Fearless on November 16th, 2013 in Elmhurst, New York
Opening Match: Jon Davis vs. Earl Cooter
Davis seems to be underestimating Cooter early on. Will this come back to bite Davis? Davis hits a backbreaker-german suplex combination and follows with a lariat. Davis connects with a running knee strike and hits Three Seconds Around the World for the win at 2:19. This probably wasn’t the best choice for the opener, as the crowd seemed ready to be vocal for the action and Davis just ran through Cooter. The most notable part of the match was perhaps afterwards when you could hear Lenny Leonard complain about microphone problems.
Match #2: Caleb Konley and Andrew Everett vs. Biff Busick and Steven Walters
Larry Dallas comes out before the opening bell and tries to convince Konley to reform their partnership. Konley wants nothing to do with him. Walters and Konley wrestle to a stalemate. Busick lays in a few uppercuts on Everett and slows him down with a huge chop. Everett dropkicks Busick to the floor and follows out with a dive. Konley back drops Walters to the outside and moonsaults onto everyone. In the ring, Konley and Everett punish Walters in the corner with a series of dropkicks. Busick uppercuts Everett in midair. Walters and Busick isolate him until he avoids some offense and makes the tag. Konley snaps off a satellite headscissors on Walters and connects with a gamengiri on Busick. He follows with a tornado DDT on Walters, who responds with a lionsault. Konley hits a michinoku driver from the middle rope on Walters. Everett adds a shooting star press for the victory at 10:28. Remember how I said that the crowd was ready to be vocal? They were for this match and the smart pairings allowed these two makeshift teams to have a solid match. Konley and Everett seemed to click as a team and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing them remain a unit moving forward if we can move past the Larry Dallas storyline. While this contest strictly felt like a showcase, it seemed appropriate given its place as the true opener on the show. ***
Match #3: Chuck Taylor vs. Trent Baretta
These two are partners in PWG. It’s all fun and games until Baretta shoves Taylor in the corner. Taylor snaps off a headscissors and claims that he hasn’t done that in five years. Baretta takes him down with a shoulder tackle. Taylor retreats into the crowd and steals someone’s Tinkerbell balloon. Baretta uses Taylor’s head to pop the balloons. Taylor quickly returns the favor. He ties Tinkerbell to the turnbuckle but Baretta irish whips him into her! Baretta connects with a clothesline and takes control. Taylor fights back with a missile dropkick and applies a figure four. He shrugs off a tornado DDT attempt by Baretta and hits a DDT of his own. Baretta answers with a guillotine leg drop in the ropes. He follows with a dive to the floor. In the ring, Baretta hits a tornado DDT but gets caught by Sole Food. He recovers with an enzuigiri and a running knee strike. Taylor rolls through a top rope hurricanrana and hits an overhead suplex into the turnbuckles. Both men are down. They trade forearms and Taylor hits a powerbomb. He transitions into a half crab. Baretta is able to reach the bottom rope. He catches Taylor with the Dudebuster for the win at 15:49. As soon as Tinkerbell popped, the crowd quickly lost interest in the action. They were certainly given enough time and they structured the match in such a way to make it memorable, but without any crowd support most of this match felt like a mere collection of moves. That’s a shame, as Taylor could benefit greatly from delivering a memorable match in DGUSA and he looked to have decent chemistry with Baretta. **½
Match #4: EVOLVE Title: AR Fox © vs. Mr. Touchdown vs. Fire Ant vs. Shane Strickland
