An Excellent Adventure on January 14th, 2012 (thanks to snapmare.com for the cover photo)
There is a well-produced video package of the Asylum Arena’s history shown to start the show. Maven Bentley introduces Roger Artigiani, the now former owner of the Arena. Bentley pays tribute to Trent Acid, JC Bailey, and Chri$ Ca$h. Greg Excellent takes the microphone and starts handing out contracts. He brings out DJ Hyde, who is dressed as a genie. Excellent signs himself to a new contract that stops Hyde from ever firing him. He also resigns Drew Blood as a referee. Excellent announces that Hyde will compete in a warm-up match right now against the second person that he resigned, WHACKS…
Opening Match: DJ Hyde vs. WHACKS
Hyde takes down WHACKS with a shoulder block and hits a swinging side slam. Blood is too busy talking to Excellent to count Hyde’s pin attempt. Hyde hits a spear but Blood is still preoccupied. Blood eventually plants Hyde with a DDT. WHACKS lands a senton off the top rope and Blood fast counts to give WHACKS the win at 1:59. Hyde does not look like a happy camper after the match.
Match #2: Derek Frazier vs. Ryan McBride
Frazier doesn’t allow Drew Blood to referee the match and instead brings out the Rockin’ Rebel. Rebel cuts a promo before the match and tries to incorporate as many vulgar phrases as he can. Frazier attacks McBride during his entrance. They brawl around ringside and McBride utilizes a chair. He lays in a few kicks as the fans in the front row hold Frazier’s arms. In the ring, McBride connects with a knockout kick and works over the left leg. Frazier shrugs off a german suplex and responds with a yakuza kick. McBride lands a frog splash off the middle rope but gets caught by a flatliner out of the corner. Frazier elbows out of a death valley driver and drops McBride on his head for a nearfall. Frazier accidentally hits Rebel with his knee brace. McBride plants Frazier with a death valley driver. Blood runs out and counts the pin for McBride, giving him the victory at 6:09. These two showed flashes of solid chemistry and had a decent outing aside from one scary head-drop. The finish didn’t feel convoluted and the incorporation of Blood furthers the storyline. **
Rebel lariats Frazier after the match and follows with a leg drop. Rebel thanks the crowd for his time in the Arena.
Match #3: Uhaa Nation vs. AR Fox
I don’t think it’s possible for these two to have a bad match, so I’m looking forward to this one. They trade quick pin attempts to no avail. Fox snaps off some kind of twisting snapmare and lands a dive to the floor. Nation trips him up on the apron and hits a dead-lift german suplex. Nation lands a moonsault off the apron! Unreal. In the ring, Fox hits a crucifix bomb along with a senton in the corner. He misses a springboard maneuver and Nation catches him with rolling german suplexes, with the last one being a chaos theory. They battle in the corner and Nation fights off Lo Mein Pain. He connects with a diving headbutt. Fox fights back with an air raid crash followed by a springboard codebreaker. Nation retreats to the outside where Fox lands a kick-flip moonsault. Back in, Fox finds knees on a springboard 450. Nation lands a dive to the floor and hits a gutbuster in the ring. He goes up top but Fox catches him with a kick. Fox hits Lo Mein Pain for the win at 8:12. This was an awesome match for eight minutes that featured as much action as possible. Instead of having Nation beat down Fox for an extended period of time, they tried to one-up each other the entire time and the crowd loved it. You could argue that the match would have been better given a more traditional structure, but I think these two more than got their point across. ***
Match #4: CZW World Tag Team Titles: Azrieal and Bandido, Jr. © vs. Alex Colon and Ruckus
Azrieal dodges some kicks from Colon and tries a few rollups to no avail. They exchange armdrags and find themselves at a stalemate. Ruckus snaps off a headscissors on Bandido and connects with the Razzle Dazzle. He kicks Azrieal off the apron. Both teams brawl on the floor. Chrissy Rivera wants to dive but BLK OUT stop her. In the ring, Azrieal hits a slingshot senton on Ruckus and Bandido adds a basement dropkick. Ruckus responds with a bulldog on Bandido and BLK OUT follow with some double teaming. Azrieal enters the match and hits a back suplex on Colon. The champions isolate him until he connects with a modified go 2 sleep on Bandido. Ruckus hits a spinning neckbreaker on Bandido but gets planted face-first by Azrieal. Azrieal tries to dive but Rivera trips him. She lands a dive of her own onto Bandido. Azrieal connects with a corner yakuza kick on Colon. Ruckus fisherman busters Azrieal into the turnbuckles. The Runaways rush the ring and attack everyone, causing a no contest at 8:18. While the Runaways’ interference makes sense from a booking perspective, it unfortunately cut short a tag team match that was finding its rhythm. Both teams were able to keep a daunting pace for eight minutes and Rivera’s involvement woke the crowd up. I think these two teams could have put together an enjoyable finishing stretch and I‘d expect a rematch to happen in the coming months. **¼
Kimber Lee steals the belts as the Runaways continue their attack. Azrieal and Bandido eventually fight them off. Rivera knees Lee in the face and connects with a facewash kick as Azrieal and Bandido take back their belts. The Champions and BLK OUT show respect toward each other and brawl to the back with the Runaways.
