Steve's View #109
By Steve
This weekend I had the chance to
check out UPW's debut at the Grove and the joint PCW and AWS show
at Frank and Sons. Here are my thoughts on both shows.
UPW 4/25/03
The Grove
Anaheim, CA
First, this was easily the nicest
venue for wrestling I had ever been to. The place looked really
great and there wasn't a bad seat in the house. The Grove was
also pretty full, I'd say about 700 there. Also, there were two
big screens to the right and left of the stage so everyone had
a good view of the really well done vignettes and promo videos.
UPW's production values have to be the best in indy wrestling.
If there is someone out there who does it better I'd be surprised.
Now, onto the matches.
Keji Sakoda over Solo Snuka [6'19]
This was alright match. It was solid, but overall bland. There
was nothing in it that really made it stand out, up until Roddy
Piper interrupted the match via satellite that is. Piper talked
about how he's tired of dealing with Snukas, and made some comments
at Snuka Jr.'s expense. Piper gave Snuka the warning to "never
turn your back on your opponent" then Sakoda hit him in the
head with a coconut and got the win.
Lil' Nate over El Genio and Drunken
Irishman [4'30]
You can't help but love Drunken Irishman. His gimmick and facials
are hilarious. You have to love the idea of a guy who wrestles
an entire match drunk. El Genio looks better than I've ever seen
him after his first tour in Toryumon as King Ali Baba. And of
course Lil Nate was fantastic as always. This match was put out
there for comedy and it did the job and was actually one of the
more entertaining matches on the show. Post match Drunken Irishman
tries to get Lil Nate to drink beer, which outrages Nate and turns
him heel when he hits Drunken Irishman with the beer can he was
just given. The crowd turned on Nate instantly.
Rey Misterio Jr. then came out and
cut a promo, did a 619 (which he called a 714 for the night),
and said he'd like to challenge the winner of the lightweight
title match if WWE will let him, which got a "triple threat"
chant from the crowd.
Tough Enough Kenny King over
The Mizz (from MTV's The Real World) [4'28]
Is Kenny the only Tough Enough 2 guy left in wrestling aside from
the winners? Well, I guess there is Hawk also. Mizz has looked
pretty impressive so far, and people have been saying good things
about Kenny from his work in Rev Pro, but there wasn't a lot to
this match. One thing that was prevalent throughout the show was
the sameness of most of the matches and no matches really doing
much to stand out. This wasn't a bad match, as there were no blown
spots or noticeable miscues, just nothing to it either. Chavo
Guerrero Jr. came out and helped Kenny get the win and said he
was proud of his student.
Now I might be out of order, as
I left my notes with Scrub, but UPW showed a vignette with Hardkore
Inc. showing up at the hardware store to get supplies for their
tables match with the Ballards. They were buying shovels, and
trashcans, and quesidilla makers (that was for El Jefe). Al Katrazz
even wanted to buy a rake, to give the Ballards a "real eye
rake".
When Hardkore Inc. left the store,
they ran into the Ballards outside, which lead to a brawl between
the 2 teams. While the wrestlers were fighting, Jefe stole a wire
from the Ballard's car then Hardkore Inc. took off. It was a really
well done and funny segment that was better than anything WWE
is doing right now. Definitely one of the highlights of the show.
Native Blood (Navajo Warrior
& Ghostwalker) & Hawaiian Warrior over Urban Outlaws (Hollywood,
Mike Knox & Derick Niekirk) [4'53]
This has to be the longest feud going in UPW history. It seems
like every show they have some variation of the Native Blood versus
Urban Outlaws theme. I guess it'' a natural rivalry with them
being cowboys and Indians and all. This time Hawaiian Warrior
(who looks pretty decent) was added into the mix. Next show I
suspect there will be an Eskimo somehow involved. Overall, it
was another bland match. Post match Ghostwalker had his hair cut
off.
