411’s WSXtra Report: Season 1, Episode 2

The Lovely Lacey and random man open the show, putting over Vampiro’s WSX Title win on the main show and introducing us to some highlights from the match. I won’t do a full review since you can find that elsewhere on the site, but I have to say that these two guys worked their asses off in order to make this something special and different. I was also a big fan of the finish in which you couldn’t tell exactly who won until the referee pulled Vampiro out of the coffin and raised his hand.

Johnny Webb, manager of the Trailer Park Boys, is interviewed, and he’s not happy with how his team was portrayed on the main show. Apparently not all Southerners are white trash, and he wants to use their match against D.I.F.H. to prove that fact.

Match Numero Uno: D.I.F.H. vs. The Trailer Park Boys w/ “White Trash” Johnny Webb

I’ll briefly introduce the players for those of you who might not be familiar with their indy work: Jimmy Jacobs is a young man from the great state of Michigan who has bounced around the indies since the early part of the century, primarily making a name for himself in IWA Mid-South before really breaking through in Ring of Honor. He currently does an “emo” gimmick in ROH, where he is perpetually p-whipped by Lacey, which has resulted in some great music videos. He and Lacey aren’t involved in WSX storylines, though he’s gained a tag team partner, namely Tyler Black. Black is an up and comer with IWA MS, and he’s also been given the emo gimmick now that he’s teaming with Jimmy. The Trailer Park Boys are CZW regular Nate Webb and midwestern indy worker Josh Abercrombie (renamed Josh “Jug” Raymond) playing inbred hicks. They’re managed by “White Trash” Johnny Webb, a former XPW wrestler who is in no way related to Nate.

Black starts with Jug and gets some forearms in the corner before getting taken down with a couple of armdrags. Black fires back with more forearms, though a clothesline misses and leaves Tyler open for a springboard clothesline from Webb. That gets two, and Webb adds the nice touch of tagging himself in officially before going for the cover. A spinning heel kick gets another nearfall for Webb, and now it’s time for some double teaming. The Trailer Park Boys take turns hitting avalanche type moves in the corner on Black, including a sick swinging kick from Raymond. There’s a cover after that move, but Jacobs saves and immediately launches himself in to a pescado on Nate Webb. Josh hits a tope of his own, and then Nate heads up for a moonsault to the floor. Black cuts it off and then hits a SICK no hands backflip over the top rope and down on to everybody. For those of you who have not seen Black before, he’s a rather large man to be performing a move like that. Tyler manages to throw Josh back in to the ring, though he can’t put him away. There’s the tag to Jacobs, and the ROH standout applies the camel clutch. Black takes that opportunity to dropkick Josh in the face, and Jacobs applies CATTLE MUTILATION~! Black hits a standing shooting star press on Jug while he’s in the hold, and more punishment is dished out by the emo boys. Jimmy gets another nearfall when Black throws him in to a spear, though Jug finally shows some life with a springboard kick. That sets up a hot tag, and Webb unloads on Black with a series of kicks and a wacky looking flatliner variation. Tyler tries to respond with what looks like it’ll be a Kryptonite Krunch, but Webb reverses and hits a DDT for three.

Match Thoughts: This match was similar in a lot of ways to the Human Tornado vs. Luke Hawx vs. Puma match from last week’s WSXtra. It was heavy on the highspots, but everything was done in such a way that appeared realistic that the big moves could be following one right after the other. D.I.F.H was particularly impressive, as I’d never seen Black before and couldn’t believe some of the things that he was doing at his size. (Though the fact that he’s been standing next to Jacobs could make him appear much larger than he actually is.) I’m also a huge mark for unique double team moves, and the Cattle Mutilation/standing shooting star press spot was something that I had never seen before. My only gripe with the contest is that the moves Nate Webb was trying to execute at the end of the match were so complex and contrived that I couldn’t even tell what he was going for until about fifteen seconds after he’d hit it. If it’s confusing for somebody who watches as much wrestling as I do, I can’t imagine what it would look like for a new fan. However, I’m usually a pretty big fan of Webb’s work, and I was a fan of this match otherwise. *1/2

