wrestling / TV Reports
Hamilton’s VxS Wrestling No Justice, No Peace 08.16.20 Review: Brian Cage vs. JTG
Image Credit: AEW
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Brian Cage pinned JTG in 10:50 (***)
Calvin Tankman pinned Homicide in 15:50 (**½)
Aaron Bradley submitted The Meadowlands Monster in 6:10 (**)
Alex Zayne pinned Eli Everfly & Facade in 9:50 (***)
Nolo Kitano pinned TJ Crawford, Blake Christian, Chris Barton, Everett Cross & Sebastian Cage in 7:10 (**¾)
Sin Cuerda Ultraviolento Match: Alex Ocean pinned Jeff King in 8:15 (**)
Myron Reed pinned Jordan Oliver in 15:00 (***¼)
Jimmy Lloyd pinned AR Fox in 13:30 (***)
This was a bit of a weird show going in – the original main event of Tony Deppen vs. Jonathan Gresham was cancelled, presumably due to Ring of Honor resuming operations… so in his place came Davey Boy Smith. Except issues on show day – part inclement weather, part law enforcement – forced them to change locations twice, eventually ending up indoors. As for the set-up, well, think “Raw Underground” but with better lights, as VxS went with a low ring with no ropes. Emil Jay and Nick Gage are on the call…
Brian Cage vs. JTG
Well this is a wacky entrance – everyone’s entering through the car park and in through the front door. We got going with a simple waistlock, as JTG looked to take control… but Cage shoves away a headlock before he was caught with a dropkick. Cage returns with a clothesline, then a bodyslam before he missed a short elbow drop.
Cage comes back in on the arm, wringing it before snapmaring JTG to the mat, as an overhead wristlock keeps the former WWE tag champion on the deck. JTG fights free with a jawbreaker, before a knee slide took him to a headbutt to the balls before a Slingblade caught Cage unawares. Another neckbreaker follows for a near-fall, before they head outside. Cage whips JTG into the VxS banner that’d been taped to the wall, which created enough of an impact for a ceiling tile to come out… and break itself in two over JTG’s head. Cage disappears for something more substantial: a door. It’s propped up against the no-rope, lowered ring, but JTG’s attempt at a piledriver through it is aborted as he ends up getting slammed through the door.
Back inside, Cage only gets a one-count from that, before a stalling suplex drew a two-count. JTG fights back from the bottom, but he’s snuffed out as Cage muscled him up for a fallaway slam that keeps the momentum going. A battle of ripcord lariats came to nought as JTG gets free to land some clotheslines of his own ahead of a pop-up neckbreaker that nearly gets the win. A second swinging neckbreaker keeps JTG ahead, but Cage is back with a sitout Alabama Slam that turns it all around.
Cage keeps going with a superkick for a near-fall, before a ripcord forearm looked to stagger JTG… he’s back with what looked like a swinging side slam, but they lost it. Instead, JTG goes outside for a steel chair from a shopping trolley, but he just runs into a F5 as Cage almost wins again… Cage uses the chair on JTG’s ribs and back, then dumped him onto the chair with an F5 for the win. This was fine for what it was – but the rather different setting is going to cause a lot of problems further down the card. ***
Post-match, JTG got “please come back” chants – I mean, I was shocked that he could still go. Unfortunately, the mic he had could not… he called out Cody Rhodes, and I’d be very interested to see if that leads anywhere.
Calvin Tankman vs. Homicide
Well this is certainly a generational clash… Homicide spent the pre-match wandering around ringside looking for something.
We start with the pair scrambling to the mat as Tankman looked for an early pin, but Homicide stays at close quarters as he worked a key lock instead, before he kept Tankman down for a crossface attempt that was countered into a pinning attempt. Tankman kicks out and grabs a side headlock as they stayed on the deck, but Homicide ends up grabbing a leg as they continued to go hold-for-hold.
A cross armbreaker from Tankman almost gets a pin, but Homicide kicks out and found himself in a key lock as Tankman worked the arm. They quickly escalate into chops, which had Homicide wanting more, before he faked out a chop and poked Tankman in the eye. In lieu of ropes, the pair headed towards the corner, where Tankman threw Homicide back into the ring before a mini pounce drew a near-fall.
