Tag Archive: Gregory James

  1. Metroplex Wrestling-Consequences 2-23-2013

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    Well, this was a huge night for MPX. This is by far their biggest crowd, and there were lots of new faces. So for anybody who might doubt them, Colt Cabana & Jimmy Jacobs are draws. I was somehow able to convince my lovely wife (whose favorite part about indy wrestling is I leave the house for the night) to join me for this night. As somebody who’s been with this company nearly from the beginning, it was amazing to see how far they’ve come.

    Dark match: JD Kross vs. Jerome Daniels

    Daniels is my wife’s favorite patient after one time he had a concussion and she was the nearest nurse. Kross needs to work on the physique. Guts are fine. They just need to look like they’re getting smaller. Ben Wylde is someone who’s spent a lot of time working on his physique, and not that he’s Chris Masters, but there’s improvement. Jerome was great in front of the live crowd. With exception given to Palmer, he is probably the best at keeping the live crowd engaged. The move of the match was this corkscrew kick. I had an Oh, wow moment when it happened. Jerome put on the hold and made Kross tap out.

    Winner: Daniels

    We had the introduction of the commentators. The crowd still did not react to Hawke. I wonder if it’s because his current entrance doesn’t do anything to solicit boos. Oddly enough, the one fan who boos him sat behind me.

    First match: Kanoa w/ Kyle Davis vs. Gregory James w/Kyle Valo vs. Matt Palmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs

    Well, one cannot accuse Jacobs of any ego issues as he worked the first match on the card. Palmer is looking a little more chiseled. If you’re reading this for the first time, and you have not ever seen a Matt Palmer match, go to www.smartmarkvideo.com & check out an Anarchy Championship Wrestling DVD. He is one of the best wrestlers in North America you’re not watching. I’m going to use a name that Kyle Davis reminds me of and I do not use this name lightly-Paul Heyman. There are so many ways that he parallels what Heyman is capable of. Palmer-Jacobs was great. These guys have worked before and were totally even. My inner smark was quite happy seeing this. During the match, Kyle received a call on his cell phone (Paul Heyman much?) and took the mic. Mike Foxx had arrived and Kanoa had to leave the match to help Foxx prepare. Looks like we might be doing a build to a Kanoa face turn. I’m not quite sure Kanoa as a heel has run its course yet. After Kanoa left, the three remaining continued their really good match. Greg was able to jump in and do the flip-floppy moves. Jimmy bumped and sold like a pro. Total class act. I wrote down that it was a good match and wanted more.

    Winner: Greg

    They’ve been leading towards Barrett and Greg forever. With the build-up they’ve given this, this should be one of the most anticipated matches ever. They did a pretty funny vignette where Steven Kirby was trying to explain to Frankie Fisher who his opponent was going to be. Cute.

    Second match: Athena vs. Jordynne Grace

    So I was really looking forward to this match. Athena is a darling of the indies, and I think with time, so could Grace. The fans were not very forgiving in this match. This is not the most perfect match I’ve ever seen the two have, and to be honest there were a few botches, but every match had one just about. I’m not sure how many times these two have worked together, but I know the chemistry can be hard until you find it. The fans were brutal and heckled some pretty awful things. There was a guy who legit weighed 3 times Grace yelling out,” Jenny Craig.” And Grace works really hard on her physique and does not deserve that from the crowd. I think this will be a full blog topic later on, because I’m still pretty steamed. Nevertheless, Athena was Athena and proved why she is one of the top talents in the world. And I thought Grace did some pretty incredible stuff in the ring. She had some nice, hard-hitting, stiff moves. They won chops of the night until Danny Saint.

    Winner: Athena

    I think there is enough talent in Texas/Oklahoma/Louisiana/Arkansas to have a legit women’s division. Andy Dalton then came out. I love Evil Dalton. He’s one of Texas’ best treasures. He challenged Scott Murdoch to a chop contest, which is kind of like belly-flopping onto a porcupine.  Dalton got a chop in and Murdoch took it and had a pretty red chest. When it came time for Dalton to take a Murdoch chop, Dalton wanted to keep his shirt on. And then he attacked Murdoch with a cookie sheet. You want to dent a cookie sheet, hit Scott Murdoch with it. A great angle to start off the Murdoch-Dalton. I’m really looking forward to this feud.

