Weekly Watchlist 051 - June 1 2025

Whats new, connoisseurs of consensual combat?! We're in the 50th week of the Wrestling Vault now, which is insane to think just how close we are to a whole year of this already. Genuinely can't believe it. I've got a big, big post lined up for the one year anniversary of the blog. Post 53 is my One Year Special post but you'll want to keep your eyes on the blog the Friday before. Just sayin'

Anyways, let's talk less about what's coming to the blog, let's focus on what's here right now!

The Human Orchid. NWA

Weekly Roundup

Here's what I watched for the week;

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Andrew Everett vs. Trevor Lee - DPW 3rd Anniversary - 12/08/2024

The Giant vs The Caveman. DPW

In whats advertised as a "special singles match," Andrew "The Giant" Everett is set to face long time friend and rival, "The Carolina Caveman" Trevor Lee. The last time we had a special singles match (to the best of my memory) is when Roderick Strong had his match against Fuminori Abe, one of my favourite DPW matches ever. This is Trevor Lee's second match in DPW, his first was an unsuccessful challenge for the DPW Worlds Title against then champion Calvin Tankman. This time, it's an exhibition match, old friends tying it up again for the first time since 2018. Everett trying to get back to his winning ways, Lee hoping for the same, wanting to right the wrong from his first match. 

Commentary spends the early minutes of their exchange going over some of the history between Everett and Lee, it's an even exchange of holds and take downs, with Lee focusing in on the previously injured left arm of Everett. They talk about how Everett and Lee spent their early years training together, both men being comfortable in a wrestling ring their whole lives, even when they were far too young to be competing in one. Lee is the son of TC Brimstone, a little known wrestler from the North Carolina indie scene during the late 90's. Everett and Lee have had 71 matches either together or against one another since 2013, with 14 of them being singles matches. Everett's father wasn't a wrestler, but he was a wrestling promoter in the Carolina's for a number of years.

It's safe to say these two know each other very, very well. 

Everett makes many attempts to break free from the grip of Lee, bridging and nipping up with his grip held tight by Lee, but Trevor's vicious and explosive strength drags him back to the canvas every time. Lee gets Everett in a side headlock and takes him over, proclaiming "I've always been the better wrestler, Drew." The spirit of friendly competition seems to be fading rather quickly here, with Lee wanting to make a point early.  The crowd is caught off guard by this, with mixed reactions to Lee's words.

Everett starts to get his feet back under him, blocking and ducking shots from Lee and pulling him in for quick roll ups that only score two. Lee deadlifts Everett off the canvas for a suplex but Everett fires off a back elbow shot, with Lee barely able to duck. They go shot for shot, the experience of having so many matches together on full display as they know they other mans thoughts before even they do. They find themselves at a stalemate,  resetting in the middle as they circle the ring again. 

When they move in to engage again, Everett has the advantage this time, using his speed and technique to send Lee rolling to the floor with a head scissors takeover. He lines Lee up for a dive but Trevor is back in the ring to cut him off. He grabs a hammerlock on Everett but he flips out of it and takes Lee back down with another head scissors. Lee is able to slow Everett for a second and shoot him into the corner, but Everett floats over a charging Lee and lands on his feet behind him, sniping Lee in the jaw with a beautiful dropkick when he turns back around. 

A giant sized dropkick. DPW

Everett lines Lee up for another dive to the outside but Lee gets on the apron this time, too slow to roll in and stop him within the ring. Everett changes course mid run, cracking Lee in the jaw with a forearm shot instead that drops him back to the floor. Everett readies himself for another run but Lee pulls him outside, going for a back suplex but Everett slips out as he's lifted up onto his shoulders. Without missing a step, Lee climbs to the apron and turns to face Everett, still recovering from landing on his feet. The moment he rises to a more vertical position, Lee is already halfway across the apron, crashing through EVerett's chest with a disgusting kick, nearly sending Lee on his ass from the momentum if the ropes didn't save him. 

The Caveman's offence is far from pretty, but by god is it effective. He hurls Everett into the barricade and drills him back first into the apron, sliding back into the ring as Andrew rolls inside to try and escape the pain. Lee goes for a pin but Everett gets out at two without much issue, with Lee sitting on his knees as he watches Everett crawl to the ropes, the look on his face acknowledges that his old friend is going to need to be put through a lot worse before he gives in. 

