By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, TNA, ROH, MLW, 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
House of Glory “Live for the Moment”
December 20, 2024 in New York, N.Y. at NYC Arena
Streamed on the TrillerTV+
This show took place at the same time as the ROH “Final Battle.” (I checked Google maps; the two venues are 15 miles apart but it can take 45 minutes to get from one building to the other.) JD from New York, Sam Leterna and Jason Solomon provided commentary.
* A steel cage was set up as the show went on the air! (Good! Cages take a long time to erect; I always like it when they do the cage first.)
1. Carlos Ramirez vs. Idris Jackson (w/Hilary P. Wisdom) in a steel cage. I’ve routinely compared the tall Ramirez to Big Bill, and he has a significant height and visible strength advantage. Something glass shattered and we had tiny pieces on the mat; the commentators didn’t know what it was, either. Ramirez immediately whipped Idris into the cage walls; he ducked to the floor and grabbed Wisdom. The commentators noted we still haven’t had a bell; I started my stopwatch at first contact. Ramirez got in the ring and we had the bell. Idris was already bleeding from the forehead, and he attacked Carlos with a chair. Idris hit a snap suplex at 4:00. Idris was bleeding a LOT. (I guess I thought you couldn’t have this type of blood loss in New York? I guess I don’t understand their athletic commission and rules.)
They hit a Russian Leg Sweep from the top rope back to the mat and we got a “This is awesome!” chant. The commentators said this was their largest crowd ever! Ramirez hit a big sit-out powerbomb from the corner at 7:00, earning a “holy shit!” chant and a nearfall. (Somehow my commentary is a second or two behind the picture. I’m not used to having a lag like that.) I have to stress that I don’t know the last time I saw this level of blood loss, but I don’t watch a lot of death matches. Ramirez went to the top of the cage and it a flying headbutt at 10:00. Dr. Hilary P. Wisdom, the heel manager, jumped in the ring and hit Ramirez with a book. (We had a brief HOG logo on the screen and when it was gone, the picture and sound were linked up.) Hilary pulled Idris out the door and to the floor to win the match. Lame. I hate ‘escape the cage’ rules. “He doesn’t look like a winner,” a commentator said. Far too bloody.
Idris Jackson defeated Carlos Ramirez at 11:36.
* “The Cold Blooded Killers” Jay Armani and Raheem Royal got in the ring and berated the crowd while the cage was being taken down. They are upset that they aren’t facing the Hardy Boys in the main event. Jason Solmon, the commissioner, told them that The Mane Event are in the main event because they are the “heart and soul” of HOG. The champs attacked Solomon! The crowd popped as Private Party came out of the back! They wore their AEW tag title belts. They got in the ring and on the mic. The crowd chanted “You deserve it!” They put over the Hardy Boys, but added that they run the tag team division. Hilary P. Wisdom joined commentary to replace Solomon. Nice cameo appearance without them having a match.
2. Gringo Loco vs. Daron Richardson vs. Dante Griffith vs. J Bouji vs. Joey Silver vs. Mantequilla in a scramble for the Cruiserweight Title. Daron wore a bandana, holding his hair higher, and making him look more like the Velveteen Dream. (He wore a pink furry robe, not purple.) This is rookie Griffith’s debut; think Edge when he debuted decades ago! Silver again tossed candy to the crowd; Wisdom said he’s bribing them. JD said that Gringo Loco has wrestled 105 matches this year. Mantequilla was the surprise final participant, as he had a major knee injury. The commentators immediately questioned if he’s come back too soon. Mantequilla and Daron opened as the other four were on corners. Bouji beat up Silver on the floor. Loco entered and traded some lucha reversals with Mantequilla. Bouji applied a half-crab on Montequilla at 2:00.
Griffith hit a back suplex. Daron nailed a tornado kick. Daron hit a moonsault senton move on Montequilla at 5:00 and he punched at Montequilla’s damaged knee. Joey shoved a candy cane in Bouji’s mouth. Bouji tossed Silver to the floor onto several guys at 7:00. Loco hit a split-legged moonsault on Bouji, then a flip dive to the floor on the other four! Daron hit a top-rope corkscew splash onto everyone. In the ring, Griffith hit an Angle Slam. Montequilla hit a Stundog Millionaire on Griffith. Diamond Virago ran to the ring and hit Montequilla with a crutch! The commentators were livid. Daron hit a Code Red on Montequilla for the pin! New champion! Gringo Loco loses the belt without getting pinned. Virago got back into the ring and passionately kissed Daron.
