IWA Japan Texas Bronco New Coming Review (November 17, 1994)
It’s been way too long since I reviewed my last IWA Japan show, and I really need to satisfy that itch for insane wrestling that only IWA Japan can fulfill.
This is from November 17, 1994, at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium with 4,795 fans, or at least cagematch says.
We have Japanese, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Americans, and a Canadian, so let’s go!
After the ring announcer says something, the “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky plays, and each wrestler on the card makes an entrance and just stands in the ring with the others. The song ends and has to be repeated. This takes so long, and I am transfixed, waiting for something to happen. With Terry Funk, we get the other wrestlers cheering for him and chanting his name, and he handshakes all of them, so that’s something. The Headhunters whip chains with nails in them around the whole arena, causing a stir, and don’t get into the ring, as the song plays a third time! These two twin short monsters with chains and beauty pageant sashes are hilarious. For some reason, there is no Leatherface.
1. Super Astro vs Takashi Okano
If you have never seen Super Astro before, you are missing out. He’s kind of a short luchador with very broad shoulders and a little stout, but he is so fucking awesome at flying and really all parts of wrestling.
This is your typical cruiserweight type of match, although Okano can barely keep up with Astro, who is doing all the heavy lifting. The landing on his feet from a moonsault when Okano moves were impressive. Later, his fake dives to the floor are even better, and his somersault plancha onto Okano lying on the floor is the best. Astro hit a flying flip onto standing Okano for the win.
Rating: Good Enough/10
2. Aguila Negra vs Yoshihiro Tajiri
Tajiri and the future Zumbido have some nice potential. This match reminded me that Tajiri wasn’t doing kicks early in his career, and that is sad. This is pretty solid, though, with some fun back-and-forth action, although Negra’s top rope dive wasn’t a very exciting finish.
Rating: Solid/10
3. Miguel Perez Jr. & Super Astro vs El Texano & Silver King
I have no idea why Astro had to work double duty tonight, but he against proper good luchadors means he works at a way higher level in this match than the opener. This is a pretty good high speed tag. There is a moment in the middle that needs to be seen to be believed, as it’s Super Astro and Texano and Silver King all missing, faking, and hitting moves in spectacular fashion, ending with King being pushed off the top to the floor, taking out Texano. Those three are awesome in this, but Perez really adds a different element to push this even higher. Silver King and Texano being a regular tag team really shows here, too, and gives the match a lot more focus. Another great moment is Astro hitting these great spin kicks on Silver King and then Texano and then trying one on the referee for a good pop. The match drags like a JWP tag match. 16 minutes was too much. That said, they spaced out the cool moments well, and there were a lot of them. The finishing sequence was hot, with Perez almost killing Silver King with an Asai moonsault and Texano and Astro having a fun run of nearfalls in the ring until Texano hits a power bomb for the win.
Rating: So Close to Spreadsheetable/10
4. Hiroshi Ono vs Shoji Nakamaki
“Barbed Wire Chain Death Match”
These two are smart, with full slacks and thick shirts and arms all covered! This is your normal chain attached around the wrists match, but with the chain tightly wrapped with barbed wire!
At first, they try to work around the chains using DDTs, headbutts, and even a big tope by Nakamaki. On the outside, they start to use the barbed wire chain, and Nakamaki just carves Ono up. Nakamaki wraps up his arm and does a lariat while he’s near the post, and a second attempt, Ono moves, and that looks vicious, which leads to him carving Nakamaki up this time. They brawl and carve into the crowd and all over the floor. It’s bloody. Inside, Ono tries for some pins, but not much happens until they go back outside. The chain has disappeared, and Ono hits another vicious lariat, then rams Nakamaki into the post, who responds by headbutting the post a bunch, and then Ono takes over using a steel chair and hypes the crowd up with some weird gyrating. His DDT onto the cement floor was nasty. Back inside, they use the chain only as a weapon as Nakamaki power bombs Ono onto it and then does Jeff Jarret’s Stroke onto it. He tries another Stroke and gets weirdly reversed into a Russian Legsweep. Ono does a shitty back suplex and a HORRIBLE Rock Bottom and then wraps the chain around Nakamaki’s waist and suplexes him awkwardly for another two count. After a few more lame attempts by Ono, Nakamaki comes back with his awesome lariat and another power bomb onto the chain and then wraps himself all up in the chain and does a splash from the second rope for the biggest near fall of the match. One more Stroke gets the win to end this mess, an awkward, bloody, but fun match.
Rating: A Mess, but a Fun Mess/10
The two hug afterward, following the code of honour to the max! Some other bald dude shows up and takes out Nakami with a chair after insulting him, presumingly setting up the battle for the balds at the next show.
Backstage, Ono and Nakami are good old friends who talk as if they just had a fun game of pool, but they are covered in blood everywhere.
