the straps of his bib overalls. Charlie hit a standing powerbomb, then a top-rope Shooting Star Press for the pin. Good match, but for me, the winner was never in doubt. (And no, I didn’t know who won this one!) Cucuy got a “please come back!” chant.
Starboy Charlie defeated Cucuy at 11:19 to advance.
* No breather match between rounds! We are headed straight to the semi-finals!
5. Titus Alexander vs. Shun Skywalker in a semifinal match. Titus came out first, but Shun jumped him from behind to begin the match, and he was loudly booed. Titus hit a shotgun dropkick, then a dive through the ropes, with them both crashing onto the fans. (Don’t dive on that side of the ring, Titus!) Like in his first match, Shun went into the crowd and tried to use fans as human shields, and it made for some good humor as some fans were not into this. Shun picked up a three-year-old kid and rammed the boy’s feet onto Titus’s head at 4:30, and Titus hilariously sold it, and we had a “that was awesome!” chant. They got back in the ring with Shun in charge and he hit some chops.
Titus hit a top-rope crossbody block at 6:00 and the crowd was fully behind Titus. He hit a suplex for a nearfall, then a kip-up enzuigiri and a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Shun hit a flipping powerbomb move for a nearfall at 8:30, then a uranage and a moonsault kneedrop (how he won his first match!) for a nearfall. However, Titus hit another Chaos Theory for the pin! Good match.
Titus Alexander defeated Shun Skywalker at 9:24 to reach the finals.
6. Calvin Tankman vs. Starboy Charlie in a semifinal match. Charlie hit a baseball slide dropkick through the ropes, then an Asai Moonsault, to open the match. In the ring, Charlie came off the ropes, but Tankman caught him with a spinning back fist. Tankman stood behind Charlie and hit some crossface blows and was in charge. He hit a backbreaker over his knee at 3:30. Charlie hit a chop block and some spin kicks. Tankman dropped him with a hard forearm, then a standing powerbomb, then a stiff forearm to the back of the head for a nearfall at 6:30.
Charlie hit a Pele Kick in the corner, then a huracanrana out of the corner, then a corkscrew splash for a nearfall. He hit a stiff enzuigiri and a Pele Kick at 8:30. He hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press onto Calvin’s knees, and applied a half crab. Tankman hit a series of forearm strikes that seemingly knocked Charlie out, then the Tankman Driver for the pin. Good match. TItus came to the ring to check on Charlie; Tankman jawed at him and said he’s “looking into his future” and Titus isn’t ready for him. Intense post-match stuff.
Calvin Tankman defeated Starboy Charlie at 10:03 to advance.
* An intermission was edited out.
7. Oni El Bendito and “Golden Era” Nick Stevens and Dave Dutra vs. Viento, Rey Horus, and Ultimo Dragon. This is the West Coast debut for Golden Era; I have no idea who they are and the mic is mush and I can’t make out their names but I figured it out during the match. Kincaid’s mic was going in and out and it was quite a distraction. I just saw Ultimo Dragon at an indy show in MN a few weeks ago, so he must be doing a U.S. tour. I presume Bendito is doing double-duty because of Skayde’s absence. Dragon started against a bald guy, who is Stevens.
Horus and Bendito got in at 4:00, but the other heels jumped Horus. Dutra hit a spinebuster on Viento at 6:30. The mic is awful now. Bendito got in and ripped at Viento’s mask. Dutra put Viento’s feet on the ropes and hit a swinging neckbreaker at 8:30. Viento hit a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, Ultimo Dragon got the Magistral Cradle to pin Stevens. Decent match. He still looks great… but just like the show I attended, Ultimo Dragon really did very little in the ring, which is fine for a guy who is closing in on 60.
Viento, Rey Horus, and Ultimo Dragon defeated Oni El Bendito, Nick Stevens, and Dave Dutra at 11:03.
8. Calvin Tankman vs. Titus Alexander in the West Coast Cup final. Titus charged at the bell and hit some strikes, but Tankman hit a suplex for a nearfall. Calvin taunted him; Titus hit some blows with little effect, but Tankman dropped him with a forearm at 2:30. Calvin hit a fallaway slam and remained in charge. They went to the floor, where Tankman hit more hard chops in front of the fans, and he tossed him into the rows of empty chairs. (The mic has improved after being so bad in the prior match.) Titus hit a running headbutt on the floor at 6:00, but Titus is the one who fell to the ground. Tankman sat on a chair over Titus and taunted Titus.
Titus hit a backbody drop onto the concrete floor and they were both down. Titus hit a second-rope moonsault to the floor on Tankman at 8:30. In the ring, Titus hit another top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Tankman hit a German Suplex but Titus rotated and landed on his feet. Titus nailed the Lethal Injection for a nearfall at 10:30. He couldn’t pick up Calvin. Calvin hit a pop-up spinning back fist, then a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. He hit a Hidden Blade to the back of the head. Titus hit a German Suplex. He hit a running knee but only got a one-count! He hit a second knee, then a third and a fourth! He rolled Calvin onto his back and pinned him. A very good match to close out a good tournament.
Titus Alexander defeated Calvin Tankman to win the 2024 King of Indies tournament at 13:08.
Final thoughts: A strong show clocking in at just over two hours, and they only used 13 different wrestlers. I’ll narrowly go with Tankman-Titus main event for best, just ahead of Tankman-Charlie. Titus-Arez takes third. Yes, I saw within a day of this taking place that Titus beat Tankman in the finals. I recently wrote a blog with the names of 25 male indy wrestlers who WWE should consider, and Tankman, Charlie, and Titus were all on that list, and they showed why here. I know Titus is already back over in Japan and has an upcoming six-man tag where he’ll be teaming with Masato Tanaka, while Kota Ibushi is on the other team.
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