Wednesday Wrestling Minutes - Your Weekly Source for NXT, Lucha Underground, Ring of Honor and Independent Wrestling News

NXT

NXT TV, Nov 4

Apollo Crews vs Finn Balor NXT title match tonight. 

Asuka makes her way to the ring first. Man her music is great. Reminds me of The Sword. She takes on...Cameron??? Wow. Don't know what to say. Haven't seen her in a while. But we probably won't see her again for a while after Asuka kills her.

Asuka is so damn quick. Cameron threw a slap and Asuka snatched it and took her over into an arm bar with ease.  But after that Cameron spends a minute or two in control. But then Asuka turns it on and really takes it to Cameron, mocking her and making her look completely amateur. Asuka just shows off, hitting all sorts of crazy moves and making Cameron tap to the Asuka Lock.

Next, Carmella gives Tom Phillips an update about Big Cass and he has a sprained MCL. Then Dash and Dawson show up and act like dicks. Carmella says they'll be sorry when Enzo and Cass come back, but Dawson says the only thing they're sorry about is they didn't do this sooner. And next week, they have a NXT Tag Title shot. And they leave a wheelchair for the Vaudevillains. 

(Looking back this segment was almost prophetic – it was just a day later that WWE announced WWE Champion Seth Rollins will miss 6-9 months with a severe knee injury, tearing his ACL, MCL and medial meniscus. In response there will be a tournament held at Survivor Series to crown a new champion)

Jordan and Gable promo, Jordan talks about how they earned everyone's respect at Respect, but still aren't where they need to be - the champs. But Gable says chill, they are still on the rise. Jordan wants to challenge the greatest NXT tag team, The Ascension, and Gable agrees.

Next, Bull Dempsey comes out to new music but still looks the same and wearing the Dr Death robe. Commentary says he is on a carb only diet, so yeah, his gimmick is just that he's a fat dude. He takes on Angelo Dawkins. Sawyer Fulton is with him. I don't get these guys.

Dawkins is actually beating up Bull early on as Fulton yells at him. But then Bull starts his comeback. Bull uses his gut for a lot of attacks and to block Dawkins, so, yeah, fat guy gimmick. Bull hits the ass drop from the top rope for the win. Then Fulton walks off and leaves Dawkins in the ring. Angle I guess? Anyone care? This is like when Jordan and Dillinger broke up except I don't really see potential for either. 

Next, Tom Phillips talks to the Vaudevillains about the wheelchair. Talk about how Dash and Dawson are not gentlemen and are their toughest challenge. But they will retain their tag team titles - indubitably. 

25 years of Undertaker at SS? Hmm...farewell tour beginning? 

Tom talks to Bayley. She says it wasn't hard to find partners to meet Alexa's 6 man challenge. Her partners are - The Hype Bros! They run down BAMF and Bayley seems to like staying hype.

Yes! Eva Marie is back! I can't wait until Asuka kicks her head off her shoulders. She takes on some blonde gorgeous blue eyed angel. Gionna Daddio? Dunno. She gets a jobber entrance.

Eva Marie does one arm drag adequately then taunts and flips her hair in Gionna face. Gionna does one or two things then Eva takes over. To this point, they still haven't said blonde girls name. Blondie starts to come back, hits a few drop kicks but Eva cuts her off. Looked it up and yup, I was right. Gionna Daddio as Marley. What an awful name. You're either a stoner or a dog who dies in a movie.

Then Eva wins after a horrible looking big boot and an even worse flatliner she hit while Marley was on her knees and Eva kinda slid in there. It was bad. Lots of boos. The big boot got a “What Was That” chant. And she blows a kiss to the crowd.

Takeaway? Less Eva Marie, more Marley.

Emma and Dana Brooke call Asuka childish and Brooke wants to get back in the ring with her. Emma says she's going to give Asuka a welcoming to NXT. Sure you will.

Oh shit, Ace of Spades is the official song for NXT Takeover London. 

Main event time now. Looks like it will get a decent amount of time. Crews out first then Finn in his badass leather jacket.