Daron Richardson defeated Gringo Loco, Dante Griffith, J Bouji, Joey Silver, and Mantequilla to win the Cruiserweight Title at 9:49.
* Virago and Richardson left. J Bouji picked up the crutch and he attacked both Silver and Montequilla with it, striking them both repeatedly.
3. Megan Bayne vs. Allie Katch for the HOG Women’s title. Bayne wore her white-and-gold outfit and the belt around her waist. Bayne immediately slammed her to the mat, then hit a shoulder tackle. Katch hit a flying crossbody block for a nearfall at 2:00. Bayne hit a clothesline for a nearfall. She hit a suplex at 5:00. Allie hit a Northern Lights suplex, then a standing powerbomb. Bayne hit a flying clothesline and they were both down at 7:30. Katch hit a short-arm clothesline and set up for a piledriver, but Megan blocked it. Katch went for a crossbody block, but Bayne caught her and hit a uranage for a nearfall at 9:30.
Megan set up for a Tombstone Piledriver, but Katch escaped. Megan charged at the corner and hit the steel post; Katch nailed the piledriver for a believable nearfall. They fought on the ring apron. Megan hit a Falcon Arrow, carrying Katch from the apron into the ring, for a nearfall at 12:00. Bayne hit a spear, then the Tombstome Piledriver for the pin. Good match.
Megan Bayne defeated Allie Katch to retain the HOG Women’s Title at 13:17.
4. Zilla Fatu vs. Jake Something for the Crown Jewel Championship. The commentators noted Zilla’s career record is 32-5. “Zilla may have the fastest development of a professional wrestler I’ve ever seen,” a commentator (accuratedly) said. An intense lockup; Jake hit a shoulder block but didn’t knock Zilla down. They locked up and went to the floor, still tied up against the guardrail. In the ring, Zilla hit a deep armdrag at 3:00. Jake finally knocked him down with a shoulder tackle, then again with his running body block, sending Zilla to the floor! In the ring, Jake hit a Falcon Arrow, and he choked Zilla in the ropes. Jake hit a headbutt, but of course, it only hurt himself. He applied a rear-naked choke and grounded Zilla.
Zilla fired up and hit a clothesline, then a flying headbutt at 9:00. He hit a frogsplash and got a nearfall. Jake hit another running body block, then a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 10:30. Zilla nailed a Samoan Drop for a nearfall. Jake nailed a second-rope superplex and tey were both down at 12:30. They traded forearm strikes and we got the “Beef!” chant. Zilla dropped him with a headbutt. He went for a Samoan Spike, but Jake blocked it. Zilla hit a superkick, then a second one. He hit a flying Samoan Spike and pinned Jake! Good big-man match. For no reason whatsoever, Zilla beat up the ref, too.
Zilla Fatu defeated Jake Something to retain the Crown Jewel Championship at 14:28.
5. Matt Riddle vs. Phumi Nkuta. Nkuta is age 29 and he is 8-0 in MMA, a commentator shouted, and he wore one belt around his waist and two more on his shoulders. He’s a flyweight, which I presume means really small; he’s listed online at 5’4″ and 125 pounds. An intense lockup and Matt threw him to the mat. Phumi applied a flying crossbody block. Matt hit a gut-wrench suplex, then a flying senton for a nearfall at 3:00. Riddle hit a roaring forearm for a nearfall. He hit a knee strike to the jaw and got another nearfall, as the commentators praised Phumi’s resilience. Matt hit a T-Bone Suplex, then a German Suplex for a nearfall at 5:30.
Phumi fired up and hit some gut punches, then his own German Suplex, then a Poison Rana for a believable nearfall. Riddle applied a rear-naked choke on the mat and hit some blows to the chest. However, Phumi rolled him over and got the flash pin out of nowhere. The crowd went nuts for the upset, and Riddle looked shocked. An intense fight. They shook hands afterwards, but then Matt hit an RKO! “Matt Riddle learned from one of the best,” a commentator said.
Phumi Nkuta defeated Matt Riddle at 8:13.
* Intermission. They have a blank screen but I’m not watching live. When we return, Mike Santana is headed to the ring for an open challenge. Charles Mason and the rest of the Cold Blooded Killers attacked Santana in the ring. Mason wore his black suit, not the orange prison jumpsuit. Mason said he’s cashing in right now! Amazing Red and Brian XL ran to the ring to save Santana from a beat-down. Six man tag? Yep!