Everett makes the mistake upon standing up of trying to out-strike Lee, his mistake costing him dearly as a forearm shot from Lee sends him staggering into the corner, his head falling against the middle turnbuckle pad the only thing stopping him from folding in half. Everett is basically out on his feet, with Lee tossing Everett across the ring with ease. A chop across Lee's chest catches him off guard, but he turns to Everett and raises his chin as a challenge, waiting for more. Everett responds with another chop, hunched over from pain as Lee fires off a boot to the side of Everett's face, dropping him like a shot. 

"Why you gotta take it there, huh? I hadn't chopped you!" Lee barks at the prone Everett, clearly ready and willing to take the intensity of this match up a level as Everett insists on fighting like this. 

You started this! DPW

"I hadn't chopped you, Drew!" Lee backs Everett into the corner, lacing his chest with a chop. "You had to start this!" Lee barks, shooting off a kick across the chest of Everett that nearly caves it in. 

"You started this!" Lee continues to shout, chop and kick to the chest of Everett as he crumples in the corner. Lee wants Everett to know that everything that comes next is his own doing. Maybe Lee wouldn't have been so aggressive, maybe he'd have gone easy on his friend. But all it took was one chop for the entire feeling of this match to change.

A hard whip from one corner to another thwarts Everett's natural reaction to go up and over to counter, instead taking the turnbuckle as comfortably as a car crash. Lee punishes Everett on the canvas, trapping his bad arm and grabbing him by the chin, wrenching back as he forces Everett to his feet, lest he want to lose his lower jaw. Everett drops to his knees out of desperation, taking Lee over with an arm drag but Lee maintains control, wrenching back on the chin as he recovers from the momentary setback.

Everett fights to his feet again, firing off headbutts that grant him more distance with each shot. He's nearly free from Lee's grasp, but Trevor pulls him up high, dropping him across his knee with a big backbreaker. He floats over for a pin,  but Everett gets out. Again, Lee sits on his knees and collects himself. 

"You're starting to piss me off, Drew" Lee says, almost under his breath, still loud enough for the cameras to pick it up. "But you've always been doing that, huh" he continues, "you've always been here to piss me off" looking directly at Everett now, his friend turned opponent writing in pain on the canvas. Back on the assault, Lee fires off chops in the corner again, shooting Everett across the ring but doesn't put quite the same power behind it like he did before. This gives Everett the opening he's been looking for, he floats over the charging Lee again, but Trevor is hip to these antics. He catches Everett on his shoulders before spinning him around into a huge side slam!

Nice try, pal. DPW

Another pin attempt and another escape from Everett, his will to survive is stronger than Lee's ability to inflict pain, for now. Everett tries to crawl before Lee cinches in a modified STF, slowly sinking into it, his knee across the back of Everett for maximum pain. He plays dirty for a moment, hooking Everett's nose and pulling back. He watches as the referee counts him to break it, but it's still plenty of time for Lee. Backed into the corner again, Everett has enough fight left in him to fend Lee off. He blocks his strike and fires back with one of his own, fighting out of the corner and getting his elbow up after being sent across the ring to the opposite corner when Lee charges in. 

He stays one step ahead, ducking Lee's grasp before jumping to the top and shooting off with a dropkick to the jaw of Lee, dropping him to the canvas for the first time in what must feel like forever to Everett. The Giant keeps his momentum going, ducking a 'line from Lee before springboarding off the middle rope with a beautiful moonsault to take him down. He lays across Lee for the pin but Trevor escapes. Climbing through the ropes to the apron, Everett is a step too slow as Trevor charges in with a forearm, but Everett responds in kind. Lee is doubled over along the ropes, holding the top strand to keep him on his feet as Everett uses his back to roll back inside. He lands on his feet but catches himself, his legs not entirely steady beneath him. Everett goes back in to Lee but gets pupped up into a firemans carry position, eating the top turnbuckle for his efforts. 

