CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 152

Episode 152

Tag Team Battle Royal

ER: A lot of good teams in this, teams I really would not mind seeing in actual regular action. I love the idea of an Otto/Dollars team, like Daddy/Kool, Justice/Sharpe, Biggs/Foxx, just a good mess of teams. I love battle royals a lot, and this really had the makings of a great one. We eventually hit that annoying moment where three teams get eliminated at basically the same time, immediately cutting our participants in half, which takes a lot of the wind out of the sails. But even with that, this battle royal is fun as hell. Aaron Epic hasn't been seen in CWF for half a year, and makes a nice return here, really throwing big shots, stooging when needed, and going after Biggs. Biggs also turns in a great performance as the biggest guy in the match, lumbering around chopping people and squishing them into corners, walking Kool Jay to a press slam elimination (so many press slams in battle royals weirdly don't end in eliminations, it's good to see one actually come to its logical conclusion). I loved one moment where Biggs was slumped in the ropes and just reached out and chopped someone who wandered near him. It felt like King Kong swatting away a compy who had come to investigate if he was dead or sleeping. Cain understood proper battle royal behavior, wearing a shirt to the ring specifically so he could choke people with it. Dirty Daddy also made the most of his time, throwing some of the nastiest strikes of the match during his camera time (he had a downward strike elbow to the back of the neck that was absolutely brutal). I even laughed at Schwanz' elimination, as Schwanz keeps barking and saying words that aren't, while Donnie Dollars keeps asking "Are you kidding me!?" I wish it didn't wrap up so suddenly, this was shaping up to be a barnburner.

PAS: Battle Royals are mostly punches and kicks, so you want a match full of good punchers and kickers and CWF is loaded with them. Lots of wandering around and throwing forearms and guys like Otto and Dirty Daddy have awesome forearms. I loved Biggs in this too, and the Biggs vs. McAllister showdown was great with both guys just laying into each other with chops and headbutts, McAllister is really fun and perfect for Battle Royals. Unsurprisingly Kool J takes the sickest bump of the match, getting press slammed to the floor by Biggs (which seems like kind of a dick move for a face to do, no need to kill the kid.)

Aaron Biggs/Snooty Foxx vs. Aaron Epic/Abel

ER: I much prefer this kind of finish to a battle royal, where the two survivors then have an actual match. The match is short, but good, with Abel and Epic keeping Snooty away from Biggs with simple stuff, I liked a basement dropkick from Epic, and I think Foxx is just a super strong babyface. His selling during the beatdown was really good, he's a guy with size who can garner sympathy, and Biggs is great on the apron wanting the tag. I wish we could have gotten more once Foxx tagged out, as we fairly quickly go to the finish with the Biggs press. I'd like to see an actual tag match between these two, not one coming at the end of a battle royal, but a good 12-15 minute tag. I think all would match up really well.

Arik Royal/Mace Li/Rick Roland vs. Chet Sterling/Lucas Calhoun/Proletariat Boar of Muldova

ER: Roland is a big guy who's been around for awhile but I don't believe I've ever seen him, and he's filling in for Roy Wilkins in "the clean up spot". This match gets a lot of time, 17 minutes, and I think it was strong but could have been much stronger. Sterling put in a good babyface performance getting beat down by the All Stars, but I think his babyface work was kind of negated by Calhoun getting the hot tag and immediately working all of his comedy karate spots. It's kind of amazing to me that guys go along with those spots, but it's just not my bag. We do get a real nice second life to the match, as Mace Li of all people comes in to put a stop to Calhoun's five finger death punch nonsense, and Li puts in some of his finest work that I've seen from him. So we get a second nice All Stars control segment, a bunch of silly abdominal stretch heel work, with Li getting leverage from Royal on the apron who gets leverage from Coach who gets...and we get a nice Sterling run where he absolutely dumps Royal with a half nelson German, fun match overall with nice peaks and valleys. I was also really impressed with Rick Roland. I had never seen him before although I'd seen his name and I know he's been around awhile, but never heard much about him. He's big, looks almost the exact same as Parrow, and wrestles like a way better version of Parrow. His power offense lands heavy and he has a couple awesome tricks, like this slingshot rolling senton from the apron that absolutely splats onto Sterling. I'd love to see more of Roland and think he would fit in awesomely at CWF, hope he's not one of those guys who just shows up once a year on CWF shows.

Ethan Alexander Sharpe vs. Hurricane Helms

ER: Cecil Scott goes around ringside and gets a fan to pull Helms' title challenger out of the fishbowl, and the fan sees Sharpe's name and doesn't even want to say it in the mic, just tosses it back at Scott and walks off while rolling his eyes. Awesome. CL Party looks down at Cecil and says "No good?" Funny moment once Sharpe comes out and you realize who the kid was eye rolling about. Helms pins Sharpe quickly, and we go right into a tag match with Helms' mystery partner.

Ethan Alexander Sharpe/Cain Justice vs. Hurricane Helms/Ric Converse

ER: Pretty simple tag that I think needed Sharpe Justice to work a little more stiff to make up the size difference. Without that it felt like Helms and Converse taking 80% of the match while Sharpe and Justice just kind of clubbed away during their control. Helms even dominated the submission parts of the match, locking in his really cool figure 6 submission a couple times, and then reversing a Cain armbar attempt into a cool triangle, hooking his long leg around Cain's jaw. So Hurricane got the big submission moments, Converse got to come in throwing big punches and a big sitout powerbomb, Hurricane got to hit a big trapped arm facebuster on Sharpe, Cain took a big bump off a clothesline, really felt like my boys got a little steamrolled here. Sharpe hit his nice jawbreaker but I needed more out of my guys, and definitely didn't need them easily tapping to a dual submission (Hurricane's figure 6 + Converse's figure 4 = takes us to a figure 10, as called by Smith Garrett). CWF has a ton of guys they use, really think we can do better than just having Cain tap to a figure 4 after not being in the match a ton.

PAS: I thought this was a fun send the crowd home happy big star tag. Helms looked really good, all of his offense popped and the figure 6 is a great looking submission, I also loved the countering of the armbar, I am a big Helms fan from way back, and I never thought of him as a mat guy. I get Eric's beef with the heels getting dominated, and it does seem like they are shifting Cain to more of a stooging tag worker, but he is pretty great as a stooging tag worker, and the Cain/Sharpe team make a fun pair of John Tatums to get bumped around a ring.


COMPLETE AND ACCURATE CAIN JUSTICE

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 150

Episode 150

John Skyler/Mace Li vs. Aaron Biggs/Keith Mac

ER: This started out rough, with none of the stuff featuring Mac looking good. He threw a bunch of bad hiptosses, the kind that looked like a local high school PE teacher got in the ring to pop the crowd while the wrestlers bumped around for him, and then Mac capped it off with an ugly dropkick. Bad start. But Skyler willed this thing from the grave with a fast sprawling bump to the floor, and once Skyler/Li take over on Mac I get into it. Mac takes a great bump to the floor thanks to Skyler holding the ropes open, and Skyler/Li don't do anything spectacular to pick apart Mac, but they keep things engaging, keep Biggs away, Skyler is good at things like that. I especially liked how he occupied himself to allow Mac draw out the hot tag to Biggs: Skyler had eaten a facebuster and wandered around the ring holding his jaw, in total disarray, going to the wrong corner to tag in Li, all good stuff to let Mac build to that tag. And Biggs is a super fun hot tag, obviously, smooshing the other two and ending things once Li gets whipped into his rib crushing Thesz Press. This recovered quite nicely after

PAS: This is a good example of how a classic southern tag structure has a really high floor. Mac wrestles like a veteran in his 70s still working nostalgia shows (does Thunderbolt Patterson work Georgia indies, imagine that), good shtick, but utter inability to execute offense or take bumps, he is the Ricky Morton in this. Despite that, some good bumping and shtick by Li and Skyler and an awesome looking hot tag by Biggs make this a plus match. Get the crowd behind someone, and delay the gratification for a bit and it is going to be entertaining.

Otto Schwanz vs. Chet Sterling

ER: Is Otto the best (only?) guy to pull off a "tough guy/goofball" persona? He comes out in his velour Fila track suit and comically large chain, jump scares little kids, gets in the ring and does some combination of amateur rolling and warm-up break dancing, looking kind of ridiculous and yet kind of dangerous. "Kind of Ridiculous and Kind of Dangerous: The Otto Schwanz Story". I really liked this match, and loved Otto tossing Sterling around. Sterling would fire back with punches and I thought Otto did a good job picking and choosing which ones to take seriously, and which ones to storm through and ignore. Sterling rushes in with some body shots, Otto chuckles and doesn't slow down a bit; Sterling pops him in the jaw, Otto gets rattled, eyes widen, he cracks Sterling back harder. Otto has this one punch that I really love - and a few big guys use punches like this - where he throws one big shot horizontally across the jaw. It's a cool angle, stands apart from normal stand and trade punches, reminds me of the visual of when Andre would punch across his opponents face and body. I thought Sterling was good firing back with hard overhand chops, loved Otto sinking in bearhugs and elbow drops, thought Sterling bumped around great for Otto (and love that Otto charging shoulder in the corner, that sent Sterling through the ropes to the floor), and the nice high cradle is a believable way to get a pin on a bigger dude.

PAS: This was pretty good, Sterling has some dodgy offense, but is a good bumper and good at getting the crowd behind him, so having him eaten up by Schwanz is a good match structure. Otto is great at making simple things look devastating, nasty bodyslam, really great ragdolling bearhug, nice straight punches, nasty backbreaker. He reminds me a lot of Mark Lewin, who would be the answer to Eric's question for tough guy/goofball combo. Great match for the crowd, who really got into Otto's shtick and Sterling's comeback.

Dave & Zane Dawson vs. Dirty Daddy/Kool Jay

ER: At this point, every Dawsons tag feels longer to me than it actually is. I thought this match went 20, was shocked to see it was just 14. I don't know why, but it feels like there are rarely any changes in pace throughout their matches, they just kind of continuously operate at one level, and the Dawsons are just a bit too dry. They've shown flashes, they've had decent matches, but there's zero nuance to their performance. They sell for opponents in minute one of a match the same as they sell in minute 13, so there's never the impression that a babyface time is making headway or falling behind in a match. They're essentially always equally about to win or about to lose, and that makes things drag. Teams never gain or lose ground against them, they just do stuff to them until the match ends. They're not great at setting up offense for their opponents, but I still enjoyed Jay and Daddy here, thought both had nice punch combos. Daddy had some nice moments showing his really excellent attention to detail, and it's a shame he's been kind of lost at sea for the last few months. He'd be a far more interesting guy with a tag belt than these two. A great detail moment I loved from Daddy was him getting caught by the Dawsons in a crossbody, leading Jay to missile dropkick him, sending him into a pinfall on the Dawsons. But Daddy comes up selling his back, which is huge, as it rarely happens with that spot. Somehow in wrestling physics, if you get hit with friendly fire you don't have to sell it. But Daddy is a smart worker and it really lends credibility to his matches. Dawsons on the other hand make taking a headscissors look about as plausible as Kenny Omega bumping for a blow up doll. I liked Jay taking big bumps and getting planted by the Dawsons, Zane threw a great punch in the corner at one point, but overall the match dragged for me.

