Yep. Another Wrestling Is company has arrived. The short lived FIGHT promotion has evolved into “Wrestling is Intense” and held it’s first event in Robinson, IL on May 17th the day before CHIKARA’s Tag World Grand Prix in Chicago. Anytime one of these companies comes up, especially since the roster was an eclectic mix. It had some School of Roc graduates, some CHIKARA folks, those who were under the FIGHT banner, and outsiders like the Submission Squad and Soul Touchaz. Even with the card being re-shuffled days before the debut event, it looked somewhat promising. Then again, execution is everything.
Mat Russo and Chuck Taylor had your basic back and forth match to kick things off. Taylor had some fun throwing our own Jennifer Logsdon’s purse into the ring and yelling at the fans, but also had his mind on what was happening in the ring. He made sure to keep his distance so that Russo couldn’t get his patented Calf Slicer on. That’s why I thought the finish was so clever. Taylor went for Sole Food, but Russo was able to scout it and finally get the Calf Slicer on and force Taylor to submit. It was a nice victory for Russo and a good way to start the show.
I really don’t know what to make of Darkness Crabtree vs. Angelus Layne. I don’t know if the crowd did either. Crabtree is sometimes good for a laugh, but aside from a pervy moment in the opening it felt like nothing else in the match really happened. Things that did happen were awkward and at points poorly timed. Whatever it was was, it was no good. It’s a shame that Saturyne, Layne’s originally scheduled opponent, couldn’t fit the bill on this night because that may have had some potential. What we got was some semblance of a story that never fleshed out.
I’m not sure what to make of Juan Francisco de Coronado vs. The Estonian Thunderfrog either. Often times these two are able to shine on “Wrestling is Fun!” shows with the Thunderfrog having a healthy mix of humor and wrestling with Coronado being able to keep things more grounded. The problem is that they didn’t know which way they wanted this match to go. They had leapfrog goofiness that also involved Herbert (Coronado’s manservant) and referee Dan Yost, then Coronado working Thunderfrog’s shoulder and back over. Herbert again got involved in the finish, just like he has for most of Coronado’s matches lately. Coronado used to be one of my favorite guys in these companies, but now that I know Herbert is going to have some involvement in the finish I’m starting to care less and less. It’s fine to do it every so often, but doing it every match really gets stale after awhile, especially when the matches are self-contained and the interference doesn’t lead to something bigger. Since these shows don’t have much overarching stories and are more reliant on match quality, that could become a problem.
Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin took on The League (Tripp Cassidy & Reed Bentley). If you’re familiar with these four, you probably saw that and thought “wow, that should be good.” It was! Since the show had a rough going early on it needed a match to steer things in the right course. This followed your standard tag team formula, but was also really engaging. The League have such tremendous chemistry with each other and make themselves impossible to like. On the contrary, Cannon and Corbin are tough to hate when they’re all smiles and playing to the crowd. The action itself was top notch and all the chords were hit at the right time. Did I mention that it was far and away the most energetic match of the night to this point? Needless to say, it was a shining moment in the show.
I should have known when The Devastation Corporation and The Submission Squad came out for their match and got ZERO reaction we were going to be in for a something rough. When I say no reaction, I don’t mean one or two fans clapped, I mean there was literal silence when they came through the curtain. The match itself was a disaster. The Corporation did their usual routine but had really clumsy opponents. Gary the Barn Owl actually didn’t too bad of a job but the heat segment on Gelestico was a sight to behold. No Sidney Bakabella certainly did the match no favors. This is one to skip over.
Marshe Rockett and Pierre Abernathy had a completely forgettable match. I take that back. They had a dance off where Abernathy danced to “Call Me Maybe” and was then schooled by Marshe. Otherwise, this was your typical average singles match. Rockett is a guy who should not be wasted when booked. I would use him as often as possible and strap the proverbial rocket (pun not intended) to his back. If he and the rest of Da Soul Touchaz were the faces of Wrestling is Intense, it might be for the best. Rockett having matches like this won’t do him any favors. It’s also weird that so much time has been spent on the Submission Squad on the Wrestling Is channel only for them to lose both matches and show no real character changes outside of their gear. I don’t get it. Then again, given how they did in the ring, I wouldn’t exactly say they earned a push either.
There was one thing on this show I was anticipating: Gangrel turning the Kentucky Buffet into the Day Walkers. Gangrel teamed up with Los Ice Creams to face The Kentucky Buffet and Davey Vega. The match was actually pretty good. The Buffet were well received and stood out amongst everyone else on this show. Los Ice Creams and Gangrel performed to expectations. Vega’s a guy who I have seen improve drastically over the years, most notably when in tag matches with Mat Fitchett. While we saw a glimmer or two of that, the gimmick he holds in the Wrestling Is universe and the way the match was structured didn’t allow that improvement to really come through. As foreshadowed earlier, Gangrel bit the Kentucky Buffet and turned them into vampires after the match. This brings me to the point I made about Vega: gimmicks holding back somebody’s full potential. Given the performance the Buffet put on here, I hope this Day Walker gimmick is something that will benefit them rather than hold them back. Given what I saw at Tag World, I think they can make it work and that it won’t affect the quality of their matches.
Buck Boulder vs. Christian Rose should not have been the main event. I don’t know why they were put in this position, but it certainly was a poor decision. Rose was able to get the fans to antagonize him with his pre-match promo which did admittedly help the chemistry of the match, but from then forward it was your typical big man vs. little man match. Rose would do what he could to neutralize Boulder’s height and strength advantage while Buck was able to mount a comeback. The other problem is that neither guy plays to one another’s strength. It feels like they were two guys left over when putting the show together, thus were made opponents. This would have been fine if it were the second or third match on the card with half the time but totally unacceptable as a main event.
Overall: This is the first Wrestling Is show where it felt like I was actively wasting my time watching it. Unless you’re a big fan of The League or are desperate to see the birth of the Day Walkers, there is no reason for you to watch this. I really think if Wrestling is Intense plays to their rosters strengths and has show-to-show stories that they could have potential. Unfortunately, that was not the case with this event.. I would advise you to save your five bucks.
You can purchase the show on mp4 from Smart Mark Video or stream it on SMVOD for just $4.99.
For more information on Wresting is Intense, visit their website and follow them on Twitter. Also check out my “Wrestling Is” Tumblr for information on all the Wrestling Is companies, which is also siphoned through the CHIKARA Special Twitter.
Results/Match times/Ratings
1. Mat Russo submits Chuck Taylor with the Calf Slicer at 6:04. **½
2. Angelus Layne pins Darkness Crabtree with a Northern Lights suplex in 5:39. ½*
3. Juan Francisco de Coronado, with an assistant from his Manservant Herbet, defeats the Estonian Thunderfrog with a German suplex at 8:48. **¼
4. Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin defeated The League (Tripp Cassidy & Reed Bentley) when Cannon gave Bentley a brainbuster at 12:26. ***
5. The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive) defeated The Submission Squad (Evan Gelestico & Gary The Barn Owl) when Smashmaster chokeslammed Gary at 8:46. DUD
6. Marshe Rockett defeated Pierre Abernathy with the M-80 (jump up Ace Crusher) at 7:26. *
7. The Kentucky Buffet (Matt Cage & Alex Castle) & Dave Vega were victorious over Gangrel & Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.) in 14:26 when Jr. took a bicycle kick/saito suplex combination from the Kentucky Buffet. **¾
8. Christian Rose pins BUck Boulder after “Ride The Lightning” at 11:48. **