Per usual, Matt Lott is in the studio, recapping last episode’s show. Tonight Wheeler Yuta will make his first defense of the White Belt, as he takes on Corey Hollis.
Wheeler Yuta talks about how everyone so far has won one match, but then lost the belt. He sees the formula as an advantage to him, because everyone will count him out, which allows him to steal the victory (like he did last episode). Yuta doesn’t know a lot about Corey Hollis… Corey Hollis has worked in “every major promotion in the US”, and he worked for ROH last year. The only person that knows Corey Hollis is himself. Hollis was trained by AJ Styles, and was Styles last opponent on the indies. This is his time, and if Hollis can’t do it now, then he’s finished. Wheeler Yuta didn’t come here to win a White Belt, he came here to win the Black Belt. Corey Hollis doesn’t know Wheeler Yuta, so if he has to stab him in the heart, he will, because it’s all about Corey Hollis making a name for himself.
Dojo Pro White Belt: Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Corey Hollis
This was a fine match, but maybe the weakest we’ve had so far. Corey Hollis played his heel role well, running away at the start of the match, almost hitting the referee, and just doing everything to the dismay of the fans. The match got quite a bit of time, but it wasn’t on the level of the others we had. Corey Hollis had that great little spot where he put Yuta’s arm inside the turnbuckle, which is something I’ve never seen before. The rope break spot was poorly executed in my mind, as the referee only counted to one before noticing Hollis’s foot in the ropes. Yuta hit his big elbow drop, but they decided to waste it on that rope break. Anyways, Yuta continued to play the babyface role well, and did a fine job of selling his arm when he locked in the submission. Yuta now has two finishing maneuvers locked in as he becomes the first wrestler to successfully defend the white belt.
Winner: Wheeler Yuta
Match Rating: **3/4
Rob Johnston is in the ring, and Yuta mentions that he is the first person to successfully defend the white belt, and he couldn’t be happier. Yuta says that Corey Hollis came in with a game plan, and wanted to tear apart Yuta’s arm, but it wasn’t enough. I really hope they continue selling the arm in the next episode, as selling over time is something that just doens’t get done enough in tournaments. Anyways, Yuta got a “All the way” chant to close the show as he posed with his White Belt.
Final Thoughts:
A little bit of a weaker show this week. The in ring action wasn’t as good as past weeks, but it still was a good match. Hollis played the heel role well, and Yuta gets to continue rolling with his underdog story. Next episode we get Joey Janela challenging Wheeler Yuta, which should be a fantastic match. The show continued it’s four part formula: studio, video package, match, post match interview, and clocked in at 25 minutes this week. Coming in I expected some sort of angle to close the show, but the match got a little more time, which I was pleased with. Nothing wrong with this episode, however I believe it was the weakest so far.
Final Rating: 6.6/10
If you would like to watch Dojo Pro, you can purchase Season 1 for $19.99 here or watch it for FREE with your Amazon Prime membership.