The Delco Elbow Drop


Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Alberto Del Rio joins Ring of Honor in 2015



Former WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio (now known as El Patron Alberto) will be joining the Ring of Honor roster in 2015. The news was teased last week but recently made official by ROH.

Even more exciting is that Alberto’s first opponent in ROH has been named. On January 3, during the Winter Warriors tour, he will face “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels in their first ever meeting.

Alberto has been causing a huge stir in the world of pro wrestling since leaving WWE. Having joined back up with Mexican promotion AAA, Alberto recently defeated Texano Jr. to become the AAA Heavyweight Champion and is also the first man to win heavyweight championships in AAA, CMLL [as Dos Caras Jr] and in the WWE. He also made a huge surprise appearance at the House of Hardcore 7 show in Philadelphia on November 15.

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Thursday, December 11, 2014

Indy Minute: Your weekly source for independent wrestling news



Indy Minute is back with another week packed with news. If you listened to Ring Rust Radio (which you should by visiting www.ringrustradio.com or www.blogtalkradio.com/ringrustradio) you noticed that the on air version is now called “NXT, Lucha Underground and Indy Wrestling Minutes” but I’m keeping it real and sticking with the original segment name.

NXT TV 12/4
  Charlotte opens NXT TV this week taking on…Mia Yim?! What? I didn’t know Mia was in NXT. Well, I don’t think she’s in NXT, probably just doing enhancement work but it’s cool to see an indy wrestler getting TV time on NXT. I guess Leva Bates (often Mia’s tag team partner) put in a good word for her.
  They start off trading shots but Charlotte quickly hits a neckbreaker followed by Natural Selection for the win in a short match. But as she celebrates with her title, Sasha Banks hits the stage and says Charlotte should just hand over the title because Sasha will just beat her for it anyway.
  Bayley then comes out on a crutch and knee brace and tells Sasha to shut her stupid ratchet face up. Sasha kicks the crutch out and kicks her knee and Charlotte rushes the stage and Sasha runs. Charlotte checks on Bayley and Sasha comes back and tries to attack her but Charlotte sees it coming and picks her up, taking her to the ring screaming”Get me a ref!” Charlotte dumps her in the ring but Becky Lynch distracts her letting Sasha hit Charlotte with the Bank Statement lungblower and poses with the title.
  After a Jingle All the Way 2 commercial (let me just say I hate WWE for ruining the good name of the classic Arnold and Sinbad Christmas movie with Larry the Cable Guy), we get another “Vaudevillains Pictures” presentation. “Fall of the Lucha Dragons” The commissioner calls The Vaudevillains and says The Lucha Dragons are dropping water balloons off city hall! But first, they train! Aiden lifts an old timey barbell (that’s over 1000 pounds!) and Gotch does some lion taming. They find the Mini Dragons on the roof of city hall dropping water balloons and tie their shoes together. And the other end to an anvil. English taps one on the shoulder and gives him the anvil followed by stock footage of a guy falling to earth.
  Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy up next with their terrible dubstep theme music. I don’t know what’s worse - their music or Carmella’s. Rich Brennan says the Vaudevillains shouldn’t look past Blake and Murphy, putting them over as possibly one of the next big tag teams in NXT.
  Blake starts off fast against English but Aiden soon gets the advantage, doing a snap mare and headlock take over into the ropes. He tags in to Gotch and he starts working a leg, tying it up and doing Hindu squats. They tag in and out and stay on Blake’s left leg, keeping him on the mat. Brennan mentions that the Dragons are the only team who have defeated the Vaudevillains, back in the #1 contender tournament.
  Blake finally tags Murphy in after avoiding English trying to knock him off the apron. Murphy knocks down English quickly a few times then knocks Gotch off the apron. Murphy hits a big leg lariat followed by a kip up, English sits up and Murphy hits a low Knees of Meteora for a 2. Blake tries to interfere but gets low bridged out of the ring and the Vaudevillains hit their finisher (was called Gentleman’s Congress but now Brennan called it the Whirling Dervish, Gotch Euro uppercut to the back and English neckbreaker) for the win.
  William Regal in the back talks with Tyler Breeze about how he can’t find Marcus Louis. They haven’t seen him since he walked out of Full Sail. Says they can’t have the rematch tonight but Tyson Kidd walks in and says he wants a rematch against Finn Balor tonight. Regal has an idea - put Hideo Itami and Balor in a match against Breeze and Kidd. As they walk out Kidd says of Breeze’s vest “This better not be cat fur.”
  Bull Dempsey out for a match against Elias Sampson. The crowd starts counting and Bull hits him with a standing splash followed by a diving headbutt for the win. As he walks out, Baron Corbin’s music hits. Dempsey is still on the ramp looking annoyed about Corbin. Corbin walks past Dempsey and doesn’t even acknowledge him. They also say that there will be a preshow for NXT Takeover: R Evolution at 7:30 on Thursday where they have a special announcement about the future of Corey Graves.
  Corbin to take on Steve Cutler. Corbin pins him with the End of Days in just 13 seconds. Dempsey was still out there on the ramp watching and looks pissed as he walks away.
  Then perhaps the best Kevin Owens video package yet. It references how he has fought Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn before WWE but they all got called first before Kevin Owens did. Amazing because WWE used to never acknowledge other wrestling promotions existed and now they’re showing pictures form ROH and PWG matches, basically talking about Owens’ time on the indies. Granted, don’t call him Kevin Steen or Sami El Generico, but everyone knows.
  Tyson Kidd and Tyler Breeze out now to tag against Hideo Itami and Finn Balor. Balor’s entrance is great. Dude really gets the theatric, showmanship element and easily has the in-ring work down.
  Kidd and Itami start. Drake is the ref. (Never thought I’d see Prince Devitt, Kenta and Drake Younger in the same ring) Itami gets the best of a few exchanges and Kidd tags in Breeze. Breeze and Kidd working well together to keep Balor and Itami off balance and out of rhythm. Kidd and Breeze keeping Balor on the mat, tagging in and out quickly. They keep one step ahead, avoiding his offense and keeping him on their side of the ring away from a tag for Itami. Every time he gets close, they pull Balor back toward their corner.
  Balor hits a Pele kick and finally tags in Itami. Kidd tags in Breeze and Itami kicks him into next week. Lots of body kicks followed by a Roderick Strong sick kick and a big basement dropkick in the corner. Kidd breaks up the pin and pulls Itami out of the ring and as Breeze gets to his feet, Balor hits a double stomp from the top rope. Itami breaks away from Kidd and gets back in the ring, and uses a crazy head kick as Breeze is on his knees to knock him out for the win.
  Balor gets on the mic and calls out the Ascension. He tells them to bring all they got because at Takeover: R Evolution, he’s bringing something they’ve never seen before. Which I’d have to assume will be some form of crazy body paint like he used in Japan.
  Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville go face to face to close NXT. Neville comes out in a shirt and tie with the NXT Title. They hype that Neville and Zayn are on Talk is Jericho this week too.
  Neville talks about how he faces his longtime friend next week. Says people think he should feel conflicted but he doesn’t. Because his goal is the same as it’s always been. To win at any cost. Asks if people think he is proud of having to pull the ref out for the win at the last Takeover or win with a quick pin a few weeks ago. Because he says he isn’t. But that is the difference between him and Zayn. That he is prepared to do whatever is necessary and that Zayn lacks that killer instinct. That he lacks an edge. And is why he’ll never be NXT Champion. That Sami is too nice and it’s cost him.
  Neville really soldiering through the Ole chantshere . He says he won’t be held responsible if Sami wants to quit after next week’s match, it won’t be his burden to bear. Sami says he’s been doing a lot of thinking too and a lot of listening. He’s been listening to what Neville has been saying and it’s starting to piss him off. Sami says that Neville has some nerve telling him he’s too nice to win the NXT Championship and that he’s done pretty well for himself doing things his way. That Neville can’t tell him how to live his life and that Neville won’t decide his fate, he will.
  Neville tries to shake his hand saying he respects Sami more than maybe anyone else on the planet and that it will be an honor and privilege to face him next week. But Sami won’t shake his hand. That this is where he goes wrong trying to be the good guy. This isn’t about respect and Sami asks if he understands. Neville shakes his head and Sami slaps him and yells “Do you understand that!?” Sami storms off yelling that he will end Neville and his story and he will take that title at Takeover.

