Tag Archive: Dax

  1. MPX 1-12-13-When Haiden Met Brown

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    It is a new year in the wrestling world. After a week that goes so beyond killer it should be called “zombie,” I needed two things: I went to an SMU basketball game and see Larry Brown coach & I went to my local indy to see my wrestling. It was cold & rainy, but that would not keep me away, nor would it Mother Ruff, my wrestling watching companion.

    Dark match: Dax Daring & Dave Dunnings vs. Regrub & “The Left Hand of God” Matt Andrews w/Kyle Valo

    Dunnings was looking a little trimmer. The crowd loved Dax as always. I believe this is the first time I have heard Matt Andrews described as “The Left Hand of God.” Mother Ruff leaned over to me and asked, “Does his hand still hurt?” I still think that woman needs a wrestling podcast. She would put Colt Cabana to shame. It was a nice, short match. It warmed up the crowd, and Dunnings looked back in good condition.

    Winner: Regrub & Andrews

    We opened up with the actual “live portion” of the night. “The Crowd Killer” James Hawke was getting more of a reaction. But the true measure of a wrestler is not what you get the front row to do. It’s what you get the back row to do. Jiggle-O James Johnson came out first and then was promptly interrupted by Kanoa. There was some good comedy going on, but I’m confused with the direction they’re taking Kanoa. He’s no longer making sense with his promos. He called out Frankie Fisher who came out and they had a stare-down. Then Jerome Daniels came out to join the three-person staredown. I would have loved to see them build up towards a Triple Threat match. Jiggle-O cut a great motivational promo. I think I would like to call up Jiggle-O when I’m at work and hear him give me motivational speeches.

    First match: Tad Wylde (c) vs. Glamour Hammer

    I think Glamour Hammer’s big title shot might have been a little too premature. The outcome of this match was killed for me when Nobe Bryant came out and said he was still looking for a tag team partner. Obviously heel Nobe isn’t going to be feuding with heel Glamour Hammer. Ben Wylde’s outfit looks like something out of my nightmares. He had a hard time keeping both cheeks in the tights and was more embarrassing than anything. That being said, I think that Glamour Hammer is doing some really innovative things and should really be on more radars. As soon as they get some more matches under their belt, they should be ready to start branching out from just MPX. Also to me, one of the highlights of the night was Tadlock doing a springboard moonsault. I found myself being caught up in the match.

    Winner: Tad Wylde

    Nobe Bryant came back in with his new tag team partner-Kenny Steele. This is brilliant for so many reasons. Nobe has so much to teach Kenny, both from a storyline standpoint and from a “behind the scenes” standpoint. With one quick segment, I had a reason to care about Kenny once again.

    Second match: Zero the Antihero vs. Gregory James

    I has streamer duty as did Mother Ruff. She was quite excited that her streamers made it into the ring. The crowd loves Zero as always. There was a “Level up” chant for him. He got to do all his crazy video game spots. Greg is now evil and very deep into his character. He and Zero played a strong “good vs. evil” dynamic. At first I thought it was going to be the usual match where Zero gets killed and sells. Greg gave him more offense than usual. Zero looked pretty good during this match and looked like it wouldn’t be a fluke if he won. I noticed something during this match. The crowd is so invested in Zero that every move, the crowd reacted to, one way or another.

    Winner: Gregory James

    We had a vignette with Kristopher Haiden talking about how Franco D’Angelo had a setback. Haiden was ridiculing him for being old and crippled. Joe Angelo Garcia got in Haiden’s face as D’Angelo was a mentor of sorts. Looks like we’re setting up a Haiden-Garcia feud.

    Third match: Athena vs. Livi La Vida Loca

    Usually I just tell you what I think. But thanks to joining the 21st century and now having a smartphone, I bring you the entire match.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU2MsG6Ra4Q]

    Now onto my thoughts on the match. Athena was spectacular as always. What I thought was interesting was that the crowd seemed to be favoring Livi. The thing about the MPX crowd is that a lot of them just watch MPX and maybe the WWE and TNA. They don’t know that Athena is one of the best unsigned women on the independent scene. They don’t know that the woman calls herself a goddess but is treated like a goddess wherever she wrestles. They didn’t know that a prestigious wrestling promotion took in more than $50o in a campaign just to fly to her wrestle for them.  They knew Livi. Livi was who they wanted to cheer for. Athena won for chop of the night. She also won what was a match between two athletic gymnast types.

    Winner: Athena

    Fourth match: Li Fang w/Nigel Rabid vs. Kanoa

    This whole segment was all kinds of crazy and confusing. Kanoa made no sense in what he said last night and at one point said just the word “pudding” which prompted “Pudding” chants the rest of the night. I can only guess that he is doing the Perry Saturn thing where he has taken too many chair shots. (Please no return of Moppy.) We did have some pretty good action and lots of stiff kicks. At one point Kanoa began to no-sell. I didn’t like that. People who should be able to no-sell in MPX: Lance Hoyt. That’s it. I think Li was killed in this match. We did have some funny stuff with Nigel. Kanoa should not be invincible, and that’s how he came across. Li looked like a high school football team playing the New England Patriots.

