By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Texas Pro Wrestling “Pride and Joy 2”
Austin, Texas, at Holey Moley
Available on IndependentWrestling.TV
This show aired live and free on their YouTube channel. (It is also now available on IWTV, without the pesky ads.) This is an outdoor show on a hot summer day in Texas, so it’s no surprise the crowd is maybe 80. Who thought that was a good idea?
1. Danny Orion vs. Gary Jay for the New Texas Pro Title. I would have expected this to be the main event! The commentators talked about how Orion defended his belt just two days earlier. Seconds in, Orion dove through the ropes onto Gary on this dirt parking lot, then he hit a flip dive over the ropes onto Jay. Gary hit some chops. Danny hit an Asai Moonsault to the ground. In the ring, he hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall at 2:00. In the ring, Gary hit a clothesline, then a DVD into the turnbuckles for a nearfall.
Gary hit some more chops in the corner and was in control. The commentators talked about the challenges of fighting in the middle of the day in this heat. They traded chops. Danny hit a German Suplex. He hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall at 6:30. Danny leapt off the top rope, but Gary caught him with a punch. Gary dropped Danny back-first onto the narrow ring steps! “What the hell!” a commentator shouted.
Gary rolled Orion into the ring and got a nearfall. Danny hit a Flatliner into the corner and nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 8:30. They sat up, and Gary spat on him. They traded punches. Gary hit some more chops. Danny caught him with his pretty Crucifix Driver for the pin out of nowhere. A very good opener.
Danny Orion defeated Gary Jay to retain the New Texas Pro Title at 10:44.
* Danny got on the mic and said he’s a fighting champion, noting he beat Manders two days ago as well.
2. Jesse Funaki vs. Oli Summers for the New Texas Pro Lonestar Title. Once again, Funaki carried both his title belt and his TX8 trophy cup. Jesse now has a bio on cagematch.net; he’s 25 (I thought he was 19 or 20.) A clean lockup to open; these two are both babyfaces. Funaki hit a basement dropkick at 2:30. They traded chops. Jesse hit a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall. Oli hit a Northern Lights Suplex and a sliding clothesline for a nearfall at 4:30.
Jesse hit a DDT, and they were both down. The commentators again talked about the challenges of wrestling in this sun and heat. Oli hit a mule kick to the face and a gutwrench suplex for a nearfall, and they were both down at 7:30. They traded forearm strikes. Jesse hit a superkick. Funaki hit a Styles Clash for the pin. Good action.
Jesse Funaki defeated Oli Summers to retain the New Texas Pro Lonestar Title at 8:59.
3. Charity King vs. Miko Alana for the New Texas Pro Women’s Title. Miko is a regular in West Coast Pro. (There were several West Coast Pro wrestlers on the show here two days earlier.) They got into a knucklelock. Both have the same general physique and body shape. They traded shoulder blocks until Charity knocked Miko down, and she hit a senton and a sliding crossbody block for a nearfall at 3:30. Miko hit a standing neckbreaker and some chops.
Charity hit some clotheslines in the corner at 5:30. Miko hit a sliding crossbody block against the ropes for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes, and they both went down. Charity hit three consecutive bodyslams, then an overhead suplex for a nearfall at 8:30. Miko got a rollup. Charity hit a fisherman’s suplex and a bottom-rope frog splash for a nearfall. Miko hit a rolling cannonball in the corner, then a German Suplex and a Vader Bomb for a nearfall. They traded rollups. Miko hit a spin kick to the head, but Charity hit a World’s Strongest Slam for the pin. Good action between two bigger powerhouses.
Charity King defeated Miko Alana to retain the New Texas Pro Women’s Title at 11:08.
4. Brick Savage, Dimitri Alexandrov, and T-Ray vs. LVJ, Prince Krxiuki, and Ethan Hunter. The commentators were as surprised as I was when I saw the lineup — they popped when Brick Savage came out last for this team. (Brick and Dimitri have been feuding for a while here. So I guess they have just reconciled?) Brick just joined MLW, and he’s a big, strong guy I routinely compare to Bronson Reed. Brick and the (much thinner) Prince opened. Brick easily threw the kid into a corner and hit a clothesline.
LVJ (in yellow trunks) got in their against T-Ray, who is also a pretty thick guy. T-Ray hit a Pounce that sent LVJ flying at 2:30. Hunter, a thin white British kid, entered to battle Dimitri, who hit a fisherman’s buster. The smaller trio began working over T-Ray. LVJ hit a bodyslam. T-Ray speared LVJ at 6:00. Dimitri got a hot tag and cleared the ring. However, the smaller guys began working Dimitri over in their corner.
