Adversity on August 6th, 2011
Pre-Show Match: Houston vs. Kenny Sutra
Houston blocks a spin kick and throws Sutra across the ring. He connects with a bicycle kick and hits a fallaway slam. Houston slams Sutra down to the mat and covers him for the win at 1:41. This was just a basic squash match to introduce Houston to the DREAMWAVE fans. ½*
Maria Kanellis makes her way to the ring to start the show. She says that it’s good to be home, as she only had to drive fifteen minutes from her house to get to the show. In fact, her parents are in the crowd. Maria is in charge of the show tonight and she even imitates Vince McMahon’s strut. Ryland Foxx and Justin McIntyre III interrupt. McIntyre informs Maria that he is in charge of the show. Foxx gives McIntyre the night off in an attempt to impress Maria. Maria asks for a kiss from both of them and she makes them inadvertently kiss each other. The crowd goes crazy as Maria stands tall.
Opening Match: DREAMWAVE Tag Team Titles: C.J. Esparza and Bret Gakiya © vs. Matt Cage and Alex Castle
The Kentucky Buffet attack before the opening bell. Zero Gravity respond with stereo planchas to the outside. Back in, Esparza connects with a slingshot double stomp on Castle. Cage gets involved on the apron, allowing the Kentucky Buffet to isolate Esparza. He’s able to dodge some offense and make the tag. Zero Gravity connect with stereo kicks on Castle. Gakiya follows with a springboard dropkick on Cage along with a lionsault. Cage answers with a shining wizard. Esparza hits a slingshot ace crusher on Cage, who responds with a spinning neckbreaker on Gakiya. Esparza takes down Cage with a lariat. Castle hits an implant DDT on Esparza and all four men are down. Gakiya and Cage trade pin attempts to no avail. Esparza interrupts a double team maneuver from the Kentucky Buffet and hits a top rope falcon arrow on Cage. Gakiya follows with a top rope splash for a nearfall. He lands a moonsault onto Castle. Esparza adds a shooting star elbow drop and Zero Gravity retain their titles at 8:19. The Kentucky Buffet recently made an appearance on a DGUSA show and were unique challengers for Zero Gravity. Both teams worked well together and delivered an entertaining opener for the time given. DREAMWAVE has brought in a lot of new teams to challenge for the titles and it’ll be interesting to see where Zero Gravity go from here. **½
Marshe Rockett and C. Red are talking in the locker room when Maria walks by. Rockett sings a quick song for Maria, with some negative lyrics directed toward Nick Brubaker. Justice Jones runs into Maria and demands that he be given a match tonight. Maria says that she doesn’t have anything for him and Jones does not look pleased.
Match #2: Battle Royal: Joey Hegland vs. Nathan Knox vs. Yabo the Clown vs. Chuckles vs. Waylon Beck vs. Cousin Bobby vs. Matt Knicks vs. Dan Lawrence vs. Dan the Man
The final two men remaining in the ring will have a match. The winner will be the final entrant in the Good As Gold Rumble next month and the loser will be the first entrant. Bobby hits a belly to belly suplex on Lawrence. Everyone starts brawling until Dan the Man takes everyone out with a flying crossbody. Knicks gets elevated to the apron and knocked down to the floor. Bobby eliminates Knox while Waylon eliminates Hegland. Dan the Man snaps off a satellite headscissors on Waylon. Chuckles goes after Dan the Man, but he’s able to eliminate both Chuckles and Yabo. Lawrence and the Beck Family work over Dan the Man. Lawrence misses a charge and gets elevated to the outside. Waylon hits a brainbuster on Dan the Man and Bobby adds a dropkick. He fights back with a double DDT. His comeback is short-lived, as Waylon lays him out with a death valley driver into the turnbuckles. Bobby and Waylon fight over who gets to eliminate Dan the Man, with Bobby receiving the honors. We’re down to Waylon and Bobby. Waylon starts reigning down punches. He gets too distracted by Super Val at ringside, allowing Bobby to hit a butterfly suplex. Waylon is able to sneak in a small package out of nowhere for the victory at 9:27. This was pretty much your typical battle royal. Waylon and Bobby didn’t receive a chance to turn their “match” into anything of substance but the tension running through the Beck Family has been an entertaining angle as of late. **
Waylon and Super Val try to embrace after the match but Bobby kicks Waylon into her. The crowd applauds Waylon as he heads to the back.