5. Leatherface vs Terry Funk
“Cage Match”
Nothing beats a Leatherface entrance with him dancing and waving the chainsaw around!
Funk sets the tone early by sneak attacking with a chair. After some more shots, he gets really confident, throws the chair away, punches him down, and immediately goes for the spinning toe hold like it’s an old NWA b-show squash match.
After that,t we get some good action, including shots into the cage, until most of the match is Leatherface in control as the heel. Hitting a nice series of power bombs and some awkward top-rope dives. Funk’s kickouts are very good, and he’s so good at fitting from underneath. When Leatherface misses the moonsault, that is when Funk is able to get control and goes for his own moonsault, which he also misses. As Leatherface is in control, there is a huge stir in the crowd, and ANOTHER LEATHERFACE appears with a chainsaw, causing a distraction. Funk backdrops him from the top rope for a huge near fall. He small packages him, and Funk wins.
Rating: 7/10
Post-match, the two Leatherfaces have a chainsaw off until they both dance away with their chainsaws and terrorize the crowd. I have to admit part of the rating is for that ridiculous double Leatherface!
Upon doing research, I found that the Leatherface in the match was Rick Patterson, and that’s the one in IWA Japan, so he’s the fake. The one that appeared was the original Leatherface, aka Cpl. Kirchner. No wonder the pop was so loud.
Terry Funk does a backstage promo to tease the King of the Deathmatch. If Funk loses one deathmatch, he will no longer be the King of the Deathmatch!
6. The Headhunters vs Dick Slater & Nobutaka Araya
“IWA World Tag Team Title Tag Team League Final”
After The Headhunters looked to just overpower their opponents, we get some nice shine by the Slater/Araya team with Araya hitting a moonsault to the floor onto both The Headhunters. Slater, of course, brawls with them on the floor, too. The advantage lasts longer than you would think as they double-team until a quick punch puts the twins in control. They really do have a nice array of double-team moves. Shockingly this match is pretty back and forth and worked like a very competitive normal tag team match. At least for the first half of the match, that is when The Headhunters take it to the floor and destroy Araya with a bottle. They then grab a fork and take out Slater as well after breaking up the pin with a fork! After all that shit on the outside, The Headhunters use the distract the referee to use the fork inside the ring behind his back. It’s kind of hilarious. I guess rules only apply inside the ring.
One of The Headhunters hits a huge moonsault for a near fall, but Slater breaks it up and tries JYD headbutt, only to hurt himself. The match really picked up here, as it was pretty plodding before. Tiger Driver onto Araya for another near fall! A giant Bull Nakano top rope leg drop wins the match, the titles, and the tournament for The Headhunters.
Rating: Solid/10
The first half was them trying to do a fancy tag league finale, which was a mistake. The brawling for the last 1/2 really saved things.
After, The Headhunters wanted to continue the beatdown, but Terry Funk made the save. Araya makes a show-closing rousing speech.
Conclusion
This show is not a must-watch, but the two hours had some good wrestling, a good match, and some fun angles to set up the future. You can’t really go wrong here, well, as long as you like this style.
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WrestleMania XL Review
I haven’t been this excited about a WrestleMania since 2004. Vince is gone, and they have an SA policy. Kevin Dunne is gone, too. The production is great, and the storylines heading into this one have been amazing. LFG!
WrestleMania XL: Saturday
April 6, 2024
Philadelphia, PA
Lincoln Financial Field
The new button was pretty cool.
After a nice intro video, Michael Cole gives us a weather update and wonders how the cold will affect the wrestlers. That’s a nice touch.
Hey, it’s the proper USA anthem, not the song Vince always wanted. Truly, this is a new era!
Speaking of a new era, Trips is here to tell us it’s a new era.
I will note here the production of WWE has gotten so fucking good. It’s great throughout, and it’s shocking how good it is since it was so shit even 6 months ago.
1. Rhea Ripley (c) vs Becky Lynch
“WWE Women’s World Championship”
Becky gets a cool entrance with her reading from her book, while Rhea gets a band to play her theme song!
Becky has had strep throat all week, so she’s the clear underdog. So much already feels different.
Becky tries to work the arm, but Rhea is just too damn strong, and she takes complete control for most of the early part of the match. When she goes to the top, Becky armbars her down to continue her strategy. Every time Becky gets the advantage with the arm, the power of Rhea is too much. That continues when Becky moves, and Rhea hits the post with the arm. Becky looks to win with the flying leg drop, but that gets countered into Rhea’s “Prison Trap,” but Becky rolls her up for a nice near fall. Both hit their finishers for more awesome nearfalls! A superplex by Becky turns into the Dis-Arm-Her after working the arm all match, but Rhea is too strong; she stands up, taking Becky to the outside with a move, and turns into an electric chair on the floor. Rhea hit a frog splash for a massive two! Becky tries the Manhandle Slam, but Rhea counters with a Riptide into the buckle and then a Riptide for the win! Great opener!
