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Kevin’s Alpha-1 Wrestling Immortal Kombat 4 Review

August 19, 2016 | Posted by Kevin Pantoja
7.5
The 411 Rating
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Kevin’s Alpha-1 Wrestling Immortal Kombat 4 Review  

Alpha-1 Wrestling Immortal Kombat 4
May 15th, 2016 | Knights of Columbus in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

For those unaware, Alpha-1 Wrestling is a Canadian based promotion run, founded and owned by independent star Ethan Page (who I’ve mostly seen in Evolve). It was established in 2010 and you check out information about the company at their website (www.alpha-1wrestling.com/). Some big names have passed through the promotion including Kevin Owens, Luke Harper, Michael Elgin, Jimmy Jacobs, Colt Cabana, Carlito, Petey Williams, Eddie Kingston, Tommy Dreamer, Rhyno, Ricochet, Kyle O’Reilly and Johnny Gargano to name a few. This is the second show of theirs that I’ll be watching. You can see check the first review (http://411wrestling.com/wrestling/kevins-alpha-1-watch-the-throne-review/) on this site.

Alpha-1 Zero Gravity Championship: Alessandro Del Bruno w/ Jade Chung def. Alex Daniels and Kobe Durst (c) in 9:44
On the last show I checked out, the Zero Gravity Title match between Durst and Heidi Lovelace was the best part. Daniels competed in a fun short match, while Del Bruno beat Nunzio in another fun outing. This got off to a quick start, with Daniels doing a lot of the offense. Even one of the commentators has issues keeping up with the pace. Durst was the aggressor and Del Bruno did his best to sneak in offense from time to time. He nearly stole it with a sneaky Blue Thunder Bomb but Daniels kicked out. Durst had the highlight of the match with a double rana off the top. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that before. Daniels went up for a 640 but Jade pulled Del Bruno to safety and he crashed and burned. Durst nailed a Kobebreaker on Daniels and then Del Bruno sent him outside. He pinned Daniels following a PK. Pretty much the perfect choice for an opener. This was fast paced and had the crowd in a frenzy for the entirety. Sometimes a spotfest works and this was one of those times. ***½

Danny Orlando, Hellcat and Gregory Iron def. Dick Justice, Holden Albright and Young Myles via disqualification in 9:28
Considering what I saw from these guys on Watch the Throne, I knew this would be an interesting tag. Dick Justice is a popular, way out there character who is great for laughs. He does some Dusty Rhodes inspired stuff to a big pop. Myles kicks Iron’s ass and gets two on a suplex/neckbreaker variation. While everyone else does their stuff, the crowd just chants “we want Dick”. Yup. When he gets the tag, it becomes BIONIC ELBOW time. Orlando is dressed like Justice usually is, as a cop. They do a spot where Orlando takes a fake gun out and everyone, including the fans, duck like it’s real. The referee checks Dick for weapons and finds a baggie in his trunks, disqualifying his team. Fine for what it was. It seemed like it was meant to be a comedy match, which it succeeded at. Not a fan of the finish though.

Dick Justice challenged Danny Orlando to a No DQ match for July 3rd.

Michael Elgin def. Shane Sabre in 14:13
This started with Michael Elgin ringing the bell for the timekeeper, telling him to put some power behind it. Elgin lost favor with US indy crowds but his recent run in New Japan has been really good. It’s cool to see him here. Quick back and forth start and they were mostly even. Elgin’s stalling suplex actually lasts thirty seconds, with the crowd counting along. Sabre was overpowered, so he tried to wear down Big Mike. Elgin caught him with a capture suplex and just launched him. He also did a sweet spot where he pulled Sabre in from the apron right into a powerslam for two. Sabre ate a lariat and Elgin Bomb, yet that somehow wasn’t enough. Certainly a surprising near fall there. Sabre continued to be resilient and even hit Elgin with a powerbomb of his own. Elgin hit a second rope Air Raid Crash but it again wasn’t enough. Buckle Bomb hit but Sabre rolled him up instantly for two. A second Elgin Bomb finally kept Sabre down. A good power vs. speed match and Sabre got to show off his resiliency, while Elgin showed off his strengths. Good stuff. ***¼

Rickey Shane Page def. Donovan Dijak in 13:04
Page returned at the previous show and this is my first look at Dijak in this promotion. Dijak seemed to be playing the heel and the crowd responded with positive chants for Page. Lots of trash talk in the early goings. Physical stuff from the start as they kind of just hammer away at each other. RSP nailed the Twist of Hate (a play on the Twist of Fate), but Dijak wisely rolled outside to avoid a pin. Dijak came back with the fosbury flop, which was super impressive considering his size. RSP kicked out of a springboard moonsault and grabbed the ropes to break a pin after Feast Your Eyes. RSP caught the next moonsault into a choke and won with the choke breaker. Solid, hard hitting match. It allowed Dijak to showcase his stuff and continue the RSP story. Just what it needed to be. ***¼

