What's the story, devotees of dramatic dropkicks?
A busy week for yours truly, but not in a bad way! I'm back on my DPW bullshit (I'll get into that) and gearing up for another wrestling day with a couple friends of mine. Those are always a hoot and I'm excited to see what shit they'll force me to watch.
Anyways, let's see what's on offer this week, yeah? Y'all better be ready to get in, or get the fuck out.
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| DPW |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
DEADLOCK Pro Wrestling Closes its Doors... For Now.
Well, this is a headline I never thought I'd be writing, but it looks as though DPW is going on an indefinite hiatus. Earlier this week, DPW announced that it would be closing its doors following one final show at the end of 2025. Their final show, DPW's 4th Anniversary show, would close out 2025 as a charity event, with all tickets set to $1 and will take place on December 12 in Cary, North Carolina. Furthermore, they announced that all proceeds from this show will be matched by DPW themselves, up to $10,000. The proceeds will be donated to a local North Carolina food bank, Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.
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| via @deadlockpro on X |
Over the past year, I've crawled my way through DPW's entire library of shows. Sure, I didn't care for some of their collaborative shows, but everything else has been for me and I've been a die hard fan since day one. I've grown as a wrestling fan with DPW and come to appreciate so, so many new names that I never would have seen or heard of if it wasn't for DPW.
To name just a few off the top of my head; Adam Priest, Calvin Tankman, Violence is Forever, Speedball x Something, Jackson Drake, Bojack, Jay Malachi, The Workhorsemen, Lucky Ali, Kevin Blackwood, LaBron Kozone, Nicole Matthews, Raychell Rose, Miyuki Takase, Emi Sakura, Andrew Everett, BK Westbrook, Titus Alexander, Colby Corino, Dani Luna. Isn't that one of the most insane rosters of talent you've ever seen? To point out rather selfishly, DPW became a focal point for my blog as well, some of my earliest reviews were of DPW! I had the absolute pleasure of writing some of my favourite pieces for the blog about DPW matches as well, getting a chance to highlight some of the best wrestlers on the planet week after week after week.
I will miss DPW deeply. I hope whatever rough spot they are in right now, they are able to pull themselves out of it and come back stronger than ever. Deadlocked for life.
AEW Blood & Guts 2025
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| AEW |
AEW's yearly tradition is back with Blood & Guts! The spiritual successor to WarGames, Dusty's creation, AEW continues to ask the question; "how violent is too violent?" with the limits being tested year after year. One cage, two rings, three words, Blood and Gu- I mean, this shit rocked.
Women's Blood & Guts Match
A first for the women's division, it's Marina Shafir, Megan Bayne, Mercedes Mone & Triangle Of Madness up against Harley Cameron, Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander, Mina Shirakawa, Toni Storm & Willow Nightingale. Willow and Skye start things off, with Julia granting her side of the field an advantage. She's lucky she came in when she did, because Sky ran the razor and she ran that shit hard. Bleeding like a murder victim a mere 5 minutes into this match, she sets the tone for what the rest of B&G needs to be like. The ring filled with all 12 women pretty quickly, with the action and intensity ramping up with each entrant. Of course, there were weapons, and while I normally make a pretty big stink about WarGames (or WarGames adjacent matches) relying too heavily on weapons, this didn't bother me too much. They didn't spend a minute each time they came to the ring to dig for plunder, everyone came to the ring with speed and intent to help their teams, and most of them brought a weapon in as well to help even the odds. In typical Death Riders fashion, Marina brought out a bed of fucking nails to drop Kris Statlander and neutralize her for a time, really becoming a difference maker in this match. The Timeless one was the final to enter, with "the match beyond" as it should always be called, starting. She brought in a bucket of champagne after Mone left it at ringside, digging into the same bag of tricks she used during her Hollywood Ending match earlier in the year, boxing with broken glass to truly even the odds. Once a mirror is introduced into the match by Toni, who ends up eating it glass first, the action gets nutty. A superplex into the double apron, a figure four with a barbed wire bat, a glass-encrusted stomp, it's gnarly. Toni is held helpless as her tag partner, Mina, is held and beaten relentlessly, forcing Toni to surrender for her team. An exceptionally violent and fun match.
Hangman vs. Powerhouse - Falls Count Anywhere
Hobbs and Hanger start things off in second gear, with Hobbs focusing on the wounded ribs of Hangman from his attack the week prior. Hobbs is brutal and relentless, carrying Hangman around and slamming him against the apron, the announcers table, and the ring steps, all without letting him go. It's easy to forget how good Hobbs is as he frequently gets relegated to groups and not given a real chance to shine on his own, bit when he is solo, he's great. Especially with this new heel edge, he's really allowed to spread his wings and be a proper asshole. Never one to be out done or counted out, Hangman drops Hobbs straight on his ass with a back body drop off the table, with a lariat sending the big man into the crowd for the match to continue. Taking a page out of his old book of tricks, Hanger sips a fans beer before landing a moonsault from the elevated seats, with the match continuing around ringside. With Hobbs high above and a cowboy boot in hand, Hanger sends Hobbs off of an elevated portion of the stands and into the electrical setup (kayfabe) which caused the lighting in the arena to flicker before getting the pin and winning. Insane brawl, what a match. Good stuff. Afterwards, Joe comes out and attacks Hanger as the B&G cage comes down, setting up Joe vs. Hanger 2 inside a cage at Full Gear next Saturday. Hell yeah.
