EVOLVE 42 review

Twenty-four hours after hitting Shine stronghold Ybor City with EVOLVE 41, the EVOLVE crew hit up Orlando for EVOLVE 42. Coming off an enjoyable show in Ybor and a packed WrestleMania weekend offering this show had tough acts to follow. It got off to an underwhelming start and was set back by technical problems (something so common with iPPVs that I've stopped mentioning them, for the most part) but pulled things together in its final hour to be a satisfying event.

The show kicked off with Lenny Leonard and Ron Nemi joking about sandwiches on commentary and Santana defending the Shine championship against Andrea in the ring. This was more a platform for advancing the Su Yung and So Cal Val issues than anything else. This priority extended to the finish, where Yung grabbed Santana as she hit the ropes and held her for Andrea to cheap shot her. That backfired and Su was sent sailing off the apron, which caused a brief pause from Andrea that allowed Santana to apply a small package for the win.

The match as a whole was enjoyable but pretty basic. Andrea seemed really uncertain at points and definitely didn't seem to have the nasty streak which would make her role as the new monster on the Shine scene believable. 

After that match Val called Yung worthless and an idiot (but not a worthless idiot). Andrea gave Yung a Samoan driver. Then Val dumped water on her and got carried backstage by Andrea. Yung was also carried backstage, but by a lowly referee. This would all be revisited in the main event. While I think it's commendable that EVOLVE are telling a story focusing on women I find the specifics odd. Su Yung did a fake heel turn only last year, when she pretended to side with Rich Swann against the PAB. Val doesn't wrestle. And the majority of the feud will play out in Shine, a different company. I understand that the idea is to get more people buying Shine events to see how things play out but I' not convinced what we've seen so far will do that.

Match two, emphasised as being the official opener by Leonard, once again saw Martin Stone on job duty. This time it was Ethan Page getting the win over him with an Ace crusher and a Spinning Dwayne. It was another match as much about furthering an angle as providing good wrestling. In this case it was Leonard discussing Page's fresh rivalry with Johnny Gargano.

Match three saw stringy-haired ROH job lad Andrew Everett become a stringy-haired EVOLVE job lad to lose to Rey Horus. It was a fun match but one I expected to be quicker and have more highlights. Aside from Everett hitting a lovely Asai moonsault and turning a headscissors into a kip up and Horus's match-winning top rope hurricanrana there wasn't much to be dazzled by. But the crowd wasn't overly large so I understand them not taking too many risks, and they avoided being outright boring, so on the whole it wasn't bad.

TJ Perkins versus Timothy Thatcher was the first unquestioned hit of the evening. Their early mat wrestling was slick, engaging and logical, Thatcher working with even more ferocity than usual to convey his increased desire to win after his loss to Roderick Strong in the previous evening's main event. They traded the initiative back and forth, each focusing on the other's arm. That's standard for Thatcher, less so for TJP. It made sense given the grappling credentials (underrated in Perkins' case) of both men.

Particular highlights of the match were TJP turning a Thatcher headstand into a body scissors; Thatcher employing a rolling gut wrench; Thatcher countering a frog splash into a Fujiwara armbar; TJP hitting a GTS into a Pele kick; and the match-ending exchange of armbars which ended with Thatcher gaining the upper hand (no pun intended) to force a tap out from Perkins. After the match Thatcher, who we're told doesn't talk much but has had something to say on several recent shows, took a microphone and requested a match with the winner of the Galloway v Strong title match that will occur at the next batch of shows.

Biff Busick then took on EVOLVE's top heel, Roderick Strong. I make note of Roddy being the company's lead bad guy because he only got brought in as a regular in the back half of 2014. It's impressive how entrenched he is in the company after such a short time. Yes, he was a known quantity before he debuted but it's still impressive that it feels like he's been in the company for years and has become one of its focal points.

As is the case with the majority of Strong matches in EVOLVE this match began with him doing some heelish stalling. Unlike usual Biff managed to get his hands on Roddy and they immediately launched into an intense match, brawling at ringside and swapping big moves both in and out of the ring (including a nasty-looking backbreaker on the barricade from Strong). It was a welcome change of pace after the deliberate Thatcher v Perkins bout.

For the second night in a row the match ended on a judgement call from referee Brandon Tolle. This time he halted the match as Strong was trapped in the rear naked choke. Strong got in Tolle's face about the decision before storming backstage. Busick stayed in the ring to tell everyone that Tolle had finally made a good call, a reference to him losing because of Tolle the night before. Engaging heel mode he also declared that he was unappreciated by EVOVLE managements and fans. Thatcher returned to the ring and said Busick was pissing him off. They brawled and were separated by referees and FIP wrestlers. Thatcher staggered backstage afterwards, Lenny Leonard theorising that a slap to the ear and thrown off his equilibrium. Shoot or storyline? It's tough to know with EVOLVE.

Trevor Lee v Davey Richards took the semi-main event slot. Lee was impressive in his match against AR Fox at EVOLVE 37 in January and he was impressive again here. He's good at the en vogue style of martial arts kicks and knee strikes blended with more traditional suplexes and power bombs. Richards is a peculiar dude, which makes for an interesting in-ring character when he's on form, and also a very good wrestler. He meshed nicely with Lee and gave him a lot of time to show what he could do. He also had him kick out of a top rope double stomp, which created a great close two count. Lee lost after a roundhouse but his status was enhanced by looking competitive opposite Richards. He's definitely somebody that warrants further EVOLVE bookings.

The headline match was a street fight for the Open the United Gate championships, the Ronin team of Rich Swann and Johnny Gargano challenging Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley. For the record this was the first time the titles had been defended in 2015. The last defence had been made by Konley and Trent Baretta against The Colony and the Bravado brothers during the WWN tour of China in November (interesting side note on that is that five of those six names are no longer associated with the company). This highlights just how little attention the EVOLVE tag division gets. They're at the point now where they should make a concerted effort to make their tag belts relevant again.

That said this match did give the titles a boost. Not just because Swann and Gargano are big deals in EVOLVE but because all four men wrestled like the championships meant something to them. Well, I say wrestled, but this match didn't actually feature much wrestling. They made good use of the street fight stip, using ladders, chairs and tables to put on a crazy brawl that should have satisfied anyone into this style of match. Highlights included a lawn dart into a rubbish bin (trash can, for North American readers), Konley bumping through a ladder propped between the ring and the barricade (sadly missed by the cameras), Su Yung misting So Cal Val before cross bodying Andrea, an amusing but slightly too long New Jack-esque weapons sequence, and a power bomb onto a ladder from Gargano to Nese followed by Swann's match-winning frog splash. It doesn't sit especially well with the general style in EVOLVE but it was good fun for what it was and worked well as a rarity.

After the match Ethan Page heckled Ronin from the commentary table (he'd called the match). Gargano said he didn't want to wrestle Page and called him a nobody. More shoot comments about Gargano being a big shot followed until Page got up and teased getting in the ring for a fight. He didn't though. Instead he wandered backstage, leaving Ronin to celebrate to All Night Long.

EVOLVEs 41 and 42 were a good pair of shows. There were a few skippable matches but nothing bad and different tastes were catered to, something illustrated nicely by the contrast in main events. Sapolsky continued building up "his guys" Caleb Konley, Timothy Thatcher and Ethan Page, showing they were the right selections for their larger roles. And you know what? I didn't miss AR Fox once.

***

Results summary:

Santana defeated Andrea to retain the Shine championship
Ethan Page defeated Martin Stone
Rey Horus defeated Andrew Everett
Timothy Thatcher defeated TJ Perkins
Biff Busick defeated Roderick Strong
Davey Richards defeated Trevor Lee
Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann defeated Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley to win the Open the United Gate championships

The Age of Obsession

I'll start this off by flatly stating my point: Caleb Konley is an underrated wrestler. Over the last year he's become one of the most reliable performers on the EVOLVE roster. He's had a string of enjoyable matches against everyone from Rich Swann to AR Fox to Johnny Gargano to Ricochet. He wasn't a passenger in any of them, he carried his weight and kept the crowd invested. But his talent never gets the praise it deserves.

