Season Premiere

Season Premiere on February 1st, 2014


Pre-Show Match: Nate Knox vs. Ruff Crossing

They trade chops. Crossing avoids a charge and slams Knox out of the corner. Knox hits a chinbreaker but runs into a backbreaker. Crossing follows with a butterfly backbreaker and connects with a bicycle kick. Crossing hits a tombstone for the win at 3:14. This match wasn’t long enough to get an accurate idea of how talented Crossing is in the ring, but he looked solid based on this three-minute squash. *


Pre-Show Match: Bucky Collins vs. Chris Castro

Collins finds no success during a shoulder block battle, so he just trips Castro. Castro anticipates a charge and elevates Collins into a powerslam. He takes control until Collins fights back with a dropkick from the middle rope. Collins dodges a seated senton and connects with double knees. Castro fights off a tornado DDT and locks in a cross armbreaker for the victory at 5:29. The few DREAMWAVE shows that I’ve watched in the past year have clearly shown that Castro has improved greatly and I’m excited to see how he progresses in 2014. **


Opening Match: Arik Cannon and Darin Corbin vs. Lince Dorado and Rich Swann

The crowd uses yarn as streamers for Dorado. Swann and Dorado switch out to outlast Corbin in a criss-cross spot. Cannon has to enter the ring to talk some sense into his partner. Then, music plays as Swann and Corbin have a dance-off in the ring. Corbin holds his own but eats a dropkick. Dorado snaps off a hurricanrana on Cannon and connects with a basement dropkick. Cannon blindsides Swann with a lariat and ACDC isolate him. He is able to hurricanrana Cannon off the middle rope and make the tag. Dorado takes Cannon over with a headscissors and connects with a double handspring back elbow. He lands a flying crossbody onto Corbin. Dorado follows with a springboard reverse hurricanrana on Cannon. Corbin slows down Dorado with a lungblower. Swann hits a rolling splash on Corbin. Cannon superkicks Swann and hits Total Anarchy. All four men are down. Dorado snaps off a springboard hurricanrana on Cannon. Swann tries to follow with a frog splash but Corbin hits the Ginger Snap in midair for the win at 12:08. Despite some moments of miscommunication down the stretch, this was certainly what you want out of the opener on a huge show. The early comedy worked very well and the finish itself was an awesome visual. I’m surprised that Cannon and Corbin are not utilized as team in more promotions. A good showing for both teams. ***

Dan the Man comes out for his match but Waylon attacks him during his entrance. Waylon duct tapes him to the ropes and attacks him with a cattle prodder. Waylon says that Dan the Man prevented him from winning the Good as Gold briefcase. Jay Repsel interrupts and asks Waylon what he wants. Waylon says he wants Dan the Man’s blood on his hands. Repsel books them in a First Blood match at Anniversary. Staff members rush the ring to attend to Dan the Man.


Match #2: Matt Cage vs. Mallaki Matthews

Matthews connects with a shotgun dropkick at the opening bell. He follows with a sliding forearm and a sliding dropkick. A distraction by Chris Castro allows Cage to connect with a dropkick through the ropes. He sends Matthews into the ringpost and lays him out with a running dropkick on the floor. Cage takes control in the ring until Matthews fights back with a european uppercut. Matthews escapes the Money Clip and connects with a springboard gamengiri. Cage responds with a leaping russian leg sweep and locks in Money Never Sleeps. Matthews escapes the hold and hits a lightning spiral variant. Castro jumps on the apron once again. Matthews doesn’t let the interference affect him. Cage is still able to hit the Money Clip for a nearfall. Matthews attempts a springboard maneuver but Cage counters with the Money Shot for the victory at 7:32. Cage was doing almost all of the work here, as Matthews did not look comfortable in the ring and wasn’t fluid. At the end of the day, this match was pretty harmless as it was clearly being used to give Cage more momentum. **

Jay Repsel comes out after the match to confront Cage. Cage says that while he’s the highest paid talent on the DREAMWAVE roster, he’s treated like garbage. Repsel books Cage in a match against Prince Ali at Anniversary.