Match #5: CZW World Junior Heavyweight Title: Sami Callihan © vs. Rich Swann
Callihan charges at the opening bell but Swann isn’t backing down. Swann tries a hurricanrana to no avail and almost gets caught in the stretch muffler. Callihan lariats him off the apron and lands a dive to the floor. Callihan chops Swann into the first row and takes over back in the ring. Swann flips out of an irish whip and spikes Callihan on a headscissors. Callihan dodges a charge and connects with a facewash kick. Swann responds with a superkick, sending Callihan to the outside. Swann lands a corkscrew dive to the floor. He tries a springboard maneuver in the ring but falls victim to a powerbomb. Callihan applies a figure four but Swann quickly reaches the bottom rope. Callihan hits a death valley driver and a rope-assisted splash. Swann hurricanranas him off the middle rope and lands a standing shooting star press for a nearfall. Callihan hits a saito suplex out of nowhere and applies the stretch muffler. Swann turns the hold into a pin attempt for a close two count. He connects with a spin kick and dazes Callihan up top with a pele kick. Callihan blocks a top rope hurricanrana and reapplies the stretch muffler to retain his title at 12:35. These two had a pretty good match together in DGUSA back in April of last year and I actually liked this contest a bit more. They ran through their offenses in a way that made sense and I saw some moves from Swann that I had never seen before. The stretch muffler was used wisely throughout the course of the match and as a result, Callihan looked strong in victory. I thought they really came through with a solid exhibition and this was a fitting showcase for the last CZW show in the Arena. ***¼
Match #6: Mia Yim vs. Greg Excellent
I was a big fan of their previous match at Night of Infamy. Excellent bans Adam Cole from ringside. They trade strikes and Yim is hanging tough. She dropkicks Excellent to the floor but gets tripped up on the apron. Excellent violently swings her into the guardrail and follows with some interesting offense around ringside. Back in, Yim catches him with a cross armbreaker in the ropes. She applies a guillotine choke and hits a tornado DDT. Excellent answers with a samoan drop. They battle up top and Yim hits a yoshi tonic from the middle rope. Jesus. That only gets a two count. Yim sneaks in a low blow behind the referee’s back but Excellent shrugs it off. Excellent lands a dive to the floor and hits a tiger driver in the ring for the victory at 9:15. While I remember having more moments of disbelief during their previous match together, this was a worthy follow-up. I would fully support Yim receiving more of a chance in the ring even after her issue with Excellent is over. **½
Excellent talks about Yim’s toughness after the match. In a promo backstage, Excellent talks about his upcoming match against Drake Younger, saying that he’s ready to enter Younger’s world if need be.
Danny Havoc makes his way to the ring. He wants to have a toast to the Arena and brings out Homicide, Nick Berk, Adam Flash, Messiah, Nate Webb, and the Blue Meanie. Drew Gulak interrupts the celebration and ridicules everyone in the ring, calling them “relics.” Havoc starts brawling with Gulak. Matt Tremont eventually comes out, leading to…
Match #7: Matt Tremont vs. Drew Gulak
Tremont connects with a flurry of punches and hits a side slam. Gulak finds an opening to start raking Tremont’s eyes. He begins to work over Tremont’s already-injured foot. Gulak applies a sleeper to slow the action down as the crowd gets on his case. Tremont back suplexes out of the hold and mounts a comeback. He hits a michinoku driver but gets his neck snapped across the top rope. Gulak connects with a basement dropkick and locks in a dragon sleeper for the win at 7:54. I understand what they were trying to do by having Gulak take advantage of Tremont’s preexisting injury but no one was buying it. The crowd actively booed this match towards the end and I don’t think this contest did either man any favors. I want to believe that Gulak being the number one contender will work out well but I have my doubts for the anniversary show. *½
Danny Havoc and Rory Mondo come out after the match. Havoc questions Tremont’s toughness and challenges him to a match at the next show. Havoc also says that there are two spots in Tournament of Death for Tremont and Mondo.
