SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
(1) KARL FREDERICKS & CLARK CONNORS vs. CCK (CHRIS BROOKES & JONATHAN GRESHAM)
CCK of Brookes and Gresham, pre-match favourites, as they actually have non-generic tights and gimmicks, traded mat holds early before being out-powered by the LA Dojo duo. Seeing a losing battle if they kept things on the level, CCK switched up putting heat on Connors using wiley veteren tactics, focusing on his legs. In the mix, Brookes found himself briefly isolated, but the four soon began to trade openly. A Brookes J-Driller with a kick-assist from Gresham came close to gaining a pinfall on Connors. Seizing on a Connors stumble, Gresham hit a tidy quebrada into an ankle lock which he then transissioned into a leg trap German. A pair of spin kicks – one to the gut and one to the head – was enough to earn CCK the hard-fought win.
WINNERS: Chris Brookes & Jonathan Gresham
(2) CARLOS ROMO vs. A-KID vs. Kid LYKOS vs. FLAMITA
In the middle of opening trades, Team White Wolf (Romo and A-Kid) established that they weren’t quite on the same page but weren’t willing to engage directly. A-kid hit a dive accidentally on this team mate, which was followed by a Lykos dive, and then a Flamita dive on all 3. This led us into the customary rotation of trade offs, before accidental White Wolf team work almost gave Romo the win over Lykos. Flamita and A-Kid traded in the ring, where A-Kid seemed to have things sewn up with a destroyer before Romo stole the pinfall on Flamita. More story than you’d get from your average 4 way, without skimping on the action.
WINNER: Carlos Romo
(3) MICHAEL OKU vs. BRIAN CAGE
The O.J.M.O., Michael Oku was Brian Cages lawn-dart in the third clash. Oku, approximately the size and weight of one of Cages legs, got flung around the ring for most of this, though he did manage some offense mainly in the form of leaping kicks and body presses. The crowd wasn’t really into this- Cage has done this a million times before – and only briefly bought that Oku could sneak a flash win in the latter stages. Cage took the win with a buckle bomb, followed by another one in the middle of the ring.
WINNER: Brian Cage
(4) WILL OSPREAY & HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. SUZUKI-GUN (Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki)
The featured tag attraction was up next, as Will Ospreay and Tanahashi faced off with the Suzuki-Gun team of ZSJ and the big boss himself, Minouru Suzuki. The majority of the opening segement of the match was “just” Sabre Jr. and Suzuki just abusing Ospreay, until Tanahaski got the tag some 10 minutes in. Tanahashi’s arm and face got similarly treated before The Assassin was re-introduced. Despite seemingly a thousand forearms, Suzuki gives Ospreay little satisfaction as he continues to attempt to “prove” himself as a Heavyweight. As the match seemed to be on an upswing, ZSJ reversed a Stormbreaker attempt to pin Ospreay for 1-2-3. This seemed to coast along on fan interest for the most part, but didn’t offer a tonne in terms of dynamic action; Solid but unspectacular.
WINNERS: Minoru Suzuki & ZSJ
(5) ROCKY ROMERO vs. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI
Post-intermission, we were welcomed back by Rocky Romero and Rysuke Taguchi. This w as a match, and it was definitely after intermission. We had (lots of) bum attacks, we had “azucar” taunts, we somehow got 15 minutes out of it. To be fair, the last 2 minutes were good, but I was barely interested by that point.
WINNER: Ryusuke Taguchi
(6) TOMOHIRO ISHII vs. DAVID STARR
David Starr is really good at professional wrestling. So is Tomohiro Ishii. David Starr is really good at making you want to see him get beat up. Tomohiro Ishii is really good at beating people up. I think you can see where this is going. After gaining the ire of Ishii, and then gaining early advantage, Starr took an admirable licking before throwing some bombs of his own. It wasn’t enough as the RevPro Cruiserweight champ ate a heavyweight brainbuster for a long stare at the lights. I could have watched more of this, and hope they revisit again.
WINNER: Tomohiro Ishii
(7) AUSSIE OPEN (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) ROPPONGI 3K (SHO & YOH)
Your RevPro NYC Main Event saw Aussie Open face off against IWJP Jr. Champs, SHO and YOH of Roppongi 3K in what was announced as a non-title affair (Funny that, with Aussie Open being heavyweights and all…..). Whatever weight it was contested at, it delivered neither a HW tour-de-force nor a fast paced LHW classic – it was just there. Even when they picked up down the straight, the positioning of all four seemed almost continually off. The finish was equally disappointing – Davis’s usually impressive “Close Your Eyes and Count to F***” Piledriver was delivered with awkward delay, and Aussie Open had to go looking for their grips on the Fidget Spinner. At least the post-match Suzuki-Gun run-in left the crowd happy.
WINNERS: Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis
Overall Thoughts: (6.0) – Not a total waste of time, but with a card that featured no must-see matches (and very few “should-see”) matches, this will be one for RevPro completests and Mania Weekend lunatics only I think.
Notable Matches:
CCK vs. Fredericks & Connors ***1/4
Romo vs. A-Kid vs. Lykos vs. Flamita ***
Suzuki & ZSJ vs. Ospreay & Tanahashi ***3/4
Starr vs. Ishii ***3/4
Contact Brian at cobyhectic@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/cobyhectic
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