Rating: 8.75/10
Pretty Deadly takes the time to insult every team in the upcoming ladder match.
2. The Judgement Day (Finn Bálor & Damian Priest) (c) vs #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs The Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Wood) vs Austin Theory & Grayson Waller vs New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate)
“Six-Pack Ladder Match for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship”
The gimmick here is both sets of titles are hanging, and they are really pushing that the Championships will be split up here.
I have to admit I laughed at R-Truth getting the hot tag and then going through Cena’s move set and getting a “pin” in the ladder match. #DIY doing DX moves less fun, but R-Truth tells them to go for one belt while he goes for the other. However, Waller graps the SmackDown Tag Team Titles to win those. For his trouble, he gets power bombed through a ladder to the floor.
The Raw Tag Team Titles are still in play, so we continue. We get all the usual ladder match stuff you would expect until it looks like R-Truth has won. JD McDonagh runs out and makes the save for Judgement Day. When it looks like they will retain, New Day makes the save, by the way, dressed as Apolo Creed and Rocky from the first Rocky film. We get more teases, and eventually, R-Truth pulls down the belts for his first win at WrestleMania.
Rating: Some Fun Stuff and Ladders
Michael Cole brings up the weather again, I think he is really cold tonight.
3. Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs Santos Escobar & “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio
Andrade off the top rope with Rey on his shoulders to the floor was a wild dive! We settle down, and Mysterio works face in peril. Andrade gets a hot tag, and he looks so great throughout this match, but he doesn’t get the win. Rey hits 6-1-9 and Andrade hits a moonsault from the top to the floor, but Escobar’s group cheats to go back into control. All of the seconds start doing dives and brawling, leaving Escobar and Rey alone. Two large dudes in Mysterio masks attack, and Rey and Andrade win. LWO hugs the large dudes, and it’s Jason Kelcie and another football from the Eagles.
Rating: Good Match
4. Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso
The video hype package for this match is really great!
Lil’ Wayne raps Jey to the ring.
Because they are twins and longtime tag partners, it makes sense that this match was mostly mirroring and very even, but that doesn’t make it the most exciting match. Jey finally gets control, Jimmy begs for forgiveness, and everybody in the crowd knows he’s insecure. Sadly, Jey does not, and Jimmy takes advantage. However, a comeback by Jey and a big splash give him the win.
Rating: I’m Sure It Was Fine
5. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka, & Kairi Sane) vs Bianca Belair, Naomi, & Jade Cargill
For a six-person tag on the undercard, this match had a great build, and the video package highlighted that well. The entrances from both teams were amazing, and everyone looked amazing!
The glee Damage CTRL has while they work over Naomi was joyous to watch. After Bianca gets tagged in, she really unleashes some of the best offense. She goes to tag Jade in for the first time but gets cut off, which gives Damage CTRL the chance to work over Bianca now. A Ricky Morton rolling tag brings in Cargill, who KILLS Damage CTRL. We have some fun back and forth until Cargill pins Kai with her finisher.
Rating: 7/10
Sami Zayn is with his wife and kid, and his kid thinks he can do it, but he doesn’t want his kid to see it. He has doubts after losing to Roman Reigns in Montreal last year. Later, on his way to the ring, Chad Gable appears and says he’s not going out with him, and he believes in him. He does the Rocky 2, you owe me a favour gimmick. Further on his way to the ring, Kevin Owens appears, hugs him, and says he can do it! Damn, he better do it now!
6. Gunther (c) vs Sami Zayn
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
This is an all-time classic. Sami fights really hard, but Gunther is the most dominant Intercontinental Champion ever. Sami gets in some nice hope spots, but every time, Gunther comes back on top. That is until Gunther hits two huge power bombs that don’t put Sami away. Some doubt comes on Gunther’s face. He is able to keep Sami down, and his confidence soars again, so he starts to taunt Sami’s wife at ringside. He hits a few top rope splashes without going for the pin. Sami tries to fire himself up as Gunther goes to the top again, and he does by hitting a Helluva Kick out of nowhere. He then climbs up and hits the Brainbustaaahhhhh! Yes, El Generico’s brainbuster onto the top turnbuckle. Two more Helluva Kicks and Sami ends Gunther’s 666-day reign as Champion in a beautiful moment!
Rating: 9.25/10
The two GMs, Nick Aldiss and Adam Pearce, are here to thank the viewers. They announced the attendance of 72,543 and told the fans to keep the noise for the main event.
7. “Main Event”
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns & The Rock) vs Cody Rhodes & Seth “Freakin'” Rollins
“If The Bloodline wins, then the Universal Championship Match on Sunday will be fought under ‘Bloodline Rules'”
A nice long recap video in case you missed anything in this great build. Watching that build and then seeing Cody Rhodes giving his weight belt to his father-in-law and hugging his mom is foreshadowing. The Rock came out with the People’s Championship given to him at the Hall of Fame show.