It's possible that part of the problem stems from the reason he's been pushed. He's very obviously had his profile raised because Gabe Sapolsky knows he can rely on being able to book him. He's not as celebrated as many of the other men on the roster and as such he's in less demand. Neither TNA or ROH seem to have any interest in using him and WWE definitely doesn't. Having someone that can go in the ring that isn't likely to go elsewhere is an attractive thing for a booker. Sapolsky saw that in Konley and started building him up.

But this doesn't mean 'The Obsession' doesn't deserve the position he's in. Since disbanding The Scene and doing the tried and tested "I'm getting serious" routine Konley has displayed a marked improvement. And not just in the matches listed above either, he had better than expected lower profile bouts against The Colony, Timothy Thatcher and the Bravados. He's gotten into better shape too, possibly a side effect of being teamed with gym freak Anthony Nese. Basically, he's proven he can wrestle well and he's started to look like someone who wrestles for a living (even though he's not).

Konley and Cage would have made a good long-term team.
Nese could have gone singles. Disappointing it didn't happen. Pity.

The WrestleMania Weekend shows were not the best advertisement for Konley. He was the designated jobber in the EVOLVE 39 six man tag (review here) because neither of his teammates were in a position to lose: both Brian Cage and TJ Perkins were making their returns to the promotion. Having them lose would have dulled their impact. after years away. Things weren't much better at EVOLVE 40 (review here). Although Konley and Cage got the win in their match against Swann and Gargano the match was cut short.

He was back to losing at Mercury Rising (another review here), falling to Ethan Page in the opener. That seemed like a massive step backwards at the start of the show but Page's turn on Gargano helped put the move in context: Page needed a win in a solid match so that his turn meant more later in the evening. Konley was chosen because it was known he'd give Page the match he needed.

Konley has earned his spot towards the top of EVOLVE. It would be nice if the tag team division was deeper so that he and Nese could have a reign memorable for its good matches instead of a lack of defences. Sadly that doesn't look to be on the cards, which is a disservice to a talented, dedicated wrestler. A disservice to a talented, dedicated roster for that matter. The Open the United Gate titles could mean more with just a couple more teams added to the roster, as I've written before.    

Long term I think it will be interesting to see how far Sapolsky is willing to go with Konley. As a guy who's likely to remain a fixture of EVOLVE for at least the next few years he's probably going to wind up as a headline guy. The ex- and future-WWE guys on the roster are going to need meaningful names to be pitted against and Konley will likely end up joining names like Fox, Swann and Gargano on that list. A reign as the EVOLVE champion may seem unattainable now but I think things could look different a year from now.

EVOLVE 40 review

EVOLVE's second WrestleMania weekend offering of 2015 started off strong with the non-title match between EVOLVE champion Drew Galloway and the allegedly departing Uhaa Nation. This was a far better choice for the opening slot than the technical mat exchange between Gulak and Thatcher at EVOLVE 39. It's not that that match was bad, it just wasn't the exciting hook an opener tends to be.

Galloway and Nation spent the early minutes slugging away at one another (because big lads) before leaving the ring. There we got an early highlight as Galloway sidestepped an Uhaa moonsault from the apron and gave him a tilt-a-whirl back onto the ring's edge. Back in the ring Galloway went all Randy Orton and worked over Nation with stomps and a sleeper before 'The One Man Nation' managed to fire back with some clotheslines, rolling German suplexes and a splash from the top rope.

Galloway kicked out of the cover that followed and scored with a power bomb, a German suplex into a turnbuckle and Roderick Strong's sick kick. Uhaa kicked out of all that and the two exchanged a few right hands before Galloway got dropped with a power bomb.

Like the previous evening's Galloway match this one ended with a surprise double arm DDT. Galloway went for it and got it seemingly at random and got the win with it. Clearly this was done to get the move over for Galloway's unification match against Johnny Gargano at Mercury Rising, a match he addressed after his victory. He waffled on a lot but basically his message was that he and Gargano would have a great match at Mercury Rising, which I'm sure they will. He's a passionate, shouty promo is Galloway. That helps when he's repeating the same message two nights in a row.

Match two saw Tommy End, with Chris Hero in his corner, take on Timothy Thatcher. Both men were popular with the crowd but they were easily more into Thatcher. The crowd went wild for him, presumably because he's announced as being from Sacramento, California. We're also assured he's English.

The match was all about Thatcher's mat wrestling being deployed against End's striking. Thatcher's had success early on but End's striking came into play in the match's second half. He smacked Thatcher with a kick to the temple, flooring him until the count of eight. From there a dazed Thatcher was dominated by End's strikes, although End found himself in the frustrating position of being unable to finish Thatcher off. He unleashed his impressive bicycle knee strike but it wasn't enough: Thatcher caught him in a Fujiwara armbar for the tap out victory.

After the match Hero entered the ring and bad mouthed Thatcher. Thatcher ignored him and walked backstage. Hero kicked the bottom rope in frustration then left to allow End to soak up some well-deserved cheers. This was another good showing from End.

Drew Gulak (with five unnamed seconds) versus TJ Perkins followed that. The mat-based 'Legal Eagle' against the nippy flyer could have been a disaster but it wasn't. They went out of their way to keep things fast and avoided sticking with submission holds for too long. TJP's submission abilities helped too, he clearly knows how to blend his flashier moves with hold into counter hold exchanges. Gulak won with the ankle lock after a series of reversals. Nothing occurred with the five nameless lads Gulak brought to ringside. They were just there to get over Gulak's new serious competitor gimmick.

Ethan Page v AR Fox was an exhilarating affair. It was the usual flash and sizzle from Fox (a stark contrast to his maddeningly bland character) and Page kept up fine, which was the most that could be asked of him in this situation. Fox survived a spinebuster onto the apron, a back breaker on the floor, a lifting reverse DDT, and a Tower of London onto the apron before coming back with a springboard Codebreaker, a Lo Mein Pain and a 450 splash to win.

After the match Page talked about how he'd let Johnny Gargano (the man who'd endorsed him) down by losing, which brought Gargano out to the ring. The Open the Freedom Gate champ gave Page a pep talk before bringing up the EVOLVE title v DG USA title match. Again he promised that he'd win that match and leave a double champion, though this time there was a greater emphasis on his history in the company and his contributions getting it to its current state. He offered more reasons as to why we should believe he needs to win the match with this promo than he had at EVOLVE 39.

The Chris Hero v Biff Busick grudge match followed that. Their issues first surfaced at EVOLVE 33, where Biff Busick had talked about his efforts in the 2014 style battle tournament and mentioned Chris Hero as someone the current generation of wrestlers wish to surpass. It was intended as a compliment, an acknowledgement of Hero's accomplishments within wrestling. But Hero took offense and an argument erupted. A few more followed with the final one coming the night before this at EVOLVE 39 where Busick vowed to choke Hero out with the stranglehold.

They had the stiff battle that was to be expected. Busick stayed true to his promise and spent most of the match attempting to apply his stranglehold finisher for long enough to choke Hero into unconsciousness. He applied the hold several times but never managed to submit or blackout Hero. That brought about a shift in approach and he started blasting the former King of Wrestling with suplexes. Hero weathered the storm and then smashed Busick with half a dozen elbows and a Tombstone piledriver for the victory. This match just outdid the main event to nab match of the night honours for me.

The card's lone tag match followed that. It saw the recently (and fairly half-heartedly) reunited Ronin team of Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann take on the new look Premier Athlete Brand of Brian Cage and Caleb Konley. I was again impressed by how good Cage is and felt that it was another strong showing from Konley, who has improved a great deal over the last year.

Gargano was good but not at his best, quite possibly because he was saving himself for his showdown with Scotland's own Drew Galloway the following evening. Considering how much that match has been built up it was an understandable move by the Open the Freedom Gate champ. That left Swann to deliver the thrills and spills. He accomplished this but injured himself in the process, necessitating the match being called to a finish early. Confusingly Konley tapped to the Gargano Escape before the referee announced that he'd ruled the match in the PAB's favour due to Swann's injury.