  In another interesting NXT, New Japan Pro Wrestling top star “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada recently started following NXT on Twitter. I seriously doubt that Okada would ever jump ship to WWE considering the magnitude of his popularity in Japan but it’s interesting none-the-less. I’d probably just chalk it up to wanting to keep up on guys like Devitt and Kenta now that they are getting more popularity in NXT.


Lucha Underground, Episode 6
  Big Ryck is in Dario Cueto’s office as the episode begins. He has apparently signed an exclusive contract to work for Cueto, who brought in Mundo to make an example of him. That he doesn’t care about reputation. That violence is his favorite kind of entertainment and with Ryck, things are about to get a whole lot more entertaining.
  Ivelisse and Son of Havoc (Matt Cross) are in the ring to start the show. Ivelisse says ever since Havoc has been in LU, he’s been made a joke of. That his first match he wrestled a woman and last week he wrestled half a man. She says if they knew that they would be jokes they wouldn’t have signed a seven year contract (7?! Optimistic aren’t they?) to fight in LU and that they’d be living in Nashville (an obvious allusion to TNA). Havoc gets the mic and challenges anyone to come down to the ring if they have the balls and fight him man to man.
  His opponent appears at the top of the stairs - and it’s Pimpinela Escarlata, an exotico like Cassandro. Striker references several wrestlers who had “effeminate” gimmicks and includes The Miz in that list.
  Pimpinela gets in the ring and starts to back Ivelisse ito the corner with his dancing and Havoc hits him from behind. Pimpinela hits him with a few vicious chops and gets knuckle lock on Havoc and struts on the top rope before splashing Ivelisse. Pimpinela goes to run the ropes and jumps over Havoc once but then gets tripped up on a low bridge during his flamboyant running, perhaps the only time a low bridge has worked in wrestling.
  Havoc takes control, hits a big chop and a flying forearm in the corner. Pimpinela avoids the second forearm and hits a big arm drag from the top and then a rolling senton off the apron to the floor. Chops his back and sends Havoc back in.
 Pimpinela hits a big missile drop kick off the top. He rushes in and Havoc hip toss into the corner for a two. Havoc sends him in the corner and Pimpinela tries to float over the top but misses the apron and hits the floor hard, shaking out his shoulder and elbow. Ivelisse puts the boots to him and Havoc does his MDogg20 holding-himself-on-the ring-post-and-drops-an-elbow spot. (Vampiro says brother an awful lot, just noticing)
  Havoc rolls him back in the ring, Pimpinela holding his left arm close to his body. Havoc hits a cartwheel into a back elbow but Pimpinela ducks a springboard crossbody. Havoc tries to roll him up in a sunset flip, Ivelisse slaps him to get his hands off the ropes but Havoc only gets a 2. Pimpy (as they start calling him on commentary) hits a hip toss on Havoc and a hip toss on Ivelisse when she tries to interfere then Mascarita Sagrada runs out and starts to chase Ivelisse around and they roll into the ring.
  Sagrada runs through the legs of Havoc and distracts him and Pimpinela plants a kiss on Havoc (his finisher apparently) and gets the pin.
  Cueto is in the bathroom and Johnny Mundo assaults him. Mundos says no matter how many times he sends Big Ryck to attack him, he’s going to pick himself up and come kick Cueto’s ass. Cueto says he can make it right and Mundo says things haven’t been right since he gave away his 100 grand. Cueto says he can get him the money but if he hurts him, Mundo gets nothing. Then Mundo takes the necklace from his neck (with what looks like a key on it) for insurance.
  In the ring, Famous B is set to take on Mil Muertes. Muertes again attacks his opponent before the bell as B tries to hype up the crowd. Mil takes the refs attention and Catrina snaps B’s head over the ropes. Mil levels B with a spear and hits a flatliner for the win. Mil holds up B and Catrina licks his face, “the lick of death” as Striker calls it.
  Next, Drago already in the ring to take on King Cuerno. Cuerno attacked Drago last week after his match with Mil since Cuerno was pissed Drago beat him in his debut. Did a short video package on Drago about dragons, how they were hunted to extinction until one rose as a man.
  Cuerno starts the match fast taking Drago off his feet with a big dropkick. Drago having to use his speed and quick moves to counter the high-impact moves of Cuerno. Show some Asian chick in the crowd, coming through the crowd to watch these two then turns and leaves. No mention of who it is. Drago nearly got the pin with a crazy pin combo but Cuerno kicks out then takes out Drago with a big dive to the outside. Cuero throws him back in and hits the DVD into a Falcon Arrow which Striker called The Thrill of the Hunt. After Cuerno’s hand is raised he keeps attacking Drago and yells in his face “The hunt has just begun!”