Men's Blood & Guts Match
With Darbs and Yoots starting off the men's B&G match, our main event is under way! They start on the floor with Darby getting beaten pretty good, as per usual, but a Coffin Drop off the side of the cage once back inside resets the playing field for Darby. Yuta is bleeding early with Cassidy joining the fray to give his team the advantage, which, it's my personal belief that the heels always need the advantage. But I digress. He gets the jump on Yuta by using his own sunglasses as a weapon before retrieving chains from his backpack, the plunder being put to use good and early. Briscoe's music hits but he doesn't come out to the ring, so we join Renee Paquette in the back to find out that Briscoe has been attacked, with Roddy subbing in to take his place. Once Claudio joins the fray, he proves to be the ultimate equalizer, laying out the opposing team with little effort. Not wanting to be the final member of his team to enter, Mox comes in following O'Reilly and enters the cage, fork in hand. After getting stabbed by the fork, O'Reilly does his best impression of Sky Blue after running the razor, just a gnarly wound on his head. We get Paquette making an announcement, stating that Briscoe will be unable to join in on the match, leaving his team down a member, giving the Death Riders a 5-on-4 advantage. At one point, Kyle gets beaten on by all the current members of the Death Riders, bleeding more and more with each strike. With PAC entering, the match beyond begins, the numbers advantage starting to show itself. But wait! Briscoe comes to the ring, limping with weapons in hand! He cuts the lock and enters the fray, evening the odds even if he is worse for wear. Briscoe and Yoots find themselves on top of the cage, with Briscoe using a rope to bring a whole heap of chairs on top of the B&G cage. What an absolute madman. With Darbs and PAC on the outside now, Gabe Kidd shows up to taze Darbs and help his Death Rider amigos a bit in this match. Back inside the cage, Cassidy locks his hands in his pockets but pays for it dearly, with Moxley literally stapling his hands into his fucking pockets. Oh my lord. A belt around the throat of Darby neutralizes him enough that PAC can bring him to the top of the AEW entrance way, with Kidd lighting a pair of tables on fire! Wasting no time, PAC sends Darbs crashing through the inferno below, the Death Riders doing whatever they can to keep the numbers advantage in their favour. Back inside the ring, a chain assisted bulldog choke on O'Reilly looks to be the end, but a defiant middle finger shows that Kyle-O still has some fight left in him. From there, it's complete bedlam, with table crashes, Orange Punches galore, and an O'Reilly ankle lock onto Moxley. He does everything he can to escape it, even countering the hold, but once locked in the knee bar and laying flat out in glass, Mox is forced to submit! Kyle-O makes Moxley submit!
Here’s what we’re reviewing for the Watchlist;
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LaBron Kozone vs. Kevin Blackwood - An Attempt to Cripple the Warrior
Challenging the dominant and long-reigning LaBron Kozone, the ever confident Kevin Blackwood looks to win his first piece of gold in DPW.
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| The latest in a long line of challengers. DPW |
Basic Breakdown
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| Stalwart. DPW |
Both men have become crowd favourites in DPW. Kozone first, establishing himself as someone who is exceptionally ring savvy and tough. Not only that, but he's also the head coach at the Fire Star Pro Wrestling gym in Greensboro, North Carolina, so his fingerprints are all over the DPW roster. Blackwood showed up in DPW later on his tour of the American indies, a name that has become very well known across various promotions. His hard-hitting style and never-say-die attitude endeared him early on to just about every crowd he's ever been in front of, with many believing that he's long overdue for gold around his waist.
Will tonight be the night? Or will Kozone extend his reign. There's only one way to find out.
Bell to Bell
It's a mad scramble from the opening bell, with both men looking to grab a limb, a hold, anything at all to gain the early advantage. Kozone is able to get Blackwood down with a side headlock takeover, twisting him around into a pin when Blackwood tries to counter the hold into something more advantageous for him. He's out quick, but it's more than served its purpose, proving to Blackwood that he needs to stay on his tows this entire match, or he may just get caught with a flash pin. Kozone stands firm with a shoulder block after Blackwood rebounds, the size advantage coming into play early on, with Blackwood trying three more times to knock Kozone off his feet. After an exchange in the middle, the champion is the one who knocks Blackwood down, standing confidently in the middle of the ring. His ring.
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| Straight up crushed. DPW |
Using the bottom rope, Kozone lands an impressive looking elbow drop on Blackwood, crushing him good. Another pin attempt and another easy kick out. But each time, the message is clear, "don't get comfortable." Blackwood tries to outsmart Kozone off a rope rebound, changing direction mid-run to come off another set of ropes, but a heavy-handed chop drops Blackwood flat out, sending him rolling to the floor to collect himself and rethink his strategy. Wasting no time, Kozone notices that Blackwood is making tracks around the entire ring, so he decides to go for broke. Rebounding off the ropes, Kozone dives through the ropes and catches Blackwood mid way around the ring, crashing into both him and the barrier on his way down.
