The J.T. Lightning Memorial Show on September 25th, 2011
The show begins with everyone in the locker room coming out to ringside. There is a ten-bell salute for J.T. Lightning. The camera pans away to show a huge crowd as everyone chants for J.T. Lightning. A video is played featuring various pictures from throughout his career in professional wrestling. We then get some footage of him in the ring.
Opening Match: Lars Rockne vs. 8-Pac
8-Pac cannot believe that he has to wrestle Rockne again and has some unkind things to say to him before the match. Make that some extremely unkind things to say. Rockne hits a few back drops and connects with a lariat. 8-Pac retreats to the floor in frustration. Back in, Rockne almost applies a triangle choke but 8-Pac quickly escapes. Rockne locks in a legbar but 8-Pac is able to reach the bottom rope. Rockne even applies a figure four around the ringpost. 8-Pac responds with a tarantula in the ropes. He connects with a running knee strike but misses a moonsault. They exchange strikes in the corner and 8-Pac connects with a desperation lariat. Both men are down. 8-Pac reverses a gutbuster into a small package for a nearfall. He follows with a stunner for a two count. Rockne hits a belly to belly suplex and connects with a diving headbutt. 8-Pac answers with a superkick and lands a lionsault for another nearfall. Rockne traps him in a triangle choke but 8-Pac reverses the hold into a cloverleaf. Rockne taps out, giving 8-Pac the win at 10:35. The commentators mentioned how these two men haven’t been in the ring for a few years but I could hardly tell. For two wrestlers away from the sport for that long, these two put on a highly entertaining opener. In fact, I would be curious to track down some of their previous matches from past CAPW shows. This was a great way to kick off the show.
Match #2: Canadian Bad Boy vs. K.C. Blood
The winner will receive the #30 spot in the CAPW Reunion Rumble Royale taking place later on the show. Blood attacks before the opening bell. He connects with a basement dropkick. Canadian Bad Boy sneaks in an impressive rollup but gets caught by a lariat. Blood delivers a low blow behind the referee’s back. He takes control until Canadian Bad Boy comes back with a crossbody. Canadian Bad Boy actually follows with a spin kick. He really is deceptively agile. Blood hits a back suplex as the crowd comes alive. They collide on a vader bomb attempt and both men are down. Canadian Bad Boy applies a sleeper hold for the victory at 10:16. The commentators mentioned how important Canadian Bad Boy was to J.T. Lightning and it was nice that these two could rekindle their feud on this memorial show. Canadian Bad Boy pulled off some surprising feats of agility for a man of his size.
Match #3: Chris Kole vs. Christian Vaughn vs. Robby Starr
Vaughn hip tosses both of his opponents but gets caught by a few kicks from Kole. Vaughn low bridges Kole onto the apron where they trade strikes. Vaughn DDTs Kole onto the apron. Starr connects with a springboard back elbow on Vaughn, who responds with a powerslam. Vaughn takes control of the match, working over both of his opponents. Kole fights back with a twisting brainbuster and a tiger driver. Starr goes up top but Minka Murder gets involved. Matt Mason is able to neutralize her with a brutal superkick. Kole hits a saito suplex on Vaughn. Starr takes down Kole with a moonsault and covers Vaughn for the win at 8:17. This was a fun three-way dance with Vaughn being very entertaining in his role. The crowd reacted nicely to the finishing stretch and Minka eventually getting what was coming to her gave this match a satisfying conclusion.
Match #4: John McChesney vs. AERO!
McChesney is one of the main players in my local promotion, the International Wrestling Cartel, and I’ve never had the chance to see him wrestle elsewhere so this should be interesting. They trade control on the mat and McChesney connects with a dropkick. AERO! snaps off a few armdrags but falls victim to a neckbreaker in the ropes. McChesney lands a dive to the floor. In the ring, AERO! connects with a yakuza kick and throws McChesney into the ringpost. AERO! takes control, hitting a spanish fly at one point. McChesney wins a chop battle and hits a northern lights suplex. He follows with a gourdbuster but AERO! responds with a flatliner. AERO! connects with a gamenguiri and goes up top. McChesney follows him up and hits a TKO from the middle rope for the victory at 9:31. These two were apart of some highly talked about matches from CAPW’s past and they showed why that’s the case in this contest. McChesney was fired up and delivered a great performance. I think he’ll soon be someone to watch out for on the independent scene. AERO! was on point as well and this was an energetic match that garnered an excellent reaction from the crowd.