Forearms from Tankman keep Homicide bouncing off the mat, ahead of a grounded armbar that stretched Homicide some more. More forearms from Tankman wear down Homicide, who brings back the chops… and ends up getting chopped to the outside. Homicide returns to drag Tankman to the outside, but Calvin quickly responds with a running crossbody as the pair again slugged it out on the mat.
Tankman again edges ahead, but a trip from Homicide saw him try to get back in with some leg work. That too is cut off, as we went back to strikes, only for Tankman to surprise Homicide with a powerslam for a near-fall. Homicide tries to get back in with clotheslines, but a dropkick to the knee is more effective before a sliding STO. A back body drop has Tankman back, but he gets spiked with a DDT before a STF had the referee expecting to call for a submission.
After freeing himself, Tankman chops Homicide away, before a chokeslam and a diving forearm gets him a near-fall. Homicide spikes Tankman with an Ace Crusher for a near-fall of his own, before Tankman crossed Homicide’s arms for a Drilla piledriver for the win. On paper, this was a big win for Tankman, but this was starting to drag – again, the unusual set-up seems to be a hindrance, as the pair looked to work a more grounded style, similar to his this look’s been presented as on TV lately. **½
After the match, Tankman cuts a promo. It’s weird how that mic is perfectly fine for Larry Legend, but anyone else handling it and it’s super super quiet. At least we got to hear Homicide implore all of wrestling to book Tankman. I approve.
The Meadowlands Monster vs. Aaron Bradley
Nope, I’ve not heard of any of these guys either. I was a little sad that the Meadowlands Monster didn’t even have a mask, but at least they didn’t kill the gimmick by fudging the home town!
Larry Legend announced a different name than Aaron Bradley, but I’ll go by commentary and Cagematch here. Bradley starts with a series of kicks before he got tripped to the mat… and he then sidesteps the Monster as he charged his way. Bradley leaps off the apron to the outside as the pair brawled around the floor. Chops from the Monster have Bradley in a bad way, before he was back body dropped back into the ring.
A legdrop from the Meadowlands Monster followed, then a pair of leaping splashes, but he doesn’t go for a cover. Chops knock Bradley back down, but he’s able to hit back with a jaw breaker… only to talk into a spinebuster for a near-fall. The Monster heads to the trolley for a chair, but it just gets dropkicked into him before Bradley whipped the Monster into the ring post on the outside.
A cannonball senton to the outside keeps Bradley ahead, but a roll through into a PK misses as Bradley instead hits a diving knee for a near-fall. Monster blocks some right hands and pushes Bradley back down, only to get caught in a sleeperhold as he powers up… and splats onto his back to break it up. Except Bradley reapplies the hold, and there’s the submission. I mean, for a monster, the big guy left his feet way too much, but this was a perfectly fine wrestling match that needed the referee to announce the winner in lieu of a ring announcer. I mean, he was called Alex and Aaron… this was just a little too indie. **
Ah, there’s where Larry went. He changed his baseball jersey as everyone was wondering what on earth he went.
Eli Everfly vs. Facade vs. Alex Zayne
I mean, the lack of a top rope here is going to force these guys to change their style, right?
The video-gamey “fight!” “ring bell” confuses everyone as we start out hot, with Everfly hitting a pair of ‘ranas before Facade hit a step-up ‘rana off of Zayne into Everfly. Zayne tries one of his own, but it crumbles as Facade heads outside. He’s back in with a superkick to Everfly, before a Burning Hammer Cutter to Zayne was blocked… as Facade instead ‘rana’s Zayne into the ring post.
Facade keeps going as he vaults over the ring post into a ‘rana on the floor, before Everfly went for a wheelbarrow stunner on the outside. A satellite DDT from Everfly follows on the outside as Zayne rearranges furniture, before he threw Everfly into the wall. Thankfully, no more tiles came a-falling. Facade runs in to propel off of Zayne into a kick on Everfly, before he used the ring on a sidewalk slam… dumping Zayne as a back body drop sent Everfly onto him to almost accidentally win the match.
German suplexes follow from Facade, then a Regal plex, as he keeps the momentum going, before Everfly accidentally dropkicked Dani Mo at ringside. Facade gets some revenge with a twister into a Michinoku Driver for a near-fall, leaving Zayne and Facade to trade some chops before Everfly returned to hit an assisted reverse ‘rana on Zayne.