PAS: Kool Jay is a great pinball and takes some big time bumps by the Dawsons, and I actually think this would have been a pretty good match, except for Dirty Daddy's lethargic hot tag. He is usually so good as both the hot tag and the face in peril, here it felt like he mailed in the big comeback a bit, which took some steam out of the crowd. Dawsons title reign has taken a bunch of steam out of the tag titles, not sure I have really liked any of their title defenses, this had some moments, but was too long and never hit third gear.

Donnie Dollars vs. Trevor Lee

ER: I've never seen Dollars come out in his button up and 1994 gaudy tie, and I like it. He looks like an IRS/Big Bubba cross, and the IRS look makes sense with his name. If he's supposed to have been some kind of equity trader then I have totally missed that. I dig Lee dismantling big guys, and I've been waiting for a longer Donnie Dollars match, so I was excited for this one and thought it delivered, although less than other Lee main events. Dollars was fun using some shortcuts that a huge dude shouldn't need to use, but I love seeing a heel cheat just to cheat, so Dollars pulling the ref in between he and Lee so he can blast Lee with an elbow, or Dollars kicking the ropes while Lee steps through them. Lee never really felt in danger in this one, which lands this lower than other title matches. Lee was mostly one step ahead of Dollars, with Dollars being the one to get occasional hope offense (like a big running boot), which is kinda backwards. But Lee is fun working ahead on a big guy, stomping early on Dollars' elbow, which Dollars never really recovers from. Dollars was really good at keeping that elbow stomp present, even though we never went back to it. His selling was good enough (without being constant) that it played as a rough move that set him back early in the match, that gave Lee the advantage the rest of the match. Lee would be kicking at Dollars' body, and he would be holding his elbow and leaving himself mostly defenseless against kicks, and it really made it seem like his elbow was messed up if he was willing to take these kicks to protect his arm. Lee amusingly baited him a couple times, like hitting a running elbow in the corner and duping Dollars into following him so he could hit him again. The end was never in doubt, and I wish Dollars had a bit more of a showing, but it was fun.

PAS: I tend to really like lesser Lee title matches, he is more interesting when he works around a formula worker, then just having an indy classic. The structure of this was kind of unique with Dollars playing a heel underdog big man, not a combination I can remember seeing before. Lee almost comes off heelish here, do you really need to break Donnie Dollar's elbow to beat him? I agree that Dollar's elbow selling was great and I thought the built a couple of nice near falls for Donnie. I think this match would have been better if Donnie went on a bit of winning streak before it, so the crowd might buy him a bit more, or if it had just been a sprint. Going this long without Dollars having any chance of winning was kind of odd.

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 147

Episode 147

Dos Hombres vs. Michael McAllister/Nick Richards

ER: Dos Hombres are Kamakazi Kid and Matt Smith. Kazi is a guy with a belly who seemingly works the greater NC area under assorted masked gimmicks (we dug his match against Cain Justice as "Number Dad") and Matt Smith is a younger former CWF guy who dropped out of wrestling for awhile. And I dug them both here. McAllister rocks a beard nicely, and Richards has clearly been busting butt to get into shape, he looks 20 pounds lighter than the last time I saw him. I really had no expectations for this tag and came away thinking it was a real blast. Hombres felt like a last minute gimmick but now I'd love to see them in the Kernodle Cup. They both did really cool things, Kazi snaps off a nice rana and hits a nasty headlock takeover, Smith has impressive energy and tosses in some things you don't see enough of, like his running jumping knee to McAllister's back and a weird (and awesome) flipping fistdrop. McAllister and Richards are really gelling as a team, and I love how stoked they seem to be teaming with each other. McAllister hits a big palm strike at one point that turns Kazi inside out (and I'm pretty sure it was just a great worked palm strike, don't think it actually made any contact) and Richards spikes his cutter (I think Kazi made it look more dangerous than anyone so far), just a ton of fun simple tag match. And looking back at what I wrote, it's pretty clear I came away most impressed with Kamakazi Kid (Hombre #1?). He does so many great little things, really talented guy.

PAS: Eric breaking kayfabe by outing masked guys, for shame. I really liked this too, McAllister and Richards are a really fun team, and the Hombres started out as a comedy team, but ended up being really fun.  I loved Rojo River Jack trying for a step up rana and ending up eating a stomach breaker, and Negro Bart's fat guy snap rana was dope. I loved the wheelbarrow cutter finish that Redemption was using, and thought the Hombres were a fun Conquistadores style masked team, I want to see them against everyone now.

Chet Sterling vs. Brad Attitude

ER: What a slaughter! Attitude cuts one of his great Las Vegas poolside interviews about how he's not there and he's in paradise instead, has the Hombres jump Sterling (with Kamakazi taking the big half nelson suplex bump as Sterling comes back), and then Attitude himself comes out in slacks and a dress shirt and just wastes Sterling with his hard rolling travel suitcase. I don't think I've ever seen one of those used as a weapon before, and as I fly down to Phoenix later this week I'll have to keep that in mind. Attitude chucks it - hard - at Sterling's face, really beats him with it. I mean if you're going to debut a non-canon weapon into a pro wrestling ring, you gotta show why it's a weapon. If that was the worst thing that happened to Sterling in this match, he'd be bad off. Sadly, Attitude catches a plancha and rams him painfully into the ringpost, and then hits probably the nastiest apron powerbomb I've seen. There's no great way to land one of those, but this definitely isn't the way you want to land, head whipping hard and body going right into the edge. I've really gotten into Sterling's comebacks, he makes good use of his great right hand, but the second the ref disposes of a chair Attitude boots him low. This has to be setting up a big time No DQ match, and if it even approaches this 4 minute teaser, that match will SLAY.

PAS: Man is Brad Attitudes entire shtick just gold. The whole promo in the pool with Dolph talking about seeing Vince Neil and drinking beers, what a masterful cock that dude is (Brad Attitude video cameos are BY FAR the best things Dolph Ziggler has ever done in his career). The roller bag hurled at Sterlings face was super nasty, as was that apron powerbomb. Hell he did a Kudo Driver as a set up move. Despite my long established Sterling skepticism, the blow off for this feud is going to be awesome.

Donnie Dollars/Otto Schwanz vs. Aaron Biggs/Kool Jay

ER: Oh man I really like the Dollars/Schwanz team! I don't think we've gotten that pairing before and I love it. Otto is fun in this, rolling around and acting like a kook, and Dollars is probably my favorite underutilized CWF guy. But what sets this match apart is THAT moment. I already thought this episode HAD that moment, maybe a couple of those moments, from Attitude destroying Sterling. You know, one of those moments that makes you exclaim out loud while watching something by yourself. This match is going along fine and then then Jay gets whipped across the ring...straight into an Aaron Biggs avalanche. Jay runs into Biggs like an Eagles fan trying to catch a train, just totally takes the wind out of the room. Awesome moment that was totally unexpected within the match. The reactions from Dollars and Otto are classic, both laughing in stunned amusement at the flattener and the flattened. And we get a nice and long and active control segment from my new immediately favorite tag team, with Dollars dropping some big heavy legs and his patented Kool Jay-destroying bodyslam, Otto snapping off quick elbow drops and squishing Jay with a bearhug, and Kool Jay - you heard it here - is a guy who will absorb a beating. He fights back with what he can, throwing nice body blows at Otto (that get mostly ignored) and really running face first into Otto's boot, propped up in the corner. Dollars and Otto are fun to watch deliver a long beating, Jay makes a long beating go quick. I do wish there was more of a match after the Biggs hot tag though. Jay hits a big stunner on Dollars and gets the tag, Biggs flattens Dollars with the Thesz press, and Jay takes a bit too long hitting the winning frog splash. The ending was a little too neat of a bow, and while it was pushed as a big deal that Jay pinned Dollars, it felt a bit like Cornette tagging in to get the pin after Eaton hits the Alabama Jam.

PAS: Really fun tag team, every time Dollars is in the ring with Kool Jay it is tinged by the horror of that powerslam chokeslam thing he did to him last year. The announcers never mention it, but for me it hovers over the entire match, Kool Jay then eats the accidental Thesz press and it comes off nearly as insane and violent, it felt like surprise car accident in a PSA about wearing seatbelts. A lot of the recent Kool Jay stuff has been based around his offense, which is fine, but his insane bumping is what makes him special. I liked the beatdown by Dollars and Otto and the finish was fine, but I am not sure how many more defining moments Kool Jay needs, is pinning Donnie Dollars in a tag  a bigger deal then beating Mike Mars for a title (a match that has been blackholed), it isn't like Dollars has been kept strong.

Ethan Alexander Sharpe vs. Ric Converse


ER: Fun unique match-up, with Cain being a great equalizer on the floor for Sharpe. Converse is a really great heavyweight, throwing big hands, great big boot, muscled Sharpe through a powerslam, all his stuff looking real good. I love Sharpe going for his big KO uppercut the second Converse is distracted by Cain, and Sharpe brings a nice attack to Converse, especially liked the draping elbow over the ropes, ending with Sharpe casually resting and posing over the middle rope/Converse. There appeared to be some shenanigans as I noticed a cut in the match - and I usually don't notice subtle clips - but Cain was helping Converse back in the ring, and we get a camera cut and Converse is draped over the bottom rope. The finish is a fun bit or horse business, with the ref KO'd Cain pump kicks Converse in the chest and Sharpe gets the roll up. I really loved how Ric sold the pump kick, like he had been poisoned and was just now realizing his heart beat was changing.

PAS: This was fun stuff, Sharpe has really developed into an effective offensive wrestler, and I actually buy his offense hurting Converse. Cain is nearly as great on the floor as he is in the ring, and the pump kick interference was pretty awesome looking. I am looking forward to seeing more of this tag team, although it does seem like a bit of a side draining of Cain who really should be feuding with Trevor Lee over the title at this point.

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 144

Episode 144

Cain Justice vs. Ian Maxwell

PAS: Cain is really great at working with greenish guys and working around their limitations, it is the thing that is most impressive about him being a rookie himself. Maxwell has some fun highspots, and Justice is great at filling in the middle parts of the match around them. I loved his fake knee injury, and how it played off of the Battle Royal. I also liked how he used the ref to distract Maxwell a couple of times, including the awesome finish were he maneuvered the ref in between him and Maxwell who was perched on the top rope. When Maxwell finally dove, Justice snatched him out of the air with a cross armbreaker.