Michael Cash makes his way to the ring and introduces Hannah, J.T. Lightning’s daughter. She thanks the crowd for coming and talks about growing up in the professional wrestling business. Hannah introduces the rest of her family and other important friends in the crowd.
Match #5: Jason Bane vs. N8 Mattson
Bane was the last CAPW Heavyweight Champion on record. He takes down Mattson with a shoulder block. Mattson retreats to the outside and knocks a beer out of a fan’s hand. The fan was not a happy camper. In the ring, Bane connects with a few chops but gets caught by a thumb to the eye. Bane recovers by almost fallaway slamming Mattson out of the ring. Mattson blocks a clothesline with a basement dropkick. He starts working over the left leg. The camera pans out enough to show that the fan has obtained a new beer. I find that hilarious for some reason. Mattson takes advantage of Bane’s bad leg and hits a lungblower. He follows with a leg drop from the top rope. Bane finds himself in a figure four but is able to reverse the pressure by turning it over. Mattson misses a charge and Bane plants him with a spinebuster. Bane hits a samoan drop with one leg and applies a crossface for the win at 11:13. I am fairly unfamiliar with both competitors but I was really impressed with this encounter as it might have been the best wrestled match on the show thus far. They kept the action pretty even and delivered a worthwhile back and forth match. The finish was also a cool moment as Bane paid homage to J.T. Lightning by utilizing the crossface.
Match #6: Sassy Stephie vs. Nevaeh
They exchange control of a side headlock. Nevaeh connects with a dropkick and lands a flying crossbody. She adds a basement lariat. Stephie hits a russian leg sweep and takes over. Nevaeh fights back with a swinging neckbreaker and a running knee strike. She hits a gourdbuster followed by a uranagi. Stephie responds with a neckbreaker of her own for the victory at 7:51. Aside from the abrupt finish, these two delivered a solid women’s match. I think more independent promotions should give Stephie a look as she is very sound in the ring.
Match #7: Toby Kline vs. Ian Decay
Decay attempts a pre-match attack to no avail. Kline suplexes him into the ring and lands an impressive flying crossbody. Kline finds a barbed wire 2×4 under the ring but Decay stops him from using it. Decay hits a finlay roll but gets irish whipped to the floor. He hits hard on the cement floor. They brawl around ringside and Decay is busted open. A piece of steel cage fencing is brought into the ring. Kline hip tosses Decay into the steel and drives the fencing into his arm. Decay finds an opening after hitting a DDT into the fencing. Decay hits Kline with the barbed wire 2×4 and covers him for the win at 7:57. This match represented an important side of CAPW, especially during the promotion’s early years. Decay was passionate about paying tribute to J.T. Lightning and this was a fine hardcore outing for the time given.
Dominic DeNucci makes his way to the ring. He talks about his memories of Cleveland and what it was like to train the likes of Mick Foley and Shane Douglas.
Match #8: Doink the Clown vs. Lord Zoltan
Zoltan attacks before the opening bell. Doink confuses him on a criss-cross. Zoltan tries to use Doink’s own trick against him but it doesn’t work. They actually have a thumb wrestling war on the canvas. They trade control of wristlock and Zoltan’s manager interferes behinds the referee’s back. The interference eventually backfires for Zoltan. Doink bails on another criss-cross and leaves Zoltan running across the ring repeatedly. They trade control of a full nelson and Zoltan sneaks in a low blow. He takes control until Doink avoids a charge and crotches Zoltan on the ringpost. Doink hits a stunner along with a five knuckle shuffle. Doink finishes things with a pedigree for the victory at 11:33. This match progressed how you would expect but these two did a good job of holding the crowd’s attention for eleven minutes.