  Mundo is in the ring with the key around his neck he took from Cueto. He says Cueto owes him $100,000 and that he has until the count of 10 to get out there and pay him. Big Ryck comes out and interrupts him. Ryck says that ring belongs to him and unless he wants to go through another table he should get the hell out…but can’t say anymore because Mundo hits him with a dive.
  He gets in the ring again and continues the count but this time Konnan interrupts him from the top of the stairs. He says Mundo owes that money to Prince Puma since it’s Mundo’s fault Puma is the target of attacks and will no longer have Mundo’s back. Ryck attacks Mundo from behind but Puma appears and takes out Ryck with a dropkick. Vampiro really hates Konnan and says he’s a snake and that Puma is right to question him. Puma and Mundo have words then start punching each other as the Crenshaw Crew takes Ryck to the back as officials come out to pull Mundo and Puma apart.
  Cueto shows up with a briefcase and says he has Mundo’s money in it. That it was supposed to be Ryck’s signing bonus but Ryck didn’t read the fine print. That Ryck has to earn it. And next week there will be a three way ladder match for that $100,000.
  In the main event, Chavo and Pentagon Jr take on Sexy Star and Fenix. All four start brawling in the ring. Star drop kicks Chavo out and Pentagon throws Star out to let Fenix and Pentagon start going at it.
  Now with some order restored, Chavo and Fenix work in the ring with Chavo taking advantage first, keeping Fenix down with a chinlock but soon, Fenix get some momentum up, hits a drop kick and tags in Star. She nails him with a few kicks but he takes her off her feet with a big shoulder block. Chavo drags her by the hair to her corner and tags in Pentagon who stomps on her throat in their corner then tags Chavo back in.
 She creates space, hits Chavo then tags in Fenix. Fenix hits a few big strikes but Chavo soon puts him down and puts the boots to him. Vampiro says Chavo is a bastard and a snake like his father was. Pretty harsh words from Vampiro.
  Chavo and Pentagon keep Fenix in the ring, tagging in and out to keep them fresh and keep Fenix down. He finally tags in Star who knocks down Chavo and Pentagon, stomps Chavo in the corner and headscissors Pentagon. Chavo tries to lock in a crab on Star and Fenix stomps his back from the top but as he rolls through, Pentagon overhead suplexes him into the corner. Star is up and hits a crazy, lots of rotations tilt-a-whirl DDT on Pentagon sending him outside, takes to the top rope and corkscrew plancha him from the top.
  Star tries a cross body on Chavo in the ring but gets caught and planted on the mat. Chavo goes up for the frog splash but Fenix pushes him off. Star and Fenix take down Pentagon and Fenix nails him with a double knee drop from the top rope and Star gets the pin. Chavo looked on the whole time and didn’t try to make the save. But Vamp and Striker say that Star still wants to get revenge on Chavo for Blue Demon.

  In other lucha libre news, El Patron Alberto (Alberto Del Rio) became the AAA Mega Campeon (Heavyweight champion) at Guerra de Titanes over the weekend, defeating Texano Jr. The win makes ADR the first ma to hold top championships in WWE, AAA and CMLL (where he won the heavyweight title as Dos Caras Jr.). His win also ended the 735 day reign of Texano Jr.  


  Jon Jones, current UFC Lightheavyweight Champion took a shot at CM Punk on Twitter the other day. Not a direct one, granted, but his tweet was an obvious jab at the former WWE Champion and new UFC fighter.



  Mark Andrews won Season 2 of TNA British Boot Camp. Andrews worked in the Chikara King of Trios this year (with Damien and Peter Dunne), defeating The Bloc Party in the first round before losing to eventual champions The Devastation Corporation. Andrews beat out finalists Kay Lee Ray, El Ligero, Nikki Storm, Kris Travis, Rampage Brown and Noam Dar to win a contract in TNA and has worked for Progress Wrestling and ATTACK Pro Wrestling in Britain.


Chikara
Season 14 finale “Tomorrow Never Dies”
  Chikara returned to the ECW Arena (now the 2300 Arena) this past Saturday and I was there. It was their Season 14 finale and their first event back in The Arena since it reopened and I didn’t want to miss it.
  Unfortunately, I did miss some of it. The website listed the show starting at 7:30 and when I showed up at 7:30, I found that I had already missed the Young Lion’s Cup match between Heidi Lovelace and Missile Assault Ant and the German suplex match between “Smooth Sailing” Ashley Remington and Juan Francisco de Coronado. I only realized this after they went to intermission and started setting up the cage for the main event too, so I was kinda annoyed. Lovelace won the YLC and Remington defeated Coronado.

