No Escape 2013 on October 5th, 2013
Pre-Show Match: Bucky Collins vs. JJ Garrett
They trade control of a wristlock. Garrett hip tosses Collins to the apron. Collins reenters the ring with a sunset flip for a two count. They exchange rollup attempts to no avail and both try dropkicks at the same time. Collins slaps Garrett across the face and takes control with a back suplex. Garrett fights back with a discus lariat and both men are down. Garrett sweeps out Collins’ legs and lands a slingshot corkscrew senton for a nearfall. Collins rolls through a flying crossbody and sneaks in a quick pin for the win at 5:39. Both men showed great energy and did just enough in this pre-show match. The crowd was pretty unfamiliar with Garrett, but I could definitely see him having a place in DREAMWAVE. **
Pre-Show Match: Dan Lawrence vs. Luther
The crowd chants “Luther’s going to kill you” at Lawrence. Lawrence tries a few punches to no effect but is able to take down Luther with a series of dropkicks. Luther hits a powerslam and takes control. Lawrence avoids a charge and connects with a missile dropkick. He kicks Luther low behind the referee’s back. Luther catches Lawrence coming off the top rope with a chokeslam for the victory at 5:19. This review is my reintroduction to DREAMWAVE, so I’m a bit unfamiliar with Luther’s progression over the past few months. He looked like a monster here to the detriment of Lawrence, but Lawrence did an excellent job of trying to get the crowd into the match and making Luther look strong. *½
Cousin Dixie saves Lawrence from a post-match attack from Luther. The two big men stare each other down but don’t come to blows.
Opening Match: Shane Hollister vs. Lince Dorado
Dorado is insistent upon a handshake to start the match. Hollister finally agrees but then grabs onto a side headlock. Dorado continues to freak him out with cat tactics. Dorado snaps off a satellite headscissors and airplane spins Hollister. Dorado walks the ropes and hurricanranas Hollister to the floor. He teases a dive and stands tall in the ring. Dorado hits a wheelbarrow bulldog. Hollister blocks a springboard moonsault with a dropkick and takes control. Dorado avoids a frog splash and connects with a basement dropkick. Hollister retreats to the floor where he gets taken out by a dive. In the ring, Dorado lands a flying crossbody for a nearfall. He connects with a handspring back elbow. Hollister blocks a shining wizard and hits a sit-out powerbomb. They battle in the corner and Dorado hits a reverse hurricanrana for a nearfall. Hollister connects with a timely superkick but Dorado responds with an enzuigiri and a bicycle kick. Hollister blocks a charge and sneaks in a rollup with his feet on the ropes for the win at 12:50. These two had good chemistry as expected and this opener was given enough time to stand out. They were presented as equals throughout the entire contest, so Hollister resorting to cheating to come out on top made sense. Hollister has had a breakout year and could easily find himself in the main event scene in DREAMWAVE in the coming months. ***
Match #2: Elimination: Cousin Bobby and Mason Beck vs. Alex Castle and Markus Crane vs. Mark Andrews and Pete Dunne vs. CJ Esparza and Brett Gakiya
The winners will receive a shot at the DREAMWAVE Tag Team Titles immediately following this match. Dunne snaps off an armdrag on Gakiya and Andrews double stomps his left arm. Andrews lands a standing corkscrew splash onto Gakiya. Crane attacks everyone in the ring but runs into a spinebuster from Bobby. Castle hits an implant DDT on Bobby. Crane saves his partner from a powerbomb from Beck. Everyone gangs up on Beck to no avail. Team UK dropkick Beck to his knees and Zero Gravity hit the Flippy Cup. Crane stops Bobby from diving and Helter Skelter hit Revolution #9 to eliminate the Beck Family. Helter Skelter hit a double team DDT on Esparza for a nearfall. Esparza jumps off of Castle’s back and tornado DDTs Crane. Gakiya spin kicks Crane and takes down Castle with double knees. Dunne blocks a springboard maneuver from Esparza and Team UK hit a springboard dropkick-german suplex combination. Team UK superkick Esparza to eliminate Zero Gravity. Crane hits a chinbreaker on Andrews. Helter Skelter hit an assisted code red on Dunne for the victory at 8:22. This was a fun sprint, with every team receiving a chance to look good despite the short duration. I’m not sure how necessary elimination rules were given the match only lasting eight minutes, but the eliminations felt organic and the action flowed well. I also liked the story of Helter Skelter being the dominant team once they were able to get onto the same page. **¾
