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RD: Rev Ray Duffy, Here I go again on my own

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RD: Pete ended up in going to a cousin's wedding in Chicago so he had to miss out on the weekend of Chiller Theatre/JAPW Show. I, being the laziest man on Earth, decided to start writing this a week later. So, you're in for the greatest write up ever. I showed up early. JAPW has also start implementing "dark matches" on their shows for some of the local rookies and such. Unfortunately, it seems that someone got hurt during warm ups and they had to delay opening the doors. They didn't say who got hurt. They ended up locking the front doors while we waited which resulted in a few wrestlers having to look for another way into the building... and the EMS/Fire Department who came to answer the call to check on whoever got hurt. Teddy Hart and company pull up and try to discretely enter the building. So discrete by stopping in the middle of street as teddy gets out, goes to the trunk and gets out his fur coat. I swear, that Teddy Hart is Mr. Stealthy. I camp out in the bleachers. They announced that they were having a costume contest on the show since Halloween was the next day. One kid had a Shark Boy outfit which was off the charts great. They made the tights with the sharks on them which were a dead ringer for Shark Boy's gear. The mask was a little off, but the rest of the outfit was like someone shrunk Shark Boy. Also in the contest was Green Lantern Fan in a dress and stockings. It was so disturbing, I had to call Pete and let him know how fearful I was for the children... and everyone else in attendance that had to witness this. Pre show, Monsta Mack and Mark Clemson wander around with a mic and handheld camera interviewing people in the crowd... though it seems like they were mostly interviewing cute girls in the crowd, among them Beef Wellington's and Sexxy Eddie's girlfriends who were smoking outside before the show. It should be noted that the lights that they couldn't get to work at the last show were working here. I guess it will take a little getting used to on a visual level. To me, it seems odd that they'd want to dim the house lights as for the most part, it does seem like JAPW does a good job of getting people to the shows, with 475 their listed attendance which is still pretty good for an indy show, especially the day before Halloween.

DARK MATCH 1 :ARCADIA w/ Joe Rules v. CORVIS FEAR :

RD : This is my first time seeing Arcadia. He and Corvis had a pretty good match. They did a pretty good arm drag segment. They did a bit where Corvis has his bandana pulled over his head and they do a "Marco/Polo" spot where Corvis tries to find him and ends up getting bumped out over the top rope. For the most part, they hit everything clean, I don't think they did any fiery death moves with guys landing all out of control and stuff, which is good. Corvis hit a neat little move where he sort of did a standing head scissors on Arcadia and rolled it over into a spot where he kept banging Arcadia's head into the mat. The only draw back to the match is that there were some spots which were kind of imaginetive, but in a little bit too goofy way. One was Arcadia hitting something where he had Corvis bent over but standing, he jumped so he was standing on Corvis' back and then jumped up and landed a famassser on him. Corvis finish was where he had Arcadia behind him and he had him in a chinlock, from there he lifted and threw Arcadia over his shoulder so that Arcadia landed face first in front of Corvis. Other than that, it was a fine match.

DARK MATCH 2 : EC NEGRO w/ KC Blade v. MONSTA MACK :

RD : Negro came out with Blade, who's recovering from an injury, but did the DRS pose by himself. This was all kinds of hurty. Negro hit an Uranage or an Exploder that looked like Monsta landed right on his head on. They fought out to the floor and Monsta pressed Negro over his head and threw him ribs first into ring post. The finish was Monsta Mack setting up for a big top rope splash, but Negro getting out of the way and putting him away with an Oklahoma Roll to score the pin. Both guys hugged after the match. Not a bad match, but the two bumps I mentioned were both pretty scary.
 