Fox will only lose the title if he is the one who drops the fall. Everyone tries quick rollups on Fox to no avail. Fire Ant and Touchdown have a nice exchange. Fox bicycle kicks Strickland and snaps off a headscissors. Touchdown slows him down with a scoop slam. Fire Ant traps Touchdown in an octopus hold. Strickland kicks both of them but eats a missile dropkick from Fox. Strickland answers with an air raid crash. Fox superkicks him off the apron. Fire Ant lands a dive to the floor onto Fox. Strickland follows out with a springboard 450. Touchdown teases a dive but settles for his Tebow pose. Fox throws Touchdown into the crowd onto Fire Ant and Strickland. Fox finishes things with a swantan into the crowd. In the ring, Fire Ant hip tosses Strickland into the turnbuckles and hits a wheelbarrow stunner on Touchdown. Touchdown hits a superplex on Fire Ant. Fox lands a swantan onto Touchdown. Strickland connects with a flying double stomp onto Fox for a nearfall. Fire Ant lays in a knockout kick on Strickland but falls victim to a lungblower. Strickland plants Fox with a DDT for another two count. Fox connects with double knees on Strickland and hits a springboard ace crusher on Touchdown. He follows with a twisting brainbuster on Fire Ant. Fox attempts a 450 but finds knees. Fire Ant connects with a knockout kick and hits an air raid crash on Fox for a nearfall. Fox hits Lo Mein Pain on Fire Ant out of nowhere to retain his title at 12:34. I’m not entirely sure what to think of this match. There were certainly some quality exchanges, but there weren’t many instances of all four men being involved in the action at once and the action itself never settled down. Additionally, no one really stood out aside from Fox, who was able to improbably keep his title despite all three opponents gunning for him. Perhaps it was just the randomness of this match even occurring. I’ll keep my rating low and assume that others will enjoy this one more than me. ***
Match #5: Ricochet vs. Rich Swann
They stay evenly matched during some early chain wrestling. Swann connects with a well-timed dropkick and synchs in a figure four. Ricochet quickly reaches the bottom rope. Swann connects with corner punches and lays in a loud chop. He takes over until Ricochet traps him in an octopus hold and repeatedly bangs his head against the middle turnbuckle. Ricochet begins to get a little cocky and they exchange slaps. They collide on stereo crossbody attempts and both men are down. Swann connects with an enzuigiri and hurricanranas Ricochet from the middle rope. Swann follows with an axe kick and a rolling splash. Ricochet flips through a german suplex and lands a standing shooting star press. He dead-lifts Swann into a regalplex for a nearfall. They trade kicks and fall to the canvas. Swann hits a package piledriver for a two count. Ricochet sneaks in a small package to no avail and hits rolling suplexes. Ricochet blocks a charge and lands a 630 splash for the victory at 16:30. While I’m sure they have a better match in them, it’s always a pleasure watching these two in the same ring. The card had to be reshuffled quite a bit due to Chris Hero appearing on the next show, and this was one of unique matches to result from the changes. We’re clearly building to Ricochet challenging for the Open the Freedom Gate Title and this match also worked well in that regard. ***¼
Match #6: Anthony Nese vs. Jimmy Susumu
Mr. A and Su Yung accompany Nese to the ring because he needs help to win a professional wrestling match. They trade control on the mat as Yung shouts instructions to Nese. The crowd chants “we want Cooter.” Susumu hits a dragon screw leg whip and starts working over the right leg. Nese prevents him from diving and distracts the referee while Mr. A interferes. Nese takes control until Susumu hits an exploder. Yung is literally screaming at the top of her lungs at ringside. Susumu catches Nese up top with another exploder. He follows with a tornado DDT for a nearfall. Nese connects with a series of kicks and hits a german suplex. Susumu responds with multiple lariats. Nese hits his one-armed bucklebomb and connects with a running knee strike. He hits a pumphandle slam for a nearfall. Susumu once again beats him to the top rope. Nese fights off the exploder this time, lands a swantan, and follows with a 450 for the win at 13:53. While the interference from Mr. A and Su Yung’s presence were annoying early on, at least Nese was able to pick up a clean victory. These two didn’t click extraordinarily well and the crowd wasn’t into Susumu’s signature spots, but this match was fine for its place on the card and in giving Nese a much-needed clean win. **¾
Nese and Ricochet get into a confrontation after the match. Mr. A accidentally hits Nese as Ricochet escapes with a smile.