Had this run its intended course I imagine it would have ended up an inoffensive and fun, though ultimately forgettable, tag bout. But instead it will be most remembered for the peculiar ending. Though, on the bright side, that could be used as part of a Ronin v Premier Athletes story in the future.

The main event saw former WWE Superstar™ PJ Black take on Ricochet in a battle of the high-flyers. They set a breakdown speed and stuffed the match with spots and kept the psychology and lining sequences light (which was to be expected). The story of the early going was basically that Ricochet was a little better than Black, countering or immediately recovering from whatever Black threw at him. This included a great mid-air recovery off a monkey flip, a kip up immediately after a shoulder block, and a drop kick counter to a cross body.

This forced Black to up his game and he started getting an increasing amount of offence in on 'The Future of Flight'. It wasn't enough to get him a victory though. Following a surprisingly vicious exchange of strikes Ricochet got a two count off a top rope reverse hurricanrana then finally put Black down with a nasty power bomb and the 630 splash.

Unfortunate and unavoidable incident in the tag match aside this was another very good offering from the EVOLVE crew. Of the two cards presented this weekend I think this was the stronger. 39 took a little longer to get going with the three more technical matches kicking things off. 40 started with a rowdy bout that drew you in and kept improving right up until the tag match hit (and, again, at least part of the reason that match disappointed was beyond anyone's control). Ricochet versus Black was a superior main event. Black showed he could have been an asset to WWE and Ricochet again proved he deserves all the success he's had.

***

Results summary:

Drew Galloway defeated Uhaa Nation
Timothy Thatcher defeated Tommy End
Drew Gulak defeated TJ Perkins
AR Fox defeated Ethan Page
Chris Hero defeated Biff Busick
The Premier Athlete Brand defeated Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann via referee stoppage
Ricochet defeated PJ Black

EVOLVEing Teams

EVOLVE 38 featured one tag team match. Team Tremendous, consisting of Dan Barry and Bill Carr, took on Earl Cooter and Jody Kristofferson, managed by Larry Dallas. Both teams were new to EVOLVE. During the match the commentators made a point of referencing the current slenderness of the promotion's doubles scene, albeit with the euphemistic "transitional phase" line to imply that fresh teams are coming.

The low number of teams in EVOLVE has been an issue for a while. At the start of 2014 the Young Bucks made their final appearance for the company, bringing their rivalry with the Bravado brothers to an abrupt close. Lancelot and Harlem inherited the spot of top team by default. There were simply no other tandems available. They spent the majority of the rest of the year working with The Colony and fellow heels the Premier Athlete Brand.

I thought (still think, in fact) the Bravados were underrated in EVOLVE. They weren't the best tag team ever but they were reliable and had a good range of double team moves. Their losing effort against Uhaa Nation and AR Fox at EVOLVE 36 was a good example of the level they could perform at (and how far they've come since their days as perennial losers in Ring of Honor). They were also clearly dedicated to being a unit. With so many guys thrown together to work as teams these days that was particularly nice to see.

Sadly it seems that the Bravados are gone from EVOLVE. They and Moose lost a Losing Faction Must Split match to the reformed Ronin at EVOLVE 37 and were neither booked for or mentioned at EVOLVE 38. They haven't been announced for any of the WWN shows over WrestleMania weekend either. Which leaves EVOLVE without their most consistent team.

Finding relevant pictures of EVOLVE performers is tough.

In fact if we discount the two teams that debuted at the most recent show EVOLVE has exactly one tag team: the Premier Athlete Brand combo of Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley. They're a good pairing who work well together, complement one another's styles, and who seem to be keener on becoming a proper team than I would have guessed when they first won the Open the United Gate straps back in September of last year. But they can't make a division by themselves. They need opponents. Even if Team Tremendous join Kristofferson and Cooter in getting regular EVOLVE gigs three teams are not enough to make a compelling, layered division. Last year taught us that.  

The good news is that there are teams available to EVOLVE. Davey Richards' short notice appearance and Austin Aries' upcoming WWN Supershow match tell us TNA talent are able to appear on the company's iPPVs. Roderick Strong's work with the group tells us that select ROH guys are able to negotiate more flexible contracts should they have the desire (although this is presumably something only open to those who are considered important enough to be kept happy). Plus there are notable teams that work elsewhere who don't work for EVOLVE at all.

The Colony would be ideal, for example. They proved reliable and popular during their appearances last year. The Super Smash Brothers were semi-regulars in the early years of the promotion. They wouldn't make the worst additions in the world. For that matter Ethan Page and Josh Alexander's Monster Mafia were enjoyable in their appearances for the promotion last year. And all three teams have the added bonus of being babyfaces. That makes them ever so slightly easier to utilise than heel pairings.

There's potential on the current roster too. Rich Swann and Chuck Taylor could be used as a regular pairing as part of Ronin's comeback. Alternatively Swann could be teamed with Ricochet as the Inner City Machine Guns. Their styles mesh better but there's the problem of 'ochet being pulled from shows at short notice by Lucha Underground (they get priority on Ricochet's booking and can pull him in at short notice for television tapings). It's a pity that Uhaa Nation's NXT bound, he and Fox have worked well together in their sporadic appearances as a team.

Biff Busick and Drew Gulak have potential as a tag team (as noted in my EVOLVE 38 review). Having them form a team would be another way to raise their profiles and their style would make for a different sort of tag team match. It would be interesting to see how they work together and what they could do in a tag environment. There are even two obvious portmanteau names for them: Team Bulak and Team Gusick. That in itself is reason enough to pair them up!

The financial boat could really be pushed out and The Wolves could be pencilled in for a stretch of shows. Richards went down well as a singles performer on March 8, there's nothing to indicate he'd be any less popular alongside Eddie Edwards. Having them win the Open the United Gate championship, even for a couple of weeks or months, could really elevate the titles. The same goes for bringing in Austin Aries to work more frequently as Generation Next with Roderick Strong.

The potential is there for EVOLVE to have a good tag team division. If they're going to bother having tag team titles they might as well aspire to having a good division too. Some of the fixes are cheaper and easier than others but whichever approach was chosen the result would almost certainly be worthwhile. Creating a decent tag division would make the seemingly inevitable renaming of the Open the United Gate championship to the EVOLVE tag team championship have a greater chance of meaning something.

WWN Live in Beijing review

The reported attendance for the final night of the WWN’s tour of China was 10,500.Even if that was inflated (and this is wrestling so there’s a very good chance it was) that’s a far cry from the average turn out for an EVOLVE, Shine or FIP card. Even on WrestleMania weekends the company comes nowhere close to attracting even half of that number. So in terms of opening up a fresh market and getting a good attendance number the WWN tour’s final offering was a success.

Pleasingly it was also a success in the ring. The show kicked off with new FIP champion Rich Swann defending against his buddy AR Fox. Well, it kicked off with that after the ridiculously long entrances were done and dusted. Even Fox seemed to get a lengthier entrance than usual. The show had fifteen minutes on the clock before the two even locked up.

Swann got in the first major move when he turned Fox upside down with a drop kick. The challenger came back with a springboard drop kick to Swann and followed up with a nice tope and a split-legged senton. Swann fought out of a sleeper (hey, it was a pacey exchange and they needed a breather) only to be floored with a cross between a Flatliner and a DDT that Fox should think about introducing as a regular move. It was far more impressive than Low Mein Pain.

Fox leapt to the top rope to try something but ended up taking a hurricanrana from the champ. After a brief exchange of right hands Swann scored with an scissor kick and a rolling senton. Fox came back with the twirling brainbuster. Swann got a Lethal Injection and went for a frog splash. Fox rolled out of the way and clambered to the top rope to go for a Swanton bomb. That was also avoided and Swann took another stab at hitting his frog splash. It worked out better for him on the second attempt: he connected and got the three count for his first successful FIP title defence.

