My college anthropology professor preached a philosophy that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. While he used that to justify his views on religious extremists, it’s a viable sentiment and one often applicable to the world of professional wrestling. As the issues between Dreamwave World Champion Nick Brubaker, former champion Jason Hades and the unbeatable Christian Rose continued to fester, that philosophy became a means of survival.
At May 4’s “Retaliation,” Hades, who turned heel at April’s “Anniversary,” opened the show with a promo, explaining his justification for turning. From the beginning, Brubaker has been the golden child of Dreamwave, and in recent months, Rose had become just the same. Hades never lost the championship when he held it, as he relinquished it due to outside commitments. His words were cut short when Brubaker and Ryland Foxx, Hades’ former manager, came out to confront him. Hades bailed but was cut off by Rose. With all three in the ring, Hades smartly turned the others against each other, allowing himself to stand tall.
Rose and Brubaker would learn from that mistake by the time of the main event, though. When the three men met in a triple threat for the World Championship, there’d be an additional surprise as CEO JC Costilli, a known Rose detractor, named himself the special guest referee. Rose and Brubaker would force themselves to co-exist in the match’s early going, playing a game of HORSE as the announcers called it with Hades as the ball. Beyond that, the trio played the two-men-in, one-man-out routine for the early part of the match before really hitting a three-man routine.
The stories between these three men have been brewing, to varying degrees, for years but have really taken a focal point this season, and they delivered when they needed to. There were no down periods in this match, as they went all out at each other, as they should in a rivalry like this. Costilli’s presence didn’t interfere with the quality of the match, and there were no shenanigans on his behalf, which was very welcome. The visual of the night, and the moment that will likely launch his already rising stock to a true boom, was Rose oozing blood from his head after being dropped on the commentary table outside the ring. For a family-friendly company like Dreamwave, blood isn’t an everyday sight, and it really added to this scenario and show just how serious this feud has become.
As Costilli and a number of other officials checked on Rose and ushered him to the back, Foxx jumped in the ring and turned his back on Brubaker, maintaining his alliance with Hades and joining him on the dark side. Foxx had been the bond between the A-List partners, but in the end, he stuck with his friend Hades. Sometimes, it’s not the enemy of your enemy you have to beware of, but the friend of your enemy. He may be a Foxx in name, but he proved to be a snake in his actions.
The show closed with Rose unable to make it back to the ring to break up a final pinfall, and Hades regained the championship he never lost, much to the chagrin of the LaSalle, Ill., faithful. With Brubaker’s record-setting reign done, a new champion crowned and Rose undoubtedly more bitter than usual, this match proved to be a turning point in the story of the Dreamwave main event scene and gave a proper close to a solid event.
Quick Hits
– The Beck Family are quickly becoming my favorite characters in Dreamwave. After Bucky Collins proposed to Cousin Nikki in April, the Becks decided to throw him a bachelor party at “Retaliation.” This is seriously the kind of segment that could easily fall flat, but this motley crew made it work. Judd the Janitor, now believing he’s The Godfather, brought out a single “ho” to dance for Collins, but before she could, Steve Boz emerged, saying if anyone was dancing it was him. The crowd chanting “Chippendale” was a great moment. Soon, Ace Martino and his new personal trainer, Mike Horning, emerged, and Martino said the stripper was his sister and he wasn’t going to allow this to happen. This led to an eight-man tag match, with the stipulation being if the Becks won, the girl would strip.
The Beck Family defeated Boz, who walked out on his teammates; Martino and Horning of PRIDE; and their partner Luther. The match was a lot of fun overall, and everyone got a chance to shine and look good. This was the best and most-fun match up into its place on the card, and all the participants deserve credit for turning a joke of a segment into a really fun one with a good match to boot. If the Becks and PRIDE feud for the remainder of the season, I wouldn’t complain. I think these stables could produce some quality wrestling entertainment.
– One of Dreamwave’s top established stars and one of its top prospects combined their skills to produce an unsurprisingly great contest. Prince Mustafa Ali steals nearly every Dreamwave show he performs on, while Lince Dorado has made quite an impression in LaSalle since debuting at “Season Premiere.” Dorado has improved so much since the end of his CHIKARA run, and it’s a pleasure to see him on each of these shows, where the crowd has bought into him with all their support. This match built tremendously, beginning with some fun exchanges, counters and escapes before giving way to a little comedy from Dorado. From there, they built and built, with Dorado refusing to stay down or give up – even after four crossface attempts. In the end, Ali won with his feet on the ropes, a desperation maneuver after being able to neuter the lynx. A rematch down the road would certainly be welcome. Both of these men have to be considered top contenders in the Alternative Championship Division, and I’m especially glad I’ve gotten a look at the new and improved Dorado on these shows. Kudos to both men for this match.