    Third match: Kristopher Haiden vs. Joe Angelo Garcia

    This was a match with some nice build-up. Haiden continues to be one of the most over heels in the company. I wrote down that this match was better than the crowd reaction. The crowd didn’t seem that into it. Garcia’s mannerisms remind me a lot of another wrestler that I don’t mention often or use his name lightly-Chris Benoit. Not saying that he’s the second coming, but there are some flashes where I see him in the in-ring work.

    Winner: Haiden

    After the match, Franco D’Angelo came out and congratulated Garcia on a strong fight. I would like to have Franco come out to my work after I mess up and give me motivational speeches.

    During the intermission, Colt Cabana, Jimmy, Athena & Grace were out and about in the crowd with doing what Cliff Compton refers to as “the hustle.” Grace did not have a lot of visitors at her table which was a shame. Were she not already adorning my Man Room Wall, I would have bought something more. I got to briefly discuss AIW and WSU with Athena, which made me mark out as always.

    Fourth match: Li Fang w/Nigel Rabid vs. Jiggle-O James Johnson

    Johnson came out of retirement (which lasted longer than several Terry Funk retirements) to continue his feud with Li Fang. Johnson had his own brand of intensity. He was still engaging with the crowd yet focused. There was so much intensity and anger in this story. Johnson was on fire. There were a few moments when our eyes got big. Johnson did a kick that sounded like a decapitation. There was also a springboard stunner that Li Fang somehow kicked out of. Li put Johnson in a crossface with Johnson tapping out.

    Winner: Fang

    Johnson really put over Li in this match.

    Fifth match: Tad Wylde (Ben Wylde & Viktor Tadlock) (c) vs. 4D (Dave Dunnings & Dax Daring)

    On paper, you wouldn’t think that the team of Daring and Dunnings would work, but somehow it does. Dax is Matt Palmer on a smaller scale in his underrated-ness. If I do a list of my best local wrestlers you’re not watching, Dax is going to be towards the top of that list. One of the biggest reactions of the night was Tadlock’s hair. It looked like the love child of Moe of the Three Stooges and a medieval page.
    Last blog, I mocked the new “Wylde” tights  for being a little too awkward. This time he had some bicycle shorts or something underneath. The match went pretty well. The newer people in the crowd really weren’t connected with either team so they weren’t lost but just not invested in this match. I love seeing Dax whenever I can. Dunnings’ work is always very solid. And Tad Wylde are becoming a tag team unit. They even had a pretty good finisher.

    Winner: Tad Wylde

    4D congratulated them afterward. It was nice to see that sportsmanship.

    Sixth match: Frankie Fisher vs. Colt Cabana

    That’s right. I just wrote Colt Cabana in a LIVE show recap. If I am correct, I remember a few years ago, when Frankie was taking a donation to bring in Colt Cabana. And here he finally was. Frankie was probably the best wrestler to go against Colt because Frankie does comedy probably better than anybody, with respect to Zero.  So it was a really fun match. Frankie and Colt kept the crowd engaged. There were plenty of funny spots. My wife became a fan of Colt Cabana after that match. Kanoa came in and interfered in the match. It was ruled a no contest.

    Winner: No contest

    Main event: Barrett Brown (c) vs. Danny Saint w/Claudia vs. Mike Foxx w/Kyle Davis & Kanoa

    It was nice to see that this was still the main event, even with the huge names on the show. The first time Danny main-evented in MPX, I don’t think anybody ever thought he had a snowball’s chance of winning the belt. Tonight he was believable. All 3 looked like they wanted it and belonged there. Saint won the award for chops of the night. Barrett took some pretty crazy chops from Saint and absorbed the blows. Kanoa distracted the referee while Foxx had Barrett pinned. Barrett took the win and retained.

    Winner: Brown

    After the match, the Following came in and started attacking Brown and Saint. Out to his rescue came a returning Carrion Arcane showing lots of fire and a huge crowd reaction.

    All in all… Was again such an emotional experience. Dallas area is not known for getting in big indy names. To get Colt and Jimmy was a pretty big achievement. The crowd was really packed and it really was standing room only. The opener was great, Li-Johnson was really good, Colt-Frankie left me in tears, and it all ended in a strong main event.

  2. Metroplex Wrestling 4-14-12 “WASP is Gonna Kill You”

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    I’m going to be honest. They did not draw as well as they usually did. So I think I wasn’t expecting that great of a show. But I learned it’s not the size of the crowd. It’s how “on-fire” that crowd is. Less than two weeks ago, we saw how one crowd could carry an entire show at a WWE Monday Night Raw. Tonight, the MPX crowd made the show.

