By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Awesome Championship Wrestling “Poughkeepsie Rumble”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
January 4, 2025 in Poughkeepsie, New York at MJN Convention Center
This show was just released this week on Triller+. This is the inaugural event for ACW. Poughkeepsie is roughly a 90-minute drive north of downtown New York City. They have a nice set-up with some fireworks on the entrance stage. Lighting over the ring is good. The lights are low over the crowd so I can’t see all of them, but this appears to be 600-800, as the risers are filled. The sound is a bit tinny; it’s not ideal. (Update: Cagematch.net lists the crowd at 1,519. Again, I can’t see everyone, but there were a LOT of people here.)
1. Alex Taylor vs. Real 1 (f/k/a Enzo Amore) vs. GKM in a three-way for the NWA Junior Heavyweight Title. Enzo (for typing purposes I will refer to him as that) got on the mic and he’s in good spirits. I’ve seen GKM before; he’s Black with long dreadlocks. GKM hit a dropkick on Taylor at the bell to send him to the floor, then a huracanrana on Enzo, then a moonsault to the floor on Taylor. Enzo did a Razor’s Edge toss on Taylor into the ring post at 1:30! Enzo hit a frogsplash on GKM in the ring for a nearfall. GKM hit a Doomsday Device clothesline on Taylor at 3:30. Enzo hit a DDT on GKM for a nearfall. Enzo hit an Eat D’Feat on GKM, but Taylor pushed Enzo to the floor and stole the pin on GKM. Good energy; they got a lot in for a match that short.
Alex Taylor defeated Real 1 and GKM in a three-way to retain the NWA Junior Heavyweight Title at 4:30.
* Backstage, several wrestlers drew a number from a hopper for a Rumble later. Richard Holliday clearly wasn’t happy with his number, but we didn’t see what he got. He had a confrontation with Wrecking Ball Legursky.
* Back to the arena, Enzo was still in the ring, and he got on the mic again, saying he had to cut weight to be in this match. He basically introduced the FBI for the next match! This version of the FBI has appeared in TNA in 2024 but it’s been a few months.
2. “FBI” Little Guido, Ray Jaz, and Zack Clayton vs. Danny Doring, Landon Hale, and Dante Casanova. I don’t think I’ve seen Dante; he wore an Egyptian-style warrior outfit. Doring got on the mic and cut a heel promo; he said he brought new backup with him to take out the FBI. Hale and Clayton opened, and the bigger Zack tossed him around the ring. Guido entered at 1:00, so Doring also got in. Danny wound up tagging out before locking up, so Guido fought Dante instead. Dante has good size and frame to him. Jaz hit a back suplex on Dante at 3:00. Hale hit a top-rope crossbody block on Jaz, and his team worked over Jaz in their corner. Doring finally got in, hit some blows on Jaz, and tagged back out. Dante hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 5:30.
Hale hit a backbreaker over his knee. Clayton got the hot tag and hit a German Suplex on Dante, then a powerslam on Hale for a nearfall. The FBI each hit a second-rope guillotine leg drop. Jaz nailed a second-rope elbow drop and pinned London. Solid match. As expected, Doring and Guido — who must both be in their mid-50s — really didn’t do much in the ring. I liked what I saw of Casanova.
Little Guido, Ray Jaz, and Zack Clayton defeated Danny Doring, Landon Hale, and Dante Casanova at 7:38.
* Backstage, a woman interviewed Crowbar. However, Anthony Greene walked up and said he’s excited to wrestle Crowbar later and said “let’s steal the show.”
3. Anthony Greene vs. Crowbar. Again, Greene spent a lot of the past year in Japan while competing in NOAH. They shook hands before locking up in a feeling-out process. Crowbar hit a leg drop across the gut at 2:30. They went to the floor, where Crowbar hit a Vader Bomb-style move at 4:00; it was hard to see. Crowbar got a spare link of guardrail and leaned it against the ring. In the ring, Greene hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 5:30 and he grounded Crowbar. Crowbar hit a flapjack and they were both down. He hit a Sky High powerbomb for a nearfall at 7:00.
A female manager for Crowbar slipped at ringside and fell to the ground. Crowbar hit a baseball slide dropkick to the floor, then he hit a suplex onto the horizontal guardrail link at 9:30. Crowbar then hit a plancha onto Greene as he was still lying on the guardrail, earning a “holy shit!” chant. Crowbar brought a chair into the ring, but Greene got a boot up to block it. Crowbar hit him with the chair. Greene hit a superkick for a nearfall, then his second-rope Unprettier for a believable nearfall; that’s his usual finisher! Greene cracked the chair across the back. Crowbar hit a Frankensteiner and a chair-assisted Northern Lights Suplex for the pin. Good match; Crowbar definitely is wrestling younger than his actual age. “I’m speechless. I know he’s timeless, but this is unbelievable,” a commentator said.
Crowbar defeated Anthony Greene at 12:39.