Match Numero Dos: Matt Classic vs. Matt Sydal w/ Lizzy Valentine

More introductions: A lot of folks will remember Sydal from last week’s show, but, just for the record, he’s a young man out of the St. Louis indy scene that has recently made waves both in Ring of Honor and to a lesser extent internationally in Dragon Gate. Matt Classic is ROH’s Colt Cabana in a mask, playing a character who has essentially fallen out of wrestling’s past and in to its future.

Classic does some 1950’s callisthenics in the ring to warm up, and it’s a thing of beauty. He goes behind his opponent to start and tosses Sydal down to the canvas. A shoulderblock also connects from Mr. Classic, though Sydal responds with an enzuguri. He walks in to a back elbow but quickly recovers and hits a leg lariat for the first nearfall of the match. After the pinfall, Classic applies the STOMACH CLAW~!, though Sydal quickly reverses and charges in to the corner. Classic tosses him to the apron, grabs him by the nose, and pulls him up to the top rope. It looks like Sydal is going to take the Flair bump off the top, but he turns it in to a rana on Classic. Colt also eats a swinging kick in the corner, though he’s caught in the trapezeus claw not long thereafter. Sydal slips out and between Classic’s legs, popping up and getting a quick victory roll for two. Classic takes a breather and goes after Lizzy Valentine, which distracts Sydal long enough for the old school grappler to regain the advantage. He briefly applies the claw to the head and looks for the Polish hammer, but Sydal fires back with the dragonrana and the shooting star press to get the win.

Match Thoughts: Matt Classic may be one of the most amusing gimmicks that I have seen in years. It would be funny anywhere, but it’s particularly amusing in our highspot-centric MTV-owned promotion. Plus, it’s Cabana, and he’s got the brains and athletic ability to make something different like this work in the otherwise fast paced world of WSX. This ability was on full display against Sydal, as Cabana new where to pick his spots and make the otherwise hokey offense look like it could actually be having as much effect as Sydal’s new wave flippy-dos. The bout was a little bit shorter than I would have expected, though I guess if they let something with Classic run too long, they run the risk of having the gimmick burn itself out prematurely. On the other side of the ring, Sydal did just about everything correctly, flawlessly executing his moves and selling well for the larger man. *

It’s back to Lacey and generic guy, as they recap the relationship between “Rock Superstar” Kaos and Aaron Aguilera (formerly Jesus of WWE fame). After episode one, Kaos was annoyed with Aguilera because Aaron didn’t save him from being eliminated from the WSX Rumble by Luke Hawx and Al Katrazz. During episode two, there was a similar result, as Augilera was distracted by attractive women during a brawl between the two teams. Now we’re shown a backstage confrontation between Kaos and Augilera. Obviously there are hard feelings between the two men, but Aaron decides that the best way to smooth it over will be to have a TLC match against Hawx and Katrazz next week. Lacey hypes up that one, as well as a match between the Trailer Park Boys and the Filth and the Fury, for next week’s show.

The Trailer Park Boys have an incomprehensible meeting with the Academy Award Winning Three Six Mafia to close the show, and we’re out of here until next week.

Overall

This was another fun episode of WSXtra. The two matches were both entertaining for quick bouts, and they continued to introduce new characters (D.I.F.H., Matt Classic) in a way that quickly yet definitively established who’s who in the company. I’m also loving the interaction between WSXtra and the main show, as Xtra furthers the angles for the primary program, though it’s all done in such a way that you can still understand what’s happening on the main show if you don’t tune in to the webcast. After having to watch a program like TNA Impact every week, it’s refreshing to tune in to this product and be reminded that there are still people in the world who are aware of how to effectively book a wrestling promotion.