Very evenly matched at first. Crews surprising Balor, but Balor staying right in it. I think it's interesting to note that Balor is taking on the heel role of applying rest holds and submissions to slow things down and Crews is the one popping the crowd and hitting high impact moves. But then Finn hits a huge tope after sending Crews to the outside then...a commercial for “The Condemned 2” starring Randy Orton.

This has just been a really hard hitting, really intense match where neither guy can maintain an advantage. Then somehow, Crews hits the Gorilla Press but Balor gets the knees up on the moonsault. Balor hits a Bloody Sunday implant DDT but Crews kicks out at 2. Crazy back and forth and both dudes are down - then Baron Corbin runs in and attacks them both! But mainly, he's focused on Crews.

Corbin throws Crews into the steps and Balor attacks Corbin to try and distract him but Corbin has none of it. He hammers Balor with punches until Samoa Joe runs off Corbin. They stare each other down until Corbin leaves the stage - then Joe turns and attacks Balor! He puts Balor on the corner, says "I did this to you!" then plants him with a Muscle Buster. Joe grabs the NXT Title and stands over Balor with it. Joe drapes the belt over Finn and leaves.

Ring of Honor

ROH TV 11/4

O'Reilly says he respects and admires Styles but he will do whatever he has to do to get his hands on his former friend, Adam Cole.

Nigel and Mark Briscoe on commentary.

First out, Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser with the Boys, who are sporting new clothes –

jeans, wife beater, slicked back hair and sun glasses. Next out are the Young Bucks. The Bucks are set to take on Young and the Bruiser. The Boys are still trying to fan people, but they're fanning the Bucks which makes Silas even madder. The Bucks take control easily and it isn't long before Silas forces the Boys to take their spot in the match, saying they were supposed to be in the match anyway and he and Bruiser warmed up the Bucks for them. 

The Boys actually able to start getting some offense in, but the Bucks cut them off with superkicks, dive on Silas and Bruiser then a DOUBLE More Bang For Your Buck (Matt double rolling thing, Nick 450 on both for win). Silas is furious the Boys lost. He and Bruiser get in their face but the Bucks sneak back in, superkick Bruiser and set up to superkick Silas but he runs off before he can get his.

After a commercial, BJ Whitmer is at commentary, yelling at Nigel to fire Steve Corino. Mark yells that he's on commentary and for Whitmer to get out and then they kinda stare each other down. Moving Whitmer from the Corino feud to a feud with Mark? I’m not mad about it but, this feud is even more adjace than Whitmer/Corino.

Replay of Corino punching Whitmer. Also, Veda Scott has apparently served Nigel with papers, a lawsuit about an unsafe work environment.

Roderick Strong vs Will Ferrara next. Ferrara looks to start quickly but Strong has much more experience and is able to impose his offense easily. Roddy just going to town, throwing Ferrara around with suplexes, stretching him with a camel clutch and crazy chin bar and an abdominal stretch. He gets a few 2 counts but Ferrara fights back and hits a tornado DDT for 2. But Roddy, out of nowhere, hits a double knee gut buster, jumping knee and locks in Strong Hold for the win. They shake hands after the match surprisingly and Ferrara leaves.

Main event - Jay Lethal replaces Mark Briscoe on commentary for Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly vs AJ Styles. Kingdom with Cole and Fish and Elgin with O'Reilly. I'd imagine the Bucks will be with Styles (yup). And man, his music is awful. Is this the kinda stuff Rocky makes? Geez. Not great.

Before the match starts, Nigel orders everyone not in the match to the back so we have a clean match. At the bell, Cole runs away but O'Reilly tricks him into getting in the ring with Styles. Gonna be tough to take many notes since this is so fast and things happening very quickly. After a lot of insanity, Styles gets wiped out on a dive and Cole goes to work on O'Reilly's leg in the ring. On commentary, Lethal talks about how he isn't afraid to face Roddy again, he's just worried what Roddy might do when he loses to Lethal a 3rd time. 