ER: This was a cool twist on the modern indy workrate match, with Cain constantly - awesomely - throwing a wrench into typical modern workrate moments. Every time it would threaten to devolve into This Is Awesome, Cain would just wash to the floor, jaw with fans, sip hilariously from a water bottle, stall, and generally just upset the rhythm. That style works great when you have a great worker upsetting rhythm. Modern indy workrate comes off too much like swing dancing big band, and you need an upsetter to introduce people to the irregular phrases and angular melodies found in bop. Cain as Thelonious Monk? I thought they hit the first armbar spot too long, as I never like when somebody is just able to casually survive in a Cain Justice submission, it does them a big disservice. This one was even weirder as Cain had a fully extended armbar and was looking to KO Maxwell with heel kicks, and with the armbar still extended they do a raise/drop the arm spot. That's weird. Maxwell doesn't pay attention to the arm again even though he was locked in the armbar for 30 seconds. But I liked the rest of this, always like how active Cain is during simple lockups and go behinds, reaching back between his legs for something, looking for hammerlock openings, grabbing for headlocks, punching Maxwell in the hamstring, etc. His elbows land so damn hard, short staccato bursts, and I like the offbeat timing he brings to the standing exchange. Nobody should get excited for back and forth match for match exchanges anymore. They're dull. So once this one starts, I appreciate them mixing it up and not robotically trading elbows. They brought kicks, elbows, a superman punch, and more, a nice variety that was offbeat and welcome. Maxwell has some smooth stuff, really liked his leaping rana, and he has nice timing on his enziguiris. I agree with Phil on how cool the finish was. There were a lot of moving parts, and it was still able to come off naturally, the somersault leap into the armbar was precise and looked great, really fun match.

Mace Li vs. Kool Jay

ER: I liked this one too, although I don't love an overuse of "I kick you and it causes you to stumble, and you sell on your feet until I get up, then you kick me" in a match, I thought they handled a lot of things nicely. I still can't really get a good read on Mace Li, even though he's popped up regularly over the last 4 months. Within a match he'll do some things I really like, here he throws a really great shoulderblock and an awesome missed elbowdrop, really sticking the point of his elbow, and late in the match he planted himself on a DDT; but then he'll do some annoying or lazy things, like a slo mo missed clothesline to get into position for the next bit of offense. But overall I liked him here more than I've liked him in other matches. I am still not over how they handled the Kool Jay RGL title win. It makes no sense to me. Kool Jay now acts like an established fighting champion, and I didn't even get to see him fight for his title win. It is not sitting well with me. It feels like we missed 70% of his story. I think CWF has been mostly really good about working people up and down the card, but Kool Jay already getting a title feels like I just skipped 4 months of TV. And I'm still adjusting to him getting a lot of offense, and I do still think he's a more interesting wrestling working from behind than working even. But I liked his body shot combo in the ropes, and his DDTs go down with a nice snap, so he's still going to be a guy I get interested in seeing. I just feel a little robbed.

PAS: I agree with the silliness of not showing Jay win the title, I do enjoy him as champ though. He has a nice arsenal of little guy spinning offense. I really liked his jumping complete shot and his DDT. Mace has some fun shtick although he definitely still looks a little tentative when he applies moves. The All Stars are a great act and you can pretty much slot in anyone around Jerry Carrey and the Coach and have it be entertaining. 

Faye Jackson/Aaron Biggs vs. Zane & Dave Dawson

ER: This was so-so, but I thought the Dawsons did well to put the whole thing over. Faye Jackson is fun and I like her vibe, like the big butt attacks and her rolling cannonball, but I don't think it really works with these guys. It doesn't help that she appears to gas out pretty hard at the end, taking a long time to leap into a sunset flip and then taking even longer to ready a chairshot after the match. Obviously I miss the Sandwich Squad, and Mecha was my favorite part of that team, but Biggs still brings value on his own. I won't ever get tired of a huge guy doing splashes and avalanches. But the Dawsons held this together, Dave especially was really mean to Faye, hitting a big dropkick under her chin (I liked her sell of it) and pulling on her hair while taunting her in a chinlock. I like the Dawsons cheating to win because basically why not, but they should also work a little harder to make their tag champs look like they deserve to be tag champs. It seems like every single makeshift team takes them to the limit.

PAS: Faye does have really fun offense, although she might be best used as a face manager who comes into hit some spots, kind of like Que Monito. I do love her rolling cannonballs. Biggs is fine, but I am not sure if he is ready to be the A1 in a tag team, he is a little like a good secondary scorer who has to take the majority of the shots when the star player leaves. He may get there, but I am not sure he is there yet. Dawsons were fun in this as dick heads, I loved the taunting of Biggs with the EAT chants, and Dave blocking the low bridge attempt by punching Faye in the face was great.

Chet Sterling vs. John Skyler

ER: I was skeptical when I saw the episode still had 25 minutes left, and didn't think these two could stretch things out that long without me getting restless and wanting the match to end. But I really liked this and came away impressed with how they used the 25 minutes. It was simple stuff but paced well and paid off nicely, with Skyler stalling to start, eventually attacking Sterling's ribs, removing a turnbuckle pad early, and that pad and the early rib work leading to the finish. It's all very satisfying, linear stuff. But what put it over for me is how much the fans in the Sportatorium love Chet Sterling. I was a slow convert on Sterling. We've probably seen 20 Sterling matches now, and it's been a slow burn. I did not like him on first watch, slowly accepted that he was decent in trios, slowly accepted he was good as the Ricky Morton in a tag, finally became a singles match convert after the Royal match, and now I enjoy Chet Sterling. Hearing the fans (and especially all the screaming kids) cheering for him when Skyler was beating him down really made the match. We have so many 25 minute matches where the guys are going to do their match no matter the reaction, and while this didn't feel like the crowd was dictating the pace of the match, it did feel like these two knew exactly what kind of match to give them. The rib work was set up nicely, with simple things like Skyler smashing Sterling ribs first into the apron, or hitting a fat senton, on up to bigger things like Sterling going for a crossbody but landing on Skyler's knee. Sterling's comebacks are good in tag matches, and it was good here. He throws his hot comeback punches from the same arm slot as Lawler's comeback punches. They aren't as good as Lawler's, but that's not a very fair expectation, because Sterling has great babyface punches. They do several moments that are hard to naturally pull off, where Skyler keeps missing offense while Sterling keeps moving out of the way, too tired to counter with anything of his own. The misses usually look hokey but Skyler did them well, especially crashing into the buckles chest first. The end pays off the early work nicely, with Attitude knocking Sterling off the top rope, making him fall on the exposed buckle, leading to Skyler planting him with the Finlay Roll off the middle rope. I got similar vibes during this match as I got during the Foxx/Royal Chapel Hill match, just a hot crowd rooting for their babyface as fans of the hero, not fans of "This is awesome".

PAS: I thought this was a heck of Skyler performance. I loved all of his shtick early in the match, stalling, demanding time outs, begging off, and then flipping the switch when he got an advantage. I loved him catching Sterlings dive with a stomach buster and then just pounding on him with head and body shots. Skyler was really focused on the ribs and small of the back in an entertaining way and they timed Sterlings comebacks really well to keep the crowd engaged. Timing comebacks is a really important part of a traditional face vs. heel match, wait too long and the match just drags and feels too one sided (This was the fatal flaw in the Wrestlemania main event), go too early and it is just a your turn, my turn match with no selling and it doesn't allow the crowd to pop at the comebacks. I don't love Sterling's 1997 ECWA offense, but it was timed great. Finish was awesome too, with Chekov's exposed bolt coming into play perfectly, we get some classic dickhead Brad Attitude and a great second rope Finlay roll for the pin.

PAS: Pretty good show, with everything getting a thumbs up and Skyler vs. Sterling making our 2018 Ongoing MOTY List. 

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 141

Episode 141

Ethan Alexander Sharpe vs. Chet Sterling

PAS: Sharpe continues to impress, as he really lays it into Sterling with hard shots, including a great diving clothesline to the back of Sterling's head while Sterling was tied up in the ropes, and a big time lariat which flipped Sterling around. I liked Sterling getting pissed and yelling at Sharpe to keep talking, but honestly Sharpe is the much fresher act at this point, and probably should have gone over. I feel like I have seen everything Sterling is going to show me, he is like CWF Randy Orton at this point.

ER: I thought both guys looked really good here, and loved how it devolved. We start out kind of expectedly fun, with Sharpe showing off his new merch and Sterling blowing his nose with it, but Cecil Scott was strong at pointing out the strides that Sharpe has made (and I also liked him bringing up the cold NC winters, which have been known to affect breathing the longer a match goes). Sharpe keeps adding cool offense to his repertoire. I kinda liked him as a Stevie Richards heel type with maybe two simple moves that look bigger within context of his matches, like his great jawbreaker. Here he just blows through Sterling with a great diving lariat, and later hits a crossbody/lariat while Sterling is draped over the middle rope. Those things added to simple vertical elbows can fill a match nicely. Sterling takes a super nasty bump through the ropes to the floor, like a trained version of Vince always almost hanging himself when he would get tossed, and I liked how Sterling goaded Sharpe into getting overly aggressive, clearly a trap, and a good enough one that I bought the roll-up nearfall. I get Phil's point about Sterling being the CWF Randy Orton, but I think Sterling continues making strides as well: The last half of the year Sterling matches appealed to me far more than the first half, he's been utilizing his genuinely good right hand at the right moments of matches, and it's working. Real good, satisfying match.

Mike Mars vs. Aaron Biggs

PAS: Fun slugfest to intro Biggs back into the singles realm. Very simple match which delivered what was promised. I thought Mars's somersault escape was a fun big man agility spot which was more like a Kamala leapfrog then a Donovan Dijak juniors spot.  I really liked the finish with Mars hitting the headbutt which staggers Biggs only for Biggs to bounce back with a huge Thesz Press for the KO

ER: This was good, I believe it was my first semi-extended look at Mars against a larger opponent. Since it was only going a few minutes I wish we had more of a big meaty slugfest (it was grounded for a bit in the middle) but I liked what I saw. It was basic, it was good. The finish was what made this super memorable though, as Mars surprises Biggs with his great thrust headbutt, and Biggs counters that surprise with one of his own, just flattening him with a Thesz Press as "out of nowhere" as a 375+ pound man can be. I was expecting Biggs to stagger, was not expecting him to come flying flush with a massive press. The win was a given. Truly one of the greatest Thesz Presses of our days.

PAS: Not sure what is going on with Mars, he has this big undefeated run, including just crushing Dirty Daddy in 120 seconds at BattleCade. Then they have Mars immediately lose the RGL title to Kool Jay, which is a win that they have been building too, but having that big win not get shown on their show really stinks. I get that there was a bunch of turmoil, and maybe there are reasons the footage got black holed, but it really screws up Mars and it stinks that Kool Jay's big moment is disappeared. At least show highlights with re-dubbed commentary if they don't want Bishop Magic Don Juan on their shows anymore. Now Mars goes from sqaushing everyone to losing his title in a dark match to losing to Biggs clean in a shortish match, the booking around this makes no one look good.