The Rock actually looks great, like a wrestler not a statue. Way better than his previous run.
The match is fascinating, though. There were about 10 minutes of boring before a fun all-over-arena Attitude brawl. The Rock, being on the TKO board, tells the referee to let it go. After, it turns into a southern tag with Rollins isolated as they work the knee. Roman bleeds, and Cody gets a hot tag, but the match continues. The Rock gives Cody’s mom the weightlift belt from the angle on Raw. There is brawling at ringside this time, and Cody Rock Bottoms Rock through a table while Roman spears Rollins through the barricade. At one point, Roman hit the spear on The Rock after Seth saved Cody. After all the madness, Cody has the win, but Rock uses the weightlifting belt to stop his pin on Roman. From there, The Rock pins him with the People’s elbow.
45 minutes?
With editing, this could have been a classic, but there was too much that was not classic.
Rating: 7/10
That means Sunday’s match between Cody and Roman will be “Bloodline Rules.” I like the carryover booking here. Which leads us to Sunday.
WrestleMania XL: Sunday
April 7, 2024
Philadelphia, PA
Lincoln Financial Field
This is a very sports intro. Michael Cole talks about matches and shows wrestlers entering the building earlier today. He also brings up the weather again. It’s less cold today!
The opening video was amazing! You have to be hyped from it!
A different American anthem plays; why do Americans have so many damn anthems?
Speaking of sucking, here comes Stephanie McMahon. I so wanted to be done with McMahon BS. She’s excited about the Paul Levesque era and just says how great he is and does the DX intro.
1. Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) vs Drew McIntyre
“WWE World Heavyweight Championship”
Drew McIntyre has a whole bagpipe band playing Roddy Piper’s theme before they play his song. Punk is on commentary and is already pissed! Michael Cole gives another weather update, haha. Seth Rollins has a whole band of wild, colourful costumes to play him out. This rules! He’s dressed in a very fabulous outfit. The whole band marches him to the ring!
Drew hits the Claymore right away for a nearfall immediately, and then he goes to work on the knee as Seth tries to go outside to recoup. This is perfect playing off last night. Seth is broken but gets in a curb stomp, but his hurt leg from last night means he doesn’t hit all of it, and it’s an easy kick out for Drew. The whole story is that Seth is broken, and Drew is easily in control, but Seth keeps fighting, hurting his knee, and having to gut through it. Drew wastes time and stares at Punk and goes for the GTS, but it gets countered into a rollup for a good nearfall. Another Claymore gets two as well. He gets very frustrated and tries to power bomb Seth through the announce table, but that’s countered. Seth stomps Drew on the table but hurts his knee again. Back inside, a Claymore came out of nowhere for another kickout. Drew is fucking losing it. One more Claymore, and that’s it. I don’t normally like Seth, but this match was good, and the story was easy to enjoy throughout.
Rating: 7/10
Drew won his first World Title in front of a crowd. After a moment with his wife, Drew stares down Punk again. He gets in his face and waves the title, mocking him, and then Punk attacks. He takes his brace off and then hits Drew with it.
That’s when Damian Priest arrives with the Money in the Bank briefcase, and he cashes in.
2. Drew McIntyre (c) vs Damian Priest
“WWE World Heavyweight Championship”
He hits his finish and wins the title immediately. Drew really brought that on himself. Great moment there!
Rating: WTF!
3. Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) vs The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam, & Rezar)
“Philadelphia Street Fight”
Snoop Dogg is the guest commentator for this one. That rules. On the other hand, Bubba Ray Dudley is the guest referee. That sucks.
The weapon shots are vicious and stiff. Kross argues with Bubba, and then Lashley and The Profits go through Dudley spots. The table spots were nice, and they ended the match there pretty easily.
The real highlight was B-Fab and Scarlet getting involved and brawling with weapons. Later, B-Fab did a Russian legsweep through a table off the apron onto Scarlet! The other big highlight was Snoop Dogg having a great time.
Rating: It was a WWE Dudley-inspired street fight.
Logan Paul does pushups, and then a video package about last night’s main event plays.
Kayla Braxton asks Paul Heyman what “Bloodline Rules” means. No DQ. No Countdown. One fall. Whatever The Bloodline wants, really. He name-dropped Brandi Rhodes!
4. LA Knight vs AJ Styles
The video package reminds me of how over the former TNA dude is now. Since I don’t watch regularly, it surprises me every time.
We don’t wait; punches right away from both. From there, it’s pretty back-and-forth until Styles works the leg. Knight almost makes a comeback, but his attempt to slam AJ onto the bare floor fails as AJ counters, leading to a near countout. AJ’s springboard 450 is stopped by Knight’s knees. We get more punching, and then they counter each other’s finishers until Knight hits BFT for the win. The crowd loves it.
Rating: Solid
A video package plays going over the Hall of Fame ceremony, and they each get their moment in front of the crowd. Bull had her nunchucks, so it’s great.