As the ring announcer gets ready for the next match, Justice Jones interrupts with Matt Knicks. He’s furious that he doesn’t have a match tonight. Starting right now, he is going to take what he wants in DREAMWAVE. Jones issues an open challenge and throws Knicks a referee shirt. CM Punk’s music begins to play but Jones realizes that Punk hates LaSalle more than he does and wouldn’t be at the show. Jones goes into the crowd and slaps a fan. He throws the fan into the ring and hits a corner cannonball. Jones follows with a chokeslam and Knicks counts to three. Jones arrogantly walks away as staff members come out to check on the fan.
Match #3: Nick Brubaker vs. Marshe Rockett
This is the fourth match in a best-of-five series. Brubaker leads the series 2-1. Rockett connects with a series of clotheslines and chops. He lands a flying crossbody but Brubaker drives him into the middle turnbuckle. Brubaker hits a spinebuster and takes control. Rockett comes back with a DDT but runs into an enzuigiri. Brubaker misses a dive and falls victim to a powerslam. He avoids an ace crusher and hits a spear. Brubaker brings a chair into the ring but the referee takes it away. He grabs a nightstick in response but C. Red steals it. Rockett hits an ace crusher for the win at 7:26. My thoughts on this match are exactly the same as my thoughts on their previous three matches. Now that the series is coming to its conclusion, I can’t help but have higher expectations for their final match next month. Hopefully they’re given enough time to at least turn that outing into something special. **½
Brubaker lays out C. Red with an ace crusher after the match.
Match #4: Ace Martino vs. Steve Boz
Martino attacks before
the opening bell. Boz snaps off a headscissors and a hurricanrana. He lays in a series of kicks and tries a few quick pin attempts to no avail. Martino responds with a chinbreaker but walks into a leg lariat. Boz sets up for a superkick but Silas Young attacks him out of nowhere. The referee calls for the bell. Shane Hollister makes the save, leading to…
Match #5: Ace Martino and Silas Young vs. Steve Boz and Shane Hollister
Hollister connects with a shotgun dropkick on Young. Maria makes the tag team match official. Martino boots Hollister to the floor where Young throws him into the ringpost. The heels isolate Hollister until he hits a crucifix bomb on Young and makes the tag. Boz connects with a spin kick on Young and an enzuigiri on Martino. Hollister blocks a PeeGee Waja Plunge attempt with an kick to the head. He leaps off the top rope with a sick double stomp on Martino. Young clotheslines himself and Hollister to the floor. Boz hits a tornado DDT on Martino and sets up for a superkick. He falls to the canvas clutching his chest. Young gets on the microphone and calls Boz a liar. He reveals that Boz suffers from a heart condition and that he’s been lying to DREAMWAVE management about it. Boz is not medically cleared to wrestle. Young continues to berate Boz as staff members carry him to the back. Meanwhile, in the ring, Hollister hits a rope-assisted lungblower on Martino for a nearfall. Martino attempts a saito suplex to no avail and falls victim to an inverted DDT. Justice Jones appears on the apron but Hollister knocks him off with a springboard dropkick. Martino connects with a northern lariat, hits a flatliner, and applies a koji clutch for the victory at 11:30. There was a lot going on in this match but everything played out logically and it was a fun ride for twelve minutes. The Boz/Young feud escalated tenfold here and their eventual showdown should be highly anticipated. Once they removed themselves from the match, Martino and Hollister provided a strong finishing stretch. Everyone received a chance to stand out here and this ended up being a worthwhile showcase. ***¼
Martino, Jones, and Knicks attack Hollister after the match. Jones hits a chokeslam and Martino adds a saito suplex. He reapplies the koji clutch and stands tall.
