Whats new wrestling fans?!
The watchlist is back like a phoenix this week, rising from the ashes of a pitiful week of viewing with a hefty list of matches and shows to choose from this week. SummerSlam was this past weekend and it was a lot of fun! A lot of title changes that make for exciting viewing in the weeks and months to come.
I also finished up 2 more DPW shows and made a couple spreadsheets to keep track of the shows I need to watch from the various promotions I have in mind for working through at some point. Overall, a much better week for your favourite wrestling blogger.
Here's what I watched for the week;
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| I almost had to take 2 screenshots of this one to fit everything in. |
I've been thinking about slightly changing up the format of my reviews after the past few weeks. I've noticed in a few matches lately I've been going over a match almost move for move, as if I'm tasked with giving someone a complete written account of the match. That's not what this blog is here to do. I don't want to get so caught in the weeds of typing out everything I put too much work on myself each week and I also don't want to burden the reader who just wants to hear some cool stuff from a match and why I think it's worth watching.
So, in future, I'll be doing my best to try and keep the reviews a bit shorter. I'll highlight moments and moves I like without giving you the filler of "he transitioned a side headlock into a hammerlock which led into a front facelock." I can hear you all now because I'm doing it too. Yawn.
Mustafa Ali vs. Jake Something - TNA Rebellion - 04/20/2024
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| Its not about weight limits, its about no limits. TNA |
This is a match I've had on my radar since it happened but I just haven't had the time to sit down and seek it out, until now. Digging around my computer for shows to watch this week, I came across TNA's Slammiversary from a few weeks ago and decided it was time to finally go through that show and see what it was like. I enjoyed it overall and felt just about every match delivered, it was a really solid show! I was most looking forward to the matches featuring PCO, Speedball, and Jake Something.
I was fortunate enough to be at an indie show in Toronto during the summer of 2022 and got to see Something live for the very first time. I'd seen clips of him online but never a full match, and my god, this dude is an absolute freak of nature. Standing literally at the apron during his entrance and match, his size and presence are impossible to describe. His match was so fun because a dude his size should not be able to do what he does.
Mustafa, on the other hand, is someone that I feel like most people can agree is an exceptional talent, and frequently gets brought up when people start talking about talent that WWE "wasted." He's been on the run of his career lately, visiting different indies and going undefeated until his X Division title match with Speedball at Slammiversary. While I don't know whether I entirely agree with WWE wasting Ali while he was under contract there (big fish an an ocean argument I feel), I will say that he's never been presented better than he is right now.
Rebellion 2024 kicked off with this match, with Ali in defense of his X Division title tonight against the much larger, and maybe not quite "X Division material" Jake Something. Regardless, the crowd is hot and ready for this clash of styles.
Ali has been doing an uber-patriotic gimmick lately, with his tron reading out "In Ali We Trust" as well as having a "secret service" accompany him everywhere while he gets a Goldberg type entrance for this show. I haven't watched enough to know if this is any good, honestly, but it doesn't rub me the wrong way for this match so its fine by me.
Ali and Something (if its got a capital "S" you know I'm talking about Jake, unless I decide to change things up part way through this review than disregard this little footnote) start by locking up, with Something easily able to overpower Ali, going so far as to pick Ali up from the tie up and spin him around like a child. What a monster.
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| Insane show of power from the opening bell. TNA |
Ali attempts a chop but ends up hurting his hand more than the chest of Something, who challenges Ali in the centre of the ring for more. A right hand is offered but Something crushes it in his grip, sending Ali into the ropes until he's able to shift the momentum his way, literally running through Ali with shoulder tackles, knocking him flat with a barge when Ali tries to leap over him. He doesn't stop for a second, it's like Ali doesn't exist.
With Ali laying across the top buckle, Something punts him in the stomach and catches him on the way down as he bounces up from the impact. He starts to take him to the corner for a powerslam but Ali squirms out and nails something with a pair of single leg dropkicks. Something is able to counter with a lariat and he tries to pin Ali who just got turned inside out but only gets 2.