Match #3: DREAMWAVE Alternative Title: Reed Bentley © vs. Marshe Rockett

Bentley won the title at The Fight Before Christmas on 12/7/13 and this is his first defense. Rockett snaps off a few armdrags and connects with a dropkick. Bentley connects with a nice slingshot double stomp on the apron. They brawl up the aisle and into the crowd. Rockett throws Bentley over the ring steps. They battle on the apron and Bentley gets crotched on the top rope. Rockett lands a flying crossbody in the ring. A distraction by Angelus Layne allows Bentley to take over with a cheap shot. Rockett creates an opening with a powerslam but Bentley cuts him off with a senton. Rockett blocks a charge and hits a bulldog. Bentley responds with an inverted DDT for a nearfall. Rockett connects with a leg-liner and hits a DDT. Layne enters the ring and saves Bentley from an M80. Bentley connects with a forearm to retain his title at 11:19. Lame finish to a match that was moving along well. Layne waited forever to finally take the M80 from Rockett and the interference was tiring after Castro became involved at multiple points in the previous contest. Unfortunately, they were not able to top their match from last month. **½


Match #4: Nick Brubaker vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano connects with a cheap shot after teasing a handshake. Brubaker answers with a series of strikes. Gargano enzuigiris Brubaker off the apron and hits a slingshot spear in the ring. Gargano takes control and even does some commentary. Brubaker escapes a lawn dart and comes back with a spinebuster. He connects with an enzuigiri but Gargano quickly responds with one of his own. Gargano hits a slingshot DDT for a nearfall. They exchange forearms and Gargano connects with a superkick. Brubaker hits an exploder but Gargano lays in another superkick. Brubaker shrugs it off and hits a michinoku driver for a two count. They tease finishers and Gargano lawn darts Brubaker into the turnbuckles. He applies the Gargano Escape but Brubaker is able to reach the bottom rope. They trade strikes on the apron. Gargano connects with a superkick. In the ring, Brubaker blocks a slingshot spear and hits the Overdriver for a nearfall. They battle up top and Brubaker hits a super Overdriver. When they land, both men’s shoulders are down and the match is ruled a draw at 14:26. Gargano denies the crowd five more minutes. Considering that Gargano did not lose this match, it seems as though DREAMWAVE has big plans for him and that’s certainly a good thing. Especially as a heel, Gargano is the type of character that the DREAMWAVE crowds will really get invested in booing. These two had great chemistry and the only thing holding this match back was a decent finish. Brubaker typically has good matches with capable opponents and this was no different. ***¼


Match #5: DREAMWAVE Tag Team Titles: No Disqualification: Alex Castle and Markus Crane © vs. Brett Gakiya and CJ Esparza vs. Ariya Daivari and Vic Capri vs. Matt Knicks and Tyler Priegel

Helter Skelter won the titles at No Escape on 10/5/13 and this is their second defense. Zero Gravity utilize some tandem offense on Capri early on. Capri hits a spinebuster on Esparza, who fights back with an enzuigiri on Daivari. Crane starts using low blows on everyone to stand tall in the ring. Priegel brings a dodgeball into the ring but accidentally throws it at Knicks. Castle hits a full nelson slam on Esparza. Sports Entertainment hit an enzuigiri-exploder combination on Castle. Everyone starts trading offense as a garbage can finds its way into the ring. Knicks starts to use a chair before Gakiya kicks it into his face. Zero Gravity hit the Flippy Cup on Knicks for a nearfall. Foreign Affairs hit a double team lungblower on Gakiya. Knicks lands a dive to the floor. Gakiya follows out with a springboard moonsault and Esparza adds a springboard senton. Even Capri lands a dive. Helter Skelter plant Esparza with a DDT on the apron for a nearfall. Helter Skelter follows with Revolution #9 on Capri to retain their titles at 8:38. This match felt extremely rushed, especially with four capable and unique teams. The stipulation never really came into play either aside from Crane humorously low blowing everyone and a few weapon spots. Still, the action was very good for the time given and the tag team division seems fresh right now. **½

Arik Cannon and Darin Corbin attack Helter Skelter after the match and announce that they’re coming after the titles.