MATCH 1 : "II COCKY" KEVIN MATTHEWS w/ Alicia v RUSH MARGERA :

RD : Matthews looks like he been hitting the gym, or getting the "polish" that the WWE is so fond of, one of the two. This was an eh match. Matthews who used to be all about taking really stupid bumps only took one this time which was an attempt to splash Rush on the floor via a pescado only to land on nothing. The finish was Rush going up to the top I think to set up a dive onto Matthews on the floor or in ring, I forget. Anyway, while he's on the top rope, Alicia forces him to crotch himself. Matthews recovers and sets up from the outside of the ropes, but turns it in ring and lands something that I guess was a fishermanbuster, but whatever it was, it was real ugly looking. I was confused on what he was going for as it almost looked like he was going to superplex Rush to the floor from how they were setting it up.
 

MATCH 2 : EXCESS 69 v. BEEF WELLINGTON v. EL GENERICO v. SEXXXY EDDY :

RD : The IWS guys have gotten over, Generico was over huge when he came out and Eddy got a pretty big reaction too from the CZW fans. Eddy, who used "Pop That Pussy" by 2 Live Crew as his music, got on the mic and said since it was his debut, he was going to do a strip routine. He ended up getting some girl out of the crowd to come in and did his stripping bit over her. This is my first time seeing Eddy and I wasn't prepared for the disturbing tiny pants he wears. I was also not prepared when he was set in a la tapatia later in the match and I got a better view of his junk than I wanted. They worked this as a tag for a good part of the match before they ended up with all 4 guys in at once later in the match. This was pretty fun, though I don't think this played to Beef's comedy strength as there was a lot going on at certain points, but he did get to hit a few good spots and seemed out of the way a lot of this. Excess looked good in this and after his match with Steen last time, I'd actually like to see more of him in a standard match type setting as he hit that neat submission from last time set up from a different way. I think Eddy hit a really nice split leg moonsault thingy (for some reason I think he did it with a twist or something) early on in this. Once all 4 guys got into it, they did a spot where someone hit a superplex from one corner and in the other corner, someone frankensteinered someone from the top so they landed a senton onto the guy who got superplexed (I think it was Eddy who took the bump). Eddy lives up to his crazy blood drinking reputation as they did a spot where Eddy is fighting a sunset flip from someone as Beef climbs the buckles behind him, Eddy gets pantsed and Beef hits a bare Ass Punch. That, my friends, is hardcore. Eventually, Generico hit his super Brainbuster/Falcon Arrow onto the top turnbuckle to score the pin. A good match, all 4 guys posed together after the match and got a big reaction.
 

MATCH 3 : JUSTICE PAIN w/ Johnny D v. AZRAEL w/ Rick Silver :

RD : I'm not sure if this was the best match to follow up the previous match with. Justice Pain is so not over, he's under. Tack on the fact that he's matched up against a heel in Azrael probably doesn't help matters. This could have been a booked on the fly match as I could have sworn that Pain was supposed to be in a six man against the H-Effect and Insane Dragon. Anyway, Rick Silver comes out and says that he's Azrael's lawyer and says that the reason Azrael isn't the JAPW Light Heavyweight champion is because of Jay Lethal's dad assaulting Azrael. As a result, Silver has a restraining order against Jay's dad so he can't come to the show. They had the match which was eh. A chair ends up in the ring as Johnny D distracts the ref, and then Silver ends up in the corner distracting the ref. They have a few reversals before Pain hits the Death Valley Driver onto the chair and gets the pin. Johnny D and Pain leave, but Silver grabs the ringside camera man and brings him into the ring and shows the ref a replay. The ref reverses the decision andAzrael goes over. The only draw back to this that this is the first screwy ref decision of the night. Otherwise, I think it got over Silver as the lawyer character. I don't mind Silver, who I've seen them use in the past as a wrestler. He has good delivery and his facials/speaking style remind me a bit of Chris Candido at times.
 