As Ali starts to crawl away to get to his feet, Something steps on his booti, trapping him for a moment until he nails Something with a double chop to the throat, stunning the monster for a moment. Ali gets sent outside now with Something following close behind, chopping the stars as Ali moves away at the last second and starts running for the turnbuckle, diving over the ring to get further away. Something follows close behind, but Ali is quick to react, catching Something with a DDT on the outside!
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| The monster is down! TNA |
Ali's gimmick seems to be based around how much smarter he thinks he is than the rest of the locker room, with him also feeling the X Division is beneath him. Matchups that feature two guys of different sizes and styles like this really allows a "wrestling intellectual" to shine because it allows them to show how much smarter they are than their opponent. If you can't hit him harder to knock him down, hit him smarter.
With something nursing the neck, Ali capitalizes with a couple of rolling neckbreakers. The first in the ring, the second out on the ramp, and the third as Something stumbles back in the ring before the referee's 10 count, with Ali more than content taking a count out win.
With Something back on his feet, Ali leaps from the middle rope for a tornado DDT but Something is able to stop his momentum, attempting to reverse it into a vertical suplex but Ali drops back to the canvas and chops Something across the shoulder blades, his neck weakened enough that his knees buckle. Hitting the ropes, Ali is able to hook Something and drive him into the canvas with a tornado DDT, causing his legs to buckle again as his body twists and contorts in pain.
With a standing moonsault, Ali goes for the pin but Something sits up, holding Ali as he does so and chucks him back over his head with what I can only call a seated fallaway slam. They both get to their feet at the same time, with Ali rushing to kick Something in the chest but he fights through the pain, begging for more. A superkick this time, but Something beats his chest, defiant and filled with rage. Ali hits the ropes and flies at Something with a head scissors, who rolls through the momentum and proceeds to pick up Ali, ripping him up over his head and driving him back down to the ring with a massive sit out powerbomb.
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| Gonna start calling this the Something Bomb. TNA |
Maybe someone else has done this a dozen times before and I've never seen it, but I'll never, ever, tire of seeing him do this shit. Mainline that move into my fucking veins. I need more.
Something grabs Ali from the canvas and deadlifts him up and onto his back, sitting out with him into a backbreaker type move but it stuns Something for a few seconds who's slow to make the cover, allowing Ali to matrix his way out of the pin.
With Something attempting to powerbomb Ali off the top, he frantically fights out and leaves Something sitting on the top, trying to work out how to climb down. But Ali is too quick, moving out to the apron and grabbing Something by the waist, driving him down off the top turnbuckle with a disgusting german suplex on the apron.
In a moment that kinda caught me off guard, Ali climbs up to the apron and starts making the "X" sign with his arms, which I've always known to be the universal sign of "injury." You see ref's doing this when someone's hurt for real and needs to be dealt with immediately, as opposed to a worked injury that doesn't. I started asking myself "who's hurt? Ali? How did he hurt himself? He looks fine to me!" but apparently, this is a sign for his "secret service" goons to leap into action.
One gets on the apron to distract the referee, while 3 others pick up the corpse of Something and shove him in the ring while Ali climbs to the top rope to deliver his signature 450. Thankfully, his goons know enough to take off when the deed is done so they don't get caught but it doesn't matter, Something powers out at 2 which completely shocks Ali. Apparently nobody in TNA has kicked out of that move before, making it even more special.
Something is on his feet now, absorbing forearm shots from Ali and doing his best impression of the Ultimate Warrior as he shakes the ropes with rage. Ali ducks a clothesline attempt and dives through the ropes to his suits on the outside, only for Something to hit the ropes and soar, landing in the middle of the group and sending everyone into the dirt.
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| This is what I'd like to imagine a Gorilla jumping out a tree looks like. TNA |
With both men back in the ring now, Ali tries to take Something down again as he springs off the middle rope but gets caught mid air with a Something-sized right hand, dropping to the ring like a bag of hammers. Something hoists Ali up and spins him around, planting him with his version of a black hole slam called "into the void," but Ali is able to get his foot on the bottom rope to break the pin before 3.
