A Week of Death Valley Days: Mad Dog Connelly

The ACE of the Segunda Caida ACTION project, the kind of wild blood on his teeth brawler they just don't make anymore, and someone who is on a collision course with a fellow outlaw in SLADE. 

Mad Dog Connelly vs. Shane Mercer 11/2/25

PAS: Mercer is an indy veteran, who kind of wrestles like a shorter Scott Steiner, insane strength and a kind of meat head recklesness. This was the second of a series between the two and was a chair shot and guardrail heavy brawl which is the kind of thing Connelly is very comfortable with, and the kind of thing which makes his opponents uncomfortable. Everything doesn't get hit cleanly which actually adds to the match, the ragged sharp edges makes it feel more like a fight. I especially loved Mercer reckless suplexing a ring guardrail on top of Mad Dog's head, there was also a press slam by Mercer where he yanked him down using the dog collar, it didn't feel like it hit like they planned but it looked even worse. Definitely the kind of match where everything on both guys hurt the next day.

MD: In pro wrestling, ugliness is beautiful. That's what's been lost in this world and what Mad Dog Connelly excavates almost every weekend as he mows through any fool brave enough to stand to him. He's less the archeologist and more the profane, forbidden monster that our hubris-laden digging awakens, but whatever he is, his mad, violent bloodletting makes the world of pro wrestling more alive and vivid. 

We've seen so many no holds barred matches in the last couple of decades. The bigger the stage, the less real they feel. Staged props set up like a Three Stooges pie fight. There was none of that here. Connelly and Mercer tore through the venue pulling up anything not bolted down (and a few things that were) and used them as weapons. It was the sort of fight where a metal trashcan would do damage but the absolutely full recycling bin had more heft to it. 

Mercer is a unique Connelly opponent because he's so thick, a brick wall. Connelly flipped towards him off the apron and he jammed him in a way almost no one else could. He followed that up by yanking off a barricade and the heft of it as it crashed down on Connelly was one of those impacts that would stick with you for a while. There were callbacks and touchpoints and opportunistic transitions and big spots but they were so immersed in the mud of hatred and mayhem that they felt natural even while providing the whole thing some architectural substance.