But once Styles gets back in, it's back to high octane three way dance action. O'Reilly gets a close 2 on Cole after a flurry of strikes and a brain buster. Then O'Reilly triangle on Styles, Styles setting up for Styles Clash until Cole superkick him in the back of the head and he sorts hits a Styles Clash on O'Reilly. Cole throws Styles out and a neckbreaker on his knee to O'Reilly for the win! Didn't expect that to finish it.

Then the Kingdom runs out and attacks O'Reilly but then Fish, Elgin and the Bucks run in and it's mayhem. Everyone gets taken to the outside and the Bucks hit a big tope to take everyone out. Styles and Matt hold Taven and Bennett for a double Indytaker. But then Lethal gets in the ring and gets in the face of Styles.

Survival of the Fittest 2015

Night 1 Nov. 13 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Night 2 Nov. 14 in Hopkins, Minnesota

Night 1 (No mention of PPV or iPPV)

ROH World Tag Team Titles

The Kingdom (c) vs reDRagon

Six-man tag

Bullet Club (AJ Styes and the Young Bucks) vs House of Truth

Best of 5 series finale and SOTF qualifier

ACH vs Matt Sydal

4 Corner Survival

Mark Briscoe vs Christopher Daniels vs Hanson vs Kenny King

4 Corner Survival

Jay Briscoe vs Frankie Kazarian vs Ray Rowe vs Rhett Titus

Triple Threat

Michael Elgin vs Adam Cole vs Moose

Triple Threat

Dalton Castle vs Silas Young vs Adam Page

Roderick Strong vs Cedric Alexander

Night 2 (TV Taping?)

6-way Survival of the Fittest finals

ROH Supershow of Honor with Preston City Wrestling

Nov 27

3 days, 4 shows

http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/roh-stars-return-england

Michael Elgin status

Several dirtsheets have been reporting conflicting news about the former ROH World Champion. Some sites have stated that Elgin has re-signed an exclusive contract with the company, while others say he hasn’t signed anything yet.

I don’t know for sure one way or the other, but the fact that PWG announced for their upcoming Dec. shows “All Star Weekend 11” seems pretty good indication that Elgin is no longer exclusive with ROH.

He’s still with the company and will be working with New Japan in the near future – something which was always a goal for Elgin and ROH helped accomplish. His time as exclusive in ROH helped him round out his character a little more and maybe now he can earn even more acclaim now that he is seemingly a “free agent” again.

New Japan Pro Wrestling

Power Struggle results, Nov. 7

IWGP Intercontinental Championship

Shinsuke Nakamura (c) def. Karl “Machine Gun” Anderson

(Just an awesome match, rivaled only by Ishii/Honma. Afterward, Styles took the belt and handed it to Nakamura, saying he will be the one to take it from him. Nakamura and Styles have never wrestled before and we could be in for a classic at WK10)

Katsuyori Shibata and Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Kazushi Sakuraba and Kazuchika Okada

(The bad blood between Tanahashi and Okada really heated up here as they head into the home stretch before WK 10)

NEVER Openweight Championship

Tomohiro Ishii (c) def. Tomoaki Honma

(Honma came close but couldn’t win the big one and since he’s being portrayed as a perennial underdog, so I doubt he’ll ever win a title)

Bad Luck Fale and AJ Styles def. Yoshi-Hashi and Toru Yano

Super Jr tag finals

Matt Sydal and Ricochet def. RPG Vice

(Afterward, The Bucks and Timesplitters hit the ring and all made claims to being the #1 contender for the Junior tag titles. Ricochet and Sydal won this tournament, RPG Vice holds a win over reDRagon and the Bucks are former champs so they each have a claim)

reDRagon and The Timesplitters def. The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Chase Owens

Hirooki Goto def. “King of Darkness” EVIL (via DQ)

Cody Hall, Tama Tonga and Doc Gallows def.Juice Robinson, Captain New Japan and Togi Makabe

Mascara Dorada, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask and Jushin “Thunder” Liger def. Jay White, David Finlay, Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu

(Afterward, Liger confronted Tiger Mask and wants an NWA Junior Heavyweight Title shot at WK10)