ER: Man I was so confused by this, and thinking about it doesn't make it any less confusing. Mars was a beast, running through everyone, including Daddy which was super shocking. I was really looking forward to a longer RGL title from Daddy, so the 2 minutes and change Mars victory was a shock. But to have Kool Jay turn around and beat Mars for the belt....and we don't even get to see it!? That is just stupid. Kool Jay has hardly even snapped off a single piece of offense during his CWF run, so for him to show up with a title suddenly feels like we jumped ahead 4 months in booking. I was really enjoying the slow burn, and CWF is a fed who knows how to do a slow burn. I thought Jay would start getting more and more offense, get a banana peel win, slowly move him to being more than just a bumping death machine, maybe have him cut a promo about how he had died so many times in the ring that he was on his last life and needed to start winning. But instead he shows up with a title that - last we saw - was Mike Mars' title, that Jay apparently won the week before. There was turmoil, it was the holidays, but that just highlights more reasons to NOT do a title change. I wanted to see Jay's journey, and I wanted to see Mars dominate for awhile. This is a bummer.

Roy Wilkins vs. Kool Jay

PAS: I really enjoyed this. The shtick here is that Wilkins has stolen the Mid-Atlantic belt and is now defending it against other champions. Since Kool Jay has the RGL title, he is the joke opponent. Big star treating a youngster like a joke and getting his comeuppance is a great match structure. Wilkins is really great as a contemptuous prick, and Jay is a really great underdog. I thought the opening section of Wilkins dominating went a bit long, this match type is better at 13 minutes rather then 22, but once Jay made his flurries of offense it was pretty great. Jay has a great dropkick and Wilkins really flies out of the ring, both tope's were big moves, and the sliced bread was a great near fall. They tried to make Kool Jay in this match, and mostly succeeded, although he already got his big career defining win and it isn't being shown for some reason.

ER: This was a good match that I think was really tanked by the fact we never saw Jay's title win. And I couldn't help but think the entire, long match, just how much different I would be reacting to this match had Jay been merely building off of the last time we saw him. He hadn't won a match at that point, he had barely been seen on offense, and because of that Wilkins was treating him like a total joke. How big would this match have looked? Instead, we went in knowing that he beat Mike Freaking Mars, a man who before this same episode we had barely seen look weak. Somehow, Kool Jay beat Mike Mars cleanly to win a title. Kool Jay beat a man who had been treating him like a complete punching bag for months. Kool Jay went from not being able to compete at all against Mars, to beating him for a title. And knowing that, makes Wilkins' entire attitude towards him not make any sense whatsoever. Cockiness is cockiness, I get that, but this mystery title change really sucked a lot of the drama and interest out of this match for me. It being overly long didn't help things. Kool Jay beat Mike Mars in less time than it took Wilkins to actually get actively involved in this match. And the final half was really good, really exciting. I don't think the latter half was made any more exciting because of the extended first half, but again the last half was really good. Even when he's on offense Jay tries his best to die (luckily Wilkins reeled him in before he destroyed a few rows of chairs) and I love the multiple tope spot. The interference from Caray and Coach was great, timing was always on point, and I especially loved when Caray grabbed his leg before the first tope, Jay backed him away with a 619 before hitting the second tope. We get a couple nice nearfalls (which again, would have been incredibly exciting without the knowledge that Jay had beat Mars for a title), but the strange programming decision really made this a misfire.

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 139

Episode 139

Logan Easton Laroux vs. Andrew Everett

ER: Good match, my favorite Laroux performance in CWF, and a damn impressive Everett performance. Everett is like a classic luchador: He started wrestling when he was practically too young to drive, has been doing it for ages even though he's in his mid 20s, has a soft body but pulls off incredibly graceful flying. Here they craft a super fun match around Everett flying around, wrecking his arm and shoulder on a risk, and then commits to selling that damn arm to the bitter end. Everett hits a huge Asai moonsault into the crowd, laying out both of them into chairs, but back in they do an expertly timed springboard spot that sees Laroux knock Everett off balance and crashing shoulder first into the turnbuckle. Laroux is really great condescendingly going after the arm, the best being simple push kicks to a downed Everett, hard enough to really rub it in. Everett straight commits  to letting everyone know his arm is killing him, and I love all that great theatrical wrestling, it's got an  awesome early 2000s indy charm. I remember seeing Mike Modest getting his arm worked over during a match and when he won and the ref raised his bad arm, Modest cringed and made him lift the other arm instead. Love it. Everett does all that great stuff like start to grab the ropes to climb them, then opts to pull himself up with one arm. It felt like Laroux should have really gone after the arm more viciously, but I still really liked what they went for here.

PAS: This was a more vicious Laroux performance away from being a really great match. Loved the bump on the turnbuckles which Everett took to set up the arm work, and Laroux's chicken wing using the ringpost was really nasty looking. Outside of that though, the punches, kicks and stomps by Logan needed more mustard on them to work with Everett's great selling performance. I need him to be more of a mauler, but I never felt the violence. Everett is a hell of a highflyer, he has tremendous explosion on all of his moves, that pele kick was as good as Meiko Satamura, which is high praise, and his SSP is really pretty. I hope him winning the belt means that he shows up more in CWF, I think an Everett v. Cain match could be really special.

Brad Attitude vs. Chet Sterling

ER: Another good one, although with an uncomfortable botch that's tough to ignore, and felt unnecessarily dangerous. Overall the match was a blast, with Sterling stepping up his brawling game and Attitude being the star that he is. All of Attitude's shots look great, and he does little dickish things during a beating like carefully re-smoothing his hair tuft. Sterling has a nice short right hand, good snap, and shakes the fist out nicely after the best ones. Fist shaking after a punch is something that will bump you up a hundred points on the SC500. The crowd brawl was fun, with Brad Attitude falling all over Dylan Hales in the VIP Suite, and Dylan being a good soldier by holding one of Attitude's arms back to make it easier for Sterling to get some chops in. Sterling pays him back by hanging him out to dry on a brutally long high five offering. Match threatens to derail when Attitude goes for an ill-advised splash mountain off the top, and it was supposed to be a Sterling reversal, but somehow both guys get dumped on their heads. It wasn't pretty, but it could have ended up a lot uglier than it really was. Still, Sterling has to sell like he reversed the bomb and didn't also get dumped on his head in nasty fashion, and it's hard to look past not selling what looked like the most insane (accidental) move of the match. But these two match up really well and I thought everything else in the match looked good. Attitude has great follow through on all his stuff, nice low superkick, spine shifting buckle bomb, and we had several convincing nearfalls. Finish was fun Attitude bullshit, with him distracting the ref to mule kick Sterling low, and Sterling catching the kick, leading Attitude to continue grabbing and shaking the ref to get his leg loose and kick Sterling low anyway. Sterling moves up the 500 even more by selling his balls while getting pinned after the match finishing shotgun kick.

PAS: I really liked this, and Sterling continues to have matches I enjoy, it is like he is going to force me to like him, I RESIST! Attitude is such a treat to watch. Honestly he is one of my single favorite guys in wrestling right now. I can't think of a better heel performer, he is such a naturally detestable guy, and is so great at both the little and the big things. He has an awesome spring board senton and flying kick, and a great forearm to the back of the head and flabbergasted sell. I love how he uses the ring apron powerbomb as a momentum changer, and how it sets up all of his future attacks. I didn't mind the botch that much, as it did look like Attitude took the worst of it. Finish was classic horse shit and the perfect finish for Attitudes character.

Cain Justice vs. Nick Richards

ER: I was wondering if Cain would kind of steamroll Richards, to show he was more than ready to step up, but I wasn't sure. We already saw a super quick Mike Mars win over Dirty, didn't think they'd go with another short match. But they did and I think they handled it great. Just like Daddy/Mars it was high energy bell to bell, with neither man holding back for any kind of stretch. They came in throwing, with Richards getting an early advantage and dumping Cain with a nice throw, but Cain catching him with a Crop Cop like high kick, just the heel of Cain's foot to Nick's neck. Cain hits his awesome pump kick, and in a flat out killer reversal Richards goes for the cutter but Cain catches him in a disgusting armbar. Richards' arm really looked hyperextended and I'm surprised he hung on as long as he did. Post match is great with Cain celebrating and Richards pissed, getting helped up.

PAS: This was great, I loved how intense both guys were, they figured if they were going to go three minutes, they were going to press down the pedal. I loved how Richards sold that big high kick, it totally scrambled his brains and he never was able to recover. Finish was my favorite finish of 2018, just a beautiful mid air reversal and Justice just wrenching the armbar, such a cool idea perfectly executed. I love both of these guys and hope we get a longer match down the road, but this was a hell of a three minutes.

C.W. Anderson vs. Ric Converse

ER: Two weeks ago we got the excellent show closing segment with CW cuffing Converse to the ropes but Converse holding the ace of an I Quit threat over CW. This week we get another set of excellent promos where CW talks about how saying "I Quit" 18 years ago has haunted him ever since (goddamn I need to go back and watch that Dreamer/CW I Quit, I haven't seen it since it originally aired) and CW is just SO so great in this promo, really a perfect wrestling promo. If his motivations were different, it could even be read as a babyface promo, confronting demons from his past. CW is the total complete package, one of the best in the world. Converse cut a great promo too, running down his history in wrestling and all of his memories and accomplishments. And you know he's torqued for this fight because he's sporting trunks!!

PAS: That promo was great, I love the idea of I Quit being the ghost that haunts Anderson. CWF does history better then any other fed in the world, and this is such a great setup of a hell of a match.

ER: And this match is awesome. They don't waste any time building to the violence, and within a minute CW is wearing a chair around his neck and getting beat with another chair. The match went quick and the violence ramped nicely. But CW had some nice tricks, including a bucket he brought with some weapons (a chain, barbed wire, a bottle) that would all get involved. CW was awesome as a Finlay type punisher, really feels like he's as good as any wrestler in the world these days. When he was in control he wouldn't let Converse rest for a second, kicking him hard while he was down on his way to get more weapons. CW integrates his wrestling well into a nasty match like this, firing off some perfect left and right hands (arguably best punches in wrestling today), wrenching Converse's arm in awful ways (beating it with a chair, bending and twisting it behind his back), sharp back elbows, his world class spinebuster, all paced perfectly. As often happens, the weapons one brings to a fight can be used against, and CW eats a huge rydeen bomb through a table, gets choked with a chain, Converse really gives as good as he gets. Cecil Scott on commentary was good at pointing out that they were far better off going for pain that a KO blow, how hitting a KO shot could work to your disadvantage in an I Quit match, how causing pain is better. And the finish couldn't have looked more painful, with Converse jamming a roll of barbed wire into Anderson's eye, getting a quick and fully understandable I Quit out of him. I loved this, just a great throwback brawl from a couple Carolina legends.