With sudden ferocity, Lee charges out of the corner, screaming like a demon. He crashes through Everett with a lariat that turns him inside out. He pulls Everett back to his knees before screaming again, rebounding off the ropes with a shining wizard knee strike through Everett's face, He rolls over for the final pin but Andrew gets out! This time, Lee's face is that of distress, now not sure what it will take to win. 

Both men are on the feet again, trading strikes back and forth with Everett asking for more. Andrew finds himself out on the apron now, with Lee charging in with a boot that drops him flat out before falling to the floor. Lee floats over the top turnbuckle and lands on the apron, going for the same kick he was able to land earlier but Everett catches the foot! Swinging for the fences with his foot acting as the baseball bat, Everett sends Lee inside out and upside down, landing on the apron shin first. 

Bye bye shin! DPW

Everett grabs Lee and tosses him back in the ring, slowly ascending to the apron before springboarding back inside the ring. Despite the punishment he just endured, Lee still has his wits about him. With sudden speed, Lee catches Everett mid air with a forearm shot to the jaw! Back on his feet, he pulls Everett in for a powerbomb but Andrew is too quick, slipping free at the top and catching Lee with an enziguiri when he lands on his feet. Lee is out on his feet, with one poison rana sending Lee staggering into the ropes and back into the centre, Everett able to catch him and drag himn down for a second poison rana, this one dropping Lee to the canvas. Another cover and another escape, with Everett clutching his leg after he escapes. 

Everett is the first to attack, a scorpion kick catching Lee under the jaw and stunning him. Everett climbs to the top rope with his back turned, totally unaware that Lee is on his feet and climbing to meet him. He snatches Everett by the waist and fucking hurls him across the ring with a genuinely insane super german suplex, with Everett flipping and landing on his stomach. If I were in the front row near that corner, I'd have been pissing my pants. 

The Caveman crushes the Giant. DPW

Lining Everett up out of the corner, Lee charges and leaps into the air, driving both feet through the chest of Everett with the Cave In, crushing him on impact. He lays across his friend, covering him for three.

After the match, it looks like Lee is going to give his friend his flowers for the hard fought match, asking for his music to be cut off. He shakes his hands and pulls him to his feet, embracing him and raising his hand high. His face betrays his true intentions however as he turns away from Everett, turning on a dime before charging in and crushing him with a lariat. He berates Everett on the ground, sweat pouring of fhis face as Everett struggles to recover. 

"Fuck you Drew, I never liked you. Haven't you figured that out?!" Lee shouts at his now former friend, standing over his prone body when suddenly, BK Westbrook hits the ring! For months, BK has been slowly changing his ways. From teaming with former DPW Worlds Champion Lucky Ali to now standing up for Avdrew Everett, his face turn seems to be complete here, the once mixed, unsure reaction from the crowd now a full throated cheer for the Super Stud. Everett finds an unlikely friend in a former rival now, building towards a tag team match against Lee at the start of 2025.

 

This was a fantastic match. You could really tell these guys had a lot of experience with each other, unafraid to lay in their shots and showing unreal chemistry and comfort that you don't often see. Lee was in control for the majority of the match, with Everett excelling as the babyface in peril. I never cared too much for Trevor Lee when he was in NXT as Cameron Grimes. I didn't necessarily hate him, I just never got behind him like I can with this iteration of him. There's an authenticity here that wasn't present with with laughing, happy to be here Grimes. I hope we get more Trevor Lee in DPW in 2025.

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Gorgeous George vs. Jesse James - NWA Los Angeles - 04/09/1951

Keeping him at arms length. Very important. NWA

It's been about 2 weeks that I've been on a Gorgeous George kick, I've been waiting to talk about this guy but other reviews got in the way. Not I've got a free week with nothing planned but a main event review for wrestling's first character. I'm not ashamed to admit that a Gorgeous George x Sabrina Carpenter edit had me grinning like an idiot one morning, she gets a lot of play at Wrestling Vault HQ and I've grown to like her music. But what I hadn't been clued into as much was this Gorgeous George character. I'd heard people mention his name before, especially in reference to Macho Man's valet during the tail end of his WCW run and how she was named after a male wrestler. But I'd never taken the time to go back and watch any of his stuff.

God, I had no idea what I was missing.