As Swann and Fox posed together they were attacked by the Bravado brothers. They gave Fox a Gentlemen's Agreement and did some posing of their own before Johnny Gargano turned up to chase them off. He shook hands with Fox and shared a little nod of respect with Swann before being thanked for his help by Lacey and the Chinese host. Gargano told them the Bravados were jerks (strong words, right?) and said that he’d “had” to help. More importantly he said he was focused on winning the Open the Freedom Gate title in the main event (as well as the infinitely less important Beijing Cup).

Match number two pitted Valkyrie teammates Su Yung and Allysin Kay against each other. Being the smaller, and therefore more sympathetic, of the pair Su Yung played the valiant underdog babyface while Kay played the bullying heel.

Yung ducked in and out of the ring at the start of the match but was caught soon enough. Kay then spent the majority of the match very convincingly pulverising her. In the closing moments Su began getting her act together but was haulted when Kay suffered an eye injury. That turned out to be a swerve when Kay got her in a schoolboy rollup to win.

Jody Kristofferson v Chuck Taylor came next. It was another loss for Kristofferson, again by count out. Despite the losses he suffered on every one of the supershows I enjoyed Kristofferson's work. And he was portrayed as someone who could handle some of EVOLVE's bigger names but who wasn't experienced enough get the win over them. I’d like to see more of him on EVOLVE cards. For the record Earl Cooter took another pasting after the match.

In an odd move Biff Busick and Timothy Thatcher faced off again. They'd last done so four nights earlier on the Chengdu show. In theory there's nothing wrong with the two facing off twice on the same tour but it did feel a little off. I think it’s because there were no other repeat matches.

As was the case in Chengdu they didn't get the length of time I'd expected. They did put on another very good match though. And it was notably different to their previous encounters, with the top rope being used and the two men swapping around the body parts they were concentrating on. Busick ended up tapping to Thatcher's armbar. They shook hands after the match.

Ivelisse Velez's Shine championship defence against Mia Yim followed that. After a feeling out process in which the two swapped the advantage and showed how evenly matched they were the challenger got the first big move with a top rope arm drag. Velez responded with a super kick, a top rope hurricanrana, a kick to the face from the apron and a tornado DDT.

Yim got in some kicks and applied a leg lock. Velez reversed into an Indian death lock and then a Haas of Pain (which was nice to see). She released that quickly, creating a moment that would have benefited from a commentator acknowledging how tough the hold is to keep applied.

After taking an Exploder suplex Yim German suplexed Velez into a turnbuckle and then applied a bow and arrow. That too was released fairly quickly, with Velez taking the opportunity to catch Yim in The Undertaker’s version of the gogoplata. Yim gradually worked her way up to her feet before ramming the champion into a buckle.

They exchanged chops and then got roundhouses at the same time. Back on their feet Velez bulldogged Yim before Yim recovered and knocked her down with kicks to the face and a drop kick. Velez managed to throw her out of the ring and hit a hurricanrana from the apron. When made it back into the ring she was immediately hit with a spinning instep kick for two.

When Velez went to the top Yim cut her off, back dropping her to the mat and scoring an iffy-looking 450 (which hit Velez’s knees and was sold as though it had been a lot more impactful) for a two count. Velez escaped the package piledriver and got in some slaps. An attempted top rope move from Velez backfired when Yim grabbed her and successfully hit the package piledriver to win the Shine championship.

Fittingly this was the best women's match of the tour. The audience seemed to enjoy it well enough but Velez and Yim still deserved more from them. After the match the two shook hands and hugged. A bit of bad grace surfaced in the former champ when she tried grabbing the title belt and leaving with it. Yim told Lacey and the Serious Chinese Host that it was special to be champion. She said she'd be back (presumably in China) to defend the gold.

The penultimate match of the night saw the Bravado brothers and The Colony challenging the Premier Athlete Brand for the Open the United Gate championships in a three-way elimination match. It was a natural tag match to end on as both challenging teams had had title shots on previous shows, but it did slightly devalue the belts to be defended against the same assortment of guys across four shows.

The first fall was fought between The Colony and the Bravado boys. Fire Ant hit a crisp tilt-a-whirl headscissors and a a tornado DDT on Harlem and both Ants got suicide dives but it wasn’t enough to get them the first pinfall. Harlem caught Fire Ant on the top rope and gave him a sit out power bomb. That was followed by Gentlemen's Agreement to send The Colony backstage.

As they had two nights earlier The Brand played the faces opposite the challengers. After an initial flurry Barreta was isolated and worked over with such villainous moves as back rakes, rope chokes, and the dreaded Bandwagon double elbow. He once again impressed with his ability to sell convincingly.

After a blown spot where the referee forgot he was meant to be distracted by Konley to allow the Bravados to drag Barreta back to their corner Konley tagged in. He got a solid reaction from the crowd as he fired through the heels. The four repeated their spot from a few nights earlier with the Bravados double suplexing Konley and Barreta slipping in at the last second to power bomb them. It got a bigger reaction here, but it was still a little cheeky of them to recycle a spot on back-to-back pay-per-views.

Once everyone was back on their feet Barreta went for the Murray knee but got clotheslined. Konley ate an enziguri and a German suplex and the Bravados signalled for the Gentlemen's Agreement. ‘The Obsession’ fought them off, back dropped Lancelot out of the ring, shoved Harlem into Barreta's Gobstopper, and then pinned him with the double jump moonsault. The closing moments really elevated the quality of the match. I’d like Konley and Barreta to get more chances to team.

The tour culminated with Ricochet defending the Open the Freedom Gate championship against Johnny Gargano in a rematch from April’s Open the Ultimate Gate. For the record Ricochet won there, capturing the gold and ending Gargano's twenty-eight-plus month title reign. Oh, this match was for the Beijing cup too. That's a real prize right there.

They took a while to get going, milking the crowd and going through some basic exchanges before Ricochet got a headscissors and a drop kick. They avoided one another’s moves outside the ring and on the apron before Gargano got his spear through the ropes. He followed up with a snapmare, something Ricochet would do back to him a few minutes later.

As Ricochet turned the tables it became clear he was playing the antagonist in the match, choking Gargano on the ropes and shouting at people in the audience. After performing a standing moonsault (and the snapmare receipt mentioned above) Ricochet started punching Gargano with closed fists and then dropped him with a springboard clothesline.

They did Gargano’s duelling suplex attempt spot (which I personally find boring, although the crowds in China seemed to adore them) before ‘The Whole Shebang’ ran through Ricochet with clotheslines and gave him a pop-up power bomb for two. Ricochet rolled to the apron to recover but got kicked off by Gargano, then hit with a suicide dive. A lad in the audience loved that, giving Gargano a cheery thumbs up as he celebrated.

Back in the ring Gargano got a DDT on Ricochet then went for the lawn dart. Ricochet slipped out that and performed a fantastic Pele kick followed by his float over northern lights suplex. When Gargano kicked out Ricochet gave him a loud slap to the face before heading out to the ring apron. The challenger tried to hit a super kick but Ricochet blocked it and gave Gargano a Death Valley driver instead, sending him slumping down to the ringside mats.

Gargano made his way back into the ring at nine. Presumably he forgot he had a twenty count. ‘The Future of Flight’ leathered him with kicks and spat in his face (which seemed a bit much after Swann and Barreta had done the same thing in the main event of the previous show). Gargano psyched himself up and smashed the champion with elbows and an enziguri. Ricochet managed to grab him for a Benadryller but Gargano escaped, only to be dropped with a Superman punch.

Ricochet went to the top and hit a Shooting Star press. Gargano kicked out. Ricochet hoisted Gargano onto his shoulders and went to the second rope. Gargano elbowed out and tried for a hurricanrana. Ricochet blocked it. When Gargano tried the move again he got it but nimble ol’ Ricochet landed on his feet.

Gargano scored with a super kick. Ricochet scored with his own. Ricochet went for a kick to the mid-section (that’s real wrestling lingo there, “mid-section”) but Gargano caught his foot and flipped him over on to his knees. There he gave him another super kick before pulling him back to his feet to finally hit the lawn dart, which surprisingly earned him the victory and the championship.