A second poison ‘rana greets Facade, before Dani Mo hit one of her own, as the trio in the match got back to their feet for some chops. Zayne peels ahead with elbows and forearms, but he’s battered with kicks and knees as the numbers game worked against him… Facade strikes back on Everfly, before a cross-armed Ganso Bomb almost put Everfly away… but Eli kicked out at two.
From there, Facade heads up the ring post (yes), but misses a senton bomb before Zayne picked up Facade in a sidewalk slam, then flipped him into a facebuster like a Ranhei (or Kofi’s SOS) for a near-fall. That looked wild. A Taco Driver looks to follow, but Facade elbows out before Everfly leapt off the top with a double knee drop onto Facade – who was being teed up in a Fireman’s carry.
Everfly keeps going with a crucifix driver onto Zayne, before a Pedigree Destroyer dumped Facade from the ring to the floor. Zayne’s back with a running shooting star knees to the back of Everfly, before Eli chopped Zayne silly back in the ring. That just earns him a Taco driver, and that’s all folks. Very spotty and very enjoyable – but my word, things looked to get a little overboard towards the finish. That Destroyer… oof. ***
Blake Christian vs. Nolo Kitano vs. TJ Crawford vs. Sebastian Cage vs. Everett Cross vs. Chris Barton
Not so sure why we’ve got two similar matches back-to-back, but what the hey. This was a “top prospect scramble”, with a bunch of debuts…
Barton takes centre stage and gets beaten on to start. It lets him monster up and chase everyone outside, other than Kitano, whose ‘rana was pushed away before he used handwalk-headscissors to take Barton outside. Commentary’s lost track of who’s in, and just comments as Kitano is kicked in the head, then dumped on it with a Dragon suplex by Crawford for a near-fall.
Cross is in with a Stunner, before Christian’s Regalplex dumped Cross. A Snow Plow does the same trick, before Cage came in for a spell… and found himself chopped by Barton. A sitout powerbomb plants Cage, only for Kitano to come back with kicks to take Barton outside ahead of a tope. He holds Barton in place for another dive from Cross, as Crawford, Cage and completed their set of dives. Cage goes for one too many and gets caught, then press slammed back into the ring as Barton opted to do a dive of his own, crashing into everyone on the outside.
Christian and Crawford hit some dives too, before they went at it back in the ring, with Christian’s kicks taking Crawford to his knees. More mid kicks just annoy Crawford, who hits a clothesline before a Samoan Driver spiked Christian for a two-count. Cage is back, but he blocks a Storm Breaker/GTS combo before scoring a satellite DDT onto Crawford.
Cross returns with a pumphandle drive into a sitout tombstone, but Kitano breaks up the pin and clocks Cross with a leg lariat before a Falcon arrow almost did the deal. Barton runs in for a kick, loses Kitano on a suplex/cutter before landing a clothesline. An enziguiri to Christian’s more effective, but Blake just splats him with a Samoan drop before a Frog splash off the ring post drew a near-fall. In the end though, Kitano snatches the win with a jawdropper of a finish – a double-underhook spinning Overdrive. That’s one for the New Legacy lads, I feel! They crammed a LOT into this one – and while scrambles can often be hit and miss, this one at least left you a little aghast at the end. **¾
Sin Cuerda Ultraviolento Match: Jeff King vs. Alex Ocean
King doing a death match in an Andre the Giant-ish singlet pops me for some reason.
King starts with a lock-up as the pair eventually went to ground, as an armbar restrained Ocean. The favour’s returned, before the pair traded chops by the ring post… where some gusset plates conveniently were placed. King tries to use one, but Ocean fires back, grabbing one that almost got knocked into the referee… before he slapped it into King’s chest. A second one follows to the shoulder, but Nick Gage isn’t impressed as the pair wrestle over a third plate, that’s pounded into Ocean’s head.
King chucks Ocean to the outside as the gusset plates were used again, only to run into a back body drop on the exposed concrete floor. Back inside, Ocean takes his shots, kicking away at King, before he grabbed some skewers for the wooden peacock look that just about came off. A sidewalk slam follows before Ocean hit a superkick to the shin and a diving knee for a near-fall… then reached for some drawing pins that he ended up taking a death valley driver into.