MATCH 4 : THE SOLUTION (Papadon & Havok) w/ Johnny D v. THE H-EFFECT (Dixie & Deranged) for the JAPW TAG TEAM TITLES :

RD : I'm not sure if they're fully turned yet, but this is a revenge match for the beatings that Johnny D's guy have given Dixie, Deranged and Insane Dragon in the past few months. I'm guessing that Dragon was the one who was hurt pre-show, though when I talked to Joanne later she said Dixie had gotten hurt, so I dunno. I'm not remembering much from this, but it was kind of eh too. The Solution put away Deranged with the Problem Solver to win the match. Then after that, Papadon gives Dixie a tombstone while standing on a set up folding chair. I'm not real fond of this spot, but at least Havok was steadying the chair this time unlike the last show. The Solution did mic work after the match bragging how they had beaten everyone. "YMCA" comes over the PA and two guys who are dressed like the CSC come out the entrance way. I didn't get a clear look at them as most of the people were standing when they came out. The Solution run out and start beating on them as Johnny D stays in the ring as the CSC sneak in the back door... no, not Johnny's back door and take the titles from him and hit the double kiss on him. The Solution hits the ring and they end up getting kissed again. The CSC give the belts back saying that they want to beat the Solution for the belts. This was kind of the same thing they had done at the last show.

MATCH 5 : RODERICK STRONG v. "MR. WRESTLING" KEVIN STEEN for the IWS HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE :

RD : The crowd was kind of split for this as a lot of the ROH fans were cheering for Roderick and the IWS crew were pulling for Steen. This was pretty good, but not earth shattering. There was a good spot where Steen had Roderick on the ropes and yelled "TAKE A PICTURE" at someone and then switch to this great goofy grin with a thumbs up pose as he was choking out Strong on the ropes with his knee. Strong did a lot of his usual working over the back spots. Steen hit his nice moonsault. They teased a trapped piledriver off the ropes, but Strong countered. Steen eventually hit the trap piledriver for the win.

MATCH 6 : CM PUNK v. LOW KI

RD : Ki came out with a new look and new music, I don't attend ROH shows, so I don't know how long he's been using it, but it's the start of his old music, then a gun shot into a new song. Ki's new gear is pants with one leg rolled up to his knee/shin and he had a bandana. Going for the thug look. The problem is a bunch of people chanted "You look stupid" at him and Punk goofed on him buy rolling up one of the legs of basketball shorts. Before the bell rang, Teddy ran in and stole back his sneakers which Ki had brought out with him. Ki worked heel in this. There were a bunch of people who couldn't stand Punk in my section who were razzing him the whole match. The crowd seemed dead for this. The match was ok, but not great. I had high expectations and this seemed flat. That being said, Low Ki's huge double stomp spot looks fantastic. They look like Lau in Virtua Fighter level height when he does them. Crazy spot of the match was Punk and Ki fighting in the corner. Punk gets put in the Tree of Woe. Punk is trying to sit up out of it,Ki climbs the same corner and double stomps down on Punk's chest. It was nasty looking. This wasn't as one sided as the B-Boy match, but to me it still felt like something was missing. The finish was Punk setting up for his hammerlock DDT thing (Is that the Pepsi Twist?), but Ki countered and rolled through and got the pin and had his feet on the ropes to score the pin. No instant replay was used.

MATCH 7 : SONJAY DUTT v. JAY LETHAL for the JAPW LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE :

RD : This was a good match, but my stalling on starting this report makes me forget a lot of it. It was a pretty good match, though it was really noticeable that Jay likes doing the Benoit grunts through out this. Jay used a diving DDT off the top rope to spike Dutt to score the win. Post match, Azrael and Silver come out. Silver starts talking about how he's responsible for getting Jay's dad barred from the building. He goes on to say, that Azrael deserves a rematch. Silver says that they'll make a deal, they'll drop the restraining order on Jay's dad, if they give Azrael another match, but since they were so confident that Azrael was going to win the title, they decided to be sporting and let Jay pick the kind of match he wanted. A bunch of people were yelling in suggestions and Lethal decided he wanted to make this a more permanent solution to the Azrael problem and said the rematch would be title vs. career, which Silver agreed too. Azrael seemed really upset but Silver told him not to worry.