We get many commercials, highlights of their charity events, and a nice little tribute to Bray Wyatt.
5. Logan Paul (c) vs Randy Orton vs Kevin Owens
“WWE United States Championship”
A video package for this match makes sense, but we have spent so much time doing video packages since the last match it’s wearing thin.
Logan Paul comes in on a truck promoting his drink and has a drink mascot with him. Sami appears as Kevin makes his way to the ring to return the favour from last night, saying it’s his turn now. After looking at the truck, he gets a golf cart to come out on. Randy Orton comes out without a vehicle, so Owens offers him a ride to the ring, and he gets on the back. It’s a fun moment.
Orton and Owens just take turns beating up Paul, to begin with. After taking him out, they realize only one of them can win, and they both try to double-cross each other. They decide it’s time to fight each other, which gives Paul an opening. We get a more typical triple-threat match, with each man hitting big moves. Paul is a really hateable heel, which adds a good dynamic. Brass Knuckles by him and get two only on Orton. Owens is taken out by the knucks, too. He goes for a final brass knuckles shot, and Orton hits an RKO instead. Orton then gets the knucks, hands them to the referee, and goes for his classic punk kick, but the Prime bottle saves him. The Prime Bottle is Paul’s buddy and so Orton kills him with an RKO on the table. Of course, that gives Owens and Paul time to recover. Owens Pop Up Power Bomb is turned into an RKO, and then Paul hits a frog splash on Owens for the win after disposing of Orton.
Rating: Almost Spreadsheetable
6. IYO SKY (c) vs Bayley
“WWE Women’s Championship”
This is another great video package. Bayley does an Egyptian goddess entrance being carried by cat men. She is living the dream, basically. She looks amazing. Shirai looks great, too, so let’s go!
This is very intense to start. On a tope by Bayley, she tweaks her leg, and then Shirai goes to work. You almost forget, since she was such an amazing heel, that Bayley is an all-time babyface! The selling of the leg by Bayley, whether on offense or being beaten on, was great! Shirai has such great offense. Moonsault by Io to a fully extended leg of Bayley, but that hurt Bayley, too. Amazing spot! Bayley does a tentative attempt at a flying elbow, but Shirai counters into a submission! She’s frantic and turns it into the STF in the middle, but Bayley pushes her off. Bayley-to-Belly gets a big nearfall. The selling of Bayley is so great! Shirai decks her and laughs, but Bayley decks her, which fires Bayley way up! Moonsault for a HUGE nearfall. Standing moonsault. Second rope Moonsault. But Bayley moves out of the proper one and goes for Rose Plant, but Io flips out of it. Bayley hits the elbow drop and the Rose Plant for the win. This fucking ruled!
Rating: 9.25/10
Snoop Dogg is out with the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders and mascot to announce 72,755 attendance.
One final weather update before the main event! Then, a long video package recaps everything.
7. Roman Reigns (c) vs Cody Rhodes
“WWE Undisputed Universal Championship Bloodline Rules”
Wish me luck with this recap.
Cody gets a Triple H entrance for the main event and Brandi Rhodes is there to take his mask for him and wish him luck. Good stuff! His family is at ringside. On the other hand, Roman has a whole orchestra to sing and play his song for him.
Cody takes out a table, but Roman puts it back. After some okay weapon shots and brawling, there is a brawl in the stands, and they get on one of the longest tables ever. Roman tries to suplex him off of it, but Cody reverses, and they head back toward the ring, where Roman takes complete control after a GIANT powerbomb. He has a long control segment until double lariats take both out. Cody makes a big comeback and hits the Disaster Kick, but that’s not enough. Roman counters the Cody Cutter with Cross Rhodes, but that gets two. He misses the Superman’s punch, and Cody punches and bionic elbows him away to a comeback. He sets up the table, but a low blow by Roman stops everything. Roman power bombs Cody through the table, and Superman punch gets a big nearfall. Cody counters the spear and hits a Cody Cutter for two. Roman tries Rock Bottom, counter, then Cody hits the spear. We are spamming each other’s finishers. Cross Rhodes hits, and a second attempt has Jimmy Uso break it up. Superman punch brings out Jey Uso, and he brawls with his twin. Jey spears him off the stage through a table. Roll up by Cody for two, spear by Roman for a massive kickout! They both tumble to the outside, and Cody spears Roman through the barricade. Back inside, Cody hits two Cross Rhodes, but Solo breaks up the third attempt. A two count after the Samoan spike. Solo tries to kill Cody and then holds him up as Roman spears him, and Solo spikes him at the same time. That’s another two. That brings out John Cena for the save. Attitude Adjustment by Cena as he puts Solo through a table. That brings out The Rock. It’s Cena vs The Rock now; everyone else is dead. Huge staredown and Cena gets to Rock Bottom. Rock brings out the Mama Rhodes belt, but the Shield music plays and Roman takes out Seth dressed in Shield gear before he does anything. Rock then destroys everyone with the weight lift belt, but the Undertaker’s music plays, and the music goes off. He’s behind The Rock and they have a staredown now. Choke Slam by Undertaker. Gong. Lights off. Undertaker is gone. Roman is up, and Cody is trying to get up. he grabs a chair and goes to kill Cody, but Seth is getting up, too. He nails Seth from behind, just like Seth did to him when The Shield broke up. He goes for a spear, but it’s countered. Cody hits Cross Rhodes and rolls that into three. He wins.