4. Tiara James vs. Kelly Madan. Madan has appeared in ROH/AEW, even though she’s only had a handful of matches (she lost to Lady Frost in ROH in October, for example). Vicious Vicki got in the ring but I haven’t seen her before; she has a Tessa Blanchard heel vibe and look, but isn’t as muscular. She has Mercedes Mone’s fake laugh. I thought this was going to be a three-way, but Vicki decided to sit at ringside and watch this. We got the bell, but Tiara was jawing at Vicki before finally locking up with Madan. Tiara rolled to the floor, grabbed a Madan sign from a fan and ripped it up. Back in the ring, they traded standing switches.
Tiara took control of the action and did a gutbuster move for a nearfall at 5:00, and she kept Kelly grounded. She hit a basement dropkick to the face, but she missed a splash to the mat, and they were both down. Kelly hit a senton for a nearfall at 7:30. Tiara hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall. Kelly hit an enzuigiri. Vicki got on the apron and argued with Kelly. Tiara accidentally collided with Vicki, and it allowed Kelly to get a backslide for the pin. Decent action.
Kelly Madan defeated Tiara James at 8:53.
* Backstage, a woman interviewed Tommy Dreamer, as he’s facing Thom Lattimer for his NWA Title. Dreamer said it is the first time this belt has ever been defended in this building. Dreamer said this is his one and only shot at this belt. “The pressure is on you; I’ve got nothing to lose,” Dreamer said.
* A ring announcer said this is a 100% sellout, but he didn’t say how many are here. They’ll be back here on May 17.
5. Thom Latimer vs. Tommy Dreamer for the NWA Title. Latimer is one of the few guys in NWA I like to watch wrestle; I admittedly last saw an NWA show I believe a year ago, so I didn’t know he was now champion. They shook hands and opened with some standing switches. They brawled to the floor at 4:00. They got back into the ring, where Dreamer hit him with a chair to the back, but he missed a second-rope elbow drop. Thom now hit Dreamer across the back with the chair at 7:00.
Dreamer fired up and hit some jab punches, then a stunner for a nearfall at 9:30. Tommy hit a second-rope superplex at 11:00 and they were both down. They got up and traded punches and the crowd was fully into it. Tommy hit some Dusty elbows to the head. Latimer charged into the corner and accidentally hit a chair wedged in the ropes; Dreamer immediately hit a DDT for a believable nearfall at 13:00. Latimer hit a chop block on the knee. Tommy hit a Death Valley Driver. Alex Taylor and Joe Ocasio jumped in the ring and attacked Dreamer, causing a DQ. That was on the very high end of what you could hope for in a Tommy Dreamer match in 2025. Sandman came down to make the save!
Tommy Dreamer defeated Thom Latimer via DQ at 13:50; Latimer retains the NWA World Title.
6. Danny Maff and Shawn Donovan vs. “The Now” Hale Collins and Vik Dalishus in a tables match. I only know Maff here. Donovan is also bald with a goatee, but not as thick as Maff. Joel Gertner cut a lewd promo as he led Collins and Dalishus to the ring. (How many ECW guys will turn up here?) These guys both have crew cuts and goatees. All four brawled at the bell, and Gertner joined commentary. They took turns whacking each other with cookie sheets and garbage cans; this doesn’t do much for me. Hale hit a clothesline on Donovan, then a leg drop, for a nearfall at 4:30. Maff hit a stunner. Gertner walked to ringside. Maff slammed Dalishus through a table at 7:50, but each man on a team must go through a table.
The Now hit a team bodyslam move on Maff. Maff hit a double shoulder tackle at 11:30. Maff was flipped over the top rope and through a table at ringside at 12:10; we didn’t see it happen but the commentators said it did. Hale then hit a top-rope elbow drop on Donovan, who was lying on a table, for the win. The live crowd like this a LOT more than I did.
“The Now” Hale Collins and Vik Dalishus defeated Danny Maff and Shawn Donovan at 12:57.
7. Poughkeepsie Rumble. I will not know a lot of these competitors, but I do love a good Rumble! However, when we are down to the final two, it becomes a regular match! Richard Holliday drew No. 1; no wonder he was upset earlier! A commentator said this is a 20-man Rumble, not 30. Wrecking Ball Legursky was No. 2; I’ve been amused by him in NWA in the past. Tony Devito was No. 3 at 2:00; Holliday pie-faced the veteran. Mike Gallagher was no. 4 and he came out to Sade’s “Smooth Operator.” (1985 called and wants its music back!) I don’t know him. Leo Sparrow was No. 5 at 7:00; he recently had an AEW Rampage match, and he’s a decent heel. No eliminations yet. Rick Recon was No. 6, and I don’t know him either.
The massive Vargas was No. 7; I’ve noted that the Dominican Destroyer has the physique of Umaga, and he traded blows with Legursky. Keith Youngblood was no. 8; I don’t know him but he has a Nick Jackson look to him with the bandana around his forehead. Still no eliminations, although Devito was stalling on the floor. Landon Hale was No. 9; he’s the first guy here who had a match earlier in the show. Spoor was No. 10; I haven’t seen him before but he looks like a brawler. Spoor was tossed just seconds after getting in, the first gone! Dante Casanova was No. 11; as I noted earlier, he has good size to him, and he brawled with Landon Hale. The Patriot was No. 12 at 20:00; this guy is quite muscular, whoever is under that mask. He clearly isn’t moving well, so he could be the guy from the late 1990s.
