The Independent Tour De Force Vol. 1 DVD Review

It’s amazing how we’re a wrestling site that loves to cover independent wrestling, but Independent Tour De Force Volume 1 has yet to be reviewed on the site. The editor of this website must be completely incompetent and not have any clue what he’s d

oing. Anyway, a number of wrestling companies had the chance to put their best foot forward by including one match on this illustrious disk produced by Dragon Gate USA. FIP, AAW, CHIKARA, WSU, and Hybrid Pro had the opportunity to show why we the viewing public should consider plunking down money for a DVD. What companies will make you want to put your credit card in the DVD player because you’re so excited to buy a show? What companies will make you shake your head in shame?
Jeff Peterson Cup
-2008 JPC Quarterfinals: Sal Rinauro vs. Larry Sweeney (9.27.08)(Jeff Peterson Cup 2008)(Brooksville, Florida)
Technically, Pro Wrestling Riot is putting forth this match since that’s the company logo I see in the background. There appear to be 25 people in the building. Judging by who’s involved, I smell a comedy match. Lenny Leonard is one announcer. No idea who the other is. Since both guys are heels, Sweeney plays de facto face. The crowd chants “Chicken salad” at Sal. Both guys cackle around like chickens. Looks like I was right about the comedy match theory. Goofy shenanigans ensue . Lots of cheating and handshakes. Five minutes in and minimal contact has been made. Oh look. It’s an arm wrestling competition. We do a criss cross spot with foot stomps. We do a series of small packages. Back to criss-crossing. Sweeney goes under the ring and Sal loses energy. RInauro leaps from the top and hits a double stomp on the mat. Sweeney comes out holding his ears. Throat across the ropes. Sweeney gets a back rake and he works over the back. Psychology? In this match? Polish hammer. Side suplex as we continue the parade of 80s WWF finishers. Where’s the GARVIN STOMP? Okay, Shake, Rattle, ‘n’ Roll attempt. Rinauro backs him into the corner. More eye-raking from Sweeney. Shoulderbreaker gets two. OH MY GOD! EARTHQUAKE! Rinaruo with a pair of hands to the balls. To the second rope and he misses a Banzai drop. That misses. Tatanka chop by Sweeney. Knuckle to the head. Rinauro hangs on and hits some elbows. BIONIC ELBOW! 1-2-NO! Sweeney tries to a sleeper, but Rinauro rams him into the turnbuckle. Attempt at a Torture Rack. Sweeney tries an Angle Slam. Rinaruo gets a rollup. Boot to the gut by Sweeney. He takes the straps off. Then RInauro takes Sweeney’s tights down. RInauro joins the Kiss my Ass club. Back rake by Sweeney. He climbs to the top rope but gets press slammed. Rinauro grabs a chain but misses. Sleeper hold by Sweeney. Arm drops once. Arm drops twice. Rinauro tries to get himself back into the match, but the arm drops three times.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Larry Sweeney/15:16/*
-I literally have no idea how to rate this match. It was comedy crap at its’ finest. The actual wrestling wasn’t that great, but I was slightly entertained for the first few minutes. To have this match go 15 minutes was a little ridiculous though.
Hybrid Pro
-Hybrid Pro Heavyweight Championship: Dave Cole (champion) vs. Christopher Daniels(5.9.09) (Project Mayhem 2009) (Fremont, Ohio)
I’m practically begging to back to the previous match. At least I can see what the hell is going on. This is like a low rent AAW. The lighting is horrible. There is no commentary, and there’s duct tape keeping the very small ring together. I’m used to making of TNA for being the most low rent company Christopher Daniels has ever been involved in, but I want to apologize to both after seeing this. Who the hell thought putting this match on a best of DVD was a good idea? This DVD is supposed to make me want to buy a Hybrid Pro DVD. Instead we get fuzzy camera and lots of STALLING. Cole takes an hour-and-a-half to actually start wrestling. The referee appears to be wearing a shirt he bought from the Gap about 20 minutes before the match. In the backdrop of this low rent… well, everything, a decent enough match takes place. I give all the credit to Daniels, the most underappreciated man in the history of wrestling. I wasn’t all that impressed with Dave Cole during the Jeff Peterson cup, so if nothing else, he came off looking slightly better in his home company. If only he wasn’t wrestling in a ring that looked like it was constructed by homeless people. Then, because this promotion hates me and has no aspirations for growth, we get a stupid ending. Cole gets a jackknife pin and hooks the tights for the win.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Dave Cole/18:21/**1/4
-Not only do we have low rent production quality, but a finish that makes the champion look like a complete geek. Lovely. I think my star ratings runs a little low because the quality of the match itself aside from the finish was pretty good. If I ever threaten to buy a Hybrid Pro DVD, please take my drugs away.