Eddie Kingston vs Jimmy Jacobs
Grudge match
 When I arrived, Eddie Kingston versus Jimmy Jacobs was already in progress. Kingston won with after hitting the Backfist to the Future twice. Volgar, Jacob’s right-hand-man, interfered a bunch too but that didn’t stop the War King from picking up the win.
  After the match, Kid Cyclone came to the ring but instead of celebrating the win, he attacked Kingston with a pipe wrench. He blamed the fans for the attack, saying everyone is bloodthirsty and cheers Kingston for doing the same things they are booing him for. Also, he’s upset about everyone calling him a coward for running from Deucalion a few shows ago.
  Cyclone said that Kingston is just the top of a long list of wrongs he wants to make right. He didn’t want to have to see his friends in the Greenhorn Militia die and he never wanted to wear a cape or a mask. He said he was bucking tradition and unmasks himself and says he never wanted to be Kid Cyclone because he is Kevin Condron and that’s who he will be. As he leaves, he gives the wrench to Lithuanian Snow Troll who looks confused but then follows him out. (I gotta believe the pipe wrench is some sort of allusion to BioShock and the influence that Snow Troll is/was under)

The Throwbacks vs The Devastation Corporation
Two out of three falls for the Campeonatos de Parejas
  Next up, The Throwbacks defend the Campeonatos de Parejas against The Devastation Corporation. Dev Corp looks like they have new tights as well as some crazy looking Shredder-esque mask entrance gear.
  This was a good match but took a little bit to get started. Dev Corp got the first fall on Mr. Touchdown with the Deathblow as Sydney Bakabella holds Dasher Hatfield’s legs, preventing him from making the save. The Throwbacks get the second fall when Mr. Touchdown pins Axe Smashmaster with a mahistrol cradle.
  Later in the match, Dasher Hatfield actually kicked out of a Death Blow, which I don’t think anyone has done yet. The Throwbacks then look like they have the titles won after hitting a 3D off the top rope, but Bakabella blocks Barber’s arm from hitting the mat for the three to save the Dev Corp. Mr. Touchdown grabs Bakabella by the hair and wants to punch him, but he jumps from the apron and Touchdown rips his toupee off. After that, Smashermaster picks up Touchdown on his shoulder and Blaster McMassive hits a top rope elbow drop onto him in a kind of crazy Doomsday Device variation and the Devastation Corporation are the new Campeonatos de Parejas.

Ultramantis Black vs Delirious
Loser Leaves Chikara
  In what was probably my favorite match of the night, Delirious faced Ultramantis Black in a “loser leaves Chikara” match. Delirious looked extra evil, in a long black robe, sporting black and green body paint with the words “Delirious never dies” on his back. In a weird twist, there was almost no heat to start this match because I’m pretty sure no one wanted to boo either guy.
  Ultramantis has been around since the early days of Chikara and the fans really love him, but Delirious is a great wrestler and has also endeared himself to the fans as well. It was tough to say who was the face and heel too, considering the story behind it.
  Ultramantis Black used the Eye of Tyr to control the mind of Delirious during the original BDK run and once Delirious broke free of Ultramantis’ mind control, he promised to take the years from Ultramantis that were taken from him. So while Delirious looked the part of the heel, his actions are really justified in wanting revenge on Ultramantis for mind controlling him.
  This was an awesome match, where both guys went all out from the get out. They both teased clotheslining Barber before Delirious actually does it. Afterward, Mantis hit a crazy looking cradle suplex but no one was there to count it. Delirious uses Mantis’ staff against him, and the skull went flying into the crowd, which looked great but I can’t imagine was planned. After that, Delirious hits Mantis with a Tiger Driver and Derek Sabato runs in to a chorus of boos but it’s only a two-count.
  Ultramantis won the match with a Tiger Driver and afterward, Hallowicked and Frightmare come out to raise his hand and celebrate. Delirious leaves ringside but soon returns with what looks like the Eye of Tyr! He puts it to Hallowicked’s head and he freezes while Frightmare grabs his head and starts thrashing around. This is all behind Mantis’ back and when he turns around, Hallowicked hits him with a big boot and he and Frightmare leave as Delirious laughs at Ultramantis.
  After this match, Gavin Loudspeaker announces Chikara will return for the Season 15 debut back in the ECW Arena on January 25. You might also notice that is the day of the WWE Royal Rumble in Philadelphia. Bell time for the show is 2 p.m.

Torneo Cibernetico
  I lost track of the eliminations in this since there were so many guys in the match and things were happening so fast. But this was probably my second favorite match of the night. Lots of great action and lots of teasing of the confrontation between Soldier Ant and his former Colony mates, Silver Ant and Fire Ant.
  Before Chikara was shut down, Wink Vavasuer moved Soldier Ant out of The Colony and replaced him with deviAnt, who became Worker Ant. As Chikara kept changing, Soldier became more disillusioned with the company and eventually walked out – only to reappear this season alongside The Flood.
  Soldier looked really strong in this match. The final four were Silver and Fire Ant against Jakob Hammermeier and Soldier Ant. Silver and Fire won’t fight Soldier when they get the chance and Silver even yells at him “I don’t want to hurt you!” at one point, only to be taken out by a big haymaker from Jakob. Then Fire Ant pinned Jakob with an Air Raid Crash. Fire Ant actually speaks and tells Soldier to wake up, to which Soldier Ant responded by grabbing him by the throat and chokeslamming him to win the Cibernetico.