Match #6: Michael Elgin vs. Shane Hollister

Elgin is making his debut in DREAMWAVE. Hollister tries to fool him during a shoulder block battle but falls victim to a powerslam for his troubles. Elgin hits a forty-five second delayed vertical suplex. Hollister low-bridges Elgin to the floor but a dive attempt is blocked. They battle on the apron. Hollister reenters the ring to hit a springboard DDT onto the apron. He takes control in the ring until Elgin creates an opening with an enzuigiri. Both men are down. Elgin connects with repeated lariats and hits a swinging side slam. He transitions into a crossface but Hollister is able to get his foot across the bottom rope. Hollister connects with a basement superkick and goes up top. Elgin dropkicks him to the apron and german suplexes him back into the ring. Elgin follows with a second german suplex for a nearfall. Hollister kicks away a lariat and connects with a superkick. Elgin answers with a lariat for a two count. Hollister hurricanranas out of a bucklebomb and connects with a flying double stomp. Elgin traps him in another crossface. Hollister escapes but eats a backfist. Elgin hits a bucklebomb and a spinning powerbomb for the win at 15:32. Elgin received a chance to run through all of his signature offense to introduce himself to the crowd and Hollister was an effective foil for him. These two have had notable matches against each other in AAW, so it’s no surprise this contest turned out well. Along with Gargano, Elgin potentially making frequent appearances for DREAMWAVE really gets me excited for this season. ***¼


Match #7: Dan Lawrence vs. Maxwell Chicago

Chicago sneaks in a stomp to the foot and Lawrence answers with a dropkick. Lawrence monkey flips Chicago across the ring. Chicago tries to do the same but Lawrence lands on his feet and connects with a basement dropkick. Chicago finally generates some offense with a neckbreaker but gets too afraid to try a dive. He calls for a figure four but can’t discern how to perform the hold. When he finally figures it out, Lawrence immediately reverses the pressure. They exchange strikes as the crowd starts losing interest. Chicago gets crotched on the top rope. He recovers with a backbreaker-flatliner combination. Lawrence fights off another high-risk maneuver attempt and hits a seated senton for the victory at 9:49. That was a massive failure. Chicago just could not get the crowd (who is typically willing to play along with comedy) to care about his antics. Lawrence did his best, but there was very little that he could do to salvage this one. The difference between Chicago and someone like Colt Cabana is that Cabana can change gears if the comedy is not working. Chicago is all-in on the comedy and it simply did not click with the crowd. ½*


Match #8: DREAMWAVE World Title: Christian Rose © vs. AJ Styles

Both men give each other clean breaks. Rose hangs onto a side headlock and shows that he has Styles’ offense scouted. They wrestle to a stalemate. Styles finds an opening to connect with a dropkick and connects with another one through the ropes. He hits a backbreaker and takes over. Rose trips him on the apron and gains control. Styles comes back with a pele kick and connects with a high roundhouse kick. He adds a springboard forearm smash and hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Rose hits a falcon arrow. Styles counters Ride the Lightning with a dragon screw leg whip but runs into a double stomp out of the corner. Both men are down. Styles synchs in a horse collar stretch but Rose is able to reach the bottom rope. They battle up top and Styles gets knocked to the floor. Rose takes him out with a flipping senton from the top rope. In the ring, Styles wakes up with a huge lariat and hits the Styles Clash for a nearfall. Rose avoids a charge and connects with a northern lariat. Rose hits Ride the Lightning for a two count. He locks in a boston crab but Michael Elgin runs into the ring and attacks Rose, drawing the no contest at 23:03. I wasn’t sure how well these two would work together but I thought they had very good chemistry in the ring. Rose tried his best to keep Styles grounded but he was also willing to throw bombs with Styles down the stretch. Rose is such a unique wrestler and bringing in Styles was an excellent way to do something different with his title reign. Obviously the finish is not ideal but I think this kind of finish was expected given the circumstances. That certainly doesn’t excuse it from hurting the match, but I still enjoyed this main event nonetheless. ***½

Elgin lays out Rose with a backfist, hits a bucklebomb, and finishes with a spinning powerbomb. Elgin backfists the referee but he flees the ring before Styles can make the save. JC Costilli holds Elgin back and it’s clear that Costilli has hired Elgin to target Rose.


Overall
: Season Premiere is typically utilized to set the pace for the entire season in DREAMWAVE and if this year’s edition is any indication, 2014 will be quite the year for the promotion. Johnny Gargano and Michael Elgin both made their debut on this show with strong matches and both men look to play a significant role in DREAMWAVE moving forward. Season Premiere was also bookended by worthwhile matches, with a fun opener and another solid title defense for Rose in the main event. While there were some causes for concern like the sheer amount of non-clean finishes and Maxwell Chicago’s failed comedy match, I think the general direction of DREAMWAVE moving forward this year looks great and there was enough solid wrestling on this show to earn a recommendation.

Make sure to check out DREAMWAVE’s website and watch them on Smart Mark Video On Demand

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