Match #3: DREAMWAVE Tag Team Titles: Tyler Priegel and Matt Knicks © vs. Alex Castle and Markus Crane
The champions attack before the opening bell. Crane snaps off a hurricanrana on Priegel and hits a dragon suplex on Knicks. Priegel slows down Crane with a backbreaker-lariat combination. Sports Entertainment work over Crane until he hits a blockbuster on Priegel and makes the tag. Castle superkicks Priegel and hits a uranagi on Knicks. C-Red appears in the entranceway. C-Red interrupts a double team maneuver from Sports Entertainment. Castle hits Priegel with a title belt and Crane makes the cover. Helter Skelter become the new DREAMWAVE Tag Team Champions at 4:02. They hug C-Red after the match and celebrate with the titles. If you look at this match and the previous match as one unit, it was an effective way to setup Helter Skelter’s rise to dominance in the tag team division and the introduction of C-Red as the reason they were able to get along. Obviously, you don’t want to be having four-minute title matches too often, but I’m hopeful that Sports Entertainment will receive a rematch and that should be the true gauge of what these two teams can do together. *¾
Match #4: Ace Martino vs. Nick Brubaker
Brubaker is not tolerant of Martino’s antics early on. Brubaker connects with a dropkick and Martino retreats to the floor. They battle over a suplex and Martino snaps Brubaker’s neck across the top rope. Martino hits a suplex and takes control. Brubaker comes back by snapping Martino’s neck across the top rope and comes off the top with a double axe handle. Brubaker ducks a mafia kick and connects with an enzuigiri. Martino hits a flatliner out of nowhere and applies a koji clutch. Brubaker is able to get his foot across the bottom rope. He connects with another enzuigiri. Matt Cage runs to ringside, allowing Martino to sneak in a quick small package for a two count. Brubaker hits a fisherman buster for the win at 5:56. They were showing their familiarity with each other and having a solid match until the abrupt finish. While Brubaker vs. Cage is certainly a match I’d like to see, Brubaker was on his way to a worthwhile contest with Martino here. **½
Match #5: Chris Castro vs. Colt Cabana
They begin with some chain wrestling and Castro becomes incredibly frustrated. Cabana takes him down with a shoulder block and grabs onto a side headlock. Cabana escapes a headscissors as only he can. Cabana hits a springboard flying hip attack. Matt Cage grabs his foot from ringside. Castro accidentally knocks Cage off the apron as the referee escorts him from ringside. Castro connects with a huge bicycle kick on Cabana and reigns down punches. He takes over until Cabana comes back with a series of strikes. Castro avoids the flying apple and connects with an enzuigiri. He misses a top-rope splash. Cabana splashes him for a nearfall and hits a hip attack. Castro traps him in a triangle choke. Cabana escapes but falls victim to an STO. Cabana recovers with a go 2 sleep for the victory at 12:25. This was a fairly typical Cabana match, but once the antics stopped, Castro was able to look like a threat. I like that commentary stepped out for this match, as the crowd really took to Cabana and it’s entertaining to hear the reactions from people in the crowd. This wasn’t revolutionary but it certainly had its place on the card. **½
Match #6: DREAMWAVE Alternative Title: Marshe Rockett © vs. Arik Cannon
This is Cannon’s debut in DREAMWAVE. He refuses a handshake and slaps Rockett. Rockett connects with a dropkick and lands a corner splash. He follows with a flying crossbody. Cannon connects with a basement dropkick and lays in chops in the corner. Rockett hits a bulldog but Cannon answers with a swinging neckbreaker. Rockett ducks a lariat and connects with a leg liner. Cannon fights off an ace crusher, punches Rockett, and connects with a superkick for a nearfall. Cannon adds Total Anarchy for a two count. Rockett hits the M80 out of nowhere to retain his title at 7:56. I’m disappointed with the short duration given the talent of both men, but what we got was really good. They seem to be putting a lot of emphasis on the effectiveness of the M80, so they have to be careful with how they handle that move. However, I think Rockett is a solid fit for a dominant Alternative Champion. Arik Cannon as a permanent fixture in DREAMWAVE would undoubtedly be a good thing. **¾
Match #7: Dan the Man and Waylon vs. Arya Daivari and Vic Capri