World Tag League Block/Team announcement

-Begins Nov. 21 and runs through Dec. 9

Block A

Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin

Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma

Hiroshi Nagata and Nakanishi

Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi

Toru Yano and Kazushi Sakuraba

Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga

The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian)

Block B

Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata)

TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima)

Tetsuya Naito and EVIL

Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii

AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi

Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows

The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis)

Wrestle Kingdom 10 (so far)

IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

IWGP Intercontinental Championship

Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs AJ Styles

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

Kenny Omega (c) vs Kushida

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

reDRagon (c) vs Matt Sydal and Ricochet vs RPG Vice vs The Young Bucks

Jim Ross says WK10 commentary from him is “unlikely”

https://twitter.com/JRsBBQ/status/663764192214675457

Pro Wrestling NOAH

Global League Tournament, 2015

-Naomichi Marufuji defeated Shelton X Benjamin to win the Global League Tournament

-Marufuji will now go on to face GHC Champion Minoru Suzuki on Dec 23

-Also on Dec. 23, Big in USA (Chris Hero and Colt Cabana) challenge Killer Elite Squad for the GHC Tag Titles.

-If Taichi puts the GHC Junior belt on the line, Suzukigun could possibly lose at the GHC titles in one night

Indy

PWG

-Matches announced for All Star Weekend 11, as well as the first show of 2016, which will be on Jan. 2.

-ASW 11 tix go on sale Thurs. Nov. 19 at 8 pm PDT

ASW 11, Night 1

Mark Andrews vs Chuck Taylor

Ricochet vs Marty Scurll

The Unbreakable F’n Machines return! And they face The Wolves!

Kenny Omega vs Mike Bailey

PWG Tag Team Titles

The Young Bucks (c) vs Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa

PWG World Title

Roderick Strong (c) vs Matt Sydal

ASW 11, Night 2

Kikutaro returns! He faces Chuck Taylor!

Mark Andrews vs Ricochet

Marty Scurll vs Timothy Thatcher

Unbreakable F’n Machines vs Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa

Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay

Matt Sydal vs Trevor Lee

Guerrilla Warfare

Chris Hero, Mike Bailey and the World’s Cutest Tag Team vs Mount Rushmore 2.0

Jan. 2

Drew Galloway returns

Akira Tozawa returns

Zack Sabre Jr. returns

House of Hardcore 10

Philadelphia, PA

Tajiri and Tommy Dreamer vs EC3 and Eric Young

Rhino vs Abyss

Bobby Roode vs Austin Aries

Chris Hero vs Lance Hoyt

Eddie Kingston vs Tommaso Ciampa

Tony Nese vs Alex Reynolds vs JT Dunn

Also appearing:

Colt Cabana, Guido Maritano, Tony Mamaluke, Thea Trinidad, Mia Yim, Justin Roberts and more

Also, Dean Malenko is being inducted into the ECW Arena Hardcore Hall of Fame at HOH 10

HOH 11

Corona, NY

NY Street Fight

Tommy Dreamer vs EC3

The Wolves vs Bobby Roode and Austin Aries

Monsters Ball Match

Sabu vs Abyss

Tajiri vs Chris Hero

Jade vs Thea Trinidad

Also appearing:

Colt Cabana, Eric Young, Lance Hoyt, Eddie Kingston, Tommaso Ciampa, Brian Myers, Justin Roberts and more

Jersey All Pro Wrestling 19^th Anniversary

Nov. 14, Rahway, NJ

First Time Ever

Rey Mysterio Jr vs Low Ki

JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship

BLK Jeez (c) vs Joey Janela

Shane Strickland vs 2Hot Steve Scott vs “The Product” David Starr vs Lio Rush vs Lance Anoa’I vs Azrieal

World’s Cutest Tag Team vs Chris Dicksinson and Heidi Lovelace

MVP vs Monsta Mack

Kimer Lee vs Shelly Martinez

Also appearing

The Hardy Boyz

LAX reunites (Homicide, Hernandez and Shelly Martinez)

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 3^rd (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.