Survival of the Fittest on November 5th, 2011

Pre-Show Match: Jack Carpenter and Xavier vs. Nate Knox and Joey Hegland

Carpenter and Xavier attack before the opening bell. They work over Hegland until he hits a german suplex on Carpenter and makes the tag. Knox connects with a series of dropkicks. Hegland and Knox hit a double team blockbuster on Xavier for the win at 3:43. Everyone looked really green in the ring except Hegland, but I guess that’s why they were put in the pre-show match. The most entertaining moment happened after the match, when Hegland told Knox that they’re going to Disney World to celebrate the big victory. ½*

Jeff Grove, the mayor of LaSalle, makes his way to the ring. The actual mayor of LaSalle. This blows my mind. Grove gives DREAMWAVE an award for providing an affordable product that focuses on family entertainment.


Opening Match: Bucky Collins vs. Tyler Priegel

Priegel hits Collins with a dodgeball before the match and there appears to be some hostility between these two. Collins more than returns the favor, dropkicking a dodgeball into Priegel’s midsection. Collins snaps off an armdrag but Priegel is able to reverse a headscissors attempt into a backbreaker. Priegel takes control with a backbreaker-exploder combination. Collins finds life after a hurricanrana and connects with a running knee strike. He misses shotgun knees and Priegel grabs his dodgeball plaque. He tries to use it but the referee takes it away. Collins sneaks in a quick rollup for the victory at 5:02. These two seem to have solid chemistry together and their series of matches is tied at one win a piece. In fact, they played off of their previous match together with the finish, as Priegel defeated Collins with a rollup at the last show. **¼

Super Val is talking with her friends in the locker room about her relationship with Waylon. The Beck Family interrupt and Mason stares down Val.


Match #2: DREAMWAVE Tag Team Titles: C.J. Esparza and Bret Gakiya © vs. Cameron Skyy and Tommy Treznik

Skyy stalls for a bit and catches Gakiya with a roaring elbow. Gakiya answers with a headscissors. Esparza connects with a slingshot double stomp on Treznik and Zero Gravity take over with their double team maneuvers. They lay in stereo slingshot dropkicks on Treznik and make Skyy bronco buster his own partner. Treznik hits a neckbreaker on Gakiya, driving him into the apron. The CLASH hit a backbreaker-flying elbow drop combination on Gakiya and isolate him. He hits a chinbreaker on Treznik, rolls away from Skyy, and makes the tag. Esparza connects with a springboard lariat on Treznik and lands a dive to the floor onto both of his opponents. Back in, Treznik spears Esparza in the corner and Skyy adds a yakuza kick. Treznik follows with an innovative DDT for a nearfall. Gakiya catches Treznik with an enzuigiri and Esparza lays in a superkick. Zero Gravity hit the Flippy Cup on Treznik for a two count. Gakiya connects with a springboard dropkick on Treznik while Esparza fights off Skyy. Gakiya lands a moonsault onto Treznik and Esparza follows with his shooting star elbow to retain the titles at 10:09. I know that these two teams are familiar with each other from their matches in AAW and it showed in this contest. The CLASH put the champions in jeopardy of losing their titles at a few points throughout this match and the crowd was reacting nicely to all of the nearfalls. DREAMWAVE has been bringing in various tag teams for one-time appearances against Zero Gravity but I think the CLASH could definitely find their place in DREAMWAVE as they are unique enough to really stand out. ***


Match #3: Elimination: Team PRIDE (Ace Martino, Justice Jones, Matt Knicks, and Dan Lawrence) vs. Team 450 (“Mr. 450” Hammett, Marshe Rockett, Shane Hollister, and C. Red)