Icarus vs Deucalion
Steel cage grudge match
  I don’t know if I had too high of expectations for this match, but I wasn’t very impressed with this one. Icarus has been doing well in his role as top face in Chikara (even though I think he’s better as a heel), but this match just fell flat for a number of reasons.
  For one, I don’t know how many matches Deucalion has worked before but he looked sloppy, slow and almost lost in there against Icarus. His whole gimmick is supposed to be a monster killing machine but he didn’t have much impressive offense besides throwing Icarus around. Also, I don’t think he should have ever been unmasked or taken off his combat gear. Whereas he once looked like a menacing, unfeeling killing machine, now he just looks like some dude. All his mystique was lost, in my opinion.
  Deucalion came to the ring with all the masks of wrestlers he’s killed strung together. Icarus came to the ring with Estonian Thunderfrog’s hammer and the Grand Championship, which isn’t on the line in the match. It should have been, if you ask me.
  Icarus and Deucalion just didn’t click in this one. They started using cage spots just a few minutes in, which kinda showed just how little Deucalion could really do in the ring since they didn’t even tease using the cage and just went right to it. Another telling factor in how this match kinda flopped was that the most heat from the crowd came when Deucalion teased hitting Bryce with the chokebreaker. Which, admittedly, would have been the worst thing to ever happen (I was even wearing my “Da Bryce is Right” shirt so you know I would have been devastated), but still – in a match with such build, such big implications, and the end to a season-long feud, for the biggest moment to come from the ref being threatened tells you just how little people actually cared about Icarus vs Deucalion.
  There were a couple cool spots, like a big hurricanrana from the top rope and the finish, where Icarus reversed a chokebreaker into a Chikara Special for the win. During the match, the Chikara Heroes came out to ringside to lead the crowd in cheers and chants and after the match, The Flood came to ringside. Jacobs blocked Deucalion from leaving and got on the mic and yelled at Deucalion, “You made your bed now you die in it!” followed by Icarus killing him with Thunderfrog’s hammer. (Yes, Chikara’s top face killed a guy with a hammer.)
  Overall, “Tomorrow Never Dies” was a pretty good show. The wrestling was good and there was lots of set up for the next season with Devastation Corporation winning the tag belts, Kevin Condron turning on Chikara, Hallowicked and Frightmare turned by Delirious and The Flood still around but losing their monstrous leader. I saw a post online about Jacobs being a great parallel to Starscream and that’s totally accurate. He wants control of the Flood and turned on the leader, much like Starscream would sell out Megatron any chance he got to lead the Decepticons.
  Also, apparently there was an “after the credits” secret scene which showed a picture of a frog wearing a cape set to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.” Could the Estonian Thunderfrog be coming back from the dead somehow!? Man, I hope so.

  Also during the show, Chikara announced that they are touring the United Kingdom in April, their first shows in the UK. The tour starts with two nights in Wolverhampton on April 3 and 4. The next night they are in Cardiff followed by the final show in London on April 6. Check out more information at http://www.chikarauktour.com/.

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Monday, November 17, 2014

Hardcore comes home – House of Hardcore debuts at the ECW Arena


On Saturday, November 15, Tommy Dreamer’s promotion House of Hardcore made its debut in the building that Extreme Championship Wrestling made famous – the ECW Arena in South Philadelphia. Despite several announced wrestlers not being able to compete on House of Hardcore 7, the fans in the sold out crowd got their money’s worth with numerous unexpected wrestlers appearing and putting on an amazing show from top to bottom.

I was lucky enough to score front row tickets to House of Hardcore 7 and I’m glad I did because it was a show I won’t soon forget. I say “lucky” because the Arena was packed – I haven’t seen that many people in the ECW Arena since CZW’s Cage of Death 4 or 5, which was about 10 years ago at this point (I was too young to have gone to ECW in its prime). The show was a complete sell-out with an additional 200 standing room tickets sold at the door.

I’ve been to several shows at the Arena since it reopened (an Extreme Rising show in Dec. ’13 and Masked Mania in April) but neither had crowds as big as House of Hardcore 7.

Despite several wrestlers having to pull out of the show at the last minute, House of Hardcore 7 was still an amazing show – perhaps even better than the originally announced card. Davey Richards (with Eddie Edwards, who were to face Killer Elite Squad), Jigsaw (to take on Eddie Kingston) and Ethan Carter the 3rd (who was to face Tommy Dreamer) all were unable to compete at HOH 7.

Also, Matt Striker, former WWE Superstar who now does commentary for Lucha Underground, was on commentary for House of Hardcore 7 with another commentator.

Danny Doring opened the show taking on the first surprise of the night – Stevie Richards, who was dressed in full bWo attire! Richards got the win with a Steviekick and got a great reaction from the hot crowd and plenty of “Welcome back” chants. During intermission, I saw Blue Meanie at the merch table and I was a little surprised we didn’t see him during the actual show with Stevie.

In the next match, Christian York defeated Brian Myers, formerly WWE Superstar Curt Hawkins, with a swinging neckbreaker. This was another really solid match with some big moments, like York hitting a moonsault off the guardrail. After the match, Myers got on the mic and said he wasn’t leaving until he got another match. All of a sudden, Ricardo Rodriguez in full tuxedo appeared from the entrance way and the crowd couldn’t believe it.

Alberto Del Rio surprises the crowd
at House of Hardcore 7. Photo by Joe Arcidiacono.
Ricardo got to the ring to introduce “Albertoooooo” and the crowd finished “DEL RIOOOOO” and the recently released WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio, now known as El Patron Alberto, made his first ever appearance in the former ECW Arena. I’m also pretty sure it was the first appearance Del Rio has made in America since leaving WWE. Del Rio looked genuinely thrilled to be in the ECW Arena and said that in HOH “we aren’t sports entertainers but f***ing wrestlers!” Myers went for a sneak attack but Del Rio caught him in a cross arm breaker which sent Myers running to the back. Del Rio got a great reaction from the packed crowd at HOH and it would be amazing to see him actually work a match in the former ECW Arena someday.

Next up was a six-man match between three guys who I think are House of Hardcore students (Anthony Greene, Vik Dalishus and Ben Ortiz) and Team Tremendous with Little Guido (another surprise appearance). There wasn’t much heat at the start of this match, as it seemed not many were familiar with Team Tremendous or the opposing team. But the crowd quickly got into it because these six guys tore the roof off the ECW Arena. Even the ref got involved. Carr hit a big tope con hilo over the top rope followed by Dan Barry hitting a dive of his own. Guido set up for a dive but the ref, who was getting pushed around by Greene, Ortiz and Delishus all night, stopped him and hit a moonsault from the top rope to the floor. I might be a little biased but Team Tremendous really stole the show with their double team maneuvers and mix of high flying (though it was odd seeing Bill Carr with his hair cut short). Tremendous and Guido got the win when Guido rolled up Greene.