Rating: How do you rate that? 8/10 I guess?
Big props to Samantha Irvin, who is the best ring announcer ever, it seems. Her announcement of Cody winning was great. He gets the belt and cries, and out comes Brandi. After his moment, more come out and put him on their shoulders to celebrate. More and more folks, including his mom, enter.
A fitting end to WrestleMania XL.
“Damn it, I love professional wrestling!” Michael Cole
Cody gives us a little speech. Cody brings out Bruce Pritchard and Trips because it’s a new era.
Cody hugs everyone, even Michael Cole, who is crying. Cena ducking to stay off camera is funny, but the last image shows Cody alone in the ring with the belt, shaking Seth’s hand. Trips whispers something in his ear, and then the fireworks come. Cole is emotional, and Cody shakes everyone’s hand and hugs the cameramen and anyone he can find.
Finally a good WrestleMania and WWE may be good again.
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ACTION – DEAN~!!! Review
Dean Rasmussen was a big part of my early online fandom and this tribute show is so nice to see. I joined DVDR as a teenager and started reading Dean. I did podcasts with Dean. Dean’s love of wrestling was beautiful, and this show is beautiful.
Bear with me as I don’t watch much southern indies, so I don’t know a lot of these folks.
From Williamstown, New Jersey on April 4, 2024.
This is a fitting image to start the show:
1. Alex Kane (c) vs Colby Corino
“ACTION Wrestling World Championship”
Corino really worked the headlock in this match, hitting it in various ways, including from the top rope. Corino was really good at working on top throughout the match, and Kane did have some good selling and some nice hope spots. Kane’s suplexes were impressive, including countering the headlock into a suplex for the finish.
Rating: Good Opener
2. The Good Hand (Suge D, Kevin Ryan, & The Wall) vs O’Shay Edwards & Amboss (Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman)
The Good Hand are the clear heels, and it’s always nice when you can determine that so easily. O’Shay is a big dude, and they have a nice start where nobody wants to face him. The simple stuff always works, folks! As we progress, we get a face-in-peril segment and some good heel work. Including the always fun, almost hot tag, but the person on the apron is pulled off. The simple stuff always works, folks! The hot tag is good, but it doesn’t lead to the pin, as we have a bit more back and forth until O’Shay hits a giant moonsault.
Rating: Solid Stuff
The Ugly Sucklings come out and issue an open challenge.
3. Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) vs The Ugly Sucklings (Rob Killjoy & White Mike)
The Sucklings cheat and taunt throughout the match and mostly control the action. White Mike did a giant swinging headlock, so this match is a win. The Sucklings lose control once they try to outfight Violence is Forever, and it ends with a nice flurry.
Rating: Good Stuff
4. Coven of The Goat (Tank & Jaden Newman) vs Tom Lawlor & Manders
“Gypsy Joe Rules”
This gimmick means there are no rules, and the stipulation was added because Dean would want some violence in the show. Sounds good to me.
We get a stiff, violent brawl all over the arena, including a beer toast to Dean mid-match. There is blood and barely any time spent in the ring. The exchanging headbutt spots to Dean chants was something else, as was Tom Lawler doing a “dive” from a tiny step stool ladder. The last stretch was a fun tornado tag run in the ring filled with stiff shots and The Coven of the Goat hitting a double team on Manders for the win after a miscommunication between Manders and Lawlor. A perfect undercard brawl.
Rating: 7.25/10
5. 3 Flippy Guys (Brayden Toon, Rico Gonzalez, & Bobby Flaco) vs 3 Strong Motherfuckers (Hoodfoot, Danny Demanto, & Isaiah Broner)
Nice DVDR reference, as Dylan Hales (doing commentary) calls this a WAR six-man.
Prematch Danny says let this be a traditional tag match because a lot of violence is coming up later. However, he asks for a single door with “SPO” written on it to come into the ring. Based on the names of the people in the ring, you can predict what this match is, and it’s good. The door gets broken, and the flippy guys do some flips for the win.
Rating: Fine
6. Gringo Loco vs Dr. Cerebro
I haven’t seen Cerebro in so long, and it looks like he hasn’t lost a step on the mat; he’s so damn good at it, and Loco is no slouch, either. We get a pretty traditional lucha libre match, building from the mat into bigger moves and flying. It’s very well done, as both are great veterans. We get some throwbacks to their blood feud from IWRG years ago with some brawling, and it ends with a DQ off a chair shot. However, they keep fighting after that. So, the match is restarted as “No DQ.”