C. Red is replacing the injured Houston. Martino sends Jones to take care of Hammett. Hammett dropkicks Jones into a flying crossbody from Rockett. Rockett and Hammett flapjack Knicks but run into a double clothesline from Martino. Hollister connects with a missile dropkick on Martino and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Lawrence. Team 450 (minus C. Red) connect with stereo baseball slides. C. Red teases a dive but Knicks pushes him to the canvas. Rockett and Hammett intervene, allowing C. Red to spear Knicks and eliminate him. Jones enters the ring for his team and quickly eliminates C. Red with a boot. Hollister connects with a basement dropkick on Jones and follows with a series of kicks. Jones powers Hammett into Team PRIDE’s corner and they isolate him. He connects with an enzuigiri on Lawrence and makes the tag. Hollister drop toe holds Jones into the middle turnbuckle. Hollister misses a knockout kick and Jones plants him with a powerslam to eliminate him. Lawrence hits a russian leg sweep on Rockett but spends a little too much time celebrating. Rockett lays out Lawrence with an ace crusher and sends him packing. Jones elevates Rockett into a samoan drop. Rockett escapes a powerslam and hits an ace crusher on Jones to eliminate him. Martino is the only man left on his team. Rockett catches him with a powerslam. Jones pulls Rockett out of the ring and they brawl into the crowd. The referee counts out Rockett before he can reenter the ring, eliminating him. We’re down to Hammett and Martino. Hammett lands a moonsault and snaps off a headscissors. He connects with a springboard back elbow but gets caught by a DDT. Martino hits a flatliner and applies a koji clutch. Hammett is able to reach the bottom rope. Hammett hits a leaping inverted DDT for a nearfall. He connects with an enzuigiri but misses a 450 splash. Martino goes back to the koji clutch for the win at 16:37. If anything, this match showed the strength of the Alternative Title division. It’s a shame that Houston couldn’t compete, as I’ve been curious to see what he could do against more capable competition. However, this match went a long way in establishing PRIDE as a legitimate force in DREAMWAVE, more specifically Jones and Martino. Jones turned the tide of the match in his team’s favor whenever he was in the ring and I can see him having a successful singles run in 2012. I was shocked that Martino defeated Hammett to win the match without any shenanigans and that looks to be the next big encounter for the Alternative Title. I haven’t spent a lot of time talking about the wrestling quality but I thought everyone did their part to make the story of the match work. In the end, I was really happy with how this contest turned out. ***½

Waylon is searching the building for Super Val. Dan the Man informs him that their match is up now. Waylon says to go ahead without him and he’ll meet them in the ring.


Match #4: Elimination: Team Beck (Mason Beck, Cousin Bobby, Cousin Dixie, and Nikki) vs. Team Waylon (Waylon, Colt Cabana, Dan the Man, and Super Val)

Waylon and Val are nowhere to be found to start the match. Cabana out-wrestles Bobby early on. Bobby famously attempts to kip up but finds no success as usual. DTM tries to lift Dixie up for a slam to no avail. Cabana cleans house with bionic elbows. DTM gets on his shoulders and lands a splash onto Bobby. Mason boots DTM from the apron and Dixie lays him out with a running knee strike. Dixie follows with a senton as Cabana says a prayer for DTM on the apron. Dixie hits the Kickapoo Destroyer on DTM to eliminate him. Nikki provides a distraction and allows Mason to attack Cabana from behind. The Beck Family work him over until Waylon runs out to save him from the Kickapoo Destroyer. Waylon starts brawling with Mason as Cabana lands a flying crossbody onto Bobby. Cabana hits the flying asshole on all four members of the Beck Family. Waylon and Cabana connect with stereo punches in the corner. Mason catches Cabana with a mafia kick to eliminate him. The Beck Family surround Waylon in the ring. Bobby hits a belly to belly suplex but Waylon responds with a death valley driver into the turnbuckles for a nearfall. Mason boots Waylon and Dixie follows with the Kickapoo Destroyer. Mason hits a splash mountain for the victory at 16:21. All four members of Team Beck survived. This match was more or less used to advance the storyline between Waylon and the Beck Family. The match itself was never really competitive aside from a few moments of hope for Cabana and Waylon. The Beck Family smartly scared away Super Val from competing and in turn caused Waylon to show up late for the match. After that tactic, it was easy pickings for the Beck Family. I can’t give this match high marks for the wrestling, but it did an excellent job of highlighting the storyline involved. **½

Jay Repsel is on the phone with someone asking whether or not Silas Young will be at the show. Austin Roberts asks him what’s wrong and Repsel says that Young won’t make it to the show. Roberts claims that he has the situation under control.