Eddie Edwards and Eddie Kingston had to follow the six-man match and though their match was really good and really hard-hitting, I think the crowd was still overwhelmed by the tag match and never really got behind this match. Kingston came out to what sounded like a cover of “Walk” by Pantera then laughed at all the fans who thought it might be Rob Van Dam. Edwards tapped Kingston with a single leg Boston Crab. I also read that Kingston injured his ribs in this match after Edwards hit a series of topes through the ropes which caught Kingston hard in the chest.

Following this match was a three way dance elimination match between Lance Anoaia, Alex Reynolds, and Tony Nese. Anoaia was dressed exactly like one of the Uso brothers in WWE and was getting “Uuu-Sooo” chants all match long and eventually was starting them himself. Lots of high flying and big spots in this match. Anoaia was eliminated first and Nese earned the win with a reverse hurricanrana from the top rope.

After that, Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr.) hit the ring. They cut a promo about how Davey Richards has a tummy-ache, which is carny for “he’s too scared to fight.” I had been wondering who the replacement team would be, but I never expected it would Bully Ray and D-Von, The Dudley Boyz! The Dudleys got a huge pop from the crowd with “Welcome back” and “Get the tables” chants. Bully got on the mic and said KES was in the wrong place at the wrong time and for some reason the crowd started a “We want fire” chant, which Bully explained to them meant “They want us to douse you in lighter fluid and set you on fire and since this is Philadelphia, they mean it!” 

The Dudley Boyz return to the ECW Arena! Photo by Joe Arcidiacono.

This match was a crazy brawl all over ringside and though KES are the current NWA World tag team champions, they never stood a chance against the Dudleys in the ECW Arena. Bully Ray and D-Von hit both Archer and Smith with 3Ds and put Archer through a table for the win. Afterward when the fans were chanting “Welcome back,” Bully Ray got on the mic and said “Don’t welcome back Team 3D…welcome back The Dudley Boyz!” With Bully Ray out of TNA and the future of that company still up in the air, it was an interesting thing for Bully to say and we’ll have to wait and see what’s next for The Dudley Boyz.

After this was intermission and Ricardo Rodriguez and Alberto Del Rio took pictures with the fans in the ring and even shook hands with people at ringside. It was such a huge surprise to see them there, I still almost don’t believe it.

After intermission, in the first of three main events, Austin Aries faced the man who accepted his open challenge – former WWE Superstar Drew Galloway. The Scottish wrestler has been making waves in the world of independent wrestling since leaving WWE, winning the ICW Heavyweight Championship as well as the Evolve Championship. Aries was giving up a considerable amount of weight and height to Galloway and it showed as Galloway battered Aries for most of the match. But Aries didn’t back down in this hard-hitting match, using his speed to keep Galloway off balance and eventually earned the win with a brain buster.

TNA Champion Bobby Roode put his
title on the line at House of Hardcore 7.
Photo by Joe Arcidiacono.
In the second main event, Tommy Dreamer was originally slated to face TNA star EC3. With Dreamer was his wife, Beulah McGillicutty, and this was advertised as her final appearance in professional wrestling. Since EC3 suffered an injury (or pulled out of the event, if you read his Twitter, because he hates marks) and wasn’t able to compete but Dreamer pulled some strings and got another completely unexpected surprise wrestler – TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode!

Before the match, Roode said there was no one who deserved a title shot as much as Tommy and put the belt on the line in an old school extreme rules match. While there wasn’t many crazy spots in this match, Roode was only the first of many surprises. After brawling inside the ring and out, Velvet Sky ran to the ring and low-blowed Dreamer which prompted Beulah into the ring and we have a cat fight on our hands! Soon after, CW Anderson runs in to attack Dreamer and stands over him until “Enter Sandman” plays and the crowd explodes as Sandman makes his way to the ring with a beer and trademark Singapore cane. He cracks the beer and hits Anderson with the cane once but CW ducks another swing and puts down Sandman with a superkick. But right after, “Highway to Hell” hits and Spike Dudley (sporting a bald head) runs to the ring and hits Anderson with the Acid Drop. Not long after, Rosita hits Dreamer with a moonsault but he no sells it and piledrives her. Roode retains the TNA title after all the shenanigans with a DVD onto a barb wire board.

Afterward, Dreamer cut a short promo on how the last few weeks of TNA have been some of the best wrestling on TV and that this show couldn’t have happened if TNA didn’t allow Dreamer to use their guys. He also said how he was born in Yonkers but Tommy Dreamer was born in the ECW Arena. Beulah even said a few words about how she truly appreciates all the love she’s gotten from the fans over the years and will never forget it. They even brought out their twin daughters and Dreamer told them this is the building where he met their mom. It was a really great moment.

In the main event, the Young Bucks took on the Hardy Boyz in an outstanding match. The crowd was split for both teams and were chanting nonstop for both teams. Both teams went all out and it was easily one of the best matches I’ve seen in a long time. The Hardys hit a More Bang For Your Buck sequence of their own and the Bucks even did a Twist of Fate/Swanton sequence and there were too many superkicks to count – including a crazy superkick to Jeff Hardy as he did a headstand on the ropes.


The Young Bucks won the match with a More Bang For Your Buck and afterward, the Hardys wanted a handshake as a show of respect. The fans booed it, perhaps sensing what was to come, but the Bucks accepted. Sure enough, the Hardys tried to kick the Bucks but both ate superkicks. That brought out the Dudley Boyz who attacked the Bucks and hit them both with a 3D. Bully Ray started putting over the Bucks, saying it’s obvious the crowd loves them but if there’s one thing he won’t stand for, especially in the ECW Arena, it’s disrespect (a point I didn’t get cause the Bucks won, went to shake hands, the Hardys were the ones who doublecrossed them on the show of respect but somehow the Bucks were being disrespectful?).