It’s a hot restart. The Super Flacon Arrow by Grino Loco was vicious! Loco hits a Spanish Fly, too, but can’t put him away. Cerebro hits a vicious armbar suplex and makes Loco tap. A good ending to a heated match!
Fans throw money in the ring for the luchadors; what a nice moment!
Rating: 7/10
The head of the IWTV Championship Committee cuts a heel promo and presents a brand new shiny title for the winner in the next match.
7. Krule (c) vs Warhorse Jake Parnell
“IWTV Independent World Championship”
Krule is a huge monster with a mask. Parnell fights, but Krule lives up to his gimmick, throwing him around ringside through chairs and just looking unstoppable. Warhorse’s big dive gave him some hope, but he struggled to maintain control. With each big move, he seemed to gain momentum, but it was never really enough to stop Krule, who just kept coming and coming. Finally, Parnell tried a big dive but got caught with a Choke Breaker (choke slam into a backbreaker). That gets a nice nearfall, but after a battle over a superplex and a big power bomb by Parnell, it still isn’t enough. Two flying elbow drops, and then Krule sits up and hits a super choke slam, wiping both out. The referee gets nailed, and the authority person tries to wipe out Krule, but he responds, and then someone runs out and hits a flying elbow drop for two somehow (he’s not in the match.) The authority dude takes out the second referee and demands the dude finish Krule. Fireball by Krule wipes out the run-in dude, and he pins him. I’m sure this would be better if I watched ACTION.
Rating: Odd Shit
Jonathan Gresham appears then and gets in Krule’s face, and the locker room separates them.
8. Arez vs Matt Makowski
We have a kind of lucha vs shoot style match here, which is a fun contrast. Makowski goes back to his Chikara days, though, and uses some of his lucha to keep up. Arez is very flippy, they have a lot of fun exchanges, before a flying move is countered by Makowski into a quick submission.
Rating: Fun
9. Adam Priest vs Slim J
Slim J is kind of a perfect person to be on Dean’s tribute show. This is a more traditional American style match than others on the show. Priest is a heel, Slim J is the babyface. It’s a nice build, ramping up as it goes along. The Priest control segment on Slim J is great, especially the piledriver nearfall. The comeback is great, as Priest tries another piledriver on the apron and he gets backdropped to the floor. Once back in the ring, the match really ramps up with Slim J back on offense. We get some good exchanges and near falls going down the stretch. It looks over with the guillotine by Slim J, but Priest counters it with a reverse stun gun. Priest goes for the kill, but Slim J counters for the win. This one is really good!
Rating: 7.5/10
10. Sinner & Saint (Judas Icarus & Travis Williams) vs Wasted Youth (Austin Luke & Marcus Mathers)
This is a lot more of a high octane tag with all dudes good on the mat and everywhere else. It’s exciting and fun, and if you are a fan of the modern high-energy matches, this is for you. It’s not really my cup of tea, but it wasn’t offensive like some matches in this style always seem to be. After a lot of nearfalls, a 450 by Mathers gets the win for his team.
Rating: Cool or Whatever
11. Demus vs Mad Dog Connelly
“Dog Collar Match”
What a start with Connelly snapping the chain and it hitting Demus in the face. From there, the war begins!
This is violent and stiff. The lariats and kicks are all brutal, and the chain shots are worse. They brawl all around the arena, and Demus takes out at least 2 fans as he’s thrown around by the chain. The violence does not stop when it gets into the ring. In fact, it ramps up, and Demus finally makes a comeback. We have blood, choking, chain shots, it’s basically a fight, and it’s damn good. The second crowd brawl segment has Demus in control instead, and it may be more intense. By the time they are back in the ring, they are both bleeding. Mad Dog’s comeback is chain-assisted punches, and it may be the most violent thing in the match. They are that vicious. Mad Dog tries to hang Demus if I am not getting over how much of a fight this is. Demus counters with a small package for two and then gets choked out by the chain and a reverse choke.
A must watch match, and this may be hard to top over WrestleMania weekend.
Rating: 9/10
12. Daniel Makabe vs Timothy Thatcher
A long running feud of two of the best technical wrestlers in the world comes to a head on Makabe’s retirement tour in the main event.
This is a RINGS-style match, which is not my typical favourite style, but there was enough here to like, and if this was my style, it may be an all-timer. Thatcher had a knee injury, and Makabe had an injured hand, and they kept coming back to those and having them come into play. The matwork, submissions, and strikes were all stiff. The finish of Makabe just knocking him out with strikes was great.
Rating: 8/10
Makabe gives a nice retirement speech and a nice tribute to Dean and DVDR!