Prince hit a German Suplex, but Dimitri hit a German Suplex, and they were both down at 11:30. Brick got in, and he hit a DVD on LVJ for a nearfall. Hunter tried some chops. T-Ry and Brick hit 3D on Ethan. T-Ray hit a release F5. Ethan hit a superkick. Dimitri and LVJ traded forearm strikes. LVJ hit a Tombstone Piledriver for a nearfall! Dimitri hit a swinging suplex on LVJ. Dimitri and Brick hit a team sit-out piledriver for the pin. It was clear by the end that Brick and Dimitri had “reconciled” as they worked together, and they all hugged.
Brick Savage, Dimitri Alexandrov, and T-Ray defeated LVJ, Prince Krxiuki, and Ethan Hunter at 15:39.
* Intermission was edited out.
* It is time once again for the Isaac Morales open challenge! Who will step up? Isaac came out first, joined by his Meat Market henchmen.
5. Isaac Morales vs. Houston Hendrix for the Texas Contender Series Title. The TCS is essentially for their rookie roster. Hendrix is pretty scrawny with just a bit of a scruffy beard. However, he was announced as a “super-heavyweight, at 450 pounds.” The main commentator accurately said Houston is closer to 175 pounds. Hendrix hit a tornado DDT, and they were both down.
Hendrix hit a handspring-back-elbow. Morales applied a standing sleeper and fell to the mat. Houston powered out, and he hit a discus clothesline, then a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Hendrix hit a flip dive to the floor onto all three heels. Back in the ring, Morales applied a top armbar submission hold, and Houston passed out.
Isaac Morales defeated Houston Hendrix at 10:10.
6. Devin Carter vs. Su Young. I’ve only seen Su wrestle a few times since her face was shattered when a chair was recklessly thrown at her nose. Su wore what appears to be a loose hockey jersey; why wear that on a hot day? They hit stereo clotheslines and were both down. Devin hit some faceplants and a crossbody block into the corner. Su hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Devin hit a Cradle Shock for a nearfall. Su applied the Mandible Claw! Devin hit a 619, then a top-rope moonsault for a nearfall. Su sprayed red mist into the eyes. Devin hit a Mercedes Moné-style knee strike, then a Pedigree-style faceplant for the pin.
Devin Carter defeated Su Yung at 12:20.
7. Mance Warner vs. Shimbashi for the IWTV World Title. They traded chops. A commentator said this is actually Mance’s New Texas Pro debut. They brawled out of the ring and looped around the dirt parking lot. Mance threw him face-first into the side of the moving trailer. Shimbashi was bleeding from his forehead. A commentator noted this is not a no-DQ match. Mance grabbed a chair and jabbed Shimbashi in the gut, then struck him across the back at 5:30. They got back into the ring, and Mance was in charge, and he kept Shimbashi grounded.
Shimbashi hit some German Suplex and a top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall. They fought back to the floor at 9:30, and Shimbashi whipped him into a large metal train container. Shimbashi climbed on top of the metal train container, and he hit a crossbody block onto Mance (and others) on the ground at 11:00. In the ring, Shimbashi hit a coast-to-coast missile dropkick onto a chair over Mance’s face, and he got a nearfall. They got to their knees and traded forearm strikes. Mance hit a Mafia Kick and a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall.
Danny Orion came to the ring and pounded on the mat to encourage his new Fever teammate. Orion and Mance jawed. Mance hit a running knee to Shimbashi’s forehead for a visual pin at 14:30, but he pulled Shimbashi up before the three-count! Mance went for another running knee, but Shimbashi blocked it, and Shimbashi hit a jumping knee! Mance hit a leaping DDT, then the running knee to the side of the head, then another. Mance glared at Orion as he hit another running knee on Shimbashi! The commentators pleaded with the ref to stop the match! Mance hit another running knee to the side of the head! Orion finally threw in a shirt, and the ref stopped the match.
Mance Warner defeated Shimbashi via ref stoppage to retain the IWTV World Title at 17:54.
* Mance got on the mic and glared at Orion and said, “Don’t ever f— with Ol’ Mancer.” He ordered Orion not to help up Shimbashi — he needed to do it on his own. Shimbashi eventually got to his feet. Mance mockingly applauded and left.
Final Thoughts: A really hot segment to close the show. They did a great job of making me want to see IWTV champion Mance take on New Texas Pro champ Orion. Mance was vicious with those knee strikes, one after another, as Shimbashi was clearly out on his feet. The commentators pleaded for Mance to just end it. It put Danny in the position of having to save his tag partner and throw in the proverbial towel to end it. Well done.
So, I’ll go with the Orion-Jay match for best, ahead of Mance-Shimbashi, and Funaki-Summers takes third. While I’m a big fan of Brick Savage — I can’t wait to see what MLW does with him — I don’t like that a months-long feud has just been wiped away, and he’s apparently friends with Dimitri Alexandrov again. I’ll reiterate that it was clearly really hot and uncomfortable. While I don’t know why you would book this show in the middle of the day in Texas, I applaud everyone for having full-length matches on what was likely a pretty warm canvas.
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