Match #8: Eddie Kingston vs. Joker
They waste no time trading forearms and kicks. Joker snaps off a hurricanrana and lands a dive to the floor. Kingston throws him into the guardrail and connects with a mafia kick. Joker responds with a corner cannonball, driving Kingston into the guardrail. In the ring, Kingston connects with a headbutt that sends both men falling to the canvas. Joker answers with a high knee strike and slides a table into the ring. He props it in the corner. Joker drops Kingston with a shoulder-capture suplex and sets him on top of the table. Joker goes up top but Kingston catches him with a gamengiri. Kingston hits a superplex through the table. They exchange forearms and slaps. Kingston connects with a roaring elbow but falls victim to another shoulder-capture suplex. Joker follows with a shining wizard for a nearfall. The table spot actually ripped up the canvas. Kingston connects with a spinning backfist and hits a saito suplex. He follows with the Sliding D for a nearfall. Kingston finishes with another spinning backfist for the victory at 9:51. Joker is definitely my favorite member of Philly’s Most Wanted and he meshed well with Kingston as expected. I find myself saying this a lot with this show, but instead of slowing the match down at points, they just kept trading offense. However, as was the case with Fox/Nation, I think that plan worked well here. ***
Kingston cuts a heartfelt promo after the match talking about his time in the Arena.
Match #9: CZW World Heavyweight Title: Devon Moore © vs. Adam Cole
An early flurry of offense sends Cole to the floor. Moore attempts a dive but Cole blocks it with an enzuigiri. In the ring, Cole hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker and takes control. The raucous Philly crowd chants “boring” so Cole applies a headscissors. More avoids a flying crossbody and connects with a corner lariat. He comes off the top rope with a blockbuster. Cole connects with a superkick and both men are down. Moore misses an enzuigiri and falls victim to a wheelbarrow backcracker. He recovers with a swinging flatliner and a yakuza kick. Moore lands a shooting star press for a nearfall. Mia Yim runs to ringside and jumps onto the apron. She kicks Moore in the head and Cole hits the Corona Crash for a nearfall. Cole straps the title around his waist and hits the Panama Sunrise for a two count. Moore boots Yim off the apron and connects with a superkick on Cole to retain his title at 8:57. I realized during this match that CZW might have been pressed for time with an EVOLVE show following this one and some contests had to be shortened. This match probably could have benefited from more time, but they did a good job of keeping the action flowing. The crowd is normally pretty hostile toward Moore and it’s a testament to Cole’s talent as a heel that the crowd was cheering the champion for the majority of this match. The match was solid for what it was but it only felt like a preview of what these two could do together. **¾
Match #10: Panes of Glass and Thumbtack Bats: Zandig vs. DJ Hyde
In a humorous moment, Zandig blames Hyde for losing the Arena before the match. Zandig utilizes a thumbtack bat around ringside and throws Hyde into the front row. They brawl into the crowd and Zandig hits a suplex onto some chairs. He then scoop slams Hyde onto the chairs and whips him into the wall of the Arena. Hyde’s forehead is busted open as they make their way back to ringside. In the ring, Hyde spears Zandig through a pane of glass. Zandig’s forehead gets busted open as well after Hyde scrapes it with pieces of glass. Hyde hits Zandig across the back with a barbed wire chair. He then takes the thumbtack bat to Zandig’s forehead. Zandig comes back with dual-wielding thumbtack bats. He powerbombs Hyde onto the barbed wire chair. Zandig pays tribute to Nick Gage by facewash kicking a pane of glass into Hyde’s face. Hyde misses a spear and goes through another pane of glass. Zandig sends him through another one as the crowd comes alive. Hyde sneaks in a quick rollup for the win at 10:29. It definitely makes sense for these two to be in the final CZW match in the Arena. I actually enjoyed this deathmatch as they didn’t rely too much on brawling in the crowd and all of the big spots in the ring went according to plan. Additionally, for what it’s worth, they received more of a crowd reaction than any other match on the show. There’s just something rewarding about the fact that the last CZW match in the Arena was a deathmatch that ended with a rollup. **½
Zandig attacks Hyde with the barbed wire chair after the match and sends him through a contraption at ringside filled with glass and chairs. He also lariats the referee. Zandig grabs a microphone and talks about some CZW legends. He says that it’s not about the building, it’s about the young wrestlers who made their name in it. Zandig thanks the crowd to end the show.
Overall: An Excellent Adventure was a solid way for CZW to close out the Arena. AR Fox, Uhaa Nation, Eddie Kingston, and Joker were apart of quality exhibitions that were totally different from each other while Sami Callihan and Rich Swann had the match of the night in a very good title defense for Callihan. Although I wish those matches would have received more time, they all came through. There was also a fun CZW World Heavyweight Title match between Adam Cole and Devon Moore and Mia Yim put in another great performance against Greg Excellent. Although the wrestling quality wasn’t extremely high, three solid matches in the undercard combined with the historical value associated with this show earns it a slight recommendation.
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