Jack Bull over Big Chris [5'41]
Jack Bull and Schwag came out and talked about how Bull was supposed
to fight Tom Howard for the title but Howard is ducking him, and
they wanted Bull to be declared the winner. That brought out Big
Chris, who is jacked, to defend Howard, his teacher. Chris was
huge. Appearance wise he's one of the most impressive guys to
ever come out of UPW. He's just a rookie but I doubt it will be
long before WWE gives him a deal with his body. The match itself
was nothing special. There were a few miscues in the match, but
I wouldn't call it a bad match, just bland like a lot of the others.
Lightweight Lunacy [15'52] participants
in order of entry: Silver Tiger, Lil Cholo, Joey Ryan, Shawn Riddik,
Funky Billy Kim, B-Boy, Scott Lost, Kid Vicious, Tommy Wilson,
UK Kid, Andrew Hellman, Lukash, Erick Matlock, Matrix
Final Four Lightweight Lunacy ladder match
Andrew Hellman over Matrix, Tommy Wilson, Funky Billy Kim
This had potential to be a real show stealer, but the way it was
booked that wasn't to be. This match was setup Royal Rumble style,
except every one minute two wrestlers would come to the ring,
and they could be eliminated by pinfall or over the top rope.
The first few sets of wrestlers would all follow the same basic
script. Wrestle for a minute, then once the next two guys came
out you get eliminated, meaning guys like Lil' Cholo and Shawn
Riddik were in the match for about a minute each. I imagine the
point of having the last four guys be who they were was to help
build up new stars, but aside from Funky Billy Kim most UPW fans
probably don't care too much for the other three and the best
way to build new stars is really to have them in there with established
guys. B-Boy for example, while not as big as say Chris Daniels,
is starting to wrestle all over the country and just won one of
the biggest tournaments in indy wrestling, and seemed just kind
of wasted here. Hellman would have benefited more from having
a B-Boy or Joey Ryan in the final four than a Matrix or Tommy
Wilson, nothing against those two. Anyway, the match was disappointing
and it's questionable why there was two battle royal style matches
on the show to start with, when trying to make the main event
out to be something huge.
Erika Porter over Savvy to win
the UPW Women's title. [6'41]
Erika has shown she is a pretty good wrestler in the past, and
you could tell she really tried here, but the match itself just
didn't work. Savvy is good in the role of valet who occasionally
gets involved in the matches and does a few spots, like Lita for
instance, but has never really shown that she can go for an entire
match. A lot of Savvy's offense came across as if it was in slow
motion. It looks as though UPW is setting up Looney versus Erika
at an upcoming show which should be better, as Looney, when given
the right opponents has had a few respectable matches. For UPW
to get people to not groan when the women's matches take place
they really have to do one of two things. Take the WWE approach
and throw some really good looking girls out there, or put girls
out there who can work. A lot of people feel that women's wrestling
in the US can only get over as T&A at this point, but the
last couple GSCW shows should show, that at least on the indy
level, people will get behind good wrestling, whether it be man
or woman. Hopefully to help establish the division as being credible
after Looney gets her shot UPW brings in people like Sara Amato
(Nikki from NorCal) who can work. I've heard a lot of good things
about Erika's match with Cheerleader Melissa at Krush, but due
to current indy wrestling politics I kind of doubt we'd see the
rematch in UPW.
Hardkore Inc. (Hardkore Kidd
& Al Katrazz) over the Ballards in a tables match to win the
UPW Tag Team titles. [9'12]
I thought this was a pretty decent, although rushed, match. They
really did a great job of selling this match with all the vignettes.
Once the match began it started off pretty nice then things seemed
to get a little rushed and it was over. I know UPW tries to make
their shows as big time as possible and has pretty strict time
constraints, I just wish they gave this match more time to develop
into the match it could have been with this feud going on as long
as it has, and the build to it.