    We began with Kyle Davis and Kody Kox who introduced Kate. She was called the “heart and soul” of MPX. Even MPX’s naysayers say she’s great.

    Kate introduced Frankie Fisher who walked out and looked intimidating and jaw-jacked with the fans. And then Jerome Daniels’ music hit. He walked out with a purpose carrying a kendo stick. He has a nice voice and cuts a nice promo. But the promo he cut tonight… I would have to put this up at the top of MPX’s greatest promos: “Just” James Johnson’s heel turn, the Haiden-LaMotta back-and-forth, the promo I cut on Kenny Steele (ok, so I threw that one in there for the fun of it). The promo centered around how he and Frankie were going to have “a moment.” It reminded me of the promo R-Truth cut on Miz on Raw in December. (“I’m going beat you up every night and unwrap this present cause Little Jimmy said it’s okay.”) But this promo was coherent and did not set black people back 20 years.

    First match: Matt Palmer vs. Gregory James

    Now you’re probably wondering (as was I) how in the Blue Hell this was the first match. So I spent some time thinking about this. The MPX crowd is one boring match away from dying. I believe this match was put here to wake the crowd up. Palmer has some nice new ring gear. He is also looking a little bulkier. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting. But the match I got was very story-centered. You can’t fight the same match here that you would at Anarchy down in Austin. Palmer had some huge chops. The crowd took a while to get there but they were engaged in this match. I wrote down that there was lots of emotion in this match. And the best part about the emotion was the crescendo it took to get there. Palmer is so expressive that he carries every emotion on his sleeve.

    Winner: Headbanger

    After the match, they shook hands. I liked the sportsmanship. They had a cute vignette with Viktor Tadlock and Ben Wylde playing putt putt. I love them introducing different characters.

    Second match: Dave Dunnings vs. Regrub w/The Following

    My main goal as this match started was to not gouge out my eyes. I do like the work of Dunnings plus I get to chant “Double-D.” He’s country and I love the country element. Plus, he’s such a good character. The crowd loved him. The crowd also loved to hate The Following. Regrub did the forearm to the chest. The only problem with that is that Sheamus does it very well and very loud. At first I was expecting a squash and then it wasn’t. It kept going on a little more.

    Winner: Dunnings

    If Dunnings and Regrub are having a feud, that’s fine. But he’s a tag champ. I’m a stickler for protecting champs. Kyle Valo was well-received with a “Shut up, Kyle” chant.

    Scott Murdoch came out to say there was no competition. He worked the live crowd well. You can always tell when somebody has experience with live crowds because he had quite the fun with them in a sadistic “kid torturing an ant with a magnifying glass” kinda way. He sat down in the chair and waited for competition. His back was turned and James Hawke snuck an attack but he did attack him from the front. It was a brutal brawl. Security had a hard time separating them. Hawke was ON FIRE. I’ve done my share of mocking him for being John Cena. This was not John Cena. One angle and MPX fixed him. WWE, why can’t you fix your Cena?

    Third match: Kristopher Haiden vs. Danny Saint

    One of my favorite guys to watch in wrestling is PAC. I love his high-flying, aerial moves. There were no PAC moves in this match. This was a hot feud. They weren’t fighting from the get-go. Saint crouched in the corner as Haiden walked out. Then when the bell hit, Saint was on fire. I hate it when guys have feuds and they start off with a side headlock. There was none of that here. This was a good feud match. This was simply violent. Two guys who hate each other beat the s*** out of each other. Haiden won with a clothesline from Hell.

    Winner: Haiden

    After the match, Haiden took the microphone and set up Haiden vs. Headbanger for the next show. During the intermission, the faces came out and mingled with the crowd. It was a good family atmosphere.

    Fourth match: Viktor Tadlock vs. Ryan Gauge w/The Following

    I’ve never seen Tadlock as a face and I was kinda blown away. He is quite versatile. He can do the angry heel but he can do that monster babyface too. The comparison that comes to mind is Batista, except Tadlock wants to be there and will not injure himself walking to the ring. At first Tadlock was supposed to get Arcane, but Arcane decided that Tadlock wasn’t fighting him. He was going to get Ryan Gauge. Poor Ryan. Tadlock started telling him he wanted no part of him. Gauge slapped him. So Tadlock took him to the turnbuckles and slapped his chest a little. And by little, I mean hard. He got squashed.

    Winner: Tadlock

    After the match, Arcane told Gauge he was out and then The Following beat on him until he was saved by Tadlock & Wylde. Do I smell a 6-man?