    Winner: Kanoa

    During the intermission, they made a huge announcement: Indy journeyman legend Colt Cabana will be appearing in MPX on Feb. 23. There will definitely be “Mark Out Face” aplenty that night.

    Fifth match: Frankie Fisher vs. Jerome Daniels

    This was one of last year’s hottest feuds. Frankie and Jerome had such great chemistry. When Jerome is out there, he isn’t just a guy wrestling his match. He is one with the crowd and knows exactly what they need. This one told a story. It was about Frankie trying to prove that he had the heart and desire to be strong enough. When Jerome felt the crowd slipping, he reached out to them and got them back emotionally engaged in the story. It was a strong, powerful match that told a great story.

    Winner: Frankie

    One of the best matches I’ve seen both have. And dare I spoil it, but this is an early Match of the Year contender.

    Sixth match: Mike Foxx w/Kyle Davis vs. Steven Kirby in a #1 Contender’s match

    This match was a painful reminder how real wrestling can be. There was some really good intensity here in this match. I’m not sure if it was storyline or not, but Kirby’s knee went out several times. Foxx spent the rest of that match working over the knee. The great thing about Kirby is that he never forgets he’s in front of a live crowd. He kept the crowd engaged and in it. The match ended with some great drama. Foxx had Kirby in a Boston Crab. He had to work it over for about 2 minutes before Kirby tapped out.

    Winner and #1 contender: Foxx

    I am very much looking forward to the Foxx-Barrett Brown match. If they do it right, it could be epic and a passing of the torch, much like Chris Adams did for Foxx more than a decade before.

    Main event: Barrett Brown (c) vs. Kristopher Haiden

    If I’ve said this before, I apologize. But these two remind me of wrestlers with similar body shapes who always had good chemistry-Rey Misterio Jr. and Kurt Angle. Both guys on paper don’t look like they should gel but they somehow do. Barrett is over like crazy with the crowd and Haiden is equally hated. I just sat back and watched these two guys do their thing. It was a strong title defense that made Barrett look strong yet Haiden lost nothing.

    Winner: Barrett

    After the match, The Following came out to attack Barrett. Joe Garcia came out to take care of Haiden. A bunch of the boys from the back came out to do a pull-apart with Barrett & Gregory James.

    All in all… It was a tough night health-wise. There was one severe injury and I’m sure there were probably a few others. Jerome-Frankie was great. Kirby-Foxx, Zero-Greg, Livi-Athena, Barrett-Haiden were all pretty good. There were a few segments I could have done without. There is some really strong build-up. I am excited about the direction they are taking with the title.

    Here’s to hoping 2013 will be a banner year.

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  2. MPX-A Star is Born 9-22-2012

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    Well, I’m in Day 5 of no caffeine, and I warned everyone about it. So if Old Cranky White Man comes out here, I apologize.

    Dark match: Dax Daring vs. Steven Kirby

    I was a little confused at first. Who was I supposed to go for? When I say “A Star is Born” I think that was the theme throughout the night.  However, mostly I refer to Daring. He looked great in this match. He had a certain methodical intricacy to his moves. The first time I saw him, he served as a backdrop to Kanoa. The other time I saw him I was ring announcer and had no idea of what was going on in the ring. Tonight was his chance to shine, and boy did he. Later on in the night, he had the whole crowd chanting he was awesome.

    Winner: Kirby

    I wrote down this is the greatest dark match I’ve ever seen. After the match, Steven grabbed the mic and had the people give it up for Dax. Then Kenny Steele came in the ring and attacked Dax. Before you knew it, Kanoa & Mike Foxx were in there attacking Kirby. And as if Liam Neeson had said it himself, they released the Murdoch. Kyle Valo came out and announced there was going to be a 6-man.

    First match: Zero the Antihero vs. Andy Dalton

    Zero is crazy over. He’s never won a match. He’s our underdog. We want to see him win but never do. He cut a promo on his video-gaming. I had no idea what he was talking about. Andy Dalton is on fire here. The previous show, he had what I’m calling the match of the year so far. And tonight he was on fire. Zero & Dalton clicked. I saw a lot from Dalton tonight. As a heel, he kept the crowd in it. I like it when a heel encourages the crowd to keep cheering for their favorite.