Frankie Kazarian over Mikey Henderson
to retain the UPW Lightweight Title [11'04]
This was in my opinion the best match on the show. Both Frankie
and Mikey looked really good here. I'm not sure why Mikey Henderson
was never signed by WWE with his looks and build, and I expect
Frankie to get picked up at some point, though his size may be
a factor. Not really a MOTY contender but definitely a possible
MOTM.
Big Chris wins the 22-man over-the-top
battle royal. [5'43]
With all the hype they gave this match, having it go less than
six minutes without a whole lot going on was quite the letdown.
A lot of the advertised names weren't in it, such as Mike Modest,
Damien Steele, and Bison Smith. Apocalypse did a pretty good job
as a monster, and hopefully he'll make a pretty good eventual
opponent for Howard after he gets some build behind him. Big Chris
got the win, which should make for an interesting match between
him and Howard in July.
Overall I thought the show was plagued
by the matches being too similar. I realize that there were some
gimmick matches thrown in there, but even they felt like the same
match just with gimmicks added. I'm sure if Howard and Skulu would
have been there and not in Japan the show would have had a noticeable
improvement. I think you have to think of wrestling as a three
ringed circus. Each ring has to have something different in or
you'll lose the audience. If all three rings have a lion tamer,
then lion taming will get pretty old after awhile. It's good to
see some of the newer guys getting pushed to try and create some
new matchups, however I don't think Hellman or Big Chris's elevation
was done in the best way possible with the battle royal being
disappointing instead of the epic it was hyped to be and the previously
mentioned issues with the ladder match.
--
PCW 4/26/03
Frank and Sons
City of Industry, CA
I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting
a lot out of this card. On paper the lineup just didn't seem very
good. That being said the show was really surprising and a lot
better than expected.
Black Metal, King Faviano, &
King Jakal over Supa Badd, Obi Matt, & Shawn Riddik [11'23]
This was a really fun match. Supa Badd, Obi Matt, and Riddik came
out to the Star Wars music riding on a car that has been turned
into an X-Wing. Faviano looked good as always. Overall just a
really entertaining opener that got the crowd into the match.
The Orphan over CJ Summers [7'35]
These two guys are both out of New Jersey and I guess making their
SoCal debuts they felt the need to just throw everything they
could into the match as it was really over booked. The Orphan
looked like he could be Rob Black's child. A lot of spots in the
match, but nothing that was really impressive, and pretty much
no transitioning between the spots what so ever.
Mike Vega over Lil' Cholo [8'31]
(Round 1 Maximum Title Tournament)
Cholo joined the Philadelphia Connection and substituted in the
match for Mace. I think adding Lil' Cholo the heel faction in
this way wasn't the smartest idea, because no way was the crowd
going to get behind Vega against Cholo That's actually the main
problem with the entire angle, because without real Philadelphia
wrestlers PCW will be hard pressed to get guys like Messiah or
B-Boy any heel heat. That's one of the reasons the NorCal and
SoCal angle was working so well in GSCW before it was killed,
because the NorCal guys were actually NorCal guys which made it
easier to make them heels and easier for fans to get behind the
home team. The match wasn't too impressive and I'm sure people
who were going to day two would have rather had Cholo go over
B-Boy over Lucky [11'11] (Round
1 Maximum Title Tournament)
This looks to be Lucky's second to last match in SoCal, at least
for awhile and I'm glad they gave him a good opponent so that
he could show people he can work. After leaving the GAY gimmick
he's been mostly regulated to wrestling Sumito and what not, but
he had a chance to shine here. The match was pretty good and with
everyone knowing Lucky was leaving town, the result was never
really in question. Also, like the last match, B-Boy is way too
over to be an effective part of the heel faction without really
hard selling that earlier in the show. PCW probably should have
made a bigger deal earlier in the show about Lucky leaving and
let the Philly Connection come out and get some heel heat off
that.