To say I've been obsessed with this guy since I first saw him is an understatement. I spent a night watching matches and reading about him and gushing to my more than tolerant fiance about just how good this guy is. I was floored. Why don't more people talk about how good some of these black and white era wrestlers are?! Do people not care to go on YouYube to find this stuff? Or if it's past 1975 do we not care anymore? I've got a lot to say about good old Georgie here so let's get right into things.

First things first, there's not a lot of Gorgeous George footage that is easily accessible. There's only about half a dozen matches of his up on YouTube but they are more than worth your time to seek out and find. I haven't had the time to go digging for more, mostly because what I did find had me pretty content, but I'm sure there's more out there if you do some digging. The quality of these matches ranges from decent to pretty grim, with this match having the best picture and sound quality of them all. It's honestly pretty remarkable footage that's 75 years old exists in the quality it does. I say this, knowing I've watched a match from 1908 in pretty exceptional quality as well. 

We start the match with George's servant spraying the ring down with a "special disinfecting perfume," his Wikipedia referes to it as "Chanel #10" which is of course twice as good as Chanel #5. We then hear, what is certainly one of, if not the earliest instance of a wrestler having music play him to the ring. He would normally come down to the ring with "Pomp and Circumstance," the song Macho Man would come to the ring to. Randy Savage, as well as Muhammad Ali, cite George as being a huge influence to them in how they carried themselves as performers. It's pretty plain to see why. Tonight, however, George is coming down to a different piece that neither Shazam nor Soundhound can ID. If you have an ear for classical music, shoot me an email. I'd love to know what this song is. 

He comes to the ring in what I can only guess is a beautiful, flowing robe. He tosses what looks to be flower lei's into the crowd as he climbs to the apron, carrying himself like royalty. His servant, usually referred to as "Jeffries," but tonight he is Thomas, so says commentary, opens the ropes for him allows him entry. He steps onto a mat, protecting his boots from the canvas, and stands proud as Thomas plucks gold plated bobby pins from his hair, referred to as "Georgie Pins." George takes these pins and tosses them to the crowd with great care, his nose held high in slight disgust. He bows to the crowd, gracing us with his presence, waiting for the ring introductions. 

This match has actual ring introductions, which was where I realized just how good the quality of this show was. The audio is crisp and not too distorted or crunchy, the video is surprisingly clear, and there's not a lot wrong with the copy that the picture gets distorted. It's a main event match with an hour time limit, two out of three falls like most, if not all matches from this era were. Jessie James is announced from Texas, and "The Toast of the Coast," "The Human Orchid," Gorgeous George is not billed from anywhere. For those curious, George Wagner, born March 24, 1915 is a Butte, Nebraska native. 

Resplendent as ever. NWA

I want you guys to think about everything I've just talked about for a second. If I airdropped everything I just described to, say, 2025, nobody would bat an eye at these antics. A wrestler demanding a pristine ring, carrying himself like he's about the rest of us common folk, naming the most menial things after himself and making out like they are worth thousands. All of this taking place during the 1950's. Think about that. This is the point in history where wrestling was still treated like a bit of a sport, the NWA days. We were just coming out of wrestling being a carnival attraction and on a level where you could fill a building with paying customers. Lou Thesz, Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, "Whipper" Billy Watson, Verne Gagne, Édouard Carpentier, some of wrestling's oldest and most well know, legitimate wrestlers were NWA mainstays. They were popular and booked frequently because they had actual wrestling backgrounds and could look after themselves in the ring. All you needed to be good in this era, really, was legitimate skills. Characters weren't a thing at this point in time, at least not at the level wrestling called for once things took off nationally in the 80's and 90's. 

But here's the thing, George didn't just get over because he was one of wrestling's first characters, one of wrestling's first heel characters, he had a legitimate wrestling background as well! George knew early on that if he was to stand out at all, he needed to do something that would separate him from the pack. He revelled in the reactions he got from the crowd, understanding early on that he was playing a role and that if he was getting booed night after night, he was playing his role right. 

And by god, did George play his role to perfection.