Women Superstars Uncensored
-WSU World Heavyweight Championship: Mercedes Martinez (champion) vs. Nikki Roxx(8.22.09)(No Limits)(Boonton, New Jersey)
Granted the production values aren’t great here, but at we have lights and announcers. Too bad the WSU title belt looks like a giant plate. Pretty basic to start. I’ve actually never watched a SHIMMER show, so I’m not used to watching a women’s match taking place within the context of a show featuring nothing but women. The announcers annoy me immediately by talking about how these women aren’t divas and this is wrestling. Still better for announcers to be putting the company over rather than no announcers at all for a company I’ve never seen before. If nothing else, I think this match gave a fair representation of what this company is all about. The production quality isn’t stellar, but this might be the best women’s match I’ve ever seen. Consider I haven’t a great deal of women’s wrestling before thinking this is some amazing four start match. After an extended mat sequence, they start dropping bombs. Hard forearms and boots to various body parts. They steal each other’s finishers as a means of winning the match, but that doesn’t work. This is perfectly acceptable wrestling, but I cannot get into women’s wrestling to save my life. I know how incredibly sexist it sounds. And believe me, I respect female professional wrestler. Like deathmatches and pure Lucha Libre, it’s a brand of pro wrestling I just don’t like watching. Mercedes kicks out of the Roxx’s finisher, The Barbie Crush, and hits a brainbuster with Roxx prone on the top rope. 1-2-3… done.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL WSU World Heavyweight Champion- Mercedes Martinez/25:17/***
AAW
-I Quit Match: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Ryan Boz (3.28.09)(5^th Anniversary Show)(Berwyn, Illinois)
Phil Colvin and Derek St. Holmes are on the call as always for AAW matches. While we’ve seen a comedy match, an alleged technical match, and a women’s match, this is very different from everything else since it’s just a brawl all over the Berwyn Eagle’s Club. Colvin becomes one of the first announcers I’ve ever seen actually follow the brawl through the entire building. Least he’s got balls, unlike Lenny Leonard Dave Prazak who always cower away at the first sign of trouble. Boz tries to powerbomb Jacobs off the stair near the stage. Jacobs jumps off the guardrail and gets an “End Time” on the floor. Boz rams him into the post. Back in the ring we go. Boz forks Jacobs in the head multiple times and tears at the forehead. Then to keep up with our theme of bringing kitchen objects into the ring, Bo uses a cheese grater across the head of Jacobs. Boz even licks the grater. Well, that was unpleasant. Crowd is literally divided 50/50. Jacobs takes the fork and stabs Boz. Both men are bleeding crimson red. Jacobs tears into Boz. Cheese grater now used on Boz’ head. Boz powerbomb and Jacobs appears to be completely out. We move from the kitchen to the hardware store as Boz hogties Jacobs with some ductape. He gets on the mic and encourages Jacobs to quit. Stapler time. Staples to the head and neck. Boz tries to staple Jacobs’ in the lower nut sack region, but Jacobs thankfully kicks the darn stapler away. Boz brings a table into the ring ever so slowly. Someone forgot to get it ready before the match methinks. The table is fairly far away as Jacobs hits a low blow. He frees himself. The two men exchange shots. Boz punches Jacobs to the outside of the ring. Chair shot to the head. Jacobs lays Boz prone on the table. Oh Christ. BACK SENTON ON TO THE TABLE! TABLE DOESN’T BREAK! Jesus. On the table Boz still lies. Another senton BREAKS THE TABLE! Jacobs find his way into the ring, and Boz does as well. But with hockey stick in hand. Staples to the head on Boz now. Jacobs tapes Boz to the turnbuckle. He tapes every extremity and his back. SPIKE TO THE BALLS! HOLY SHIT! BOZ QUITS!