X-Foundation (Joey Ryan &
Scott Lost) over Rocky Romero & Pinoy Boy [13'05]
Rocky and Pinoy Boy were billed as being from Brazil prior to
the match, which left a lot of people scratching their head, but
I believe it's because they are now jiu jitsu experts. This was
a really good match. Pinoy Boy's time at the Inoki Dojo sure has
made him a better wrestler, and he was pretty good to start with.
It's a wonder why more promoters aren't booking him. This match
goes back to what I was talking about in the UPW review. This
match was completely different than anything else on this show,
as they did a stiff submission style match. It really makes the
match stand out and stops the show from getting repetitive and
boring.
Damage Inc. (Matrix & Preston
Scott) over Silver Tyger & Infernal [8'41]
I thought this was a pretty decent match up till Infernal got
hurt on a dive to the outside, then it kind of fell apart and
it seems like they went home early on it. Even after getting messed
up on that dive Infernal stayed in the match, though he was holding
his arm the rest of the time. Damage Inc. is probably the most
underrated tag team in SoCal, but it seems like people are starting
to take notice of them.
Ian Knoxx over Foob Dogg [7'40]
When Aaron Proctor announced Ian Knoxx it seemed either no one
really knew him, or no one really cared aside from a couple people
who clapped. Knoxx does a gimmick where he's drunk, but doesn't
do it nearly as well Drunken Irishman. Foob Dogg then came out
after a Knoxx promo and they had a match. The match wasn't good,
but it wasn't awful. Still, probably the worst match on the show.
Foob got in Bo Cooper's face, who was sitting in the audience,
which lead to Bo Cooper laying out Foob to a huge pop, and then
Knoxx got the win. Cooper then laid out Knoxx got probably the
biggest pop of the night by taking out Proctor. People then even
chanted Cooper's catchphrase "I'm rude, crude, and tattooed"
along with him.
Super Dragon & Bigg Babi
Slymm over Hardkore Inc. (Hardkore Kidd & Al Katrazz) by DQ
[11'49]
This match was supposed to have Konnan teaming with Super Dragon,
but thankfully Konnan didn't show up. Bigg Babi Slymm gets my
vote as most improved wrestler of the year, at least so far. Since
Slymm is a big guy, I imagine he'll get some pretty big opportunities
in the near future as good big men are rare in the indies. There
was a lot of curiosity going into the match about how well Super
Dragon will work with Hardkore Kidd and Al Katrazz, but they all
seemed to work very well together. I was especially impressed
when Al Katrazz and Dragon were in the ring together. Al Katrazz
is another guy who I think is really underrated and hopefully
him getting a high profile feud here, and in UPW will really shine
some light on him. At one point Dragon did a dive into my lap
then we hugged. Now I know what true romance is. In my opinion
this was the best match on the show, and the best match of the
weekend that I saw.
Messiah over Frankie Kazarian
in a ladder match to retain the PCW Heavyweight title. [18'18]
Everyone seems to be doing ladder matches all the sudden. This
was a really good match also. Not as good as the Scott Lost and
Lil' Cholo ladder match from last month, but still good and had
some depth to it. The whole match Kazarian was working Messiah's
leg, making it so he would have a hard time climbing the ladder
to grab the title. Messiah at one point did lionsault off the
ladder as it was propped in the corner. Did I forget to mention
SoCal Val was seconding Frankie? Well she was. At one point she
got in the ring to try and stop Messiah from getting the belt,
but only got hit for her troubles. Poor Val. Anyway, Messiah grabbed
the title and got the win.
While this wasn't the best show
that has ever taken place, it was pretty good which was even made
better by my low expectations. PCW is really making strides and
hopefully they can keep it up because we can always use another
strong promotion that's doing something different than all the
rest.
--
I also want to give special thanks
to Chuck for the wrestling magazines. They are greatly appreciated.
--
I'll be back later in the week with
part four of my piece on the history of XPW.
-Steve