Conclusion
Literally an all-time show as a tribute to an all-time great person in wrestling. Wrestling is great.
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Stardom American Dream 2024 in The Keystone State Review
Weirdly, the last time WrestleMania weekend was this exciting was 2019, when the last American Dream show was! I hope this is my first of many show reviews this weekend.
Commentary by Veda Scott and Tom Lawlor.
Not the sound mix is bad with Lawlor being inaudible and the music being super loud.
1. Mei Seira (c) vs Ram Kaichow vs Saki Kashima
“High Speed Championship”
Saki Kashima steals the show early with her reactions to Ram Kachow and her dead gimmick, with dust flying over her corpse and her playing referee for the other two. We get a lot of really great comedy early on to a hot crowd before we exchange a million nearfalls. Not long into it, Ram throws dust at Seira’s eyes and Kashima does her roll up to win the title again.
This was short but a blast. It had a title change, so it was a fun way to start the show.
Rating: Fun
2. AZM, Camron Branae, & Saya Kamitani vs Momo Watanabe, Starlight Kid, & Stephanie Vaquer
I have watched so much Stardom over the years, and I have no idea who Camron Branae is; she seems local. Vaquer is from CMLL and rules. These are interesting teams.
There was a really fun start of the match where everyone got their stuff in and got highlighted. It warms my heart to see that Momo is the most over one in the match. From there, though, the Oedi Tai and Vaquer team start taking control and doing their heel work. After some dives to the outside, we get a long Vaquer vs Branae segment leading to the win by Vaquer, where no Stardom wrestlers got involved. Very odd for a Stardom match.
Rating: Solid stuff
After the match, they hyped the upcoming NJPW match, in which AZM will challenge Vaquer for her IWGP Women’s Title.
3. Willow Nightingale & SAKI vs Syuri & Konami
God’s Eye starts the match by isolating SAKI and do a good job working her over. The hot tag for Willow was fun, with her and Syuri doing good work, but God’s Eye took over again. Konami goes to work on Willow for a second face-in-peril segment before SAKI jumps in and turns the tide. SAKI holds Syuri outside while Willow destroys Konami for the win after a pounce, DVD, and power bomb.
Rating: Goodish
I’m starting to think Stardom didn’t book this, or things have really changed since Rossy left.
4. Mayu Iwatani, Momo Kohgo, & Tam Nakano vs Mina Shirakawa, Mariah May, & Xia Brookside
It is so nice to see the return of Club Venus, Mina’s team, and May back in Stardom! Mina is such a star. Tam teaming with STARS also feels like a throwback.
Mariah May did a giant swinging sidewalk slam, so she continues to jump up my list of favourite wrestlers. We get Club Venus dominance to start on Kohgo, and that is fun, and the crowd loves it. Eventually, Kohgo tags out to Iwatani, who is her usual great self. She has good segments with May and Shirakawa before Tam is tagged in, and they duel for crowd reactions before the Cosmic Angels explode in violence! From there, we get a typical Stardom trios match with lots of great spots, double and triple teaming, and saves. Iwatani and Nakano do one of the coolest double team sequences I’ve ever seen with a DDT, into a German, into a pin all assisted for a great nerafall. Tam nails Twilight Dream for the win.
Rating: Good
Tam’s all-time great music plays after the win! However, the show is now 66 minutes old, and there is only one match left.
Former Stardom champion Toni Storm shows up to thank Stardom for her time there. She’s proud of Mariah and gives her some flowers. Toni then meets Mina, and they have a lovers spat over Mariah. They tease a match for AEW Forbidden Door.
5. Maika (c) vs Megan Bayne
“World of Stardom Championship”
With this main event, I am reminded Bayne left Stardom after a great run and hasn’t done anything in AEW since, and now I am sad.
In the beginning, Maika tries to use her power on Bayne, but Bayne is too strong. She then tries to use her smarts, which works for a brief moment until Bayne is just too big and strong and takes over and works over Maika’s lower back well.
Bayne makes a mistake going for a suplex, which Maika counters and has a brief run before the power is too much again. Bayne is such a beast on offense, but she makes a mistake going to the top for a superplex, giving Maika another chance at a comeback. She can’t put her away, leading to another comeback. Every single time Maika tries to outpower Bayne, she loses up until this point.
Bayne’s series of big moves is some of the best in wrestling today. She looks so great just killing Maika, who fights back so hard with some great kickouts.
Maika hit a fucking Michinoku Driver off the top rope, and it only got two. A hammerlock Michinoku Driver gets the win, though, and Maika retains!
Rating: 7.25/10
This felt like a true war, and the story of Maika not being able to rely on power and fighting through it was well done.
After a long celebration, Momo Watanabe comes to the ring and makes a challenge to Maika for the title. She tries a cheap shot, but Bayne saves her, and then Maika accepts the challenge.
A fun show overall with a great main event. Not a bad way for me to start off my WrestleMania weekend!
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