It was a very good match, topping off a very good event and a very good tour. The fact that WWN were able to put on four such enjoyable and worthwhile shows with a relatively small roster at their disposal is a testament to the hard-working nature of the talent and Gabe Sapolsky’s ability as a booker. The news that China tours will become an annual event for the league is very welcome.

***

Results summary:

Rich Swann def AR Fox
Allysin Kay def Su Yung
Chuck Taylor def Jody Kristofferson by count out
Timothy Thatcher def Biff Busick
Mia Yim def Ivelisse Velez to win the Shine championship
The Premier Athlete Brand def The Bravado Brothers and The Colony
Johnny Gargano def Ricochet to win the Open the Freedom Gate championship

DG USA Mercury Rising 2014 review

Open the Ultimate Gate saw Gabe Sapolsky bring in Low Ki and Masato Tanaka to combat the absence of Dragon Gate performers. While said absence harmed the show’s legitimacy a little both Ki and Tanaka proved shrewd investments, turning in enjoyable performances in their respective matches.

For Mercury Rising Sapolsky added an additional approach to disguising his lack of access to the parent company’s heavy hitters. Falling back on his love of six man tag team matches he booked a six team four match trios tournament for the card. This not only kept his much loved tradition alive¹ it also made the show feel different to other recent DG USA offerings. The stipulation that the winning trio would get to book themselves in the matches of their choice also ensured that the series would add something to the company’s continuing plots and provided a reason for viewers to check out future offerings from the promotion. A shrewd move from Sapolsky.

Once again no time was wasted getting to the action. Chris Hero, Roderick Strong and Masato Tanaka versus Ricochet, Rich Swann and AR Fox opened the show. Noteworthy things about this match included: Strong and Swann being co-holders of the FIP tag team titles; Swann and Ricochet having competed as a team before (The Inner City Machine Guns); Hero having defeated Fox for his EVOLVE gold in February; and that Ricochet was wrestling his first match (though not his first defence, obvs) as the Open the Freedom Gate champion.

At half an hour long it was a satisfying opening contest. 'Ochet and his boys took pastings in the early going to highlight the striking abilities and experience advantage of their three opponents. Swann and Fox each took a turn being isolated by the hard hitters, weathering the storm until Ricochet could be tagged in. He took on both Hero and Strong, wiping them out with a series of one-against-two moves and flying offence. From there the bout evened out and all six men shifted in and out of the ring hitting signature moves and finishers. The finish saw Tanaka, Strong, Ricochet and Fox wiped out, leaving Swann to score the winning pin on Hero following a rollup.

Hero taunted his opponents with his title after the loss. It could have been the beginning or a heel turn but I doubt it.

Chuck Taylor came to the ring before match two. He had been scheduled to team with Drew Gulak and Orange Cassidy but the group had been disbanded the previous night when Gulak attacked Taylor. Whatever Taylor said into the microphone couldn't be understood but it was presumably something about The Gentlemen's Club being no more. Maxwell Chicago joined him and spoke at length before a match between the two started.

The story was that Taylor's heart was not in the match. Basically he wrestled like Orange Cassidy, very slowly and lackadaisically. He was eventually drawn into the spirit of things but the match ended up going to a no contest when The Premier Athlete Brand ran in and beat up Chicago. Su Yung told Taylor that he had no friends so had to fight alone or forfeit the match. He chose to fight. Because he’s a spunky young babyface and that’s what they do.

Baretta stood around at ringside because he didn't want to take advantage of Taylor due to their friendship. It still left 'The Kentucky Gentleman' in a two on one situation against Konley and Nese. He fought them off for a while but eventually the numbers got the better of him. Luckily for Taylor Biff Busick showed up to be his partner. A few minutes later Larry Dallas introduced Teddy Hart to proceedings. He cleared the ring of The Brand and then brought his cat into the ring and teased that he'd be the third man on the team face team.

It wasn’t to be. Hart turned on Taylor and Busick then shouted about bringing wrestling to an end. The audience chanted "This is stupid!" as the Brand slunk back into the ring and scored a winning pinfall.

The third tournament match saw Lince Dorado team with Green Ant and Fire Ant against Moose and the Bravado brothers. It was the most consistently fast of all three first round matches and featured some pretty slick double team moves. Moose was used sparingly, because he's inexperienced, but he handled what he was given well. For the record that was mostly acting as a powerhouse, blocking punches, hitting big moves, and catching his opponents in mid-air. He also proved fond of spears.

After eliminating Moose and Harlem, Green Ant was left free to apply the Chikara Special on Lancelot for the submission win. Green said something crowd pleasing after the win. No idea what though (because of the mic problems DG USA seemed happy to leave unaddressed). Lenny Leonard helpfully filled in the blanks and told us The Colony had issued a challenge for the tag straps at Dragon Gate's May shows, and that the Bravados had accepted.

The show's second half opener with Mercedes Martinez challenging Ivelisse Velez for the SHINE championship. Martinez controlled the pace of much of the match although the champion managed to get in a number of offensive flurries. ‘The Huntress’ retained after a crucifix and then helped the challenger walk to the back. The story was that Martinez had given the match her all and it hadn't been enough, basically. The match was perfectly adequate but not something that anyone will remember.

Low Ki's second appearance of the weekend was up after that. He was facing Johnny Gargano, who received a standing ovation when he entered. Before the match started Gargano cut a promo about being a hero and gave the impression that he still felt he was the Open the Freedom Gate champion (he’d lost it the evening before). The fans chanted "Where's your title?" Low Ki said something that must have been hilarious because the audience cracked up. Then the match started.

A slow pace was established in the early portion of the match, the two men feeling each other out and Gargano spending some time stalling at ringside. When the match got going it was okay but I wouldn't say great. The audience were into it though and reacted to everything loudly. That helped the atmosphere. Each man took a turn holding the initiative, 'The Whole Shebang' going second and keeping it longer. As was the case the night before the finish came from nowhere: Low Ki connected with the Ki Krusher for the pinfall victory.

Which left only the main event: the three-way elimination trios match. For the record this match was Ricochet, AR Fox and Rich Swann v The Premier Athlete Brand v Lince Dorado and The Colony. The Brand jumped the two face teams at the bell to get the ball rolling.

You could probably have guessed beforehand the match would be wild. The favoured triple threat spot of a three-way submission hold was modified, eight guys getting involved applying holds to one another until Nese decided to break it up. Speaking of Nese he performed an impressive Gotch lift power bomb to the outside on Swann. Fire Ant was launched to the outside by his teammates, but the mass of bodies waiting for him caught him and held him in place instead of tumbling to the ground, so Green Ant and Dorado launched themselves off the turnbuckles to send everyone crashing to the floor. Konley became the first man to get an elimination when he performed a fireman driver from the top rope on Dorado.

The pace slowed a little after that as the heels grounded Swann, included a moment where Baretta rubbed the Velcro of his boot across Swann's face. Swann came back with a hurricanrana. AR Fox cannonballed onto the heels as they stood on the outside. Back in the ring Nese got a near fall from a great looking power bomb. 'The Whole Foxin' Show' got a near fall of his own off an Ace crusher. Swann joined in with a handspring Ace crusher seconds later. Ricochet hit his northern lights into a brainbuster on Konley and then hit a Code Red on Baretta. Nese took a Benadryller and a 450 from both Swann and Fox for a near fall broken by Konley. Fox gave Konley a Lo Mein Pain for interfering but took Baretta's running knee as he stood up afterwards. And it was that knee that gave The Premier Athlete Brand the victory in a match that lasted less than twenty minutes.

The audience booed and chanted "Fire Russo!" after the decision. The sentiment was clear: Nese, Baretta and Konley going over was not a popular decision. That was to be expected, what with The Brand being the company's lead heel stable. The result seemed clear enough in advance though. The match stipulation was that the winning team would earn the right to book themselves in any matches they wanted. The Colony and Lince were clearly not going to win because Lince's not a top line performer and isn’t ready to become one, and the Ants will soon be prioritising CHIKARA again. Ricochet's team could have won but it was unlikely what with him being the company’s (double) champion. Match making stipulations are always given to heels, unless there's an underdog babyface involved who's been battling for a title shot for months (see Daniel Bryan). That wasn't the case here so it made sense to give the stip to the heels. They can now use it to drive storylines by giving themselves unfair advantages on upcoming shows.