DTM connects with a leg lariat on Capri and snaps off a satellite headscissors on Daivari. Waylon blind tags into the match and chops Daivari, who responds with a spinebuster. Foreign Affairs isolate Waylon until he hits a superplex on Capri and makes the tag. DTM dropkicks Capri out of the ring and lays in a series of strikes on Daivari. He follows with a springboard crossbody onto Daivari. Waylon saves his partner from a superkick. DTM connects with a tiger feint kick on Capri. Waylon blocks a top-rope maneuver from DTM and sends him into the turnbuckles with a death valley driver. Daivari covers DTM for the win at 9:48. The finish overshadowed the action, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. DTM looked confident in the ring teaming with Waylon, making Waylon’s turn on him that much more devastating. Whereas in previous years Waylon had been the one fighting for righteousness among the Beck Family, now he’s the only member of the Beck Family acting in morally questionable ways. **¼
Match #8: D-Von Dudley vs. Matt Cage
Cage attacks before the opening bell. D-Von fights back with a back elbow and a clothesline out of the corner. Cage retreats to the floor where D-Von hits him with a bottle of water. Cage accidentally chops the ringpost and D-Von throws him into it. A distraction by Chris Castro allows Cage to take control. D-Von comes back with a flying shoulder block and a neckbreaker. Cage connects with a desperation roaring punch. He escapes an inverted DDT and applies a crossface chickenwing. D-Von rolls through and hits a spear. Castro provides another distraction and Cage hits D-Von with his Good as Gold briefcase. That draws the disqualification at 9:52. D-Von looked motivated and the finish will end up being inconsequential as long as someone gets put through a table after the match… **
Nick Brubaker saves D-Von from a post-match attack. Brubaker takes on Bubba’s role and they get the tables. They powerbomb Cage through a table in the ring and stand tall.
Match #9: DREAMWAVE World Title: Cage Match: Jason Hades © vs. Christian Rose
Rose has not lost since he debuted in DREAMWAVE two years ago. Rose attacks Hades as he enters the cage and hits a delayed vertical suplex. Hades trips up Rose as he climbs the cage and hits him in the midsection with a chair. Hades headscissors Rose into the cage wall and takes over. Rose comes back with a DDT and connects with chop-punch combinations in the corner. Hades charges but eats a double stomp out of the corner. Rose leans against the cage and Ryland Foxx hits him with a chair from ringside. Hades connects with a double stomp of his own and lays in multiple chair shots. Rose locks in a chair-assisted boston crab. A masked man enters the cage and hits Rose with a chair. The man unmasks and reveals himself to be JC Costilli, who was fired from DREAMWAVE a few months ago. Hades covers for a nearfall. Security escorts Costilli out of the building. Hades sets up a row of propped chairs. They battle up top and Hades powerbombs Rose onto the chairs. Rose won’t stay down. Foxx enters the cage but Rose takes him out with an elbow. Rose hits Ride the Lightning on Hades for a huge nearfall. Hades hits a snapmare driver into a chair and then hits a michinoku driver onto a propped chair. Rose kicks out at two! Hades charges and Rose double stomps him onto a pile of chairs. Rose hits a reverse Ride the Lightning to become the new DREAMWAVE World Champion at 18:10. One of the reasons why I wanted to check out this show was to see Rose win the title. I regularly reviewed DREAMWAVE shows when Rose debuted and his promos were unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The best part about DREAMWAVE shows is how genuine the crowd reactions are at all times and how easily they are able to get behind the well-defined characters in DREAMWAVE. Most of this match consisted of them throwing bombs at each other, but the crowd was with them the entire way. Rose is a special talent and now the promotion has setup an undefeated, face champion that should be able to deliver consistently solid title defenses. I thought that this whole match was very well done and Rose’s victory felt like a big deal. ***½
Overall: Whenever I become bored or frustrated with professional wrestling, I usually check out what DREAMWAVE has going on. I always admired how diverse their shows were. With the unique Midwest talent (Rose, Cage, Hades, Ali, Rockett) on almost every show and the amount of depth given to storylines, I think there are definitely comparisons to be made to CHIKARA. The match quality of No Escape was not particularly high. The show is bookended by quality matches and a few in the midcard hovered around three stars. However, if you ever considered checking out DREAMWAVE, the show where Rose was crowned champion after a two-year journey would not be a terrible place to start. I can only give a slight recommendation at best due to match quality, but I can’t really quantify how much fun I have watching these shows.