Match #5: Christian Rose vs. Ninja Bill

Rose is making his highly anticipated debut in this match. He enters through the crowd while cutting a promo on the fans. While he appreciates the setup and talent of DREAMWAVE, he absolutely despises the fans. Rose claims that he has come to tear down DREAMWAVE and rebuild it in his own image. He will start by removing Ninja Bill, a fraud, from the promotion. Rose connects with a stiff right hand but gets taken down by a headscissors. He blocks a charge and finds success with a double stomp in the corner. Rose takes control until Bill comes back with a springboard crossbody. Rose blocks a clothesline and connects with a discus forearm for the win at 4:34. Honestly, I think Bill put up too much of a fight. Rose should have destroyed him and while this was pretty much a squash match, I wanted Rose to look for dominant in victory. Still, I’m excited to see how he progresses in the coming months. *½


Match #6: Elimination: Team Revolution (Austin Roberts, Nick Brubaker, Brian Nelson, and Luther) vs. Team DREAMWAVE (Acid, Tommy Dreamer, Greg Glover, and Steve Boz)

If Team DREAMWAVE wins, Jay Repsel will be fired as the CEO. If Team Revolution wins, J.C. Costilli must resign as president. Luther is replacing Silas Young and also making his return to DREAMWAVE. Brubaker seems to hate the rest of his team and no one can communicate with Luther. Luther hits a double suplex on Boz and Acid. Dreamer tries to take down Luther with a series of punches but falls victim to a chokeslam. Boz connects with a superkick on Luther and Dreamer follows with a DDT. Glover lands a frog splash onto Luther to eliminate him. Brubaker fares well against Acid but Nelson blind tags into the match. Glover quickly tags in as well and hits an olympic slam on his former partner. Nelson escapes a powerbomb and fakes an ankle injury. Nelson low blows Glover behind the referee’s back and hits a burning hammer to eliminate him. Boz lands a flying crossbody onto Nelson and hits an inverted DDT. He follows with a springboard kick and superkicks Ryland Foxx off the apron. Nelson uses the distraction to catch Boz with a burning hammer to eliminate him as well. Justin McIntyre III comes out and rubs Boz’s elimination in his face. Boz superkicks McIntyre and walks to the back in frustration. Dreamer connects with corner punches on Nelson but misses a charge and collides with the ringpost. Team Revolution work over Dreamer until he hits a neckbreaker-DDT combination on Brubaker and Nelson and makes the tag. Acid hits a lungblower on Nelson and Dreamer follows with a death valley driver to eliminate him. Roberts throws Acid into the ringpost while Brubaker attacks Dreamer. Brubaker hits a fisherman buster on Dreamer. Roberts tries to steal the pin but only gets a two count. Dreamer sets a chair near Brubaker’s head with the intention of dropkicking the chair into Brubaker. Before Dreamer can, Roberts catches him with a swinging uranagi to eliminate him. Acid connects with corner punches on Roberts but gets chop blocked. Brubaker and Roberts start arguing. Brubaker hits Roberts with Dreamer’s kendo stick. Acid hits a lungblower on Roberts to eliminate him. Since Brubaker was disqualified for using the kendo stick, Acid wins the match for Team DREAMWAVE at 20:36. Jay Repsel is officially fired as the CEO. With the other two survival of the fittest matches I talked a lot about the storyline progression that took place during them. In the case of Team PRIDE vs. Team 450, they were able to maintain wrestling quality as well. I have the same sentiments for this match, as it was a fitting and worthwhile main event for this show. The Glover/Nelson and Acid/Roberts feuds were taken to the next level and rematches were setup for the next show. The biggest story coming out of this match (besides Repsel being fired) was Brubaker’s transformation as he turned on his team and gained the crowd’s support. The DREAMWAVE crowd has been wanting to cheer Brubaker for quite some time and now they finally can. I liked how this match came down to the three active roster members that have held the DREAMWAVE World Title as well. I thought everything came together nicely in this main event and it provided a few long-awaited payoffs such as Costilli’s revenge on Repsel and Brubaker’s change of attitude. ***½

Costilli formally fires Repsel after the match. Repsel exclaims that he still has the DREAMWAVE World Title. Costilli informs Repsel that he’s going to keep him around so he can make Respel’s time in DREAMWAVE a nightmare. Costilli books Austin Roberts vs. Acid for the DREAMWAVE World Title next month and reveals that the fans will pick the stipulation. Acid lays out Roberts with a lungblower. Dreamer impersonates Vince McMahon and reminds Repsel that he’s fired.


Overall
: Much like Good As Gold, I thought that Survival of the Fittest was a concept show that turned out to be really effective. All three elimination tag team matches did a lot of things right to advance the current storylines and the in-ring quality was on par as well. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that there was a solid title defense from Zero Gravity to round out the undercard. I also like to look at the historical value of shows when deciding on a recommendation and the main event brings a lot of that to this show. Depending on what the future holds for him, this event may be significant for featuring the debut of Christian Rose as well. Overall, I would say that there are a lot of positives coming out of Survival of the Fittest and the show earns a recommendation.

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