Destiny World Wrestling Jan 21, 2018 Carnage 2018
Submitted by Marcus Dodd
Destiny Wrestling started off the year with high expectations. Owner George Menezes promised that for the first time ever a WWE champion would square off against an Impact champion, and “The Iceman” made good on his promise. WWE United Kingdom Champion, Pete Dunn went toe to toe with Impact World Champion Austin Aries in the main event of Destiny World Wrestling: Carnage, in a match for Dunn’s Destiny World Championship. It was an amazing night of action with surprises and astonishing matches galore.
The opening match, and a huge selling point to the event was a match being taped for Impact, Matt Sydal vs Petey Williams. The current Impact Grand Champion was in top form, as was Petey Williams, who had his first match on Impact in over 8 years. The Toronto crowd was understandably eager to see Petey’s Canadian Destroyer finishing move, but were denied after Sydal scored the pinfall. Both Williams and Sydal showed off impressive and flashy maneuvers, with Sydal utilizing several martial arts style kicks that Petey sold stunningly. After the match, Sydal declared that he would be challenging X Division Champion, Taiji Ishimori, a match which took place at the Impact tapings in Orlando on January 12th. Sydal is the current X Division Champion, although he did not carry the belt with him, due to the match having not aired on TV yet.
The next match was an open challenge match, with former PWG Tag Team Champion, Josh Alexander inviting anyone in the back to face him in the ring. The challenge was answered by former ROH Champion, Michael Elgin. This match was hard hitting, and was easily the best match of the night, an impressive feat, as this was a stacked card. Alexander and Elgin fought for over 20 minutes; trading impressive and hard hitting blows. The match was so gruelling, at many times it seemed like either man could collapse in exhaustion, a testament to the great selling done by both competitors. Chants of “Fight Forever” ran through the Don Kolov arena. Elgin often seems to have long, drawn out matches that don’t necessarily need as much time as he takes. Many times I find myself thinking that his match could have been done more effectively if the storytelling was a bit more condensed, but this was something entirely different. This match needed every second of action, and delivered an incredibly high work-rate. Bringing in Elgin was, I’m sure, a controversial choice. Without getting into the specifics of the controversy surrounding Elgin, it should be noted that he had previously been pulled from another Toronto promotion, SMASH, after the details of his situation were made public. It’s also worth noting that Destiny had previously cancelled a booking from Alberto El Patron, after an airport altercation with then-fiancée Paige in August. This seems to be a judgment call, and looking at it strictly from a wrestling perspective it seems to be the right one, as the match these two put on was nothing short of spectacular.
The third match saw the curtain call for one of Toronto’s best kept secrets, RJ City. RJ, who has been seen in such shows as Splatalot and Murdoch Mysteries, and films like Monster Brawl, is rumoured to have signed with Impact, and has had several appearances with the company already. On Sunday he wrestled former partner “The Adventure” Stone Rockwell, with former manager, Scott D’amore as the guest referee. RJ is known for snarky comments, and over the top showmanship, as well as his CBC web series “The Cynical Crafter”. It won’t be long before you’ll be able to see him on television alongside his Bea-Arthur kneepad, Knee Arthur.
Another featured match was Santino Marella’s “Cobra Cup” a 20 man, over the top rope challenge. The match was also promoted as having a mystery guest, who was revealed to be none other than former Smackdown-Live superstar, James Ellsworth, appearing in his first match outside of WWE. The Cobra Cup, presented by Mississauga native, and owner of the Don Kolov arena, Santino Marella, granted Ellsworth the chance to challenge for the Destiny World Championship whenever he wanted, and without spoiling anything, let’s just say he didn’t wait long to stake his claim. After the match Ellsworth began by thanking the fans, but quickly turned on them, bragging about how he used them to make money in the big leagues. Ellsworth’s heel moment was exactly what it needed to be, manipulative and impactful, as well as memorable.
The fifth match of the night was a women’s match, pitting Gisele Shaw against Maria Manic, with both women making their debut with the company. Manic is in formidable shape, and her technique is impressive. Shaw also dazzled from the moment she arrived in a light up fur coat. Shaw showed off some impressive submission techniques, as well as striking ability, but the highlight of the match came when Manic power bombed her way out of an arm submission using only one arm. After winning, Manic shook hands with Shaw, and then slugged her across the face, to a chorus of boo’s.
The main event was nothing short of spectacular, a true clinic of impressive holds and techniques. It was billed as “The first and probably last” time that a WWE Champion would face an Impact Champion, a monumental feat, to say the least. Dunn took every opportunity to work over Aries’ hand, in an attempt to weaken his strikes. Aries, likewise stayed dominant with aggressive and increasingly desperate strikes and submissions. Several false-finishes were used masterfully, including one where both men’s shoulders were on the mat during the pinfall, resulting in the match being restarted. The show came to a conclusion when James Ellsworth interfered, attempting a pinfall on Aries, which Aries kicked out of. Distraught, Ellsworth attempted a pinfall on Dunn, only to be attacked by both men, and ultimately pinned by the reigning champion, Pete Dunn.
Overall Destiny produced one of their best shows yet, full of welcome surprises, dream matches, and notable star power. Destiny Wrestling can be found on twitter at @DestinyWrestle, on Facebook at Destiny Wrestling, and online at http://www.destinyworldwrestling.com/
Marcus Dodd can be found on twitter at @Ultramarcusaway