My second review of Mania weekend should be a ton more entertaining to me than the first. There probably won't be a tent though.
IndependentWrestling.tv Title, European Rounds - Orange Cassidy vs Jonathan Gresham
Cassidy came out with a live flautist. Eat your heart out Nakamura. Cassidy is the exact kind of wrestling comedy that I find entertaining. His nonchalant style, occasionally wrestling with his hands in his pockets, is offset by the fact that he can really go in the ring. The clash of styles between Gresham trying to do everything, and Cassidy trying to do nothing, worked out well. At around the halfway point, Gresham got annoyed and chopped Cassidy after the round had ended, this pissed off Cassidy and the match sped up to about quadruple speed. Cassidy ended up winning two falls to zero, while not understanding the rules. This certainly won't be to everyone's taste but I enjoyed it. ***1/2
After the match, MJF challenges Cassidy to a match. Cassidy can't be bothered. MJF smashes him for it. Good stuff.
Cody Lane, Justin Sane & Kobe Durst vs BMD, Shane Sabre & Space Monkey
This was a showcase match for Alpha-1 from Canada. I am not really familiar with most of these guys but they put on a decent enough sprint here. Plenty of dives and craziness with very little wasted moments. ***
Red Eagle vs Mike Verna vs Ethan Page vs Arik Cannon vs Mikey vs Ophidian
This was wild. They managed to get a nice blend of styles with the wrestlers that were involved and it paid off in delivering a really entertaining encounter. It was my first time watching Verna and Mikey and, while Mikey did some fun stuff, it was Verna that impressed me more. He has a good build while still being impressively athletic. I'll need to check out more of his stuff. If you have access to this show then check this match out. ***1/2
Lucha Rules - Jack Bonza, Mick Moretti & Bel Pierce vs Caveman Ugg, Unsocial Jordan & Steph de Lander
This comes to us from PWA Black Label in Australia. Caveman Ugg weighs eight boulders apparently. Hench bloke. This was another 'get your shit in' type of match. It was solid enough but everything played second fiddle to Caveman Ugg, who is very much my type of wrestler. **1/2
Kylie Rae & Isaias Velasquez vs Shotzi Blackheart & Robert Anthony
Blackheart and Anthony come out with Frank The Clown, so I hate them. Kylie Rae is the current Freelance Wrestling champion and is the star of this match. Also, she comes out the Pokemon theme, and I am wearing a Pokemon shirt as I write this, so that is a winner with me. This was a solid tag match that would have been better if it wasn't for Frank The bastard Clown. Rae and Velasquez make a great team and I'd like to see more of them around the wrestling world. Rae is going to slay it in AEW. **1/2
ACTION Wrestling Title - AC Mack vs Fred Yehi
Yehi is a properly underrated wrestler. I'm not too familiar with Mack. There might be a reason for that. This was disappointing to me. I expected better from a match involving Yehi. The super cheap finish didn't help. **
Kris Statlander & Solo Darling vs Shazza McKenzie & Jessica Troy
Kimber Lee was originally scheduled to be Statlander's partner but she turned on her at Beyond Wrestling. This was a solid tag match that did a good job of getting Statlander over as the star that she will become. It was a tad sloppy though. **1/2
O'Shay Edwards, Cabana Man Dan & Mr Brickster vs Brett Ison, Kevin Ku & Dominic Garrini
Hoss fight! This was a train wreck, in the most delightful way possible. Six big dudes beating the fuck out of each other, and you know that's my jam. This isn't going to be on anybody's end of year lists but if you like stiff strikes, big suplexes and narrowly avoided death, this is for you. ***1/2
Last Man Standing - Jake Parnell vs Gary Jay
I may never have been in greater anticipation of a match that I knew less about the competitors. The reason is that people have been waxing lyrical about how wild these two are against each other. They weren't wrong, this was nuts. The chops alone were enough to pop me but they did a ton more painful looking stuff than that. All of the bumps looked like they had a major impact and that helps a match like this. I'm not saying it was perfect by any means but it was a fun ride and well worth anyone's time. Match of the show, and of the weekend so far. ***3/4
Overall Thoughts
This was an up and down show for sure, but it was a good way to see a lot of wrestlers that don't usually get a ton of exposure. It was an easily digestible show too and it never really felt like it dragged. It was infinitely better than the WrestlePro show.
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