PAS: Totally great stuff, they come right out wailing, and they do some really violent work with chairs, including CW getting chair shotted while wearing another chair as a neckless. CW does some really painful looking arm work, including an armbar that looked nearly as nasty as Cain's the match before.  This was just two rawbone old pro's throwing bombs, no elaborate prop set ups, just a fist fight with occasional hurled chair or chain shot. I loved the finish with CW violently choking Converse with a chain, only for Converse to pull out a beer bottle from a mail bin like a close up magician and smash CW in the head. The barbed wire to the eye socket is a perfectly reasonable finish to an I Quit match, even one where Anderson vowed never to give up.

ER: Hard to get a better episode of wrestling TV than this. Three of these matches landed on our ongoing 2017 Match of the Year list, pretty neat from one hour of episodic wrestling and not just some "Greatest Hits" show.

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BCW Pro Wrestling North Carolina 10/8/17

ER: This is the kind of show I would be attending if I lived in the southern United States, the kind of show where the ring is set up outside in the backyard of a bar, nice balmy October day, a bunch of kids sitting on chairs in gravel, cars parked everywhere, just great aesthetics for a southern wrestling show.

1. Kool Jay/Labron Kozone/James Ryan vs. Chris "TNT" Taylor/"Big Bite" Martinez/Semi Mutina

ER: I'm mostly unfamiliar with half the guys in the match, and this isn't a very essential trios match, but it's good for making mental notes on guys you haven't seen much, filling in blanks on guys, forming opinions and giving you a history when you see them in other matches. Semi Mutina looked like Big E, only a foot shorter and instead of a powerlifter build he had more of a "fat guy who has really been working out" build, and a cool Afrika singlet. Sadly he seemed really lost whenever he was in there, so I'll have to let his actual ability catch up to his cool fat guy charms. Big Bite was tall and lanky and pulled out some smooth exchanges, nice high vertical leap enziguiri, and hit a huge splash off the top. Him I'd like to see more from. I finally got to see Kool Jay in a longer match, although once he was in with Mutina who ended up out of place and kind of hung Jay out to dry on a flying something-or-other off the top. But Jay had an awesome full leg extension superkick and the flat out greatest chop block I've ever seen, just flying across the ring. It was cool seeing Jay as more of an offense guy than as a big bumping guy, though even with that chop block he's still probably best as a big bumping guy.

2. Snooty Foxx vs. Tre G

ER: First time seeing Tre G and I am definitely down for more. He's a great guy to have on an indy card, with some good shtick and nice basics. He jumps Snooty before the bell, throws nice punches (including some blistering lefts down the stretch), mule kicks Snooty down low, throws a decent spinebuster, drew heat with a somewhat scattered quiet crowd (including from one woman who absolutely would not let up on him the entire match) and bumped great for Foxx. Snooty looked good and had a very impressive rookie year. I like that all the things he can do, he can do against guys his size. That's important. It's easy to look good squashing little guys, Foxx gets regularly put opposite big guys, and it works. He doesn't wimp out on lariats or shoulderblocks (and G leans way into a mean shoulderblock here), has that great back elbow, and plants G with a powerslam. Good match, would love to see more of G.

3. Cain Justice vs. Number Dad

ER: Number Dad is Kamakazi Kid in full "work furlough Call of Duty marathon" gear, gym shorts, too tight shirt stretched over ample belly, Nike cross trainers, white socks. He's certainly in dad mode. But his work is good! He's a guy with great basics, and that's a guy Cain can play off nicely. Dad cuts low on clotheslines, hits some meaty clubs to the back, takes a nasty flip bump on a Cain lariat, throws a nice back elbow, good old school stuff like raking Cain's eyes across the top rope, good banter. He's a local guy you'd look forward to seeing on shows like this. Cain is as fun as you would expect, and it's great seeing him work armbars and throwing mean kicks on an outdoor daytime show, getting beaten into the crowd, rolling in gravel, all fun stuff. The match noticeably kicks up a notch halfway through: Dad does a comically bad Fargo strut and misses a really high standing legdrop, then Cain wastes him with a punt, and hits a brutal flying knee off the top, just right to the chin. Dad is great at leaning into all of Cain's strikes, and Cain throws a couple of KO kicks down the stretch. Dad gets a cool reversal by rolling through one and hitting a fireman's carry slam. Cain finds a nice way to get to the Twist Ending, throwing Dad off the top turnbuckle by the arm and locking it in for the insta-tap. I thought this would be a kind of goof around fun match, and it got a lot meaner than I was expecting, to all of our benefit.

PAS: Pretty strange to see Cain working as full babyface, he is pretty good at it and I imagine when he turns in the CWF Sportatorium it will be like babyface Buddy Rose levels of awesome. Number Dad has a really nasty eye poke, he really looks like he puts his whole wrist into it, I liked how they set that up as a big move which Cain reversed at the end to lead to the twist ending. This isn't as good as the Mitch Connor or Cecil Scott match but you can tell how great Cain is at working veterans, I want to see Cain work Michael McAllister, Ric Converse and Boogie Woogie Rob McBride.

4. Ethan Alexander Sharpe vs. Mitch Connor

ER: Sharpe has some real good crowd work to start, telling the crowd about his $12,000 robe and personally walking it to the back because he doesn't trust the people to not steal it. Match was goofy fun although it got way too silly at the end with Sharpe challenging Connor to a rock/paper/scissors contest that went on too long before an abrupt finish. But we got fun moments, like Connor battering Sharpe in the ropes like a teeter totter, clubbing him every time he would spring up. We got some Dusty moments from both, with Sharpe floating like a butterfly and nailing punches, and Connor hitting big elbows. I like Sharpe's over the shoulder jawbreaker, liked Connor taking him down with a choke and Sharpe yelling while trapped, but the silliness was a flat note to end on.

5. Cam Carter vs. Jesse Adler

ER: This wasn't bad, and probably better than all the Adler matches I disliked in CWF. That's probably because Adler didn't have a belt here, and his offense wasn't treated like somehow better than his opponent's because of that belt. Adler feels like a good indy worker from 1998, a guy that you'd see on tape and think he had potential to be a Kidman type, and then it never happens. His style feels dated, but he's okay at some things. Carter bumped around big for his Superman punch comeback, and Adler seems athletic for a guy who can come off sorta unathletic. But I'm glad Carter got more of a shine here, liked his Angle slam and some low key flying, but I also can't deny that the crowd was far more into Adler. Sometimes guys connect with crowds for reasons I can't understand, but connection is connection, and it's important.

6. Lee Valiant vs. Nick Richards

ER: I like Richards' goofball charm, slapping fives with practically every person in attendance, not even waiting for people to want the fives, just walking all around the lot fiving and fist bumping. Valiant is good at getting under people's skin, and this was good until it suddenly ended. It was really short, maybe three minutes. Everything in the three minutes was good, but we could have at least extended it out to a decent Worldwide length. Valiant always does little things I like, chokes guys in the ropes, yanks them by the waistband into the buckles, a good stooge. Richards is a good babyface and Valiant flew into the cutter, but this needed more time.

7. Arik Royal vs. Chet Sterling

ER: I love Royal entrances on shows like these, he's a good "trash talker in passing", teasing older ladies, selectively slapping fives, knows how to appropriately trash talk kids, it's always a treat. We also sadly only get part of a conversation between two women in the crowd who say "No he's the daddy but he takes care of him." That's a wrestling show conversation snippet right there, baby! This match was a blast, perfect kind of match for this audience. They brawl all through the crowd and Royal is GREAT at safely brawling through crowds. He's so good at it. He falls all over everyone, gets punched into ladies, gets hit by kids, chopped by women, and Sterling awesome tightens things up for the close proximity fans. They brawl under every canopy, Royal slams his head into every table in the backyard, they brawl up to the patio and hit each other amongst all the t-shirts stretched over beer bellies. Sterling throws some nice short right hands all throughout, and Royal takes shots into a table better than most. Sterling throws great right hands during the crowd brawl, at one point shaking out his fist for a good 8 steps after punching. I'll always love that. We do get some silliness for the finish, with Sterling hitting the People's Elbow (like 18 years after its peak), but does amusingly undo his wrist tape (since he wasn't wearing elbow pads). I liked their struggle over finishers back in the ring, usually those reversal struggles can seem too dance-y but here they somehow made fighting over an Overdrive look like they were getting arms bent in nasty ways. I will always go out of my way to watch Royal in a situation like this, but Sterling delivered too.

8. Trevor Lee vs. Lance Lude

ER: I really dug this. Trevor came out in gym shorts and wrestling shoes mode, and Lude worked as a tiny ragged heel. Lude's physical transformation is one of the better ones in wrestling. He used to be a kind of tinier Matt Sydal, now he's hairy and scruffy and has drunken sailor eyes. They brawl around the yard just like Royal and Sterling before them, a risky move since it literally had just happened, but they add some new twists and make it feel a little more reckless, sending a mother scrambling to shield her youngsters. Trevor gets the crowd to count a long on the outside while he holds Lude in a vertical suplex, but it takes so long that Lude is able to knee his way out of it. Main event Trevor Lee is a good formula at this point, and Lude might be the smallest guy we've seen work the formula so far, and it still works. Lude attacks with quick dropkicks and a big double kneedrop off the top for a good nearfall, and I liked him working heel (just as I also like his babyface Ducks work). Lee is always good at comebacks against heels, not hesitating to match jerk moves. Here he's good at running into Lude's boots, but also has no problem doing a finger break, does an awesome press slam (ending it by flexing one bicep while holding Lude up with one arm) and absolutely crushes him with a match ending double stomp. Fun main event to cap off a fun no frills show.


COMPLETE & ACCURATE CAIN JUSTICE

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 137

Episode 137

Aric Andrews vs. Mace Li

PAS: Li comes out to interrupt Andrews and they appear to have turned Andrews face, which is a move I can't support. You can't turn the most hateable guy in your fed babyface, it is just a waste of that scuzzy hair and punchable face. This match took a couple of minutes to get going, but I ended up enjoying it. Loved Andrews using his long legs to push Li off and hit a big boot, and the finishing roll up was neat.

ER: Maybe this is just one of those Arena Mexico "rudo against other Mexicans, tecnico against an invader" type deals? Like people will still hate Andrews but just hate Mace Li more? I do love the reaction Li gets in the Sportatorium. It's beyond heel heat, but it's not indifference either; people just seem really, really annoyed by him. The match and moment did feel like it was intended to turn Andrews face, and I think that would be a damn shame. I feel like a long tag run with Lee Valiant would be far more productive, but I will say I'm happy that it appears he's growing back some facial hair. Not a fan of beardless Andrews. The match was fine but didn't have much to it. Li has never looked bad to me, but he also hasn't done a lot to make his matches stick out much in my mind right after watching them. Maybe it's me.