Kerr was No. 13; he’s a massive, rotund bald guy with a long, gray beard. He tossed Devito. Sparrow was tossed. Joe Ocasio was No. 14. Youngblood and Recon were eliminated, and those two fought to the back. Foxx Vinyer was No. 15 at 26:30; I haven’t seen him before but he wore a colorful outfit and looks like the late 1980s-era Warlord. Andd Bivians, a Black man, was No. 16. He’s a bit heavy and makes me think of what 2 Cold Scorpio looks like today. Kerr hit a massive fallaway slam on Legursky. Vargas eliminated Kerr, but Vargas was then tossed. The muscular Traxx (think Ryback) was No. 17 at 30:00. Casanova was eliminated. I am seeing nine in the ring. Dominick Denaro was No. 18; he wears glasses and looks demented. Brian Myers was No. 19 and he got a nice pop, and he tossed Foxx immediately, then Landon Hale.
WWE ID prospect Brad Baylor was the final entrant, No. 20, at 35:30, and he wore a jacket that notes his ID status. We have at least nine still in here. Andd Bivians was eliminated. Traxx was eliminated and we’re down to seven. Myers fought Baylor. (The heel commentator, of course, has changed his pick to win several times.) Gallagher was eliminated. Denaro was eliminated. Ocasio was tossed, and we’re down to FOUR: Legursky and Holliday (who both started!) and Baylor and Myers. Legursky tossed Baylor, while Holliday tossed Myers at 40:00. The match is now switching to a singles match. Again, these two started! Legursky hit a massive Stinger Splash. Holliday hit a low blow punt kick with the ref out of position, then a clothesline for the pin.
Richard Holliday won the 20-man Rumble to become the inaugural ACW Champion at 41:51.
* On a video screen, Matt Cardona appeared and challenged Holliday to a title match at the May 17 show.
* Backstage, Nic Nemeth was interviewed about his TNA title match against Matt Riddle. (Again, this was Jan. 4, so Nemeth was still champion at this time.) Riddle was then interviewed, an he noted this is a first-ever singles match, and he’s excited for it.
8. Nic Nemeth vs. Matt Riddle for the TNA World Title. They are both babyfaces, so they had a clean lockup to open. Riddle went for a crossarm breaker, and they traded intense mat reversals. Nemeth set up for a superkick but Riddle avoided it. Riddle applied a Triangle Choke in the ropes at 4:00. He leapt off the top rope, but Nemeth caught him with a superkick and they were both down. Riddle hit some forearm strikes. Nemeth applied a sleeper at 6:30 and fell to the mat with it locked in. Nemeth hit a dropkick for a nearfall, then his series of 10 elbow drops to the chest. However, Riddle locked in the crossarm breaker again. Nemeth applied a chinlock on the mat. Riddle hit a jumping knee to the chin at 9:00.
Riddle missed a moonsault but landed on his feet. Nemeth immediately hit a superkick and they were both down. Riddle hit a fisherman’s buster for a nearfall at 11:00. Riddle hit a standing powerbomb. Nemeth hit a stunner for a nearfall, and we got a “This is awesome!” chant. Riddle hit a stunner, and he set up for his tombstone piledriver, but Nemeth rolled him up and got the flash pin for the clean victory. These guys stepped up and delivered a very good TV-quality main event. Not quite a PPV match quality, but really good. They hugged afterwards, and Nemeth celebrated with the belt.
Nic Nemeth defeated Matt Riddle to retain the TNA Title at 12:55.
Final Thoughts: The fans undoubtedly showed up for the main event, and it delivered. If you have Triller+, it’s worth checking out this match, even if you skip the rest of the show. Greene-Crowbar was really good for second, and the better-than-expected Latimer-Dreamer match takes third.
The Rumble was sadly mediocre. I just saw a far better Rumble in Chicago’s AAW earlier this week. This Rumble match was filled with a lot of big guys in their late 30s or 40s who I didn’t know and not a single one of the unknowns stood out to me. Having ID prospect Brad Baylor on your show, and having him in the ring for all of five minutes, is a crime. They should have let him and Landon Hale tear it up in a singles match instead. The crowd loved that tables match. I didn’t like it at all and I’ll leave it at that. The women’s match was fine.
For a debut show, I’m sure ACW is happy with the product. They had a good-sized crowd, a good main event, and lighting was good. The mic work was spotty, sometimes tinny, sometimes way too loud, sometimes randomly quiet. But I’ll be blunt… I like indy promotions that focus on wrestlers under age 35. There weren’t many of them here. I want to see the stars of tomorrow, not the stars of 1998… even when they have good matches, like Dreamer and Crowbar did here in their respective matches.
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