The match starts with the referee attempting to look over George to make sure there's nothing that will poke or catch his opponent, but he refuses to let the referee touch his robe. "Keep your filth hands back!" he shouts. It's not until the referee relents and allows Thomas to open his robe and sprays the referee with Chanel #10 that George allows him to be checked over. He refuses to shake Jessie's hand, backing to his corner as Thomas removes his robe and instructs Thomas to be very, very careful with his golden robe. 

The bell rings and thing's are underway as both men circle each other, George reluctant to lock up until he's ready. He's backed into the corner twice by James, the referee calling for them to separate and James obliges, with George holding his hands out to keep his adversary at arms length. The lock up again, with George being backed into the ropes, but this time he marches out, getting a top wristlock on James. They jockey for control in the middle, with James using his free hand to tousle and grab at the pristine pompadour of George. The ladies in the crowd shriek and George goes nuts. He breaks the hold and swings wildly, a shot that would have knocked James out cold if he wasn't fast enough.

Hands off the merchandise! NWA

George is fuming and gets in the referee's face, taking a moment to fix his 'do before locking up with James again. Jessie gets him in a side headlock and again goes for the hair, with the Human Orchid now seeing red. When talking about the action that takes place in the ring, there's really not a whole lot. They really are only using a handful of legitimate, wrestling based holds and techniques. But it's for this reason that I think this stuff is so damn good. There guys get so much out of so little. 

I know using the ropes isn't some lost art, but how many guys do you see getting their opponent flat on their back in a leglock, and then literally push off the bottom rope for extra leverage? Maybe it's just because of how loose these ropes are that it looks extra effective, maybe it's how well George hides it from the referee, until he gets caught, that is. It's a combination of elements but I was smiling like an idiot at the simplest of things in this match. We cut back to the match after the camera focuses on a woman imitating George's hair getting pulled to see George out on the apron, incensed at, what I can only assume was Jessie messing up his hair again. 

Back in the middle, Jessie grabs George by the head and hair and biel's him across the ring like a rag doll, George more than up to the task of bumping like his life depends on it. When Jessie goes in for a third, George delivers a short punch to the gut of Jessie that drops him where he stands. With James hunched over, George grabs a side headlock and flips Jessie over with it. Folks, the way George kicked his feet up for this move, my lord. This guy is so fucking good. He takes him over twice before going for a double underhook cradle, rolling on top of Jessie for the three count! 1 point to George! These matches didn't require 20 minute sequences to wear someone down because, like I said, they had a limited toolset. They used moves and holds that would legitimately disorient and keep someone down for a pinfall if you were actually going at it on the canvas. 

They separate and go to their respective corners, with Thomas bringing a tray into the ring as the announcer declares the first fall goes to George. When the camera turns back to George, we see a wooden box brought into the ring now with the words "FLORIDA AIR" on the side. Commentary points out what we are unable to see as well, aside from the "smoke free Florida oxygen," George has been given some smelling salts, some water, and a cup of tea. He takes a few big whiffs of, what I can only assume is ACME branded FLORIDA AIR while Thomas fixes his hair before returning to action. 

No smoke in this air, let me tell ya. NWA

The action is right underway with George going right in on James, grabbing a side headlock and cracking him on the top of the skull with quick, rabbit punches. A pair of snapmares takes James over with George firmly in control in these opening moments. George goes for his "signature" flying side headlock takeover once, but on the second attempt, James drives forward and up with a headbutt to the sternum of George, stopping him in his tracks. A second headbutt sends George down to the canvas and a pair of dropkicks and nip ups send George down again and again! Holy shit, are these guys trying to get another half star added to this match?! Jesse flies over and folds George for the pin and scores! He quickly ties things up at one fall a piece.

George is on his feet in seconds and is shocked, trying to argue with the referee but it's no use, the ring announcer is in to declare the second fall has been awarded to Jesse James. 

The footage cuts to the middle of the action, with George holding a hammerlock and driving a forearm into the small of James' back. Both the referee and Jesse tell him otherwise with George piping up "well you're a dirty liar!" They lockup and George goes right back to the back, this time punching him in the spine clear as day, but only for the camera, the referee is still left in the dark as to what truly happened. He again tries to assure him he only shoved him off with his palm, but the referee brushed him off. 