    Fifth match: “Just” James Johnson vs. Jerome Daniels

    This match had a nice enough premise. Johnson wanted the belt and why should Daniels come in and get a title shot? You can tell these two are veterans who have wrestled each other many times. There were so many “little things” and nuances these guys got right. Johnson spit or something thereby prompting a “That’s disgusting” chant. I told you it was a pretty awesome crowd. The two guys really brought it. Nigel Rabid came out and interfered in full British mode.

    Winner by dq: Daniels

    Li Fang came out to the rescue. Both Daniels and Johnson were laying down in the ring. Li Fang went up to the top rope. Fang should come to the rescue of Daniels, right? But he attacked Daniels, turning heel. And thus was introduced “The Asian Nation.” I’m not seeing Nigel in it yet, but I will see how it transpires.

    Main event: Bling & Sting vs. Kenny Steele & Frankie Fisher

    Bling and Sting ($Payday$ and WASP respectively) had matching tights so they looked like a tag team. $Payday$ tried some new moves out. While they did not come out as smoothly or fluidly as he probably would have liked, I like that he’s working on finding himself a wider repertoire. The big knock on John Cena is the “5 Moves of Doom” (or as I say about Davey Richards, the “25 Moves of Doom”). $Payday$ is not content to do the same moves in every match. And the more opportunities to try his moves in front of different crowds, the more successful he will become. One spot I think he nailed was the suplex into the Stunner. WASP was pretty strong with the crowd reaction. He kept them engaged. Somebody in the crowd (or security) started chanting “WASP is gonna kill you.” It caught on. The high moment of the match (and the night, quite frankly) was when Frankie and WASP were fighting over by the merchandise table. I couldn’t see what the move was exactly from where I was sitting but Frankie went through the table. It was a total “Holy s***” moment. It wasn’t like the Spanish announcers table at a PPV where you take bets on which match destroys the table. It was the sacred merchandise table, which is the only table MPX uses. It got a “That was awesome” chant. With those two doing that on the outside it was between Kenny and $Payday$. $Payday$ made the pin.

    Winner: Bling & Sting

    Frankie sold his table bump like a pro. All the fans had to walk past him on his way out.

    All in all… This show was perhaps the best I have seen from MPX. Top to bottom, this was a really good show. There were about 4 good matches. Even the ones that didn’t knock my socks off weren’t bad. There was a really great promo, decent heel turn and a really awesome table spot. While still not perfect, I’m really looking forward to the major show in two weeks.

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  3. Raw is Back 2-20-12

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    There are so many things I can talk about. I just wanted to take a few moments to discuss a few things. First of all, one of Texas’ finest indy talents was in a horrible wreck and is now going through some major surgeries. Please take a moment to wish him well as he goes through this time. His Twitter can be found here.

    Also, I had the opportunity to see a really awesome match between “Headbanger” Gregory James and “The Chosen One” Barrett Brown. I decided to share that match here. If you do not, go find a local indy wrestling company and support them. This was the best I had seen either do (that didn’t involve a ladder).

    We open up with the Bellas defending Zack Ryder to Eve. Then Raw officially opens to the entrance of the Confederate Warrior. Then he trashes Eve. Eve is on her knees crying. I deplored this whole segment. Thanks for reminding me that all women are sexually depraved.

    The first match was Sheamus vs. Mark Henry. It was a nice match to start everything. It was a nice build towards Wrestlemania.

    Are Johnny Ace and Teddy Long going to feud? Can I pay NOT to see that?

    R-Truth is coming to the ring. Following him is Kofi. They are facing The Colons. The Colons got NO crowd reaction. The match was really good. Kofi pinned a Colon. Now Kofi & Truth are a tag team?

    David Otunga gets Ezekiel Jackson which I guess means we all lose. Otunga wins. Zeke, rent, don’t buy.

    Undertaker comes out bald on-screen for the first time since before 1990. He and HHH have a really good exchange. There just isn’t a single person who wants this match other than Mark & Paul. They agree to the match. It’s going to be Hell in a Cell.

    Daniel Bryan squashed Santino. Way to capitalize on your momentum, WWE.

    Aksana and Kelly Kelly got the Bella Twins. The Bellas won. Sigh.

    John Cena had a really good honest promo.

    The Battle Royal was something that legends are made of. This was really good. But it was so brutal. At least 2 wrestlers were legit injured. And Jericho won and the build-up began.

    I LOVED the Battle Royal, Cena’s promo & the Taker-HHH. The Eve stuff was awful and the rest was just there. I’ll call it decent.

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