I sent this to pwinsider, but in the midst of this week's news developments I think they disregarded it or (understandably) lost it in the shuffle. For those who want to read it, here you go. Feel free to PM me with corrections [my notes were awful], gripes, etc, etc.
DEFIANT PRO WRESTLING
RECKONING 07
DPW Dojo, Waterbury, CT
6/23/07
This show was held in DPW’s new wrestling school and training facility. It’s good sized space with lots of room for brawling and so forth, and easy to get to from the highway. They need to add concessions (other than the meatball subs, which were great) and work on the air conditioning [which is being done] but it’s a promising facility. Next time they need to at least get a merchandise table up to sell their own dvds and so forth.
The show had couple of problems, as they started late and a few advertised names (Jose Perez, Brain Fury, Talia) weren’t there. That hurt since the missing names are among DPW’s best performers. However in the end DPW still delivered a good, entertaining show and the fans mostly seemed to like it. It was a short show, only 6 matches, but in my opinion it’s always better to go short and leave them wanting more than to deliver a 4 hour show that burns the fans out. (Which is what some companies do.)
Show started with a promo from the DPW version of the Impact Players [Justin Credible and Jason Knight, both of whom were part of the classic Impact Players stable], talking up their tag match against Dylan Kage and Ron Zombie. Zombie, a long time local favorite, is in the midst of a successful heel turn here. I would have said you couldn’t get the fans to root against him, but I’d have been wrong. The turn seems to be working and it’s not a bad way to freshen up his character. Anyway, the heels hit the ring and attacked the Impact Players, injuring Jason (who bled like crazy) and taking him out of the main event. That was a little disappointing as I saw Jason Knight and Ron Zombie have a seriously intense hardcore match a few years ago – in front of a very small crowd and afaik never taped for release - and was looking forward to another one. Jason did not appear again for the rest of the night, presumably to sell the seriousness of the injury.
Chris Mooch d. Len Oddity following interference (and 3 overhead butterfly suplexes) from Del Tsunami. Mooch has really progressed well. Oddity was a little sloppy for my taste but the fans seemed to like him.
The Dredded Guns [Pat Gunner and Bull Dredd, w/Brian Cox] d. The Untouchables to become the new DPW tag team champions when Dredd got the pin following a belt shot while Cox distracted the referee. Good, entertaining tag match. I’ve criticized Gunner before but he didn’t overreach and looked good here, and Dredd was great with the fired-up hot tag. Cox, who has long hair and a beard, got a variety of ‘Jesus’ chants all night. While The Dredded Guns were celebrating the win, the Canadian Superstars sneak attacked them, setting up a new feud.
Bobby “The Shaft” Ocean won a 5 way match over DeVito, Guillaume DeSade, Big Jim Sullivan and Moondog Guy Who’s Name I Didn’t Get. Short but good brawl. Black Rage (Ocean & DeSade) and their manager worked as a team throughout. Late in the match DeVito had enough and piledrove the kid manager into next week, bouncing him all the way out the ring.
Next they had The Last call with Paulie J. (A fill-in segment for Kurt Adonis’s usual “Flamingo Lounge”. Paulie brought out Mike E Milano, who got sneak attacked and choked by Avil Graves. Then by Sudden Death ran in through the front door and hit the ring, before getting run off by DeVito and Credible. A new main event of ECW veterans and former Carnage Crew teammates DeVito and Credible vs Sudden Death was announced.
Frankie Arion (subbing for Brian Fury) d. Kid Mikaze to become the new DPW cruiserweight champion following two Canadian Destroyers. Mikaze, who took a spill to the floor on his way in, seemed a half step off his usual game but this was still a great match. They had vinyl mats outside the ring that caused problems throughout the night. These really need to be removed next time. Arion wrestled really well here. At the end he hit Mikaze with a crazy looking Canadian Destroyer, Mikaze somehow kicked out, and then Arion gave him another Destroyer – off the 2nd rope. Hats off to Arion and to Mikaze for taking some really scary looking bumps.
Intermission – which went way too long, especially with nothing to really do while it was going on.
Del Tsunami d. “Purty” Kurty Adonis with kata hajime in a submission match. This started out as a Nocturne match, but Noc never made it to the ring as the Canadian Superstars came out and destroyed him before being run off by the Dredded Guns. Tsunami and PJ looked like they were going to get a forfeit but Adonis ran in from outside in street clothes and challenged him. A different style for Kurt as he was deadly serious here and the match was all wrestling, no comedy. Tsunami won after Mooch ran in and clobbered Adonis while the ref was occupied with Paulie J.
Justine Credible & Tony DeVito (with Mike E Milano) d. Sudden Death (Ron Zombie & Dylan Kage) in a hardcore no rules match after DeVito put Kage through a barbed wire table. Credible was wearing new gear and both he and DeVito looked really happy and energized here. This was a wild brawl that went everywhere and involved trash cans, chairs, old guitars, and so forth. The “Impact Baldies” even brought out a wheelchair and placed both Zombie and Kage in it (in succession) so they could be rolled into Singapore cane shots. Awesome old-ECW style match and a great way to end the show.
DPW have the following dates upcoming:
TV taping Sunday July 8
Defiant Divas Wrestling (womens’ promotion) Sunday July 15
DPW Through The Fire 07 – Saturday July 28
You can find more information about both the promotion and the wrestling school at
www.defiantprowrestling.com.