Match #9: Matt Cross vs. Josh Prohibition
Cross is in his old M-
Dogg20 ring gear for this match. He snaps off a few armdrags and connects with a dropkick. Prohibition retreats to the outside where Cross takes him out with a dive. Cross celebrates with the crowd. In the ring, Cross connects with a handspring elbow along with repeated kicks. He misses a springboard double stomp and Prohibition hits an inverted DDT. Cross applies a tarantula in the ropes but Prohibition quickly regains control. Prohibition traps Cross in a nerve pinch to pay tribute to J.T. Lightning. Prohibition also transitions into a crossface. He hits a leg-capture suplex. Cross wins a strike exchange with an enzuigiri and follows with a yakuza kick. He catches Prohibition with a fireman’s carry neckbreaker and goes up top. Prohibition crotches him on the top rope and hits a splash mountain into the turnbuckles. He adds an innovative backbreaker for a nearfall. Prohibition escapes a backslide and hits the Drunken Driver for a two count. They battle up top and Cross sends Prohibition back down to the canvas. Cross lands a shooting star press for a huge nearfall. The crowd and Cross for that matter are in disbelief. Prohibition attempts another Drunken Driver but Cross counters into a rollup for the win at 13:21. This was an awesome showcase and I’m glad that this encounter was able to happen on this memorial show. Cross looked like he was having the time of his life out there and he has such great chemistry with Prohibition. There was a point down the finishing stretch where the crowd stopped chanting “this is awesome” and started chanting for J.T. Lightning. I think that’s when it sunk in that this match was something special. Kudos to both men for leaving everything in the ring as this was undoubtedly a match that they can be proud of.
Match #10: Jessicka Havok and Allysin Kay vs. Tuff Tina and Angel Dust
Tina connects with a dropkick on Kay and drop toe holds Havok. Angel Dust takes them both out with a dive to the outside. Back in, Kay hits a sit-out chokeslam on Angel Dust and the heels isolate her. She hits a flatliner on Kay and makes the tag. Tina cleans house and hits sole food on Kay. Angel Dust lands a flying crossbody onto Havok and connects with an enzuigiri. Havok and Kay catch Angel Dust with a lungblower-german suplex combination for the victory at 9:33. All four of these women were on their game and delivered a fun tag team match. I could see Havok and Angel Dust having some quality singles matches as their styles seem to complement each other nicely.
Match #11: 30-Man CAPW Reunion Rumble Royale
Instead of doing play-by-play, I'll just type my thoughts as the match progresses. Eric Ryan trying to bring the fight to his much larger opponents early on was entertaining to watch. Lamont Williams looked impressive at points as well. I know that he wrestles for various promotions and he's someone who I'd like to see wrestle more often. Commentary wondering if there was a bounty on K.C. Blood to explain his quick elimination was hilarious. Isaac Montana's entrance into the match was interesting, as he laid out about eight other participants with ace crushers. Of course, Marion Fontaine sells his ace crusher like he just got shot. Bo Barnes cleaned house, rapidly eliminating entrants as Canadian Bad Boy came out as the final entrant. The match eventually came down to Bo Barnes and Canadian Bad Boy, with Barnes knocking him off the apron and to the floor to win the match at 43:36. This was used to showcase various wrestlers from CAPW's past and present, and if you are familiar with most of these names, you’ll enjoy this match for its nostalgic value.
Match #12: Sheik Abdul Hassan, The Bouncer, and Mike Lightning vs. Aftermath, Marion Fontaine, and Shawn Blaze
Mike Lightning is J.T. Lightning’s son and wears his father’s ring jacket to the ring. Hannah Lightning is in his corner. Mike hip tosses Aftermath and does some pushups to showoff. He follows with a powerslam and does some more exercises in the corner. The crowd is going crazy for all of this. Hassan and the Bouncer catch Fontaine with some double team offense. Mike delivers a basement dropkick and the crowd is out of their seats. The Bouncer finds himself in the wrong corner and the heels isolate him. He connects with a clothesline on Blaze and makes the tag. Hassan cleans house and hits a superplex on Blaze. Mike snaps off a satellite headscissors on Fontaine! He follows with a crisp hurricanrana on Aftermath. Mike lands a moonsault to the floor onto his opponents!! This is unreal. In the ring, Aftermath misses a tiger feint kick and Hassan plants him with a piledriver. The Bouncer hits the Last Call on Fontaine. Mike locks in a crossface on Blaze for the victory at 15:30. I can’t imagine that anyone thought Mike would wrestle on this show and I’m sure no one thought that he was capable of wrestling at the level that he did. He was snapping off hurricanranas and landing moonsaults with absolute precision. The crowd was going crazy for his offense and there were many special moments throughout this match, especially when Mike won with a crossface. You could tell that everyone involved in this match was proud and touched by Mike’s involvement. Even Hannah gets involved after the match, attacking Krystal Frost.