Justin McIntyre III confronts JC Costilli about Steve Boz's heart condition. Costilli claims that Boz was cleared and that doctors have said that he’s okay. McIntyre promises that Boz will not be included in the Good As Gold Rumble next month.
Match #6: Austin Roberts vs. Bucky Collins
Jay Repsel joins commentary to watch this match. Collins hits a senton and lands a standing moonsault. He connects with a basement dropkick but gets thrown hard into the turnbuckles. Roberts chokes him on the ropes in front of Repsel. Collins lands a crossbody but walks into a stiff clothesline. Roberts hits a butterfly suplex and goes up top. Collins military presses him to the canvas and connects with a flurry of strikes. Collins hits a neckbreaker but Roberts responds with a uranagi for the win at 4:18. I would like to see Collins used in a more meaningful way, as he put in a solid performance here despite the match being all about Roberts. The interactions between Repsel and Roberts were entertaining and this match accomplished its goal. **
After the match, Roberts announces that he will challenge for the DREAMWAVE World Title next month. He tells Repsel to stay far away from ringside during that match. Roberts throws water into Repsel’s face and walks away laughing.
Mason Beck finds Waylon Beck and Cousin Bobby arguing in the locker room. Waylon says that he deserves an apology from both of them. Bobby even gets mad at Mason, who is extremely frustrated with his family’s problems.
Ryland Foxx is in the ring for an interview with Brian Nelson. Nelson says that he turned his back on Greg Glover for letting him get attacked before their match at ANNIVERSARY II. Nelson announces that Foxx is his new best friend. Glover interrupts and charges the ring. He hits rolling german suplexes on Nelson. They brawl around ringside until staff members come out to separate them. Glover attacks the staff with a chair as Nelson runs away. Foxx tries to escape but ends up falling victim to a powerbomb as Nelson stands tall.
Match #7: DREAMWAVE World Title: Dog Collar Match: Acid © vs. Mason Beck
Acid dodges a few strikes and low blows Beck with the chain. He connects with corner punches and tries a springboard maneuver, but Beck pulls him down to the canvas. The action goes to the floor where Beck whips Acid into the ringpost. He then rams Acid into the apron. Beck wraps the chain around Acid's midsection and pulls on it. In the ring, Beck utilizes the chain to take control. Acid finds life with a chain-assisted sleeper but Beck powers out of the hold. Acid eventually comes back with a series of clotheslines and a scoop slam. He lands a springboard moonsault but Beck stops his momentum with a boot. Acid responds with an enzuigiri but accidentally takes out the referee. He hits a lungblower but there's no one to count the pinfall. Beck hits a samoan drop and both men are down. Nikki runs into the ring with a chair but Maria stops her from interfering. Beck attempts a splash mountain on Maria but Acid saves her. Acid hits two lungblowers to retain his title at 13:27. The family problems continue for Beck, who still hasn’t lost cleanly to Acid. These two successfully incorporated the chain throughout the match and I think the stipulation added to the action instead of taking away from it. I wish this match would have been given more time, as Beck probably won’t be challenging for the title again for quite some time. However, I think these two made the most of their situation and delivered a solid main event. ***¼
Overall: Adversity was a more storyline-driven show and match times were once again a problem. However, the two matches that were given a significant amount of time came through. Ace Martino and Shane Hollister anchored a fun tag team match in the undercard while Acid and Mason Beck delivered a worthwhile main event. While there was some interesting storyline advancement throughout the show, the wrestling quality just isn’t high enough to earn a recommendation. With that said, the next show intrigues me as Finlay will make an appearance and the well-built Acid/Roberts confrontation will take place.
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