Cain Justice vs. Joey Lynch

ER: I realize one of my favorite things about Cain Justice is that his matches are tight, focused, and have a nice narrative thread. And I didn't really think about it too much until this match. A lot of stuff in this looked good, but I had to keep asking myself why I wasn't getting into it at all. It was overly long, unfocused, and the only narrative seemed to be "Lynch is going to use every piece of offense and every thigh slap he knows, and everyone is going to forget about every move immediately after it happens". This could have really killed if it was maybe 9 minutes instead of 16. I liked all of Cain's attacks on the arm, bending it around the corner buckle and kicking at it, a nice Pele kick that I didn't see coming (with Cain holding Lynch's arm and essentially pulling the arm into a falling kick), but Lynch doesn't pay it much attention. I mean, after the match he hilariously acts like he needs to desperately hold his arm or risk losing it, but during the match he seemed more focused on stringing together his next indy combo. Potentially cool moments like Cain dropping in with an armbar were immediately ignored, and it made it seem like Lynch hitting all his offense was the most important thing to him in the match. I don't like how it makes the guys in other Justice singles matches look, either. All those prior matches showed that Justice is prone to cockiness and rookie mistakes, but his subs and strikes are lethal, here Lynch treated every strike the same, treated an armbar like no big deal, it was just annoying. I liked some of Lynch's work, particularly his bridges, like when he bridged out of the armbar and almost got a flash pin, but he was too go go go when the match would have been more interesting with him throwing out half as much offense. It's a specific style of indy work that I don't care for, right down to waiting in the ring for the post-match 'We Had a War' 'Please Come Back' applause.

PAS: I did think Cain had a fun performance, but I agree with Eric that this match was completely overstuffed. Lynch felt like a guy who was going to have one wrestling match ever, and wanted to get in every bit of cool offense he ever saw or thought up. Some of the stuff did look pretty cool, Lynch has a nasty german suplex, and I liked his clothesline into the ropes, but there was just so much stuff I had a hard time caring about it. Felt like Lynch took control of the match and it ended up being Cain working a Lynch match, rather then Joey working a Cain match. I did think Cain had a bunch of cool ideas, and I love how deadly the twist ending is, but this was real bloaty

ER: Arik Royal gets drawn to face Jesse Adler at BattleCade and...I just cannot see any kind of plausible way that Adler does not get absolutely demolished by Royal. Adler is so much smaller and has not looked the least bit credible in any of his wins against similarly sized guys. On paper this just looks like Royal should completely run over Adler. In singles matches alone this year Royal has beaten Chet Sterling, Snooty Foxx, Dirty Daddy, took Trevor Lee over a half hour, and none of those guys should have trouble beating Jesse Adler. This should lead to Royal holding the TV title, which would be an awesome and welcome addition to my weekly CWF viewing. I really love Royal and seeing him defending a belt against randomly drawn challengers sounds amazing.

Arik Royal/Roy Wilkins vs. Chet Sterling/Ric Converse

ER: Good long tag match with nice performances for all involved. Converse and Sterling are a good babyface tag team and seeing how much I like Converse right now makes me really want to go back and check out all the "peak" Converse that I've never actually seen. He sells damage well for a bigger guy, always surprised me with stuff (like his heavy crossbody early in the match) and always brings nice punches. Sterling is good in a tag setting like this, and he ramps up the crazy here with a huge flip dive way past the ringpost into the All-Stars. Wilkins was good at bumping for Sterling's hot comeback offense, and Royal is the total king, knowing when to bail to the floor and when to toss in great dick moves (like stepping onto Sterling's back instead of just over him to get where he needed to be). The match never settled down, and the restlessness was part of the fun. You got the sense the match could end soon, or go another 20 minutes. and I love the All-Stars go to knux shot, such a great ace constantly looming up the sleeve of all their matches. Royal always makes the knux shots counts and Sterling really took a spill off the top from it.

PAS: I loved Royal in this, great shit talking, cool bodypunches in the corner, great cutting off of both guys. All-Stars are a great old school heel team, and this was a good fired up babyface performance by Sterling and Converse. Sterling is at his his best when he is selling, so a long tag match like this works to his strengths. Also he can just tag out rather then have to do a forced hulk up which always mars his long singles. I loved the knux shot as a body shot instead of to the head, Sterling really sold it like he cracked a rib.

ER: The show closing angle between CW and Converse was a great one. After costing Converse the match CW handcuffs Converse to the ropes and lays out the ref with an all time spinebuster and then pulls up a seat to have a chat with Converse. The build throughout the promo was great, with Anderson playing condescending and dominant champ, wanting that title vs. career match, and Converse - still cuffed to the ropes - able to able to finally get under CW's skin by agreeing to the match...as long as it's I Quit. CW showing vulnerability to that was great, even though his opponent was cuffed to the ropes he was visibly rattled, and the fans were trying to get to him the whole time as well. Awesome segment leading into what looks to be an absolutely stacked BattleCade.

PAS: Yeah it was really great, I loved how Converse pulled out the I Quit match as CW's achilles, mentioning the ECW Tommy Dreamer I Quit he lost. I loved Converse getting the upper hand even though he was cuffed to the top rope.

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 135

Episode 135

White Mike Jordan v. Trevor Lee

PAS: This is kind of Lee working as Flair against Mike Jackson, taking an undercard guy and making him look good before beating him. White Mike has a ton of personality and I really enjoyed how excited he was when he was able to lock on a headlock or get a two count. Lee really blistered him with chops, and I dug Mike begging off only to poke him in the eye. It did seem really heelish for Lee to do the finger break spot to Mike, he should probably save that for blood feuds, not genial comedy jobbers.

ER: This is like Masao Inoue getting a shot at Akiyama, or when Momota got that singles match against Liger. And just like those matches, I loved this! White Mike is a guy I actively look forward to now, although I'm a little insulted that he didn't take his heartfelt CWF retirement seriously. I saw it. I saw him take off his boots and leave them in the ring. And his singlet. And his overshorts. If we can't take wrestling retirements seriously, then what do we have left? Mike is a clear sitting duck for Lee in this match, which makes his moments of control so wonderful. Mike works the first half of this match almost exactly like Haruka Eigen, and I can't help but love his facial expressions as he plays coy in the ropes to avoid more of a Lee beating. He sells some corner chops like Michaels selling for Hogan, then begs off taking more only to sneak in with a perfect eyepoke. Later he runs screaming from Lee's apron punt and hides near the ringpost, only to slyly yank Lee by the trunks into the post. I love that spot, falling backwards while holding onto the front of a guys trunks, sending them face first into danger. And it's a great spot for guys like Mike and Inoue to use. Lee starts taking Mike seriously and Mike responds. I loved the moment Mike crumbled for a big boot, his legs going out from under him rather than just taking a flat back bump, and Lee yanks him up for a suplex but Mike surprises him with a Falcon Arrow for a nice nearfall. I can see both sides of the finger break spot, but I liked it here. It felt like Lee was sick of dealing with Mike's bullshit so was using it as unnecessary punishment, allowing himself a clear path to the finish. This could have been a goof around yukfest, but I really ended up loving both personalities playing off each other and dug what Mike brought.

CW Anderson vs. Mark James

PAS: James is a big barrel chested looking dude, who kind of looks like if CW stopped going to the gym and just competed in arm wrestling contests. This was a really fun southern slug fest, lots of big thumping forearms and punches. Anderson works over the arm and does a nice job of it as one might expect. James hits a great spinebuster of his own, and Damien Wayne and John Skyler come out to distract the ref (Why the fuck is Damien Wayne hanging out and not wrestling on this show? I have to see every random student who drives down in a match.  Aspyn Rose makes TV but Damien fucking Wayne's match is dark? ). One nasty superkick later it is a match. Enjoyed this a bunch

ER: This was awesome, I want this kind of CW showdown every damn week. I had never seen or heard of Mark James but he's the exact kind of guy I like to watch against CW, just a big burly bruiser (looks like and is built like a smaller Tenta) who isn't afraid to dish it out. CW works his left arm in cool ways, once even just punching him right in the arm, which you don't really see. He stomps on it and James is really great at selling it, always aware of it when he tries to throw hands with CW. The forearm exchange is really good as Anderson keeps ramping it up, landing the biggest blow and hitting a nice lefty lariat. But James fires back with his own and hits a nice running big boot in the corner, and even gets a huge spinebuster! Damien Wayne and Skyler run distraction (and yeah, Wayne is there and we get NO Wayne matches on tape out of it!?), and the superkick finish is academic. This is the kind of wrestling I can just watch on repeat, loved how they matched up and love their style. CW can just keep doing this for another 20 years.

John Skyler vs. Arik Royal vs. Tracer X vs. Chet Sterling

PAS: Chet Sterling superman fighting the odds match is not a match layout I am going to love. I just don't buy large parts of what Sterling is selling, so a whole match of him fighting off Royal and Skyler is going to fall short for me. I did like some things in this, I thought Tracer X's elimination was really cool, as he goes for a 450 lands on his feet flips out and gets pounced out of his boots by Royal. Fun way for a flipster to go down. I also liked the Royal and Skyler Demolition Decapitation and Skyler setting up for a superkick only to crack Royal tickled the old school wrestling part of my brain that loves formula. Still this was overly long and was dependent on me caring way more about Sterling then I do.

ER: Yeah this was fine, and I think I've warmed on Sterling a little more than Phil, but I'm getting a little worn with the Sterling Against All Odds situations we seem to get regularly. These kind of matches are usually worth it just for the sheer joy of an Arik Royal small show ring entrance, as it looks like he's having the time of his life just walking to the ring on these shows. But the match does have nice moments despite probably going 5 minutes too long. The Tracer X elimination was bonkers and needs to be on a CWF highlight video. Royal just upends him and flings him halfway across the ring, right after he recovered from a missed 450. It was insane. Sterling fighting back against Royal and Skyler was fine. I liked his flying back elbows, and Royal is great at stooging around for anyone, but it always just feels like Sterling takes too much damage in matches like these to still be around at the end. The Decapitation is brutal and really should be a finish, but I did gleefully laugh when Royal sat down for the pin at the end. The match went long, they could have at least not edited out a Royal post match celebration.

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 134

Episode 134

ER: We get Pop-Up Video running throughout the episode, bringing me back to some Chikara tape I bought 15 years ago.

Mace Li vs. Jesse Adler

PAS: This match happened before Adler won the TV title, on the same show as Arik Royal v. Snooty Fox. These guys train together and clearly have some stuff worked out, but it is still the same Adler match which has been boring me for a couple of months now. He does some good bodypart selling, and if he could develop some decent offense he could do something with that, but as of now his TV title reign is dragging down the show each week.