The remainder of that box gets spilled onto the floor by King, but his plans to send Ocean into the pile end when he’s dumped off the apron with a cross-legged brainbuster onto the floor, and that’s it. I’m not a massive death match guy, but this just felt extremely flat – with only Nick Gage in the crowd seemingly caring much, in spite of King’s awful landing for the finish. **
Jordan Oliver vs. Myron Reed
The battle of Injustice rages on here, with Jordana Oliver at least caring enough to not litter during his entrance.
We open with a scramble aas Oliver grabbed a front facelock, but he powders to the outside when that didn’t yield much. Back inside, Reed goes to ground to avoid an armbar as he powders outside, before a monkey flip’s stuffed by Oliver as the pair looked for an advantage… leading to Oliver trying to dump Reed off the apron with an Exploder.
That’s elbowed away as Reed instead had to defend from a deadlift German suplex, before he ran into a Fireman’s carry on the outside. He elbows free, but rana into a dropkick from Oliver on the floor instead. They trade shots on the outside, before they found their way onto some tables in the corner of the room… Oliver scoops up Reed and tombstones him onto the plastic table, which did not give. Oof.
Oliver rolls him back inside to get a two-count, before he measured up Reed for some kicks. Myron’s back with elbows and chops, before Oliver tried to stop him in his tracks… but instead they scrap as Oliver sweeps the leg and returned with a stalling dropkick to the head for a two-count. A cross armbar from Oliver comes to nought, as Reed stomps his way free, before dropkicks took Oliver outside for a suicide dive.
A flip senton to the other side followed as Reed built up a head of steam, leading to a superkick for a near-fall. Reed pulls himself up in the corner, but he ran into a back body drop as he clipped the ceiling on the way up… before Oliver’s superkick and Falcon arrow almost ended the match.
Reed’s back with a Stundog Millionaire, then a poison ‘rana, taking Oliver outside as a flip senton over the ring post found its mark. Oliver demands Reed take off his chest protector as they start a chop battle, but a head kick and a Tiger suplex gets Oliver a near-fall after that… before a tope into a cutter caught Reed on the floor. In the end though, Oliver gets a little too carried away, as a pumphandle driver’s countered into a small package, with Reed escaping with the win. A fun match between two guys who you’re probably more used to seeing as a team. ***¼
Jimmy Lloyd vs. AR Fox
So, with no Tony Deppen or Davey Boy Smith Jr., this is your main event… they start pretty hot, with Lloyd and Fox trading pinning attempts in the early going, before the pair missed a pair of dropkicks en route to a standoff.
An enziguiri from Lloyd drops Fox for a two-count, before Fox came back in with kicks of his own, a jaw breaker and a neckbreaker before a dropkick took Lloyd to the outside. Fox keeps going with a lofty crossbody to the outside, before Lloyd managed to overcome the streamers he’d gotten earlier to land a suplex on the floor.
Fox drags Lloyd into the post before kicking him towards Nick Gage on commentary. The brawl in the crowd continues as Lloyd commandeers a picnic table… Fox takes over though, repositioning it again as he set up for a powerbomb… but a dropkick takes Lloyd back outside as he bounced off the table.
Fox puts the table over Lloyd’s body and splashes onto it. Of course, the plastic table did not break. Back inside, Lloyd kicks out at two, but found a way back in with a pop-up powerbomb and an End of Days, or as Nick Gage put it, “that Baron Corbin shit.” A Tiger Driver from Lloyd gets him back in for a near-fall, as he proceeded to go after Fox with kicks… before a Twister from Fox turned it back around. Both men get back to their feet, trading pump kicks and forearms as Fox took Lloyd back outside for a flip senton. Lloyd’s posted as Fox returned to the ring for ana over-the-post tope con giro. Back inside, Fox rolls in for an eventual cutter, before a second one spikes Lloyd for a near-fall… before he looked for a Shiranui, only to get spiked by Lloyd for another near-fall.
Kicks from Lloyd lead to a Tiger suplex, then a package piledriver… but it doesn’t put Fox away, so he goes under the short ring for a chair… and ends up getting DDT’d onto it by Fox. Fox heads up the ring post next, with some help from the ref, as he sentons onto a chair on Lloyd, but it’s still not enough!
Fox goes all RVD, roundhouse kicking the chair into Lloyd before a cutter off a chair was caught and turned into a piledriver… and that’s gotta be the upset for Lloyd. A pretty decent main event, all considered, with Lloyd showing that he’s more than a deathmatch guy here against a man who really ought to be in way more places once the indies are fully back online. ***
