Perry’s Perspective: DREAMWAVE Season Premiere 2016

Date: January 2, 2016
Location: LaSelle, IL

I have heard of DREAMWAVE before but have never seen one of their shows, however there were two matches on this card that intrigued me so I figured I would give them a go. I recognize and am at least somewhat familiar with at least half of the talent here, so it should be an interesting show.

The night started out the ring announcer who introduced Ric Flair who didn’t really say anything of note.

DREAMWAVE Tag Team Title: Team Overkill © vs Johnny Gargano & Tommas Ciampa
This was one of the two matches that piqued my interest to give this company a go. I am a big fan of Gagano, Ciampa and Cage (who may be one of the most overlooked indy talents currently). I do not believe I have ever seen Matt Cage’s Overkill partner, Christian Rose before but I will have two opportunities tonight as later on he also defends the DREAMWAVE World Title. These four started out fast and furious, and that never really stopped. Like many indy (especially tag team) matches there were a lot of superkicks thrown here. Rose would eventually win it for his team with a rollup on Ciampa. Fun match that set a really strong pace and kept it going throughout. I didn’t really see enough of Rose to form an opinion off this one.

Team Overkill by pinfall @ 10:24 (***¼)

DREAMWAVE Tag Team Title: Team Overkill © vs Spears & Beers :
After the last match Mike Hartenbower came to the ring with a gold briefcase and is cashed in a title shot, so we have a second Tag Team title match. I immediately love Mike Hartenbower an Waylon as their name is awesome! Rose never got into the match as Spears & Beers took down Cage for the win. Commentary makes a really big deal out of the win and how Spears & Beers did it for all of DREAMWAVE. After the match Cage breaks up with Rose.

Team Spears & Beers by pinfall @1:24 (NR)

DREAMWAVE Alternative Title Four Way Match: AR Fox (c) vs Chris Castro vs DJ Z vs Heidi Lovelace:
That is a very interesting name for your secondary belt. I know all the talents here quite well with the exception of Castro, whom I have never seen before. The match followed the one-on-one with the other 2 competitors on the outside formula. Z had the pinfall on Lovelace but pulled her up at one point and continued to beat on her. Towards the later parts of the match all four became more involved and hit a series of moves on each other. Fox won with the 450 onto DJ Z. This match was really just a mess of moves and I could not get into it at all, which I guess shouldn’t be a huge surprise as the only competitor I am really a fan of is DJ Z.

AR Fox by pinfall @ 10:28 (*½)

JT Dunn vs Shynron:
Here is the other match that had my interest level raised enough to check out the show. I have enjoyed Shynron and JT Dunn’s work in Beyond Wrestling. Dunn looked good throughout the match hitting a variety of elbows and strikes. This match, much like the first 3, was going at a non-stop pace throughout. The only issue with a match like that is that they are not telling too much of a story, just a lot of cool looking movies. Shynron did not get a lot of his typical high flying offense here. Dunn eventually locked in a choke and won by TKO. Enjoyable match but a let down in the sense that it was one of the matches I was looking forward to.

JT Dunn by TKO @ 8:06 (**1/4)

Donovan Danhausen & Ruff Crossing vs. Stephen Wolf & Vic Capri:
Vic Capri originally came to the ring and was cutting a promo, but the footage cut out and we got the entrances of Danhausen & Crossing who began a beatdown on Capri. Wolf ran in for the save and we had a match. I have heard of Capri, possibly seen him before, but have not heard of the other three. Wolf placed the face in peril very nicely throughout the match, taking a nice beatdown from both opponents. The beatdown proved to be too much for Wolf though as he took the pin. Very average, run of the mill tag team match.

Donovan Danhausen & Ruff Crossing by pinfall @ 7:53 (**)

Street Fight: Arik Cannon vs Daron Corbin:
It has been a long time since I last saw Arik Cannon, probably around 2012 in AAW to be exact. I know I have seen Corbin a few times as well but can’t say he left a lasting impression. Cannon looks to be in a little better shape than the last time I saw him. This is being billed as a huge grudge match of two former tag team partners. Cannon has joined Deep Six, which is led by Rose and it’s starting to sound like half the roster is a member of. These two wasted little time taking their come as you are street fight to the outside of the ring. Commentary really did a lot of talking about how evil Deep Six is in this match, almost enough to intrigue me about them. Corbin would miss a spear and eat a chair, allowing Cannon to get the fall. This was a fun match between two guys that really portrayed hatred for each other. Both guys put it all out there and had a really fun brawl.