Match #13: Ladder Match: Vincent Nothing and Christian Faith vs. Virus and Unknown vs. Dave and Jake Crist
Q+A attack before the opening bell. Dave connects with a missile dropkick on Faith. Irish Airborne take over with some double teaming in the ring. Dave and Faith have an excellent exchange while everyone brawls around ringside. Q+A connect with stereo missile dropkicks on Jake and Nothing. Virus lands a dive to the floor onto Nothing. Unknown follows out with a dive of his own. Faith and Dave add dives as well. In the ring, Faith uranagis Dave off of a ladder. Nothing russian leg sweeps Jake off the ladder. Virus leaps off a ladder and snaps off a hurricanrana on Faith. Faith powerbombs Unknown into a propped ladder. Nothing throws a ladder at Dave and Faith curb stomps him. Jake superkicks Faith. Virus holds Dave on a ladder while Unknown double stomps him. Jake powerslams Unknown onto a ladder. Dave attempts a moonsault off the guardrail but goes crashing through a propped ladder. That looked extremely painful. In the ring, Jake drives a ladder onto Unknown. Faith In Nothing attempt to grab the title but Q+A stop them with chair shots. Dave throws a ladder out of the ring and onto Faith. Jake superkicks a chair into Nothing’s face. Faith sets up a table at ringside. Nothing german suplexes Jake onto a propped ladder. Faith In Nothing hit a neckbreaker-powerbomb combination on Dave in the ring. Faith tries to put Unknown through the table at ringside with a swantan but the table doesn’t break. Dave and Virus battle on top of a ladder in the ring and they both fall to the canvas. Faith hits an exploder, finally sending Unknown through the table. Jake hits a superplex on Nothing and transitions into a brainbuster. He follows with a shining wizard. Faith catches Dave with a roaring elbow and plants Jake with the 216. Nothing goes up to grab the belt but Irish Airborne stops him. The belt goes flying and unbuckles from the contraption that was holding it. The belt falls to the canvas and Faith grabs it, giving Faith In Nothing the win at 21:14. The finish was unintentionally brilliant. These three teams demolished most of the viable ladders and even commentary played up the fact that the teams might be incapable of climbing the damaged ladders. So the fact that the belt fell off of the holding device played right into the story of the match. These three teams gave it their all and kept the action engaging for over twenty minutes. Faith In Nothing and Irish Airborne are two very underrated teams and although this was my first time seeing Q+A, I thought that they contributed a lot to this match. This contest undoubtedly ended the show on a high note.
While the actual show is contained on three discs, there is a fourth disc included that features over an hour of interviews with various wrestlers and personalities. Everyone shares stories about J.T. Lightning and talks about their relationships with him.
Overall: I’ll admit that going into this show I didn’t know much about J.T. Lightning’s career or the history of Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling. However, after watching the dedication and passion of the wrestlers and everyone involved with this memorial show, it’s tough not to be touched by the man that J.T. Lightning was. I could talk about the terrific match between Matt Cross and Josh Prohibition or the standout main event. But this show wasn’t about match quality or star ratings. This show was about everyone doing what they could to pay tribute to J.T. Lightning in the best way that they knew how. His son, Mike, was actually in a match on this show and it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in professional wrestling. The way that the crowd got behind him was incredible and Mike’s performance was truly a special moment. There were many special moments on this DVD set and I really enjoyed myself while watching the whole show. You can purchase this DVD set at shop.aiwrestling.com and all proceeds will benefit the Haase Family.
Comments are closed.