IWTV Worth Watching: Alpha-1 Wrestling!

Manders vs. Steve Brown Alpha-1 3/10/19

ER: I threw this on because I was looking for Manders gems that hadn’t been unearthed yet, and I stumble upon a big ol Indy Akebono in Steve Brown!? Steve Brown, whose name would never stand out and make me seek him out, is a big fat guy with an awesome territory fat guy body. I’ve probably watched shows that had Steve Brown in a 6 man with other dudes I wouldn’t want to watch in a 6 man, and probably never even noticed the name Steve Brown listed. It is the least noticeable name. And yet STEVE BROWN is very much noticeable, and he does great fat guy offense and bumps for big Manders offense. Now, this entire match is 2.5 minutes long. It’s slight. But it’s a fun as hell Viscera vs. Bradshaw Attitude era short Raw match. Both guys run into each other, Manders has a big shoulder tackle off the middle rope, Brown has some big fat guy slams and a wonderful spinning heel kick (delivered just like Viscera used to deliver them, rest in power). Steve Brown feels like the guy I on sight excitedly wanted Barrington Hughes to be, but turns out Hughes can’t be trusted in a ring for more than a minute at a time. Brown is a guy I will be seeking out. I mean this is a dude who chokeslammed Manders to hell!!


Manders vs. Kody Lane Alpha-1Wrestling 6/23/19

ER: I saw Manders live 4 (5?) times in a weekend at SCI, and I saw a guy who was clearly putting in time and working as many dates as possible. This was several weeks earlier and you could see how much he learned just leading up to SCI. Even as a guy with just raw power, leaning into strikes and offense, he's a bunch of fun. Kody Lane is a lanky guy who maybe tries to do too much, could benefit with his moveset being tightened up a bit, maybe lose some things with tougher execution. The stuff that hit straight, hit well. Lane had a big running boot scrape style kick through the ropes to the floor, hits a cool tornillo plancha into close quarters (fans were seated fairly close to the ring in a small rec church rec room), really landed hard on a senton, and did things like block a Manders lariat by kicking his arm; Manders hit a big powerslam (lifting Lane over the ropes from the apron), big wind up elbow to Lane's cerebellum, and did some cool little things like laying extra heavy on a schoolboy. I bet this match would be good in 2020.


Philly Marino Experience vs. Ethan Page/Josh Alexander Alpha-1 Wrestling 6/23/19

ER: A nice, efficient tag match. Page and Alexander cut Marino off from Philly, wreck him with backbreakers and gourdbusters, and Marino gets to take a good beating and then fire back with harder shots than Page or Alexander were throwing. Marino is a great 2019 Ricky Morton, as his comebacks are fiery and stiff, but he takes a painful beating. Ethan Page had a couple devastating backbreakers, really using his size advantage to lift Marino up and spin him hard, theatrically onto his knee. He and Alexander had some double teams that worked due to their big size over Marino, like holding him upside down like they were giving him a swirly, before throwing him down on his stomach. The double teams Philly was a part of were kind of silly, a lot of help from Page and Alexander, but Marino's comeback was really exciting, nicely laced in chops and punches.