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Jimmy Jacobs/21:21/****1/4
-Holy Christ, that was an amazing brawl. This has to be one of the best matches in the history of AAW. Amazing work by both men. I think sometimes these brawls go too far, and while a case could be made here, I think it worked out really well. I don’t think anything exceedingly dumb was done, and the finish might have been one of the safest spots in the entire match since we never saw the spike go into the nether regions. Fantastic stuff. THIS is putting your best forward and showing me why I should buy Company X’s DVD.
CHIKARA
-Golden Trios Match: Jigsaw, Helios, and Equinox vs. Vin Gerard, Stigma, and Chuck Taylor vs. Hallowicked, Fire Ant, and Arik Cannon (8.16.09)(Young Lions Cup VII, Night 3)(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
From the ultimate brawl to this. No cheese graters in this match. Not much brawling either. This is more about hijinks and wacky spots. This is a fantastic representation of what this company has to offer. It’s also got a wide range of talent involved with a few Wrestlefactory students and some good outsiders. I couldn’t even begin to do the play-by-play for this match since there’s so much crazy action going on at a given time. Louden Noxious and the awesome Ultramantis Black are on commentary for this wacky contest. This match just shows how AAW and CHIKARA could not possibly be more different when it comes to putting on professional wrestling. Also important to know that in both cases, the matches turn out well. I’ve seen some people give this match four stars. Boy, I’d have a hard time saying they’re completely wrong, but I’m going to go just short here. I still loved the match and a four star rating is definitely not unprecedented, but it falls just short for me. It seemed like more of a showcase for nine guys with nothing to do on Young Lions Cup weekend instead of a match happening for a specific reason. But regardless, I’d still go out of my way to watch this match because it makes all nine guys look like a million bucks. Hallowicked hits the Fisherman’s Buster from the top for the win. This is the exact same way he won the first ever Young Lion’s Cup.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Hallowicked, Fire Ant, and Arik Cannon /13:57/***3/4
FIP
-FIP World Heavyweight Championship: Erick Stevens (champion) vs. Go Shiozaki (8.23.08)(Heatstroke 2008)(Crystal River, Florida)
You might be wonder why every other company put on a match from 2009, while Full Impact Pro put on a match from 2008. Just think about the fact that FIP didn’t put out a single DVD from 2009. Sigh. Speaking of perplexing, why would Dragon Gate USA include a match featuring a Pro Wrestling NOAH wrestler winning a championship from a company they’re associated with now. This match is a sad reminder that Stevens never got to actually successfully defend the FIP title down in his home state. Lenny Leonard and Dave Prazak are on commentary. Because they’re live instead of in a studio, that at least makes this a little more tolerable than a lot of their commentating throughout the end of 2008 and 2009. This is about what you’d expect from these two. Lots of stiff shots combined with brawling and not a lot of technical wrestling prowess. It’s at least different enough from matches included from AAW and CHIKARA. Unfortunately, this match wears out its welcome. It’s well over 20 minutes and includes a screwjob ending. Not a great way to end what’s been a pretty good DVD overall. Sean Davis interjects himself. Fabulous Phil also provides a distraction. Davis with a big splash. Moonsault from Go! 1-2-3! NEW CHAMPION! Okay, I’m not that excited. This was a retarded way to end the match and the DVD.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW World Heavyweight Champion-Go Shiozaki/26:53/***1/4
Final Thoughts: There are two excellent matches on this disk and two good matches. I don’t think I’m the intended for this DVD. To me, you should consider this DVD for your collection if you’re not already a fan of these various companies. And the two I’m not, Hybrid Pro and WSU, didn’t do a very good job convincing me that I should buy one of their DVDs anyway. If you’ve never seen CHIKARA or AAW, I think the two samples matches are an excellent representation of what they usually have to offer on a regular basis. Otherwise, I’d take a pass and just buy the shows for which the matches are on.