Dreamwave Wrestling: 2013 Season Premiere Review

Popularized by CHIKARA, the concept of organizing wrestling storylines into seasons, often a calendar year, has become a prevalent format in many companies. Using this structure offers a number of advantages, as it allows a convenient timetable for events and stories to unfold, offers an easy access point for new fans and creates a sense of importance around key events, such as a season premiere or finale.

LaSalle, Illinois-based Dreamwave Wrestling launched its fifth season on Feb. 2 of this year with its season premiere. I’d heard about Dreamwave appropriately from Christian Rose, a rising star of the Midwest independent scene and the man who appears to be at the center of one of the promotion’s most prominent stories this season. Taking advantage of this event as a jumping-on point, this event became the first Dreamwave event I watched in full.

I’ve affectionately begun to call this season “The Rise of Rose,” as it was apparent from even the events of just one show that this will be the year Rose claims Dreamwave as his own. Rose began his tenure in the company as he does most places, as a bitter, hated heel destroying anyone and everyone in his path. As months went by, though, the fans began to get behind Rose and his undefeated streak. After defeating former WWE superstar Matt Hardy in December, Rose showed an unusual sign of sportsmanship and had the crowd largely supporting him.

At the 2013 season premiere, Rose would receive his first shot at the Dreamwave World Championship. Early in the show, he would engage in a war of words with reigning champion Nick Brubaker, and Dreamwave veteran Jason Hades would make his presence felt as well, stating he never lost the championship, which he had previously vacated. All three men demonstrated their strong skills on the microphone before this predictably erupted into a pull-apart brawl.

The promo did a good job setting up the main event, and when that match began, Rose and Brubaker wasted no time in a feeling out process. Each man threw everything he had at his opponent, and Rose kept up with Brubaker every step of the way. These two appeared to be working extremely tight and stiff with one another, and the brutality of the match built up because of it. This was my first look at Brubaker, and it was easy to see why Dreamwave had built around him so prominently through the years. (Side note: Brubaker had appeared on all 50 Dreamwave events to this point.) After a while, though, the quality wrestling gave way to storytelling, and the match took a hit as a result.

Following a ref bump, Rose introduced a chair to the match, but Hades re-emerged and stopped him from using it. As Hades swung the chair at Rose, the latter ducked, causing Hades to nail Brubaker instead. Rose attempted to capitalize, but before his championship aspirations could be realized, the lights went out and the music of former WWE superstar John Morrison, Rose’s opponent for the upcoming anniversary show, hit. Morrison made a surprise appearance, which garnered an outstanding reaction from the crowd, and interfered in the match. He attempted a Starship Pain on Rose, who evaded and fled the arena, leaving Morrison to shake Brubaker’s hand.

On the one hand, the finish of the match deflated the excitement and anticipation that had been building around the physicality of the contest. Rose and Brubaker had worked hard to put together a great match, and the rug was pulled out with the involvement of Hades and Morrison. On the other hand, though, this finish accomplished what a season premiere sets out to do. It left the audience talking and wondering what wait ahead in the next 10 months. Rose and Morrison set the stage for their match at the anniversary show, Rose’s undefeated streak remained protected and Brubaker and Hades found themselves as two former friends in a predicament that would surely have ramifications down the road.

Christian Rose may have fallen short in his first bid for the Dreamwave World Championship, but based on the events of the season premiere alone, I’d be placing bets that he has gold around his waist before the season’s end.

Quick Hits

– This show has the distinction of having one of the oddest matches I’ve ever seen, in the form of a four-team tag gauntlet. The match began with the Beck Family of Cousin Bobby and the Dixieland Destroyer taking on Helter Skelter of Alex Castle and Markus Crane. Castle and Crane have a unique gimmick in Dreamwave, where they are brothers but didn’t know it until their father passed away. In his will, their dad left Castle a sum of $4 million, under the condition he take care of his largely unstable brother Crane. These two teams gelled well for a good opening segment of the contest, as Helter Skelter isolated Bobby, allowing for Cousin Dixie to make the hot tag and hit his big man spots before being eliminated due to quick thinking by Helter Skelter.

The second portion of the match saw Helter Skelter take on Zero Gravity of Brett Gakiya and CJ Esparza. These two teams put on a really fun sprint showcase. This was fast paced, high flying and very spot heavy in the best possible way. Watching this portion of the match, I had high hopes of seeing a standalone rematch, which I’ve been told happened, so that excites me. In the end, Helter Skelter pinned their second set of former tag team champions, but that’s when things got weird.