ER: Yeah I'm beyond over this. Every freaking week with these Adler matches. That standing shooting star is easily one of the worst looking finishers in wrestling. There are plenty of guys doing the same kind of stuff, only gracefully executing it and landing it without looking like they're dragging themselves out of a creek. And that spinning back elbow/fist to the mid section has to go. I am so in the weeds on Adler.

Trevor Lee/Ric Converse vs. Lee Valiant/Aric Andrews

PAS This is an impromptu tag after Andrews interrupts a Lee promo. This is before the Andrew gimmick change, and I loved the sleazy Andrews and Valiant tag team. There is some fun crowd brawling to open including Lee dumping Valiant head first into a garbage can. Converse and Valiant have had a long history (one of the cool things about the pop up video gimmick is all of the history stuff, Valiant and Converse worked a one hour iron man!) and worked well with each other. Fun energetic tag with plenty of shtick.

ER: Man I miss bearded Andrews. It's cruel showing us this older match, with skeezy bearded Andrews, in his great team with Valiant. Man I'd love to see these two with the tag belts. But as cruel as it was, they could give me a hot 7 minute tag like this every week and I'd keep coming back for more. Valiant was awesome here, and he's a guy who needs to be featured more (and was clearly a bigger name in the "pre-TV" era of CWF). He knew just how to work to every age level of this hot Chapel Hill crowd, knew to comically kick his legs a bunch when Lee dumps him in a trash can as kids squeal with delight, but knows how to throw hard shots and bump big to get the adults into everything. Valiant takes a huge spill to the gym floor from the ring, and then gets awesome height on a big time Sky High from Converse, and really sticks himself on a DDT. Trevor Lee is in full gym shorts and tiny boots and I always like that Lee, and teaming with Converse is a natural fit. I second Phil with enjoying all the pop up history, really helps me fill in blanks and backstory. And finding out Lee was only 15 in 2009 made me feel old. as. hell.

Nick Iggy vs. Chet Sterling

PAS: This was fine, both guys are solid wrestlers, it was a bit hammy though. Iggy is a really expressive heel and Sterling is really expressive babyface and having two guys on 10 like that, got a little theatre kidish, I need one guy to play it a bit cool. I did enjoy the Pop Up Video run down of all of Iggy's terrible pun nicknames, Grin Balor? CM Hunk? Oof.

ER: I liked the running gag of half the match being taken up by Iggy's nicknames. And I really want to see Dandy Orton now. Just a foppish powder wig upper crust dandy, but with sinister date rape eyes. It would be difficult to pull off. Not many people have Orton's naturally rape-y brand of charisma, and of those people I'm sure even fewer of them would be caught dead in powder makeup, a trim blouson, or knickers. But it's right there for the taking. The Pop-Ups take a darker turn as they reveal that Iggy has an obsession with Jeffrey Dahmer, which is probably something to keep off your Tinder profile. You don't see Uber drivers listing Ted Bundy as someone they admire. The match itself I thought was good, really fun, and I didn't really notice a lot of the hammy aspects. Iggy takes a great DDT on a show where I thought Valiant was guaranteed to have taken the nastiest DDT, his fishhook camel clutch was nasty, and I thought Iggy especially was really lacing in shots down the stretch. I thought he looked great during the strike exchange, throwing a few different great strikes (nice big punch, sharp elbow, big slashing overhand chop), although Sterling has a habit of pulling away from his own strikes, whiffing on a couple of elbows that were meant to be cut-off spots, and holding back on a yakuza kick. Iggy was great at getting into people's faces, a gal who no sells him and a little kid that jumps, and we build to a great dive from Sterling that levels Iggy (after he had just bumped big to the floor) and threatens to crash into the front row, but damn if every person in CWF is great about keeping their fans safe. Fun match, fun concept show.

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2017 Ongoing MOTY LIst: Modern Vintage WARGAMES!!

71. C.W. Anderson/Zane Dawson/Dave Dawson/Arik Royal v. Chet Sterling/Mecha Mercenary/Aaron Biggs/Ric Converse Modern Vintage Wrestling 9/16

PAS: Good to see a real War Games as opposed to an Adam Cole stained NXT spotfest. This had fat dudes and balding dudes and some blood just like War Games are supposed to . Great CW Anderson performance, as he was the first man in and last man out. I liked the opening one on one section with Sterling, and Anderson is especially great at working a cut. Keeping Mecha Mercenary on the floor as the heels triple teamed Sterling was a clever way to work around the middle section of War Games which is usually the weakest. The Squad getting into the ring to clean house was a nice moment. I am not a huge Sterling fan, so a match based around him was always going to be a bit of a letdown for me, I also loved the little bit of Royal, but he felt a bit sidelined. Finish was cool and a nice turnaround from earlier, although we could have used a near fall or two on the faces, it felt like as soon as Converse came in, the heels were done. Still this match, if done correctly, has a pretty high floor and I enjoyed it.

ER: You know when an Anderson starts a WarGames it's going to be a great one. And, sure enough, CW is a total king throughout this whole match. He and Sterling start and he just wrecks Chet, busts him open and jams his face into the cage, takes some nice punches from Sterling and gives back far more brutal ones. CW throws a freaking metal briefcase at the worst angle at Sterling's face, just a super violent shot you'd expect from a Black Terry flea market brawl or a Rush/Park beer bottle brawl. Things really ramp up when Mecha Mercenary comes out to even things up, as Sterling has just taken a beating from CW and Zane Dawson at this point. The camera cuts to the door of the cage as Mecha is entering, and from off camera a CW superkick greets Mecha, then another for good measure to knock him to the floor. I love Mecha, but I love matches constructed to keep him out. He's great at selling longterm damage and he's great at hot tags and comebacks, so him suddenly bursting back into a match is always the best. Royal makes a great entrance by just running in with a chair and blasting the Squad with huge chairshots and leveling Sterling with a great one. Chairshots were something we got so numb to seeing, and now that they aren't all over a wrestling card a real good chairshot finally carries some weight again. Royal is a really great weapons worker as he throws relatively safe shots that always look like KO blows. I've written a few times before he's always great at safely working crowd brawls, and with safe/brutal weapon shots just give him another underappreciated skill and show how great he really is. Plus, his WarGames attire is flawless (really all the heels had great WarGames attire). I loved the Squad going on a tear, with fun stuff like Royal getting avalanched by Biggs into the cage/apron. I didn't love Sterling going off the top of the cage, just because WarGames matches aren't supposed to be about cage flying stunts (I understand it's not easy to make a closed roof cage, but don't call attention to it), but Sterling needed a big moment to make up for that beating he took up front. The finish was a terrific bit of pro wrestling, with a perfectly used celebrity cameo: JJ Dillon (introduced before the match) slams the cage door onto CW's head when he's trying to leave instead of facedown all four babyfaces alone, just a perfect way to use someone like that. CW gets tangled into a submission by Sterling and quits, and in taking his excellent match-long performance beyond the match itself, continues after the match by complaining that he never actually quit. We've spent a year hearing a bald heel deny saying things that everybody heard him say, so it was a great topical heel move. Awesome match.


2017 MOTY MASTER LIST
COMPLETE AND ACCURATE WEDNESDAY MORNING WARGAMES

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 130

Episode 130

1. Mace Li vs. Snooty Foxx

PAS: I thought this was a really good 5 minute match, by the far the best Li has looked. It was the story of Fox's superior strength versus Li's guile. The spot early on where Fox spinebusters Li into the corner and then cannonballs him was awesome. Li takes over with a DDknee and then works over Fox's knee. Fox did an awesome job selling it, trying to do all of his same moves but a little tentative and awkward, great vulnerable babyface performance, and another quill in Fox's rookie year performance, he has been overshadowed a bit by how legendary Cain Justice's rookie year has been, but Fox has been a strong #2.

ER: What a fun little short story match, super impressive performance from Foxx. Phil makes a good point about how Cain's rookie year has overshadowed Snooty's, it's totally true. Foxx has this assured confidence of someone who has been there longer than he really has, and it makes me forget he is even a rookie at times. Mace Li doesn't do tons for me yet, but I liked half his strikes here. He tried a bunch of different strikes from different angles, and I think that's a pretty smart plan with iffy strikes. You have bad corner punches? Weak punches from mount? No worries, through in some body shots and downward elbows to the traps, doing that makes it all look like part of an aggressive attack where individual strikes don't really matter as much. Snooty's knee selling was great. Before that we get that awesome corner spinebuster with the huge rolling hip attack, so Li wisely works to flatten Snooty's tires. Snooty climbing the buckles with a weakening knee actually had me inch forward in my seat, dude's selling was so good it was making me picture a horrific Sid scenario. The more I think about this match the more I like it.

ER: Can't believe Phil didn't mention the Aric Andrews shaved face comedy politician vignette. I'll say, on its face, I don't like it. I liked the Lee/Andrews dynamic that we had. Andrews suddenly being Bob Backlund stumping for a title shot seems like a big step back. Add to that, he had an awesome look with that beard. Now suddenly he shows up with no beard, and goes from looking like a pill dealing Black Crowes roadie to looking like Tim Robbins in High Fidelity. Jesse Adler coming back has just gone and messed everything up.

2. Michael McAllister vs. Nick Richards

PAS: I loved this match. It was an old fashioned potato fest, reminded me of some of the great Ian Rotten matches from IWA-MS, just a pair of guys laying in meaty chops and forearms, no leg slapping here all of the sound was thudding impact. Every shot felt like it was a little deeper and nastier then you would expect. I really dug the story of Richards constantly going for the cutter and getting cut off in nasty ways, at one point McAllister pegs him in the back of the head. I also really liked all of the work around the Cobra Clutch.  Richards also takes a couple of crazy bumps to the floor because he is nuts. This is the first chance I have had to see McAllister since we started watching CWF, and he was great, he does a good job of seeming nuts without overdoing the facial expressions.

ER: Man what a great fight. McAllister hasn't done a lot for me in the year we've spent watching, but it also feels like even though we've seen in him in several matches, we haven't really seen him. He was in a goofus gimmick in a tag team where his partner SIS outshone him, he's been in pull aparts and rumbles and multimans, this is I think the only actual singles match we've seen. And what a way to debut! Both guys are rocking a good pudge, McAllister has a grumpy mug like scowling Patton Oswalt, and Richards keeps trying to escape with a cutter. Every time he goes for that damn cutter McAllister makes him PAY and that's the whole match, and that's all the match you need. These two both land with some thump here, and I loved how we started with both a little tentative, both making fists but knowing that once it starts, it's on...and once we're on we never look back. Richards takes a nice backdrop, and McAllister starts landing heavy elbows and palm strikes to Richards' head and nose. They brawl all over without it ever seeming like a brawl, if that makes sense. It felt like Richards was always trying to veer this to the finish of a wrestling match, but McAllister kept immediately derailing him. The stuff on the floor was great, with Richards missing a dive (and I know I point this out a lot, but the guys here are such pros that they keep the family vibe during crazy matches without taking away from the match: Richards takes this huge missed dive bump while not making any of the regulars need to scramble out of the way) and McAllister splats him with a splash off the apron. Every time one of them turned their back on the other they paid for it, with McAllister running into boots and knees or Richards getting caught with elbows, a nice sliding lariat, and a nasty cobra clutch. This whole thing had meanness running throughout, and I love that they never hammered any kind of redemption story for McAllister, just let the action speak.