The event as a whole did not quite meet the standard set by the previous evening. Only the opener and the main event really delivered the thrills and there was nothing capable of competing with Hero v Tanaka or Gargano's loss of the Open the Freedom Gate gold. It wasn't a bad show, it just suffered having to follow a very good one. Taken as a whole the weekend's DG USA and EVOLVE shows were worth watching. The paid off long running stories (in the case of Ricochet's title win a yearlong story) and provided developments that should ensure some good matches and cards later in the year. On the whole I'd say the weekend was more hit than miss for the sister promotions.

***

¹ Sapolsky has a history of booking six man tags at WrestleMania weekend featuring Dragon Gate dating back to his time scripting Ring of Honor.

DG USA Open the Ultimate Gate 2014 review

Dragon Gate USA, the imaginatively named spin-off of Japanese promotion Dragon Gate, has not been having an easy time securing talent over the last several months. Their shows in February saw CIMA pulled due to an injury, something which also prevented him from appearing here. On top of that there was some sort of issue with getting other names from the Japanese main roster, either a conscious decision or a visa issue depending on who you believe. Whatever the reason it’s a problem if DG USA is to be seen as an extension of the Japanese league.

This isn’t to knock the non-Japanese DG USA regulars. The company has a talented roster who are capable of putting together enjoyable matches and shows. But as talented as they are the DG USA name implies that Japanese talent, who can’t be seen live anywhere else outside of Japan, will be appearing. It’s those imports that are Dragon Gate USA’s biggest selling point.

Gabe Sapolsky has done what he can to combat the injuries and his partners’-slash-bosses’ reluctance or inability to make big names available. He rejigged the February cards to feature bigger matches (most notably Gargano versus Barreta) and made the best possible use Yosuke Santa Maria, the lone mid-card performer sent over to provide a “legitimate” presence on the cards.

For these WrestleMania weekend shows Sapolsky had a little more time to piece something together. He used it to secure the services of Low Ki, a man capable of turning out a cracking match, someone who wrestling fans will pay to see, and a man who’d been absent from the wrestling scene for nearly a year, making his appearance here particularly noteworthy. Booking him for these shows was a smart move on Sapolsky’s part. It went a fair way to making up for the absence of an Akira Tozawa or a Tomahwak TT. But long-term Dragon Gate are going to need to look at what they’re doing with their US branch or risk driving away fans they’ve worked hard to attract.

Sapolsky also signed Masato Tanaka to appear. While he fits the bill of a foreign talent he is not a man especially linked to Dragon Gate. If anything he’s still marked as an ECW guy in the minds of many. Still, it was another good get for Sapolsky, another man people would accept as a big deal. Pitting him against Chris Hero was another good move, their styles mirroring one another so closely.

The night kicked off with the Bravado brothers defending their Open the United Gate tag team titles against Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley. It was a peculiar match, what with the two teams being DG USA's two most effective heel units. It was a strange opener too. Generally it's good form to have a clear act to cheer at the start of a wrestling event.

The audience started off slightly favouring Harlem and Lance but ultimately treated the action like it was an all babyface encounter. Saying that, as soon as Harlem started playing to the crowd he heard boos. He proved he was capable of playing the good guy role moments later when he gingerly (AR Fox and The Young Bucks have nothing to worry about) cannonballed off the top rope to the floor, sending Nese and Konley sprawling.

The match was very enjoyable. The Bravados are an underrated unit, partly because they get overshadowed by the shenanigans they're booked to employ. Nese and Konley worked well in their first match together. They were never going to win, the match was more about getting something different onto the show and giving the Brand some practice time as a team ahead of the following night’s trios tournament, but they strung together some impressive double teams (the highlight was a pump handle bomb and neck breaker combo) that provided convincing near falls. Speaking of which it was a double team move that got the Bravados their win. Moose speared an interfering Mr A and intimidated Nese long enough for Harlem and Lance to perform a Gentlemen's Agreement on him.

After the match Nese laid into Mr A, telling him he wouldn't leave the ring until he got something right. Su Yung followed up with some words of her own but the microphone troubles of the previous evening's EVOLVE show were still going and I couldn't understand a word she said. AR Fox came out to have a match with Mr A, and we were told by Lenny Leonard as that started that Yung had ordered A to destroy the former EVOLVE champ.

The match that followed was all over the place. A's offence was plodding, tentative and basic, although he did make a fabulous crash mat for 'The Whole Foxin' Show's' aerial manoeuvres. Bizarrely he proved far better at performing leg lariats than he did punches and power moves. It's always handy for a big lad to be able to leave his feet in a wrestling match but throwing a convincing haymaker is far more important. That's what they'll be doing far more of, after all.

Forget Okada and Raptor, it's all about Hart and Cat from now on

Eventually Su Yung involved herself which brought out Ivalisse to even the odds. The ladies brawled backstage, freeing ringside up for the arrival of Larry Dallas. He shouted something into a microphone (again, no idea what) and then Teddy Hart sauntered out to ringside dressed in an outfit that looked like something The Honky Tonk Man would wear. Two women and a cat then joined him. The cat was placed on a turnbuckle before Teddy performed a power bomb into a back breaker on Fox, posed, dropped Mr A with a neck breaker, moonsaulted him, and left. It was a weird sequence but it worked well. Presumably Teddy Hart v AR Fox will be happening in the not too distant future. It should be good.

The match continued despite what was technically interference. Fox blasted A with a bundle of flying moves before getting apron bombed and spinebustered. A lumbered up to the top rope, ostensibly to try a splash, but got caught out with Fox's Lo Mein Pain finish. That put him down for the three. For Fox this match was nothing special, but it wasn't meant to be. For A it was a decent showing. The issues mentioned above aside he looked promising.

Match three saw Rich Swann facing Biff Busick. It was a fast, mostly even encounter that benefited from an involved, interested audience. Busick did his blend of pseudo brawling and mat wrestling while Swann dazzled with his impressive leaping ability and great aim. It wasn't surprising that Swann, the more popular and useful of the pair, won but it was surprising that he did so after a lengthy exchange of pins and counter pins.

The first half ended with a tag match putting Gentlemen's Club members Drew Gulak and Chuck Taylor against The Colony's Green Ant and Fire Ant. The Ants were the unquestionable faces of the bout with Taylor reverting to the role of loudmouth comedy heel. It worked for a match that was more about fun than long term storylines. The match built up to a frenetic series of double teams and signature moves before Gulak and Green Ant were left along to exchange pin and submission attempts. Green Ant got the submission for his team with the CHIKARA Special.

After The Colony left Gulak turned on Taylor, viciously clubbing him to the mat and giving him a kicking. The reasons he gave for his actions couldn't be deciphered but Lenny Leonard helpfully informed us that The Gentlemen's Club was no more. Seems like a good move to me. The group had been around for a while and its members can do more things of interest as singles wrestlers than as a group. Taylor's popular enough for a singles run while Gulak is more interesting as a prospective aggressive heel than in his previous undefined role.

The show's second half kicked off with the hotly anticipated return of Low Ki to mainstream wrestling. He got the "Welcome back!" treatment while his opponent Trent Barreta heard "Low Ki's gonna kill you!" It was a battle of two men Gabe Sapolsky is very keen on. Ki was his selection to be the inaugural Ring of Honor champion back in 2002 and was a key part of Gabe’s early booking career. Barreta has been treated as a special commodity since joining WWN following his WWE release in January of last year. There is clearly something about the two that attracts Gabe to presenting them as headline attractions.

The early going was a feeling out process, Barreta keeping to the ropes for fear of getting caught in a hold or hit with a strike by 'The World Warrior'. That gradually gave way to a match which revolved around the two swapping the initiative and treating the crowd to submission holds and loud chops (the latter of which came mostly from Ki). The pace quickened after Low Ki slipped out of a German suplex from Barreta, landing on his feet and then smashing him with a double stomp and half a dozen hard kicks.