But Bully segued into how great a promotion HOH has become and said it’s because of the fans – that the fans want something different and they are giving it to them. Dreamer also talked about wanting to do more HOH shows next year, maybe 8 instead of just 4, and even hinted at trying to get on TV. The night ended with wrestlers filling the ring and drinking beers – provided by Sandman, of course.

Sandman, the Hardys, Tommy Dreamer and the Dudleys share a beer. Photo by Joe Arcidiacono.

Overall, House of Hardcore 7 was an incredible show. The wrestling was great, the atmosphere was amazing and the surprises kept everyone on the edge of their seats because you never knew what might happen next. It was a night filled with numerous memorable moments and great athletic performances which is exactly what professional wrestling is all about.

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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Indy Minute - Weekly independent wrestling news round up



 Welcome back to the Delco Elbow Drop for another round of the extended Indy Minute, all the indy news from Ring Rust Radio’s “NXT and Indy Minute” segment plus a whole lot more. There’s a ton of news on the slate for this week so let’s get right into it!

  On NXT TV, the Vaudevillains defeated the team of Bully Dempsey and Mojo Rawley in the NXT tag title number one contender’s tournament and after the loss, Dempsey attacked Rawley. The smarks in the NXT live crowd were actually cheering Bull while he beat down Mojo, making Triple H hate them even more, no doubt.
  Bayley defeated Sasha Banks to become the number one contender for the NXT Women’s title. After the match, Charlotte met Bayley on the stage and offered a handshake, which Bayley was tentative to accept. She raised Bayley’s hand in victory, though it seemed more a gesture to get into Sasha’s head than to congratulate Bayley.
  Sin Cara and Kalisto defeated Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy to advance in the tag tournament. In the next round, the Vaudevillains will face Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady while Sin Cara and Kalisto will face Sami Zayn and Adam Rose. Even if this tournament doesn’t result in new tag team champions (though I hope it does), it’s at least helped build a number of credible tag teams in NXT. Not sure why The Mechanics, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, or the Legionnaires, Sylvester LaFort and Marcus Louis, weren’t a part of the tournament, though.
  In the main event, Tyler Breeze challenged Adrian Neville for the NXT championship but Tyson Kidd interfered, pushing Neville from the top rope. He then attacked Neville, but Breeze attacked Kidd for ruining his title match, leading to a brawl between all three me and it seems like they’re setting up for a triple threat title match at NXT Takeover 2 on September 11.

ACH posted this pic of Steve Corino in full
baseball gear to his Instagram before Field of Honor
  Ring of Honor “Field of Honor” results
  Jay Lethal retained TV title in a cage match against Matt Taven after Truth Martini slammed the cage door on Taven’s head.
  Mark Briscoe defeated Watanabe
  Moose and RD Evans defeated Brutal Burgers (Bob Evans and Cheeseburger)
  Michael Bennett defeated Rocky Romero
  The Decade defeated 3 ROH students (Will Ferrara, Ken Phoenix and John Knockout). Afterward, Hanson attacked the Decade.
  Silas Young defeated Tommaso Ciampa with a foreign object. Afterward, Ciampa slapped the ref and then acted sorry about it, only to hit him with Project Ciampa/
  Cedric Alexander defeated ACH. Reportedly, ACH took a nasty looking neck bump which went right into the finish of the match. ACH was able to leave under his own power and people were worried he was more injured than he let on but he allegedly wrestled the following night so it seems like he’s OK.
  The Ring of Honor tag team champions reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) retained against Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian). The Decade interfered to break up a sure win for Bad Influence.
  There was also said to be a full blown baseball game between ROH staff before the show, since the event was held at MCU Park in Brooklyn.

  Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor weekend is this Friday and Saturday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago Ridge, Illinois. Michael Elgin defends the World title against Silas Young on Night One and Tommaso Ciampa on Night Two. AJ Styles and the Young Bucks will also be in action on both nights.

Death Before Dishonor XII, Milwaukee, WI (8/22)
ROH World title match
Micahel Elgin vs Silas Young
AJ Styles vs Kyle O’Reilly
The Young Bucks vs The Briscoes
Jimmy Jacobs vs Tommaso Ciampa
Bad Influence vs The Kingdom (Adam Cole/Michael Bennett)
Also, Adam Pearce makes his ROH return

Death Before Dishonor XII, Chicaco Ridge, IL (8/23)
ROH World title match
Michael Elgin vs Tommaso Ciampa
4 team elimination match
The Briscoes vs Bad Influence vs The Young Bucks vs reDRagon
Adam Cole vs Hanson
AJ Styles vs Cedric Alexander
Jay Lethal vs Caprice Coleman
Adam Pearce is also scheduled to appear on this show as well

  The Meltz is reporting (so you know it’s true) that New Japan Pro Wrestling is very pleased with their relationship with Ring of Honor so far and are considering having the ROH title defended at their biggest show of the year, WrestleKingdom, in January. This story will be interesting to watch since word is New Japan passed on using current ROH champ Michael Elgin for the final show of the G1 Climax. ROH’s Final Battle is December 7, a few weeks before WrestleKingdom, which might mean a title change is in store if Elgin is still the champion.

  Ring of Honor’s Raymond Rowe suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle accident last week and will be out of action for the foreseeable future. In addition to bruises and lacerations, Rowe suffered a broken arm that will require surgery and rehab to heal. No date is known for his return.
  This is bad news for War Machine (Rowe’s tag team with Hanson), who seemed to be entering into a feud with the Briscoes. The two teams had a crazy brawl at the TV tapings I went to recently and it looks like that will need to be put on hold for now. In the meantime, it looks like ROH is setting up Hanson to feud with The Decade.