This time, Jesse responds in kind, driving a fist into the kidney of George that doubles him over and down to a knee. He tries to tell the referee the same thing, gesturing with an open palm. He goes in for it again but was a bit overzealous if you ask me, hitting George in very, very clear view of the referee, but gets let off without issue. Some shoddy officiating, if I do say so. 

George gets the better of James in a lock up, holding him in a cravat and bringing him to the ropes, using the rather loose top rope to add extra damage to his choke on James. It's broken up before any real damage can be done, but James is clearly worse for ware right away. A snapmare brings Jesse down as George lays north/south on him with a front chancery. Jesse kicks out and tries to sit up but George pulls his hair and the ref is on him this time. He tries to pull George up to tell him off, with George shifting his body to knees in front of the referee, his body blocking the fact that George is resting the shin of his leg across the throat of Jesse, chocking him as the referee reminds George not to pull his hair. Such good shit, man.

What won't you try, Georgie old boy? NWA

George gets the better of a lockup and turns James around to get a side headlock. He walks him into the corner face first and cranks his fist around into the nose of James, shoving up as if he's hitting a one inch punch. He maintains the side headlock and goes around to the other corner, delivering the same cruel offence with the referee kept completely in the dark. James is backing out the corner and stumbling, the damage to his face obscuring his vision enough that George keeps the damage on with more short punches square in the face. 

James is able to get his wits about him and fires back on George, a snapmare, headbutt and two dropkicks sends George crashing to the canvas over and over again. He lays on him for the cover, trying to replicate the results before the second fall but George gets his shoulder up just in time. They roll around together on the canvas, but Jesse gets the advantage by rolling on top of George and tying up his legs with an Indian death lock, standing up completely and leaving George to bridge off the canvas to avoid a pin and the pain of the hold. 

George slaps at the canvas and writhes around, trying to escape the hold but all James needs to do is keep his leg straight, George's legs are tied up like a pretzel in such a way that he can't escape until James releases the pressure. George is able to sit up out of it but Jesse grabs him by the base of the skull and fires off a forearm, sending George bouncing off the canvas. George is held in this unrelenting hold for what must feel like hours, every time he rises to try and get some advantage, James fires off a shot that plants him. 

Little does Jesse realize, George had an ace up his sleeve.

When he sits up to try and escape, knowing Jesse will strike him, he catches the left arm of Jesse, the arm he's been using to support himself when he bends forward. George grabs the arm and twists it around into a double wrist lock, turning to his side with Jesse's upper body giving in to gravity. He uses his pretzel legs to his advantage here, holding Jesse down in a tight, tight pin that he has next to no way of escaping from. The referee is right in place and counts three, with George taking the third and final fall!

Played right into his trap. NWA

 

What a brilliant little match this was. They didn't need to do a whole lot because they didn't have a lot to work from but what they did do was exceptional. George bumped his ass off for Jesse and was an awesome, sneaky heel. Digging in little shots behind the ref's back and exploiting every small window to its fullest every single time. This is what a good heel does man, it's not just about having a pouty face and berating the crowd, sometimes it's about taking the rules and stepping just on the border line of breaking them without crossing it. Maximizing the time you have, exploiting every weakness. George was on the cutting edge here in a lot of ways and I wish, god do I wish, more wrestlers today would watch some of this stuff and try and bring it into the modern day stuff. There's a lot of brilliant kids in those locker rooms that could really make this stuff translate well to a modern audience. I know its possible.

•  •  •  •  •

 

There we have it! God, I'm so happy I got to talk about Gorgeous George on here. It's seriously been a hanging chad for like, 2 weeks now. Easily. I don't know what I'm gonna talk about next week but I guess that's where the fun is, eh? Figuring it out as we go!

Got something you think I should watch? Matches? Shows? Got any more Gorgeous George facts or matches I should watch? You know where to send it; cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com Also, I added a news ticker to the blog (if you're on mobile, you'll need to switch to the web version of the site to see it) that wasn't quite as difficult to add as I thought but had me playing around with HTML, which I've never been able to wrap my head around. If there's ever something wrong with it or if you have an suggestions for it, please send me an email. It's a living work in progress with me needing to dive into the HTML every time I edit it so it could very well blow up in my face one week. 

But, until that happens! Stay safe, enjoy the weather my friends. 

Cliff Morgan