The finish wasn't far behind that. Low Ki took a trip up to the top rope. Barreta attempted a hurricanrana but got stopped with a headbutt and hung up in a tree of woe. The audience, expecting to see Ki's celebrated double stomp, rose to their feet and were perplexed when Barreta managed to reach up and send Ki flying back down into the canvas. Untangling himself Barreta sped across the ring and nailed Ki with a knee strike that put him down for three.

The fans told Low Ki he still had it as he headed to the back. He was in great shape and the match was far from bad, but it was not the level of quality that Ki's been associated with in the past. I wouldn't say he doesn't have it anymore but the "You still got it" chant wasn’t merited here. The fans, as is all too common now, simply chanted it because they felt it was the right thing to do and because they wanted to say they'd done so. The meaning has been drained from the chant.

The second guest star was next. Tanaka versus Hero started out with a handshake and some slick hold-counter-hold exchanges. A strike exchange was teased a couple of minutes in when both men went for rolling elbows and held off when they caught sight of one another. It was a nice moment, carefully playing upon audience expectations and foreshadowing what was to come.

We weren't kept waiting long. Tanaka was soon encouraging Hero to kick him repeatedly in the face, coming back with a few with chops of his own and leaving Hero reeling on the mat. 'The Knockout Artist' returned fire with elbow shots but was plastered with Tanaka elbows in return. The story quickly developed into Tanaka having the upper hand but Hero being a proficient enough striker to surprise his more experienced foe if he bided his time. Despite being little more than a lengthy period of strikes and signature moves (brainbusters, Awesome bombs, Diamond bombs and big boots) interspersed with selling exhaustion on the mat the match was engaging and compelling. They expertly increased the stakes and ramped up the tension, climaxing with Hero going down to a diving lariat and a diving elbow.

Afterwards the two men bowed, shook hands and raised one another's hands. It was a classy moment. The admiration Hero has for Tanaka was clear to see.

Going on last were Ricochet and Johnny Gargano. The match was a champion versus champion encounter, Ricochet being the Open the Dream Gate champion and Gargano being the Open the Freedom Gate champion. Only the latter's gold was up for grabs. Ricochet didn't even wear his belt to the ring, which struck me as a bit odd considering it's the top prize in Dragon Gate and he’s the first non-Japanese wrestler to ever win it. Whatevs. Maybe he leaves it in Japan for simplicity’s sake.

What followed was a wonderful match. Things started off evenly but Gargano was put off his game after almost being hit with Ricochet's Benadryller, which had knocked him out for over a minute the previous night. 'Chet controlled the pace for several minutes until 'The Cat's Meow' caught him playing to the crowd once too often and speared him. From there the pace slowed and Gargano concentrated on wearing down the challenger with blows and submissions holds.

That couldn't last forever. 'The King of Flight' got a comeback going with an ace crusher and followed up with a dive over the top rope and a springboard clothesline back into the ring. Ricochet got a convincing near fall with a northern lights suplex followed by a brainbuster. Gargano came back with a power bomb for a two of his own. Ricochet slipped out of a lawn dart attempt and dropped Gargano with a Pele kick. A shooting star press attempt missed, allowing Gargano to connect with his lawn dart after all. A lengthy series of super kicks and elbows saw both men fall down to the mat, briefly slowing the pace.

A foray to the apron led to Ricochet being kicked down to ringside. An attempted suicide dive by Gargano didn't pay off: Ricochet caught him on his shoulders and performed and Death Valley Driver. Back in the ring the Freedom Gate champ desperately fought out of a top rope Benadryller and countered into a hurricanrana, following up with a Hurts Donut. That didn't get him a pinfall but it left Ricochet stunned enough to be placed in the Gargano Escape. The challenger managed to roll through into pinning attempts and power out into a Regalplex but the 'The Whole Shebang' managed to keep the hold applied. An escape was eventually managed after Ricochet got to his feet, hold still applied, and flung the champion into a turnbuckle.

A 630 splash earned Ricochet a two count. Next he tried a drop kick into the corner but Gargano pulled the referee in front of him (a ref bump for the second night a row, there was a time when Gabe had strong feelings about this sort of thing). Ricochet hit a Bendryller. With nobody to count he was left with no choice but to check on the referee. That gave Gargano time to grab his title belt. His attempt to smack Ricochet with it failed but he'd be more successful seconds later: after he was hoisted up and dropped for a Bendryller Gargano held up his title for Ricochet’s incoming kick. With the challenger knocked for six Gargano was free to wallop him with the belt shot after all.  

When Ricochet kicked out of that the crowd erupted. The champion choked the challenger with his wrist tape (an act which had signalled his heel turn one year earlier during a match with Shingo Takagi) but still found himself hoisted up for another Bendryller attempt seconds later. He countered it again, this time into a Gargano Escape. Ricochet got close to the ropes so Gargano released the hold to pull him away and reapply it. That backfired on him with Ricochet rolled him up with a cradle for a sizzling false finish.

Ricochet celebrates his Open the Freedom Gate win

And then, just like that, it was over: Gargano leapt off the second rope and got caught and dropped into a Benadryller. The crowd gave the new champion a standing ovation and a chant of "You deserve it!" as the locker room emptied. Ricochet celebrated with his fellow wrestlers and then cut a show ending promo that, sadly, couldn’t be understood.

It may not have featured any Japanese Dragon Gate talent but that didn’t harm the quality of the show. I’m sure the final two matches will end up as contenders for match of the weekend honours, and the rest of the card was always at least good. Open the Ultimate Gate 2014 was one of the best DG USA shows in quite a while and I’d strongly recommend giving it a watch. That said I hope the talent issues get sorted out by the time the promotion next promotes shows. If they continue to omit parent company names for much longer the credibility and legitimacy of the company as a spin-off may begin to erode. And that’s not something DG USA deserves.

EVOLVE 28 review

EVOLVE 28 probably had the best placing of all the non-WWE events taking place in New Orleans across WrestleMania weekend. While WWE’s supershow would be going on last and providing a climax to a weekend of wrestling EVOLVE 28 was the first broadcast event of the weekend. Going on first meant that fans were still fresh and eager to watch and react to pro wrestling. An active, responsive and enthusiastic crowd never hurts a wrestling show.

It was also in a healthier position than its stablemate Dragon Gate USA’s cards. As I’m sure I’ll mention when I write about them they are suffering from a distinct lack of legitimate Dragon Gate Japan wrestlers. And as Japanese stars flown in from the parent company are part of the appeal of the entire DG USA package that’s a significant problem. EVOLVE is unconcerned with this. Its mandate is to showcase the best talent available, no matter their nationality. That creates less expectancy and grants more freedom.

Avoiding any annoying preamble EVOLVE 28 got underway as soon as the stream went live. The opener saw Biff Busick take on Drew Gulak. I'm not wild about either man and this match did nothing to convince me to change my mind. It was at least a spirited offering that kept us guessing as to the outcome. Busick won after applying a body scissored sleeper, giving him what we were informed was his first singles victory over ‘The Legal Eagle’.

Match two saw Maxwell Chicago, wearing his tuxedo onesie, take on Green Ant. Maxwell's usual comedic antics were curtailed when Green Ant drop kicked him out of the ring as soon as the bell rang. Chicago weathered the storm for several minutes and did eventually manage to begin his regular shenanigans. Here that took the form of asking to apply headlocks and performing overly safe “high risk” moves. Green Ant got the win, a result which most had to expect, with a Michinoku driver and a Texas cloverleaf.

The comedy was followed by the newest member of The Premier Athlete Brand, Caleb Konley, taking on former EVOLVE champion AR Fox. This was the match which brought the show to life, a combination of Fox's popularity, his array of aerial moves, and the genuine heat that the Brand bring with them.

In storyline terms both men needed the win. ‘The Whole Foxin’ Show’ needed to regain the momentum he’d lost along with his title in February. Meanwhile Konley needed to win to start his time in The Premier Athlete Brand off with significance. In practical terms this meant both needed to make the match the best on the show. There were a handful of awkward moments, most notably an overly long pause for Konley and henchman Mr A as they waited for Fox to hit them with a flying move, but for the most part the bout was a rousing effort.