MATCH 8 : SUPER DRAGON v. SAMOA JOE :

RD : Green Lantern Fan, who was sitting in the bleachers most of the show, decided to go down to ringside as Dragon came out and Dragon threatened to punch him and then ripped his mask off and threw it into the crowd.. to a pop. Joe is super over. It's hard not to like a guy who uses the Godzilla theme as part of his entrance. Since I usually don't go to ROH shows, it took me till the next weekend to realize that he's using a song which has a reference to Rumble in the Jungle with Ali's "THE CHAMP IS HERE" line. This was a fun match, but it was kind of short/ended abruptly. They threw some nasty elbows at each other. Dragon avoided Joe's big sliding front leg sweep once by jumping over it. I think Joe countered out of the curb stomp attempt once, I forgot if Dragon actually hit the move on him later in the match. Joe hit the "ole ole" kicks out on the floor. Dragon hit a nice springboard leg lariat to the back of Joe's head. I think there were a monster lariat in there too. The finish was Joe hitting Dragon in the corner and hitting him with a muscle buster for the pin.
 

RD : At this point, I think they did the costume contest. They had two special guest judges which were Beef Wellington in a Batman outfit and El Generico in a too small Robin outfit. They hosted the event but insisted they weren't in outfits for Halloween, they were just going clubbing later. The two kids who were entered, Shark Boy and one as TroyAikman (who got booed) and someone else won gift certificates.
 

MATCH 9 :TRENT ACID v. DAN MAFF in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the JAPW HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE :

RD : Acid has new music and was wearing kaki jean shorts rather than the old silver Backseat Boys pants. Man, did the fire the overbooking torpedoes during this. The first fall ended kind of screwy. A chair got set up in the ring. Acid hit a yakuza kick to the back of the head, then followed it with a springboard into a tornado DDT into a chair and followed it with a yakuza kick to score... a two. I'm not sure what the deal with this was since Hanson said it was a two and Trent immediately covered again and got the three without any follow up move. During the second fall, Trent hit a yakuza kick and went for a pin, with Maff's foot on the ropes. Hanson counts 3 and they give the belt to Acid until Paul Turner comes out and informs Hanson and they do a restart. Maff hit a couple half nelson suplexes including one off the second rope to score the pin. During this fall, Samoa Joe had wandered out to ringside and was sitting at ringside. They end up doing a segment where Maff notices Joe and ringside and they exchange some words. Joe ends up getting on the apron with the chair he was sitting in. Hanson tries to take the chair away with him and they do a tug of war spot until Joe lets go and Hanson ends up whacking Maff in the head. Trent covers and wants a count, but Hanson won't do it, so Trent grabs his arm and makes him count at least one 3 count, and even attempted a second. Maff eventually fights back and hits the burning hammer for the win. He gets on the mic and challenged Joe to come out and face him now, but Joe didn't come out. Maff said he'd have to take out the competition's champion. I'm not sure if this really helped Maff as he ended up getting pinned like 3 times by Acid in the course of the match.

MATCH 10 : HOMICIDE & B-BOY w/ Low Ki v. TEDDY HART & JACK EVANS :

RD : I think Teddy had changed into a blue version of his oven mitt style tights which are so not as good as the Ming Vase pants. Evans spent most of the time in the match getting beat on. They did a bunch of brawling early on, I think on the floor. I'm not sure if Homicide and Teddy went into the crowd again as I moved closer to the doors in hopes of getting the next train as soon as possible. Teddy ended up limping around a bunch. Evans and Teddy hit a back breaker/shooting star elbow combo at some point. They ended up having the lights go out at some point and when they came up, the Carnage Crew was in the ring. They helped Homicide by punching Evans and Hart for a little bit. Homicide set up for the sharp shooter on Hart, but as soon as he turned it over, the Crew started beating on them. They hit their Au Revoir on B-Boy setting up Teddy's corkscrew 450 on B-Boy to score the win. I'm not sure what happened post match as I bolted to try to catch the train, but ended up just missing it.
 

RD : As far as shows go, it seemed like something was missing. It ran about 4 hours long with the dark matches, closer to 3 and half hours without them. For matches of the night, I'd probably go with the IWS 4 way and Joe/Dragon. Next show is December 10th with Joe v. Maff, Homicide v. AJ Styles, Azrael v. Lethal and the Solution v. CSC on tap.