With Something sensing the end in sight, he hoists Ali back up into a powerbomb position this time but gets a thumb to the eye for his effort. Charging blind, Something attempts to spear Ali in the corner but eats the post, stumbling backwards into Ali who ties him up into a russian leg sweep-type tie up as he rolls forwards for the pin, holding the bottom rope to ensure the 3 count.
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| What, exactly, are we trusting Ali to do? Cheat? Probably. TNA |
This match was really, really fun. A 15 minute sprint between a bruising monster and a technical whiz who needed to dig deep to try and get one over on his opponent. I was worried that with Something kicking out of the 450 but not eventually going over it would hurt his stock, but a flash tie up with an assist from the ropes hurts nobody and makes Ali out to be a real shitter. I can't wait to see what Ali does next in TNA and I really hope big things are on the horizon for Something. He's such a star and is my type of wrestler, through and through. He could be the top guy in any company tomorrow if they wanted him to be.
Myron Reed vs. Calvin Tankman vs. Kevin Knight - DPW Forever 2023: Steel Cage Showdown - 03/26/2023
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| The speed limit in the building is gonna be broken soon. DPW |
One of my favourite things about having a back catalogue of shows to work through in DPW is that there's always something new to check out. New tag teams, new faces I'd never watch any other way, just a different feeling show to what you get with WWE and AEW. Its honestly so refreshing to check out the indies that I seriously recommend everybody find at least one indie to check out outside your usual viewing, if possible. Spend a couple bones for a month or two and shop around, there's plenty out there to choose from.
DPW, for my money, is one of the best companies going right now, all biases aside. Going into this 3 way dance, I was already familiar with Calvin Tankman and was really excited to see him do his thing in DPW for the first time in a while. I know Myron Reed by name alone from the indies and have never heard of Kevin Knight but after this match, I'll be keeping an eye on all of these dudes, they seriously impressed me.
During their entrances, I notice that the production has stepped up in quality for when the guys first come out the curtain. I can only describe it like those really cool 8K shots that WWE used for some of their entrances back at Wrestlemania 37 and during champion introductions at a big PPV. The camera shot is smooth and focused on the guy making his entrance and he's in stunning quality. Its a really nice touch and I'm happy DPW is able to afford these little improvements.
The match starts with all 3 men attempting a test of strength in the middle, with Tankman able to get the better of the two and fight them off, eating a kick from Reed and knocking both men down at once with a strong shoulder block. The former, and first ever National Champion, is not going to go down easily.
With Tankman dumped to the outside now, Reed tries for an inside out plancha but gets caught on the way down. Turning to face the front row, Tankman starts telling them to move, his urgency becoming clearer the more Reed tries to escape until Tankman charges forwards and drives Reed into the barricade, pushing it back into the front row.
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| Barricade was too close to the ring anyway. DPW |
Turning back around not a moment too soon, Knight takes to the skies with a springboard moonsault and flies just a touch too far, landing his shoulders on Tankman and Reed and his legs on the top of the barricade. That had to be a rough landing.
Wiith Tankman down, Reed and Knight team up long enough to send Tankman crashing into the barricade near the entryway, temporarily taking out the biggest threat in this match. Wasting no time, both men dive back in the ring and start cranking up the speed, a sense of urgency knowing Tankman will only be down for so long.
Knight sends Reed into the corner but Reed ducks out, charging back at Knight and catching both his legs to hang him up in the ropes. A superkick stuns Knight long enough for Reed to take to the apron long enough to springboard back in with a big leg drop for a super close, super tight 2 count.
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| The height these guys are getting is pretty nuts, honestly. DPW |
The speed of these two is really impressive really early on, they know they need to be on top of their game the whole time and hit their opponent with their best shots quickly if they want to win this.
The advantage doesn't last very long however, as Tankman rolls back in and clatters Knight with a back elbow and fights to keep both men off him. With both stunned and standing near the corner, Tankman takes to the second rope and spins off with a huge crossbody, crushing them on impact. The crowd is electric for every single thing Tankman does. What a star.