6. Mike Santana, Amazing Red, and Brian XL vs. Charles Mason, Raheem Royal, and Jay Armani. Obviously, Santana’s HOG title isn’t on the line. Santana backed Royal into the corner and hit some chops and a senton. Mason got in and beat down on Brian XL. Brian hit a flying head-scissors takedown at 2:30. Red then battled Armani, and they traded quick reversals. (Red hasn’t wrestled a lot this year, but he has been great when he has.) Right on cue, Red hit a top-rope moonsault onto everyone on the floor at 4:30. Santana hit the Three Amigos rolling suplexes on Royal, earning an “Eddie!” chant. Mist was sprayed in Red’s eyes, and Mason hit a DDT on Red on the apron. He then whipped Red over the guardrail and into the crowd at 7:00. He continued to beat up Red on the floor, then tossed him back into the ring.
The heels took turns beating up Red and kept him in their corner. Santana got in and hit a DDT on Armani, then a Buckle Bomb onto Royal at 11:00, then a dive through the ropes onto Mason. Brian XL hit a jumping knee to Royal’s chest for a nearfall. Mason hit a doublestomp to the back of Santana’s head for a believable nearfall at 13:30. Santana and Red hit a Spanish Fly on Armani, earning a “holy shit!” chant. Mason avoided a Code Red and he hit a clothesline on Red. Santana hit a clothesline and suddenly everyone was down at 15:30. They all got up and fought, with the babyfaces hitting superkicks, then springboad stunners for nearfalls. Mason sprayed something in Santana’s eyes. Red hit a dive to the floor that actually had him land over the guardrail and into the crowd. In the ring, Brian hit a springboard DDT on Mason for a nearfall. Armani and Royal hit Brian XL with chairshots! Mason hit a rolling Death Valley Driver and pinned Brian XL. Good action.
Charles Mason, Raheem Royal, and Jay Armani defeated Amazing Red, Mike Santana, and Brian XL at 18:58.
* The heels left. Santana got on the mic. He noted there were “other options” in pro wrestling tonight, but they chose to come to HOG. (What if they wanted to go to ROH but that was sold out, so HOG was a consolation prize? I kid.) A video played, announcing Kenta is returning on Jan. 25 to face Santana!
7. Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy vs. “The Mane Event” Jay Lyon and Midas Black. The Hardys wore their TNA tag title belts. Matt and Midas opened, and this crowd was HOT. Basic standing reversals early on. Jeff entered at 2:00 and hit Poetry in Motion. Lyon tagged in and battled Matt, and TME kept Matt in their corner, hitting some nice team moves. Matt hit a standing neckbreaker on Lyon at 6:00. TME worked over Jeff. (The sound and picture again got a bit off; the screen went black for a second and it was in-sync again.) Lyon hit a butt drop on the chest for a nearfall at 9:30. Matt finally got the hot tag at 11:00 and hit some punches. He repeatedly rammed Jay’s head into turnbuckles as fans chanted “Delete!” He did the same thing to Midas in a different corner.
Matt hit a Side Effect for a nearfall. A commentator talked about how different it is for TME to not be getting all the cheers. Jeff hit a stunner and Matt immediately hit a neckbreaker on Lyon. They all got up and traded blows, and we got a “This is awesome!” chant. Lyon hit a Circle of Life (twisting uranage) at 14:00 and we had a loud “Let’s go Hardys!” chant. Midas hit a spear on Matt. TME hit The Grand Finale (team X-Factor faceplant) on Matt for a believable nearfall. Midas accidentally hit a top-rope fadeaway stunner on Lyon! Matt hit the Twist of Fate on Midas, and Jeff hit the Swanton Bomb and pinned Midas. A fun match; not a must-see, but this went about exactly what you’d expect from these two.
Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy defeated Jay Lyon and Midas Black at 16:14.
* The commentators talked about how that miscue at the end caused TME the match, and wondered how they will get past that. They all shook hands. Matt got on the mic and put over The Mane Event. Private Party also returned to the ring to hang out with both the Hardys and The Mane Event. They basically took turns putting each other over. Jeff started singing, with everyone else serving as backup singers. A fun way to end this show with these six in the ring.
Final Thoughts: A really good show with several above-average matches but no single standout match. I personally liked Zilla-Jake for best, then the Santana six-man tag, then the main event. I hated the blood in the cage, and I really hate escape-the-cage rules. (You can win a match “by running away from your opponent” has never worked for me.) But I bet a lot of fans will heap praise on that match, which is fine. I see Allie Katch fighting more men than women, even though I don’t find her offense against men to believable at all. But she looked good here against Megan, who I consider to be the top free agent female in the U.S. A really good show overall.
Be the first to comment