– When Helter Skelter and Zero Gravity met in a tag team gauntlet back at February’s “Season Premiere,” I noted I would love to see a full-length rematch. That wish came true at “Retaliation,” but perhaps my hopes and expectations were too high. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this tag match, but it just felt like something was missing. I think part of the disappointment stems from the finish, which saw Markus Crane become distracted by someone in the crowd with Buffalo Wild Wings. This played off a YouTube promo where Crane pestered his partner Alex Castle about wanting B-Dubs, but for anyone who didn’t watch that promo, this probably made little sense. Airing these promos on the DVD would enhance the storytelling all around. Regardless, this match provided a completely fine and serviceable opening contest, and Zero Gravity especially got a chance to shine.
– Seeing Vic Capri, who hasn’t won a match since I started watching Dreamwave, get a title shot at Marshe Rockett’s Alternative Championship was a bit odd, but it was explained that Capri’s whining about unfair treatment from referees got him the shot. That seems to be the story for Capri now, as the announcers put over his wrongful treatment several times, and it played a role in the finish of the match. Coming off an excellent TLC with Prince Mustafa Ali at “Anniversary,” this was a good wrestling-focused defense for Rockett. They kept things fairly simple, but it worked and created a good match. The finish saw Rockett hit an M-80 onto a chair Capri introduced for the win. After the bell, however, referee Carley came out and convinced the senior official to reverse his decision and grant Capri the win by disqualification. This was an odd ending, but it will be interesting to see this story unfold.
– Tyler Priegel and Matt Knicks had a quality first Tag Team Championship defense against former champions Dan Lawrence and Shane Hollister of Members Only. Hollister and Lawrence were stripped of the titles, so them getting the first shot at the new champs made sense and legitimized PRIDE holding the belts. Early in the match, it appeared Priegel and Knicks were going to play cowardly heels, but they thankfully turned that around and lived up to the name. This stable needs to portray the cocky athletes they’re meant to be, and with Martino coming up on the short end of most of his matches lately, Priegel and Knicks need to be the stable’s centerpiece. More matches with smart psychology, such as destroying Lawrence’s hand in this match, will propel this duo to the top of Dreamwave’s bustling tag team division.
– Buff Bagwell was the featured guest at “Retaliation,” competing against Matt Cage. When this match was announced, I was shocked. Knowing Cage and having seen him wrestle some of the best competitors in the Midwest, I never once imagined I’d see “The Money” vs. “The Stuff.” The match started hot, when Bagwell saved Dorado from a Cage beatdown after the masked luchador lost to Ali. The match was surprisingly better than I expected. They kept it simple, but Cage’s charisma and ring presence helped make this a more enjoyable watch. A decent match ended in weak fashion, though, as Cage put Bagwell away with a codebreaker out of nowhere it seemed. Hopefully this gives Cage the momentum to move up the Dreamwave card.
– The former Matu debuted a new gimmick, ditching the face paint and stereotypical Samoan gimmick in favor of simply being Chris Castro, a protégé of Matt Cage. Castro won a pre-show match against Craig Mitchell by submission. Castro has qualities like Samoa Joe, in that he’s a larger competitor who moves with a surprising sense of agility. Dropping the Matu gimmick and being aligned with Cage should do wonders for his potential. Mitchell showed promise, as well, and it would be nice to see him back in a Dreamwave ring for another opportunity.
– Dan the Man and Maxwell Chicago wrestled a comedy match that could have benefitted from a shorter duration. These guys are both quite good at playing their roles, but, to me, they work better in multi-man and tag matches. Dan the Man picked up the win in a relatively harmless match. As I’ve said on many occasions, the crowd seemed to enjoy this more than me, though, and at the end of the day, they’re the ones who matter most.
Final Thoughts
Coming off the heels of two really strong shows in “Misfortune” and “Anniversary,” it would be really hard for Dreamwave to maintain that momentum. “Retaliation” fell short of those previous shows but still delivered an entertaining event worthy of checking out. Old-school fans will enjoy seeing Bagwell, while any true wrestling fan should enjoy Ali vs. Dorado. The triple threat main event delivered and told a good story for those who have been following this season of Dreamwave. The tag and Alternative title defenses were both good, while the impromptu eight-man tag was a whole lot of fun. Even though a few matches fell short of my expectations or hope, I can still give this show an easy recommendation. For fans who simply like good wrestling, good storytelling and a fun atmosphere, Dreamwave really is a hidden gem of the independent scene.
Match Rundown
Chris Castro d. Craig Mitchell (Pre-Show)
Zero Gravity d. Helter Skelter
Dan the Man d. Maxwell Chicago
Vic Capri d. Marshe Rockett by disqualification in a reversed decision
The Beck Family d. Steve Boz, Ace Martino, Mike Horning and Luther
PRIDE d. Members Only to retain the Tag Team Championship
Prince Mustafa Ali d. Lince Dorado
Matt Cage d. Buff Bagwell
Jason Hades d. Nick Brubaker and Christian Rose to win the Dreamwave World Championship