Match #7: Johnny Gargano vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
These two were supposed to wrestle for the title on the next show, but Chris Hero’s return to independent wrestling changed the cards. Gargano cuts a pre-match promo as Mochizuki waits patiently in the corner. Rich Swann comes out to shut Gargano up but Jon Davis attacks Swann. Hopefully we get some explanation regarding these random Davis attacks soon. Gargano doesn’t fare well in an early strike exchange. He connects with an enzuigiri but gets kicked to the floor. Mochizuki begins to work over the right leg. Gargano creates an opening with a dive to the floor. He rams Mochizuki back-first into the apron. Gargano takes over in the ring and targets the left shoulder. Mochizuki can’t lift Gargano for Twister but settles for a knee to the face. Mochizuki follows with more kicks but gets low-bridged to the floor. Gargano misses a plancha and lands on his bad leg. He reenters the ring with a slingshot spear. Mochizuki sets him in the corner and delivers a running kick to the midsection. Mochizuki follows with Twister for a nearfall. They exchange superkicks. After an elongated strike exchange, both men are down. Gargano connects with a corner dropkick and lawn darts Mochizuki into the turnbuckles. He transitions into the Gargano Escape. Mochizuki gets his foot across the bottom rope. Mochizuki connects with a roundhouse kick for a two count. Mochizuki follows with a Sankakugeri for the victory at 17:06. This seemed like a shorter version of the match they would’ve had in the main event of Freedom Fight. The action was extremely solid but the quiet crowd undoubtedly hurt the action down the stretch. My main problem is with Mochizuki winning the match. This has to cast definite doubt on Gargano’s title reign, as this match would have been a title bout had Chris Hero not been booked at the last minute. I hope that Mochizuki is able to return for a rematch as soon as possible. If he cannot, I seriously question why Mochizuki was the one to defeat Gargano in a non-title match. DGUSA and EVOLVE have been plagued by booking issues recently and we’ll see if there’s any follow-up here in the coming months. ***½
Match #8: Open the United Gate Titles: Matt and Nick Jackson © vs. Harlem and Lance Bravado
The Young Bucks try a pre-match attack to no avail. Lance hits a neckbreaker on Matt and catches Nick with an atomic drop. Harlem plants Nick with an ace crusher. Both teams brawl around ringside. Nick dropkicks Harlem while Matt has him trapped in a headscissors. The Young Bucks work over Harlem until he dropkicks Nick and tags out. Lance drop toe holds Nick into the middle turnbuckle and connects with a running knee strike. Harlem botches a dive to the floor onto Matt. Lance hits a powerbomb on Nick. The Young Bucks use their tandem offense to catch Lance off-guard and isolate him. The crowd seems to be getting behind the Young Bucks, making this heat segment really awkward. Lance hits a powerslam on Matt and makes the tag. Harlem bicycle kicks Matt and sends Nick into his brother with an exploder. Dueling chants from the crowd. Nick hits a slingshot facebuster on Harlem, who responds with a dive to the floor. In the ring, Harlem lands a top-rope splash onto Matt and transitions into an ankle lock. Nick superkicks Lance and all four men are down. Now the crowd is solidly behind the Young Bucks. Nick connects with a running knee strike on Lance and Matt adds a sliced bread. Harlem hits a slingshot stunner on Matt and Lance follows with a powerslam for a nearfall. The Bravados hit an enzuigiri-german suplex combination on Matt but he won’t stay down. Nick superkicks them during a Gentleman’s Agreement attempt. The Young Bucks take over with superkicks as the crowd comes alive. They hit a tandem tombstone on Lance for a two count. Matt powerbombs Harlem into an enzuigiri from Nick. More Bang for Your Buck goes awry. The Bravados hit the Gentleman’s Agreement on Matt to become the new Open the United Gate Champions at 15:13. The crowd is not pleased. This was painful to watch at times and that’s not because the action was bad. The Bravados have clearly worked hard to get to where they’re at in professional wrestling but I would agree with the crowd that they haven’t been built up nearly enough to dethrone the Young Bucks. The Bucks tried their hardest to get the crowd to hate them, but even that’s difficult when the only memorable moments of the match came from their fluid offense. In a world where you want title changes to be a big deal, this was a complete failure. ***
The Bravados try to say something after the match but the microphone is broken. They grant the Young Bucks a rematch anytime. The Bravados celebrate as the crowd boos them.
Overall: Fearless was moving along smoothly with quality wrestling and minimal booking frustrations until the main event. The Bravados’ title win was hard to watch, as the crowd rapidly turned on them as the match progressed. After watching the whole show and stepping back, Fearless certainly seemed like the first show of a double shot. The undercard matches that delivered really had no reason for happening and the only significant occurrence on the show (the title change) was a complete failure. While there are five matches here that crack three stars, after having watched Freedom Fight live, I can safely say you’re better off checking out that show instead. On its own, however, Fearless earns a slight recommendation but brace yourself for the main event.