Alpha-1 Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: The Theory of Evolution (c) def. Black Spades in 11:51
Apparently, this rivalry has lasted over a year. Black Spades lost the titles to the Theory of Evolution at the last show. Right from the start, it was clear that the Spades would play the aggressive heels, while the champions would take a beating. Space Monkey did the Terry Funk spot, followed by a moonsault off a ladder to the outside. We get a monkey flip into the ladder and a scissors kick onto one. I have to say that the ladders don’t look very sturdy. In fact, one of them broke as Space Monkey climbed it. Space Monkey got laid down on a ladder draped between the apron and another ladder. Justin Sane tried a tope con hilo but Monkey moved and he crashed hard. After Nye nailed a big senton off the top onto a ladder, they retrieved the belts and retained. This was a good, short ladder match. They packed a lot of cool spots into the time. From what I’ve seen so far, short and sweet defines Alpha-1 and I like it. ***

Elimination Match: Cheech def. Brent Banks, Cloudy and John Greed in 9:36
I remember seeing Cheech and Cloudy as a team live at an ROH show. Greed is apparently back for the first time in two years. They all jump him since he is clearly the biggest guy involved. Everybody got some time to shine and Cloudy was the first one out after a powerbomb variation from Banks. Greed got going with power, hitting a fallaway slam and Samoan drop at the same time. That didn’t last too long though as Cheech and Banks combined for a powerbomb/sliced bread combo that sent Greed packing. The two remaining guys, Cheech and Banks, competed for the title at the last show if memory serves me right. Banks looked really good here, showing off some nice athleticism. Cheech nailed a poison Frankensteiner and won with Go to Cheech. Again with the short and sweet. This was a blast. ***

Ethan Page def. Carlito in 10:07
Carlito is in really good shape still. He got a cheap pop for noting that his mother is from Canada. They had fun on the mic beforehand with talk of fruit, fuzzy peaches and bananas. Carlito controlled the early portions around the ring. Page surprisingly got a mixed reaction when he started beating on Carlito in the corner. Carlito showed off a nice belly to belly suplex and got the momentum back. Both guys picked up near falls, Carlito on a neckbreaker and Page on a DDT. Page hit the head shot but Carlito kicked out. Carlito had the Spinning Dwayne scouted and blocked it, but took a tough loss to a roll up. I liked this a semi-main event. Both guys worked hard and I really felt like Page was enjoying working with a former WWE guy. It was good to Carlito not phone it in, which I’ve seen happen from former stars when they work the indies. ***

Alpha-1 Alpha Male Championship: Heidi Lovelace def. Josh Alexander (c) w/ Seleziya Sparx in 22:27
Alexander revealed himself to be the “Virus” at the last show and won the title in shocking fashion. Lovelace lost to Kobe Durst in an excellent match. Alexander just tossed Lovelace around with no remorse in the early stages. Lovelace just took a beating, while Alexander talked smack and relished in his dominance. Heidi sold the beating throughout and found some great hope spots. She got Alexander stuck in the corner and fired off several running kicks for her first real sustained offense. She locked in the rings of Saturn but nearly got pinned because of it. After Heidi got two on a tornado DDT, Alexander, being the GM, announced that this was No DQ in the middle of the match and used a foreign object. He just stretched her with a Gory special and continued to slam her viciously around the ring. Pissed that she kicked out of a ripcord elbow, Alexander got a chair and whacked her in the back. Heidi began to rally and get in some really close near falls. She kicked out of a spinning tombstone and Josh hit a second that would have won it, but he chose to lift her up. As he went for a move off the top, someone in a mask appeared in the ring. It was Scotty O’Shea, who was fired on the last show. Josh got rid of him but got hit with a Meteora and top rope back senton by Lovelace that won her title. Two shows in and Lovelace has been a highlight both times. This was a great underdog story. Alexander played the vicious bully role very well and Lovelace fought back with everything she had in a believable comeback. It even set up a future O’Shea/Alexander match. ***¾

The locker room emptied to celebrate with Heidi Lovelace in a nice moment. A pissed Alexander booked Heidi to defend the title against Seleziya Sparx and Veda Scott at the next show.

7.5
The final score: review Good
The 411
Alpha-1 is two for two in good shows that I’ve seen so far. I have to note that the two hour runtime is such a benefit. All of the matches, outside of the main event, are relatively short but the wrestlers pack a lot into that time. All but one match got at least three stars, with the main event capping things off with a great, emotional title change. Again, the stories being told throughout the show are a key part of making these shows fun.
legend

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Alpha 1 Wrestling, Kevin Pantoja