Arik Cannon by pinfall @ 11:32 (***)

Brubaker vs Prince Mustafa Ali:
Ali is the younger brother of Shawn Daivari. I heard Ali on Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast not long ago and he came across very well, I have also heard a lot of people sing his praise. Ali has some heavy shoulder tappage going on, think Sonjay Dutt from back in the TNA days. Ali has apparently appeared on all 93 DREAMWAVE shows, that is a very impressive feat! Brubaker is yet another member of Deep Six, I think only Dunn/Shynron had no members of the faction in their match. These are two young guys who worked extremely hard and both caught my interest. I can’t imagine Ali was at 100 percent with his shoulder in that contraption so good on him for his work. Brubaker would win the contest after a distraction from a female member of Deep Six, along with a leverage pin. This was a good match with two young, hungry guys. I would not mind seeing more from either man down the line. The last 2 matches have really picked the show up.

Brubaker by pinfall @ 14:21 (***¼)

Three Way Match: Dick Justice vs Shockwave the Robot vs Space Monkey:
I had not seen Justice in AAW in a while, and I was hoping that meant I would never have to again. I really have no words for Space Monkey or Shockwave. One is wearing a monkey costume with a space helmet on, the other has a kick ass robot entrance. Shockwave even looks like a robot once he gets into his wrestling gear and honestly I am quite fascinated. Also, Space Monkey has a tail. The tail was the primary target for a lot of offense during the match. Shockwave used a banana to beat up space monkey. The match saw its end when Justice shot shockwave with a water gun in the head. I enjoy a good comedy match, but this lasted too long for me. For some reason there was also no commentary on the match. Shave off a few minutes and this would have been a more enjoyable match.

Dick Justice by pinfall @ 12:36 (½*)

Battle Royal: Helter-Skelter vs SWAG TEAM vs Seduce & Destroy :
I was able to identify 7 of the 9 men: Alex Castle, Connor Braxton, Harvey Bower, JJ Garrett, Kody Rice, Mallaki Matthews & Markus Crane. Braxton entered on one of those hoverboard things that were so popular at Christmas time. He does some tricks with it in the ring before he and teammates are attached. This match is a three team battle royal, when one man is eliminated his whole team does not go. The winner of this match gets to make a stipulation for a match of their choosing at the next show. Braxton performed a big swing while on the hover board. Braxton was tossed but landed on the hoverboard so was not eliminated. Kody Rice would win the match and douse himself in baby oil to celebrate. Battle royals are typically average at best, but this was an indy battle royal and they are usually terrible. That was the case here.

Kody Rice @ 9:34 (¾*)

DREAMWAVE World Title Dog Collar Match: Christian Rose (c) vs Marshe
Rockett:
This is of course the third match of the night for Rose, and he is showing signs of fatigue before the match begins. The match can only be won by touching all four corners, no pinfalls or submissions. There was a lot of brawling around ringside before they attempted to start hitting the turnbuckles. This match lacked the big heat of hatred that I would expect from two men booked in a dog collar match for the biggest title in the company. The match ended with a superkick (of course) from Rockett that sent Rose into the final corner that he needed to touch. Big brawl to end the show by the DREAMWAVE roster and the members of Deep Six.

Christian Rose @ 10:58 (**)

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The final score: review Bad

The 411

This show clocked in at just over two hours, but it felt much longer. I enjoyed three matches and really disliked 3 others, with the rest just kind of being there. I can't say I am too happy with my first DREAMWAVE experience and am not sure I will be back for another dose anytime soon. I did enjoy my introduction to Brubaker & Prince Mustafa Ali. Looking at the card for their February show makes me wonder if I should have waited till then to check these guys out as the card looks pretty good. I might check that one out if the opportunity arises, but I won't be going out of my way for it like I did this show.