Tag Archive: New Faces

  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. Power Poll 6/23/10: A slew of new faces

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    Alright, I’m up for commenting on the rankings this week.  I haven’t done so the last couple of weeks because I’d been posting these without a lot of time to get in depth.  Here we go!

    1. Rey Mysterio (Last week: 4)

    I ranked Mysterio 9th in my vote.  Yeah, he won the World Heavyweight Championship at Fatal Four Way, but Kane got involved in the match, so I didn’t really find him winning the title to be an impressive feat.  Win a match without outside interference, then we’ll talk.

    2. Rob Van Dam (2)

    RVD was my number one pick, and he wasn’t on TV this week.  The fact that he’s number two overall on this list despite that fact says something about the push he’s gotten in TNA.

    3. Sheamus (NR)

    For the same reason that I ranked Mysterio number 9, I ranked Sheamus number 10.  The NXT rookies destroying all of your opponents and you lucking out to avoid that fate before pinning John Cena, that’s not an impressive victory to me.  Add in that you didn’t do anything impressive the next night in RAW, and I’m not sure how you managed third place this week in the Power Poll.

    4. Kurt Angle (3)

    Without even a mention on iMPACT this week, his win over Kazarian at Slammiversary must have impressed voters enough to allow Angle to stay strong in this week’s poll.

    5. John Cena (1)

    The former WWE Champion drops four spots this week – and he didn’t even make my personal list.  I know John Cena is a big name with a lot of fans, but he didn’t impress me during the voting period.  Maybe next week, Cenation.

    6. The Miz (NR)

    Winning the United States Championship on RAW last week wasn’t enough to put the Miz on the Power Poll, but retaining the title at Fatal Four Way sure did.  Add in the fact that he assaulted Randy Orton on RAW, and The Miz made number four on my personal list.  He definitely impressed the right people, and hopefully we’re seeing the start of a main event push for The Miz.

    7. Abyss (NR)

    Abyss turned on Hulk Hogan this week on iMPACT, after destroying Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam.  This impressed me enough to place him number two on my personal list, and it sends him into the Power Poll this week.

    8. Evan Bourne (NR)

    Number 5 on my personal list, a win over Chris Jericho at Fatal Four Way and an impressive showing the following night on RAW sends Bourne flying into the top ten, hitting number 8.  (My personal rank:  5)

    9. Randy Orton (5)

    Orton impressed despite not winning at Fatal Four Way, and his threat to the NXT rookies (before being speared by Edge) seems to have the Power Poll voters still clinging to Orton in their top ten lists.  (My personal rank: 8)

    10. Kofi Kingston (NR)

    He may have been left lying by Drew McIntyre on SmackDown, but he retained his Intercontinental Championship at Fatal Four Way, which is enough to put Kofi Kingston back into the Power Poll.  (My personal rank: 7)

    Dropped out: Big Show, Jack Swagger, Bryan Danielson, C.M. Punk, Kane

    Also receiving votes:
    Edge, Jack Swagger, C.M. Punk, Big Show, Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, Tyler Black, Samoa Joe, Ken Anderson, Jay Lethal, Kane

    Participating sites:
    BoredWrestlingFan.comOnline World of Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Ponderings, Project Wonderboy, Ringside RantsWrestleRage.comWrestlespective

    The Power Poll is a weekly top 10 list ranking men’s singles wrestlers in WWE and TNA voted by wrestling writers. If you are interested becoming a voter, e-mail wrestlespective(at)gmail.com and include a link to your site.