A vignette aired showing Dan the Man, a scrawny underdog superhero, rallying his partner, Judd the Janitor, who was mopping a bathroom floor. Judd slipped, fell and sustained a concussion, which left Dan the Man outnumbered and overpowered. When all hope seemed lost, John Cena’s music hit, and Judd emerged donning Cena’s signature attire and using his mannerisms. He ran to the ring, slid in and immediately began hitting the “five moves of doom.” At this point, I couldn’t help but laugh in enjoyment. Then, when Judd lifted Crane for an Attitude Adjustment, I waited for it to be broken up and go to the real finish. That never happened. Judd hit the move and pinned Crane to win the match. At this point, the laughing stopped, and I was in disbelief that actually led to the finish. After beating two sets of former champs, Helter Skelter lost to a janitor with a concussion who believed he was John Cena. Let that sink in. At least the crowd seemed to love the segment.

– Hades and Prince Mustafa Ali had what has to be considered the best match of the night, although the match had its share of shenanigans, as well. It was mentioned these two have met several times in the past, and it showed, as they wrestled with such fluidity that this match flowed seamlessly for the most part. Ali was making his return to Dreamwave, but he showed no signs of being away from the sport at all. They worked extremely hard and put together a great match, with Ali targeting Hades head throughout. There was a table spot that should have probably led to a disqualification and caused problems when it didn’t break on the first attempt, but awkwardness aside, these two put together a mighty fine contest people should go out of their way to see. Hades ultimately won with a top-rope pedigree, and I’m left wondering why these two are booked in the larger American independent companies.

– When Bucky Collins won a five-way pre-show match against Tony Rican, Jun Hado, Knight Wagner and Nathan Knox because his girlfriend Cousin Nikki crotched and misted Hado, I was left scratching my head, as the Beck Family, Collins’ stable, are babyfaces and the crowd cheered him. It made a little more sense when “The Money” Matt Cage challenged Collins to face him alone, leaving Nikki in the back for their match. Cage, using a high-paid athlete gimmick I simply adore, destroyed Collins in the match. Cage was modifying his in-ring style around this time, and it really worked here. Collins is great as a perennial underdog babyface, and these two meshed really well. Cage looked like his million-dollar contract in the end.

– Dreamwave tends to bring in a big-name guest for each event. Some appease old-school fans, while others are aimed at more modern audiences. This show’s guest, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, didn’t do much to excite me on paper, but I was pleasantly surprised with a fun tag team match pitting Duggan and Justice Jones against Tyler Priegel and Ace Martino of PRIDE. This was largely a paint-by-numbers affair with some comedy mixed in, and exactly like he said in his autobiography, the only parts of Duggan’s body to touch the mat were his feet. The crowd ate this up, and the atmosphere helped make this a rather fun appearance. Duggan and Jones picked up the win.

– Two wrestlers making their Dreamwave debuts, Lince Dorado and Arya Daivari, had respectable showings against Vic Capri and Tag Team Champion Dan Lawrence, respectively. Capri and Dorado opened the main show with a solid power-versus-flying affair, and Dorado won the crowd over with his catlike mannerisms and athleticism. The match was slow at times, mostly when Capri was in control, but it accomplished its goal as an opener. I look forward to seeing more of Dorado in this environment. The Daivari-Lawrence match was solid, yet unspectacular. Both men looked competent, and Daivari established himself as a heel with a cheap win.

– The other match on the card wasn’t much of a match at all, as Justin MacIntyre III, the court-appointed liaison of Dreamwave, faced his apparent rival Waylon Beck. Commentary didn’t do much to explain the backstory here, but MacIntyre claimed to be 3-0 over Beck. The match was all stalling until Beck hit a few moves, MacIntyre distracted the ref and a masked man apparently named Luther hit the ring and attacked Beck, allowing MacIntyre to hit Beck with a beer bottle. Without context, this was really weird, but much like everything else on this show, the crowd was into it, which is what matters most.

Final Thoughts

All things considered, this show has to be considered a success. The Ali vs. Hades match stands out from the pack, while Cage vs. Collins and Rose vs. Brubaker were strong efforts. The tag gauntlet’s second segment also adds a great deal of positivity to the show, and its final stretch is good for at least a few laughs, if you can get past the absurdity of the finish. As a season premiere, this show definitely got me interested to see what will come in the future. I stand by my statement that by the end of 2013, the once-despised Christian Rose will stand atop the company as its unlikely honorable champion. This may have been my first Dreamwave show, but it certainly won’t be the last. For those looking for new companies to give a shot, Dreamwave should be positioned as a top contender. The greater Chicago area scene is dominated by AAW and that other company, but everyone loves an underdog story, right?

Match Rundown

Bucky Collins d. Jun Hado, Tony Rican, Knight Wagner and Nathan Knox (Pre-Show)
Lince Dorado d. Vic Capri
Matt Cage d. Bucky Collins
Helter Skelter d. Beck Family
Helter Skelter d. Zero Gravity
Super Clean d. Helter Skelter
Justice Jones and Jim Duggan d. PRIDE
Waylon Beck d. Justin MacIntyre III by disqualification
Jason Hades d. Prince Mustafa Ali
Arya Daivari d. Dan Lawrence
Christian Rose d. Nick Brubaker by disqualification