More heavy-handed chops send Blackwood back between the strands, but he's quick to rebound, dropkicking Kozone off of the apron and gut first into the barricade. Blackwood hones in on this wound, laying in forearm shots and kicks to the middle of the back, even applying an abdominal stretch and using the point of his elbow to zero in on the damaged core of the champion. A hip toss out of the stretch sneds Blackwood bailing to the corner, going up and over the charging champion and leaving him alone in the corner, but only for a moment. A running uppercut drops Kozone to his ass, and a big 'ol dropkick catches him flush, with Blackwood going for a tight pin but only scoring two.
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| Like a sniper. DPW |
Pulling Kozone to a seated position after the unsuccessful pin attempt, Blackwood punishes him with kicks to the back. He climbs to the top and looks to land a double stomp, but the champ is still too fresh, rolling out of the way and springing to his feet to meet Blackwood once he turns back around. A leg sweep drops Blackwood and a senton keeps him down, forcing him to use the corner to recover and allowing Kozone to catch him upside the jaw with a boot. Fighting out, Blackwood drives a knee into the gut of Kozone to slow him down, rebounding off the ropes to land... something, but Kozone catches him and plants him with a big sit out driver.
Both men on their feet now, they start trading forearm shots back and forth. Kozone's drop Blackwood to a knee, but he fights back up every time, staggering the champ and catching him with a boot to the jaw. Kozone responds with one of his own, with both men going for a boot at the same time. Staggering back from the impact, they both remain vertical, but not for long. When they both return to centre to strike again, Blackwood crumples to his knees, with Kozone following suit quickly after, exhaustion starting to take its toll.
They fight up from their knees with forearm shots back and forth again, with Blackwood getting the better of the exchange. As skilled as Blackwood is at straight up wrestling, he's an excellent striker, someone you wouldn't want to stand toe-to-toe with. But Kozone isn't down for long at all! He kips up and fires back with a kick upside the head of Blackwood! Digging into his old bag of tricks, Kozone seats Blackwood on the top rope, as in, the middle of the ring area, and sits on the top turnbuckle himself. He's had success landing his Ballgame lariat from this position and winning before, so he's clearly hoping for that level of success again. He lines him up, but Blackwood ducks and catches him in the gut with a quick punch, doubling Kozone over and allowing for Blackwood to stack him up for a pin! It's close, but still only two.
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| Blew his head smoove off. DPW |
Another strike exchange in the middle, with a Blackwood-sized knee strike driving through the head of Kozone, scoring him another close two count. Mounting Kozone, Blackwood rains down punches to his gut over and over. Listening to the demands of the referee, Blackwood relents and tries to stand, but finds his wrist snatched by Kozone. Using Blackwood to help him stand, despite Blackwoods protestation, he finds himself on a knee, with Blackwood lined up perfectly for, you guessed it, Ballgame! A wicked lariat catches Blackwood in the throat, flattening him in the centre of the ring. The champ covers, and its th- no! Blackwood survives!
Catching Kozone off a rope rebound in a firemans carry position, Blackwood drills him in the corner with a Death Valley Driver! Ascending to the top, he scores with the double stomp and pulls him in for three, but it's not quite enough! Fighting through the pain, Kozone lands a belly-to-belly suplex, with Blackwood responding with one of his own to his much larger opponent! With Kozone backed into the corner, a Blackwood boot is caught and countered into, what appears to be a powerbomb at first, but it's really Kozone setting Blackwood up for the Ballgame off the top.
⚡Move of the Match⚡
He lines him up and fires, connecting with a huge lariat that twists Blackwood inside out and sends him crumpling into a head in the ring.
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| The whole ballgame, if you will. DPW |
He pulls Blackwood in for a tight, tight pin, but he manages to escape! He survives at two!
Blackwood fights valiantly against Kozone, coming at him with heavy handed strikes to try and wear him down, but it's not enough. Rebounding off the ropes, Kozone cuts Blackwood in half with the Ballgame, wasting no time in picking him up and cleaving him in half with another Ballgame. Sitting out on his chest, he covers him for the definitive three count. Kozone retains.
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| Dead and double dead. DPW |
Overview & Final Rating
🟡 - This Ballgame is recommended
A very fun and entertaining matchup here that I thoroughly enjoyed. DPW matches are almost always enjoyable and this was no different, delivering as a well build, very competitive matchup between two of the best on roster. I can't say that this is a match you should go out of your way to see, but if you've got a subscription and are looking for something fun from Kozone's reign, check this one out for sure.• • • • •
There we have it folks, another week down. This was quite the lengthy one, but I can't help it if a lot happens in the week that I want to talk about! That's what this blog is all about! Get off my ass dammit! Anyways... until next week, you guys know the drill. Shoot me an email if you've got anything to say or recommend, always waiting for something good to pop up in the inbox.
Until then. Stay safe, be well, love each other.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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