Tankman attempts a double suplex but Knight and Reed are able to get him up and over themselves, opting to start a chop exchange as Tankman rises to his feet. Inserting himself in the centre and taking shots of his own now, Tankman eats a pair of superkicks when his chops get to be too much for the duo to handle.
Catching Reed unaware as Tankman reels from the kicks, Knight picks him up onto his shoulders into a firemans carry. But Tankman is too quick, and far too strong, as he moves in and clutches Knight around his waist, picking both men up in a back suplex-firemans driver combo. Absolutely insane shit.
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| I can't believe my goddamn eyes. DPW |
With Knight outside now, Tankman shoots Reed off into the corner and charges after him but gets stopped just before impact with a kick upside the head. A superkick dazes Tankman for a second longer as Reed quickly takes to the second rope and tries to leapfrog over him but lands on Tankman's shoulders instead. Reed rains down punches now, trying to thwart whatever Tankman will try to get Reed down but it's all in vain, as Knight slides back in the ring and hits a massive dropkick. Reed falls backwrds and as he does, he spikes Tankman on his head with a rana. The height, the impact, incredible.
With Tankman slouched in the corner, Reed and Knight go at it with the same speed they had 10 minutes ago. Knight attempts a vertical suplex but Reed counters into a stunner, holding on as he rises to his feet and takes to the ropes, springboarding back for a cutter but gets sniped out of the air with a dropkick from Knight. He's been getting some insane height every time he takes off, but the distance he covered and the precision he got with this dropkick is just fucking nuts.
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| Like a heat seeking missile. DPW |
If these guys were in third gear already, they've somehow managed to take things to a fourth gear now, like pedal through the floor and scraping asphalt. Tankman pops up Knight for a forearm smash but Knight DDT's Tankman hard enough that his momentum takes him outside. Knight lines up Tankman for a springboard plancha of his own but Reed snipes him out of the air this time, hitting him with enough force to disorient him on his way down. Hitting the ropes like a bullet, Reed soars over the top rope and crashes into both men, screaming along with the DPW faithful.
Reed tries his best shot on Knight, fighting to get him up on his shoulders before swinging him around to drape him across the top rope for a huge facebuster. The pinfall attempt is stopped by a huge chop from Tankman as Knight rolls out to catch his breath. Now, its just Reed and Tankman, who gets caught with a spiking cutter as Reed tries to pop up and over Tankman but gets caught with a disgusting powerbomb.
Reed is able to get out just in time but the end is already here. He gives Reed no time to recover as he picks him up off the canvas, flips him upside down and drives him through the ring with the Tankman Driver for the decisive 3.
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| A Samoa Joe-type finish. Zero chance to breathe. DPW |
This was such a fun, high paced match. They were somehow able to fly past first and second gear and straight up drop this match into third and fourth gear not even 5 minutes after the opening bell. Reed and Knight worked exceptionally well both as a high flying pair trying to keep Tankman down but also as two guys who work really well against one another. Honestly, all 3 of these guys mesh so well its just a perfect matchup.
I really hope that Knight is able to make a name for himself while in New Japan and that Reed is able to get recognized and given some more opportunities. Tankman is already a star in DPW (I know what his 2024 looks like already) and I hope he keeps getting better and better and shows the world what Heavyweight Hustle can really do.
What an awesome week of wrestling this was, easily my most packed and exciting week to date. I'd love to say that I'll keep this ball rolling but you guys know how life is, don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon. I've got a fun idea in mind for Watchlist numero 10 which you guys will just need to see to believe. I'm also working out the logistics of a future series I'll be starting once DPW is caught up with and thinking about maybe doing a Deepdive Rewind at some point soon, see what that kind of post will look like.
Until then, drop me a line and let me know what you guys think. Have you checked out DPW because of my blog? Do you have some matches you just know I haven't got on my list? Want to call me all sorts of names? cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com is the spot to send it all.
Remember friends, stay off the pipe, and don't forget to wipe.
Cliff Morgan
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