The surprise ending saw Fox roll up Konley with a small package as the clambered back into the ring. Considering both competitors needed to win for storyline purposes the ever reliable small package finish was a smart move. It allowed the more prominent member of the roster to go over without making Konley look weak or easy to defeat.

The result triggered an assault from Konley, A and Su Yung. Nobody made the save for Fox. That surprised me as Chris Hero has also been engaged with the faction and Fox had come to his rescue at the DG USA shows in February. A tag match pitting Hero and Fox against two Brand boys seems likely and linking Fox and Hero here would have been a simple way of leading to it.

The Bravado brothers were next. It was tough to make out what they were saying due to poor audio quality. It was something about The Young Bucks and holding tag ropes. While I don't think EVOLVE and DG USA shows need top of the range production values it would be a nice idea to make it possible for viewers to understand things wrestlers were saying in their promos.

As was the case at Way of the Ronin they had a jobber accompany them to the ring. Moose destroyed him in a squash before the Bravados competed in their scheduled match. That was followed by the first WWN Live tag match of the weekend, Lance and Harlem defending the Open the United Gate tag titles against Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor of The Gentlemen's Club. After some ringside brawling (which the brothers have supposedly banned) Cassidy found himself isolated for several minutes. 'The Kentucky Gentleman' eventually came in off a tag and singlehandedly turned the tide in favour of his team.

The Gentleman's Club hit some double team moves, including what we were led to believe should have been a match winning DDT-wheelbarrow combo. The reason it wasn't a match winner was that the referee got yanked from the ring before he could count the three. This caused some brawling at ringside involving Gulak and Moose while back in the ring Taylor rolled up Harlem only to be shoved off and into Cassidy. That Gentlemen's miscue was enough of a distraction for the Bravados to performer their elevated neck breaker finish on Taylor. With his teammates incapacitated he went down for the three.

The loss meant that The Gentlemen's Club would never get another tag title match. Taylor and Gulak looked dejected while Orange Cassidy walked out of the building. Taylor and Gulak stared after him before heading backstage. A big deal was made of this by the commentary team. Cassidy didn't even go to the back and get his gear you know!

After a lengthy intermission (they had technical problems to sort out) Lenny Leonard introduced Larry Dallas. The microphone problems once again meant nothing the pair said could be understood. It seemed to be about the downfall Larry Dallas has experienced over the previous year (but he's got a nice new haircut so that's something). Leonard talked about nobody liking Dallas and then left. Dallas stayed in the ring, ranted, then left. I assume this will lead to something as Dallas’s unpopularity has been a theme on a few recent shows. Unfortunately, not being able to understand what was said made it a frustrating experience.

In the ring the second half began with Anthony Nese versus Ricochet. The story behind the bout was that Nese had been selected as Ricochet's opponent by Johnny Gargano as part of the build for the Ricochet v Gargano bout the following evening. The same backstory would apply to the later Gargano v Swann match and would also be used as an excuse to add Gargano to commentary here.

The match was smooth throughout, as all Ricochet matches are. He dazzled with crisp kicks, textbook flying moves, and rag doll-like selling. Particularly impressive was a dive over the turnbuckle on to Mr A and Nese. This is not to gloss over how good Nese is. He does a very good job mixing flying moves with power moves, and routinely sells more than others on the roster (including Ricochet). Nor is it an attempt to gloss over Ricochet’s shaky relationship with the concept of selling. The idea of a comeback being gradual, as opposed to instantaneous, seems impossible for him to grasp. He’s not the only person on the EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA rosters to do this but he is among the most prominent.

With 'The King of Flight' going into a title match with Gargano the next night it made sense for him to get the win over Nese, and he did. After failing a springboard attempt Nese fell to Chocolate Rain and a Benadryller. Ricochet talked on the mic after the match. Johnny Gargano turned up provided some words of his own. Once again nothing could be understood but it's safe to assume they were talking up their title match. The talking ended when Gargano clotheslined Ricochet from behind. Rich Swann dashed out to make the save, segueing us into the penultimate match of the evening.

The story of the match was that Gargano was not fully focused on Swann, having to resort to extreme measures, dropping Swann neck first on to the apron for example, and rule breaking to gain the initiative. The match was lively, energetic and enjoyable, a perfect example of why Gargano's been one of the most heavily pushed acts of Dragon Gate USA for years. It was also a great match for fans of super kicks. From around the halfway point the pair were throwing them around like they were The Young Bucks.

The finishing sequence was a highlight of the evening. After Swann missed a frog splash Gargano applied the Gargano Escape. A submission was teased but Swann made it to the ropes. Taking the action to the apron the pair exchanged super kicks before 'The Whole Shebang' sent Swann head first into the mat and lawn darted him into a turnbuckle. Back in the ring Swann kicked out of a second lawn dart before going down to a title belt shot.

After the match the champ blasted the man he claims is his best friend with the title again before being drilled with a Benadryller by a returning Ricochet. Gargano sold unconsciousness in the ring for well over a minute. That was a great decision. It built the move up as something Gargano would need to avoid during his match with Ricochet. A credible threat to Gargano's title was made even more credible.

The main event saw Trent Barreta challenge Chris Hero for the EVOLVE championship. Lenny Leonard was on hand to provide in-ring intros for challenger and champion that could only be understood because we already knew what to expect from him (hashtag mic problems, right?).

After Barreta agreed to send Su Yung and Mr A to the back the pair started their match with some mat wrestling. Hero got the better of that, Baretta eventually turning the tables when he brought his knees up as Hero tried a senton. Minutes later Hero hit a release suplex. Barreta came back with a double stomp before being sent scurrying to the outside by a flurry offence from Hero. At this point Hero went for a fake plancha and wound up choking himself between the second and top ropes, something which could have proven incredibly serious. Thankfully no serious damage appeared to be done and the bout continued as planned. Time for that spot to be dropped from the repertoire though.

Barreta hit an enziguri and a German suplex for two. A tornado DDT also failed to get him the victory he desired. Hero hit a drop kick to the face and a cravat suplex. Barreta got a two count from a backslide. Hero got a two count of his own with a la magistral. Barreta attempted a float over pinning predicament but found it countered into a hangman's clutch by Hero. Barreta made it to the ropes and the two headed outside for a WWN favourite: an exchange of blows on the apron. Barreta got the last word on that with a double stomp.

'Trentylocks' trash talked the champ about being fat and his former tag partner Claudio Castsgnoli (heeeeeey!!) being at WrestleMania, which earned him a punch in the mouth. The pair swapped strikes, 'The Knockout Artist' ultimately getting the upper hand with a big boot. A power bomb attempt was countered into a Dudebuster for a two count. Barreta scored with a hurricanrana but seconds later found himself on the receiving end of a rolling elbow. He kicked out of that at two so Hero went for his Death Blow elbow. Barreta ducked and the referee took it instead.

Barreta snuck in a low blow before The Premier Athlete Brand strolled to the ring to lend a hand to their stablemate. Hero took some flying moves before avoiding a splash from Mr A and sending Nese and Konley packing. A rolling boot to Mr A got a solid reaction from the crowd but allowed Barreta to sneak in a running knee for a convincing false finish. Not done with the cheating Barreta stuck some brass knuckles in his knee pad and tried for another knee but was met with a big boot and a leg drop, providing another convincing false finish.

Giving us one falsie too many Hero managed to survive a blow from the loaded kneepad (a better name for the move would be Murray's Kiss as Barreta has a picture of Bill Murray on his kneepad). Barreta attempted a springboard manoeuvre but was met with kicks and a rolling elbow to finally end the match at just under half an hour. Fittingly, it was the best offering of the night, although it must be said that the show as a whole was far from a must-see affair. The second half of the show was very good but there was nothing that had to be seen on the first half. Still, as the opening card to a weekend filled with wrestling I think EVOLVE 28 was as good as it needed to be.