    Winner: Dalton

    We were treated with an appearance from Franco D’Angelo. I feel bad for him because the crowd didn’t know who he was. I’ve followed his story of the awful car wreck and then his miraculous recovery. The fact the man was breathing, much less standing in the ring, much less planning a return to the ring, was great. What I give him credit for is changing the flow of his promo to where the crowd was behind him. And if I may take a moment, welcome back, Mr. D’Angelo.

    Second match: Jordynne Grace vs. Claudia

    Claudia is insane over with the crowd. This was my first time to see Grace as a heel. My previous match I’d kinda seen her in was a 3-way match where she was kind of the tweener. I like her work. The match was pretty decent. The crowd was in it the whole time, engaged. Just like Athena (who was in the crowd) is becoming the new “It girl” on the national stage, I think Grace is becoming a new “It girl” in Texas. Everything clicked well and the crowd stayed in it.

    Winner: Claudia

    MPX needs more women’s wrestling, and they have a perfect person to build their division around who is always in the crowd. There are some great name in Texas to bring in: Barbi Hayden, Miss Diss Lexia,   Rachel Summerlyn, Reyna Pink, Starr Venus (who is one of the legit nicest people I’ve ever met in wrestling) & Angel Blue. And there are some great names on a national stage I’d love to see come in: Jessicka Havoc, Allysin Kay, Mia Yim, Veda Scott, Marti Belle.

    Third match: The Modern Movement vs. Regrub & Matt Andrews w/The Following

    This was another match where everything seemed to be firing on all cylinders. Regrub was pretty good with the live crowd. And Andrews is so committed to his character. Regrub & Andrews wrestled good, smart tag team wrestling. And then there was TMM. They are such a good tag team. And I can’t help but feel that when I watch those two wrestle, that I am watching something on the verge of something special. This was such an emotional match, I kept finding myself caught up in the emotion. After 16 years of watching wrestling, not a lot catches me up in my emotions. The match ended when Carrion Arcane walked out and grabbed Kate and took her to the back. Greg of TMM was distracted and Choice got the pin.

    Winner: Choice & Regrub

    After the intermission, Arcane and Kyle Valo walked out with Kate being led in chains. Since Kate had not pre-approved her outfit, she had a new outfit to wear. It was Princess Leia’s bikini. In the world of “Pic or it didn’t happen,” here is visual proof.

    Fourth match: Dax Daring, Steven Kirby & Scott Murdoch vs. Kanoa, Mike Foxx & Kenny Steele

    Kanoa & Foxx started before their match with promos. They were going to humiliate the derby girls. The derby girls have become ours now. You don’t mess with them. Kenny took a lot of punishment in this match taking the chops of the night which went to Scott Murdoch. Every time I see Kanoa, I see more and more from him. But the real star of the night was Dax. He had such a great showing. He’s flashy and the crowd was chanting, “Dax is awesome.” During those two matches, Dax went from “Hey, it’s that one guy” to a full-fledged star. Kenny won the match with the Snow Plow.

    Winner: Kanoa, Foxx & Steele

    Fifth match: Viktor Tadlock vs. Joshua City vs. Danny Saint vs. Carrion Arcane vs. Frankie Fisher vs. Ben Wylde

    Last night, I heard one of the competitors refer to this match as a cluster. There were some parts of it that came off as a cluster. But the match itself wasn’t one. Instead of a cluster, I will say “complicated” & “multi-layered.” They did the plancha onto 7 guys with Frankie which looked pretty cool. I hate it when every match has this on the card. But only once per match makes the move seem special, which it did. I see a lot of potential to this Joshua City. He has  a lot of natural charisma and some X-factor stuff you can’t teach. The more I watch Arcane, the more of an unsung hero I see him being. The drama to end the match was great. Saint had Arcane in an arm hold and they milked it.

    Winner: Saint

    After Saint won, there was a great face-off with Steele. I am now sold on their match. The main event was supposed to be Kristopher Haiden and Matt Palmer in a rematch of the last show where Haiden snuck in to win the title. Haiden walked out wearing his Smackdown suit. Then he announced he had the night off. Instead of the title match we thought we were going to get, we got Matt Palmer vs. Andy Dalton.

    Main event: Matt Palmer vs. Andy Dalton

    Matt Palmer. Andy Dalton. That is all. You had the two guys deliver an epic match. With one match, Dalton elevated himself in a whole other category. He established himself as an elite heel in this company. This match was filled with near-falls. The story was that Haiden was doing commentary and kept on getting frustrated by Dalton’s inability to beat Palmer. Eventually Haiden went in and interfered.

    Winner by dq: Palmer

    All in all… A very strong outing from the MPX locker room. Between Dax Daring, Kanoa, Jordynne Grace & Andy Dalton, we are witnessing some very fresh faces doing some great stuff. If you have any of those 4 showing up near you, it is definitely worth watching. It had the right dose of comedy (Kate’s bikini) and drama and intensity. This was a great wrestling product.

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