  Alberto Del Rio was at AAA’s “Triplemania” on Sunday and even came out to his WWE theme music because apparently Mexico doesn’t care about copyright laws (Lance Storm tweeted about this too, surprised ADR used his WWE theme and that La Parka entered to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”). ADR, who will now be known as El Patron, or Alberto Patron or something along those lines, cut a promo on the racism he encountered while working in America and how he is too proud of his country and heritage to look past it. It looks like AAA will be his home for the foreseeable future, though I’ve read that WWE is trying to extend his no compete clause from 90 days to one full year.

  Some more recent indy results:
  Ricochet defeated Drew Gulak to become the first House of Glory champion. Next show, “The Movement” is Sept 19.
  HOG is a promotion and wrestling school in Ridgewood, NY run by Amazing Red, Brian XL and Quiet Storm.
  Brian XL defeated JT Dunn
  Ricochet defeated Marq Quen
  Drew Gulak defeated Shane Strickland
  Anthony Gangone defeated Dan Maff
  Drew Gulak defeated Brian XL
  Ricochet defeated Anthony Gangone
  Smiley won an over the top elimination rumble to become #1 contender
  Ricochet defeated Drew Gulak become the first House of Glory champion

  At Chikara’s “Permis De Tuer” in Quebec City, Quebec on 8/16:
  The Osirian Portal defeated The Spectral Envoy, Jaka and Qefka and The Belliveau Brothers in a four-way tag team match
  “Smooth Sailing” Ashley Remington defeated Kodama
  Silver Ant defeated Proletriat Boar of Moldova
  The Shard defeated Eddie Kingston by DQ
  After this match, Decualion, The Flood’s monster heel, killed Proud Oak with a Chokebreaker and the Flood took away the Snow Troll in chains.
  Juan Francisco de Coronado defeated Archibald Peck
  3.0. defeated The Colony: Xtreme Force
  Chikara Grand Champion Icarus, Chikara Camponetos de Parejas The Throwbacks (Mr. Touchdown and Dasher Hatfield) and The Colony defeated The Flood (Jimmy Jacobs, Axe Smashmaster, Flex Rumblecrunch, Nokken and 17) in the main event

  Just wanted to note – several Chikara characters have been “killed” so far this season, which is a big departure from the light-hearted fare that Chikara usually presents. The first to be killed off by Deucalion was the demon Kobald but since then DeviANT, Estonian Thunderfrog and Latvian Proud Oak have also been killed off by Deucalion’s Chokebreaker. Additionally, the BDK’s Tursas was also killed off by Estonian Thunderfrog’s magic hammer. Hopefully some of these guys make their return at some point and being that this is Chikara, anything is possible. Out of all those lost, Thunderfrog was one of my favorites and I really hope they bring him back somehow.

The Flood's monster heel/leader Deucalion stands over the broken body of Kobald
  At Chikara’s “Vivre Et Laisser Mourir” in Montreal, Quebec on 8/17:
  The Colony defeated Los Ice Creams, the McGoths and the Osirian Portal in a four-way, elimination tag match
  Nokken defeated Kodama
  Chuck Taylor defeated “Smooth Sailing” Ashley Remington
  3Peck0 (3.0 and Archibald Peck) defeated The Wrecking Crew (Axe Smashmaster, Blaster McMassive and Flex Rumblecrunch. New name I guess, I thought they were the Devastation Corporation)
  Jimmy Jacobs defeated Silver Ant via DQ, when Eddie Kingston attacked Jacobs
  Gekido and Colony Xtreme Force defeated The Throwbacks (Mr. Touchdown and Dasher Hatfield)  and the Spectral Envoy (Ultramantis and Hallowicked)
Icarus defeated Juan Francisco de Coronado to retain the Grand Championship

  Several independent promotions have shows coming up:
  Mike Chiari’s favorite promotion Empire State Wrestling is hosting “Meltdown” on August 23 in North Tonawanda, New York. Johnny Gargano, Sonjay Dutt and a “mystery former WWE Superstar” are scheduled for the show.

  Also on August 23, Combat Zone Wrestling is hosting “Heat” in Voorhees, New Jersey and live on iPPV where Biff Busick will defend the CZW title against the returning Joker.

  Johnny Gargano tweeted he’s wrestling Candice LeRae at Absolute Intense Wrestling on Sept 6 (Wrestle Rager Sept. 5-7, Turners Hall, Cleveland, Ohio). Also scheduled are Colt Cabana, Michael Elgin, Eddie Kingston, Tracy Smothers, and Cliff Compton

  2CW in Rome, NY on Sept 12
Matt Hardy challenges Capt. Nick Ando for 2CW Heavyweight Championship
Young Bucks vs Dave and Jake Crist (OI4K)

  Quintessential Pro Wrestling has a show in Las Vegas on September 13
 
  Evolve 34 and 35 will be on Sept 13-14

  PWS “All Fired Up” on Sept 20
Rahway, NJ
Ricky “Dragon” Steamboat to be special guest commissioner

  C4 in Ottowa, Ontario, Canada Season 8 starts Sept 27

  FWE “ReFueled” on October 3-4, also on iPPV, Brookyln, NY
Scheduled for October 3 is:
Young Bucks vs Bad Influence
Trent? vs Drew Galloway (If Trent is recovered from knee surgery)
Adrenaline Express vs Tony Nese and Jigsaw
FWE Women’s Champion Maria Kanellis special guest on commentary

Scheduled for October 4 is:
FWE tag team championship, TLC match
Bucks vs Bad Influence vs Adrenaline Express (c) vs Tony Nese and Jigsaw
Drew Galloway vs Tommy Dreamer
FWE women’s championship
Maria Kanellis vs Ivelisse Velez
Trent? vs Rich Swann (Again, if Trent is recovered from knee surgery)

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An avid gamer and long-time pro wrestling fan, stay tuned to Grizzly Gaming and the Delco Elbow Drop for game reviews and pro wrestling news.

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