PAS: Ethan Sharpe gives a pretty great promo about losing the iron man rumble record, and how that was his big achievement. Serious Ethan Sharpe is pretty great.

3. Arik Royal vs. Chet Sterling

PAS: Really great match, easily the best Sterling match (at least tied with the Logan Easton Laroux match I saw live) I have seen. Sterling comes into the match with tape on his neck from being jumped by Brad Attitude at the Rumble, and Royal even calls him out on it at the beginning of the match. With Mark Henry basically retired, Royal is the best in ring shit talker in wrestling, and he is at peak form here as he takes apart Sterling's neck. I loved him just shoving Sterling awkwardly into the rope to take control, and the big ring apron powerbomb was a great huge move, and I loved the Coach and Jerry Carey raising his hands victoriously in the ring. Same with Royals low tackle which sent Sterling flying into the camera man. Couple of minor quibbles, I really liked how Sterling's blown dive worked in the context of the match, but they really should have audibled and delayed his comeback a bit, here he violently crashes on a blown dive, but still moves right into the planned comeback. I also really am lukewarm on Sterling's offense, he is a great seller and underdog babyface, but then he comes back with these lame half nelson suplexes where he barely lifts Royal at all. I also thought it maybe went one kick out too much, that powerbomb near the end was super brutal and probably should have ended it. Still a great Royal performance and some great Sterling selling and a really nifty main event.

ER: WOW this was a blowaway great match. I just got back from seeing a great noisy violent show (the screaming high energy of METZ with killer band Moaning opening for them in Portland) and I came back from the cold and threw this match on and was treated to a different kind of violence. Before the match Royal points out Sterling's bright red kinesio tape and yells out "You just gave me a target!" We've all seen guys work over a knowingly injured body part, but rarely do we get a heel calling his shot right before the match. And man does that neck get targeted in some nasty ways. Royal does something that more wrestlers should do, but you somehow don't see enough: use the ropes. Finlay was someone who was really great at using the ring as a weapon, but it's not something you see outside of apron spots thrown often awkwardly into matches. You don't even see anyone using a hotshot anymore. But early on Royal violently throws Sterling backwards into the bottom and middle ropes, and from there I knew I was going to love this. Royal used the ropes to cross Sterling up with rope running, throwing him through the ropes and to the floor (which later gets used against him), and then doing an actual apron spot that added to the match, brutally powerbombing him into the apron (with his neck hitting the bottom rope). Sterling couldn't be kept down but his comebacks always felt smart and fit nicely within the match. I actually liked his half nelson suplexes, as he really shouldn't be able to lift Royal that much, and they weren't treated like killshots but more like hard takedowns. I also liked how Royal didn't take them on his neck. No need to. Royal keeps working in shots to the neck, even Gemini sneaks in a shot on the floor. Sterling gave a great gritty performance, stumbling around, bringing fight, hitting a nice senton off the apron after Royal misses his Thesz press. But Royal is one nasty MF and he absolutely wrecks Sterling with a sick powerbomb. That powerbomb really should have been the finish, and watching it back you can really see Sterling's head whip. Gross spot. But Royal has tons of great offense and looked like a mega star here, and Sterling's performance really kept me into this beyond just being a great Royal singles. This match was just what I wanted and then some, the kind of stuff that makes me recommend CWF to everybody.

ER: On paper I didn't think too much of this show. It didn't look bad but wasn't something I was rushing home from work to watch. And it might be the under the radar best hour of wrestling TV of the year. The opener was a hot 5 minutes with a great powerful-but-vulnerable babyface, we got a killer slugfest in McAllister/Richards, a great promo after that match from Cain Justice and Ethan Sharpe, and then a 20 minute main event that stands up to some of the best main events of any fed this year. This episode slayed, McAllister/Richards and Royal/Sterling are easy additions to our 2017 Ongoing MOTY List, and I can't say enough nice things about these guys. I gotta get my butt to the Sportatorium in 2018.

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 122

Episode 122

1. Roy Wilkins vs. Montana Black

ER: Yeah baby Montana Black is Back! He's a guy we saw seemingly ages ago that I've been wanting to see again, no reason why I should be deprived of this dude. This is worked simply, with Wilkins moving all around Black as he stands tall as an unchoppable tree. Wilkins fights him like a heel Westley fighting a babyface Fezzik jumping on him and trying to take out those legs. Black doesn't have thick legs, so Wilkins' shoulderblocks to the inner knee seem extra tough. I loved him jumping in for an abdominal stretch and how badly everything went when he tried jumping on Black. Black hits a mammoth face buster, picking up Wilkins in a full nelson and just planting him face first. His power looked legit and Wilkins took the bump like Wile E. Coyote falling face first off a cliff. I was disappointed when no dust cloud ploofed up. Black gets distracted and Wilkins blasts him behind the ear with his golden ticket plaque. I really love these 6 minute CWF matches. They always feel like they accomplish so much for the allotted time. I want more Montana Black!

PAS: Montana Black is two for two with me in singles matches. He is legit huge and seems to understand how to use his size, he actually works a lot like Andre the Giant, all open hand thudding chops and immobility. Wilkins is great at working as a cerebral wrestler, and I loved him try to solve the puzzle, before just giving up and smashing Black in the head with brass knuckles. I actually think Black would be a great addition to the All-Stars as a sort of a monster equalizer.

2. Slade Porter vs. Cam Carter

ER: This wasn't a bad 5 minutes, though some parts felt a little too rehearsed, it still had cool stuff. I was admittedly distracted by Cain Justice on commentary, as he wasn't really working in character, instead he came off like a more southern fried Snagglepuss. "That was a nice floatover, a nice drop down, even." We've seen Porter a few times now and this is probably the best he's looked, specifically thought a couple of his more complicated moves looked painful (like that nice leaping back elbow), and I liked Carter's low German suplex. This still felt like more of a touring match, but if you got 5 minutes to make an impression I can see using your touring match.

PAS: This didn't do it for me, I think Porter is one of the worst guys who shows up semi-regularly, and serious Porter was just as try hard and fun loving Porter. There was a section where Porter was throwing punches that were getting blocked which was comically bad looking. Carter has some potential and nice athletic ability, but wasn't going to be able to save this.

3. John Skyler vs. Jason Kincaid

ER: Skyler comes out wearing the one armed, studded leather jacket like Finlay or a Mad Max villain. It's a look I don't think I can pull off. But maybe it's one of those "confidence is key" things, where if you just act like you're someone who can pull off a one armed, studded leather jacket with one armor-like shoulder pad, then you can pull it off. I remember when vests became popular again among men, and I tried one on and just felt like I couldn't make it work. I felt like too much of a phony. So I might *think* that I wouldn't be able to pull off a Mad Max vest, but I don't know for certain. But I liked this match, even though I thought it could have been trimmed a bit. I was surprised how much Skyler was in control. I thought several of Kincaid's comebacks came off unnatural, just because Skyler was doing nothing but hitting him with big moves. Early on he used a lot of speed to stay one step ahead, or logically set up offense off of Skyler's misses, like that sunset flip powerbomb sending Skyler into the bottom buckle. But at a certain point this just felt like Kincaid barely kicking out of something, then just going back on offense. And sometimes the offense he set up felt a little longwinded, like the 619 from the entrance ramp, or the finishing cutter off the top that required Skyler to lift him into position to do the move. I don't like that kind of stuff. But for a longer match I thought they mostly filled the time well, and there were plenty of big (and little) killer moments, like Kincaid's crazy stomp to the face off a ringpost, and Skyler doing a deep back rake to sink in a powerbomb.

PAS: I liked this more then Eric did. I am a fan of Kincaid's fancy offense, it fits well with his character and spots like the double stomp off of the ringpost are legitimately awesome. I also really like Skyler, he is an ex CW Anderson and Preston Quinn tag partner and he has that same methodical yet forceful style. I did think it might have gone a bit too long and I thought the 619 from the ring entrance was kind of dumb, but I thought the finish was great. Stuttsy had been talking all match about Skylers top rope Finlay roll being his killer move and Kincaid reversing it in mid air into a stunner was crazy athletic and cool.

ER: I liked the stuff with Snooty and CL in Chapel Hill, with Snooty showing her his favorite 24 hour restaurant. Not only did I like Snooty (and CL) more after this, it made me want mac and cheese and a chicken biscuit. After all these scary beyond belief fires out here in CA this past week+, what kind of place do you think I can afford in Chapel Hill or Gibsonville? Somebody sell me on NC!

4. CW Anderson & The Dawsons vs. Chet Sterling & The Sandwich Squad

ER: I would have liked 5 more minutes from this, and 5 less from the prior match. I mean before the bell this match already had a woman in the crowd throw her nachos for a total bullseye on Zane Dawson, and then the Squad picked up a couple of the nachos and ate them. The parts of this match where CW and the Dawsons were picking apart Sterling were the best, I could have easily taken more of a heat segment. CW was vicious with everyone. His staredowns are maybe my favorite in wrestling, he never skimps on stomach kicks, and he never tries to get cheers. He is a bad man through and through. I like Sterling more every week, and I think he's especially good as the sympathetic babyface in matches like this. He fights to comeback nicely, sells well (which might be easier to do when Zane is smacking you in the ribs, or Dave is twisting you in a cravate, and CW is throwing big right hands to your face), but I like him getting dropped with a backdrop, coming up holding his shoulder and still wanting to fight, loved CW working that shoulder over his own while digging an elbow into Sterling's neck. I love how CW kept on Sterling, even when things started to break down and everybody got involved, he still lazered in on Sterling until he stuck that spinebuster. I thought the finish was real great as Biggs hits a mammoth Thesz press, but CW breaks up the pin with a killer low superkick; Biggs struggles back to his feet and shoots CW a look, but CW nails another one, Zane hits a lariat, and Dave dumps him with an awesome Saito suplex.  The Converse/Anderson standoff at the end of the episode hyped me even more for WarGames.

PAS: The beginning of this match with the face team all holding their trophies and the heels holding their belts, plus the faces taunting the lady into tossing her nachos was classic wrestling horseshit. Great CW performance, he was the conductor of the whole match, masterminding the beat down on Sterling. Coming in and hitting brutal cheap shots, right hands and his nasty spinebuster. I always enjoy watch the Sandwhich Squad do their thing, and Mecha hits an especial big time lariat. Finish was really great the Thez press by Biggs is world swallowing, and that short superkick by CW looked like it broke Biggs jaw.

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